Liberia

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Court Upholds Charles Taylor's 50-Year Sentence

Appeals chamber issues unanimous ruling

(Newser) - An international war crimes court unanimously upheld the conviction and 50-year sentence of former Liberian President Charles Taylor for aiding rebels in neighboring Sierra Leone, ruling today that his financial, material, and tactical support fueled horrendous crimes against civilians. The appeals chamber of the Special Court for Sierra Leone upheld...

Every Student Fails Liberian College Admission Exam

Not 1 of the 25K who took University of Liberia exam passed

(Newser) - There will be no new students at the University of Liberia next year. That's because every single student who took the admission test—all 25,000 of them—failed the exam, the BBC reports. University spokesman Momodu Getaweh says the students were unenthusiastic and did not show an adequate...

25% of Liberia at Mercy of Loggers

Thanks to loophole in country's law: report

(Newser) - By exploiting a loophole in Liberian law, international logging companies have gained access to as much as one-quarter of Liberia's landmass, according to a report out today by watchdog group Global Witness. It explains that foreign companies are relying on so-called "Private Use Permits," which were designed...

Charles Taylor Sentenced to 50 Years

Former Liberian president expected to appeal

(Newser) - Charles Taylor is going away for 50 years. The former Liberian president, 64, was sentenced to a half-century in a British prison today, as international war crimes court judges blamed him for "some of the most heinous and brutal crimes recorded in human history." But Taylor will likely...

Charles Taylor Guilty of War Crimes

International court rules against former Liberian president

(Newser) - In a historic ruling, an international court convicted former Liberian President Charles Taylor on Thursday of aiding and abetting war crimes and crimes against humanity for supporting notoriously brutal rebels in neighboring Sierra Leone in return for blood diamonds. Taylor is the first head of state convicted by an international...

Nobel Peace Prize Winner: Anti-Gay Law Is OK

Liberian President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf spoke while Tony Blair squirmed

(Newser) - Nobel Peace Prize winner and Liberian President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf says gay sex should remain illegal: "We like ourselves just the way we are," she told the Guardian . "We've got certain traditional values in our society that we would like to preserve." Former British Prime...

Liberian, Yemeni Women Win Nobel Peace Prize

Johnson Sirleaf, Gbowee, Karman to share prize

(Newser) - This year's Nobel Peace Prize has been awarded to three women the Nobel committee wants to reward for "their non-violent struggle for the safety of women and for women’s rights to full participation in peace-building work." The prize will be shared between Liberian leader Ellen Johnson...

West African Leaders Push Ivory Coast's Gbagbo to Leave

20K flee country as violent confrontation looms

(Newser) - Last chance for a peaceful resolution? West African leaders met with Ivory Coast's Laurent Gbagbo today to try to resolve the country’s post-election strife, the BBC reports. The heads of Benin, Sierra Leone, and Cape Verde met with Gbagbo, who has refused to step down despite international support for...

Witness: Naomi Flirted With Blood Diamond Strongman

Ex-agent says model knew who diamonds came from

(Newser) - Naomi Campbell's former agent has testified that the model was fully aware that diamonds she was given in South Africa were a gift from Liberian strongman Charles Taylor. Campbell was flirting with Taylor at a dinner hosted by Nelson Mandela and Taylor was flirting back, Carole White told Taylor's war...

Naomi's Blood Diamonds Handed Over to Cops

Official with Mandela fund had kept them

(Newser) - For those following the trail of Naomi Campbell's so-called blood diamonds: mystery solved. She testified yesterday at the war crimes trial of Liberia's Charles Taylor that she received three such uncut diamonds, almost certainly from Taylor, in 1997. Today, the Guardian reports that Campbell then handed them over to an...

Warlord Moves to Block Campbell Testimony

Taylor accused of giving model 'blood diamond'

(Newser) - Supermodels aren't often called as witnesses at war crimes tribunals, and Liberian strongman Charles Taylor's lawyers want to keep it that way. They're seeking to block Naomi Campbell from being subpoenaed to appear at Taylor's trial to testify about a "blood diamond" she allegedly received from the warlord at...

Clinton Leaves Africa 'More Committed' Than Ever

(Newser) - Hillary Clinton ended her African tour today on a note of optimism colored by disdain, the New York Times reports. The secretary of state visited seven nations over 11 days and made her final remarks on the Cape Verde islands off the coast. “I leave Africa after this remarkable...

Youths Charged With Sexual Assault of 8-Year-Old Girl

Ariz. victim disowned by her Liberian family

(Newser) - Four boys aged 9 to 14 are being held in connection with the sexual assault of an 8-year-old girl in Phoenix, the Arizona Republic reports. All of the children are Liberian refugees. Police say the boys lured the girl into a shed with chewing gum and “took turns” assaulting...

Ex Liberian Prez Defends Skull Displays

(Newser) - Former Liberian President Charles Taylor defended displaying human skulls along roadways in his country to scare people into obeying soldiers' orders, reports the Times of London. “Skulls were used as symbols of death,” he told the judges at his trial at the Hague. “Enemy soldiers had been...

Ex-Liberian Prez: War-Crimes Charges 'Lies'

Taylor calls himself 'lover of humanity'

(Newser) - Former Liberian president Charles Taylor took the stand today in the Hague, calling war-crimes allegations against him “lies,” the BBC reports. “It is very, very, very unfortunate that the prosecution, because of disinformation, misinformation, lies, rumors would associate me with such titles or descriptions,” he said...

Liberian Prez's Plea: Don't Let Global Crisis Kill African Gains

This mess is not of Africa's making

(Newser) - Africa is in the midst of a great turnaround, with economies growing and democracy and human rights improving, Liberia’s president writes in the Washington Post. But progress is threatened by a global economic crisis it had no hand in creating. Some $50 billion in income could be lost as...

Somali Pirates Capture Another Prize
Somali Pirates Capture Another Prize
Nov 28, 2008 12:39 PM CST

Somali Pirates Capture Another Prize

Another ship released.

(Newser) - Somali pirates hijacked a Liberian chemical tanker with 27 crew members today in the Gulf of Aden. A rescue helicopter arrived too late to prevent the hijacking but did pick up three security guards who had jumped into the sea. Greek authorities, meanwhile, said a Greek-owned cargo ship seized by...

Foreign Adoption Getting Harder
Foreign Adoption
Getting Harder
Aug 14, 2008 3:44 PM CDT

Foreign Adoption Getting Harder

Could be boon for thousands in US foster care

(Newser) - Heightened awareness of child trafficking and improving economies abroad are making it harder for Americans to adopt foreign kids. US officials are taking a closer look at visa applications and discouraging adoptions from countries that don’t comply with a new international adoption agreement, USA Today reports. At the same...

Pygmy Hippos Found in Liberia
Pygmy Hippos Found in Liberia
Mar 10, 2008 10:27 AM CDT

Pygmy Hippos Found in Liberia

Rare mammal not wiped out by wars, deforestation

(Newser) - Rare pygmy hippos have been videotaped in the forests of Liberia, proving to a team of zoologists that the rare and elusive mammal has survived through two civil wars, illegal logging, and poaching thought to have wiped it out. Less than 3,000 pygmy hippos, which look like normal hippos...

Thais Nab 'Merchant of Death'
Thais Nab 'Merchant of Death'
Mar 6, 2008 5:18 PM CST

Thais Nab 'Merchant of Death'

Russian arms dealer may face US trial for supplying terror groups worldwide

(Newser) - The Russian arms dealer branded "the merchant of death" was apprehended in Thailand today after US intelligence linked him to Colombia rebels, the New York Times reports. Viktor Bout is on international most-wanted lists for allegedly using his private air fleet to supply al Qaeda and the Taliban—plus...

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