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NEWS ABOUT: Liberia

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... More »

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... More »

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... More »

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... More »

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... More »

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... More »

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... More »

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... More »

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... More »

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... More »

Somali Pirates Capture Another Prize

Another ship released.

(AP) - 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... More »

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... More »

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... More »

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... More »

Bush Pushes Abstinence in AIDS Program

In Tanzania, president prods Congress to renew global aid pact

(Newser) - President Bush urged Congress today to “stop squabbling” and renew his global AIDS program, which provides medication and treatment for millions and earmarks funds for abstinence efforts. In Tanzania, his African tour’s second stop, Bush signed a $700 million aid package, saying, “We don’t want people... More »

Bush Signs $700M Grant for Tanzania

Rice, meanwhile, prepares to join negotiations in Kenya

(Newser) - During the second stop on his whirlwind African tour, President Bush heaped praise on Tanzania's president and signed over a $698 million grant for infrastructure development. "We like dealing with honest people and compassionate people," Bush said of his trip, which is avoiding current hot spots like Kenya... More »

'Blood Diamonds' Trial Opens

War crimes court pleads for cash in case against former Liberian president

(Newser) - The war crimes trial of former Liberian president Charles Taylor is set to begin in The Hague after months of costly delays—forcing the court to ask for financial handouts to complete the proceedings. Taylor, 59, trained Sierra Leone's notoriously violent Revolutionary United Front in exchange for "blood diamonds,... More »

IMF Agrees to Cancel Liberia's Debt

Victory for country's president represents coup for new fund head

(Newser) - Liberian president Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf got a huge vote of confidence yesterday when the International Monetary Fund agreed to begin eliminating Liberia's debt, the BBC reports. Donor nations have pledged $842 million to get the West African country back on track after 14 years of civil war. "Liberia has established... More »

Feds Fly 1st Class on Your Dime

$146M wasted in premium travel

(Newser) - Federal employees wasted $146 million in a single year flying business or first class, according to a government investigation. Some 67% of premium-class travel is unauthorized or unnecessary, and the biggest abusers are Pentagon, Justice and State Department officials, according to a report by the Government Accountability Office. More »

Charles Taylor Skips War Crimes Trial

Former President of Liberia accused of atrocities in Sierra Leone

(Newser) - Charles Taylor, the former president of Liberia, didn't show up for the opening of his  war-crimes trial in The Hague today, the BBC reports. He is accused of fostering a long bloody civil war in Sierra Leone marked by crimes against humanity, terrorism, rape and the use of child soldiers.... More »

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