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Former British Prime Minister Tony Blair drummed up support Wednesday for investment in Sierra Leone, arguing that the west African country has recovered from its brutal civil war and could offer unmatched opportunities in agriculture and tourism.
Former Liberian President Charles Taylor clashed with a war crimes trial attorney Tuesday just minutes after she began cross examining him about his repeated denials of responsibility for atrocities by rebels during Sierra Leone's brutal civil war.
An international tribunal has upheld the sentences for three rebel leaders convicted of crimes against humanity in Sierra Leone.
Police say they have arrested two attendants who survived after an overloaded wooden boat capsized off the coast of Sierra Leone, killing at least 30.
More than 200 people, including many schoolchildren returning from holidays, were missing and feared dead Thursday, a day after a wooden boat capsized at sea, authorities said.
Former Liberian President Charles Taylor called Thursday on the United States and Britain to declassify radio intercepts he says would help clear him of war crimes charges.
Former Liberian President Charles Taylor said Monday he was sickened by allegations at his war crimes trial that he ate human flesh, calling testimony by a former aide the lies of an illiterate man.
Former Liberian President Charles Taylor said Tuesday that a key prosecution witness at his war crimes trial was a low-level official who "went crazy" years before testifying against him.
Prosecutors at the U.N.-backed Special Court for Sierra Leone have accused former Liberian President Charles Taylor of arming and leading rebels in Sierra Leone's 1996-2002 civil war and being "part of a widespread or systematic attack" against civilians.
In an unusual defense against war crimes charges, former Liberian President Charles Taylor told judges Thursday that he saw nothing wrong with displaying the skulls of slain enemy soldiers at roadblocks.
Lawyers for Charles Taylor began his defense against war crimes charges Monday, arguing that the former Liberian president was not responsible for the murder, rape and mutilation of civilians by rebels in Sierra Leone and should not be blamed simply out of disgust at the atrocities.
Judges on Monday rejected a request by former Liberian President Charles Taylor for an immediate acquittal on war crimes charges, saying he must answer allegations that he was part of a campaign to terrorize Sierra Leone's population through murder, rape and mutilation.
Sierra Leone authorities say three men convicted of drug smuggling have been sent to the U.S. where they are wanted on similar charges.
A U.N.-sponsored war crimes court is delivering verdicts Wednesday on three rebel commanders accused of crimes against humanity. Prosecutors say the three men — Issa Sesay, Morris Kallon and Augustine Gbao — are responsible for the criminal acts of their subordinates. They have pleaded not guilty to the charges against them.
The rebels were known for asking their victims if they preferred "long sleeves" or "short sleeves." They then cut off the hands of those who chose the first option and the full arm of those that picked the second.
A man who had both hands hacked off during Sierra Leone's civil war testified Friday as the last prosecution witness in the war crimes case against Charles Taylor.
Sierra Leone police say pirates attacked a Chinese fishing vessel in a rare attack off West Africa that ended with four suspects dead.
A U.N.-backed war crimes court on Wednesday more than doubled the prison terms for two ex-militia leaders convicted of overseeing hundreds of killings and mutilations during Sierra Leone's 11-year war.
Author Ishmael Beah disputed reports that his best-selling 2007 memoir about serving as a child soldier in Sierra Leone contained inconsistencies.
A U.N.-backed court on Friday upheld the convictions of three former rebel leaders sentenced last year to half-century prison terms for rape, murder and other war crimes committed during Sierra Leone's decade-long conflict.
A newborn in Sierra Leone has the lowest chance in the world of surviving until age 5, and the prospects are almost as bad for children in Angola and Afghanistan, according to a U.N. report released Tuesday.
A one-time member of Charles Taylor's inner circle took the stand Wednesday to testify at the former Liberian president's war crimes trial, the first of dozens of witnesses prosecutors say will link Taylor to atrocities in Sierra Leone's 10-year civil war.
The war crimes trial of Charles Taylor, Liberia's former president, heard its first testimony Monday and saw video of victims telling of being sexually assaulted or dismembered by rebels who plundered West African diamond fields.
The Security Council voted unanimously Friday to wrap up the U.N. peacebuilding mission in Sierra Leone in September 2008, praising this year's democratic elections and efforts to professionalize its armed forces.
221 missing, 8 dead in Sierra Leone shipwreckMore than 200 people remain missing in Sierra Leone a day after a boat capsized, killing at least 8, police said on Thursday.
Hundreds of Thousands Displaced By West African FloodAfter three months of rain West Africa has been devastated by flooding that displaced 600,000. The current season has been unusually rainy and the rain is expected to last through the end of the month.
Clinton Has Praise and Criticism for Nigeria - NYTimes.comSecretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton sent a message of tough love to Nigeria on Wednesday, praising the country's strong military and showing public appreciation for its huge oil industry, but also harshly criticizing the government for being corrupt.
Taylor allowed enemy skulls at roadblocksFormer Liberian President Charles Taylor told a war crimes court he saw nothing wrong with displaying the skulls of slain fighters at roadblocks as his rebels swept into the country in a revolution.
Thomas Franck, Who Advised Countries on Law, Dies at 77Thomas M. Franck, a prominent expert on international law in all its aspects who was particularly committed to promoting justice in developing countries, helping draft constitutions for several of them, died Wednesday at his home in Manhattan. He was 77.
The snakes are winning! FREETOWN (Reuters) - Police in Sierra Leone have called in the army and fire brigade to try to take back control of a police station which has been overrun by hundreds of venomous snakes. ADVERTISEMENT
Think Again: Child SoldiersChild Soldiering Is a Human Rights Issue." It's much more than that. It is also a geostrategic and development issue. Child soldiers are usually depicted as victims.
This Mom Didn't Have to Die On this trip through West Africa with my "win-a-trip" contest winner, I was reminded of one of the grimmest risks to human life here. Despite threats from warlords and exotic disease, it's something even deadlier: motherhood.
Tiny bride wows Sierra LeoneThousands of people have thronged the streets of the Sierra Leone capital, Freetown, to see one of the country's shortest people get married. Masire Kamara is well known in the city where she sells tea in a market.
Getting Away With Journalists' Murders 2009CPJ began compiling the index in 2008 to raise awareness about a disturbing pattern of impunity in countries across the world.
Sierra Leone continues to recover from a decade-long civil war that ended in 2001. The war destroyed most of the country's socioeconomic and physical infrastructure, and caused unprecedented population displacement.
ABC News: Salma Hayek On Why She Breastfed Another Woman's BabyExcerpt: Since ABC's "Nightline" aired a story last week about Salma Hayek's goodwill trip to Sierra Leone, there has been a world-wide outpouring of reaction.
FGM group 'kidnaps journalists'Reports say the female kidnappers accused the women of insulting their traditions by criticising the practice.
Liberia worms trigger emergencyLiberia's president has declared a state of emergency in response to a plague of crop-destroying army worms. Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf said all possible resources would be used to fight the insects, that have spread to next-door Guinea and are nearing Sierra Leone.
Sierra Leone: President Koroma Gives Assent to 'Women's Liberation' Act Freetown — President Ernest Bai Koroma today appended his signature to, thereby formally giving his assent and making Into law, the customary Marriage And Divorce Act 2007, which commentators have described as a "Women's Liberation" act.
Refugee fights for lost daughterA French woman originally from Sierra Leone faces a legal battle with immigration authorities to keep her teenage daughter, even though the two were only recently reunited after a 10-year separation.
Liberian ex-leader's son on trial The son of former Liberian leader Charles Taylor has gone on trial in the US accused of torture. Prosecutors says Charles "Chuckie" Taylor Jr led a unit that tortured and executed government opponents in Liberia between 1999 and 2003.
BBC Diary: Sierra Leone slum clinicStaff at a clinic in the coastal slum of Kroo Bay, in Sierra Leone's capital, Freetown, are keeping a diary of their working lives for the BBC News website.
Sierra Leone on 'ghost teacher' huntSierra Leone's education minister says he has discovered dozens of non-existent "ghost teachers" invented by officials to embezzle money. Minkailu Bah told the BBC that many of the 33,000 teachers receiving salaries existed only on paper.
Sierra Leoneans look for peace through full truth about war crimeHuman rights activist John Caulker looks beyond the high-profile and costly prosecutions to village-level reconciliation.
Scuffles over the water pipe in Sierra Leone slumMarie Bangura's six children are too busy selling water to go to school.
Billionaire George Soros Visits Sierra LeoneThe paradox that Sierra Leone is the poorest country in the world despite its abundant mineral resources is an inconvenient truth that is about to change.
Sierra Leone bans timber exportsSierra Leone has re-imposed a timber export ban because of what it says is indiscriminate plundering of forests by Chinese and other foreign companies. "They just invaded and started doing what they felt like doing," Forestry Minister Joseph Sam Sesay told the BBC.
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