Charles Taylor: Liberian Warlord Begins War-Crimes Trial

Pulling the microphone toward him, the dapper 61-year-old man in sunglasses creased his forehead, cleared his throat emphatically and introduced himself to the war-crimes court in the Hague: “My name is Dakpenah Dr. Charles Ghankay Taylor, the 21st President of the Republic of Liberia.” Thus began the testimony of Charles Taylor, the reviled warlord and ousted Liberian President, at his landmark trial for war crimes and crimes against humanity.

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Report: Iran to prosecute satellite TV contributors

In another move to crack down on information flowing out of Iran, the Islamic Republic’s judicial chief has ordered the prosecution of individuals "who cooperate with satellite television programming providers," a reformist newspaper reported Sunday. “The individuals, who in any way collaborate with these networks or are entrenched in the nucleus of organizations which are active through Internet sites, must be adequately and properly subject to legal actions

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Austria’s Sex-Slave Father Tells His Side of the Story

Ever since Josef Fritzl, the authoritarian patriarch of a sprawling family in the north Austrian town of Amstetten, was discovered to have imprisoned his daughter as a sex slave in a cellar for 24 years and fathered seven children with her, Austria has been locked in an emotional debate over what could cause such a crime. Some have claimed Fritzl’s sadism to be a vestige of Nazism’s moral corruption, others that the psychological strain of living for years under the threat of nuclear destruction was to blame.

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Court rejects alleged Mumbai gunman’s translation plea

An Indian court Monday rejected a plea by the alleged Mumbai attacker who asked for an Urdu translation of the 11,000-page document detailing the charges against him, public prosecutor Ujjwal Nikam told CNN. The court turned down Mohammad Ajmal Kasab’s request after the prosecution argued that the court was not legally obligated to translate the charge sheet into the language of an accused person, Nikam said. Kasab, 21, is accused of being the only one of 10 gunmen to survive the siege on Mumbai in late November, which left more than 160 people dead.

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