Former Liberian leader portrays himself as fighter of corruption

September 4th, 2009 MONROVIA - One of the six Pakistanis, who was trying to enter Liberia on 'fake' US passports but was arrested, swallowed his mobile phone sim- card while being apprehended. Liberian Defense Minister Brownie Samukai said the men were nabbed at the international airport earlier this week while trying to sneak into the country.

September 2nd, 2009 US says Belgian man broke Iran arms embargoWASHINGTON — Federal agents have arrested a Belgian man on charges he sought to buy fighter jet engines for Iran. Authorities say Jacques Monsieur, a citizen of Belgium and a resident of France, was arrested Friday in New York on charges he conspired with an Iranian, Dara Fotouhi, to buy F-5 fighter jet engines and parts.

August 10th, 2009 Liberian official meets with young rape victimPHOENIX —Liberia's deputy ambassador to the U.S. said Sunday that he tried to console an 8-year-old rape victim in Phoenix with hugs and a teddy bear in a case that has gripped Liberians worldwide.

August 10th, 2009 Liberian boy pleads not guilty in child rape casePHOENIX —A Liberian teenager charged as an adult in the gang rape of an 8-year-old girl from the same country pleaded not guilty on Monday. The 14-year-old appeared by video for the hearing in Phoenix, wearing a jail uniform.

August 6th, 2009 Ex-Liberian prez wants to hear US radio interceptsAMSTERDAM — 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. Taylor was concluding his fourth week of testimony in his defense against 11 charges of crimes against humanity, including murder, rape and torture, for aiding rebels in Sierra Leone.

August 3rd, 2009 Liberian official wants to meet rape victimPHOENIX — Liberia's deputy ambassador will travel to Phoenix in hopes of meeting with an 8-year-old rape victim, the four boys accused of attacking her, and their Liberian families in part to help dispel notions that rape is condoned in the West African country. Edwin Sele told The Associated Press Monday that he'll arrive on Wednesday and stay about a week.

August 1st, 2009 Pastor: Liberian family misunderstood doctorPHOENIX — Statements made by the family of an 8-year-old Liberian girl who police say was raped by four boys included terrible mistakes that resulted from a language barrier, a pastor said Friday. The girl's father presumed she had not been raped after a doctor said she was OK, referring to her psychological state, said James Nyemah of Africa Faith Expressions, the family pastor.

July 20th, 2009 Ex-Liberian leader denies invading Sierra LeoneTHE HAGUE, Netherlands — Former Liberian President Charles Taylor denied on Monday that he had played any part in forming the guerrilla force that invaded Sierra Leone in the early 1990s. In his second week of testimony at his war crimes trial, Taylor was categorical in rejecting the testimony of prosecution witnesses that he attended the meeting that planned the rebel incursion into Sierra Leone, that he trained the rebel forces and that he commanded their operations.

July 20th, 2009 Ex-Liberian leader: No loot from Sierra LeoneAMSTERDAM — Former Liberian President Charles Taylor issued a challenge at his war crimes trial Monday to find any bank account owned by him holding illicit funds or "blood diamonds" from the civil war in Sierra Leone. In his second week of testimony in his defense, Taylor denied any role in forming the guerrilla force that invaded Sierra Leone in 1991, that he helped plan the rebel incursion, that he trained the rebel forces or that he commanded their operations.

July 20th, 2009 Ex-Liberian leader denies looting Sierra LeoneAMSTERDAM — Former Liberian President Charles Taylor on Monday challenged anyone to find a bank account of his holding illicit funds or "blood diamonds" from the civil war in Sierra Leone. In his second week of testimony at his war crimes trial, Taylor denied any role in forming the guerrilla force that invaded Sierra Leone in 1991, that he helped plan the rebel incursion, that he trained the rebel forces or that he commanded their operations.

July 16th, 2009 Taylor says his men trained to avoid atrocitiesTHE HAGUE, Netherlands — Former Liberian President Charles Taylor has told a war crimes court his band of rebel fighters were trained in Libya to avoid atrocities as they swept into the country in a 1989 revolution. Taylor is on the witness stand for the third day at his trial for allegedly commanding rebels during Sierra Leone's civil war.

July 15th, 2009 Liberia's ex-leader resumes defenseTHE HAGUE, Netherlands — Charles Taylor retraced his rise to power in Liberia to war crimes judges Wednesday, casting himself as an anti-corruption fighter in his army-ruled nation before ousting the military in a coup to restore democracy. Taylor is charged with 11 counts of murder, torture, rape, sexual slavery and the use of child soldiers and terrorism in his role backing rebels in Sierra Leone's 1991-2002 civil war.

July 15th, 2009 Liberia's Taylor rejects war crimes chargesTHE HAGUE, Netherlands — The American CIA and Libya's leader Moammar Gadhafi both had a hand in Charles Taylor's rise to power as Cold War politics and pan-African struggles helped propel him to the presidency in Liberia, according to his testimony Wednesday at his war crimes trial. Taylor sketched a turbulent African continent in the 1980s that was the backdrop for American anti-communist efforts and African freedom fighters backed by Gadhafi fighting to shake off "the yoke of colonialism." Taylor is charged with 11 counts of crimes against humanity and using child soldiers in his role backing rebels in Sierra Leone's 1991-2002 civil war.

July 3rd, 2009 THIRUVANANTHAPURAM - Air Marshal S. Radhakrishnan, Southern Air Command chief, has been appointed Honorary Air aide de camp (ADC) to President Pratibha Patil.

May 27th, 2009 NEW DELHI - A MiG-21 Bison fighter aircraft crashed Wednesday in Luni region of Rajasthan but the pilot ejected out safely, an air force official said here. "The aircraft took off from the Jodhpur air base at 12 noon and crashed in the Luni region sometime later.