Former Liberian President Charles Taylor was jailed for 50 years today for helping rebels commit what a court in The Hague called some of the worst war crimes in history.

Convicted war criminal and former Liberian President Charles Taylor told judges at his sentencing hearing today that he sympathizes with victims of the civil war in Sierra Leone he helped foment, and judges should render their sentence against him in a spirit of "reconciliation, not retribution."

Charles Taylor may have sanctioned mass murder and rape in exchange for blood diamonds in West Africa, but his lawyers fear he would be unsafe in a British prison, it was revealed yesterday.

Charles Taylor may have sanctioned mass murder and rape in exchange for blood diamonds in West Africa, but his lawyers fear he would be unsafe in a British prison, it was revealed yesterday.

Prosecutors have demanded an 80-year sentence for former Liberian president Charles Taylor following his war crimes conviction last week.

Mercenaries and diplomats, soldiers and journalists, politicians and hookers – they all came to Paddy's Bar. Some of the most powerful among the clientele were the diamond dealers whose profits had grown hugely as Sierra Leone suffered, a land torn apart by slaughter, rape and ritualised mutilations.

The evidence was gruesome. One witness told how he watched his sister being raped and an old woman have her throat slit; another how he saw a pregnant woman buried alive; a third of how she was enslaved and branded; a fourth of how he had first one arm, then the other, chopped off with an axe.

With the conviction of Charles Taylor, warlords can no longer rest easy

In a historic ruling, an international court today convicted former Liberian President Charles Taylor of aiding and abetting war crimes and crimes against humanity for supporting brutal rebels in neighbouring Sierra Leone in return for “blood diamonds”.

Foreign Secretary William Hague today welcomed the conviction of former Liberian President Charles Taylor for crimes against humanity.

Thousands are celebrating in Sierra Leone after learning that Charles Taylor has been convicted for his role in the country's brutal civil war.

The night of light entertainment that never leaves a dry eye in the house

A cargo ship struggled to pump out water that seeped in through cracks today after it brushed against two anchored ships while trying to moor during strong winds off the coast of Istanbul, but a senior maritime official said it was not in danger of sinking.