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.

The war left a generation on the streets and invisible. Can a census help them rebuild their lives?

There is a corner of a field in Sierra Leone that will for ever resound to the very English strains of Marc Bolan. The war-torn African state is the unlikely location of a school for orphaned children created by the glam rock star's family in order to continue his legacy.

The fearless SAS veteran is still angry about what happened in the blood diamond wars. Now, he's putting the record straight. Jonathan Owen meets Fred Marafono

Aminatta Forna has put Sierra Leone on the literary map. On the eve of the Orange Prize for Fiction, Boyd Tonkin meets her

Power is not what attracted me to Gordon Having power has to be about the contribution a person can make. It was how he has been able to take the thing that he is good at and use it to serve, through political life. As Martin Luther King said: "Everybody can be great... because everybody can serve."

This richly accomplished and satisfying novel, which engages both mind and heart, has rightly made the Orange Prize shortlist. Man Booker judges, where were you?

Three first-time novelists tackling macabre subjects – the aftermath of conflict in the Balkans, a love affair in a mental institution, and the story of a hermaphrodite baby called Wayne – feature in this year's shortlist for the Orange Prize for Fiction.

The war crimes trial of the former Liberian president, Charles Taylor, ended yesterday with judges expected to take months to reach a verdict on whether he can be linked to murders and amputations during Sierra Leone's civil war.