The former Liberian president is being tried on 11 counts of war crimes, including charges of murder, rape and sexual slavery, in a trial that has already lasted two years. Mr Taylor, 62, is accused by prosecutors of trading in “blood diamonds” to fund a brutal and bloody war carried out by rebels in Liberia’s neighbouring Sierra Leone. Critical to their case is the allegation that his staff gave the supermodel gems as a present after they ... Jump to full article >>

Heather Rae Thurier, the 23-year-old mother of two killed at the Stadium LRT station Friday, was shot over a cigarette, according to her family. “It was about a cigarette, it started over a cigarette. My family asked, him, the guy, for a cigarette,” said Thurier’s sister, Nicole Gladue. Gladue wasn’t there on Friday night when Thurier was killed, so she didn’t know how a simple request for a cigarette turned fatal for her sister ­— ... Jump to full article >>