A special tribunal has sentenced former Liberian president Charles Taylor to 50 years in prison for war crimes and crimes against humanity. The Special Court for Sierra Leone handed down its sentence Wednesday in The Hague, saying Taylor used his position to aid and abet rebels rather than to promote peace and stability. Prosecutors had […]
Tribunal Sentences Charles Taylor to 50 Years for War Crimes
Posted May 30th, 2012 at 5:50 am (UTC-5)
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Thai Court Convicts Web Editor in Free Speech Case
Posted May 30th, 2012 at 5:15 am (UTC-5)
A Thai court has convicted a website manager on computer crimes charges for failing to act quickly enough to remove online comments that were deemed offensive to the country’s monarchy. The Bangkok Criminal Court on Wednesday gave an eight-month suspended jail sentence to Chiranuch Premchaiporn for not respecting a court order to promptly remove the […]
British Court Upholds Extradition of WikiLeaks Founder
Posted May 30th, 2012 at 5:00 am (UTC-5)
Britain’s Supreme Court has ruled that Julian Assange, the Australian founder of the controversial website WikiLeaks, can be extradited from Britain to Sweden to face charges of sex crimes. Wednesday’s decision by the high court upholds earlier decisions made by two lower courts to extradite the 40-year-old Assange, who is wanted in Sweden on a […]
Annan Leaves Syria Without Government Steps to Implement Plan
Posted May 30th, 2012 at 3:50 am (UTC-5)
A U.N. official says international envoy Kofi Annan has left Syria without securing any major steps from the Syrian government to implement his faltering peace plan for the country. Speaking by phone from Damascus, U.N. spokeswoman Sausan Ghosheh told VOA that Mr. Annan flew out of Syria on Wednesday morning local time. The U.N.-Arab League […]
Thailand Convicts Web Editor in Free Speech Case
Posted May 30th, 2012 at 3:40 am (UTC-5)
A Thai court has convicted a website editor on computer crimes charges for failing to act quickly enough to remove online comments that were deemed offensive to the country’s monarchy. The Bangkok Criminal Court on Wednesday gave an eight-month suspended jail sentence to Chiranuch Premchaiporn for not respecting a court order to promptly remove the […]
Aung San Suu Kyi Meets with Burmese Migrants in Thailand
Posted May 30th, 2012 at 2:10 am (UTC-5)
Burma’s long-time democracy leader, Aung San Suu Kyi, is using her first international trip in 24 years to encourage impoverished Burmese migrant workers in Thailand. The opposition leader Wednesday addressed a crowd of thousands who packed a narrow street in Samut Sakhon province, an area south of Bangkok where many Burmese workers have fled to […]
Powerful Earthquake in Italy Kills 16
Posted May 30th, 2012 at 1:35 am (UTC-5)
((fixing number of dead in asset manager, typo in graf 2) A powerful earthquake in northern Italy has left at least 16 people dead, striking after another deadly quake in the same region earlier this month. Officials say 350 others were injured in the 5.8-magnitude quake Tuesday with the epicenter in the Emilia-Romagna region between […]
Chinese Activist Decries “Lawless” Nature of China
Posted May 30th, 2012 at 1:35 am (UTC-5)
Chinese activist Chen Guangcheng has written an opinion essay in The New York Times that calls on the Chinese government to investigate alleged mistreatment of his family and other dissidents. The self-trained lawyer who sought U.S. diplomatic protection after fleeing house arrest earlier this month said in the op-ed Wednesday that lawlessness is the “fundamental […]
Powerful Earthquake in Italy Kills 15
Posted May 30th, 2012 at 1:25 am (UTC-5)
A powerful earthquake in northern Italy has left at least 16 people dead, striking after another deadly quake in the same region earlier this month. Officials say 350 other were injured in the 5.8-magnitude quake Tuesday with the epicenter in the Emilia-Romagna region between the cities of Modena and Ferrara. The temblor was felt across […]
Aung San Suu Kyi Meeting with Burmese Migrants in Thailand
Posted May 30th, 2012 at 12:10 am (UTC-5)
Burma’s long-time democracy leader, Aung San Suu Kyi, is using her first international trip in 24 years to visit impoverished Burmese migrants in Thailand. The opposition leader’s schedule Wednesday includes a symbolic visit to Burmese workers in Samut Sakhon province, an area south of Bangkok where thousands from her country have fled to escape decades […]
