Word: sierras
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When former Liberian president Charles Taylor appeared before the Special Court for Sierra Leone on Monday, initially refusing to recognize its authority before pleading not guilty, it marked the first phase in the trial of one of Africa's most wanted men. "The people of Sierra Leone have been waiting patiently for three years to see the accused finally face the trial chamber," said prosecutor Desmond de Silva. "Many voices have come together to uphold the rule of law and justice. The voice of the people of Sierra Leone was the loudest and I commend them for their courage, conviction...
...Within hours of taking custody of Taylor last week, the Special Court - an independent tribunal established jointly by Sierra Leone and the United Nations and mandated to bring to justice the leaders behind war crimes and atrocities committed during Sierra Leone's civil war-asked the Netherlands if it could hold Taylor's trial in The Hague. Prosecutor de Silva, as well as the leaders of neighboring African countries, believe that trying Taylor in Sierra Leone could destabilize the region. Taylor still has thousands of supporters, most of them unemployed former soldiers, in Liberia, which he ruled for seven years...
...have backed the Special Court's request to move Taylor to Europe-a place Taylor himself has said in the past he would prefer to be tried. The big donors are spending millions rebuilding Liberia and Sierra Leone and both understand the sensitivities of holding his trial in the region. The U.S. may have balked at the idea if it meant transferring jurisdiction to the International Criminal Court, which Washington does not support. But no matter where the actual trial is held, control of the case will stay with the Special Court, which Washington sees as a model for future...
...chance he might one day return to power. Hours after Taylor's arrest, Nigeria put the former leader on a presidential jet bound for Liberia. On a rain-soaked runway, Taylor was handed over to Liberian authorities, who passed him on to U.N. soldiers, who choppered him to Freetown, Sierra Leone. A few hours later, Taylor sat in a prison cell, his likely home for years to come...
...East Bay, cutting through the University of California, Berkeley, football stadium and skimming uncomfortably close to the Caldecott Tunnel, through which 153,000 cars pass daily. Major highways, including Interstate 80, cross the Hayward Fault, as do the pipelines that bring water down from the snow-clad Sierra. There are hundreds of privately owned structures in the fault zone, virtually all built before the state passed a tough earthquake-zoning...