A round -up of today's other world news stories in brief ...
UN court convicts rebels of war crimes
FREETOWN – The UN- backed Special Court for Sierra Leone convicted three rebel leaders yesterday of crimes against humanity and war crimes during the country's 1991 to 2002 civil war.
Issa Hassan Sesay, Morris Kallon and Augustine Gbao, the most senior surviving commanders of the Revolutionary United Front, were found guilty of most, but not all, of the 18 individual counts against them.
Yesterday’s verdict was the third collective judgment handed down by the court.
The first court of its kind, it was set up in 2002 to try those accused of the most serious crimes during a war that killed 50,000. – (Reuters)
Chinese bronzes sell for 31m
PARIS – Two bronze sculptures once owned by Yves Saint Laurent that are claimed by China sold at auction for more than €31 million yesterday.
The two historic sculptures, representing the head of a rat and the head of a rabbit, were bought for €15,745,000 each by a phone bidder on the final evening of the auction of the late designer’s art collection. – (Reuters)
Labour lord jailed over fatal crash
SHEFFIELD – A Labour member of the UK House of Lords, Lord Ahmed of Rotherham, was jailed for 12 weeks yesterday after admitting sending texts while driving shortly before his car ploughed into another car on the M1 motorway in the north of England, killing its driver.
The judge described his texting as “prolonged, deliberate, repeated and highly dangerous”, though it was not directly linked to the incident. – (Guardian service)
Yemen ‘privileges’ for Russia warships
MOSCOW – Yemen said yesterday it would offer “every privilege” to Russian warships tackling pirates off its coast and that it wanted to buy Russian arms.
Russian military experts and senior officials have also speculated that Yemen could be one of several regional states to host Russian naval bases in the Indian Ocean and the Mediterranean. – (Reuters)
Iraqi lawmaker accused of attacks
BAGHDAD – Iraqi lawmakers yesterday lifted the immunity of a Sunni legislator, paving the way for his arrest on charges of orchestrating a series of sectarian murders and attacks, including a suicide bombing in parliament.
Lawmaker Mohammed al-Daini has been accused by the Shia-led government of Iraqi prime minister Nouri al-Maliki of ordering car bombings, mortar attacks and mass murders during the height of the violence unleashed after the 2003 US invasion. – (Reuters)
Mumbai attacks suspects charged
MUMBAI – Police charged the man they say is the lone surviving gunman in last year’s Mumbai attacks with “waging war” against India and included two Pakistani soldiers among 37 others charged yesterday.
Laying out the first formal charges in the case, prosecutor Ujjwal Nikam said those named included Indians and Pakistanis who are accused of planning and abetting the attacks. – (Reuters)