Judges uphold Charles Taylor's jail sentence

Hague judges confirm 50 year jail sentence of ex-Liberian president for war crimes and crimes against humanity.

Judges at the Hague have upheld the 50-year jail sentence of former Liberian President Charles Taylor for aiding murderous rebels in Sierra Leone's civil war. Taylor, 65, had earlier been found guilty by the Special Court for Sierra Leone on April 26, 2012, of 11 counts of war crimes and crimes against humanity including terrorism, murder, rape and using child soldiers. He was sentenced to 50 years in prison. Judges at the Special Court for Sierra Leone (SCSL) on Thursday rejected Taylor's appeal against his earlier conviction. "The trial and judgment of Charles Taylor sets out a clear marker that even those at the highest levels of power can be held to account,'' Elise Keppler, associate international justice director at Human Rights Watch said in a statement. "The Taylor trial, and the Sierra Leone Special Court's work overall, have made a major contribution to justice for brutal crimes committed during Sierra Leone's conflict.'' Gruesome attacks About 50,000 people died in the 11-year civil war that ended in 2002. Thousands more were left mutilated in a conflict that became known for the extreme cruelty of rival rebel groups who gained international notoriety for hacking off the limbs of their victims and carving their groups' initials into opponents. The rebels developed gruesome terms for the mutilations that became their chilling trademark: They would offer their victims the choice of "long sleeves'' or "short sleeves'' - having their hands hacked off or their arms sliced off above the elbow. Taylor was convicted not only of aiding and abetting Sierra Leone rebels from Liberia, but also for actually planning some of the attacks carried out by Sierra Leone rebel group, the Revolutionary United Front and the Armed Forces Revolutionary Council. Taylor's trial was moved from the Special Court of Sierra Leone's headquarters in the capital, Freetown, to the Netherlands because of fears it could destabilise the West African region if held in Sierra Leone. The Taylor appeals ruling is the final judgment at the court, which indicted 13 of the main architects of the atrocities in Sierra Leone. Two died before trial and one more remains unaccounted for and possibly dead. Another died before hearing a verdict and all the others were tried and convicted

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Light shed on Michelle Obama hacking case

Cybercriminal system used to hack major databases and access millions of Americans' personal information exposed.

Jay Z [-]

An investigation by an independent journalist has revealed how computer hackers were able to access the personal information of several US public figures, including First Lady Michelle Obama, US media reports. On Wednesday, independent journalist Brian Krebs published an investigation which exposed how hackers infiltrated major data aggregators and collected Social Security numbers, birth records, credit card and background reports of millions of Americans, the Washington Post reported. According to Krebs' investigation, the hackers had access to LexisNexis, the world's largest electronic database of legal and public record information, for months, as well as to other US-based electronic databases, enabling them to collect the information about millions of people. They then sold the collected personal data on the Website ssndob.com, which markets itself on underground cybercrime forums as a service that customers can use to look up Social Security numbers, birthdays and other personal data on any US resident. Available on ssndob.com, the personal information of Michelle Obama - as well as other public figures such as CIA Director John Brennan, then-FBI Director Robert Mueller and performers Beyonce and Jay Z - was collected by other hackers and republished online. The FBI confirmed to Krebs they were looking into the breaches, and a vice-president at LexisNexis parent company Reed Elsevier told him the company "identified an intrusion targeting our data but to date has found no evidence that customer or consumer data were reached or retrieved", but because it is the subject of an active investigation couldn't provide any further information. Other companies were less willing to discuss the issue but both told Krebs how data security is a company priority. FBI Spokesperson Lindsay Godwin confirmed to Krebs that the FBI is "aware of and investigating this case".LexisNexis confirmed that the compromises appear to have begun in April of this year, adding that it found "no evidence that customer or consumer data were reached or retrieved" but that it was still investigating the extent of the intrusion

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Rights groups Say Sudan police shot to kill

Two groups say more than 50 killed in protests over fuel prices, with police aiming at "protesters' chests and heads".

Protesters vandalised banks and gas stations throughout Khartoum [Reuters

Two leading rights groups say Sudanese police have killed at least 50 people during protests in the last week, often "shooting to kill". A statement released by Amnesty International and the African Center for Justice and Peace Studies late on Thursday urged authorities to end violent repression of the protesters. Lucy Freeman, Amnesty's deputy chief for Africa, said the police's "aiming at protesters' chests and heads" is a "blatant violation of the right to life". Information from Sudan is starting to flow out today after a 24 hour internet blackout. Only about five newspapers reached kiosks on Thursday, carrying mainly statements from First Vice President Ali Osman Taha denouncing violence during the protests.  Editors at three newspapers said they had either been prevented from publishing by security agents or had decided not to print to protest against state attempts to steer coverage. Youth activists and doctors at a Khartoum hospital have told The Associated Press news agency that at least 100 people died since protests first broke out on Monday. The clashes are the worst unrest seen in Sudan's central regions for years. Terroristic actions "The demonstrations have turned out to be some kind of terroristic actions against the people more than the government, some sort of looting and burning gas stations and cars of the people and some areas the belong to the government and to the people as well," Ahmed Bilal Osman, Sudanese Minister of Information, told Al Jazeera. "It is not a demonstration, it is a sort of spreading chaos." Many petrol stations were torched in the violence [Reuters] On Thursday, the streets of Khartoom appeared calm as people stayed away from work and schools remained closed. Long queues were forming at petrol stations. Fear of shortages came a day after many petrol stations were torched during violent protests. The state-linked Sudanese Media Centre said schools in Khartoum state would be shut until Sept. 30. Students have been at the forefront of previous rounds of anti-government protests. President Omar Hassan al-Bashir, who came to power in a 1989 coup, has been spared the sort of Arab Spring uprising that unseated autocratic rulers in states from Tunisia to Yemen since 2011, but anger has risen after the government announced another set of fuel subsidy cutbacks, causing pump prices to almost double overnight. The cuts have been driven by a severe financial crunch since the secession of oil-producing South Sudan in 2011, which deprived Khartoum of three-quarters of the crude output it relied on for state revenues and dollars used to import food

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