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>> the former president of liberia sentenced to 50 years in jail for his part in orchestrating crimes against humanity in neighboring sierra leone. he is likely to appeal, but the judge spelled out just how serious the court regards his crimes. >> the rate of childhood, the rape of innocence, possibly the rape of hope. >> hello,g and welcome, gmt." i'm george alagiah. the wikileaks founder loses his latest appeal at the british should preen court. he is fighting extradition to

sweden on sexual assault charges. mitt romney finally secured the right to fight president barack obama after a long and grueling primary contest. it is midday in london, 7:00 in the morning in washington and 1:00 in the afternoon at the hague, where former president of liberia charles taylor was jailed for 50 years for aiding and abetting war crimes in sierra leone. the landmark ruling marks the first time a former head of state has been found guilty of war crimes since the trials of nazis after the second world war. the judge described his crimes as some of the most heinous and human history. mark doyle has the latest. >> when charles taylor arrived in court, he knew there was no precedent in modern times for sentencing a former head of state. but if mr. taylor had hoped it

might help him, he was wrong. >> the trial chamber risk -- wishes to underscore the gravity of mr. taylor's betrayal of public trust, which outweighs the distinction that might of the way to obtain through the liability discussed above. >> the judge spoke of a new era of accountability, effectively saying -- because charles taylor had been a powerful man in africa, he should have shown more responsibility. >> mr. taylor, for the foregoing reasons, the chamber unanimously sentences you to a single term of imprisonment of 50 years. >> accord reminded the world of some of the terrible crime committed by the rebels mr. taylor back sincerely own. the capital freetown was invaded. the hallmark atrocity was hacking off people's limbs as a terrible warning to anyone who opposed them and supported the

elected government. there are scars, the judge said, that one level -- never hear the deal. >> the impact is devastating. amputees without arms have to live on charity because they can no longer work. young girls who had been publicly stigmatized and will never recover from the trauma of rape sexual slavery to which they were subjected. >> mr. taylor could only sit and listen. his defense team had never denied terrible crimes were committed in sierraat issue, thr mr. taylor had directed them. that was an argument the judge directed. -- rejected. the stories of the victims would be told. and the man the judge just found this possible for their plight was there to hear them. mark doyle, bbc news.

>> now, our correspondent joins me from the hague. allen, this was about sentencing today but the judge going to great length to describe why this man is going to be put away for 50 years. >> absolutely. he went into great detail about the horrific crimes committed by the rebels in sierra leone. some just too gruesome to mention. among them, carving initials into the head so could not escape. the press is just ending. charles taylor's lawyer has been giving a press conference and also the chief prosecutor -- saying 50 years is not enough and they are also planning also to appeal against that sentenced to try to get closer to the maximum term of 80 years. >> presumably we can take it for

granted that charles taylor's team will be appealing and we will see him back in court. >> yes, absolutely. he has been saying charles taylor never actually set foot in sierra leone during the course of the conflict, so it was really impossible for him to defend himself on that basis. they also mentioned the mitigating circumstances that they asked the judges to take into consideration. charles taylor had children, the father of 14, and he was involved to some extent in the peace process. but the judge discounted all of that, because of the aiding and abetting the rebels, he deserves 50 years and we expect he will serve that in a jail. >> this court case right across the world, in particular, the continent of africa. what are people saying about the

legacy of leadership and africa? >> the human-rights groups here say it sends a clear message to other world leaders that they can no longer act with impunity, that the world is watching them. international justice has a court to bring them to justice. some say, well, this is a good thing for justice but actually for the victims in sierra leone, they are not really watching this. they've got more to worry about than whether or not charles taylor is found guilty or how long he is sentenced to. they are only speaking for a few people. but this is more about the international message that this sentence sends out. >> thank you very much. dave lucas some of the other stories making headlines around the world. mr. romney has finally triumphed in his blood battle to secure his party's nomination to face barack obama in the u.s.

presidential race. he now faces a five-month spread to convince voters he is the man to leave their country. it has been a long road but mitt romney has shown he is nothing if not determined that all indications are that americans face the possibility of a cliffhanger election in november. the report from washington. >> i mitt romney. i believe in america. and i am running for president of the united states. >> since he launched his run in new hampshire, it has been a year-long of bruising campaign. tough challenges from more conservative candidates. but it is the former governor of massachusetts who failed in his bid four years ago, who came out on top. in the process, he made history. becoming the first mormon nominee of a major party. his father, george romney, ran unsuccessfully for the republican nomination in 1968. while texas voted, mr. romney

spent the day campaigning in colorado and nevada, a key swing states that could decide november postelection. he kept the attack on president obama's handling of the economy. >> he has been a big disappointment, hasn't he? >> later he attended a private fund raising in las vegas with billionaire tycoon donald trump. earlier he had repeated discredit claims that president obama then not have been born in america. the obama campaign quickly pounced on mr. romney for not disavowing donald trump. mr. romney would only say he believes his arrival was born in the u.s. with opinion polls showing romney and obama neck and neck, this promises to be not only an historic election, but a bitter and expensive one. bbc news, washington. >> talking to john zogby the program that on how mr. romney was able to deflect early

critics. china and russia not convince military action is needed and syria as both reinforce their position ahead of the u.n. security council briefing later today. there have been more reports of fresh shelling in the city of homs today after an international peace envoy kofi annan warned of a to pinpoint following the massacre of more than 100 civilians in the town of houla. a gruesome find in the canadian capital ottawa. police say the package containing a blood soaked human foot was sent to the headquarters of the canadian conservative party. officials have since confirmed the discovery of another body part believed to be a hand in a parcel inspected in the post. wikileaks founded julian assange is to be extradited to sweden to face allegations of rape and sexual assault after losing an appeal of the supreme court in london.

judges voted 5-2 in a majority decision, ruling the swedish prosecutor is a valid judicial authority. his legal team is expected to launch a final appeal to the european court of human rights in strasbourg. nicholas phillips, the president of the supreme court, delivered the verdict. >> the majority has concluded that the swedish public prosecutor was a judicial authority within the meaning of the extradition act. it follows that the request to mr. assange's extradition was lawfully made and his appeal against extradition is accordingly dismissed. >> let's get the latest outside the supreme court. incredibly complicated legally, so you better just start briefly, if you can, with a lesson about what it is all about. >> ongoing case full of twists and turns and legal conundrums.

quite extraordinary. hundreds of journalists out here earlier trying to make sense out of exactly what happened. in essence, the supreme court judges have, as you just heard, dismissed julian assange's appeal. therefore meaning that he should in theory be extradited back to sweden to face two charges -- one of rape and one of sexual assault. however, in an unprecedented turn of events, his lawyer, who had only seen the judgment an hour and half before it was read out -- normally a week or so -- stood up and she said to the judges, i am sorry, we are not prepared to accept this. the reason is, you have taken a number of factors into account making your reasoning but one of the crucial factors yet taken into account we did not have time to address during the legal proceedings. and as a result, we deserve a stay, if you like, so we can figure out whether or not we could put together a submission

that would be either oral or written back here at the supreme court to argue that julian assange's kasich should be reopened. the upshot to all of this is julian assange will not be extradited for the next 14 days. his legal team has that time to put together be heard here. they have not said whether they will definitely do it but, let's face it, the chances are they will. >> thank you for that. and the wider context, of course, is julian assange's supporters would argue and have been arguing does this is a man who has been picked on because of his establishment-busting tactics. >> absolutely. the interesting thing is, julian assange does not deny he had sex with these two women but what he is saying is it is consensual. all throughout this appeals process -- and this is the last

point of appeal in the u.k. -- he and his supporters have said that there is, as you say, a wider context, and that is that his website, wikileaks, has published a vast amounts of information as various governments throughout the world, particularly the united states, has found in their reston, and as a result -- found embarrassing, and as a result pressure is being brought to bear and the pressure, it is actually politically motivated and nothing to do with the criminal charges. >> thank you very much. still to come -- almost three decades after the world's worst industrial disaster, we look at the tragedy that caused india to boycott the olympic games in london.

some concern -- the number of our pilots can fly putting safety at risk. a single will cross europe -- the british officials say the proposals are weaker than current regulations in the u.k. and could mean pilots having to land the plane after being awake for 22 hours. here is our transport correspondent. >> a big issue for u.k. pilots and one survey, more than half say they have fallen asleep by mistake while on the flight deck and a third of those will up to find the co-pilot as little as well. the eu wants a single set of rules governing pilot flying hours across europe. this report says the current proposal actually sets a lower standard than the one we have already got across the u.k. >> it is very concerning that the situation is going to deteriorate. at the moment we have the regulations.

certainly cannot be objection if of the people have to come up to our standards, but there is a concern we may have to know where standards, and it could jeopardize aviation safety. in extreme circumstances, the proposed new rules could allow pilots to land plays -- planes after being awake for 22 hours. but these are still only proposals. it could be more than a year before any new law is actually passed. the government says it will not support anything until it is approved by the u.k. sector -- safety regulator, caa. >> a court in thailand -- suspended eight-month prison sentence for hosting hosting against the monarchy on a news website. the judge said the verdict was based on one particular post left on the site for 20 days. it was classed as a computer

crime but the case was seen as a test of freedom of expression. this is bbc world news. i'm george alagiah. the headlines -- liberia's former president charles taylor is sentenced to 50 years in prison. the judge says he was responsible for some of the worst atrocities in history. julian assange loses his appeal to avoid extradition to sweden to face charges of rape and sexual assault. the business news -- aaron is here. the member countries -- getting their marks. >> and report card on all 27 member states of the european union. this is our woodworks. it assesses each one individually on things like employment policies or banks unemployment problems, and looked at budgetary policies or,

for example, if a member state is spending too much, structure will reforms, possible growth measures they have in place, and then it issues recommendations. there is one of the problems, they are only recommendations but not really enforced at all. but we do know things like commission is telling italy it has to do more to combat tax evasion, telling the belgians and hasted tell its people to work longer and also telling them to open up the energy sector to more competition. but here is the real problem, george. yes, the commission to highlight the failings and can pinpoint the failings but when it comes to supporting some of the troubled members, it has very little support. listen to this one. >> it is really kind of both encouraging carrot and stick. telling them where they need to improve. the difficulty is, in the case of countries like spain, they can analyze what is going on, this terrible overhang from the property collapse, the vast sums that have to go into schuring of

the regional governments. this is a very big issue in spain. but what they are not able to say is, look, here are several billion to tide you over. >> if you told me in the past an incredible company samsung is. but a federal -- family feud right of a soap opera. >> of historic proportions. mentioning the names samsung, one of asia's richest and most powerful business elites. the founder left no will. one of his sons has been basically held responsible for turning samsung into what it is today. let me remind everybody, samsung started as a small exporting business from exporting dried fish and produce. really. now one of the biggest electronics giants. it makes more mobile phones and television than any other

company on the planet. in fact, george, and south korea you could be born and die and a samsung hospital. this is how big this corporation is. but the chairman, because of the know will issue, is now being sued by his very own older brother. let us take a listen to our correspondent on the ground. >> samsung is business will to hear -- this could compete with the best of the countries tv soap operas. allegations of secret shares left by the founder have sparked a rare public feud in the samsung family. three family members so far accused the current samsung chairman of taking their portions that have demanded shares of a company worth around 1 billion u.s. dollars. >> the gloves are off with the family. a billion dollars in the grand scheme of things of samsung, a drop in the bucket. >> thank you. thousands of migrant workers greeted to burmese opposition

leader aung san suu kyi at the first trip abroad in years. she told the crowd that she hoped economic conditions would soon be ripe to return. she had previously refused to leave burma, fearing the authorities would stop her from going back. from thailand, here is our correspondent, john f. fisher -- jonah fisher. >> after of this historic trip away, no chance she would feel homesick. thousands back to the street for a chance to hear a woman whose long lead defiance inspired some money. this is the first morning aung san suu kyi spent outside burma in 24 years. typical of the woman that she decided to spend it here, among burmese migrant workers. inside a community center, she spoke with a few of the several million burmese workers who live

in thailand. often used as cheap labor and exploited, she told them -- they needed to be aware of their legal rights and hope they would return soon. >> all of them say one thing, they want to go back to burma as soon as possible. that is part of our responsibility. i said everybody have a voice -- has a responsibility, they have a responsibility, we have a responsibility to create the kind of country to which all our people can return whenever they wish. >> the fish factory workers, drivers, and cleaners -- for them to go back, barbara's year of political reform must turn to jobs and economic growth. most decided to wait to see if opportunities to arise. >> whenever i go home, a return to thailand because i get more money here.

>> if aung san suu kyi becomes the leader of burma, there will be lots of jobs and we will not need to go abroad, like we do now. >> it will take time, but this trip is further proof that progress can be made. bbc news, thailand. >> with the london olympics just 58 days away, campaigners in india are keeping up the pressure for indian athletes to boycott the games. they are formally -- firmly against u.s. and that children doubt, will be one of the sponsors, whose indian subsidiary was irresponsible for one of the world's worst industrial disasters, the 1984 gas leak. the tragedy still provokes a deep anger. >> early morning training for the bophal team, once a recruiting ground for the international squad.

the coach, one of his players, on track to play at the olympics, until the night lead the gas from the union carbide plant descended on his home. the world's worst industrial disaster cast its shadow to this day. the columns that spew the gas cloud to the toxic cloud still stand. the wind in the trees, which had decades to grow tall. even toxic chemicals left in no laboratory, as they were in 1984. just the fact that this plant is still here nearly 30 years

later was not even the beginnings of a clinic is one reason why the disaster still provokes so much anger and widespread feeling that justice has still not been done. the next door slums choked to death have grown larger. this person lost a daughter to the gas and her husband was left permanently disabled and now he has cancer. the compensation money ran out years ago. if he died today, i cannot pay for his funeral. look at us -- even dogs and cats have a better life. ever since it bought union carbide, dow chemical has been under pressure to pay out more compensation. it insists it has no liability and the law is on its side. but the olympics are the ship has given protestors a target. unless the company is dropped,

they say india should he boycott the games. >> we are asking to do the right thing for the people, to stand out -- 25,000 dead and say, and no, we will not possess a great if the corporation sponsors. >> india wants the world to { in and most want to be at the london olympics, but bophal will not let go. >> before we take a break, a reminder of our top story here -- the former president of liberia charles taylor has been jailed for 50 years for war crimes from the special court on sierra leone at the hague. the judge characterized the crimes as among the most heinous in human history, including murder, rape, and enslavement. the judge -- taylor showed no remorse for his crimes. he will spend his time in jail, at least of the 50 years, in a

british jail, but he is likely to appeal. that is all for the moment. stay with us because there is plenty more to come here on bbc world news. >> make sense of international news at bbc.com/news. >> funding was made possible by the freeman foundation of new york, stowe, vermont, and honolulu. newman's own foundation. and union bank. >> at union bank, our relationship managers work hard to know your business, offering specialized solutions and capital to help you meet your growth objectives. we offer expertise and tailored solutions for small businesses and major corporations.

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