I’m only now catching up on the many Liberia-related articles that have been published in the past week following the start of Charles Taylor’s trial. A bunch of them have good original reporting. Here are my favorites:

• Ruthie Ackerman’s article in The Nation on the reintegration of ex-combatants. She highlights the corruption in the Disarmament, Demobilization, Rehabilitation and Reintegration (DDRR) process.
• Mike Corder’s AP article. Corder talks about trial evidence showing that a jet formerly used by the Seattle Supersonics NBA team was used to smuggle Ukrainian weapons into Liberia during the war.
• The Trial of Charles Taylor website. The site continues to post trial transcripts and commentary. This transcript of the cross-examination of a prosecution witness shows how complicated it can be to translate a rural West African concept of time with the dates and numbers that are needed for an accurate narrative of events to be determined.