Blood diamond expert testifies against Charles Taylor THE HAGUE, Jan. 7 (Xinhua) -- A blood diamond expert was calledon Monday by the prosecution as the first witness to testify against former Liberian president Charles Taylor in his war crimestrial.

The U.N.-backed Special Court for Sierra Leone at The Hague on Monday resumed the war crimes trial of former Liberian President Charles Taylor.

Former Liberian President Charles Taylor, accused of orchestrating unspeakable atrocities during neighboring Sierra Leone's bloody civil war, goes on trial Monday - the first African leader to face justice at an international tribunal.

By Hordern, Nick "Diamonds are forever," so the slogan goes, whetting the appetite for the ultimate purchase. But are they rings on our fingers or blood on your hands? The makers of the new film, Blood Diamond, think it is the latter, reports Nick Hordern, the veteran British journalist/broadcaster.

THE film Blood Diamond tells how diamonds have been the cause of widespread death, destruction and misery in Sierra Leone. The soil of the small West African country has some of the richest diamond deposits in the world, and the stones can be excavated by hand.