The court was shown scenes of Ratko Mladic triumphantly entering Srebrenica

Video shown to the court in The Hague showed panicking civilians swamping UN trucks as Bosnian Serb forces neared.

Gen Mladic faces 11 charges, including genocide, over the 1992-95 Bosnian war. A not guilty plea was entered for him.

However, the presiding judge later adjourned the hearing indefinitely due to disclosure errors by prosecutors.

The judge, Alphons Orie, said judges were still analysing the “scope and full impact” of the errors.

Prosecuting counsel Peter McCloskey said that the crimes at Srebrenica had never been in dispute so the prosecution’s focus would be on individual criminal responsibility.

He said that the Bosnian Serb Army was not an “army out of control” and that Gen Mladic had been on the ground and in command.

“We have radio intercepts of VRS [Bosnian Serb] soldiers and officers discussing murders. We have video of two of the actual executions themselves. So let me be perfectly clear, the crime will not be the main focus of this prosecution. This case will be primarily about one issue. The individual criminal responsibility of Ratko Mladic,” he said.

The court watched video of local people panicking in a UN compound outside Srebrenica on 11 July 1995 as Bosnian Serb forces approached, followed by scenes of Gen Mladic triumphantly entering the town.

Speaking directly into the camera he says: “We give this town to the Serb nation as a gift. The time has come to take revenge on the Muslims.”

Gen Mladic has presented an alibi for a crucial period of three days that followed. But the prosecution say they do not accept that he was unaware of what was happening.

Another video playing in court showed Gen Mladic addressing a bus full of Muslims, telling them: “I am giving you your life as a gift.”

More footage showed Gen Mladic berating Dutch UN peacekeepers.

Mr McCloskey concluded by saying that Srebrenica “was a Bosnian genocide that we must never forget”.

During the evidence Gen Mladic listened intently, occasionally making notes.

The Srebrenica massacre was the worst atrocity in Europe since the end of World War II.

Serb fighters overran the enclave in eastern Bosnia – supposedly under the protection of Dutch UN peacekeepers. Bosniak (Bosnian Muslim) men and boys were separated off, shot dead and bulldozed into mass graves – later to be dug up and reburied in more remote spots.

Gen Mladic is also charged in connection with the 44-month siege of Sarajevo during which more than 10,000 people died.

On the first day of the trial on Wednesday, the prosecution at the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY) argued that Gen Mladic had intended to “ethnically cleanse” Bosnia.

Prosecuting counsel Dermot Groome said that by the time Gen Mladic and his troops had “murdered thousands in Srebrenica”, they were “well-rehearsed in the craft of murder”.

The trial had been scheduled to begin hearing evidence on 29 May.

However, at the end of Thursday’s hearing, Judge Orie said: “In light of the prosecution’s significant disclosure errors… the chamber hereby informs the parties that it has decided to suspend the start of the presentation of evidence.

“The chamber is still in the process of gathering information as to the scope and the full impact of this error. The chamber aims to announce the start date of the prosecutions evidence as soon as possible.”

Gen Mladic spent 15 years on the run before being apprehended by Serb forces last May and sent to The Hague.

The number of crimes of which he stands accused has been almost halved to speed up his trial.

Judicial authorities have rejected defence calls to delay proceedings, most recently a petition to have the Dutch presiding judge replaced on grounds of alleged bias.

Strong emotions

The case has stirred up strong emotions among watching survivors, with some shouting “murderer” and “killer” from the court gallery.

However, while Gen Mladic’s critics consider him a butcher, to some Serbs he is a national hero.

Gen Mladic suffered at least one stroke while in hiding and remains in frail health.

Some former Bosnian Serb commanders have already been convicted by the international court in connection with the Srebrenica killings.

In 2010 Vujadin Popovic and Ljubisa Beara were sentenced to life in prison. Five other defendants were jailed for between five and 35 years.

The architect of the Balkan wars, former Serbian President Slobodan Milosevic, died in detention in his cell in 2006, before receiving a verdict.

BBC News

Philippe Croizon completed the swim in under eight hours

Philippe Croizon swam from Papua New Guinea to Indonesia with long-distance swimmer Arnaud Chassery and a local man who joined them to show his support.

Mr Croizon, who uses prosthetic limbs with flippers attached, took seven-and-a-half hours to swim the stretch.

He lost his limbs 18 years ago while adjusting a TV aerial on a roof.

“It was very, very hard,” he said after the event, which involved crossing 20km (12 miles) between two points on New Guinea island which is shared between the two countries.

“It took us an hour-and-a-half more than we expected because we had to swim against the currents,” he said.

He said they did not come across any sharks or jellyfish, but were joined by a Papua New Guinean man named Zet Tampa, who swam with them to show solidarity, Mr Croizon tweeted.

The swim had been postponed as Mr Croizon waited for a permit to enter Indonesia, which he received late on Wednesday.

Electrocuted

In 1994, he lost his limbs after receiving an electric charge of 20,000 volts which fused him to the metal ladder on which he was standing.

He would have been killed instantly – but another massive electric charge snapped him back to life, although he was so seriously burnt that both his arms and his legs had to be amputated.

He says he was inspired to swim while in hospital. He saw a documentary on television about an Englishwoman who had swum the English Channel earlier that year.

In 2010, he became the first limbless man to cross the 34km Channel between France and England – a feat that has only been achieved by some 900 other, able-bodied, swimmers.

The other crossings he has planned are: the shark-infested Gulf of Aqaba in Jordan to the Egyptian coast in June (the Asia to Africa stretch); the busy shipping straits between Gibraltar and Morocco in July (Africa-Europe); in August, the icy Bering Strait between Alaska and Russia.

BBC News

George Zimmerman

Mr Zimmerman was examined the day after February’s fatal shooting, reports said, giving details of the findings.

He has always maintained he acted in self-defence on the night he shot and killed Trayvon Martin.

He denies a charge of second-degree murder, and is currently free on bail.

According to documents obtained ABC News that are expected to be used by his defence in the event of a trial, Mr Zimmerman reported to a family doctor for a medical examination the morning after the shooting.

He was described as having a “closed fracture” of his nose and two lacerations on the back of his head, as well as the black eyes.

Previous evidence of an altercation between Trayvon Martin and Mr Zimmerman was limited to police CCTV footage from when the neighbourhood watch volunteer was brought to a police station after the shooting.

Footage released from his arrival showed what appeared to be blemishes on the back of his close-shaven head.

After being released without being arrested or charged that night, Mr Zimmerman visited the doctor the next morning seeking clearance to return to work, it is reported.

Correspondents say the medical report appears to bolster Mr Zimmerman’s claims of self-defence, and is in line with previous statements made by his family.

‘Fighting for his life’

In another development, CNN reported that an post-mortem examination of Trayvon Martin showed that the teenager had marks on his knuckles when he was shot.

The Martin family lawyer, Benjamin Crump, told CNN that finding was not a surprise.

“He was fighting for his life. Let’s not forget that Trayvon Martin was fighting a man with a 9mm gun. We also have to remember that he didn’t start this fight. George Zimmerman got out his car and pursued Trayvon Martin.”

Florida police did not arrest Mr Zimmerman for six weeks after the shooting. Under the state’s controversial “stand your ground” law the use of lethal force is allowed if a person feels seriously under threat.

The exact sequence of events leading to the teenager’s death on 26 February remains hotly debated.

A series of emergency calls made by George Zimmerman emerged in the weeks after the killing, and a friend of Trayvon Martin said she heard screams while on the phone to the 17-year-old.

But a much wider cache of evidence, including medical records and CCTV footage, is expected to be scrutinised if the case goes to trial.

BBC News

BBC's Mike Wooldridge: "The prosecutor said Ratko Mladic was implementing a plan to exterminate non-Serbs"

Gen Mladic faces 11 counts of war crimes and crimes against humanity, including genocide, in connection with the brutal 1992-95 Bosnian war.

Prosecutors in The Hague said they would show his hand in the crimes.

He has called the accusations “monstrous” and the court has entered a not guilty plea on his behalf.

Gen Mladic is accused of orchestrating the massacre of more than 7,000 Bosniak (Bosnian Muslim) boys and men at Srebrenica in 1995.

He is also charged in connection with the 44-month siege of Sarajevo during which more than 10,000 people died.

‘Criminal endeavour’

Gen Mladic, dressed in a dark grey suit, applauded and gave a thumbs-up as the judges walked in.

The prosecution opened the hearing at the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY) with an audio-visual presentation laying out the case against Gen Mladic.

Prosecuting counsel Dermot Groome said they would prove Gen Mladic’s hand in the crimes.

“Four days ago marked two decades since Ratko Mladic became the commander of the main staff of the army of Republika Srpska – the VRS,” he said.

“On that day, Mladic began his full participation in a criminal endeavour that was already in progress. On that day, he assumed the mantle of realising through military might the criminal goals of ethnically cleansing much of Bosnia. On that day, he commenced his direct involvement in serious international crimes.”

Mr Groome said that by the time Gen Mladic and his troops had “murdered thousands in Srebrenica”, they were “well-rehearsed in the craft of murder”.

He then showed judges video of the aftermath of a notorious shelling of a market in the Bosnian capital Sarajevo, in which dozens of people died.

Mr Groome said there was “no doubt” that Gen Mladic had controlled the shelling of Sarajevo. He had promised that the city would shake, the prosecutor said.

Mr Groome said the attacks were part of an “overarching” plan to ethnically cleanse non-Serbs from parts of Bosnia.

Gen Mladic has been awaiting trial in the same prison as his former political leader Radovan Karadzic, who was arrested in 2008 and is now about half-way through his trial on similar charges to Gen Mladic.

Mr Groome said Radovan Karadzic’s choice of Gen Mladic was not random but because he could help to achieve the strategic goals of Bosnian Serbs.

At one point, presiding Judge Alphons Orie told Gen Mladic to focus on the court proceedings and not take part in “inappropriate interaction” with people in the public gallery.

Mr Groome said crimes of sexual violence had played an integral part of the process of “taking over and ethnically cleansing Bosnia”.

“While women were most often targeted for such crimes of terrible violation, men were also victims,” he said.

In the third and final session of the day, the prosecution highlighted the role of snipers in Sarajevo, showing images of a child shot dead on a street and pictures taken from sniper nests overlooking the besieged city.

The trial was later adjourned until Thursday.

During the proceedings, members of the Mothers of Srebrenica group held a vigil outside the court.

A Bosniak survivor of the Serb-run detention camps at Omarska and Manjaca in northern Bosnia said he was glad to be at the opening day of Gen Mladic’s trial.

“It’s the first time I’ve seen this man, today, the man responsible for genocide and war crimes in Bosnia-Hercegovina together with Karadzic as political leader,” Satko Mujagic told the BBC.

“To be able to see him where he belongs and especially because of my own history being detained completely illegally as a civilian young boy in Omarska and Manjaca for 200 days.”

Judicial authorities have rejected defence calls to delay proceedings, most recently a petition to have Dutch Judge Orie replaced on grounds of alleged bias.

However, even as the trial began, there were further indications it would be delayed.

Judge Orie said the court was considering postponing the presentation of evidence – due to start on 29 May – due to “errors” by the prosecution in disclosing evidence to the defence.

Mr Groome said he would not oppose a “reasonable adjournment”.

Gen Mladic spent 15 years on the run before being apprehended by Serb forces last May and sent to The Hague.

The number of crimes of which he stands accused has been almost halved to speed up his trial.

Outbursts

Gen Mladic is accused of committing genocide and other crimes against Bosniaks (Bosnian Muslims) and Bosnian Croats in a campaign of ethnic cleansing that began in 1992 and climaxed in Srebrenica in 1995.

Then, Serb fighters overran the Srebrenica enclave in eastern Bosnia – supposedly under the protection of Dutch UN peacekeepers. Men and boys were separated off, shot dead and bulldozed into mass graves – later to be dug up and reburied in more remote spots.

These were the worst atrocities in Europe since the end of World War II.

Pre-trial hearings have been characterised by ill-tempered outbursts from Gen Mladic, who has heckled the judge and interrupted proceedings.

“The whole world knows who I am,” he said at a hearing last year.

“I am General Ratko Mladic. I defended my people, my country… now I am defending myself.”

The case has stirred up strong emotions among watching survivors, with some shouting “murderer” and “killer” from the court gallery.

However, while Gen Mladic’s critics consider him a butcher, to some Serbs he is a national hero.

Gen Mladic suffered at least one stroke while in hiding and remains in frail health.

The architect of the Balkan wars, former Serbian President Slobodan Milosevic, died in detention in his cell in 2006, before receiving a verdict.

BBC News