LA Times News

LA Times News

A day after Iraq's political breakthrough, bloc bolts parliament

Posted: 12 Nov 2010 12:00 AM PST

The walkout by Iyad Allawi's Iraqiya faction underscores the cloud of uncertainty that looms over the new government despite the accord that formed it.

Just a day after cutting a deal to end a lengthy impasse, Prime Minister Nouri Maliki's main political rivals walked out of parliament Thursday, illustrating the perils facing a government being built despite a near-complete absence of trust.

Pakistan suicide bombing kills 20

Posted: 12 Nov 2010 12:00 AM PST

Militants detonate explosives in a pickup truck at a police building in a heavily secured area of Karachi. The attack underscores the extremists' resilience despite military offensives.

A suicide truck bombing Thursday brought down a police building and surrounding structures in Pakistan's largest city, Karachi, killing at least 20 people in an attack that underscored the militants' resilience despite military offensives in their strongholds.

Netanyahu, Clinton discuss efforts to rescue Mideast peace talks

Posted: 11 Nov 2010 04:51 PM PST

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu says Israel wants to offer its own plan for resuscitating talks with Palestinians. Also discussed is the U.S.-Israel clash over Jewish construction in East Jerusalem.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton met for two hours in New York on Thursday as Israeli officials sought to develop their own proposal to rescue faltering Israeli-Palestinian peace talks.

As G-20 begins, Obama gets few concessions from other leaders

Posted: 11 Nov 2010 03:59 PM PST

Obama predicts that leaders will reach 'a broad-based consensus' on trade and currency issues, but the opening session of the summit offers little evidence that other nations are willing to help the U.S.

President Obama predicted that leaders of the world's most powerful economies will reach "a broad-based consensus" on trade and currency issues, despite sharp differences among member nations as the G-20 summit began Thursday.

Q&A: Iraqi Kurdistan leader Massoud Barzani

Posted: 11 Nov 2010 03:56 PM PST

Barzani discusses the deal on forming a new government in which he played a crucial role and what lies ahead for Kurdistan and for Iraq as a whole.

Massoud Barzani, president of the Kurdistan regional government in northern Iraq, was feeling triumphant. The onetime Kurdish fighter against Saddam Hussein's regime had hosted three days of talks and pushed through a deal Wednesday meant to end Iraq's eight-month political stalemate and form a stable government that could rule until elections planned for 2014. Even if the arrangement breaks down before a full government is seated — the secular Iraqiya bloc walked out of a parliamentary session Thursday, suggesting the difficult road ahead — Barzani will be remembered for his efforts to end the impasse. In an interview Thursday with The Times, Barzani made clear his insistence that the power-sharing agreement be honored by all sides, including by Prime Minister Nouri Maliki, who retains his post under the deal despite the fears of many that he is seeking to monopolize power.

Seoul Ford dealer is dealt a lemon as U.S.-South Korea trade agreement stalls

Posted: 11 Nov 2010 03:38 PM PST

The hard-driving salesman had high hopes that a deal would make it easier to sell American-made cars in South Korea. But two ashen-faced presidents had to admit failure, leaving the dealer crushed and keeping added taxes on foreign-made autos.

Song Myoung-geun is a hard-driving car dealer pushing Fords to South Korean buyers. He's so good at his job that last year he ranked third nationwide in personal sales for the U.S.-made vehicles.

Russian spy ring saga has a new twist

Posted: 12 Nov 2010 12:00 AM PST

A Russian newspaper reports that a mysterious agent betrayed the spies and defected to the U.S., and he may be subject to assassination. Some experts say it is a red herring as officials prepare to consolidate intelligence agencies.

A high-ranking intelligence officer betrayed Russia by exposing a secret spy ring operating in the United States until June and defecting, a newspaper reported Thursday.

U.S. fails to reach free-trade pact with South Korea

Posted: 11 Nov 2010 12:47 AM PST

Obama says he still hopes for an agreement in coming weeks and believes that American prosperity is crucial to other world economies.

Despite a furious round of negotiations the last few days, the U.S. failed Thursday to work out a free-trade agreement with South Korea, denying President Obama a deal he had hoped would be a strong kickoff to a key economic summit of world leaders.

China's inflation rate hits 25-month high

Posted: 10 Nov 2010 10:14 PM PST

The nation's consumer price index rises 4.4% in October compared with a year earlier. The government could put more measures in place to try to cool down the economy.

Led by soaring food prices, China's inflation rate shot up in October to a 25-month high, increasing pressure on the central government to rein in its overheated economy.