LA Times News

LA Times News

In Jordan, a bookstore devoted to forbidden titles

Posted: 15 Nov 2010 12:00 AM PST

Banned books — on sex, politics, religion — are a specialty at Sami Abu Hossein's shop in Amman. 'We have them,' he says with a grin, 'but don't tell anyone.'

At Sami Abu Hossein's cramped bookstore, the hundred or so book titles listed on a wall aren't bestsellers. They're banned.

Netanyahu lobbies his Cabinet on U.S. peace talk incentives

Posted: 15 Nov 2010 12:00 AM PST

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu presents his ministers with a multibillion-dollar incentive package from the U.S. to reopen peace talks with Palestinian leaders. He may have difficulty in winning their approval.

Under pressure from the Obama administration, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu began nudging his Cabinet on Sunday toward accepting a multibillion-dollar package of U.S. incentives to restart peace talks with Palestinians.

Lebanon arrests radical Islamist cleric Omar Bakri

Posted: 15 Nov 2010 12:00 AM PST

Bakri is reportedly 'under lock and key' after a car chase with gunfire. He was sentenced last week to a life term for his role in a lethal 2007 conflict between Fatah Islam and Lebanese security.

Authorities arrested a radical Lebanese cleric Sunday after a car chase punctuated by gunfire. Days earlier, Omar Bakri had been convicted on charges of inciting a bloody months-long confrontation between the government and an Al Qaeda-linked militant group.

5 NATO troops slain in Afghanistan

Posted: 15 Nov 2010 12:00 AM PST

The troops die in incidents in the south and east, making it the most lethal day for Western troops in a month. Also, militants free an Afghan diplomat held for two years and seven Afghans die in other attacks.

The Western military on Sunday suffered its most lethal day in a month in Afghanistan, with five troops killed in the south and east, the NATO force said.

Aung San Suu Kyi speaks to joyous crowds in Myanmar

Posted: 15 Nov 2010 12:00 AM PST

Thousands cheer newly freed Nobel laureate Aung San Suu Kyi. The opposition leader urges them to make their voices heard and says she's willing to open a dialogue with the regime.

A day after her release from detention, opposition leader and Nobel Peace Prize laureate Aung San Suu Kyi on Sunday met dozens of ambassadors, hundreds of journalists and thousands of Myanmar citizens, underscoring the importance of dialogue, strength and determination in the battle for democracy in her country.

Obama tells Medvedev he'll make nuclear treaty a priority

Posted: 13 Nov 2010 11:46 PM PST

The pressure is on to get the treaty OKd in the Senate's lame duck session, before Republicans swell their ranks in the chamber next year.

President Obama made one departing promise as he wrapped up his meeting with world leaders here Sunday, telling his Russian counterpart that he will make approval of their nuclear agreement a top priority in the final days of the Democratic Congress.

Nepal's political stalemate drags on

Posted: 14 Nov 2010 12:00 AM PST

It's been four months since the prime minister resigned, but the fractious parliament has been unable to elect a new leader after 16 attempts. With parties at loggerheads, some fear that the nascent democracy has become an exercise in futility.

Voters in every country get frustrated with politicians, but Nepalese have especially good reason to roll their eyes.