LA Times News

LA Times News

Afghan attack gives U.S. troops reason to be thankful at Thanksgiving

Posted: 26 Nov 2010 12:00 AM PST

In Kunar province, U.S. forces recall a fiery insurgent attack on their base as they mark the holiday with a feast.

The insurgent took what he must have thought was a lucky shot. His rocket-propelled grenade smashed into a bladder full of 63,000 gallons of diesel fuel, sending a fireball 1,000 feet skyward, destroying 10 "mine-resistant ambush-protected" vehicles and raining metal over the base.

Sadr sees star rise again in Iraq

Posted: 25 Nov 2010 05:51 PM PST

The radical Shiite cleric's move to support Prime Minister Maliki's bid for a second term has reaped him a political windfall, netting key posts and release from jail for his supporters.

Anti-U.S. cleric Muqtada Sadr, whose feared militia was crushed by Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri Maliki two years ago, has leveraged support for his former enemy's government into renewed influence over the country's security forces, governors' offices and even its prisons.

U.N. nuclear agency makes little progress in Syria

Posted: 26 Nov 2010 12:00 AM PST

The U.S. may seek special inspections after the IAEA reports that it is still denied access to several suspected nuclear sites.

The United States is about to push for so-called special inspections in Syria by the U.N. nuclear watchdog, a rarely used tool to seek access in a country that otherwise denies entry to sensitive sites, diplomats familiar with the issue say.

Coptic woman trawls for votes in Egypt's south

Posted: 26 Nov 2010 12:00 AM PST

Hoda Naeem Makkar is running in a parliamentary election allotting women a share of seats. That's one hurdle overcome. But she is a Christian seeking Muslim ballots at a time of religious bloodshed.

She drives a tiny car along sugar cane fields and across the deserts of southern Egypt, campaigning for votes in a harsh land of sectarian tensions and tribal loyalties.

Britain's austerity plan leaves many bracing for painful changes

Posted: 25 Nov 2010 04:22 PM PST

Prime Minister David Cameron plans to slash $128 billion in spending over four years, upending a culture of governmental responsibility in a nation that provides everything from free healthcare to aid for mothers.

Britain is about to undergo an extreme makeover. And Festus Grant is worried.

Toxic water rising below Johannesburg

Posted: 26 Nov 2010 12:00 AM PST

Mining below the South African city left a huge pit now rapidly filling with blood red water. Experts warn that it will soon be too late to build the pumps and treatment plants needed.

The spring, just over 20 miles northwest of Johannesburg, flows blood red.

South Korea defense minister ousted; North warns of new attacks

Posted: 25 Nov 2010 02:33 PM PST

North Korea warns of a 'second and third' attack after killing four, injuring 20 on a disputed island. Meanwhile, China expresses concern about U.S.-South Korean naval exercises set to begin Sunday.

South Korea's disgraced defense minister resigned Thursday amid growing criticism in the wake of a deadly North Korean artillery barrage, setting the stage for sweeping changes in the South Korean military establishment.

Yeonpyeong Island a Korean peninsula hot spot

Posted: 26 Nov 2010 12:00 AM PST

Tiny, isolated Yeonpyeong Island has been caught in an often-violent tug of war between North and South Korea for half a century. The North has long disputed the placement of a maritime border that makes the island the territory of the South.

This week's North Korean artillery attack wasn't the first time isolated Yeonpyeong Island has been center stage in the Korean peninsula's military standoff.

South Korean defense minister resigns

Posted: 25 Nov 2010 06:29 AM PST

The move comes two days after a North Korean artillery attack killed four people on an island near the border.

South Korea's defense minister resigned Thursday amid intense criticism two days after a North Korean artillery attack killed four people on a small island near the Koreas' disputed frontier.

U.S. jury convicts five Somalis of piracy

Posted: 25 Nov 2010 12:00 AM PST

In the first such verdict in an American court in nearly 200 years, a federal jury convicts the Somalis of piracy on the high seas for shooting at a U.S. warship disguised as a merchant vessel in the Indian Ocean.

A federal jury convicted five Somali men Wednesday of piracy on the high seas, the first such verdict in an American court in nearly 200 years, for shooting at a U.S. Navy warship disguised as a merchant vessel in the Indian Ocean last spring.