LA Times News

LA Times News

Ireland accepts $113-billion bailout package

Posted: 28 Nov 2010 05:23 PM PST

It's a humiliating move for the Irish government, which had insisted for weeks that it did not need outside help.

European officials rescued their second country in seven months Sunday, offering financially strapped Ireland a bailout package worth $113 billion in a bid to shore up confidence in the battered euro.

Egyptians vote in election marred by crackdown

Posted: 29 Nov 2010 12:00 AM PST

President Hosni Mubarak promised fair elections, but the vote is marred by mass arrests, pressure on independent candidates, media harassment and a boycott by some opposition groups.

Egyptians voted in parliamentary elections Sunday amid a crackdown on opposition candidates that is certain to tighten the ruling party's grip on a nation angry over economic problems and anxious about next year's presidential poll.

Iran 'must be stopped': Arab leaders implored U.S. to attack, WikiLeaks disclosures show

Posted: 29 Nov 2010 12:00 AM PST

Diplomatic cables released by WikiLeaks show Saudi Arabia and Bahrain as among nations strongly urging the U.S. to destroy Iran's nuclear facilities. The cables reveal the fear of Iran in the Arab world.

Leaders of oil-rich Arabian Peninsula monarchies who are publicly reluctant to criticize Iran have been beseeching the United States in private to attack the Islamic Republic and destroy its nuclear facilities, according to a series of classified diplomatic cables released by the WikiLeaks website.

Haiti elections a shambles

Posted: 28 Nov 2010 12:51 AM PST

Amid allegations of stuffed ballot boxes and other fraud, 12 of 18 candidates for president call for the elections to be canceled, accuse President René Préval of trying to fix the contest.

Elections on Sunday in a nation already racked by January's earthquake and a cholera epidemic devolved into chaos, with thousands of voters unable to find their names on electoral rolls and a general outcry alleging widespread fraud.

U.S. diplomats ordered to gather data on counterparts, WikiLeaks cable show

Posted: 29 Nov 2010 12:00 AM PST

The State Department denies that its envoys function as spies under a program revealed by the newly released dispatches.

U.S. diplomats have been directed by Washington to gather detailed data on their foreign counterparts, including the kinds of information usually sought by spies, according to diplomatic cables made public Sunday.

China seeks emergency meeting on Koreas

Posted: 29 Nov 2010 12:00 AM PST

Chinese leaders, stung by accusations that they haven't done enough to rein in North Korea, call for a summit of the nations involved in past six-party talks. The U.S. and South Korea remain noncommittal.

China called Sunday for an emergency international meeting to ease tensions on the Korean peninsula, but the United States and South Korea, engaged in large-scale war games nearby, appeared initially cool to the idea.

Wikileaks documents reveal sensitive U.S. cables

Posted: 28 Nov 2010 11:07 AM PST

U.S. State Department documents released by whistle-blowing website WikiLeaks provided candid views of foreign leaders and sensitive information on terrorism and nuclear proliferation, the New York Times reported on Sunday.

U.S. lawmakers seek China's help with North Korea

Posted: 28 Nov 2010 09:18 AM PST

Several Senate leaders join Secretary of State Clinton in seeking a stronger role for China in containing North Korean aggression.

With tensions rising on the Korean peninsula, several leading U.S. lawmakers Sunday called on China to play a more constructive role in restraining North Korea.

U.S., South Korea begin war games

Posted: 28 Nov 2010 12:00 AM PST

The North prepares missiles along the sea where the exercises are taking place.

Emotions remained raw throughout the Korean peninsula Sunday as a U.S. aircraft carrier group arrived for joint American-South Korean naval exercises, and North Korea prepared surface-to-surface missiles on launchpads along the Yellow Sea.

Israeli firms see a global market for their anti-terrorism know-how

Posted: 27 Nov 2010 09:05 PM PST

The nation is moving aggressively to turn domestic security technology into one of its biggest exports.

As he inspected the Taj Mahal hotel after the 2008 terrorist attacks in Mumbai, India, and listened to a hotel manager bemoan the lack of adequate security preparations, Israeli export official Avi Hefetz saw a growth market in the making.

Displaced Pakistanis prepare for risky return to South Waziristan

Posted: 28 Nov 2010 12:00 AM PST

Officials say the military has secured the area after an offensive against the Pakistani Taliban. But recent attacks heighten concerns and underscore the fact that the militants were dispersed, not wiped out.

After a year spent without work and queuing for handouts, families who sought refuge here from an offensive against the Pakistani Taliban are eager to see their homes and farms again. But they doubt they'll be able to sleep peacefully when they get there.

Haiti presidential election gains in drama

Posted: 27 Nov 2010 08:34 PM PST

The vote had seemed an obscure piece of theater foisted by the world on a country reeling from a catastrophic earthquake, a near-miss from a hurricane, and an ongoing deadly cholera epidemic. No more.

In the final hours of a chaotic presidential campaign in a country that needs no more drama this year, candidate Michel "Sweet Micky" Martelly sent out a "breaking news" announcement: He had survived an assassination attempt by a member of the nation's leading party.