LA Times News

LA Times News

Afghan TV police drama delivers message with zest

Posted: 07 Dec 2010 06:20 PM PST

Partially funded by the U.S. and aided by Australian TV veterans, the series 'Eagle Four' follows an elite Afghan police squad. It has a political agenda but gets points for being entertaining.

A suicide bomber is loose in the city, and the clock is ticking. But an elite squad of Afghan cops is on the case, working street sources and mining databases, equally at ease with witty one-liners and fully loaded assault rifles, looking cool and soulful all the while.

Gates gets sobering war update on Afghan visit

Posted: 07 Dec 2010 04:10 PM PST

The defense secretary flies to two U.S. bases near the Pakistani border and also meets with the top U.S. commander in Afghanistan. U.S. officials say his findings will inform a White House review.

Secretary of Defense Robert M. Gates received a sobering update on security in eastern Afghanistan during a visit Tuesday, reflecting the uneven nature of the Obama administration's claims to be making progress in suppressing the Taliban insurgency.

U.S. may seek extradition of WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange

Posted: 07 Dec 2010 05:26 PM PST

Assange could face espionage and other charges, but prosecutors would face a 1st Amendment test.

Angry over the bombardment of leaks of classified material, top Obama administration officials are considering filing an extradition request to have WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange face criminal charges, possibly for espionage.

China persuades 19 nations to boycott Nobel ceremony

Posted: 08 Dec 2010 12:00 AM PST

Jailed dissident Liu Xiaobo is to be honored in Oslo. Beijing puts heavy pressure on its trade partners to stay away.

The Nobel Peace Prize ceremony in Oslo on Friday may be remembered more for those who did not attend than for any heartfelt words about world affairs.

Ortega has received 'suitcases full of cash' from Venezuela, leaked cables say

Posted: 07 Dec 2010 04:13 PM PST

The Nicaraguan president also is believed to have used money from drug traffickers to finance electoral fraud, according to diplomatic cables released by WikiLeaks.

President Daniel Ortega of Nicaragua has received "suitcases full of cash" from Venezuela and is believed to have used money from drug traffickers to finance electoral fraud, according to secret U.S. diplomatic cables disclosed this week.

Digging continues for 90 missing after Colombia slide

Posted: 08 Dec 2010 12:00 AM PST

Teams have pulled more than 30 bodies from the mud and debris after a hillside came down following heavy rain.

Rescue teams, having recovered the bodies of 31 victims of a massive weekend landslide, continued to search Tuesday for as many as 90 others feared dead under debris in a poor hillside neighborhood of Bello, a suburb of Medellin.

Murder of newlywed Anni Dewani rivets South Africa, Britain

Posted: 08 Dec 2010 12:00 AM PST

A honeymooner's death near Cape Town involved a taxi driver, hit men and her husband, Shrien Dewani, prosecutors say.

It was a murder that seemed to confirm every South African horror story. Newlywed Anni Dewani, a Swedish-born engineering graduate, was taken away in a hijacked taxi last month near Cape Town and found dead the next day.

Robert Gates gets sobering update on visit with U.S. troops in Afghanistan

Posted: 07 Dec 2010 01:40 PM PST

Defense Secretary Robert Gates visits military leaders and troops for an update that will figure into an upcoming White House review of war strategy. The review is likely to show that 'a good deal more' needs to be done to strengthen security in Afghanistan.

Secretary of Defense Robert M. Gates received a sobering update on security in eastern Afghanistan during a visit Tuesday that U.S. officials said would inform an upcoming White House review of the war strategy.

WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange arrested

Posted: 07 Dec 2010 05:54 PM PST

Julian Assange is ordered to remain in custody in Britain until a hearing next week on the WikiLeaks founder's possible extradition to Sweden, where he's wanted for questioning over allegations he sexually assaulted two women.

Julian Assange, the founder of the controversial WikiLeaks website, was arrested here Tuesday and ordered to remain in custody until a hearing next week on his possible extradition to Sweden, where he is wanted for questioning over allegations that he sexually assaulted two women.

No progress evident in Iran nuclear talks

Posted: 08 Dec 2010 12:00 AM PST

Western officials portrayed the Geneva meetings as a test of whether Tehran would consider limits on its atomic research. Iran agrees to meet again but rebuffs a U.S. invitation to bilateral talks.

A long-awaited meeting with Iran on its disputed nuclear program ended without visible progress on Tuesday, dealing a stinging setback to the Obama administration's strategy built on patient diplomacy and tough economic sanctions.

WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange arrested in sex case

Posted: 07 Dec 2010 07:30 AM PST

Swedish authorities are investigating allegations of coercion, which he denies, in his encounters with two women. His website's release of U.S. diplomatic cables has embarrassed governments worldwide.

Julian Assange, the founder of the controversial WikiLeaks website, was arrested here Tuesday and ordered to remain in custody until a hearing next week on his possible extradition to Sweden, where he is wanted for questioning over allegations that he sexually assaulted two women.