LA Times News

LA Times News

Refusing to step down, Ivory Coast president orders U.N. troops out

Posted: 19 Dec 2010 12:00 AM PST

Hours after masked gunmen open fire on U.N. base, Laurent Gbagbo tells thousands of peacekeepers to leave immediately. The U.S. and African Union endorsed his rival as the rightful winner of last month's election.

— The man who refuses to step down from the presidency ordered thousands of U.N. peacekeepers to leave Ivory Coast immediately, calling the global body that has endorsed his political rival an "agent of destabilization."

Mexican drug cartels find youths to be easy prey

Posted: 19 Dec 2010 12:00 AM PST

Faced with a poor education system and dismal job prospects, boys and girls as young as 11 are lured into acting as mules, peddlers, lookouts — even executioners — for drug cartels offering easy money.

The curly-haired suspect in the sweatshirt faced the flash of news cameras, looking impossibly small.

WikiLeaks revelations roil Indian politics

Posted: 19 Dec 2010 12:00 AM PST

Congress Party is vilified by Hindu nationalists over leader Rahul Gandhi's comments about the threat of Hindu militants. Other cables detail reports of abuse of detainees in Kashmir.

Leaked U.S. diplomatic cables have sparked a political battle in India, putting the ruling party on the defensive with their disclosures on alleged human rights violations and religious extremism.

Panda art that takes it to the excrement

Posted: 19 Dec 2010 12:00 AM PST

Chinese sculptor Zhu Cheng says his replica of Venus de Milo crafted from panda poo was inspired by the contrast of the preciousness of pandas and the prodigious amount of waste the creatures produce.

To some discerning eyes, the statue is a satire of classical aesthetics that judge beauty by Western standards. To others, the use of natural, recyclable materials shows the artist's commitment to the environment.

Iran fetes new foreign minister ahead of nuclear talks

Posted: 19 Dec 2010 12:00 AM PST

The caretaker minister, Ali Akbar Salehi, emphasizes improving ties in the Muslim world and with the EU. Meanwhile the U.S. seeks to drum up regional support against Iran's nuclear program.

Tehran and Washington are seeking to expand their regional influence ahead of another round of talks over Iran's nuclear program, which has become a source of widespread international concern.

A barrier to new Iraq government falls with vote by parliament

Posted: 19 Dec 2010 12:00 AM PST

Iraq's lawmakers strike down a ban on three Sunni Muslim politicians, virtually guaranteeing that the secular Iraqiya bloc, popular with Sunnis and led by Iyad Allawi, will join Prime Minister Nouri Maliki's government.

Iraq's parliament knocked away one of the last barriers to forming a new government Saturday when it struck down a ban on three Sunni Muslim politicians.

CIA identity breach feeds mistrust with Pakistani agency

Posted: 19 Dec 2010 12:00 AM PST

Suspicion that the ISI had a hand in naming the CIA station chief is likely to hurt ties as Washington is urging greater anti-terrorism efforts by Islamabad.

By Alex Rodriguez

Tale of 2 sisters shows an evolving Gypsy culture

Posted: 18 Dec 2010 12:00 AM PST

A Romanian father married off his oldest daughter at age 15. But her sister, now 18, is allowed to stay in school and stay single.

Halfway through another 12-hour day, Narcisa Tranca scrubs the floor, one eye on her infant son and her thoughts on the tasks ahead: cleaning, cooking, feeding the pigs and chickens.

At least 140 escape prison in Nuevo Laredo

Posted: 17 Dec 2010 04:51 PM PST

Officials give no details of the mass breakout in the border city, the latest in a string of escapes sometimes aided by corrupt prison guards. The inmates appeared to have fled through service entrances.

At least 140 inmates escaped from a prison in the violence-plagued border state of Tamaulipas, authorities said Friday.