LA Times News

LA Times News

Honeymoon's over for Britain's Liberal Democrats

Posted: 25 Dec 2010 07:38 PM PST

The Liberal Democrats' alliance with the Conservatives has left supporters disillusioned, especially in light of recent spending cuts. But one member says it's better to be in power than out on the sidelines.

After a lifetime on the political sidelines, Nick Clegg finally knows what it means to be in government: People hate you.

Pakistan may hand over seized top Baluch militant to Iran

Posted: 26 Dec 2010 12:00 AM PST

Abdul-Rauf Rigi, described as the leader of the Sunni Muslim group Jundallah, which Iran blames for violent attacks, was arrested Dec. 22 and may be handed over to authorities in Shiite-run Iran.

By Borzou Daragahi

Palestinian mayor presides over boom times in Ramallah

Posted: 25 Dec 2010 03:13 PM PST

Overseeing the city's expansion is Mayor Janet Mikhail, elected as a Christian independent and one of the only female mayors in the male-dominated Palestinian territories. Her allies are Hamas.

The recent groundbreaking for a new Palestinian Authority presidential headquarters here in Ramallah underscored an unprecedented building and investment boom in the West Bank city. Land prices have tripled. International hotel chains are arriving. And master-planned housing projects are underway around town to accommodate a fast-rising population.

Suicide bomber kills at least 42 seeking food aid in Pakistan

Posted: 25 Dec 2010 12:37 AM PST

At least 60 more are wounded in the attack near the Afghan border. The assailant wore a burka but could have been a man in disguise.

A suicide bomber dressed in an all-enveloping burka struck a crowded food distribution center in Pakistan's volatile tribal region Saturday, killing at least 42 people and injuring more than 60 others, officials said.

Spotlight in Africa on malaria prevention

Posted: 25 Dec 2010 12:00 AM PST

A mosquito net distribution in Zambia a sign of heightened focus on the disease.

It had been a long and difficult journey, fully deserving of the marching band and choirs that greeted the convoy when it finally rolled into this village deep in the African bush.

Siberian park gets new population in climate change test

Posted: 25 Dec 2010 12:00 AM PST

A Russian scientist hopes to prove that bringing back animals will save the permafrost and reduce global warming.

Wild horses have returned to northern Siberia. So have musk oxen, hairy beasts that once shared this icy land with woolly mammoths and saber-toothed cats. Moose and reindeer are here, and one day may be joined by Canadian bison and deer.

Cuban Americans play Santa on holiday visits to their homeland

Posted: 25 Dec 2010 12:00 AM PST

The number of visitors started rising when Obama eased restrictions. They carry goods that are scarce or too expensive in the poor island nation.

In Cuba, Santa's sleigh is a Boeing 737.

For some Iraqi Christians, this may be last Christmas in Baghdad

Posted: 25 Dec 2010 12:00 AM PST

Repeated attacks and new threats against the minority group lead churches to skip decorations and evening services and families to consider leaving Iraq altogether.

Rimon Metti's family will go to Christian services on Christmas Day, but his relatives will be praying for their own survival and wondering whether this is their last holiday season in Baghdad. If they had any grounds for optimism about the future of their faith in Iraq, it vanished this year amid repeated attacks on fellow believers.

India ratchets up security in Mumbai

Posted: 25 Dec 2010 12:00 AM PST

Forces set up checkpoints and conduct searches in a hunt for four suspects believed to have entered from Pakistan to carry out an attack in the financial hub, the site of a terrorist siege in 2008.

Mumbai was on high alert Saturday as police set up checkpoints and conducted extensive searches for four men they believe have entered the financial hub to carry out a terrorist attack.