LA Times News

LA Times News

Khodorkovsky found guilty in second trial, could face more prison time

Posted: 28 Dec 2010 12:00 AM PST

Many Russians have concluded that imprisoned onetime oil tycoon Mikhail Khodorkovsky's long legal troubles are largely the result of a political vendetta by Prime Minister Vladimir Putin.

An imprisoned business tycoon whose legal troubles have come to symbolize the limits of political freedom in Vladimir Putin's Russia was found guilty Monday of stealing oil from his own company and is likely to face another decade behind bars.

Nine terrorism suspects appear in London court

Posted: 28 Dec 2010 12:00 AM PST

The men, most of them of Bangladeshi origin, are charged with preparing bombing attacks against several targets in London and testing incendiary devices.

Nine men accused of terrorism and conspiracy to blow up high-profile targets that reportedly included the U.S. Embassy and the London Stock Exchange in a Christmas bombing campaign made their first appearance in a central London court Monday.

Son shoots holes in ex-king's hopes of returning to power in Nepal

Posted: 28 Dec 2010 12:00 AM PST

The wannabe-crown prince's latest violent antics further diminish his father's chances of retaking the throne. Still, the old royal family evokes nostalgia in some quarters.

It's tough being an unemployed king, especially when your son's Wild West antics undermine any chance of getting your crown back.

Coffee drinkers get a purr with their buzz in Seoul

Posted: 28 Dec 2010 12:00 AM PST

Coffeehouse patrons can settle in with an espresso and a tabby, one of a dozen cats at one of the numerous themed cafes around the South Korean capital.

Sure, Oh Yoo-jin wanted a cup of coffee, but what the 24-year-old university student really wanted to do was commune with the residents of her tiny neighborhood cafe — the cats.

17 killed in suicide attack in western Iraq

Posted: 28 Dec 2010 12:00 AM PST

The bombings are the second attack in a month at the government headquarters in Anbar province. At least 40 are injured.

Suicide bombers killed at least 17 people at government headquarters in western Iraq's Anbar province Monday, in the second attack in less than a month, security sources said.

Missile strikes inside Pakistan kill 25 suspected insurgents

Posted: 28 Dec 2010 12:00 AM PST

The missiles, presumably fired by U.S. drones, destroy three trucks believed to be carrying fighters and weapons to Afghanistan.

Missiles presumably fired by U.S. drones on Monday incinerated three trucks thought to be ferrying fighters and weapons from Pakistan's tribal borderlands to Afghanistan. The strikes killed 25 suspected militants and injured four, Pakistani intelligence officials said.

U.S. missiles kill 18 in Pakistan border area

Posted: 27 Dec 2010 05:33 AM PST

At least 110 such attacks have been launched this year, more than twice last year's total, as the U.S. targets Al Qaeda and Taliban fighters seeking a haven outside Afghanistan.

Suspected U.S. missiles struck two vehicles in a Taliban stronghold on Pakistan's side of the border with Afghanistan on Monday, killing 18 alleged militants, Pakistani intelligence officials said.

North Korean soldiers boast of Yeonpyeong Island attack

Posted: 27 Dec 2010 12:00 AM PST

'We cheered … as we saw pillars of fire lighting up from our bombardments,' one says on TV. In South Korea, President Lee Myung-bak tells the country not to fear a war with the North.

North Korean soldiers bragged on state-run television about their heroics during the attack on South Korea's Yeonpyeong Island last month that killed four people.

Greek Americans love their homeland, but there are limits

Posted: 26 Dec 2010 08:57 PM PST

Officials struggling to fix Greece's economy want to tap into that loyalty to raise funds for their country, but the U.S. economic slowdown has some immigrants reluctant to get involved.

Just before dawn in New Jersey 40 years ago, Nick Paravalos jumped ship, sneaking toward an American dream that he had nurtured for decades, leaving Greece behind for good.