LA Times News

LA Times News

Flooding forces thousands to evacuate in Australia

Posted: 31 Dec 2010 03:32 PM PST

Flooding has affected about half of Queensland state, where many rivers and creeks have burst their banks. The state has declared eight regions disaster areas, and more rain is expected.

Thousands of people were being evacuated from towns in northeastern Australia amid rising floodwaters that by Friday had left half of massive Queensland state inundated and affected more than 200,000 people.

2011 seen as make-or-break year for Afghan mission

Posted: 01 Jan 2011 12:00 AM PST

After ambitious campaigns in 2010 didn't yield dramatic results against the Taliban, Western officials promise to keep up the pressure in the new year but face an uphill task as fighters make inroads in other regions.

A U.S. troop buildup in 2010 was meant to blunt the momentum of the Taliban insurgency in Afghanistan. Now it is 2011 that has become the make-or-break year.

Bolivia leader grapples with violent protests over fuel price hikes

Posted: 31 Dec 2010 05:43 PM PST

President Evo Morales appeals to labor supporters to back gasoline, diesel and jet fuel subsidy cuts. He says his decree aims to stem profiteering on black-market fuel sales in Chile, Peru and Brazil.

Bolivian President Evo Morales scrambled Friday to shore up political support after violent protests erupted in several cities this week when he announced sharp increases in fuel prices.

A Christian priest faces grim New Year in Iraq

Posted: 01 Jan 2011 12:00 AM PST

Father Nadheer Dako's flock in Baghdad is shrinking, some having long fled the turmoil and others falling victim to a recent rise in anti-Christian violence. On the last day of 2010, he buries an elderly couple killed in a bombing.

Father Nadheer Dako started the last day of 2010 with a funeral service for an elderly couple killed by a bomb during a string of attacks against Iraq's small Christian community.

North Korea bends a little to air British movie

Posted: 31 Dec 2010 05:15 PM PST

Researchers try to parse the meaning of the secretive regime's decision to air a heavily edited version of 'Bend It Like Beckham,' about a young soccer player pulled between the sport and her South Asian family's expectations.

The curtain that shrouds North Korean culture and daily life opened briefly this week with reports that state television in Pyongyang had broadcast the British soccer film "Bend It Like Beckham."

Floods in northeast Australia strand 200,000

Posted: 31 Dec 2010 08:03 AM PST

Half of Queensland is affected by the flooding, which began last week when rain caused rivers to overflow. The flood zone is bigger than Texas.

Military aircraft dropped supplies to towns cut off by floods in northeastern Australia as the prime minister promised new assistance Friday to the 200,000 people affected by waters covering an area larger than France and Germany combined.