LA Times News

LA Times News

Suicide bombing in Afghan bathhouse kills 17

Posted: 08 Jan 2011 12:00 AM PST

A Taliban spokesman says the attack on men washing before prayers killed the deputy chief of the Kandahar province border police. The force's head says an officer was killed, but he wasn't his deputy.

A suicide bomber blew himself up Friday at a public bathhouse in southern Afghanistan that was filled with men washing themselves before the main prayers of the Muslim week. At least 17 people were killed and 23 others injured, provincial officials said.

Key party rejoins Pakistan's ruling coalition

Posted: 08 Jan 2011 12:00 AM PST

Prime Minister Yousaf Raza Gilani's decision to roll back a fuel price surcharge prompts the Muttahida Qaumi Movement to return to the ruling coalition, easing fear of its imminent collapse.

A key party that had defected this week from Pakistan's ruling coalition returned to the government Friday, a move that averts a major political crisis at a time when Prime Minister Yousaf Raza Gilani's embattled administration is struggling to overcome mounting economic turmoil and a resilient insurgency.

Clegg vows to restore civil liberties in Britain

Posted: 08 Jan 2011 12:00 AM PST

The deputy prime minister and head of the Liberal Democrats, the junior partner in the coalition government, pledged to undo some of the laws enacted by the previous Labor government in the name of fighting terrorism.

Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg pledged Friday to restore "our great British freedoms," saying that too many basic liberties had been eroded in the name of keeping Britain safe from terrorism.

Rioting spreads across Tunisia; unrest also reported in Algeria

Posted: 08 Jan 2011 12:00 AM PST

Tunisian youths clash with police in several cities as teachers and lawyers go on strike over high unemployment and food prices. Similar protests are also seen in Algeria.

Protests and strikes driven by unemployment and high food prices continued to sweep across the tightly controlled North African nation of Tunisia on Friday amid police attempts to clamp down on the unrest.

Israeli soldiers kill 65-year-old Palestinian man in raid

Posted: 08 Jan 2011 12:00 AM PST

Army units were searching homes in Hebron to arrest five members of the militant group Hamas when Omar Kawasmi was mistakenly shot and killed.

Israeli soldiers seeking to arrest a Hamas militant in the southern West Bank city of Hebron early Friday mistakenly shot and killed a 65-year-old Palestinian man, prompting charges that the troops used excessive force.

Suicide bombing kills 17 at Afghan bathhouse

Posted: 07 Jan 2011 04:44 AM PST

The Taliban claims responsibility for the attack, which targeted men washing before prayers.

A suicide bomber blew himself up Friday at a public bathhouse in southern Afghanistan that was filled with men washing themselves before the main prayers of the Muslim week. At least 17 were killed and 23 injured, provincial officials said.