LA Times News

LA Times News

Military tests China stealth fighter without telling leaders

Posted: 12 Jan 2011 12:00 AM PST

When Defense Secretary Robert Gates mentioned the test in a Beijing meeting with President Hu Jintao, it was clear that Hu was unaware it had occurred, a senior U.S. Defense Department official says.

China's military conducted the first flight test of an experimental stealth fighter Tuesday, apparently without informing the country's civilian leadership in advance and only hours before U.S. Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates met with the Chinese president to discuss ways of improving military ties.

Egyptian Christian fatally shot, 5 wounded, aboard train

Posted: 11 Jan 2011 07:25 PM PST

Egyptian Coptic Christians are shot by a Muslim police officer aboard a train less than two weeks after a church bombing, an Egyptian Interior Ministry official is quoted as saying.

An off-duty policeman opened fire aboard a train Tuesday in southern Egypt, killing one Christian and wounding five less than two weeks after the New Year's Day bombing at a church in Alexandria that killed 25 Coptic Christians, according to the state news agency.

Haiti still mired in post-quake problems

Posted: 12 Jan 2011 12:00 AM PST

A year after the massive earthquake, reconstruction efforts remain practically nonexistent and camps for the displaced appear to have taken on a permanence.

Gray ribbons of fresh concrete streak the side of Clarisse Brisson's broken home, where she and her family are slowly making repairs. Inside, she reads Bible verses to sustain her. Next door, the neighbor's home is a heap of crumbled stone and rusted iron bars.

Joe Biden tells Afghans the U.S. is there for them, even beyond 2014

Posted: 11 Jan 2011 10:45 AM PST

Vice President Joe Biden backs away from his earlier promise that, no matter what, the U.S. would be 'totally out' of Afghanistan by 2014.

KABUL, Afghanistan — Normally, it's the White House that must clean up the occasional gaffe coming from Vice President Joe Biden. But in a joint appearance with Afghanistan's leader on Tuesday, Biden backed away from his own recent promise that the U.S. would pull out of the country "come hell or high water" by 2014.

Australia floods threaten Queensland capital; 14 dead, dozens missing

Posted: 12 Jan 2011 12:00 AM PST

The city of Brisbane braces for major damage from flooding and the massive release of water from a dam. In the town of Toowoomba, 'a wall of water' takes a heavy toll.

Residents of Brisbane, Australia's third-largest city, braced Wednesday for potentially monumental flooding as a river overflowed its banks from a combination of rain, runoff and the forced release of large amounts of water from a dam that had been designed to protect the city from raging storms.

Ancient winery found in Armenia

Posted: 11 Jan 2011 07:11 AM PST

The 6,000-year-old winery in a cave in Armenia had all the necessary equipment, including a grape press, fermentation vats and storage jars. A UCLA-led research team believes the site produced wine for religious ceremonies associated with burials.

A UCLA-led team reported Monday that it had discovered a 6,000-year-old facility in an Armenian cave that contained everything necessary to produce wine from grapes, including a grape press, fermentation vats, storage jars, wine-soaked pottery shards and even a cup and drinking bowl.

Clinton makes surprise trip to Yemen

Posted: 11 Jan 2011 05:37 AM PST

She is the first secretary of state to visit the country in 20 years. She meets with Yemen's president and urges closer cooperation against terrorism.

Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton on Tuesday urged Yemen to step up cooperation with the United States as she made an unannounced visit here to shore up and repair damaged ties with a fragile and problematic ally that is fast becoming the main focus of American counterterrorism efforts.

China flight-tests stealth jet during Gates' visit

Posted: 11 Jan 2011 05:22 AM PST

China's president appears unaware of the military action until the U.S. Defense Secretary Gates mentions it, a U.S. official says. Hu says the test had been planned earlier and hadn't been timed to coincide with Gates' visit.

China's military conducted the first flight test of an experimental stealth fighter Tuesday, apparently without informing the country's civilian leadership in advance and only hours before Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates met with the Chinese president to discuss improving military ties.