LA Times News

LA Times News

Neighbors in Tunisia express disgust over former first lady's family

Posted: 16 Jan 2011 06:23 PM PST

The Trabelsis were an ambitious and, many Tunisians say, ruthless crowd unashamed to use their connection to the first family to gain favors.

He was not a good neighbor. His ferocious dogs roamed the street in front of his upscale villa, scaring away children and passersby. He drove his Mercedes way too fast down the street of the serene suburb. He demanded that the mosque's muezzin shut up during the morning call to prayers.

Iran's nuclear program and a new era of cyber war

Posted: 16 Jan 2011 05:34 PM PST

Stuxnet, the game-changing computer worm that is believed to have significantly set back Tehran's progress in nuclear enrichment, may herald a new era of shadowy digital combat.

Just a few months ago, U.S. and Israeli officials were warning that Iran was a year away from having the capability to rapidly build a nuclear weapon. Speculation was intensifying that Israel would launch airstrikes to prevent that from happening.

A new Le Pen will lead French far right

Posted: 16 Jan 2011 01:33 PM PST

Marine Le Pen, daughter of National Front party founder Jean-Marie Le Pen, is elected leader of the party and hopes to improve its image. She is seen as more ambitious and focused than her father.

Marine Le Pen was elected Sunday to lead France's far-right National Front party, succeeding her father and promising to "de-demonize" the group's image.

Former Tunisia government figures arrested, new Cabinet to be named

Posted: 16 Jan 2011 10:46 AM PST

Gunfire erupts in Tunis, the capital, as the interim government prepares to name a new Cabinet free of figures linked to the deposed president.

Heavy gunfire erupted in the heart of Tunisia's capital on Sunday as the army appeared to be closing in on stalwarts of the regime driven from power last week and the interim government prepared to name a new Cabinet free of any major figures linked to deposed President Zine el Abidine ben Ali.

17 Afghan civilians killed by roadside bombs in 24 hours

Posted: 16 Jan 2011 08:18 AM PST

Nine wedding guests, including a child, are among the victims. Insurgents target Western troops with the homemade bombs, but usually it's civilians who are killed or maimed.

Roadside bombs killed at least 17 Afghan civilians in a 24-hour span, including nine people — a child among them — whose vehicle was torn apart by a powerful blast Sunday as they were on their way to a wedding in northern Afghanistan.

Three U.S. soldiers killed in Iraq

Posted: 16 Jan 2011 12:04 AM PST

Two American soldiers are killed when one or two Iraqi soldiers open fire on them at a training base. A third U.S. soldier dies in a separate attack.

Two American soldiers were killed when at least one Iraqi soldier opened fire at a military training base in northern Iraq, and a third soldier died in another incident, the U.S. and Iraqi military said Saturday.

Marine shoots policeman in Afghanistan

Posted: 15 Jan 2011 04:15 AM PST

Incident occurs in Helmand province, one of the region's most troubled enclaves

Reporting from Kabul, Afghanistan

3 U.S. troops killed in Iraq

Posted: 15 Jan 2011 05:45 AM PST

Two U.S. soldiers were killed and a third was injured when two Iraqi soldiers opened fire on U.S. troops during training in the northern city of Mosul on Saturday, Iraqi army sources said.

Marine killed Afghan policeman who pointed gun, military says

Posted: 15 Jan 2011 09:08 PM PST

The shooting in Helmand province in the south points up tensions between the Western military and Afghan counterparts in a crucial phase of their partnership.

A U.S. Marine shot and killed an Afghan policeman who pointed a weapon at him Saturday, Western military officials said. The incident took place at an outpost in the Sangin district of Helmand province, one of the most troubled enclaves in Afghanistan.

Standoff over presidential runoff seen as threat to Haiti

Posted: 15 Jan 2011 09:08 PM PST

Seven weeks after a flawed Haiti presidential election, President Rene Preval is resisting an international panel's recommendation his handpicked candidate be removed from a runoff, diplomats say.

Haiti is locked in a political crisis that threatens to further stall recovery from the devastating earthquake of a year ago and could swiftly turn violent.

Noted Japan restaurateur Kiyomi Mikuni plans 'graduate school' for fellow chefs

Posted: 15 Jan 2011 09:08 PM PST

Kiyomi Mikuni's school in Japan is to offer chefs a chance to expand their repertoire or gain skills, such as learning the business side of running a restaurant. The first class may start in the fall.

It was just another lunch by chef Kiyomi Mikuni: an umami consomme from scallops and shiitake mushrooms, a codfish and burdock risotto, pot-au-feu beef stew, and chocolate and saffron ice cream with a kumquat elixir.