LA Times News

LA Times News

Lebanon Druze leader Walid Jumblatt sides with Hezbollah in crisis

Posted: 21 Jan 2011 06:47 PM PST

The U.S.-backed coalition led by caretaker Prime Minister Saad Hariri is on the verge of losing its grip on power after Jumblatt's defection to Hezbollah.

The U.S.-backed parliamentary coalition led by caretaker Prime Minister Saad Hariri was on the verge of losing its tenuous grip on the Lebanese government after a key politician defected Friday to support the Shiite militant group Hezbollah.

Defiant Lukashenko begins new term in Belarus

Posted: 21 Jan 2011 06:47 PM PST

The authoritarian ruler, in power since 1994, was declared victor in a presidential election in December, a vote widely viewed as fraudulent. The EU is considering sanctions against the government.

Saying that Belarus has exhausted the limits of upheavals, authoritarian President Alexander Lukashenko on Friday took the oath of office for the fourth time amid accusations of fraud in the December election and a crackdown on the opposition.

Iran says uranium enrichment is not up for discussion

Posted: 21 Jan 2011 05:03 PM PST

At the start of nuclear talks in Turkey, it tells diplomats it won't consider giving up 'our basic rights.'

Iranian officials declared at the start of two days of diplomatic talks in Turkey on Friday that they would not discuss suspension of their country's uranium enrichment program.

French cheese maker finds a niche in Nepal

Posted: 21 Jan 2011 04:07 PM PST

Francois Driard wanted to live in the Himalayas, and figured traditional French cheese making would be right at home.

Francois Driard enters a cave dug into the steep Himalayan hillside, scares off a mouse and, in a twice-weekly ritual, wipes mold from several plate-sized wheels of cheese sitting on crude shelves against the wall.

South Koreans rescue hijacked freighter

Posted: 21 Jan 2011 04:07 PM PST

Eight Somali pirates are killed in the operation to rescue the chemical carrier Samho Jewelry, which was seized on its way from the United Arab Emirates to Sri Lanka.

South Korean special forces rescued 21 seamen held hostage aboard a freighter seized last week in the Arabian Sea, killing eight Somali pirates in the top secret mission, officials said Friday.

Police spying on eco-activists causes some soul searching in Britain

Posted: 21 Jan 2011 04:07 PM PST

Mark Kennedy seven years spying for Scotland Yard on militant environmentalists, but he left disillusioned. Some question such police activity in a state where citizens are already under almost constant surveillance in public.

He was the enemy within the so-called enemy within, until the guilt and strain of living a double life drove him out of both worlds.

Andy Coulson resigns as communications director for British Prime Minister David Cameron

Posted: 21 Jan 2011 09:39 AM PST

Coulson, a former editor of the News of the World, steps down amid a scandal over the tabloid's alleged attempts to hack into the cellphones of politicians, celebrities and aides to the royal family.

One of British Prime Minister David Cameron's closest advisors resigned Friday amid a stubborn scandal over a tabloid newspaper's alleged attempts to hack into the cellphones of politicians, celebrities and aides to the royal family.

South Korean forces storm hijacked ship, free hostages

Posted: 21 Jan 2011 12:57 AM PST

Commandos board the Samho Jewelry and kill eight Somali pirates.

South Korean special forces launched a dramatic high-seas rescue of 21 seamen hijacked by pirates last week aboard their South Korean-operated freighter in a top-secret operation that killed eight Somali abductors, officials here announced Friday.

Leader Salam Fayyad seeks to make Palestinian statehood inevitable

Posted: 21 Jan 2011 12:37 AM PST

'It's not about legacy. It's about a state that will be born this year,' the prime minister says.

Palestinian Authority Prime Minister Salam Fayyad acknowledged that significant obstacles lay ahead on the road to statehood, but insisted his government will be ready by this summer. Fayyad spoke to the Los Angeles Times about what work still needs to be done, whether he'd like to be Palestinian Authority president one day and why he continues to "confound" Israelis.