LA Times News

LA Times News

Nuclear negotiations with Iran end in failure

Posted: 22 Jan 2011 05:39 PM PST

Iran, meeting with six world powers in Istanbul, insists that it has the right to continue enriching uranium for its nuclear program and demands an end to U.N. sanctions.

A high-stakes international standoff over Iran's nuclear ambitions came no closer a resolution Saturday as the latest round of talks aimed at curtailing the controversial program ended in failure in Turkey.

Electoral ruling riles Maliki's rivals

Posted: 22 Jan 2011 05:01 PM PST

Changes in the supervision of the electoral commission prompt the opposition to proclaim 'a coup against democracy.' The prime minister's supporters say he is merely trying to fix a broken system.

A ruling by the Iraqi high court calling for the country's electoral commission to come under the supervision of Prime Minister Nouri Maliki's Cabinet prompted rival parties Saturday to proclaim the move "a coup against democracy."

For France, Tunisia is another diplomatic black eye

Posted: 22 Jan 2011 04:13 PM PST

As the crisis unfolded in its former colony, Paris was caught entirely off guard, recalling recent stumbles in Haiti and Ivory Coast.

Whither now French diplomacy? A week after Tunisian President Zine el Abidine ben Ali fled into exile, France has acknowledged being caught off guard by the protest movement that led to the ouster of an autocratic ruler it had supported for 23 years.

Tunisia nudges Arab world out of its hopelessness

Posted: 22 Jan 2011 03:08 PM PST

It is uncertain whether the uprising that toppled Tunisia's autocratic government can be replicated in Egypt and elsewhere. But for now, at least, it has kindled an optimism in places where it had long been extinguished.

The Arab world had been empty of hope for years, but then, at the dawn of winter, Tunisia tumbled into anarchy and, suddenly, Arabs spotted a glimmer of renewal.

President Hamid Karzai agrees to let new Afghanistan parliament meet, averting crisis

Posted: 22 Jan 2011 02:02 PM PST

A showdown with lawmakers had loomed in Afghanistan after President Hamid Karzai indicated he would seek a one-month postponement in convening the new parliament while a probe of election irregularities continued.

A showdown between President Hamid Karzai and his country's newly elected parliament was averted late Saturday when the Afghan leader agreed to convene the inaugural legislative session this week rather than push for a one-month postponement.

Iran won't let Tehran mayor travel to U.S.

Posted: 22 Jan 2011 12:33 PM PST

Tehran Mayor Mohammed Baqer Qalibaf has been denied permission by Iran's Foreign Ministry to travel to the U.S. to be honored for improving the capital's public transportation system, an Iranian newspaper reports. He is a rival of President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad.

Iran's Foreign Ministry has barred the mayor of Tehran, a rival of conservative President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, from traveling to the United States to be honored for improving the capital's public transportation system, a local newspaper reported Saturday.

Pakistani actress to cleric: 'What is your problem with me?'

Posted: 22 Jan 2011 05:18 AM PST

On a widely viewed talk show, Veena Malik lashes out at a Muslim scholar after he accuses her of insulting Islam.

A Pakistani actress castigated for appearing to cuddle with an Indian actor on a reality show lashed out at a Muslim cleric who had criticized her during a widely watched television exchange this week.

Iraq's Muqtada Sadr reportedly returns to Iran

Posted: 21 Jan 2011 03:24 PM PST

Anti-U.S. Shiite cleric Muqtada Sadr has left Iraq, aides said, adding that it was not clear whether his return to Iran was temporary or permanent. He had returned to Iraq this month.

Anti-American Shiite cleric Muqtada Sadr, who arrived in Iraq this month after spending nearly four years away, has returned to Iran, two aides from his office said Friday on condition of anonymity.