LA Times News

LA Times News

U.S. sending Navy ships, Marines for humanitarian efforts in Libya

Posted: 01 Mar 2011 04:07 PM PST

Defense Secretary Robert Gates says he's sending two warships and 400 Marines to the region to aid in any 'emergency evacuations and also for humanitarian relief,' but he urges caution on any military role in Libya.

WASHINGTON — Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates said Tuesday he was dispatching two warships and 400 Marines as a humanitarian response to the crisis in Libya, but he cautioned that U.S. military intervention should be carefully considered.

Hillary Clinton says U.S. is trying to avoid perception of an oil grab in Libya

Posted: 01 Mar 2011 01:04 PM PST

Secretary of State Hillary Clinton tells the House Foreign Affairs Committee that the U.S. has been cautious about sending the military because it wants to avoid perceptions that it has a plan to 'invade for oil.' Also, Washington wants to respect the Libyan insurgency's desire to oust Moammar Kadafi on its own, she says.

WASHINGTON — The Obama administration has been cautious about sending the military to Libya during its civil upheaval in an effort to avoid perceptions that the United States has a plan to "invade for oil," Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton said Tuesday.

German defense minister resigns in plagiarism scandal

Posted: 01 Mar 2011 12:40 PM PST

The decision by Karl-Theodor zu Guttenberg to step down amid allegations that he copied passages of his doctoral dissertation is a major setback for Chancellor Angela Merkel.

Karl-Theodor zu Guttenberg, Germany's defense minister and the country's most popular politician, resigned Tuesday amid embarrassing allegations that he plagiarized parts of his doctoral dissertation.

Computer hackers a top concern for homeland security

Posted: 01 Mar 2011 04:20 PM PST

Homegrown terrorists and sharing of intelligence data are also leading concerns for the Department of Homeland Security on its eighth anniversary, according to current and former department officials.

Cyber security is a potential "nightmare" for the Department of Homeland Security in the years ahead, as are concerns about homegrown terrorists and intelligence sharing, officials said Tuesday at a seminar marking the department's eighth anniversary.

Yemen's embattled president lashes out at U.S., Israel

Posted: 01 Mar 2011 09:45 AM PST

Ali Abdullah Saleh, a longtime ally of the U.S., says anti-government protests in his capital are being 'run by the White House.' In neighboring Oman, protests continue for a fourth day.

Yemeni President Ali Abdullah Saleh delivered a fiery speech Tuesday blaming Israel and the United States for destabilizing the Arab world, saying the anti-government protests in his capital were being run by the White House.

3 NATO troops killed in Afghanistan

Posted: 01 Mar 2011 04:15 AM PST

NATO says three of its service members have been killed in Afghanistan.

11 Indian Muslims sentenced to die for train fire that killed 60 Hindus

Posted: 01 Mar 2011 12:01 AM PST

The court sentences 20 others to life imprisonment. The attack triggered one of India's worst outbursts of communal violence and the deaths of 1,000 more people, mostly Muslims.

An Indian court sentenced 11 Muslims to death Tuesday after finding them guilty of setting a train fire that killed 60 Hindu nationalists nine years ago and triggered one of India's worst outbursts of communal violence.