LA Times News

LA Times News

Libyan battle over Zawiya becomes a test of will

Posted: 05 Mar 2011 06:52 PM PST

Moammar Kadafi's forces launched a predawn assault, rebels report, but a spokesman says that the opposition fighters pushed the regime's commandos out of the city by day's end. Supplies are running low and 'it is an unequal fight,' he adds.

Rebel fighters appeared to repel an assault by forces loyal to Libyan leader Moammar Kadafi on a city that has become a crucial test of the two sides' will, as unrest inspired by the "people power" revolutions in neighboring Tunisia and Egypt increasingly veered toward civil war.

Nobel laureate economist Yunus may be victim of petty jealousy

Posted: 05 Mar 2011 06:52 PM PST

The popular pioneer who was ousted from Grameen Bank, a microfinance institution, may be too successful for others' liking in Bangladesh, where hingsha , or vindictiveness, is a hallmark of national politics.

He's won the Nobel Peace Prize. He's been hailed as a pioneering economist who brought hope to millions of poor Bangladeshis. And he's adored by the international community.

U.S. tacks toward king amid Bahrain turmoil

Posted: 05 Mar 2011 05:13 PM PST

While demonstrators denounce the monarchy's reform offers as a sham, U.S. officials are praising the king of the Persian Gulf island nation, and have taken a lead role in pushing for negotiations.

Despite its eagerness to show support for protesters across the Middle East, the Obama administration has lined up squarely with the royal family of Bahrain as tens of thousands march in the streets demanding reform in the strategic kingdom that is home to the U.S. Navy's 5th Fleet.

U.S. rebuilds Afghan village it destroyed

Posted: 05 Mar 2011 03:36 PM PST

Tarok Kalache, a hamlet of mud-brick compounds and pomegranate groves northwest of Kandahar city, was razed five months ago amid fierce combat between Taliban fighters and U.S. and Afghan forces.

When the fighting finally ended, the Taliban insurgents were gone from this farming village in southern Afghanistan.

All's quiet on the Israel-Lebanon front

Posted: 05 Mar 2011 04:39 PM PST

The volatile frontier separating the nations has been unusually calm since the 2006 war between Israel and Hezbollah. Experts say both sides are fearful that the price of the next conflict would be too high to bear.

Something unusual is happening along Israel's border with Lebanon: nothing.

Saudi Arabia activists warned that ban on protests will be enforced

Posted: 05 Mar 2011 01:52 PM PST

In a sign that the ultraconservative kingdom is growing nervous about discontent in its midst and on its borders, Saudi Arabia's Interior Ministry warns that public demonstrations are a violation of Sharia law.

Saudi Arabia warned its few but increasingly emboldened political activists Saturday that it would enforce the law banning public demonstrations, providing fresh evidence of the government's growing nervousness over political unrest among its neighbors and calls for change at home.

Scores killed as Kadafi loyalists, rebels clash in Libyan port city of Zawiya

Posted: 05 Mar 2011 07:33 AM PST

Fighting continues on multiple fronts in Libya. Moammar Kadafi reportedly renews his assault on Zawiya, west of Tripoli. A rebel organizer says opposition forces continue to hold the city but expect another attack. Rebels to the east celebrate the taking of the oil port of Ras Lanuf.

Scores of additional people were killed in the Libyan port city of Zawiya on Saturday, witnesses said, as Moammar Kadafi remained locked in fierce clashes with rebels on multiple fronts throughout the country.

Obama, Jeb Bush make strange bedfellows at Florida school event

Posted: 04 Mar 2011 03:38 PM PST

President Obama and Jeb Bush, the former Florida governor, appear together at a South Florida high school to tout its dramatic turnaround in performance and to stress federal investment in education. About 200 area teachers picketed outside the event.

While battles rage in Wisconsin and Ohio over the collective-bargaining rights of teachers and other public employees, President Obama stood side-by-side Friday in South Florida at an education-themed event with former Gov. Jeb Bush, the man that many teachers in this state blame for threatening their jobs.

In Libya, Kadafi's forces launch assault on rebel-held city

Posted: 04 Mar 2011 10:04 PM PST

Forces led by one of Moammar Kadafi's sons battle to regain control of Zawiya, west of the capital. Dozens of civilians are killed, witnesses say, as is a leading rebel commander.

Libyan strongman Moammar Kadafi's security forces launched a sustained assault against a rebel-controlled city near the capital Friday, and dozens of civilians were killed in the fighting, witnesses said.

China announces 12.7% increase in defense budget

Posted: 04 Mar 2011 09:07 PM PST

The defense spending increase to an estimated $91.5 billion, about 1.4% of gross domestic product, is expected to stir global concerns about its rising military capabilities.

China announced a 12.7% increase in its defense budget Friday, a substantial hike that is sure to stoke global concerns about its rising military capability.