LA Times News

LA Times News

Obama visits grave of slain Salvadoran archbishop

Posted: 22 Mar 2011 08:35 PM PDT

President Obama's trip to El Salvador is cut short amid the developments in Libya. But his visit and tribute to Archbishop Oscar Romero is hailed as recognition of the nation's democratic transition.

El Salvador, the tiniest nation in Central America, has plenty of its own problems. Violent gangs. Drug traffickers. An addiction to monies sent from roughly a third of its population living in the United States. Sky-high murder rates.

Power lines reconnected to Japan's quake-damaged nuclear plant

Posted: 22 Mar 2011 07:23 PM PDT

The hookup of power cables to all six reactors at the Fukushima complex is seen as a possible turning point in Japan's nuclear crisis, but officials warn that equipment must be checked before the restored electricity can be used to operate cooling systems at the plant.

Control room lights were on and electronic thermometers were functioning Wednesday at several of Japan's stricken nuclear reactors, marking small but potentially critical steps toward controlling overheated fuel that has been spewing radioactivity for more than a week.

After quake, Japanese grapple with honoring the dead they can't see

Posted: 22 Mar 2011 06:39 PM PDT

Holding a traditional Japanese funeral is difficult when there's no body.

Shoichi Nakamura is having trouble sleeping and eating. Her brother, sister-in-law and their child have been missing for more than a week. She's been to three evacuation centers and pored over countless lists at disaster centers.

Moammar Kadafi's forces continue attacks on rebels in Libya

Posted: 22 Mar 2011 07:06 PM PDT

The military assaults suggest that the Libyan leader wants to stamp out what remains of the popular rebellion and underscore questions about whether the U.S.-led air campaign is succeeding.

Forces loyal to Libyan leader Moammar Kadafi carried out attacks on several rebel-held areas and deployed an elite military brigade to help bolster defenses, U.S. officials said, despite sharply stepped-up coalition airstrikes against his regime.

Libyan rebels content to wait

Posted: 22 Mar 2011 06:19 PM PDT

An uneasy stalemate settles in eastern Libya as rebel units hold back until troops loyal to Moammar Kadafi run out of supplies or allied airstrikes destroy their weapons advantage.

On Libya's eastern front, as allied warplanes circled Tuesday, the word on the lips of several rebel fighters near the government-held city of Ajdabiya was sabor , or "patience" in Arabic.

Some find their voice in Libya capital

Posted: 22 Mar 2011 05:55 PM PDT

Since the start of the Western-led bombing campaign against Libya's armed forces, government' opponents in Tripoli have been emboldened.

He woke up in a fright as the air raids and antiaircraft guns opened up over Tripoli. But when Abdul-Momen climbed to his rooftop to watch the tracer fire streaking the sky, it was not fear that filled his heart. It was hope.

Syria protesters march again despite crackdown

Posted: 22 Mar 2011 04:00 PM PDT

Hundreds turn out for a fifth day in Dara demanding political freedoms. Syrian security forces are blamed in the deaths of at least five people in recent days during a crackdown on demonstrations.

Protesters marched in the southern Syrian city of Dara on Tuesday, pressing their demands for political freedoms for a fifth day despite a security crackdown.

U.S. nuclear waste problem gains new scrutiny

Posted: 22 Mar 2011 05:43 PM PDT

Japan's nuclear accident has focused attention on the U.S. practice of packing spent-fuel pools at power plants far beyond their capacity, which some scientists call a serious compromise in safety.

When the first U.S. nuclear power plants went on line more than half a century ago, utilities built small cooling pools next to the reactors to store their radioactive waste, like the ones at Japan's Fukushima plant that overheated and probably leaked radiation into the environment.

FDA bars importation of some foods from areas near Japan's Fukushima nuclear plant

Posted: 22 Mar 2011 04:26 PM PDT

With concern over radiation-tainted food increasing, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration announced that all milk, milk products and fresh fruits and vegetables from four prefectures near Japan's Fukushima Daiichi nuclear complex will be barred from importation into the United States.

WASHINGTON — Ratcheting up screening on food products from Japan, the Food and Drug Administration on Tuesday announced that all milk, milk products and fresh fruits and vegetables from four areas near the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear complex will be barred from importation into the United States.

Parents in Japan comb through school that's now a graveyard

Posted: 22 Mar 2011 06:40 PM PDT

Students and teachers at Ookawa Elementary School in Ishinomaki, Japan, knew just what to do in an earthquake. Yet nearly 100 of them died as the tsunami swept in.

Tatsuhiro Karino paused at the top of the muddy hill, took his wife, Masako, by the hand and led her slowly down to the ruins of the elementary school that entombed the body of their daughter, Misaki.

Yemen president's ouster may deal U.S. huge setbacks

Posted: 22 Mar 2011 04:12 PM PDT

President Ali Abdullah Saleh has been a key U.S. ally in a turbulent region. If he steps down, Yemen may become a terrorist haven and a proxy battleground for Saudi Arabia and Iran.

Al Qaeda fighters, mercurial rebels and well-armed secessionists slip through the dangerous deserts and mountains of Yemen, which for years has been held together by President Ali Abdullah Saleh, a cunning tribesman with a dagger-gleam smile and a knack for outwitting his enemies.

Libya operation is a hot potato for allies

Posted: 22 Mar 2011 03:23 PM PDT

After days of joint airstrikes, no one has stepped up to take command of the coalition trying to rein in Libyan dictator Moammar Kadafi.

Depending on whom you ask, the warplanes sent to enforce a no-fly zone over Libya are there to carry out Operation Odyssey Dawn, Operation Ellamy or Operation Harmattan.

Japanese manufacturers face further delays in resuming production after quake

Posted: 22 Mar 2011 01:55 PM PDT

Toyota and Honda auto factories that had been shut down by the massive earthquake and tsunami won't reopen until this weekend because of disruption in their parts supply chains. Electronics and silicon wafer makers have also been idled.

The natural disasters that struck Japan's northeast continued to wreak havoc on the nation's economy on Tuesday, with two of the country's largest carmakers announcing further delays in resumption of production at their plants because of continued disruption in parts supplies.

Israel strikes Gaza targets, killing eight

Posted: 22 Mar 2011 01:26 PM PDT

Israeli officials said the strikes, in which three Palestinian children and their grandfather were among the dead, were in response to a recent mortar barrage fired by Gaza militants into Israel.

Israel launched attacks Tuesday against Palestinian militants in the Gaza Strip, killing eight people, including three children who were mistakenly hit by tank shells as they played soccer near their home, officials said.

In Libyan school: Reading, writing and Kadafi

Posted: 22 Mar 2011 01:05 PM PDT

At a middle school in Tripoli, Libyan leader Moammar Kadafi's portraits adorn all the walls and students and teachers sing his praises. His Green Book, part of the curriculum, is taught by a specially designated instructor.

Col. Moammar Kadafi's portraits hang from the walls of the middle school. All of the walls.

China still restricting foreign media, U.S. complains

Posted: 22 Mar 2011 09:37 AM PDT

U.S. trade and film officials express hope that China will yet comply with a World Trade Organization ruling and allow the distribution of more foreign movies after it misses a March 19 deadline.

China has missed the deadline to comply with a World Trade Organization ruling to loosen state controls on the distribution of foreign media such as films, books, magazines and newspapers, the U.S. trade representative said.

U.S. fighter jet crashes in Libya; crew members safe

Posted: 22 Mar 2011 10:12 AM PDT

The F-15E Strike Eagle crashed in northeast Libya after experiencing 'equipment malfunction,' a U.S. statement says. Both crew members are back in U.S. hands after one is rescued by an American search team and the other by Libyan rebels.

Two Air Force aviators were rescued after they bailed out of a U.S. fighter jet late Monday before it crashed in northeast Libya, apparently due to a mechanical malfunction, the U.S. military said.

Yemeni opposition rejects gradual transfer of power

Posted: 22 Mar 2011 07:27 AM PDT

President Ali Abdullah Saleh, his support within Yemen's government crumbling, offers to leave office before his term ends in 2013, though not immediately. 'No deals,' an opposition leader says.

Yemen's political crisis deepened Tuesday as opposition groups rejected an offer by President Ali Abdullah Saleh to negotiate a gradual transfer of power.

Former Israeli President Katsav gets 7 years in rape case

Posted: 22 Mar 2011 04:32 AM PDT

The tearful politician tells judges, 'It's a lie,' and storms out of court. Other charges include sexual harassment and obstruction of justice.

Israel's former President Moshe Katsav was sentenced Tuesday to seven years in prison for rape, sexual harassment and obstruction of justice, capping an emotionally charged trial that many Israelis viewed as a national embarrassment.

U.S. F-15 crashes in Libya; crew ejects

Posted: 22 Mar 2011 07:46 AM PDT

A military spokesman says the craft is not believed to have been shot down while enforcing a no-fly zone. One crewman has been recovered and the other is being sought.

A U.S. fighter jet crashed in Libya after an apparent equipment malfunction but both crewmembers were able to eject and were back in American hands with only minor injuries, U.S. officials said Tuesday.