LA Times News

LA Times News

U.S. troops in Afghanistan suffer more catastrophic injuries

Posted: 06 Apr 2011 04:11 PM PDT

Study shows 2010 saw at least 171 troops suffer battlefield injuries resulting in amputations; 65 of them lost two limbs or more.

Grim combat statistics that one military doctor called "unbelievable" show U.S. troops in Afghanistan suffered an unprecedented number of catastrophic injuries last year, including a tripling of amputations of more than one limb.

Cleaning up Japan's radioactive water could take decades

Posted: 06 Apr 2011 06:44 PM PDT

No one is sure how to safely dispose of millions of gallons of highly radioactive water at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant. 'There is nothing like this, on this scale, that we have ever attempted to do before,' a U.S. expert says.

For nearly four weeks, Japanese emergency crews have been spraying water on the damaged Fukushima Daiichi nuclear reactors, a desperate attempt to avert the calamity of a full meltdown.

Libyan rebels bide their time

Posted: 06 Apr 2011 05:52 PM PDT

A long standoff could allow the rebels to gain strength, perhaps with help from foreign advisors.

Here in Moammar Kadafi's capital, embassies continue to close down. Gas lines get longer. Fear and uncertainty grow. Spring has arrived, but there are no short-sleeve shirts for sale at the market because supply lines to Tripoli are cut.

In China, Bob Dylan plays set with a few omissions

Posted: 06 Apr 2011 05:28 PM PDT

The Ministry of Culture forbids him to play his most famous ballads of dissent, including 'Blowin' in the Wind.' Many at the concert admit they know little about him.

At a time when many other American performers have been banned from China, Bob Dylan was allowed to play Wednesday night in Beijing, but with a program that omitted Dylan's most famous ballads of dissent.

Israel and Palestinians have conflicting visions for village's future

Posted: 06 Apr 2011 03:44 PM PDT

Lifta is the last intact pre-1948 Palestinian village in Israel. The Israelis want to put apartments there, but Palestinians want the area preserved as an open-air museum.

It's easy to conjure the village that once was, hidden deep in a picturesque valley at the western gateway to Jerusalem, almost buried by blooming almond trees, tangled grapevines and a carpet of yellow wildflowers.

Engineers try to lower danger level at crippled Japanese nuclear plant

Posted: 06 Apr 2011 11:57 AM PDT

With a leak of radioactive water plugged at Japan's Fukushima nuclear plant, nitrogen gas is pumped into one of the reactors to reduce the risk of another hydrogen explosion. But a U.S. report suggests new problems may lie ahead.

Engineers began injecting nitrogen into one of the reactors at the troubled Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant Wednesday evening as radiation levels in seawater near the plant dropped and a new report from the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission suggested that the plant may face even more troubles in the future.

Alassane Ouattara's forces in Ivory Coast renew attack on rival's presidential residence

Posted: 06 Apr 2011 11:03 AM PDT

Forces loyal to Alassane Ouattara, the U.N.-recognized president of Ivory Coast, call off a brief cease-fire and renew attacks on the presidential residence in Abidjan where his rival, Laurent Gbagbo, is believed to have retreated to an underground bunker.

Forces loyal to Alassane Ouattara, the U.N.-recognized president of Ivory Coast, on Wednesday called off a brief cease-fire and renewed attacks on the presidential residence where his rival is clinging to power.

Italian premier's sex trial opens, adjourns

Posted: 06 Apr 2011 05:21 AM PDT

Silvio Berlusconi is charged with sexual misconduct and abuse of power involving a teenage performer known as Ruby the Heart-Stealer.

The trial of Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi on charges of sexual misconduct and abuse of power opened Wednesday in Milan and almost immediately was adjourned until May 31.

Disaster in Japan exposes supply chain flaw

Posted: 05 Apr 2011 10:46 PM PDT

Earthquake damage to a Japanese silicon wafer production plant illustrates the manufacturing troubles that can ensue when companies reduce their network of suppliers.

About 40 miles west of the crippled Fukushima nuclear plant, another kind of crisis may be unfolding — this one striking at the heart of the world's multibillion-dollar market for smartphones, portable music players and other cutting-edge electronics.

Might a military jury deny 9/11 suspect's death wish?

Posted: 05 Apr 2011 06:16 PM PDT

Under military commission rules, Khalid Shaikh Mohammed cannot plead guilty to a crime that carries the death penalty, even though he wants it. And a military jury might be less likely than a civilian one to grant his wish.

His words leave little doubt about his role. It is his punishment that remains uncertain.