LA Times News

LA Times News

Where even cellphones aren't safe

Posted: 09 Apr 2011 05:14 PM PDT

In authoritarian regimes, sending emails and using Facebook can be dangerous for activists. The U.S. State Department seeks to train them to protect themselves online.

Los Angeles Times

Violent army crackdown on Cairo protesters shocks Egyptians

Posted: 09 Apr 2011 03:28 PM PDT

Tahrir Square, a scene of celebration two months ago when Hosni Mubarak fell, became a battlefield as soldiers beat protesters and tore down tents. One demonstrator was shot dead; 71 others were hurt.

Morning broke on a scene that wasn't supposed to be in the new Egypt: burned military trucks, skeins of barbed wire, blood in the dirt, one protester dead.

Foreign firms say they were stiffed by India Commonwealth Games officials

Posted: 09 Apr 2011 03:34 PM PDT

At least a dozen contractors who worked on October's Commonwealth Games say they're owed money by Indian sports authorities, totalling millions of dollars. Some games officials have been arrested.

Howard & Sons, an Australian pyrotechnics company, worked overtime before the Commonwealth Games here in October to ensure that the opening and closing ceremony firework displays were a success.

Young Libyans laying groundwork for civil society

Posted: 09 Apr 2011 03:37 PM PDT

The young activists in Benghazi consist of Islamists in clerical garb and other ex-protesters in berets and Nike shirts. They have formed civic groups and charities and speak of building democracy.

Here in the gray courthouse, in offices once occupied by judges and government lawyers, the young demonstrators who sparked a revolt in eastern Libya have planted the seeds of a political movement.

Shuttered Tokyo hotel reopens for evacuees

Posted: 09 Apr 2011 03:41 PM PDT

The upscale Grand Prince Hotel Akasaka, which closed last month, has been turned into a temporary home for 360 evacuees from Japan's disaster-hit northern region. It is one example of the creative ways government officials are housing those in need.

Room 1648 at the upscale Grand Prince Hotel Akasaka isn't fancy, but it sure beats Mina Ariga's old digs: an evacuation shelter in the Tokyo convention center. And for the three months she'll stay, she won't have to pay a cent.

As Syrians mourn slain protesters, another is reportedly killed

Posted: 09 Apr 2011 03:07 PM PDT

Security forces fire shots to disperse a crowd gathered in Dara to mourn 37 killed in clashes a day earlier, witnesses and human rights activists say. One is killed and several others are hospitalized in critical condition, they say.

By Garrett Therolf and Alexandra Sandels, Los Angeles Times

Iran's Ahmadinejad demotes top advisor

Posted: 09 Apr 2011 04:00 PM PDT

Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad replaces Esfandiar Rahim Mashaei as chief of staff. Hard-liners mistrusted Mashaei for his unorthodox views about religion.

Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad demoted a controversial aide Saturday, Iranian news agencies reported, amid rising calls for political change throughout the Middle East.

6 killed, 11 wounded in Dutch mall shooting

Posted: 09 Apr 2011 06:57 AM PDT

A gunman opened fire with an automatic weapon at a crowded shopping mall outside Amsterdam on Saturday, leaving at least six people dead and wounding 11 others, Dutch officials said.

Japanese perplexed by slow quake response

Posted: 09 Apr 2011 12:29 AM PDT

In a nation known for speed and efficiency, people wonder why it took so long for the government to mobilize relief for the areas devastated by the earthquake and tsunami.

The calls came into Tokyo's metropolitan government soon after the March 11 earthquake and tsunami. What can we do to help, some asked. Others, seeing shocking television video of people homeless and desperate for food, urged officials to take up a collection.

Libyan rebels forgiving of NATO error

Posted: 09 Apr 2011 12:29 AM PDT

A spokesman says the 'benefits outweigh the damage' after NATO airplanes mistakenly hit rebel forces. A NATO official acknowledges the error but says the forces won't try to improve communication with rebels.

Rebel leaders in Libya said Friday that they must accept accidental deaths caused by NATO airstrikes as a consequence of international efforts to protect civilians.