LA Times News

LA Times News

CIA has slashed its terrorism interrogation role

Posted: 10 Apr 2011 07:10 PM PDT

The agency has stopped trying to detain or interrogate suspects caught abroad, except those captured in Iraq and Afghanistan.

He's considered one of world's most dangerous terrorism suspects, and the U.S. offered a $1-million reward for his capture in 2005. Intelligence experts say he's a master bomb maker and extremist leader who possesses a wealth of information about Al Qaeda-linked groups in Southeast Asia.

At least 3 die in Syria protests, witnesses say

Posted: 10 Apr 2011 05:15 PM PDT

Violence in Baniyas follows a march the night before at which Syrians chanted their desire to topple the regime of President Bashar Assad — a change from earlier slogans that had called for reform and freedom.

At least three people were killed and scores wounded in Syria on Sunday as security forces kept up their assault on the coastal town of Baniyas, where anti-government protests have gained momentum in recent days, witnesses said.

U.N., French forces hit sites in Ivory Coast

Posted: 10 Apr 2011 05:00 PM PDT

They attack the home of incumbent Laurent Gbagbo and the presidential palace in Abidjan, where his loyalists have pushed back against President-elect Alassane Ouattara's forces.

United Nations and French helicopters in Ivory Coast on Sunday attacked the home and presidential palace of the country's longtime leader, who has refused to step down since an election in November in which the U.N. says he was defeated.

Egypt's Hosni Mubarak decries 'falsehood, slander and defamation'

Posted: 10 Apr 2011 06:48 PM PDT

Former Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak speaks out for the first time since his regime was toppled. On the same day, officials say he and his sons have been summoned for questioning about the violence during the revolt.

In his first public speech since he was forced from power two months ago, former Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak said Sunday that he and his family were victims of a campaign by political enemies seeking to tarnish their reputation by exaggerating their wealth with false charges of corruption.

Chinese police detain members of unregistered church

Posted: 10 Apr 2011 11:19 AM PDT

The roundup of more than 100 Chinese worshipers trying to hold an outdoor prayer service in Beijing suggests that the recent government crackdown on activists, bloggers and intellectuals now includes Christian groups previously left alone.

Chinese police on Sunday detained more than 100 churchgoers who tried to hold an outdoor prayer service on a pedestrian bridge in Beijing after having failed to secure permission to open a church.

Anatomy of an Afghan war tragedy

Posted: 09 Apr 2011 08:50 PM PDT

U.S. Predator teams and a special operations unit on the ground studying a suspicious convoy make a series of fateful missteps as they try to distinguish friend from foe.

Nearly three miles above the rugged hills of central Afghanistan, American eyes silently tracked two SUVs and a pickup truck as they snaked down a dirt road in the pre-dawn darkness.

Giving female veterans a chance to share their pain

Posted: 09 Apr 2011 08:50 PM PDT

At a weekend retreat in Oceanside, participants find that, by learning how other women have had experiences like theirs, they can feel less alone.

The war veterans gathered amid the tranquil gardens and arched walkways of the Mission San Luis Rey in Oceanside. In a circle, they sat together, more than 50 women in all.