LA Times News

LA Times News

2 U.S. troops killed by 'friendly fire' in Afghanistan

Posted: 11 Apr 2011 07:01 PM PDT

A Marine and a medic are killed in a drone airstrike last week in Helmand province called by a group of Marines who thought they were insurgents. An investigation is underway.

In what appeared to be the first case of U.S. troops being hit by "friendly fire" from a drone aircraft, two American servicemen were killed by a Hellfire missile after apparently being mistaken for insurgents moving to attack another group of Marines in southern Afghanistan.

Egyptian protesters increasingly disillusioned with army

Posted: 11 Apr 2011 05:27 PM PDT

Arrests, prison terms and a deadly crackdown turn activists against an institution that just two months ago helped them depose a president.

The Egyptian military is learning a dangerous political truth: A revolution unfinished turns bitter and its heroes can be quickly recast as villains.

Libyan rebels reject cease-fire plan

Posted: 11 Apr 2011 03:46 PM PDT

The opposition council in Benghazi says any diplomatic solution must require Kadafi and his family to relinquish power.

Libyan rebels delivered an emphatic "no" to an African Union proposal for an end to fighting in their country, insisting that Moammar Kadafi must step down from power as part of any diplomatic solution.

11 killed in blast at Belarus subway station

Posted: 11 Apr 2011 05:04 PM PDT

The powerful bomb exploded during evening rush hour at a station near the presidential headquarters in the heart of the capital, Minsk.

A powerful blast rocked the Minsk metro during evening rush hour Monday, killing 11 passengers and injuring 126 others in a busy downtown subway station. Belarus law enforcement agencies said the explosion, on a platform at the Oktyabrskaya station as a train arrived, was an act of terrorism.

Nitrate intentionally added to milk that killed 3 Chinese infants, police say

Posted: 11 Apr 2011 05:04 PM PDT

Two suspects are arrested and two farms shut down in northwestern China.

Police in northwestern China investigating nitrate-tainted milk that killed three infants and sickened 36 others announced Monday that the chemical was intentionally added, according to New China News Agency.

Women detained at veil protest in France

Posted: 11 Apr 2011 03:01 PM PDT

Four women who took part in a protest over a ban on wearing veils in public refused to leave, police say. They were later released.

France imposed a ban on wearing veils in public Monday, and within hours police detained two women who had covered their faces at an impromptu demonstration outside Notre Dame Cathedral.

Ivory Coast's Laurent Gbagbo is captured

Posted: 11 Apr 2011 09:32 AM PDT

After French helicopters attack his bunker at the presidential residence, former Ivory Coast President Laurent Gbagbo is seized by forces loyal to Alassane Ouattara, the official winner of last fall's election.

Ivory Coast's longtime leader Laurent Gbagbo, who refused to relinquish power despite his defeat in a presidential election in November and a bloody battle with opposition forces, was seized from his compound in Abidjan on Monday and placed in the custody of United Nations peacekeeping forces, officials said.

Three strong aftershocks jolt Japanese quake zone

Posted: 11 Apr 2011 08:06 AM PDT

The new temblors in northeastern Japan strike within a span of 10 minutes with magnitudes of 7.1, 6.0 and 5.6. They come as the government announces plans to expand the evacuation area near the crippled Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant.

Three powerful aftershocks struck already jittery northeastern Japan within the span of 10 minutes on Monday, as the government announced new plans to expand the evacuation area near a stricken nuclear plant due to high radiation levels.

Forces capture Ivory Coast strongman in bunker

Posted: 11 Apr 2011 08:14 AM PDT

Forces stormed the bunker where Ivory Coast's strongman Laurent Gbagbo hung on to power Monday, arresting the man whose refusal to hand over the presidency to the election winner left hundreds dead and threatened to re-ignite a civil war in the world's largest cocoa producer.

Afghan president says he'll resolve Kabul Bank crisis

Posted: 11 Apr 2011 07:17 AM PDT

Afghan President Hamid Karzai says international auditors are partly at fault for problems at Kabul Bank, which was crippled by bad loans, some to members of Karzai's inner circle.

President Hamid Karzai on Monday promised to clean up scandal-plagued Kabul Bank but sharply criticized international auditors and oversight bodies, saying they are partly to blame for the massive malfeasance at Afghanistan's biggest private financial institution.

Libya rebels, Italy say peace 'road map' must lead to Kadafi's ouster

Posted: 11 Apr 2011 04:12 AM PDT

The strongman's opposition has stressed that no relative or representative of Kadafi can remain in power. NATO airstrikes appear to have pushed his forces back from Ajdabiya.

A key Western government and Libyan rebels on Monday reacted coolly to an African Union "road map" for peace between forces loyal and opposed to Moammar Kadafi because it did not include provisions for the removal of the longtime ruler and his family.

7.1 aftershock hits Japan

Posted: 11 Apr 2011 01:56 AM PDT

A warning for a small wave is issued on the one-month anniversary of the giant quake and tsunami.

A strong earthquake rattled Japan's northeast Monday and sparked a fresh tsunami alert on the one-month anniversary of the massive temblor and wave that devastated the northeastern coast and unleashed a still-unfolding nuclear crisis.

Populist ex-army officer leads in Peru election

Posted: 10 Apr 2011 11:38 PM PDT

Ollanta Humala, seen by some as too close to Venezuela's Hugo Chavez, appears set to win the presidential election, but may not gain the majority needed to avoid a runoff in June.

After surging in the polls in the campaign's final weeks, retired army officer and populist Ollanta Humala appeared to lead Peru's presidential race Sunday but was likely to face a runoff in June.

African Union says Kadafi has accepted peace 'road map'

Posted: 10 Apr 2011 09:29 PM PDT

South African President Jacob Zuma is leading a delegation that has met with Libyan leader Moammar Kadafi and will now meet with rebels. He says Kadafi has accepted a 'road map' to end the fighting.

South African President Jacob Zuma said Sunday that Libyan leader Moammar Kadafi had accepted a "road map" for ending the conflict that pits his forces against rebels determined to end his four-decade rule.