LA Times News

LA Times News

With U.S. in support role, NATO's Libya mission 'going in circles'

Posted: 18 Apr 2011 07:23 PM PDT

Kadafi's forces have been able to intensify their counteroffensive while NATO members don't appear willing to escalate their intervention.

A month ago in Libya, troops loyal to Moammar Kadafi were advancing on opposition-held areas, tens of thousands of civilians feared for their lives, and rebel forces appeared in disarray with little prospect of driving Kadafi from power.

Israel under pressure to offer peace plan

Posted: 18 Apr 2011 05:13 PM PDT

If Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu doesn't act soon, the Mideast 'quartet' may try to jump-start the process by endorsing a Palestinian state based on 1967 borders, with East Jerusalem its capital.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is under mounting pressure to unveil a new plan for solving the longstanding Israeli-Palestinian conflict or risk having the U.S. and international community move ahead with a strategy of their own.

Nigeria election results spark riots across the divided country's north

Posted: 18 Apr 2011 04:15 PM PDT

Young followers of a defeated presidential candidate rampage through cities, burning down homes of those seen as supporting incumbent Goodluck Jonathan. Dozens of deaths are reported.

International observers declared Nigeria's weekend presidential election the fairest in decades. But riots across the north Monday and the loser's unwillingness to accept the results undercut this divided nation's bid to move toward orderly democracy.

France blocks Italian train carrying Tunisian migrants

Posted: 18 Apr 2011 02:15 PM PDT

The train is stopped at a border town. French officials say they feared a disruptive protest and that Italian authorities should handle the migrants.

French authorities barred an Italian train loaded with Tunisian migrants and European activists from entering its territory, angering Italian officials who on Monday formally protested what they saw as un-European behavior.

2 Afghan soldiers killed in assassination attempt

Posted: 18 Apr 2011 02:15 PM PDT

An insurgent wearing an army uniform was on a mission to kill the Afghan and French defense ministers, officials say. Neither was harmed.

An insurgent dressed as an Afghan soldier opened fire Monday inside the Defense Ministry, killing two soldiers in an unsuccessful attempt to assassinate the Afghan and French defense ministers, officials said.

Defiant crowds mourn slain Syrian protesters

Posted: 18 Apr 2011 12:13 PM PDT

Thousands join a politically charged funeral procession for at least 20 protesters allegedly shot and killed by security forces loyal to Syrian President Bashar Assad in the city of Homs. Smaller demonstrations are reported in other cities.

Thousands of angry mourners poured into the Syrian city of Homs on Monday in a politically charged funeral procession memorializing at least 20 protesters said to have been shot and killed by security forces loyal to President Bashar Assad a day earlier.

Uniformed gunman kills 2 Afghan soldiers in Defense Ministry

Posted: 18 Apr 2011 05:04 AM PDT

A Taliban spokesman says the attacker tried, without success, to assassinate the Afghan and French defense ministers. The assailant is killed before he can detonate explosives.

An insurgent dressed as an Afghan soldier opened fire Monday inside the Defense Ministry, killing two soldiers in an unsuccessful attempt to assassinate the Afghan and French defense ministers, officials said.

Robots find radiation still too deadly for humans to enter 2 Japan reactor units

Posted: 18 Apr 2011 04:09 AM PDT

The machines find levels of radioactivity that would quickly surpass limits for human exposure inside Units 1 and 3 at the damaged Fukushima Daiichi complex.

Readings Monday from robots that entered two crippled buildings at Japan's tsunami-flooded nuclear plant for the first time in more than a month showed a harsh environment still too radioactive for workers to enter.

Libyan civilian casualties rise in Misurata

Posted: 17 Apr 2011 10:28 PM PDT

Doctors work on patients in tents and grieve for a girl killed by a sniper in a city whose misery has become symbolic of the war in Libya.

The doctors rushed through a white outdoor tent where several pale, bloodied men were being operated on. Inside the Hikma hospital, it was a similar scene.

India surrogacy service not a good deal, one family says

Posted: 17 Apr 2011 10:28 PM PDT

The Toronto couple wanted to save money, so they worked with an Indian clinic to have a child through a surrogate. Then, they say, came a sort of bait and switch. The clinic denies any wrongdoing.

It should have been Myleen and Jan Sjodin's greatest happiness. Their newborn was healthy, they were in exotic India and, following Myleen's uterine cancer, their surrogacy was successful.

8 NATO troops killed in one day in Afghanistan

Posted: 17 Apr 2011 10:28 PM PDT

Three die in two bombings in the south, and five others are killed in a suicide attack in Laghman province on Saturday.

In one of the deadliest days for foreign forces in Afghanistan this year, eight NATO troops were killed in three separate incidents Saturday, authorities said.

Goodluck Jonathan seems headed for victory in Nigeria

Posted: 17 Apr 2011 08:17 PM PDT

Early election results show the southern Christian incumbent ahead of his primary challenger, a former military ruler. The election appears to be the cleanest since military rule ended 12 years ago.

Judging by early election results Sunday, incumbent Goodluck Jonathan was set to win Nigeria's presidential election in what appeared to be the nation's fairest vote since the end of military rule in 1999.

Mexican microbrewers struggle to get ahead

Posted: 17 Apr 2011 05:49 PM PDT

Craft beer makers are up against two giant firms that dominate the market. But they persevere, even if bars and restaurants are unwilling to stock their brews.

It sounds like a movie where high jinks ensue: A teetotaling Mexican hotel worker travels to England, befriends a whisky-drinking Irishman and scrubs toilets in a pub while learning to brew killer beer.

WikiLeaks reports secret U.S. funding for Syrian opposition

Posted: 17 Apr 2011 09:38 PM PDT

The website provides documents to the Washington Post showing State Department financing of an anti-government satellite TV channel.

The State Department has been secretly financing opponents of Syrian President Bashar Assad, the Washington Post reported, citing previously undisclosed diplomatic documents provided to the newspaper by the WikiLeaks website.