LA Times News

LA Times News

New CIA chief David Petraeus' possible new critic: himself

Posted: 28 Apr 2011 07:33 PM PDT

The soon-to-be-retired Army general will assess his own military tactics in Afghanistan, and will do so while working with CIA analysts who didn't always agree with him.

When David H. Petraeus retires from the Army this summer and starts his new job as director of the Central Intelligence Agency, he will scrutinize the latest spy service reports about the war in Afghanistan, the same unpopular war he has run for the last year.

China's population expanded slowly over last decade

Posted: 28 Apr 2011 07:33 PM PDT

The population grew 5.84% from 2000 to 2010, or 0.57% a year, according to official statistics, and it's getting older and more urban. Some experts are alarmed.

As China continues to enforce childbearing limits, its population grew by less than 1% a year in the last decade, but remained the world's largest at 1.34 billion people, according to census figures released Thursday.

NATO airstrike mistakenly kills 12 Libyan rebels

Posted: 28 Apr 2011 06:24 PM PDT

The strike near the port in Misurata is the third reported friendly fire incident since the NATO military mission against Kadafi's forces began.

A NATO airstrike in the besieged rebel-held city of Misurata mistakenly killed 12 Libyan rebels, an official with the transitional government confirmed Thursday, while new fighting was reported on Libya's western border with Tunisia.

Royal wedding coverage reflects a changing British media

Posted: 28 Apr 2011 05:20 PM PDT

The wall-to-wall coverage of William and Kate's nuptials may not suggest it, but the news media is thought to have shown restraint compared with the frenzy over Charles and Diana.

Not one, but two relationships have been making front-page headlines here in Britain this week, and they couldn't be more different.

Japanese drop their traditional politeness over nuclear crisis

Posted: 28 Apr 2011 05:20 PM PDT

Fishermen, students, workers and small-town officials publicly blame Tepco and the government.

Kenji Kadota long followed the dual credo drilled into him during childhood: Hide your anger and trust the powers that be.

Putin eclipses Medvedev in run-up to 2012 election

Posted: 28 Apr 2011 06:02 PM PDT

Putin, a former two-time president, appears to have gained the upper hand in a fierce power struggle with his protege, and analysts say the presidency his for the taking.

The 2012 Russian presidential elections may be over already.

Afghan prison's warden, other officials arrested in wake of mass escape

Posted: 28 Apr 2011 08:27 AM PDT

Afghan authorities arrest 10 officials from Sarposa prison in Kandahar, where nearly 500 insurgents escaped this week through a tunnel built by the Taliban. The charges are not revealed.

Afghan authorities have arrested the warden and other officials at the Kandahar prison where nearly 500 insurgents managed to escape this week through a tunnel built by the Taliban, officials said Thursday.

U.S. ambassador to India Timothy Roemer resigns

Posted: 28 Apr 2011 08:29 AM PDT

Roemer says he wants to spend more time with his family, but some see a connection to India's decision to exclude 2 U.S. companies from a much-anticipated $11-billion fighter-jet deal.

The U.S. ambassador to India announced his resignation Thursday, citing a desire to spend more time with his family.

4 Bahrain protesters sentenced to death for killing 2 officers

Posted: 28 Apr 2011 05:15 AM PDT

Prosecutors say the policemen were deliberately run over with a car. Human rights groups say the trial was politically motivated.

A military court in Bahrain on Thursday convicted four Shiite protesters and sentenced them to death for the killing of two policemen during anti-government demonstrations last month in the Gulf kingdom, state media said.

U.S. gives limited support to rebel government in Libya

Posted: 27 Apr 2011 08:17 PM PDT

The U.S. will encourage other nations to line up behind the Transitional National Council, but continues to wrestle with whether it should extend recognition to the Libyan group.

The Obama administration gave an official blessing to the chief Libyan opposition group Wednesday, opening the way for closer ties but not necessarily recognition as the country's legitimate government.