LA Times News

LA Times News

After crushed protests, Bahrain is accused of increased oppression of Shiites

Posted: 11 May 2011 06:36 PM PDT

The opposition says Bahrain's government is going after majority Shiites, trying to turn a call for wider political freedom into a regional struggle between Sunni countries and Shiite-controlled Iran.

Hassan Mohamed ran his finger over bumps of birdshot beneath his skin. He is nearly blind in his left eye, but is scared to go to the emergency room. The wounds would betray him as a protester. His sister arranged to sneak him into a hospital to visit a doctor she trusts. Mohamed was worried.

Greek general strike protests austerity measures

Posted: 11 May 2011 06:33 PM PDT

The protest occurs as experts from the European Union and International Monetary Fund assess proposed new austerity steps, including a third wave of tax increases and a sell-off of state assets.

Ancient Greeks coined the word "austerity." Modern Greeks are resenting it.

Always groom for one more

Posted: 11 May 2011 05:25 PM PDT

An Islamic faith healer in Nigeria has married 107 women. The wives seem happy, but religious authorities are not amused.

He fell in love with his first wife because she was sincere and eager to please.

Iraqi unity deal looks shaky amid feuding

Posted: 11 May 2011 05:25 PM PDT

Prime Minister Nouri Maliki and rival Iyad Allawi, who set aside differences to form a power-sharing government in November, accuse each other of sabotaging the arrangement. Analysts fear unrest as U.S. troops prepare to leave by year's end.

Six months after agreeing to form a national unity government, Prime Minister Nouri Maliki and his secular rival Iyad Allawi are again exchanging insults and cannot agree on such basic issues as who should run the nation's police and army.

Yemeni forces open fire on protesters

Posted: 11 May 2011 05:25 PM PDT

Several are killed during clashes in several cities over President Ali Abdullah Saleh's refusal to step down.

Yemeni security forces opened fire on anti-government demonstrators Wednesday, killing several people and injuring dozens as embattled President Ali Abdullah Saleh continued his refusal to step down.

Uganda lawmakers remove death penalty clause from anti-gay bill

Posted: 11 May 2011 05:25 PM PDT

Proponents of the anti-homosexuality bill plan to push ahead with it despite international criticism. It may be debated in a special session Friday.

After intense international criticism, proponents of an anti-gay bill before Uganda's parliament have removed a punitive clause that called for hanging people who have consensual homosexual sex.

Migrant workers fleeing Libya risk lives on smuggling boats

Posted: 11 May 2011 05:25 PM PDT

More vessels are becoming stranded in the Mediterranean, and the death toll is climbing. Some refugees say they were forced onto rickety boats by Libyan soldiers, who rebels say want to use the flood of migrants as a form of retaliation against Italy and France.

The frantic satellite phone calls come at all hours to an African priest in Rome from refugees fleeing Libya who find themselves stranded on rickety, overcrowded boats in the Mediterranean.

At least 18 killed in Syrian crackdown

Posted: 11 May 2011 03:04 PM PDT

Military forces in tanks launch an assault in the city of Homs, activists say, in an attempt to round up protest leaders.

Tanks hammered away at Syria's third-largest city Wednesday, leaving at least 18 people dead as part of an offensive to crush demonstrations against President Bashar Assad's rule, witnesses and activists said.