LA Times News

LA Times News

Gas lines and empty roads in an oil-producing nation

Posted: 17 May 2011 04:44 PM PDT

Life has changed dramatically in Libya during the three months since the uprising against Moammar Kadafi began.

Traveling the coastal route from Tunisia to Tripoli, Libya's capital, one thing became clear: One of Africa's largest oil producers has become home to some of the world's longest gasoline lines.

Libya official, in Tunisia, may have defected

Posted: 17 May 2011 05:24 PM PDT

The nation's top oil official, Shukri Ghanem, is visiting the neighboring country on business, Libya says. But unconfirmed reports suggest he is the latest high-ranking official to abandon Moammar Kadafi's government.

Mystery surrounded the status Tuesday of Libya's top oil official, Shukri Ghanem, who was in neighboring Tunisia on what authorities in Tripoli called a business trip, but unconfirmed reports suggested that he may be the latest defector from Moammar Kadafi's embattled government.

NATO helicopters crossed into airspace, Pakistan says

Posted: 17 May 2011 04:16 PM PDT

The aircraft exchanged gunfire with a border post, injuring soldiers, officials say. The confrontation comes after a U.S. senator and Pakistani officials agreed on cooperation to pursue top militants.

Pakistani authorities said two NATO helicopters crossed from Afghanistan into their country's airspace Tuesday and exchanged gunfire with an army post near the border, injuring two soldiers. The confrontation came just a day after a top U.S. senator and Pakistani officials agreed that their nations would cooperate in pursuing top militants.

Ireland welcomes Queen Elizabeth II

Posted: 17 May 2011 01:17 PM PDT

Queen Elizabeth's visit to Ireland shows how far Anglo-Irish ties have come. She lays a wreath for those who died in the struggle for freedom from Britain as a military band plays 'God Save the Queen.'

The last time a British monarch set foot in the south of Ireland, the Emerald Isle was still a jewel in his crown and its people were still his subjects. The king was George V, and his visit took place a century ago.

NATO copters fired on border post, Pakistan charges

Posted: 17 May 2011 06:10 AM PDT

Two soldiers are reported injured, and a U.S. official in Afghanistan says a border incident is being investigated. Relations between the U.S. and Pakistan already were strained by the incursion to kill Osama bin Laden.

Pakistani authorities charged that two NATO helicopters crossed from Afghanistan into their country's airspace Tuesday and exchanged gunfire with an army post near the border, injuring two soldiers just a day after a top U.S. senator and Pakistani officials agreed that Pakistan and the U.S. would cooperate in the war on terror.

British queen makes historic peace trip to Ireland

Posted: 17 May 2011 07:40 AM PDT

The queen arrived 100 years after her grandfather George V visited Dublin and an Ireland that was still part of the British Empire.

Undeterred by real or fake bombs, Queen Elizabeth II on Tuesday began the first visit by a British monarch to the Republic of Ireland, a four-day trip to highlight strong Anglo-Irish relations and the success of Northern Ireland peacemaking.

Obama in Memphis to meet with flood victims

Posted: 16 May 2011 12:13 PM PDT

'We're grateful for your resilience,' President Obama tells families and others affected by the Mississippi River flooding, which has caused billions of dollars of damage in the Midwest and South.

President Obama met with victims of the flooding that rocked Memphis, Tenn., as officials in Louisiana continued to fight the river waters raging farther south.

Vatican orders bishops to set up guidelines against child sexual abuse

Posted: 16 May 2011 09:56 PM PDT

Roman Catholic bishops have a year to comply. The Vatican's order is not expected to affect the church in the United States because U.S. bishops adopted their own rules in 2002 for dealing with sexual abuse cases.

After months of anticipation, the Vatican issued a letter Monday that gives Roman Catholic bishops worldwide a year to come up with national guidelines on how to deal with the problem of child sexual abuse by priests.

'Small group' knew about Bin Laden compound, ex-official says

Posted: 16 May 2011 09:56 PM PDT

Former national security advisor James L. Jones recounts being told about the 'potential target' in Abbottabad, Pakistan, during a briefing last year.

James L. Jones, former national security advisor to President Obama, was long gone from the White House when U.S. Navy SEALs killed Osama bin Laden in Abbottabad, Pakistan, on May 2. But Jones well remembers when he first heard about a promising lead on Bin Laden's whereabouts.

4 U.S. troops killed in Afghanistan

Posted: 16 May 2011 08:57 PM PDT

The attack in southern Afghanistan caused an unusually high number of casualties for a single explosion, possibly reflecting the Taliban's increasing use of more sophisticated homemade bombs.

A powerful homemade bomb killed four U.S. service members Monday in southern Afghanistan, military officials said, an unusually high number of troop deaths in a single explosion.