LA Times News

LA Times News

Obama makes a blunt push for Middle East peace

Posted: 19 May 2011 06:33 PM PDT

The president hails the pro-democracy movements in the Arab world, but has tough words for Israel and the Palestinians, urging them to negotiate a deal and stay ahead of the wave of popular unrest.

President Obama plunged back into efforts to restart Middle East peace talks, pressuring both sides with a set of U.S. principles that appeared to catch Israeli leaders off guard and is likely to set up a tense meeting with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Friday.

Dominique Strauss-Kahn to be released on $1-million bail

Posted: 19 May 2011 06:33 PM PDT

Former IMF chief Dominique Strauss-Kahn, accused of sexually assaulting a hotel maid, will be freed, probably Friday, on $1 million in bail and a $5-million bond. He will be under house arrest, with 24-hour-a-day guards and electronic monitoring.

Shorn of his job and much of his reputation, Dominique Strauss-Kahn is expected to walk out of jail Friday and into house arrest after a judge approved $1-million bail and $5-million bond while the French political celebrity fights charges that he sexually assaulted a hotel chambermaid.

NATO expects Kadafi's regime to eventually collapse

Posted: 19 May 2011 03:44 PM PDT

Even as some NATO members fear a protracted stalemate, the group's top official says airstrikes have seriously damaged Kadafi's fighting ability and continued pressure would bring the collapse of his regime.

NATO's top official said Thursday that the air campaign in Libya had seriously damaged Moammar Kadafi's ability to fight and that continued military and political pressure would "eventually lead to the collapse" of the North African strongman's regime.

Egypt diners watching Obama speech mix distrust with applause

Posted: 19 May 2011 03:29 PM PDT

When President Obama appeared on TVs at a Pizza Hut in Cairo, the upscale crowd shoved aside their slices to hear what he had to say about their revolution and subsequent developments in the Mideast.

When President Obama appeared on the big-screen TVs at a Pizza Hut overlooking the Nile, the upscale dinnertime crowd shoved aside their slices to hear what he had to say about their revolution and subsequent developments in the Mideast.

Obama hints at shift on Syria

Posted: 19 May 2011 05:23 PM PDT

His speech indicates the U.S. no longer sees keeping Bashar Assad in power as necessary to Syrian stability.

Tucked into President Obama's speech on Arab world policy Thursday were indications of a subtle but important shift regarding the repressive rule of President Bashar Assad in Syria, a linchpin state in the Middle East that has long been considered a bulwark of stability.

Double bombing in Iraq kills 27, injures dozens

Posted: 19 May 2011 04:01 PM PDT

Most of those slain in the northern oil-rich city of Kirkuk are police officers. A roadside bomb injures eight policemen rushing to the blast scene.

A double bombing killed at least 27 people, almost all of them police officers, and wounded dozens in a parking lot outside the main police offices in the oil-rich city of Kirkuk in northern Iraq on Thursday, according to security officials.

Two bombs kill 27 near Iraq police offices

Posted: 19 May 2011 05:44 AM PDT

The explosions in Kirkuk are the second major attack against police forces this month. "This has the fingerprint of Al Qaeda," says Kirkuk's head policeman.

A double bombing killed at least 27 people, almost all of them police, and wounded an additional 70 in a parking lot outside the main police offices the oil-rich northern city of Kirkuk on Thursday, according to security officials.

36 killed in attack on work crew in Afghanistan

Posted: 19 May 2011 07:01 AM PDT

Eight assailants also die in the Paktia province attack. Road-construction workers are targeted by insurgents, who see them as collaborating with the government and foreign military in Afghanistan.

Insurgents massacred 36 workers at a road-construction encampment in eastern Afghanistan on Thursday, provincial and company officials said, marking one of the most lethal assaults of its kind in recent years.

Jailed IMF chief resigns but maintains his innocence

Posted: 18 May 2011 11:07 PM PDT

Dominique Strauss-Kahn, who is facing sexual assault charges in New York, says he is stepping down with 'infinite sadness' and that he wants to devote 'all my energy to proving my innocence.'

The head of the International Monetary Fund, Dominique Strauss-Kahn, resigned from his post late Wednesday from a jail cell in New York, where he is facing sexual assault charges.

Facing sex charges, IMF chief resigns

Posted: 18 May 2011 09:56 PM PDT

Strauss-Kahn denies the sexual assault allegations he faces but says he felt compelled to resign because he was thinking of his family and wanted to protect the IMF.

IMF chief Dominique Strauss-Kahn resigned Wednesday as managing director of the International Monetary Fund, according to a letter released by its executive board.