LA Times News

LA Times News

Ai Weiwei book shows the caustic artist's softer side

Posted: 30 May 2011 06:17 PM PDT

Amid bursts of anger and critical essays, the now-imprisoned Chinese agitator's writing, taken from a shut-down blog, includes paeans to stray cats and a clown-like self-portrait.

Before his rants about corruption made him persona non grata with the Communist Party, before he started agitating for the rights of children and evicted tenants, before he denounced the Beijing Olympics, there were the cats.

Zuma arrives in Libya on peace mission

Posted: 30 May 2011 05:45 AM PDT

The South African president hopes to broker a deal between Moammar Kadafi and the rebels who want to drive him from power. But the Libyan leader has given no indication that he would relinquish power.

South African President Jacob Zuma arrived Monday in Tripoli, hoping to broker an end to the 3-month-old conflict between longtime leader Moammar Kadafi and rebels who want to drive him from power.

Taliban insurgents hit NATO base, downtown Herat in coordinated attacks

Posted: 30 May 2011 05:48 AM PDT

Four civilians are killed in downtown Herat and several Italian soldiers are hurt and an Afghan soldier killed at the NATO facility. The strikes may be part of an effort to target areas where security responsibilities are to be handed over to Afghan forces.

These days, the parts of Afghanistan that are considered relatively safe may well have a bull's-eye painted on them.

Yemeni forces storm protest camp, killing 20

Posted: 30 May 2011 04:07 AM PDT

A medical volunteer says troops fired indiscriminately into a crowd. Elsewhere, troops move into a city reportedly seized by an Al Qaeda affiliate.

Yemeni security forces stormed a protest camp in a southern city early Monday morning, shooting indiscriminately, setting fire to the camp and killing at least 20 people, a medical volunteer said.

E. coli outbreak in Europe kills at least 10, sickens hundreds

Posted: 29 May 2011 10:05 AM PDT

Spanish vegetables suspected of contamination with a potentially deadly bacteria are being recalled from stores in Austria and the Czech Republic to prevent the spread of an outbreak that has killed at least 10 people and sickened hundreds across Europe, officials said Sunday.

Iran's supreme leader backs Ahmadinejad

Posted: 29 May 2011 09:19 PM PDT

In an apparent bid to defuse a power struggle and months-long rift, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei publicly endorses President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, whose fiery populism has angered many in the powerful conservative clergy.

Iran's supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, issued a public endorsement of President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad on Sunday as he looked to resolve a months-long rift among the country's conservative power elites.

Kadafi tries to rally allies

Posted: 29 May 2011 08:29 PM PDT

Despite bombing and the threat of attack helicopters, the Libyan leader appears determined to stay in power. South African President Jacob Zuma is to arrive in Tripoli to help search for a resolution to the conflict, but observers hold out little hope for that effort.

Moammar Kadafi faces stepped-up bombardments and the threat of strikes by attack helicopters but seems determined to maintain his grip on power, in part by rallying a diminished roster of allies to counter his regime's isolation.