LA Times News

LA Times News

Bin Laden raid gets little credence in conspiracy-minded Pakistan

Posted: 31 May 2011 06:42 PM PDT

The skepticism of many Pakistanis is rooted in deep distrust of the U.S., a desire to protect their nuclear program, impressions of world events and devotion to preachings of hard-line clerics.

It was all a ruse, Ejaz Ahmad sniffed. Osama bin Laden never lived in Abbottabad.

Violence erupts in Yemen cities after cease-fire fails

Posted: 31 May 2011 06:42 PM PDT

Heavy fighting erupts in Sana between Yemeni government forces and backers of a tribal rival to President Ali Abdullah Saleh, and security forces fire on protesters in Taiz, adding to the death toll.

Yemen's capital and other cities again erupted into violent chaos Tuesday after a cease-fire collapsed between forces loyal to President Ali Abdullah Saleh and tribal fighters, who seized at least four government buildings.

Two Iraqi refugees in U.S. charged in terrorism-related case

Posted: 31 May 2011 07:07 PM PDT

Two men are charged with sending cash, explosives and missiles to Iraq for use against Americans. Their case underscores gaps identified in the U.S. refugee vetting process before last year.

Before he was granted refugee status in the U.S. and settled down in Bowling Green, Ky., Waad Ramadan Alwan was allegedly a sniper and skilled bomb maker who targeted U.S. forces and bragged that his "lunch and dinner would be an American."

Amid talk of democracy, Iraqi activists decry detentions

Posted: 31 May 2011 05:25 PM PDT

'Obama is talking about Iraq as a symbol of freedom,' says one young man angry over the detainment of several demonstrators, whose whereabouts are still unknown. 'We don't have such freedom. Where is it?'

Encouraging the democracy protests sweeping the Arab world, President Obama has presented Iraq as a model for the region — praise that contrasts with the detention of four young activists for days without access to lawyers or their families.

Pakistani journalist who wrote about military's links to Al Qaeda is found slain

Posted: 31 May 2011 04:48 PM PDT

Syed Saleem Shahzad had been missing since Sunday. He recently wrote an article that claimed Al Qaeda had infiltrated the navy, and he previously had complained of receiving threats from the nation's intelligence community.

A Pakistani journalist who vanished after writing about alleged links between Al Qaeda and Pakistan's navy was found slain Tuesday. Colleagues said the reporter had complained of receiving threats in recent months from members of the nation's powerful intelligence community.

Psychological aftershocks rattle Japanese

Posted: 31 May 2011 03:43 PM PDT

'Earthquake drunk' cases are on the rise, in which people experience the sensation of an aftershock, even when there is none. Experts say it is akin to the shakiness some feel after sea travel.

A few days after Japan's magnitude 9 earthquake struck, physician Munetaka Ushio was making his rounds visiting patients when he felt the unnerving sensation of the earth moving beneath his feet.

Pakistani journalist who wrote about military's links to Al Qaeda is found slain

Posted: 31 May 2011 12:59 PM PDT

Syed Saleem Shahzad had been missing since Sunday. He recently wrote an article that claimed Al Qaeda had infiltrated the navy, and he previously had complained of receiving threats from the nation's intelligence community.

A Pakistani journalist who vanished after writing about alleged links between Al Qaeda and Pakistan's navy was found slain Tuesday. Colleagues said the reporter had complained of receiving threats in recent months from members of the nation's powerful intelligence community.

2 Iraqis indicted on terrorism charges in Kentucky

Posted: 31 May 2011 12:14 PM PDT

The men, in the country since 2009 and 2010, face life in prison if convicted. They're accused, among other things, in a plot to deliver explosives and Stinger missiles to target Americans abroad.

WASHINGTON — The Justice Department announced Tuesday the indictment of two Iraqis currently living in Kentucky on terrorism charges that included an alleged plot to deliver explosives and Stinger missiles for use against Americans abroad.

Ratko Mladic extradited from Serbia to face war crimes charges

Posted: 31 May 2011 12:01 PM PDT

Ratko Mladic, the former Bosnian Serb general who is accused of overseeing the 1995 killing of 8,000 Muslim men and boys, is flown to The Hague after judges reject an argument against extradition.

The man accused of overseeing the worst massacre of civilians in Europe since World War II was flown to The Hague on Tuesday for trial after judges rejected his argument that he was too frail to be extradited.

E. coli deaths in Europe rise to 16

Posted: 31 May 2011 05:38 AM PDT

The two new deaths include the first outside Germany. Authorities believe that tainted vegetables are to blame.

Two new deaths linked to a mysterious bacterial outbreak in Europe blamed on tainted vegetables were reported Tuesday, including the first outside Germany, as the number of reported cases continued to rise.

Afghan President Hamid Karzai demands that NATO end airstrikes on houses

Posted: 31 May 2011 03:43 AM PDT

President Hamid Karzai's call, coming after an attack that killed several civilians, escalates his dispute with Western military commanders over such raids.

Afghan President Hamid Karzai demanded Tuesday that NATO refrain from airstrikes on residential compounds, marking a sharp escalation in his long-running feud with Western commanders over the issue of civilian casualties.

Kadafi has no intention of leaving Libya, office of South Africa's Zuma says

Posted: 31 May 2011 10:49 AM PDT

Moammar Kadafi, in his meeting Monday in Libya with South African President Jacob Zuma, stressed 'that he was not prepared to leave his country, despite the difficulties,' Zuma's office says Tuesday.

Moammar Kadafi has no intention of leaving Libya, South African President Jacob Zuma's office said Tuesday after Zuma met with the Libyan leader in Tripoli.

Crime casts long shadow over Athens

Posted: 30 May 2011 10:25 PM PDT

Greece's debt crisis, shrinking economy and surging unemployment have transformed Athens, once considered one of Europe's safest capitals, into a city of fear.

Manolis Kandaris' wife was in labor and he wanted to get her to a hospital, fast. So he reached for the car keys, fetched the video camera and dashed out to get his clunky Citroen running.

Iraqi Vice President Adel Abdul Mehdi quits

Posted: 30 May 2011 08:16 PM PDT

As the public grows more frustrated with the government's performance, the official's decision is meant to serve as an example to the rest of the bloated establishment.

One of Iraq's three vice presidents has quit the post, his political party said Monday, amid growing public frustration with the government's performance nearly six months after most of its ministers were sworn in.