LA Times News

LA Times News

High-profile panel urges non-criminal approach to world drug policy

Posted: 01 Jun 2011 06:41 PM PDT

The report by the Global Commission on Drug Policy, which includes former U.N. chief Kofi Annan and past presidents of Mexico, Brazil and Colombia, was swiftly dismissed by the U.S. and Mexico.

Calling the global war on drugs a costly failure, a group of high-profile world leaders is urging the Obama administration and other governments to end "the criminalization, marginalization and stigmatization of people who use drugs but do no harm to others."

Japan underestimated tsunami threat at Fukushima, U.N. experts say

Posted: 01 Jun 2011 07:18 PM PDT

The report by the International Atomic Energy Agency calls for nuclear plant operators to better coordinate safety preparations at more than a dozen facilities in Japan.

Japan did not properly protect its nuclear plants against the threat of tsunami before the March 11 disaster that caused radiation to spew from the Fukushima Daiichi facility, concludes a preliminary report released Wednesday by international nuclear experts.

Cop show spawns real drama in Mexico

Posted: 01 Jun 2011 02:29 PM PDT

Was 'The Team' just another crime series or was it a propaganda tool for President Felipe Calderon's drug war?

"The Team" aired for three short weeks and never scored high ratings.

Peruvian Nobel laureate Vargas Llosa lashes out at news group

Posted: 01 Jun 2011 03:15 PM PDT

The acclaimed novelist withdraws his columns from the leading daily El Comercio, accusing its owners of blatantly promoting Keiko Fujimori in the coming presidential runoff. He supports her rival, Ollanta Humala, a leftist.

He could be a character in one of his novels, a doomed figure swiping at the structures of power. Nobel laureate Mario Vargas Llosa has waded into the stormy waters of his home country's election politics, again, and he seems to be at war with everyone.

Germany wrestles with deadly E. coli outbreak

Posted: 01 Jun 2011 11:35 AM PDT

More than 1,000 people in Germany have been sickened by contaminated food and at least 16 have died. Initial blame was cast on Spain then withdrawn, raising diplomatic tensions.

Germany scrambled Wednesday to pinpoint the source of a deadly outbreak of food-borne bacterial infections that has killed at least 16 people, sickened hundreds more and sparked a diplomatic squabble with Spain.

IAEA: Japan 'underestimated,' so nuclear plant was overwhelmed when disaster struck

Posted: 01 Jun 2011 02:42 AM PDT

A preliminary report from the atomic energy agency says Japan miscalculated the tsunami hazard, leading to meltdowns at the Fukushima Daiichi plant. But the report praises the nation's response to the March disaster as 'exemplary.'

Japan did not properly protect its nuclear plants against tsunami threats prior to the March 11 disaster that caused radiation to spew from the Fukushima Daiichi plant, a preliminary report released Wednesday by international nuclear experts concluded.

Tripoli, Benghazi embody battle for Libya's future

Posted: 01 Jun 2011 03:17 AM PDT

The rival capitals are nearly identical in terms of people and culture, but one thing has come between them since the 1969 coup: Moammar Kadafi.

Every day, residents of the two cities gather at photographic displays in their respective downtowns, paying homage to a distinct pantheon of the fallen: heroes of the regime in one case, martyrs of the resistance in the other.