LA Times News

LA Times News

For India's bone craftsmen, the hazards abound

Posted: 24 Jun 2011 05:11 PM PDT

Those who make combs and ornaments out of animal bone and horn run the risk of tuberculosis from the dust or losing a finger to dangerous equipment. And many of the workers are children.

In a small, dark room in this city of narrow alleys and workshops the size of shoeboxes, five men in their 70s fashion combs out of water buffalo horn with hand saws for $2 a day.

Libyan's western front joins the battle

Posted: 24 Jun 2011 05:29 PM PDT

Fighting is flaring in the rugged mountain region, where the minority Berber community sees its own chance to throw off Kadafi's yoke and they are increasingly in contact with rebels in the east.

Graffiti on a wall in the center of Nalut has a message for Moammar Kadafi: "Let us be free."

Venezuelans speculate on Chavez's absence

Posted: 24 Jun 2011 05:29 PM PDT

Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez has been out of sight since early June, after being hospitalized during a visit to Cuba. Officials have released few details of his condition as critics decry the secrecy and demand that he delegate power.

Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez' hospitalization and subsequent disappearance from public view while visiting Cuba has stirred rumors about the seriousness of his medical condition and controversy over whether he should delegate power temporarily.

'Greek Spring' appears to gather momentum

Posted: 24 Jun 2011 03:33 PM PDT

Protesters, c alling themselves aganaktismenoi, or the indignant, have been gathering daily in Athens since May, venting their rage at politicians, whom they've dubbed kleftes , or thieves. Protests have spread to 50 cities.

Egyptian flags flap in the wind and Spanish slogans echo as thousands who have not raised their voices in years, if ever, gather each day to vent their anger and contempt at the politicians they hold responsible for bringing their nation to its knees.

Attacks on Syrian protesters leave a reported 20 dead

Posted: 24 Jun 2011 04:31 PM PDT

People pour into the streets across the nation to defy President Bashar Assad. The European Union adds sanctions on Syria and its ally Iran over the brutal crackdown on demonstrators.

Syrian security officers opened fire on protesters Friday, leaving as many as 20 dead, as people poured into the streets across the nation in defiance of President Bashar Assad and his promise of limited reform, according to opposition activists.

Austerity plan key to Greece bailout

Posted: 24 Jun 2011 03:39 PM PDT

European Union leaders advise Greeks to accept the unpopular tax increases and spending cuts if they want a loan to save their country from default and possible bankruptcy.

Greece will be forced to implement a painful package of tax increases and deep spending cuts if it wants other European Union members to bail out its sinking economy.

Afghans fear U.S. drawdown will allow Taliban to regroup

Posted: 24 Jun 2011 12:35 AM PDT

Afghans don't have much confidence in the country's inexperienced security forces.

President Obama's planned drawdown of 33,000 U.S. troops from Afghanistan has generated ripples of anxiety for Afghans who worry that the Taliban will overwhelm the country's inexperienced, ill-equipped security forces.

Pakistan, India assess U.S. withdrawal plans

Posted: 24 Jun 2011 12:35 AM PDT

For neighbor Pakistan, the unexpectedly larger and faster planned troop pullout from Afghanistan is welcome, but for India, which has been cultivating ties with Kabul, any increased instability bodes ill.

President Obama's announcement that the United States will pull 33,000 troops out of Afghanistan by the end of next summer was met with muted concern Thursday in India and Pakistan as analysts, policymakers and military brass scrambled to assess the implications for their respective nations.