LA Times News

LA Times News

U.S. willing to leave 10,000 troops in Iraq past year's end, officials say

Posted: 06 Jul 2011 12:00 AM PDT

Keeping U.S. troops in Iraq after the departure deadline would require accord of Iraq's deeply divided government. The Iraqis have not made a formal request for U.S. troops to stay.

The White House is prepared to keep as many as 10,000 U.S. troops in Iraq after the end of the year, amid growing concern that the planned pullout of virtually all remaining American forces would lead to intensified militant attacks, according to U.S. officials.

Linked bombings kill 36 in Iraq town

Posted: 06 Jul 2011 12:00 AM PDT

A car bomb and a smaller explosive device detonate near a parking area for municipal employees in Taji outside Baghdad as people report to work.

A car bomb and a smaller explosive device detonated Tuesday morning close to a parking area for municipal employees in a town outside Baghdad, leaving 36 people dead and 54 wounded, according to police and hospital sources.

Phone hacking scandal involving kidnapped girl roils Britain

Posted: 05 Jul 2011 03:22 PM PDT

Britons voice disgust amid allegations that a tabloid owned by Rupert Murdoch tampered with voicemails for a missing girl who was later found dead. The scandal has raised questions about his relationship with the political establishment and police.

For months, Britain's scandal over scoop-hungry reporters hacking into the cellphones of celebrities and politicians drew shrugs from the general public, which viewed the affair as a rarified dispute between the rich and famous and those who write about them.

Dominique Strauss-Kahn faces attempted-rape case in France

Posted: 06 Jul 2011 12:00 AM PDT

French writer Tristane Banon files a complaint accusing Dominique Strauss-Kahn of attacking her in 2003 when she went to interview him. Lawyers for the former International Monetary Fund chief say they will sue her for slander.

The Dominique Strauss-Kahn scandal took a new twist Tuesday when a French writer filed a lawsuit in Paris accusing the former head of the International Monetary Fund of attempted rape.

Rights panel issues early report on Russian lawyer's prison death

Posted: 06 Jul 2011 12:00 AM PDT

Attorney Sergei Magnitsky had his knuckles broken and was denied medical treatment before he died in 2009 in a Moscow prison, an investigation ordered by Russia's president determines.

He was chained to a cot, a lone prisoner in a small cell facing eight guards who beat him while a summoned ambulance crew was kept waiting outside. When the doctors were finally admitted to the prison, they found Moscow lawyer Sergei Magnitsky dead, his body bruised, most of his knuckles smashed, one of his arms dark blue from a grip of the handcuffs lying nearby.

In Egypt, Muslim Brotherhood showing cracks in its solidarity

Posted: 06 Jul 2011 12:00 AM PDT

Egypt's most potent political force has expelled five influential young members. The dismissals suggest the Muslim Brotherhood's conservatives can no longer command absolute loyalty as the group heads toward parliamentary elections in September.

The Muslim Brotherhood has expelled five of its youth members in a purge signaling that Egypt's most potent political force is unwilling to tolerate dissent within its ranks as it heads toward parliamentary elections in September.

NATO feels the pressure from Libya campaign

Posted: 05 Jul 2011 12:00 AM PDT

Even as Libyan rebels make gains against Moammar Kadafi's regime, Western allies fear their coalition may split before he is ousted. And pressure for a negotiated settlement may leave Kadafi with some leverage.

With victory still elusive after 15 weeks of bombing, Western allies arrayed against Libyan leader Moammar Kadafi are racing to crack his regime before their own coalition fractures.

Bravery may not be enough to bring justice to Mexico

Posted: 05 Jul 2011 12:00 AM PDT

Marisela Morales, Mexico's first female attorney general, is tough, but some fear she won't be able to overcome an 'enormous bureaucracy that is not working.'

Marisela Morales arrived as Mexico's first female attorney general with high marks for bravery.