LA Times News

LA Times News

Pakistan, India make superficial gains in their relations

Posted: 18 Jul 2012 06:22 PM PDT

Gestures, some of which turned sour, have aimed to build goodwill. But little concrete progress has been seen.

NEW DELHI — Pakistan said this week that it would disallow evidence from India implicating some Pakistani citizens in the Mumbai attack. A few hours later, the two sides announced to jubilation that they would resume cricket matches on Indian soil this year.

Syria bombing takes fight to Assad's doorstep

Posted: 18 Jul 2012 05:56 PM PDT

The president's hold on power looks more tenuous than ever after a bomb kills three high-ranking officials in the capital. The Free Syrian Army rebel coalition takes responsibility.

BEIRUT — An audacious bombing aimed at the heart of Syria's feared security services killed three high-ranking officials in Damascus and left President Bashar Assad's grip on power appearing more tenuous than at any time during the 16-month uprising against his family dynasty.

In Bulgaria, Israel tour bus blast kills 7

Posted: 19 Jul 2012 12:00 AM PDT

Authorities suspect that a bomb was hidden on the bus; most of the victims were Israelis. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu blames Iran.

JERUSALEM — An Israeli tour bus ferrying dozens of vacationers in the Bulgarian resort city of Burgas exploded Wednesday in an apparent terrorist attack, killing at least seven people and injuring more than 30.

Blast kills Syrian defense minister, Assad's brother-in-law

Posted: 18 Jul 2012 05:23 AM PDT

Syrian Defense Minister Dawoud Rajhah and President Bashar al-Assad's brother-in-law, a high- ranking government official, were killed in a blast in Damascus today as rebels encroached on the capital.

Syrian Defense Minister Dawoud Rajhah and President Bashar al-Assad's brother-in-law, a high- ranking government official, were killed in a blast in Damascus today as rebels encroached on the capital.

China says Great Wall is longer than previously thought

Posted: 17 Jul 2012 09:02 PM PDT

China now believes the Great Wall is 13,171 miles long, more than twice the previous estimation. The new measure elicits skepticism amid territorial disputes.

HAIZIGOU, China — Zhang Lingmian was collecting walnuts in the countryside north of Beijing last autumn when a friend from a nearby village mentioned a mysterious structure in the mountains that had stumped locals.

In Syria, fighting spreads in Damascus for third day

Posted: 17 Jul 2012 09:01 PM PDT

It is unclear whether the clashes involving helicopter gunships signal an all-out insurrection in Syria's capital or unsynchronized eruptions in restive areas.

BEIRUT — Fighting spread in a third day of clashes across Damascus, with a rebel commander declaring that insurgents were pushing for the "liberation" of Syria's capital and President Bashar Assad reportedly pulling troops from the border with Israel to defend the city.