LA Times News

LA Times News

China, Japan activists hold protests over disputed islands

Posted: 19 Aug 2012 06:52 PM PDT

Chinese youths overturn cars and smash shop windows in anti-Japanese protests, and Japanese activists try to land on the disputed islands in the East China Sea.

BEIJING — Angry youths on Sunday overturned cars and smashed shop windows in anti-Japanese protests across China stemming from a long-standing dispute over uninhabited islands claimed by both countries.

Can Somalia dare to hope for the future?

Posted: 20 Aug 2012 12:00 AM PDT

Many see Monday's selection of a new president as Somalia's last chance to change the 'failed state.' But ordinary Somalis will have no say in the matter.

MOGADISHU, Somalia — As Somalia approaches its umpteenth attempt to forge a government that will actually stick, there's a deadening familiarity here: bloodstained warlords reemerging, clan elders manipulating politics, roadblocks going up as militias try to reclaim turf.

In Russia, suicide attack targets police officer's funeral

Posted: 20 Aug 2012 12:00 AM PDT

The explosion in Ingushetia, in Russia's volatile North Caucasus region, kills seven and injures 10. The officer was slain by unknown gunmen.

MOSCOW — A suicide bomber on Sunday attacked the funeral of a police officer shot to death by unknown gunmen the previous day in the volatile North Caucasus region of Russia, killing seven and injuring 10 others in the crowd of mourners, officials said.

Julian Assange urges U.S. to end 'war on whistle-blowers'

Posted: 19 Aug 2012 09:07 AM PDT

The WikiLeaks founder spoke from the balcony of the Ecuadorean Embassy in London, where he has stayed for two months in an effort to avoid arrest.

Sudanese helicopter carrying a government delegation crashes, kills 32

Posted: 19 Aug 2012 07:55 AM PDT

A Sudanese helicopter carrying a government delegation crashed in a mountainous southern region on Sunday, killing all 32 people on board including a Cabinet minister, a former presidential adviser, two generals and a TV crew.

WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange makes 1st public appearance in 2 months

Posted: 19 Aug 2012 07:52 AM PDT

Assange called on President Barack Obama to end a 'witch hunt' against his secret-spilling website, after appearing in public for the first time since he took refuge inside Ecuador's embassy in London two months ago.

WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange called on U.S. President Barack Obama to end a so-called "witch hunt" against his secret-spilling website, appearing in public Sunday for the first time since he took refuge two months ago inside Ecuador's Embassy in London to avoid extradition to Sweden on sex crimes allegations.

In L.A., slow and steady is the pace for Flying Pigeon bicycle

Posted: 18 Aug 2012 05:57 PM PDT

The clunky two-wheeler, a cultural icon in China, was virtually unknown in the U.S. until a pair of Cypress Park brothers imported two containers of them and opened their bike shop.

They're heavy and slow. They're also touted as the most popular mechanized vehicle on earth.

Egypt evolving along with Morsi's relationship with military

Posted: 19 Aug 2012 12:00 AM PDT

President Mohamed Morsi's purge of the top brass sent a jolt through an entrenched military establishment. It also raised questions about potential Islamist influence in the secular institution.

CAIRO — The Egyptian military had long been run by aging generals and ambitious colonels who for six decades guarded the nation's power while sitting poolside at social clubs and enriching themselves and their ranks through an intricate business empire.

China worries about social fallout of soybean oil price jump

Posted: 19 Aug 2012 12:00 AM PDT

News that the U.S. Midwest drought could cause the price of China's beloved soybean oil to skyrocket leaves the nation looking for ways to ensure price stability.

BEIJING — Construction laborer Yi Jichun has never heard of Illinois or Iowa. But the migrant worker's favorite comfort food comes straight out of the U.S. Midwest: soybean oil.