LA Times News

LA Times News

Iranian pilgrims kidnapped on trip to Syria

Posted: 04 Aug 2012 06:56 PM PDT

Dozens are seized by gunmen in the Damascus area, prompting Iran's foreign minister to ask Turkey to intervene. Meanwhile, fighting continues in the Syrian city of Aleppo.

BEIRUT — Gunmen kidnapped dozens of Iranian pilgrims on a trip to strife-torn Syria on Saturday, the latest in a series of abductions that have targeted citizens of Iran, a major international ally of Syrian President Bashar Assad.

A frightened few remain in Aleppo neighborhood

Posted: 04 Aug 2012 06:55 PM PDT

Two weeks into a fierce offensive by President Bashar Assad's forces, most residents have fled the Salahuddin area of Aleppo. But a few have no other options.

ALEPPO, Syria — In a two-room apartment where the paint is peeling off the walls, a woman talked about the bombardment of her neighborhood as her granddaughters, ages 3 and 4, sat nearby clutching teddy bears.

Afghan lawmakers order Karzai to replace key ministers

Posted: 04 Aug 2012 06:21 PM PDT

The parliamentary action signals dissatisfaction with his response to cross-border attacks from Pakistan, as well as his inability to halt a wave of assassinations or corruption in security forces.

KABUL, Afghanistan — The parliament on Saturday ordered Afghan President Hamid Karzai to replace the country's defense and interior ministers, dealing his administration a harsh blow as it struggles to show its readiness to take over security responsibilities before the planned U.S. troop withdrawal in 2014.

South Africa's tribal system strips rural women of rights

Posted: 05 Aug 2012 12:00 AM PDT

Women express their profound frustration with South Africa's system of tribal rulers and courts that keeps money, land and power in the hands of men.

KWAMPUNGOSE, South Africa — As a child, Nike Dlamini grew up under a rule: If anything happened in the family or the village, you went straight to the head man. Quarrels, problems, births, deaths: All had to be reported. In some cases — a child born out of wedlock — there was a fine to be paid.