LA Times News

LA Times News

China may struggle to move beyond Bo Xilai scandal

Posted: 29 Sep 2012 12:00 AM PDT

Despite expelling Bo from the Communist Party and referring him for prosecution, Chinese leaders may find it hard to put the scandal behind them.

BEIJING — By expelling renegade Politburo member Bo Xilai from the Communist Party and referring him for prosecution on offenses including bribery and sexual misconduct, China's leadership took decisive action to conclude a six-month scandal that shook the top echelons of power.

Attack on consulate in Libya was act of terrorism, U.S. says

Posted: 29 Sep 2012 12:00 AM PDT

Revising an initial assessment that the deadly assault at the consulate in Benghazi grew out of a spontaneous protest, intelligence officials say it was a planned attack by Al Qaeda-linked extremists.

WASHINGTON — The lethal attack on the U.S. Consulate in eastern Libya was "a deliberate and organized terrorist attack carried out by extremists" linked to Al Qaeda and did not stem from a spontaneous riot as first believed, a spokesman for the director of national intelligence said Friday.

Change of U.S. command expected in Afghanistan

Posted: 28 Sep 2012 06:13 PM PDT

The White House plans to nominate Marine Gen. Joseph F. Dunford Jr. to replace Gen. John Allen, who has directed NATO forces in Afghanistan since mid-2011.

WASHINGTON – The top U.S. military commander in Afghanistan is being transferred and another Marine general will take over the war effort early next year as the United States and its allies shrink their combat role against the still-potent insurgency.

Fighting in Aleppo, Syria, escalates

Posted: 29 Sep 2012 12:00 AM PDT

BEIRUT — Some of the fiercest clashes in weeks in the Syrian city of Aleppo were reported Friday as rebels said they were pressing a "decisive" battle for the besieged northern metropolis.

France unveils tax-heavy budget

Posted: 28 Sep 2012 03:42 PM PDT

The plan contains nearly $26 billion in tax increases and a 'supertax' rate of 75% for those earning more than $1.29 million a year in an attempt to bring its public deficit to 3% of GDP.

PARIS — To mixed reaction, France's Socialist government unveiled a get-tough budget Friday that contains $25.8 billion in tax increases and a "supertax" rate of 75% on those earning more than $1.29 million a year.

Kenya attacks Islamist militia in Kismayo, Somalia

Posted: 28 Sep 2012 03:37 PM PDT

Kenyan forces and pro-government fighters attack Kismayo, the stronghold of the Al Qaeda-linked Shabab militants.

MOGADISHU, Somalia — Kenyan military forces launched an overnight attack on Kismayo, seen as the last main stronghold of the Al Qaeda-linked Somali militia the Shabab. The troops landed on the beach and took control of parts of the southern Somali port city, according to Kenyan military spokesmen.

China to expel Bo Xilai from Communist Party

Posted: 28 Sep 2012 05:58 AM PDT

The disgraced political figure will face corruption charges. Also, the party congress is set for Nov. 8.

After months of backroom political wrangling, the Chinese Communist Partyannounced late Friday that it would expel renegade Politburo member Bo Xilai and refer him for prosecution before the next party congress.

Anti-Muslim film puts Christian TV in global spotlight

Posted: 27 Sep 2012 06:42 PM PDT

Unrest in the wake of 'Innocence of Muslims' has shed light on U.S.-based, Arabic-language satellite TV stations whose programming is aimed at converting Muslims to Christianity.

Off the 210 Freeway in suburban Duarte, between an International House of Pancakes and a Wal-Mart, sits a nondescript one-story industrial park that has been an unlikely flash point for weeks of global unrest.