LA Times News

LA Times News

Afghanistan at a crossroads, in no man's land

Posted: 13 Oct 2012 12:00 AM PDT

With fewer U.S. forces in Afghanistan, Marines in a desolate patch of Helmand province find themselves vulnerable to Taliban attack. They seek help from locals, who distrust them and the militants.

HELMAND PROVINCE, Afghanistan — The sun pounds down on the U.S. Marine sergeant and the tribal elder in this faceless, bone-colored plain.

Syrian rebels seize government missile base

Posted: 12 Oct 2012 06:15 PM PDT

Government jets swiftly move in to destroy the missiles, a rebel spokesman says, but the incident plays into the fear that arms and chemicals will fall into rogue hands.

BEIRUT –- Syrian rebels seized a government missile defense base near the northern city of Aleppo on Friday that had been the source of regular attacks on surrounding villages, activists said.

Peace Prize honors the sometimes discordant EU

Posted: 12 Oct 2012 04:35 PM PDT

The Nobel committee commends the bloc for fostering postwar reconciliation and human rights in Europe — and looks the other way at the name-calling.

LONDON — In some European capitals, they mutter about a Fourth Reich and compare the German chancellor to Adolf Hitler. The French complain about British obstructionism; Brits complain about everyone else. In Spain, a separatist movement is gaining traction.

Pakistan outraged over girl's shooting, but crackdown on Taliban unlikely

Posted: 12 Oct 2012 05:50 PM PDT

The attack on Malala Yousafzai, 14, has sent anger toward the militants soaring, but the government is ill equipped, and possibly disinclined, to seize the moment.

ISLAMABAD, Pakistan — On city streets, on the airwaves and in the newspapers of a country numbed by years of bombings and assassinations, outrage against the Taliban is suddenly reaching a zenith. A 14-year-old girl lies critically wounded because she was bold enough to publicly demand an education.

European Union wins Nobel Peace Prize

Posted: 12 Oct 2012 02:56 AM PDT

European Union wins Nobel Peace Prize

Posted: 12 Oct 2012 02:18 AM PDT

The European Union has been awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for its efforts to promote peace and democracy in Europe, in the midst of the union's biggest crisis since its creation in the 1950s.