LA Times News

LA Times News

In Beijing, a wild ride on rickshaw

Posted: 07 Oct 2012 12:00 AM PDT

In China's capital, the rickshaw bicycle is an expedient way to get home. But beware the toughs who will rough up drivers and seize their vehicles.

BEIJING — Getting around China's congested capital requires a certain calculus: In choosing a means of transportation, you must weigh factors like rush-hour traffic, precipitation and how long you can stand being pressed up against a stranger's armpit. But no one warned me about figuring in billy club-wielding attackers.

Police massacre case turns back tide of injustice in Brazil

Posted: 06 Oct 2012 05:16 PM PDT

Nineteen sharecroppers demanding land were gunned down by police in 1996. In a stunning result, two top officers involved have been imprisoned, signaling a shift from impunity to accountability.

ELDORADO DOS CARAJAS, Brazil — At 4 in the afternoon on April 17, 1996, a 13-year-old girl with blond hair climbed onto a truck stopped on a road in the Amazon basin. From the top, Ana Paula Silva — known for a long time after as "the girl" — could see everything.

Vladimir Putin turning 60: Russia's hero and most interesting man

Posted: 06 Oct 2012 05:08 PM PDT

The Russian leader's birthday comes as the nation cultivates a fantasy of the tough guy who stood up to save Russia but also has a kind soul.

MOSCOW — He slowly descended the stairs to the courtyard, his handgun loaded with 12 rounds. Seven armed comrades stood in the windows behind him.

Greece civil servants' secure jobs stir resentment among public

Posted: 06 Oct 2012 04:11 PM PDT

Despite Greece's economic crisis, politicians have not cut the ranks of government workers, who make up a fifth of the nation's workforce and a large voting bloc.

ATHENS — With a new batch of budget cuts looming, Greek officials have made it clear that they must target the state's nearly 1-million-strong army of civil servants, shaving salaries, benefits and bonuses for the third time in three years.

Fighter jets shoot down drone over Israel

Posted: 06 Oct 2012 01:49 PM PDT

It was not clear who sent the unmanned aircraft. But Israel said it was taking the incident seriously, raising the possibility of retaliatory action.

JERUSALEM  — Israel scrambled fighter jets to intercept a drone Saturday that crossed deep into Israeli airspace from the Mediterranean Sea, shooting the aircraft down over the country's southern desert, the military said.

Pope's butler convicted of stealing documents

Posted: 06 Oct 2012 03:51 AM PDT

Paolo Gabriele gets 18 months in prison for swiping Benedict's private correspondence and passing it on to a journalist.

The pope's butler was convicted Saturday of stealing the pope's private documents and leaking them to a journalist, and was sentenced to 18 months in prison.

Kurdish autonomy in Syria troubling for rebels, Turkey

Posted: 05 Oct 2012 04:27 PM PDT

With the Syrian rebellion has come a rise in Kurdish autonomy. The rebels have tense relations with the Kurds, and Turkey fears northern Syria may become a haven for the Kurdish militia the PKK.

AFRIN, Syria —This tranquil town in northwest Syria is a haven from the warfare convulsing much of the country, but the calm points to profound challenges facing the country — and the entire region — when the fighting ends.

Arrested dissident Cuba blogger is released

Posted: 05 Oct 2012 11:14 PM PDT

Cuban antigovernment blogger Yoani Sanchez, arrested on the eve of a politically charged trial she planned to cover, is released a day later as news of her detention spread.

MEXICO CITY — Cuba's best-known blogger was arrested Thursday to keep her from covering a sensitive criminal trial involving the death of a famous dissident. But then the world noticed.