LA Times News

LA Times News

Afghanistan's displaced dread the coming winter

Posted: 01 Dec 2012 07:38 PM PST

The country has nearly half a million displaced people, many living in primitive camps where the cold weather will mean death for some.

PARWAN-A-DUH CAMP, Afghanistan — Winter is descending on the Shakur clan.

Mexico's Enrique Peña Nieto assumes presidency amid protests

Posted: 01 Dec 2012 06:36 PM PST

With many concerned about the return to power of his Institutional Revolutionary Party, Peña Nieto pledges to listen to divergent views while addressing the nation's violence and poverty.

MEXICO CITY — Enrique Peña Nieto, a 46-year-old career politician and member of Mexico's old-guard political party, Saturday assumed the presidency of a nation reeling from drug-related violence, promising his fellow citizens that "the primary focus of my government is to achieve a Mexico at peace."

Iran police official reportedly fired over Sattar Beheshti death

Posted: 02 Dec 2012 12:00 AM PST

The head of the Tehran cyber-police unit is dismissed for 'negligence and insufficient supervision' of subordinates in the death of blogger Sattar Beheshti, reports say.

BEIRUT — The chief of the Tehran police unit charged with investigating online crime has been fired for "negligence and insufficient supervision" of subordinates in the incendiary case of a dissident Iranian blogger who died in police custody, Iranian news media reported Saturday.

Internet, phone access restored in Syria capital

Posted: 02 Dec 2012 12:00 AM PST

It's unclear whether other areas of Syria have service. The cause of the blackout is a mystery.

BEIRUT — Internet and telephone service were restored to the Syrian capital Saturday, two days after a nationwide communications blackout spurred fear of new attacks and left anxious Syrians in and outside the country unable to contact loved ones and friends.

Tens of thousands of Islamists rally for Morsi in Cairo

Posted: 01 Dec 2012 06:41 PM PST

Demonstrators support Mohamed Morsi for his religious ideology but say his main aim is to rid the government of the lingering influence of the Mubarak era.

CAIRO — Islamists in Egypt's capital rallied Saturday to support President Mohamed Morsi in what is emerging as a decisive battle with opposition forces in the country's messy political transition away from three decades of Hosni Mubarak's corrupt and undemocratic rule.

Israeli accused of posing as spy to kill wives

Posted: 02 Dec 2012 12:00 AM PST

Police say taxi driver Shimon Cooper pretended to be a Mossad agent to kill two of his wives with the aid of an anesthesiologist girlfriend. Another wife said she almost met a similar fate.

JERUSALEM — Israel is among the most security-conscious nations on Earth. F-16 warplanes scream overhead. Antimissile systems become national heroes. The spy agency Mossad enjoys near legendary status.

Congo M23 rebels withdraw from strategic city of Goma

Posted: 02 Dec 2012 12:00 AM PST

The rebel M23 fighters pull out after intense regional and international pressure. One commander says they can retake the eastern Congo city whenever they want.

GOMA, Congo — The rebels' truck rounded the corner at breakneck speed and skidded onto the  wrong side of a pitted bush road, with several dozen fighters swaying on the back. Two weeks after seizing the eastern Congolese city of Goma, the M23 rebels were withdrawing Saturday, leaving behind an uneasy city.