LA Times News

LA Times News

G-8 meeting will test NSA leaks' effect on U.S. influence

Posted: 16 Jun 2013 06:36 PM PDT

The United States' position would seem strong going into the Group of 8 economic summit, but European nations are likely to bristle over data collection and privacy issues.

WASHINGTON — On the surface, President Obama would seem to have a strong hand as he heads to the annual Group of 8 economic summit. Instead, the meetings Monday and Tuesday seem set to provide the first test of how much his administration's international agenda has been complicated by revelations of U.S. surveillance of telephone use and the Internet.

North Korea suggests high-level talks with U.S.

Posted: 16 Jun 2013 06:32 PM PDT

Pyongyang calls for a meeting to discuss issues such as denuclearization and 'easing the military tension.' The White House reacts warily.

SEOUL — The North Korean government Sunday suggested a high-level meeting with the United States "to ease the tension on the Korean peninsula," less than a week after its scheduled working-level talks with Seoul were called off.

To Syria's loyalist stronghold of Tartus, victory seems imminent

Posted: 15 Jun 2013 09:36 PM PDT

The bustling coastal city, itself untouched by war, sends its mostly Alawite and Christian sons to battle for Assad and honors those slain with colorful posters.

TARTUS, Syria — War may be ravaging much of Syria, but there is no sign of conflict on bustling streets here, where diners wearing designer sunglasses order freshly caught fish at seaside cafes and gaze out on a palm-fringed expanse resembling a slightly tattered version of southern France or the Greek isles.