LA Times News

LA Times News

Israeli politician says two-state solution is at a 'dead end'

Posted: 18 Jun 2013 12:00 AM PDT

Netanyahu brushes aside Naftali Bennett's remarks, the latest in a series from members of his government calling for an end to efforts to form a Palestinian state.

JERUSALEM — The idea of a Palestinian state is at a "dead end," the Mideast conflict is an intractable problem and Israel has "to live with it," Israel's economy minister said Monday in some of the bluntest comments yet by a member of the country's coalition government.

Edward Snowden vows more disclosures about U.S. surveillance

Posted: 17 Jun 2013 04:09 PM PDT

Former National Security Agency contractor Edward Snowden rejects speculation that he spilled intelligence secrets to China in exchange for asylum.

WASHINGTON — Defiant and apparently unbowed by threats of prosecution, former National Security Agency contractor Edward Snowden vowed Monday to release more secrets about U.S. intelligence surveillance systems that he described as "nakedly, aggressively criminal."

Hope grows that Iran could pull back from nuclear standoff

Posted: 16 Jun 2013 08:37 PM PDT

President-elect Hassan Rowhani has experience in avoiding nuclear sanctions and has shown his interest in easing them. He also has a good rapport with the ayatollah.

BEIRUT — The surprising election of Hassan Rowhani, a moderate cleric, as Iran's president has prompted a wave of speculation about a crucial question: Will Iran's new leadership be more willing to compromise on its nuclear program?

Britain's scrutiny of tax havens involves looking in the mirror

Posted: 16 Jun 2013 08:36 PM PDT

David Cameron has made cracking down on tax evasion a top item of the G-8 summit in Northern Ireland. But many of the centers in question are linked to Britain.

LONDON — For hundreds of years, the island of Jersey has been famous for its cows, which have been bred, raised and exported worldwide. But these days, the mother's milk of its economy is something else entirely: the billions upon billions of dollars funneled from around the globe into the tiny island's outsize financial sector.