L.A. Times - Asia

Search planes spot what may be a door from missing Malaysia jet

By Julie Makinen — Sun, 9 Mar 2014 20:36:00 PDT

As the search continues for Malaysia Airlines Flight MH370, the head of Interpol rails against countries for not using its passport database.

BEIJING — Vietnamese aircraft searching for a missing Malaysia Airlines jet spotted what authorities said may be a door from the plane and boats were attempting to reach the debris early Monday.

Terrorism not ruled out as search goes on for Malaysia Airlines plane

By Julie Makinen and Richard A. Serrano — Sat, 8 Mar 2014 20:37:00 PST

Reports emerge that two Europeans listed on the passenger manifest were not aboard and their passports had been lost or stolen.

BEIJING — A massive search was underway Sunday for a missing Malaysia Airlines jetliner, focusing on a spot off the southern coast of Vietnam where two large oil slicks were reported. But there were, so far, no clues to why the China-bound flight vanished without warning with 239 people on board.

239 feared lost on missing Malaysia Airlines flight to China

By Julie Makinen — Fri, 7 Mar 2014 22:21:00 PST

Malaysia Airlines Flight MH370 from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing remains missing hours after losing contact with air traffic controllers. A search-and-rescue mission is underway in the South China Sea.

BEIJING — A Malaysia Airlines flight carrying 239 people from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing remained missing hours after it lost contact with air traffic controllers Saturday, and a search-and-rescue effort was underway, officials said.

U.S. apologizes after airstrike mistakenly kills 5 Afghanistan troops

By Hashmat Baktash and Shashank Bengali — Thu, 6 Mar 2014 15:22:00 PST

Seven Afghan soldiers are injured in the airstrike in Logar province. President Hamid Karzai's reaction is unusually low-key.

KABUL, Afghanistan — The U.S. military offered its condolences Thursday after an airstrike on an Afghan army outpost mistakenly killed five Afghan soldiers and injured at least seven.

FBI to investigate disappearance of a Malaysian Airlines jet

By Richard A. Serrano — Sat, 8 Mar 2014 15:33:00 PST

WASHINGTON — The FBI is deploying agents and technical experts to assist in investigating the disappearance of a Malaysia Airlines jet, based on the American citizenship of three of the passengers aboard the lost flight, a top federal law enforcement official in Washington said Saturday.

Zhou Yongkang, the Chinese ex-official not on everyone's lips

By Julie Makinen — Tue, 4 Mar 2014 18:32:00 PST

A corruption inquiry appears to be tightening around Zhou Yongkang, but you have to read between the Chinese lines to know it.

BEIJING — In J.K. Rowling's Harry Potter books, few dare to speak the name of the evil Lord Voldemort. Lately, Chinese politics has had its own "He Who Must Not Be Named" or "You Know Who": the former domestic security czar, Zhou Yongkang.

3 more arrested in China knife attack in Kunming

By Julie Makinen — Mon, 3 Mar 2014 20:00:00 PST

Chinese officials say they have identified the assailants' leader as Abdurehim Kurban.

KUNMING, China — Three more suspects were arrested in connection with the weekend knife attacks in southern China that left 29 people dead, and the assailants' leader has been identified, authorities said late Monday.

Televised confessions in China raise worries

By Julie Makinen — Sun, 2 Mar 2014 06:00:00 PST

Attorneys and media observers in China say the police, prosecutors and even reporters are convicting people in the court of public opinion for political ends.

BEIJING — The headline news on state-run Chinese Channel 13 was juicy: A mining tycoon and 35 others had been charged with running a mafia-style enterprise in Sichuan province, gunning down enemies in the street, bribing people and operating an illegal casino.

China knife attack leaves 28 dead, scores injured at train station

By Julie Makinen — Sat, 1 Mar 2014 20:15:00 PST

Assailants wielding large knives in the capital of Yunnan province kill at least 28 and injure more than 113. Authorities blame separatists from Xinjiang, 1,500 miles away.

SHANGHAI — At least 28 people died and more than 113 were injured Saturday when a group of assailants wielding large knives stormed into a railway station in southern China and apparently attacked people at random, state-run media reported.

China's women begin to confront blatant workplace bias

By Julie Makinen — Fri, 28 Feb 2014 04:00:00 PST

Chinese women tired of men-only wanted ads and workplace abuses push regulators and courts to act. A recent case ends with a historic win.

BEIJING— Fresh out of college and facing a mountain of debt, the 21-year-old woman was searching online for jobs when she hit upon a listing that sounded perfect: administrative assistant at a tutoring school in Beijing. She sent in her resume, then reread the ad and noticed that only men were asked to apply for the position.