L.A. Times - Middle East

Afghan victims of abuse find refuge

Tue, 14 Jul 2009 00:00:00 -0700

The nation's six shelters provide a place to stay and legal help to women and girls fleeing abuse, forced marriage or slavery. Some obtain divorces, others reconcile with their families.

Her father is dead and her brother is just a boy. For Shabana, a radiant young woman of 17 with dark eyes and flowing hair, the absence of a strong male protector has cost her dearly.

CIA's secret program: Paramilitary teams targeting Al Qaeda

Tue, 14 Jul 2009 00:00:00 -0700

The agency had a plan after Sept. 11 for paramilitary forces to take out Al Qaeda figures overseas. Congress was never told.

The secret CIA program halted last month by Director Leon E. Panetta involved establishing elite paramilitary teams that could be inserted into Pakistan or other locations to capture or kill top leaders of the Al Qaeda terrorist network, according to former U.S. intelligence officials.

More Swat Valley refugees return home

Tue, 14 Jul 2009 00:00:00 -0700

The Pakistani government returns residents after claiming it has routed Taliban militants from the area. Many say they still fear for their safety.

They loaded their dirt-caked tents, clothes, bed frames and sacks of flour onto trucks early Monday and then piled into buses, desperate to leave the sweltering camps in northwestern Pakistan where they had lived for more than two months -- but unsure what awaited them in their war-ravaged hometowns.

Slain Iranian teenager becomes symbol of protests

Tue, 14 Jul 2009 00:00:00 -0700

Sohrab Aarabi, 19, had gone missing June 15 during an election protest. Authorities finally handed over his body to his mother, who says she will not remain silent.

Hundreds of mourners attended the funeral Monday of 19-year-old Sohrab Aarabi, a quiet young man whose body was returned to his family after nearly a month of frantic searching by friends and relatives. He had disappeared June 15 during a protest against the disputed reelection of Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad.

President Obama addresses Jewish concerns

Tue, 14 Jul 2009 00:00:00 -0700

He tells American Jewish leaders who are concerned about the public disagreements between Israel and the U.S. that such disputes are useful in the pursuit of peace. Some are not convinced.

A private meeting Monday held to ease tensions between the White House and American Jewish leaders included a pointed exchange as President Obama said public disagreements between the U.S. government and Israel are useful in the pursuit of Middle East peace, several participants said.

Clamor grows over CIA secrets

Mon, 13 Jul 2009 00:00:00 -0700

Democrats renew their calls for some kind of investigation and criticize former Vice President Dick Cheney.

Democratic lawmakers criticized former Vice President Dick Cheney on Sunday for allegedly ordering that a CIA counter-terrorism program be kept secret from congressional leaders, with two senators questioning the legality of such concealment.

Bollywood film takes hard look at Mumbai attacks

Tue, 14 Jul 2009 00:00:00 -0700

Auditioning in December for the role of a Bollywood villain, Rajan Verma was asked to act like a man attacking a train or a building. He clutched a toy gun and spewed out what he hoped sounded like a venomous diatribe.

Churches in Iraq targeted in bombings; 4 killed

Mon, 13 Jul 2009 00:00:00 -0700

Sixteen people are wounded at a Baghdad church. Christians fear renewed persecution days after U.S. forces withdrew from Iraqi cities. In Nasiriya, a bomb explodes near the U.S. ambassador's convoy.

An explosive device detonated beside a convoy in which the U.S. ambassador was traveling in southern Iraq late Sunday afternoon about the same time that Christian churches across Baghdad were hit by a wave of bombings. The attacks offered new evidence that Iraq remains far from stable after American forces withdrew from its cities at the end of June.

After a long absence, pro-Mousavi cleric Rafsanjani to lead prayers

Mon, 13 Jul 2009 00:00:00 -0700

Former President Mohammad Khatami reportedly will also attend Iran's weekly keynote sermon Friday. The reformists' return to the event can be seen as a challenge to hard-liners or a sign of a truce.

A powerful cleric who has been a driving force behind the opposition movement challenging the reelection of President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad will lead Friday prayers this week after a two-month absence that was considered a sign of conflict within the Iranian establishment.

2 Marines slain in southern Afghanistan

Mon, 13 Jul 2009 00:00:00 -0700

The U.S. troops are killed in a bomb blast in Helmand province, where a massive offensive is underway to root out Taliban fighters.

A bomb blast killed two Marines in Afghanistan's south, where thousands of American troops have deployed in a massive operation to oust Taliban fighters from the country's opium poppy region, officials said Sunday.