L.A. Times - World News

Iraq parliament passes election law

Mon, 9 Nov 2009 00:00:00 -0800

The passage comes so late that the election must be pushed forward a week. But the new date, Jan. 23, will still allow for the drawdown of U.S. troops to proceed on schedule.

Iraq's bickering politicians finally agreed on a new election law Sunday, paving the way for crucial national balloting to take place in January and for the drawdown of U.S. troops to proceed as scheduled.

Obama faces a tall agenda on Asia trip

Mon, 9 Nov 2009 00:00:00 -0800

The president is embarking on the visit to Japan, China and other key nations even as he faces key issues at home. North Korea's nuclear program is a top priority for the U.S.

With unemployment topping 10% and his healthcare plan still facing Senate action, President Obama has plenty to keep him busy at home. But on Thursday, he will head to Asia for more than a week, a trip that underscores the White House's conviction that a close partnership with China and other Pacific Rim nations is crucial to American interests.

Defying China, Dalai Lama visits Indian town near border

Mon, 9 Nov 2009 00:00:00 -0800

The Dalai Lama and thousands of pilgrims gather for five days of prayer in the monastery town of Tawang, near Tibet. The visit to a disputed region tests Sino-Indian ties.

Ignoring Chinese protests, the Dalai Lama traveled Sunday to a remote town in northeastern India near China's Tibetan border where thousands of pilgrims had braved cold weather to catch a glimpse of their spiritual leader.

El Salvador flooding, mudslides kill 124

Mon, 9 Nov 2009 00:00:00 -0800

Dozens are reported missing after three days of rain. Meteorologists say the downpour is unrelated to Hurricane Ida, now swirling off Mexico's Yucatan peninsula.

Torrential rains in El Salvador triggered flooding and mudslides that left at least 124 people dead across the Central American nation, officials said Sunday.

Iran may call for a nuclear fuel swap, Iranian TV reports

Mon, 9 Nov 2009 00:00:00 -0800

A state-owned station says officials may compromise on a U.N. bid to have uranium refined abroad. Iran may seek a 'simultaneous exchange' of enriched uranium for medical reactor uranium plates.

A state-owned Iranian television station quoted unnamed diplomats Sunday as saying Iran, in a possible compromise to a U.N.-backed proposal, is willing to send about 1,800 pounds of its enriched uranium abroad to be exchanged for fuel for a medical reactor.

12 killed in suicide bombing at Pakistani market

Mon, 9 Nov 2009 00:00:00 -0800

A local mayor who had defied the Taliban is killed along with 11 others. The attack is the latest in a series of militant strikes as Pakistan attempts to crush the Taliban in South Waziristan.

Reporting from Islamabad, Pakistan, and Peshawar, Pakistan -- A suicide bomber attacked a livestock market in the suburbs of the violence-racked northwestern Pakistani city of Peshawar on Sunday, killing 12 people, including a mayor who had opposed the Taliban.

100 held in killings in north Congo

Mon, 9 Nov 2009 00:00:00 -0800

Officials say they have quelled the start of a new rebellion.

Security forces in the Democratic Republic of Congo have arrested about 100 armed men blamed for killing dozens of policemen in an attack in the country's isolated north last month, the government said Sunday.

For mother and son, lives divided by a wall in time

Sun, 8 Nov 2009 00:00:00 -0800

Katrin Geissler was born just before the Berlin Wall was built. Her son, Valentin, was born just before it came down. Though they grew up in the same place, their experiences were entirely different.

The world turned upside down when Katrin Geissler was born, and it turned upside down again when she gave birth to her son, Valentin.

'I didn't feel oppressed. In a way, I was privileged.'

Sun, 8 Nov 2009 00:00:00 -0800

Born in 1961, Katrin Geissler grew up on the east side of a divided Berlin and accepted that reality. When the wall first came down, she was frightened. In time, she embraced the feeling of freedom.

Katrin Geissler remembers being 4 years old and on her way to ballet school when she first tried to peek through the wall.

'We even smile at these stories from our parents because it seems so . . . absurd'

Sun, 8 Nov 2009 00:00:00 -0800

Just an infant when the Berlin Wall fell, Valentin Geissler never felt its restrictions. But he has always been aware of east and west.

Valentin Geissler has no memory of the wall.