L.A. Times - World News

IED threat shadows Marines' every move

Tue, 24 Nov 2009 00:00:00 -0800

Marines in Afghanistan confront the problem of improvised explosive devices with skill and intuition, while making an extra effort to avoid civilian casualties.

A long, dusty road under a bright blue Afghan sky. To the left, a stagnant irrigation canal; to the right, drying cornfields. Marines from Charlie Company walk slowly, eyes fixed on the dirt, the drainage culverts, the weeds, the mud houses.

Wary India seeks reassurance in U.S. visit

Tue, 24 Nov 2009 00:00:00 -0800

Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's official visit to Washington will seek to reaffirm the importance of ties between the two nations.

Today's summit between Prime Minister Manmohan Singh of India and President Obama is laden with symbols. It will be the first official visit that Obama hosts. There will be much language on the importance of the relationship and the links between the two major democracies.

Israel, Hamas said to be near deal on prisoner swap

Tue, 24 Nov 2009 00:00:00 -0800

Israeli officials are tight-lipped as negotiators hammer out details in Cairo to free Israeli soldier Gilad Shalit, being held by Hamas, in exchange for hundreds of Palestinian prisoners.

Expectations of a swap of hundreds of jailed Palestinian militants for an Israeli soldier held by Hamas soared Monday after some of the most promising signs of progress in years of negotiations.

At least 24 dead in Philippine election massacre

Tue, 24 Nov 2009 00:00:00 -0800

The victims -- many of them beheaded -- include 13 women, who were among those accompanying an official's wife carrying papers to nominate him for governor.

Reporting from Seoul and Zamboanga City, Philippines -- Twenty-four people were found dead in the southern Philippines after scores of gunmen on Monday kidnapped a caravan of supporters accompanying a woman en route to file her husband's nomination papers to run for provincial governor, authorities said.

Obama's Afghanistan announcement may be soon

Tue, 24 Nov 2009 00:00:00 -0800

Senior diplomats and Defense officials are reportedly scheduled to testify before Congress next week about the situation, raising expectations that a troop buildup will be announced.

The Obama administration's leading war planners and diplomats are preparing to testify before Congress about the conflict in Afghanistan, senior officials said Monday, the latest sign that President Obama's decision on a new strategy and troop hike could come next week.

January election in Iraq? Doubtful

Tue, 24 Nov 2009 00:00:00 -0800

Shiite Muslim and Kurdish wrangling over an election law will probably push the voting to February, violating Iraq's Constitution and jeopardizing Obama's vow to bring U.S. troops home by August 2010.

Hopes for a January election in Iraq faded Monday after Shiite Muslim and Kurdish legislators teamed up to vote for a new version of an election law that in effect takes seats away from Sunni Arabs and is almost certain to draw another veto from the country's Sunni vice president.

China sentences activist to 3 years

Tue, 24 Nov 2009 00:00:00 -0800

Huang Qi was investigating the role shoddy school construction may have played in the deaths of thousands of children in the Sichuan quake last year.

An activist who was investigating the role shoddy school construction played in the deaths of more than 5,000 children in the 2008 Sichuan earthquake was given a three-year prison sentence Monday on charges of possessing state secrets.

Rains ease in flood-stricken Britain, but more storms are forecast

Mon, 23 Nov 2009 14:42:00 -0800

Bad weather over the weekend is blamed for two deaths and widespread damage in parts of England, Wales and Scotland.

Rain and wind that swept over Britain during the weekend eased enough Monday to allow residents forced out by flooding to return and assess the damage -- and prepare for new storms forecast for the next few days.

What they are ...

Tue, 24 Nov 2009 00:00:00 -0800

Watching in Russia

In Afghanistan, a drive to lure Taliban with jobs, security

Mon, 23 Nov 2009 00:00:00 -0800

The aim is to persuade Taliban foot soldiers to put down arms in exchange for jobs and protection from militants. The drive will be modeled on the 'Sons of Iraq' initiative that helped calm Iraq.

The Afghan government and the U.S. military have begun a fledgling drive to lure Taliban foot soldiers away from the battlefield by offering them job opportunities and protection, diplomats and military personnel familiar with the initiative say.