WORLD
January 28, 2014 | By Patrick J. McDonnell
GENEVA - The United Nations canceled a scheduled afternoon round of Syria peace talks Tuesday after a second consecutive day of apparent stalemate and angry exchanges between government officials and representatives of the U.S.-backed opposition bloc. Negotiations were to resume Wednesday, Lakhdar Brahimi, the chief U.N. mediator, told reporters. “Nobody is walking out,” Brahimi said, after a fourth day of face-to-face meetings between the two rival camps. “Nobody is running away.” He said he hoped for a “better session” Wednesday.
CALIFORNIA | LOCAL
December 30, 2013 | Richard Fausset
Mike O'Connor, an experienced war correspondent who in recent years worked in defense of journalists in Mexico at a time when it had become one of the most treacherous countries for reporters in the world, died Sunday morning in Mexico City. He was 67. O'Connor suffered a fatal heart attack while sleeping in his apartment, according to his wife, Tracy Wilkinson, the Los Angeles Times' Mexico bureau chief. Since January 2009, O'Connor had worked as the Mexico representative for the Committee to Protect Journalists, a New York-based nonprofit group, traveling to some of the most dangerous parts of the country to investigate the intimidation, murder and disappearance of journalists targeted by drug cartels or corrupt government officials.
WORLD
December 7, 2013 | By Robyn Dixon
JOHANNESBURG, South Africa -- Members of Nelson Mandela's family spoke for the first time Saturday of their grief at losing a "great man, a pillar of the family," who was always humble, despite his global fame. Mandela's family, deeply sensitive about the intense global media interest in his upcoming funeral, is walking a difficult line between a need for privacy to grieve, and the sense that Mandela belonged to to the world. The family is deeply concerned about the possibility of photographs circulating of Mandela lying in state, according to a spokeswoman for the Government Communication and Information System.
WORLD
November 12, 2013 | By Ingy Hassieb
CAIRO - Egypt declared an end to its state of emergency Tuesday, nearly three months after it was imposed in the midst of nationwide protests that followed the ouster of Islamist President Mohamed Morsi. The government announcement came after an Egyptian court ruled that the emergency decree issued Aug. 14 had expired. The government had previously announced that it would end two days later, on Thursday. The state of emergency was declared in the midst of a violent crackdown on two protest camps that were demanding Morsi's reinstatement as president.
WORLD
September 1, 2013 | By Barbara Demick
BEIJING - A powerful Chinese government official who oversees state-owned companies is the latest senior Communist Party official to come under investigation in what appears to be a concerted effort by President Xi Jinping to consolidate his power and push his economic agenda. Jiang Jiemin, 58, is a former head of China National Petroleum Co. who in March became head of the Assets Supervision and Administration Commission, a ministerial level position. A brief report released Sunday to the state media said he was under investigation for "serious disciplinary violations," which is code for corruption.
CALIFORNIA | LOCAL
August 13, 2013 | David Zahniser
A woman who was until recently Los Angeles City Councilman Jose Huizar's deputy chief of staff has filed a workplace discrimination and sexual harassment complaint against the city and her former boss, according to information from the state agency that receives such complaints. Fahizah Alim, spokeswoman for the Department of Fair Employment and Housing, confirmed that a complaint was filed June 7 against Huizar by Francine Godoy, who left his office four months ago. The complaint, also filed against the city of Los Angeles, preserves Godoy's right to sue in the future.