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It was only when U.S. cargo ship captain Richard Phillips' life seemed at immediate risk that Navy snipers fired.
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Soldiers surround thousands of anti-government protesters near the Thailand premier's office. >>
Colorado: Identity theft probe is stopped / Kentucky: Korean War soldier laid to rest / New York: Floating gas terminal opposed / Texas: Firefighter deaths investigated / Alaska: Sarah Palin in-law pl >>
Shane Murphy, whose captain, Richard Phillips, was freed from Somali pirates, calls for strong action and says U.S. must take the lead in defeating hijackers. 'It is a crisis. Wake up!' Murphy says. >>
Pakistan: President approves Sharia law for Swat / Poland: 21 die in fire at homeless shelter / Tajikistan: Bank chief diverted $856 million to himself / Iraq: U.S. soldiers killed in blast >>
A week later it issues a presidential statement, not the resolution the U.S. sought, criticizing the action and agreeing to tighten sanctions. >>
Capt. Richard Phillips is freed after military snipers see a chance and shoot dead three of the captors. A fourth pirate, negotiating with the Navy aboard the Bainbridge, is taken into custody. >>
Prime Minister Abhisit sends in the army after he escapes an attack on his motorcade and declares a state of emergency. At least 70 are injured. >>
Iraq: U.S. soldier killed in blast / Pakistan: Transport terminal attacked / Afghanistan: Outspoken female official slain / Jordan: Man slays sister in 'honor killing' >>
FOREIGN EXCHANGE
Attendance and revenue are up as many Japanese forgo overseas trips and visit the park instead. >>
President Mahinda Rajapaksa tells army to stop offensive operations during the Sri Lankan New Year, allowing civilians to flee the war zone. >>
Cambodian Americans who survived the brutal regime have long buried their nightmares. Some spoke out recently in Long Beach. >>
The Justice Department has secured more than three dozen bribery-related convictions in the awarding of reconstruction contracts in Iraq and Afghanistan. At least 25 theft investigations are underway. >>
Former diplomat Irakli Alasania is seen as a possible successor to Mikheil Saakashvili in a nation weary of turmoil and increasingly tired of the president's sometimes irrational spontaneity. >>
The small operations in South Korea aim to be voices of change by airing information to counter Pyongyang's propaganda and by passing messages from friends and relatives to North Koreans. >>
A state of emergency is briefly declared in Pattaya, the host city. Other anti-government protests add to the unrest that has paralyzed Bangkok and raised doubts about Thailand's political stability. >>
Asian leaders are evacuated by helicopter after protesters storm the summit venue in Pattaya. ASEAN's chief appeals for a peaceful end to protests so the meeting can resume. >>
In Hong Kong and Taiwan, foreigners can learn how Asian medicine uses herbs and other ingredients to fight illness. >>
The Defense Department last week identified the following American military personnel who died in Afghanistan and Iraq: >>
Afghanistan: Cleric defends marital sex law / Iraq: 9 Sunni fighters killed in suicide blast / Ecuador: Volcano threatens Galapagos wildlife >>
ASIA
Companies scale back as they confront limitations in Vietnam's workforce and other issues. >>
The group breaches security at the summit venue in Pattaya to deliver a letter calling for Thai Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva's resignation and the dissolution of his government. >>
Richard Phillips, the American ship captain taken prisoner after the crew of his vessel fought off Somalia pirates, jumps into the ocean but is soon recaptured, a U.S. official says. >>
If Congress approves the latest funding request, as expected, the Iraq war will have cost about $694 billion, making it the second most expensive conflict in U.S. history behind World War II. >>
FOREIGN EXCHANGE
Seoul is waging a propaganda campaign against foreign journalists and economists whose writings run counter to the official line on government action to stem South Korea's economic slide. >>
Thousands seeking the resignation of Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva converge on the hotel where Asian leaders are meeting. >>
President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono's Democratic Party has 20% of the vote in unofficial results, qualifying him to run for reelection in July. >>
North Korea: Kim appoints brother-in-law to key post / Bolivia: Morales continues hunger strike over constitution / India: 23 workers die in blaze at fireworks factory >>
About 20,000 rally in Tbilisi to demand that President Mikheil Saakashvili step down, partly over his handling of last summer's war with Russia. He calls for talks instead. >>
A freed cargo ship goes on its way as four stranded pirates, with their American captive, in one small lifeboat face off against a U.S. destroyer, surveillance craft and helicopters. >>
In a reversal from five years ago, tens of thousands of protesters want him out of office. Critics, including onetime allies, accuse him of being autocratic. >>
FOREIGN EXCHANGE
The Obama administration has expressed misgivings about the accord negotiated during President Bush's term and may not seek congressional ratification. Seoul hopes to salvage the deal. >>
Looking frail, North Korea leader Kim Jong Il appears before his nation's legislature and is unanimously reappointed to his post. Many believe he suffered a stroke last year. >>
It is the go-to agency when U.S. citizens are kidnapped abroad. An ex-agent says the best option to win Capt. Richard Phillip's release is to be patient and honest with the pirates. >>
Defense Secretary Gates argues that the additional money is needed to prevent abrupt troop withdrawals. The administration says it's 'the last supplemental for Iraq and Afghanistan.' >>
CONGO
Congo: Rwandan rebels targeting civilians, rights group says / China: Officials in tainted-milk scandal get new jobs / Fiji: President fires judges, assumes all powers >>
Residents of the Kkottongnae Retreat Camp in Temecula recall John Chong, the alleged gunman, as quiet and polite. Authorities have yet to find a motive in the attack that killed one and injured four. >>
As he hugged his way across Europe and Turkey, President Obama also pushed the message of 'shared interests.' >>
The Maersk Alabama's captain and his second in command, Shane Murphy, studied anti-piracy tactics at the Massachusetts Maritime Academy. >>
Voters in the sprawling island nation with the world's largest Muslim population face ballots with a large array of parties today. The confusing choices could reduce turnout. >>
The decision by the Obama administration on addressing nuclear concerns breaks with Bush policy, which had largely sought to isolate Tehran. The U.S. doesn't rule out bilateral talks. >>
Britain: 10 arrested in raids / Pakistan: Missile strike kills three / China: Two Tibetans get death sentences / Moldova: Romania accused of interfering >>
Supporters of exiled former Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra also seek the ouster of a top advisor to the king. >>
SCREENING ROOM
Think of it as a progressive film festival, not like in pushing artistic boundaries, more like how film fans will have to follow the Second Annual Japan Film Festival Los Angeles around town. With 22 films making either their North American or at least their L.A. premiere, the festival takes place Friday through next Thursday at the Monica 4-Plex, then moves to the Downtown Independent April 17 to 19, and winds up April 25 and 26 at the Starplex Cinema in Irvine. The opening-night feature is the animated adventure "The Sky Crawlers," which was nominated for the Golden Lion Award at last year's Venice Film Festival. www.jffla.org. >>
On a surprise stop, he tells cheering U.S. troops in Baghdad that it's time for Iraqis to take full control of their country. Meanwhile, another Shiite neighborhood is attacked. >>
Protesters smash a window and beat the driver of Thai Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva's vehicle. The leader is not harmed. >>
The president meets with various religious leaders and tells college students to help end harmful stereotypes in the final public appearance of his Europe-Turkey tour. >>
CAUSE CÉLÈBRE
Video from Pakistan of flogging by Taliban boosts Feminist Majority Foundation cause >>
A senior North Korean diplomat warned Tuesday that the government will retaliate if the U.N. Security Council takes action over its rocket launch, insisting that his country sent up a peaceful satellite and not a missile. >>
Scientists are not surprised that a large quake hit the region, which is close to the boundary where the African plate is sliding under the Eurasian plate. >>
In his first visit to a Muslim-majority nation, President Obama's address to Turkish lawmakers carries a message for the larger Muslim world, saying improving relations is crucial. >>
The president reiterates that his views on the Armenian genocide in Ottoman times have not changed, but doesn't use the term as he focuses on helping normalize Turkey's ties with Armenia. >>
With much praise for his scientists, Kim Jong Il insists the launch was successful and 'doesn't care about what the rest of the world thinks,' says one expert. >>
Somalia: Pirates seize British ship / Afghanistan: Merkel asks Karzai to review sex law / India: Bombings kill 8 in Assam / Cuba: Congressional Black Caucus meets with Raul Castro >>
A South Korean firm would put a condo and retail complex near the Convention Center. Last week, a different South Korean firm announced a similar project for the nearby Wilshire Grand hotel site. >>
Washington wants a Security Council resolution that is 'clear and strong.' >>
A U.S.-led effort to issue a joint condemnation of the rocket launch founders amid reports of Russian and Chinese reluctance to antagonize the volatile regime and endanger talks. >>
Though the North's launch apparently failed in its crucial third stage, it is an improvement on its last effort, U.S. officials note, saying it would bolster its reputation among states pursuing the technology. >>
Some in Orange County's Little Saigon who have been labeled as communists, including a former school superintendent and the owner of a newspaper, are suing their accusers for slander and harassment. >>
Tensions remain high after the launch, condemned by the West for its nuclear-arms ramifications. North Korea declares a success. Officials elsewhere say the rocket and satellite fell into the sea. >>
Immigrants understand the hardships of gunman Jiverly Wong. Still, they say, there are ways to endure life in a strange land. >>
As volunteer coordinator for March Air Reserve Base, Laura Froehlich has missed only a handful of the flights that have taken military personnel to or from Iraq and Afghanistan since the 9/11 attacks. >>
It's the third major attack within six weeks in Pakistan's heartland. The bloodshed might have been worse: Guards kept the bomber from entering the compound, where about 1,000 were gathered. >>
Air Force Staff Sgt. Phillip Myers died in Afghanistan. His casket's arrival at Dover Air Force Base is the first to be seen by the media since a ban was lifted. >>
The U.S. sought troops to fight the Taliban, but Obama still calls the commitment 'a strong down payment' on the Afghan mission. >>
The move is perceived as a test of Pyongyang's ability to deliver a nuclear warhead. President Obama calls the launch a violation of U.N. Security Council resolutions. >>
Turks are excited about his visit, seen with pride as affirmation of the nation's importance. >>
Israel: Bedouin teen killed in attack / Sudan: U.S. envoy says Darfur situation dire / Afghanistan: Marital sex law to be reviewed / Mexico: 11 bodies found / Cuba: U.S. lawmakers in Havana >>
Her colleagues at Naval Medical Center San Diego were not surprised when Lt. Florence B. Choe volunteered for duty in Afghanistan, even though it meant a year away from her husband and their young daughter. >>
He was the person people always wanted to be around. >>
Dozens are rescued in Pakistan, a route for illegal entry to Iran. >>
An American U.N. worker abducted more than two months ago turned up Saturday, lying alongside a road in western Pakistan with his hands and feet bound, pleading "Help me," said the man who found him. >>
ART
Exhibition recalls a culture's peaceful and progressive past. >>
Surprised by a 1998 launch, Tokyo is ready this time, warning against any violation of its airspace. >>
REAL ESTATE
Korean Air's $1-billion proposal to replace the Wilshire Grand with two skyscrapers is just the latest in a series of projects that have been remaking the corridor. >>
The 17-year-old is believed to have been punished for refusing to marry a militant commander in the Swat Valley. A human rights activist calls the whipping 'intolerable.' >>
Gaza Strip: Judge named to head war crimes inquiry / Thailand: 10-year jail sentence for editing royals' photos / Malaysia: New PM frees 13 detainees / Sweden: 'Ferrari guy' in trouble again >>
President Obama is to visit Turkey in a few days, and the expected deal would allow him to point to progress toward reconciliation >>
President urges Europeans to shed anti-American sentiment and assist U.S. in addressing common challenges, including campaign in Afghanistan and reaching out to Muslims. >>
Cambodian and Thai troops clash in border region that has been a focus of conflict. Up to four dead are reported. >>
Conglomerate Korean Air proposes building a pair of high-rises to replace the aging Wilshire Grand hotel. The project would cost $1 billion. >>
GLOBAL ECONOMY
The yuan is gaining global influence, but experts say it would be years before it could supplant the U.S. dollar. >>
Serbia: Compensation to U.S. family confirmed / The Philippines: Militants release aid worker / Venezuela: Chavez critic arrested / Pakistan: Would-be suicide bomber shoots himself >>
CAUSE CELEBRE / TINA DAUNT
Everybody knows about Jay Leno's taste for topical humor. Far fewer are aware that his wife, Mavis, has long been one of Hollywood's most influential behind-the-scenes activists on behalf of women. >>
He says the detainees who were shipped from outside Afghanistan to Bagram air base were in legal terms 'virtually identical' to those sent to Guantanamo. >>
With a larger accord hung up as France and China squabble over a detail, President Obama talks privately with each side, then both -- and a deal is struck. >>
U.S. officials say Washington doesn't plan to shoot down the long-range rocket if Pyongyang follows through, but they would pursue stronger sanctions against the regime. >>
FOREIGN EXCHANGE
Found hanged in her home, soap opera star Jang Ja-yeon is said to have left a note accusing television executives of forcing her to have sex with them. Gossip swirls over their identities. >>
President Hamid Karzai draws fire for signing the legislation related to Shiite Muslim life. It also prevents women from leaving the house without a man's permission. >>
Former Marine Ray Calhoun Jr. is set to receive the Silver Star for bravery. >>
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