Carol J Williams

Carol J. Williams is a retired foreign correspondent with 30 years' reporting abroad for the Los Angeles Times and Associated Press. She has reported from more than 80 countries, with a focus on USSR/Russia and Eastern Europe.

After All This: Putin in Peril? Not Likely

The suspected Ukrainian hand in Saturday’s bombing of the $4-billion Kerch Strait Bridge linking the Russian mainland to Crimea may not have damaged the strategic span as much as it did Putin’s pose as commander-in-chief directing a war that is “going as planned.”

Is Brazil Really Done with Balsonaro? Previous President Lula Makes a Comeback

Political commentators called this election Brazil’s most important in decades, with the future of democracy, social peace and upward mobility opportunities on the line.

The UK Gets a New Prime Minister (Meh): Who She Is and What to Expect

Only 12 percent of Britons polled by YouGov expect Liz Truss to be a good or great government chief. More than half – 52 percent -- predict she will be poor or terrible.

Mikhail S. Gorbachev, Reformer who Helped End the Cold War, Dies at 91

Gorbachev’s idea of humane communism never became a reality. His attempts to reform a brutal Communist empire garnered admiration around the world but failed to inspire his own people.

The LA Times: How to Dismantle a Great Civic Institution

“Bad City” takes the reader inside the Times newsroom at a time of plummeting ad revenue and cancelled subscriptions.

Six Months In: Where the War in Ukraine Stands

Half a year after Russia’s invasion, the devastating attacks on Ukrainian fighters have ground down into a deadly war of attrition.

Johnson’s Ghost: The Vanishingly Small Number of Brits who will Choose the UK’s Next PM

The campaign to succeed Johnson is mercifully short and political polling frequent enough to track changes in the fluctuating mood of the electorate.

Averting a Food Crisis? Russia Agrees to Safe Passage for Ukrainian Grain, then Launches Rockets at Port

“This attack casts serious doubt on the credibility of Russia’s commitment to yesterday’s deal and undermines the work of the U.N., Turkey and Ukraine to get critical food to world markets,” Secretary of State Antony Blinken said in a statement late Saturday.

Report Card: What Biden Got out of His Trip to the Middle East

With the dumpster-load of diplomatic crises left behind by his America First predecessor, Biden waded into the volatile region with the modest objective of resetting damaged relations with allies and adversaries alike.

Taiwan: What China’s Xi has Learned from Putin’s War on Ukraine

Xi and Putin speak in the same imperialist language about the historical bonds and blood ties with their coveted territories. They pursue the same legacy of greatest leader of all time.

Latest