Today's Story Line

Through the lens of a schoolteacher, a view of how the Hizbullah courts political support in Lebanon.

Russian leader makes his first official trip to the West - and drinks tea with Queen Elizabeth II.

One of the most ecologically diverse areas in Brazil is now one of the world's top 5 "hot spots".

And one of South Africa's most highly priced - and rare - insects may get protection.

Faye Bowers Deputy world editor

REPORTERS ON THE JOB

HEAD-TURNER: Middle East correspondent Ilene Prusher regularly covers her head for interviews with devout Muslims - usually with a white or colored scarf. But since she planned to travel to more conservative countries like Saudi Arabia this trip, she borrowed a much-larger, black one that a friend had purchased in Iran. The only problem was it required the use of a little clip to hold it in place - which Ilene didn't know. She ended up fidgeting with the scarf throughout her entire interview with Sheikh Qassem.

"I found that if it was tucked under my jacket and I sat just so, I could prevent it from slipping off," Ilene says. "But that meant that anytime someone else entered the room, I had to turn my entire body around ever so carefully, probably appearing as though I had a stiff neck."

UPDATE ON MONITOR STORY

DNA SEQUEL: The Sydney Morning Herald reported on April 17 that, in the wake of Australia's first mass DNA screening, a man was charged for the rape of a 91-year-old woman in Wee Waa, Australia. The man, a farm laborer who lives in the small, northwest cotton-belt town, is believed to have presented himself to police late yesterday.

The Herald reported the man was one of about 500 Wee Waa males who submitted to "voluntary" saliva swab DNA tests earlier this month - reported in the April 13 issue of the Monitor.

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