Today's Story Line

In his first interview on the subject, Rajmohan Gandhi says his famous grandfather was not anti-Christian. A wave of recent attacks on Christians in India have been justified by Mohandas Gandhi's writings.

Diamonds have long been equated with romance. But human rights groups threaten to sully that image, if the diamond industry doesn't stop buying gems used to fund wars in Africa.

Wherefore art thou Iranian culture? Wonder no more. From Shakespeare to film chic, artistic expression is experiencing a renaissance in Iran.

David Clark Scott World editor

REPORTERS ON THE JOB..

*STALKING THE VIDEO GUY: During his last trip to Iran in February, the Monitor's Scott Peterson tried to line up an interview with an illegal video vendor. But he couldn't find one who would talk, even anonymously. "They were too afraid of being caught," says Scott. This trip, he told some friends about his problem. They had no way to contact their video guy, but he showed up each Tuesday morning with a fresh selection. Scott was there when he arrived, his black bag stuffed with Hollywood's latest. Far from being apprehensive, this video pirate stayed "for tea and he seemed to enjoy talking about his work," says Scott.

*CUTE BUT NOT CUDDLY: Reporter Shawn Donnan has lived in Australia for two years, but had never seen a koala in the wild until he went to Kangaroo Island. They live in a forest "around the corner from my Mom's house in Sydney," he says. "But you never see them. They're nocturnal." He even doubted that they'd be visible on the island. So, he got directions to a nature preserve on the island. It was an unnecessary precaution. "We saw quite a few," he admits. Did he pet one? "No, they're not cuddly. You've got to watch their claws. One ranger had scars on her leg from trying to catch them."

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