Today's Story Line

The selection of a vice-presidential candidate is not generally a major story outside of the United States. But Sen. Joseph Lieberman, Al Gore's running mate, is a practicing Orthodox Jew. And in the Middle East that's considered an extremely relevant detail. It fuels the perception among some Arab nations that the US is not an honest broker, that its leadership has a pro-Israeli bias. And among some Israelis it's considered a plus to potentially have someone close to the president who understands the complexity and importance of the Mideast peace process.

The fragile peace talks in Kashmir were shattered yesterday (Aug. 8). The militant group Hizbul Mujahideen demanded Pakistan have a seat at the negotiating table. Meanwhile, local anger against New Delhi is fed by a growing number of "disappearances" and alleged killings of Kashmiris after being detained by Indian security forces.

David Clark Scott World editor

REPORTERS ON THE JOB..

*A WELCOME RECEPTiON Reporter Andrew Downie went to Brazil's southern state of Rio Grande do Sul to look into a case of political corruption. That kind of story can be difficult to do, since it involves sorting through a community's dirty laundry. But he found the people of Cidreira, a summer resort town, "friendly, accomodating, and eager to talk about the problems of their town government," he says. Andrew has traveled widely as a journalist in Latin America and he says that "Brazilians are open in a way no other Latins I have come across are. And here they were not afraid to say this is wrong and here's how things are. They were not afraid that it would reflect bad on them or their country, which was also refreshing."

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