Today's Story Line

No one thought making peace between Israel and the Palestinians would be easy, but Israeli Prime Minister Barak is waging an epic battle to win an agreement before Palestinian leader Arafat's Sept. 13 deadline for declaring a state.

Faye Bowers Deputy world editor

REPORTERS ON THE JOB..

*CAMPING IN CORSICA: Corsica has always been a wild place - its brush-covered rocky mountains and gullies the ideal hiding place for all sorts of outlaws. When European correspondent Peter Ford last visited the Mediterranean island 25 years ago, there were no separatists. But as he toured the island, camping out, he was warned against pitching his tent too far from a village. The French Foreign Legion had a base on Corsica, and deserters - unable to escape the island - simply lived rough as best they could . Which often meant attacking and stealing from tourists.

*CAN WE TALK? After attending his first press conference since moving to the Middle East, the Monitor's Cameron Barr couldn't help but compare the situation to Japan, his previous beat. "I can't recall a single meeting in six years where the foreign minister sat down with the foreign media," he says. "In Japan, you have to fax an interview request weeks in advance." At his new post, he says, "There's greater openness and flexibility, not just on the Israeli side, just generally."

PRESS CLIPPING.

*I-DO.COM: Two people saying "I dos" in London was broadcast live to millions on the Internet yesterday, reported The Guardian newspaper in London. The Brent Town Council, in northwest London, installed a Web cam in its register office that enabled family members and guests from all over the world to log on as Ravi Ram and his girlfriend Mamta Patel took their vows. The council plans to allow all its weddings to be broadcast online at no extra cost, The Guardian reported.

Let us hear from you.

Mail to: One Norway Street, Boston, MA 02115 via e-mail: world@csmonitor.com

(c) Copyright 2000. The Christian Science Publishing Society