Today's Story Line

The second Palestinian intifadah, or uprising, which began about a month ago, is a deadlier battle with bigger international stakes than the first intifadah. That uprising lasted six years and ended with the 1993 Oslo peace pact. Today, we look at the sequel and how the context for this conflict has evolved (See story).

David Clark Scott World editor

REPORTERS ON THE JOB..

SKIP THE SUNDAY BRUNCH: There's no sleeping in, going to church, or even midmorning brunch for Caracas-based reporter Phil Gunson. Every Sunday morning, Venezuela's President Hugo Chavez hosts "Hello Mr. President," a two-hour radio and television call-in program. "As a journalist, I have to watch. Chavez often uses the program to make important announcements." Theoretically, the program runs from 9 a.m. to 11 a.m. Unfortunately, says Phil, the scheduling can be a bit loose. "It starts when the president arrives and ends when he's done." This past Sunday, for example, Cuban President Fidel Castro joined Chavez on the program. It started an hour late. Neither of the two leaders have a reputation for being tongue-tied: the show lasted for 3- 1/2 hours.

FRESH EYES: There are many obvious disadvantages to being a new correspondent in a new country. But one of the virtues is seeing things others may not. Within days of arriving in South Africa, reporter Rena Singer drove through Soweto. What caught her attention and evolved into today's story (See story) were the metal shipping containers on people's lawns. A few months later, she noticed that a shipping company had won a community-service award. "I called to see if they were donating these containers. They said, no, people were buying them." She went back to Soweto and saw even more containers.

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