Reporters on the Job

• Fatah Refugee Headquarters: For security reasons, most Western journalists are not going into the Gaza strip. But correspondent Joshua Mitnick was able to open a small window on events in the Palestinian territory by talking to fleeing Fatah officials (see story). "I was at a beach party in Tel Aviv Friday night when I got a call from a friend saying that Fatah officials were arriving at the Grand Hotel in Ramallah," says Josh. He went to investigate. "The lobby was buzzing with many functionaries, including members of the Fatah youth organization, bodyguards, and widows of former security chiefs murdered by Hamas. There was an atmosphere of shock and concern. Some were on their cellphones trying to make arrangements for family members still in Gaza. One told me that his family was being harassed by Hamas gunmen coming to their apartment asking for gold and the keys to their car. His wife told him, 'Don't come back, but try to get us out.' "

David Clark Scott
– World editor

This week's look ahead

• Monday, June 18:

Seoul, South Korea – US nuclear envoy Christopher Hill scheduled to discuss status of international effort to get North Korea to give up atomic weapons.

New York – Vietnamese President Nguyen Minh Triet expected in first US visit by country's head of state since Vietnam War.

• Thursday, June 21:

Brussels – National leaders discuss revisions in the European Union Constitution at what will be last EU summit for Tony Blair as British prime minister and first for new French President Nicolas Sarkozy.

• Sunday, June 24:

Mogadishu, Somalia – National Reconciliation Congress opens, with Somalia's UN-backed interim government hoping to end violence among clans and other factions.

– Associated Press