Reporters on the Job

• Be Prepared: Important news events in Iran can erupt – and duty can call – any time, as staff writer Scott Peterson learned again this weekend. Iran's chief nuclear negotiator resigned from his post while Scott was with one of his sons on a Boy Scout overnight in Turkey on the shores of the Black Sea (see story).

After the campers had gone to bed, Scott set up his computer and satellite phone, read the news reports, spoke to editors, and called analysts until 1 a.m. "That was par for the course," says Scott. "It was rather more difficult waking up before 5 a.m. the only time a source was available."

Scott stepped into the dark drizzle to set up his satellite phone and conduct a 30-minute interview, before crawling back in to the tent to write his story.

– David Clark Scott

World editor

• Monday, Oct. 22:Kiev, Ukraine – US Defense Secretary Robert Gates attends a 12-nation summit of southeast European defense ministers. Later, Gates will meet with Czech officials about hosting a missile-defense system and will visit the Netherlands for a NATO meeting focused on Afghanistan.

• Tuesday, Oct. 23:Edinburgh, Scotland – Student Mohammed Atif Siddique is to be sentenced on four terrorism convictions. Officials believe he hoped to join a terrorist plot in Canada.

• Thursday, Oct. 25:Caracas, Venezuela – Students plan to protest constitutional reforms that would end presidential term limits and give President Hugo Chávez the ability to govern until 2027.

• Saturday, Oct. 27:Sirte, Libya – Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi to host peace talks to resolve conflict in Sudan's Darfur region.

– Associated Press