Reporters on the Job
PALM INSPECTOR: An Orthodox Jew in Jerusalem checks a palm frond before purchasing it. The frond is one of four items used in the Jewish holiday of Sukkot, which began Monday.
Tara Todras-Whitehill/AP
• It's a Small Congo: The Democratic Republic of Congo is almost four times bigger than France. But that didn't prevent staff writer Scott Baldauf from running into the same Congolese Army officer who was the lead interrogator when Scott was detained a year ago in another part of the country.
For today's story, Scott went to a camp that was seized by rebels, then retaken by the Congolese Army. "My former interrogator's job was to persuade journalists that the Rwandan Army had entered the DRC with two brigades backing up a Congo rebel group," says Scott.
"He's a very bright guy. But fortunately, he didn't recognize me – and I didn't remind him," he says.
The evidence was thin, according to Scott. "There were some military supplies that rebels could have purchased in Rwanda, a single Rwandan soldier's medical card, and a 15-day leave pass for a Rwandan soldier. That didn't seem like it was enough to indicate an invasion by several hundred Rwandan soldiers," he says.
– David Clark Scott
World editor
• Tuesday, Oct. 14:
Canada – Parliamentary elections.
London – Winner of Britain's most prestigious literary award, the Man Booker Prize, to be announced.
• Wednesday, Oct. 15:
The Hague – World Court decision on Georgia's request for an injunction against "racial discrimination" by Russia in the provinces of South Ossetia and Abkhazia.
Azerbaijan – Presidential election.
• Thursday, Oct. 16:
United Nations, N.Y. – Five nations to be elected for two years on the Security Council. Contenders include Iran, Japan, Mexico, Austria, Turkey, Iceland, and Uganda.