Reporters on the Job
鈥� Star-struck: At a recent press conference in Nairobi, Kenya, staff writer Scott Baldauf was faced with a dilemma (see story). "You need to talk with several people, all of whom seem to be making for the exits. But across the room, you see a woman who happens to be one of your favorite authors on Africa," Scott says. "What do you do?"
Scott had caught sight of Michela Wrong, a British reporter who has written two books: "I Didn't Do It for You," on the Eritrean-Ethiopian war, and "In the Footsteps of Mr. Kurtz," about the last days of Zairian President Mobutu Sese Seko. "When she was about to duck out, I moved fast and told her how much I enjoyed her work, in that embarrassing way that you do when you meet, say, George Clooney on the street."
Scott says she was quite gracious to her fan 鈥� maybe because he restrained himself and didn't ask for her autograph.
THE WEEK AHEAD
鈥�Monday, Jan. 7: The Hague, Netherlands 鈥� Resumption of war-crimes trial of former Liberian President Charles Taylor.
鈥�Tuesday, Jan. 8:London 鈥� Royal Mail releases stamps featuring the covers of Ian Fleming's spy novels to commemorate 100 years since the author's birth.Washington 鈥� President George W. Bush meets Turkey's president, Abdullah Gul, and then begins a trip to Israel, the West Bank, Kuwait, Bahrain, the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, and Egypt.
鈥�Wednesday, Jan. 9:London 鈥� British 骋耻补苍迟谩苍补尘辞 resident appears before extradition hearing.Accra, Ghana 鈥� Sentencing scheduled for two British teenage girls found guilty in November of trying to smuggle cocaine out of Ghana in laptop bags.
鈥�Thursday, Jan. 10:Frankfurt 鈥� European Central Bank's governing council meets to set interest rates for the 15-nation euro zone.
鈥� Amelia Newcomb
Deputy World editor
