http://blog.newshound.biz Just another WordPress weblog Fri, 03 Sep 2010 20:09:01 +0000 http://backend.userland.com/rss092 en It took a week and a half for my visa to come through. I actually thought I wasn't going to make this trip to Iraq. My first time there and the most difficult part is trying to get into the country. I mean - you wouldn't think people were exactly ... http://blog.newshound.biz/2010/09/preparing-for-iraq/ Spent the day working on a story about an Arab man, married with two children, who told a Jewish woman his name was Dudu. They landed up having consensual sex an hour later in a nearby building. Afterwards she found out he'd lied to her. His real name was Kashur and ... http://blog.newshound.biz/2010/07/whats-in-a-name/ So the Libyan ship came and went - and nothing. Not quite sure what it was all about - organisers of the ship insist they weren't trying to provoke the Israelis and they just wanted to deliver aid, but Israel has made it quite clear they're not letting anyone into ... http://blog.newshound.biz/2010/07/all-sound-and-fury-signifying-nothing/ We're on standby for a Libyan sponsored ship making its way to Gaza. Those on board say they're determined to break the Israeli blockade and have their supplies delivered to the Gaza Strip. But the ship's log still reads its final destination as El Arish in Egypt which is where ... http://blog.newshound.biz/2010/07/libyas-on-its-way/ Been working on an interesting story related to the South African 2010 World Cup - how Israelis and Palestinians feel about the teams competing. Most relevant is attitudes to Germany - it's crazy, but a bit predictable perhaps - that most Palestinians I've spoken to want Germany to win. When I ... http://blog.newshound.biz/2010/07/world-cup-mania-in-israelpalestine/ Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov is wrapping up a two-and-a-half day tour to Israel, the Palestinian Authority and Egypt. Like most government trips, a dozen meetings are crammed into a few days with the occasional press conference shedding light on some of the issues being discussed behind closed doors. The Middle ... http://blog.newshound.biz/2010/06/moscow-playing-greater-role-in-mideast-conflict/ Am reporting today on media reports that Israeli helicopters dropped off large amounts of military gear at a Saudi military base in northern Saudi Arabia. The story appeared some two weeks ago in the London Times magazine and has been picked up by Arab media. Riyadh allegedly gave permission for Israeli ... http://blog.newshound.biz/2010/06/israel-and-saudia-arabia-a-new-partnership/ The Iranian Students Association says humanitarian ships intended for Gaza will be setting sail this Sunday. Everyone in Israel is a little - if not a lot - apprehensive. Hizbullah sponsored ships are also due to set sail from Lebanon any day now. It seems the ships will meet in ... http://blog.newshound.biz/2010/06/waiting-for-iran/ According to Gazans, the number of children with cancer has increased dramatically since Operation Cast Lead a year and a half ago. I just got off the phone with Saed, a colleague of mine who lives and works in Gaza city, and he says that each evening when he comes ... http://blog.newshound.biz/2010/06/cancer-children-in-gaza/ Spent most of the day at Kerem Shalom border crossing on the Israel-Gaza border. The big Israeli announcement was that they were lifting the siege on Gaza as much as they could to accommodate their security concerns. From what I understand the real change will be that until now all goods ... http://blog.newshound.biz/2010/06/lifting-the-gaza-blockade/