World
from the July 02, 2003 edition

Reporters on the Job

A SIGN OF GRATITUDE: Monitor correspondent Peter Ford says he was a little apprehensive when he went to eat at the Café Signes, a Parisian restaurant run by deaf people ( see story). How was he going to make himself understood? Would he make a fool of himself trying to explain things with confusing gestures?

Get all the Monitor's headlines by e-mail.
Subscribe for free.
E-mail this story
Write a letter to the Editor
Printer-friendly version

He found that not only did all the waiters lip-read fairly fluently (and Peter says his lips do not betray his foreign origins the way his accent does), but that simple sign language is easy to pick up.

"When I used the gesture for 'thank you' at the end of the meal, the smile on the waiter's face was so broad that I was sorry that I had not made the effort to order the whole thing in sign language."

Follow-up on a Monitor Story

CONVICTED IN LAOS: The Associated Press reports that a Laotian court on Monday sentenced two European journalists and an American pastor to 15 years in jail in connection with the slaying of a village security official. The three men were convicted of obstructing police work and illegal possession of a gun and an explosive device, said sources at the trial.

French cameraman Vincent Reynaud, Belgian photojournalist Thierry Falise, and the Rev. Naw Karl Mua, a Hmong-American pastor, were sentenced immediately after being convicted. As reported on June 26, "In parts of Laos, the Vietnam War is still being fought," the three said they had gone to report about Hmong rebel fighters when a firefight broke out with a Laotian Army patrol. They denied any involvement in the guard's death.

In that Monitor story there was an inaccurate statement about the CIA training fighters in Laos during the Vietnam War. Those forces were, in fact, the Vietnamese and Laotian Communists.

David Clark Scott
World editor

Cultural snapshot

(Photograph)
HOUSE WITH A VIEW: To raise money for the homeless, four students in Santiago, Chile, are spending 10 days in a replica of the house built by the government for the poor.
SANTIAGO LLANQUIN/AP

Let us hear from you.

Mail to: One Norway Street, Boston, MA 02115 via e-mail: World editor




Get Monitor stories by e-mail:
(Your e-mail address will be protected by csmonitor.com's tough privacy policy.)
(Mary Knox Merrill/Staff)
EDITOR'S PICK Five cities that will rise in the New Economy
From Seattle to Huntsville, Ala., five cities are poised to prosper in the New Economy because of exports, innovation, clean technology, and healthcare.

In Pictures:
Get ready for gridlock
POLITICS Patchwork Nation
The American voter beyond red and blue

Daily podcast

Monitor Reports

Discussions with Monitor reporters from around the world


Today

Peter Grier

The Monitor's Peter Grier talks with reporter Ron Scherer about how Black Friday will effect the economy this year.




Making a difference
Making a Difference

What happens when ordinary people decide to pay it forward? Extraordinary change. See how individuals are making a difference, finding solutions, overcoming adversity, and giving back globally.

Batdorj Gongor convinces residents to set up savings groups as a way of teaching them the power they gain by banding together in neighborhoods.

Lee Lawrence

People making a difference: Batdorj Gongor

In Mongolia, he shows former nomads how working together benefits everyone.