Reporters on the Job

from the March 31, 2008 edition

• Follow the Photos: Staff writer Scott Peterson followed a serendipitous trail to find one of Iran's militant rally regulars, a character called Haji Bakhshi (see story).

Scott had seen the news photo of an aging Iranian protester with blood painted on his hands in front of the Danish Embassy in Tehran in February 2006. He saw it again last year, when a Danish filmmaker did a documentary on the impact across the Muslim world of the Danish cartoons. The documentary also showed a visit to Haji Bakhshi's house, and another photo of Mr. Bakhshi putting out the flames of his burning car on the front lines of the Iran-Iraq war.

Many months later, Scott was in Tehran interviewing Iranian war cameramen. One of them pulled out the burning car photo – it had been shot by him. After learning the story behind it, Scott resolved to find Bakhshi, and hear his story for himself.

– David Clark Scott

World editor

• Monday, March 31: Bangkok, Thailand – UN climate change talks.

• Tuesday, April 1: Kiev, Ukraine – President Bush meets with President Viktor Yushchenko and Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko.

• Wednesday, April 2: Bucharest, Romania – NATO summit.

• Thursday, April 4: Cancún, Mexico – Conference of energy ministers from Africa, Latin America, and the Caribbean.

• Sunday, April 6: London – Protests expected as Olympic torch relay passes through the city.Scohi, Russia – President Bush meets Prime Minister Vladimir Putin to discuss proposed US missile defense system.

– Associated Press

Cultural snapshot

Marathon of the Sands: The 245-kilometer, seven-day foot race across the Moroccan desert is considered one of the most difficult endurance tests in the world. Rafael Marchante/Reuters More cultural snapshots

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