Reporters on the Job

• The Army Returns: To witness the Lebanese Army crossing the Litani River Thursday, staff writer Scott Peterson drove down from Beirut the night before.

"At about 9 or 10 p.m., the Lebanese military was still building the temporary metal bridge across the river. One construction light and a row of vehicle headlights were providing the illumination for their work. I asked a soldier if I could take a photo. He had no problem, but thought he should check with his commanding officer. No, was the response.

"As we walked by the to car, our driver shook his head and said, 'It's just like the old days,' " referring to Lebanon at the end of the civil war in 1990 when soldiers had the final word on many facets of daily life.

Thursday at dawn, however, no one had a problem with photographers shooting the Lebanese Army moving into position on the south side of the Litani River.

• Answer the Phone: Life in Nahariya, Israel, is returning to normal, reports staff writer Ilene Prusher. Israel's northernmost city was evacuated under a barrage of Hizbullah rockets. But the two brothers of the Israeli soldier kidnapped on July 12 by Hizbullah remained in their apartment.

They stayed to monitor events and to press for their brother's freedom. When Ilene interviewed them in their apartment, the phone rang constantly. "They clearly wanted to talked to me and another reporter," she says. "They want to keep the public pressure on the government to free their brother. But every call could be important information about his fate. So, we were interrupted every few minutes by phone calls."

David Clark Scott
World editor