Reporters on the Job

• Start From the Bottom: Staff writer Mark Sappenfield said that at least one Pakistani he interviewed for today's story (see story) electrician Khalid Iqbal, felt that Pakistanis must look to themselves for change. "Squatting in the dim light of his shop in the back alleys of Rawalpindi, amid a clutter of broken fans and light fixtures, he told me: 'The prophet said the ruler is a reflection of his people. If it is a tyrant then we must look into our own souls.' "

Mr. Iqbal, Mark says, added that none of the current political leaders – President Pervez Musharraf, former Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif, or former Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto – could be trusted. "But in a moment of candor, he mused that if he were given [control] of a [government] ministry right now, he'd turn into the same kind of person."

THIS WEEK'S LOOK AHEAD

•TUESDAY, Oct. 9 Stockholm – The 2007 Nobel Prize in physics is announced.

•WEDNESDAY, Oct. 10 Baikonur, Kazakhstan – Soyuz craft launches en route to International Space Station, with US-Russian-Malaysian crew.
Stockholm – The 2007 Nobel Prize in chemistry is announced.

•THURSDAY, Oct. 11 Stockholm – The 2007 Nobel Prize in literature is announced.
Washington – Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice visits Russia, Israel, the Palestinian territories, Egypt, and Jordan.

•FRIDAY, Oct. 12 Oslo – The 2007 Nobel Peace Prize is announced.

•SATURDAY, Oct. 13 Yokosuka, Japan – Japan hosts "Pacific Shield 07" naval interdiction exercises. Australia, France, New Zealand, Singapore, the UK, and the US to participate.

– Amelia Newcomb

Deputy World editor