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I Interview with Mahmoud Darwish Grass growing on a wall. (2000) WHEN HE WALKS AWAY The enemy who takes tea in our shack has a mare in the smoke And [...]

Looks at the violence in Algeria that pits Islamists against the government. The handful of foreign journalists who were let into the country under official protection to witness the scene; Evidence of the Islamist ability to commit violence at will; The explosion of a car bomb which was intended to kill women and children who were related to policemen; More.

Reveals that the former Soviet arsenal is leaking into the West, raising fears of a new brand of nuclear horror. Discoveries of smuggled weapons-grade plutonium and uranium in Germany; Who the sellers are; Lack of evidence on who buyers are; How the problem can be controlled; Major nuclear-materials sites.

States that, with 2,000 Rwandan refugees dying daily in camps in Zaire, the United States, the United Nations and Rwanda's new rulers want the refugees to return home. Lack of strength or will to return by the majority; Safety issues; How political ambition produced the catastrophe; Rwandan Vice President and Defense Minister Paul Kagame.

Contends that in Baidoa, a southern Somali town and in remote villages beyond, is where most of the US's humanitarian mission will be carried out, and where the conflict between the narrowly conceived objective of safeguarding food convoys and the larger needs of rebuilding a shattered nation will be played out. The 76-vehicle convoy; Taking Somalia's discomforts in stride; Mogadishu's reminders of Beirut; Anecdotes from individual US Marines; Somali's welcome the Americans.

Gives information pertaining to the reconstruction of the Middle East since the war, with reference to Rafik Hariri, prime minister of Lebanon. Comments from Hariri; Description of the reconstruction; Discussion on how Beirut is handling the various adjustments.

Announces that Egypt's Supreme Council of Antiquities will open to the public, in July 1996, the long hidden monuments of Dashur in Egypt. Fact that King Snefru of the 4th Dynasty built three pyramids for himself at Dashur; Details of the Red Pyramid, where Snefru was entombed, and the Bent Pyramid; History of Dashur excavation; Theories about the reign of Snefru; Disappearance of Snefru's mummy.

Reports on the presidential election in Algeria. The declaration that President Liamine Zeroual was victor with 61 percent of the vote; His mandate to bring peace to the country in the five-year term; Activities of the fundamentalist Islamic Salvation Front (FIS); The search for a strategy to end the civil war in Algeria without giving in to the fundamentalists.

Explains how today's Iranis are indifferent about the values of the revolution and how corruption permeates Iranian society. Schism between core of loyal revolutionaries and the rest of Iranian society; Nearly $40 billion accumulated in foreign debt; Weakness of President Rafsanjani and his allies; Viewed by the United States and Israel as a rogue state that seeks to export terror and sabotage the Middle East peace process.

Reports on a consensus reached at the United Nations International Conference on Population and Development in Cairo, after disputes over abortion and threats of violence by Islamic fundamentalists. Agreement that gender equality is a key to curbing population growth; Symbolic importance of the conference.

Recounts the violence in Gaza City following the canceled ceremony in which the Israelis were to turn the hotel-turned-police barracks over to PLO representatives. Citing snags in the Cairo negotiations, Yasser Arafat's representative sent word he would not accept the building. Seven Israelis blown up in a suicide attack in Afula; Thursday shooting near the town of Ashdod; Numbers who have died in the past six months.

Focuses on Algiers, where no one is safe as a populist Islamic fundamentalist movement struggles to take power from the army-backed state. First free parliamentary elections canceled to forestall a Muslim fundamentalist victory; Islamic Salvation Front attracts allegiance of millions; More than 3,500 Algerians killed in last two years; Dangers especially frightening for alien residents; State of emergency; President expected to be named this week; Details.

Tells of the reaction of civilians in Baghdad to the June 27, 1993 cruise-missile attack. Iraqis blamed President Bill Clinton for the deaths of eight civilians; Psychological jolt to Iraqi leadership; Economic deprivation has produced no signs of destabilization within the Saddam Hussein regime; Mood in Baghdad one of despair and humiliation; Economic sanctions trained Iraqis' anger on US and UN; Physical isolation weighs heavily; Comments from diplomats and Iraqi officials.

Presents a firsthand report from Bosnia territory that has been seized by Serb gunmen by dispossessing Muslims and Croats. Serbs feel fully justified in their large-scale `ethnic cleansing'; Purification of Muslims from towns and villages in northwestern Bosnia a hollow victory for Serbs, destroying prosperity as well as security; Interest in improving living conditions in territory overtaken; `Cleansing' in Kozarac especially thorough; Tales from Muslims.

AGONY IN BEIRUT Lebanon's best hopes for peace after 14 years of civil war had taken months of arduous diplomacy to bring about. In September, Arab League negotiators orchestrated a [...]

Reports that on July 15, 1997, Egypt's Supreme Council of Antiquities will open Dahshur pyramid field, which had been off limits to the public. Three pyramids which dominate the horizon at Dahshur; Excavation of part of the Dahshur site by French archaeologist Jacques de Morgan.

Provides an interview with Sheik Hassan Nasrallah, who is secretary-general of Hizballah, the Lebanese guerrilla movement. His first interview with Western correspondents since the fighting with Israel began in April 1996; His assertion that Hizballah will retaliate for Israel's April 18th bombardment of the United Nations position at Qana; Discussion of the cease-fire agreement; Other questions and answers.

Explains why damage done by April 1996 Israeli bombing was especially bitter for Lebanon, in light of its being a country that was far along the way to recovery after 16 years of civil war. The attack not only on Hizballah guerrillas but also against the country's infrastructure; The economic costs; The attacks having a positive effect of bringing the country together.

Discusses Lighthouse TV, the television station owned and operated by the Lebanese Hizballah. Makeshift broadcasting studio; Threat of Israelis; General Manager Mohammed Afif Ahmad; In-depth coverage of Lebanon's conflict with Israel; Types of programming.

Looks at the Hutu army, in exile in Zaire, where they are stealing food, intimidating refugees and plotting a return to power. Their defeat in July 1994 by the Tutsi-dominated Rwandan Patriotic Front; Rumors that returning Hutu are being killed by Tutsi; Why Zaire is the key to their future.

Describes the death of Anwar Aziz on December 13, 1993, in a demonstration of scorn for the failure of the Israelis to begin withdrawal of troops from the Gaza Strip. Members of the Islamic Jihad, an extremist Muslim group, deployed a suicide car bomber just outside the Gaza City limits. Three Israeli soldiers were wounded. Brief profile of Anwar; Comments from family members on his martyrdom.

Surveys the Palestinian soldiers, members of the Badr Brigade of the Palestine Liberation Army, training in Jordan and Egypt for police duty in soon-to-be-autonomous Jericho and the Gaza Strip. Policemen still wear patches embroidered Palestine Liberation Army; Training in handling American M-16s; Screening out hotheaded ideologues; Expected usefulness of their riot-control training; Comments from Captain Amer Mohamed Abdel-Kader on going to Palestine.

Looks at Hamas, a militant Muslim fundamentalist group that is possibly the greatest threat to the rapprochement between Israel and the Arabs. The organization was born five years ago in the refugee camps of the Gaza Strip, is financed by Iran and private Arab benefactors and runs clinics and kindergartens and candidates for chamber of commerce elections. Hamas claims support from majority of Palestinians in Gaza Strip; Group is aggressively violent; Details.

Recounts the Jan. 14 sudden and fatal eruption of Colombia's Galeras volcano, which caused the deaths of six volcanologists and colleagues. United Nations-sponsored conference in Colombian city of Pasto to discuss new techniques for detecting pre-eruption changes in vented gases; Scientists who died; Injuries to Andrew McFarlane, Stanley Williams, Mike Conway and Luis Lamarie; Calls for more rigorous safety measures; Comments from Williams.

Recounts the recent week in Algeria where the army forced the resignation of President Chadli Bendjedid, provoking the dissolution of parliament and cancellation of the elections that had promised to give the Islamic Salvation Front (a fundamentalist group) a legislative majority. Swearing in of Mohammed Boudiaf as head of a five-member Council of State; Attempt to restore an elected parliament; Military intervention versus radical fundamentalists; Wait and see.

Presents an article from the December 8, 1996 issue of `The Observer' weekly about the controversial referendum in Algeria held on November 28, 1996. Government's cheating in the elections to pass the new constitution; Atrocities committed by government agents following the referendum; Establishment of militia groups in Algeria. INSET: The president's new clout, by Jean-Pierre Tuquoi..

Presents information on the Grand Summit Meeting for Arab leaders which was held in Cairo, while focusing on the Israeli government. Details on issues that were discussed at the summit; Identification of leaders that attended the summit; Indepth look at Israeli's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. INSET: Peace with Israel?..

Looks at the experiences of artists who were in exile after a brutal assassination campaign, which resulted in Algerian culture undergoing defiant renaissance in France. Names of artists who were driven abroad; Views on their experiences; Speciality of each artist; When assassination campaigns began; Background information on each artist.

Excerpts several articles about the aerial bombing of Kosovo, Serbia by the North Atlantic Treaty Organization. `As the Bombs Fall on Serbs and Albanians,' by Lara Marlowe which appeared in the April 9, 1999 issue of `Irish Times'; `Escape From Pristina,' by Antonio Russo, which appeared in the April 9, 1999 issue of `The Independent'; `Refugees in a Poor Land,' by Oliver Hoischen, which appeared in the April 12, 1999 issue of `Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung.'

Looks at how Terry Anderson revisited Lebanon where he was held hostage. Anderson's feeling upon returning; Reason for the return; Anderson's repeatedly driving past places with harrowing memories; Comments from his wife Madeleine.

Presents information on the responses of the Lebanese Shi`tes in relation to the bombing of their village. Information on state of village after bombing; Details on resumption of every day life despite destruction; Insight on citizens of Shaqra; Recollection of events by Hizballah guerrillas; Information on attack of United Nations post in Israel.

Focuses on the effect of the 1967 Arab-Israeli war. Division of families; How families keep in touch with each other; Need for a Syria-Israel peace treaty.

Focuses on efforts by House Speaker, Newt Gingrich to reshape Irans government under a `covert' plan. Opposition by American spy masters to Gingrich plan; Effects of Gingrich's plan on the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA); Reference made to the original plan.

Highlights the `Hope for Peace' sculpture in Yarze, Lebanon designed by French-American artist Arman to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the Lebanese Army. Description of the sculpture; Various views concerning the sculpture's aesthetic aspects; Reactions of Lebanese people regarding the sculpture.

Features an interview with Islamic Jihad leader Fathi Shkaki about the Beit Lid bombing in central Israel. Choice of target; Bombing plan; Extent of Shkaki's role in the bombing; Remarks on the death of civilians; Profiles of Shkaki.

Focuses on graves found in Dubrava, Bosnia and Hercegovina. Violence and machine-gun fire in the area; Dubrava as battlefield prison camp and burial ground for Muslims.

Discusses the battle between Bosnian government and Bosnian Serb forces for Bosnia's Bihac pocket. Croatia's admission of helping the Bosnian side; Potential for war's escalation with the possible entry of Croatia's Krajina Serbs into the conflict; Growing resentment for Bosnian Serb nominal Muslim ally Fikret Abdic; Humiliation of the United Nations Protection Forces (UNPROFOR).

Reports on the bloodshed in Algeria during the 40th anniversary of their independence struggles against France. Boy Scouts killed by a bomb at a cemetery; Bomb casualties during a war commemoration; Death of military commander Colonel Djelloul Cherif in a confrontation with militant Islamists; Killings as a response to President Liamine Zeroual's abandon of a dialogue with Islamic Salvation Front leaders.

Reports on the release of political prisoners and fundamentalist insurrection leaders in Algeria. Peace strategies of Algerian president Liamine Zeroual; Political conditions in the country; Prospects for peace.