Reporters on the Job
• 'The Turks are Invading, Sir.' Last Thursday, correspondent Sam Dagher went to interview Nechirvan Barzani, prime minister of the Kurdistan Regional Government, at his residence and office in Arbil, in northern Iraq.
"He greeted me with a big smile and he seemed to be brimming with hope and energy," says Sam. The prime minister had just returned from a trip to South Korea where he signed an memorandum of understanding for the biggest oil and infrastructure projects in the history of the region.
"We were talking about the tensions between his region and Baghdad over oil contracts. The talk shifted to Turkey. Then one of his assistants came in with a mobile phone saying he had a very urgent call.
Mr. Barzani came back 10 minutes later and told Sam that Turkish troops and tanks were crossing into Kurdistan in numbers never seen before (see story).
– David Clark Scott
World editor
• Monday, Feb. 25: Manila – Opposition groups mount protests calling for President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo's resignation over corruption allegations on the anniversary of the 1986 "people power" revolt. Jakarta, Indonesia - Defense Secretary Robert Gates visits Indonesia, India, and Turkey this week. He was in Australia over the weekend for meetings with top officials.
• Tuesday, Feb. 26: Pyongyang, North Korea – New York Philharmonic plays a concert in North Korea's capital, the biggest US cultural group to perform there in 50 years. The orchestra plays in Seoul, South Korea, on Thursday.
