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Rocket Central

Back to school has a completely different meaning in the Israeli town of Sderot. It doesn't just mean new classes and teachers. It means being escorted to school by soldiers and learning how to duck for cover before a rocket slams into school grounds.

Travelling with the Pope

I had the opportunity to take a quick walk along the majestic pedestrian area of downtown Vienna. The pope's three day visit took me here. Giant television screens broadcasting live every move of the German pontiff loomed large above busy shoppers on this rainy Saturday afternoon. On Sunday Benedict XVI celebrated Mass at the St. Stephen Cathedral, the heart of this beautiful capital.

Watching the Detective

In 2004 I interviewed Alexander McCall Smith in his home in Edinburgh, Scotland. The bow-tie wearing author of the bestselling novels about -The No 1 Ladies Detective Agency' lived in the same street as J.K Rowling (author of the Harry Potter books) and Ian Rankin (author of the Inspector Rebus novels)

A new millennium in Ethiopia

It is a strange experience to go back in time to relive a historic event, but here in Addis Ababa I've done just that.

Why Madeleine?

The first thing you ask yourself when covering this story is why Madeleine?

Watching the CSI Madeleine show

The sleepy and quaint Portuguese town of Praia da Luz has never witnessed such commotion and speculation.

Suspicion and surreality in Portugal

My arrival at Faro airport was the first surreal moment for me during this trip. It occured to me stepping off the plane and into the awaiting shuttle bus to the terminal building that I was obviously surrounded by holiday makers. Of course, I was heading to a tourist resort, however I was not destined for a sunshine break and the people around me, clutching their Portuguese phrase books, looked on strangely as me and the correspondent I was with immediately starting checking our BlackBerries and mobile phones.

Dinner with Madonna

When Jerusalem Bureau Chief, Kevin Flower, began gesticulating wildly at me from across the dinner table, pointing at his chest and mouthing some word I mistook for an obscenity, I thought maybe he was trying to tell me the bill was here and I owed him a LOT of money.

Covering the Madrid Bombing Trial

We got here early, around 6:30 am local time. One of the first crews outside the courthouse, even before the main police contingent, although there was security. The courthouse security chief told us to move our cars -- unloading lots of equipment to our 'live shot- position under a tent --- away from the court building, as in, RIGHT NOW, por favor ("please," in Spanish; he was courteous, as always). Not as cold as we had expected it to be, one layer of coats, not two, would do.

Reflections in Madrid

Thursday November 1st is a national holiday in Spain, All Saints Day, to be precise. The city is quiet, even the politicians. It's a great day for sober second thought in Spain and people here surely need it. The Madrid bombing verdicts were decidedly mixed, but as we searched out the survivors and the families of those who were killed, the interviews weren't about loud outrage, but quiet frustration. I remember the first day of the trial and the mood couldn't have been more different. Six months ago, families were still expecting and demanding answers, now they're resigned. As a journalist it was much easier to illicit comment from survivors and families when the trial still held such promise.