I've spent much of the day writing, editing and updating copy on the plane crash that killed Poland's president and other top leaders. The numbers have been a little iffy, ranging from 88 to over 130.
It seems we've settled on 96... or is that 97? Even Yahoo wasn't sure this afternoon.
Baino, Lebanon - The Middle East may be famous for its black gold but on its western boundary not far from the Mediterranean Sea, the oil is flavourful and goes well with crispy bread.
Just beyond the Chuoar Valley waves of stone and scrub meander all the way to the horizon and the afternoon sun glistens through the olive groves of Youssef Fares and his family.
Lebanon, a small strip of land between the Mediterranean Sea and Syria, was once known as the Switzerland of the Middle East. Since it signed a free trade agreement with Lebanon several years ago, Switzerland is now helping farmers like Fares put the organic label on their bottles.
Back in November I took a spur of the moment trip to Lebanon. I arrived on a Saturday and it was cold and rainy: an inauspicious start to what would become one of my most memorable trips.
I ended up travelling solo up the coast and into the Bekaa Valley, visiting ruins and castles before jumping for a day to Damascus.
One of the highlights was a trip north with Youssef, flatmate of Charbel, my Couch Surfing host. Youssef is a fifth-generation olive grower and produces the most delicious organic olive oil.
I ended up with three litres but better yet, a story. It's here.
I suppose being copied and pasted should be considered a compliment. Today in my Google News update, I happened upon an article in the Tripoli Post entitled "Swiss Irrationality Drags EU into Dispute with Friendly Libya".
This has all to do with the case of two Swiss businessmen who were picked up in Libya in July 2008 after Geneva police arrested a son of the colonel for beating hotel workers. That touched off a diplomatic storm between the two countries, basically because you don't mess with Moammar.
It also gave journalists in these parts a break from writing about cheese, chocolate and banks.
Curious, I clicked the link. Unsurprisingly, the top of the article read pro-Libya. I continued.
About ten paragraphs in, came this line:
There is a possibility that the negotiations to solve the dispute that entangled the rest of Europe will continue in Berlin on Friday.
Odd, I thought. I had used the "entangled" just a few days ago in one of my own pieces. And those negotiations were last Friday, not two days from today.
The further I read, the more I felt a sense of déjà vu. Hmmm, I mused. This writer is really improving in the bottom half of his piece. Really. Amazing. Prose. Strong finish, mate.
And then this:
A move by Switzerland to impose Europe-wide visa restrictions against nearly 200 prominent Libyans may have backfired, a Geneva-based expert tells swissinfo.ch.
Followed by:
The Swiss decision, made last autumn, was one of many salvos in a two-year bilateral dispute and sparked Tripoli to bar citizens of Schengen zone nations from entering the country.
Marcelo Kohen, a professor of international law at Geneva's Graduate Institute of International and Development Studies, said that Bern chose the wrong strategy.
In late 2008, the Swiss ban would have produced few ramifications outside its own borders.
But since entering the 25-country Schengen Area, Switzerland and its neighbours have been able to restrict the ability of people from outside the area to move freely within it.
That's exactly what Switzerland did. The Libyans alleged to be on the Swiss list are still permitted to enter other Schengen countries but must apply for individual visas.
That of course, was lifted directly from a Q&A I did last week with a Geneva-based professor.
The original article is here. A follow-up, describing the reaction of the Swiss media is here.
I am sitting in the airport in Bern right now although I'll be posting this from Munich (I hope) or from Booooocharest.
Like a North American, I got to the airport extra early. It's really small but you can get a flight to most big European cities, including Paris, which is quite convenient. I'm sitting here waiting for security to open so that I can go through and sit down again.
I'm sitting with my suitcase and my camera case. It contains a pretty nice, professional camera with three lenses. Two are pretty big and will make me look like a pro when I run around taking pictures of things.
I changed my plans a little bit. Originally, I was going to spend all my time in Bucharest but then was advised against it since there are really two Romanias - the east side, which is Russian-influenced, full of Gypsies of course and that part borders Moldova at to the east and the Black Sea.
Bulgaria is on the bottom and the Ukraine on top. Then, there's the western side of the country, separated by the Carpathian mountains. This side is much more Western, with a strong Austro-Hungarian influence. Serbia is on the bottom left corner.
The country has a very pro-American administration.
I had planned to take a train across to Timisoara but it didn't work out because it would have been eight hours each way, so my office booked a flight, which takes one hour and 15 minutes.
I have most of my interviews lined up and am meeting with a journalist with Romania's international service, a film director and son of one of the country's famous movie stars, and an IT specialist who has worked around the world for Credit Suisse, including in Switzerland. They're all in Bucharest and I still need to set up things in Timisoara, but it shouldn't be a problem.
I go to Timisoara on Friday early evening and fly back Sunday morning.
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