Politics

Politics - Middle East
What's next
A month of protests with the help of Twitter and Facebook led to the world's first Internet coup in a region that never sees popular revolutions. The long-serving dictator, Ben Ali, fled the country while the constitutionally mandated successor has promised to include opposition groups for the first time in the next government. For the past month, there has also been similar riots in neighboring Algeria and Moroccans, Egyptians and Syrians are closely watching, supporting the movement on Facebook. This article details what happened and why, and what is next for Tunisia. It also explores what these turn of events mean for its neighbors in the region and in the Arab world, particularly Egypt.

Slug: TU-Coup
Date available: now
Time period for assignment: 3 days
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Reporter(s): TBA
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Politics - Spain
Down with the bulls
Bullfighting in Barcelona is history because of political friction and a culture clash between Catalonia and Spain. A petition to change Catalonia’s animal cruelty law forced the region's parliament to take on banning the ‘sport’ in the autonomous Spanish state: The motion, which called for a repeal of the exclusion of bullfighting from animal protection laws, passed a second hurdle in June.

Now, Catalonia has become the second region in Spain to ban bullfighting but the first to include a ban on the “National Fiesta.” Twenty years ago, the Canary Islands passed a law that prohibited the suffering of animals, in general, for public enjoyment. Also, this second ban on toros will certainly hurt bullfighting much more than the previous one because Catalonia is an important economic power and influential in Spain.

The historic political friction between Spain and Catalonia plays a big role in this debate. Some observers believe that the motion to ban bullfighting has little to do with concern for animals and more to do with opposition from Catalan nationalists to a Spanish cultural phenomenon they see as alien. The truth, though, is that very few Catalans identify with bullfighting, and the only remaining ring in Barcelona is usually filled with tourists and people who migrated from other regions of Spain to Catalonia during the 1950s and 1960s.

Slug: CH-Bullfighting
Date Available: May 22
Expiration date: July
Reporter(s): Meritxell Mir
Print: Y - Video: N - Audio: N - Photos: Y

Politics - Italy
The unsinkable
Silvio Berlusconi is pure Teflon. The latest tussle involving the Italian leader is over judicial reform. In late January, hundreds of judges walked out of ceremonies around Italy marking the start of the new judicial calendar to demonstrate their objection to Berlusconi-backed legislation that would shorten trials. Opponents say that this bill is intended to help Berlusconi evade prosecution in two ongoing corruption hearings.  

Meanwhile, the Italian tabloids continue to print details of a salacious sex scandal in which Berlusconi has been accused of sleeping with an underage aspiring model (as well as prostitutes), bitter divorce negotiations, ongoing charges of corruption and ties to the Mafia and even his new hair transplants. Yet his personal ratings remain high, especially after a December attack left him with a fractured nose and two broken teeth. Opponents say the assault was engineered by Berlusconi supporters to win him public sympathy. It is obviously working: The Italian leader enjoys a public popularity that is the envy of other less-colorful politicians everywhere. 

Slug: Italy-Berlusconi
Date available for assignment: Now
Time period for assignment: 4 days
Expiration date: N/A
Reporter(s): Josephine McKenna
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Politics - Morocco
Going dry?
The sale and consumption of alcohol is an especially sensitive issue in Morocco, where 98 percent of the population is Muslim. Although a 1967 royal decree prohibited the sale or gift of alcohol to Morocco's Muslims, it's widely ignored as stores and bars alike openly sell it to their clientele - regardless of religion. Now, the ancient city of Fes is trying to become the country's first jurisdiction to strictly enforce the ban, claiming rowdy behavior in the town's bars and discos is disturbing its Muslim residents. Others want the ban enforced saying it discriminates against the local population. Regardless, the move has sparked a national debate over the country's image and identity.

Slug: MO-Alcohol
Date available: Now
Expiration date: April
Time period for assignment: 3 days
Reporter(s): To be assigned
Print: Y - Video: N - Audio: N - Photos: Y

Politics - Europe
Transatlantic blues
Europeans warmly welcomed President Barack Obama when he took office more than a year ago. But now that the president is no longer the new kid on the block, many in Europe are increasingly skeptical just how much fundamental change will be possible in Washington. Disagreements have ranged from climate policy and the US demand for more European involvement in Afghanistan to clamping down on excessive bonuses and the handling of the financial crisis. This story will examine to what degree the transatlantic relationship has already changed since January 2009 and what issues remain uncertain.

Slug: Europe-transatlantic
Date available for assignment: Now
Time period for assignment: 3 days
Expiration date: N/A
Reporter(s): To be assigned
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Politics - Europe
'Fortress Europe'
The EU's policy of refugee resettlement was supposed to stop asylum seekers trying to reach Europe illegally. But while the EU is grappling to get a single and uniform immigration policy, individual member states are taking matters into their own hands.

Italy is under fire for its repatriation of Libyan refugees; French security officials bulldozed the infamous "Jungle"� refugee camp near Calais; and only a small percentage of legal refugees were actually resettled in Europe last year. Is Europe heading toward a uniform immigration policy or will member states continue to regulate on their own terms?

Slug: Europe-Fortress
Date available for assignment: now
Time period for assignment: 5 days
Expiration date: N/A
Reporter(s): To be assigned
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Society

Society - Morocco 
The Berber broadcaster
First an alphabet and now a television channel: Berbers in Morocco have struggled for decades to get recognition of their once-banned language and culture. These days, a new public television channel is marking a turning point in their struggles.

Berbers, who had settled in Morocco long before the Arab conquest in the 7th century, have been fighting for decades to get recognition of their language and culture. For years, Tamazight (the Berber language) was banned as a threat to national unity and the minority, estimated to be one-third of the population, felt itself second class in a society that primarily identifies itself as Arab. Things began to change in the 1990s when the ban on Tamazight in schools was lifted and a decade later, when the language was codified into an alphabet and taught in schools. And now, there is a channel dedicated to broadcasting in Tamazight. This story will examine the Berbers' place in society today and how far they have come in taking their place in the cultural and political landscape. 

Slug: Morocco-Tamazight
Date available for assignment: Now
Time period for assignment: 3 days
Expiration date: none
Reporter: Aida Alami           
Print: Yes Video: No Audio: No Photos: Yes 

Society - Germany
Monumental debate
Although the streets of Berlin are lined with statues and plaques commemorating powerful monarchs, fallen soldiers and victims of the Holocaust, Germans still grapple with just how to remember their volatile past. The latest struggle is over a new memorial to honor German reunification, two decades later. All 532 proposed designs for the monument were rejected by officials, who ushered in a new round of competition in the hopes of finding the right proposal. But the controversy and confusion over the memorial have led to a heated debate: Is it too soon to honor the country's reunification?

Slug: Germany-monument
Date available for assignment: now
Time period for assignment: 4 days
Expiration date: N/A
Reporter(s): To be assigned
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Society - Switzerland
Down with Call of Duty!
Switzerland could soon become the first European country to ban violent video games after parliament this spring decided to consider a law to prevent the importation and commercialization of aggressive gaming. It the law is passed, it will become the second country in the world to take such action.

Games such as Call of Duty or Army of Two could soon disappear from Swiss homes if a new law that will stop the import or commercialization of violent video games is passed. Neither children nor adults will be allowed to play games in which war, violence or cruelty are the main theme.

Countries like Germany or Australia also have strict regulations on such games but there is only one other nation in the world where violent video games are prohibited: Venezuela. Some say that the ban won’t prevent people from playing these games since many play on the Internet or buy them in neighboring countries such as France or Italy.  Others find the law hypocritical in a country where every adult male learns how to shoot a gun during mandatory military service, is required to keep a gun at home and undergoes shooting certification annually.

Slug: Switzerland-videogames
Date Available: April 15
Time needed for assignment: 3 days
Expiration date: End of April
Reporter(s): Meritxell Mir
Print: Y - Video: N - Audio: N - Photos: Y  

Society - Romania
Junk-food tax
Romanian cuisine is known for being heavy and high in calories but it's the influx of unhealthy food choices and fast food chains that has health officials calling for a plan to battle the country's growing obesity problem. The health ministry reported the number of obese children has doubled in the past four years. Now the government is proposing a comprehensive junk food tax that, if enacted, would represent the widest-ranging singular tax of its kind anywhere. But the proposal has met with strong resistance from both the food industry and many Romanians, who say the tax would unfairly hit the country's poor.

Slug: RO-junk-food
Date available for assignment: Now
Time period for assignment: 3 days
Expiration date: N/A
Reporter(s): To be assigned
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Society - Germany
Berlin: Cleaning up
Berlin is considered the sanctuary for subculture in Europe but the German capital's development initiatives are threatening that honorary designation. City officials have turned to foreign investment and costly building projects as a way to clean up neighborhoods in the former East Berlin as locals protest and rising rents push them out.

One of the great draws of Berlin is its thriving arts and underground music scene. But increasingly, locals grumble that the German capital is going the way of Times Square. The latest battle is over a massive media building complex on the Spree River, which will force popular alternative hotspots to close to make way for office buildings and condo complexes. That is in spite of the fact that nearly 90 percent of the neighborhood residents voted against the project in a recent referendum; that the city's housing is plentiful and relatively cheap compared to other European capitals; and commercial space remains vacant at an astonishing rate.

Slug: Berlin-development
Date available for assignment: now
Time period for assignment: 6 days
Expiration date: N/A
Reporter(s): To be assigned
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Society - Czech Republic
The new Amsterdam
These days in the Czech Republic, pockets may be bursting with heroin (up to 1.5 grams), methamphetamines (2 grams allowed) and LSD (five tablets), and at home, it is legal to distill hooch and only sort of a crime to produce and sell blackmarket cigarettes. Shortly after the New Year, hundreds of prisoners - among them drug addicts and illegal distillers but also poachers and those caught driving without a license - were released as their crimes no longer warranted jail time.

The Czech Republic may have long ranked among Europe's most socially tolerant countries: For example, it was the first of the former communist countries to recognize same-sex domestic partnerships and prostitution is not specifically outlawed. However, shifting from victimless crimes to a focus on combatting violence, extremism and corruption is a surprisingly progressive step even for this country. With this change in stance, sentences have increased for murder, animal cruelty and other acts of violence, for example, and judges are now allowed to ban violent hooligans permanently from attending soccer matches.

Meanwhile, drug tourism is booming. Poland and Slovak officials are infuriated and trying to stem the flow. And locals aren't too happy about the stoned partyers arriving from abroad either.

Slug: CZ-Laws
Date Available: Now
Time period for assignment: 6 days
Expiration date: N/A
Reporter(s): Milan Gagnon
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Society - Germany
Berlin: A different space
If Paris is known for its chic cafés and London for its musky, wooden pubs, Berlin is unique for its many gathering spots that share an unusual feature: They are not out to make money. From collectively run cafés to apartment basements converted into bars and or spots for political events, Berlin is chock full of spaces that are not run for ‘the bottom line.’

We examine how these spaces facilitate Berlin's active and unconventional political and cultural underground, what kind of communities are running and using them and perhaps most importantly, how they can afford to exist.

Slug: Berlin-space
Date available for assignment: Now
Time period for assignment: 6 days
Expiration date: N/A
Reporter(s): To be assigned
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Business

Business - Germany
From coal to culture
The Ruhr region, home to more than five million people, has reinvented itself from a gloomy rust belt to a flourishing landscape of communities featuring more than 200 venues showcasing the visual and performing arts.

One example of many is the Industrial Landscape Park in Duisburg, which once functioned as a steel mill before its conversion into a public park with biking trails, cultural venues and a blast furnace that provides a quirky vantage point for surveying the region. In the same town, a shipping harbor now has been converted into a chic river promenade complete with sidewalk cafes, a renowned art museum and a weekend outdoor market. Famed British architect, Sir Norman Foster, is working to complete Duisburg's transition by reducing space for cars by 30 percent and increasing foot and bike traffic to ease access between the train station, the main thoroughfare and the river. The transformation in Duisburg has been replicated all over the Ruhr Valley.

Slug: Germany-Ruhr
Date available for assignment: now
Time period for assignment: 4 days
Expiration date: N/A
Reporter(s): Milan Gagnon
Print: yes - Video: yes - Audio: no - Photos: yes

Business - Britain
The lucrative loophole
At Norfolk Constabulary in the east of England, Chief Superintendent Simon Bailey never seems to tire of insisting on giving straightforward advice to small investors: "Think twice."

Words of caution have so far proved ineffective, though. Every year, 20,000 British buyers sink about almost a billion pounds (€1.1 billion) into forged shares. The initial bids these rogue brokers demand from victims is less than €3,000 but thousands of families in counties throughout East Anglia and the Midlands have ended up losing their savings in these schemes known as "boiler rooms." Law enforcement is facing an uphill battle: Swindlers usually operate from offices around continental Europe and so far, members of the European Union have not agreed on how to jointly tackle financial crime.

Slug: UK-boiler
Date available: now
Time period for assignment: 1 day
Expiration date: N/A
Reporter(s): Victor Jimenez
Print: yes - Video: no - Audio: no - Photos: no

Business - Switzerland
Questioning the secrecy
Swiss banking secrecy laws took effect in the 1930s after the Nazis tried to confiscate the assets of their perceived enemies, many of them Jews. And since then, it has brought untold wealth to the small Alpine nation along with plenty of international headaches.

From pressure by the United States and France in the past two years to share bank data to the more recent purchases of stolen bank details by Germany that could yield 100 million euros in back taxes, the Swiss are increasingly questioning their long tradition of secrecy and what it means for their country's future in the global economy. Already, the head of a Swiss bankers' association has said the tradition is not so important for the clients of tomorrow while admitting that the trust customers have in Swiss banks has been seriously eroded.

Slug: CH-Banking
Date available for assignment: now
Time period for assignment: 4 days
Expiration date: N/A
Reporter(s): To be assigned
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Business - Poland
What crisis?
East Europeans are faring much worse in the economic crisis than their western counterparts, with one exception: Poland. Its economy was the only one on the continent to expand in 2009.

Poland has been able to avoid the impact of the financial and economic crisis felt so deeply by its neighbors, some of whom have experienced double-digit contractions in their economies. Instead, Poland actually experienced decent economic growth in the past year while the zloty has soared in the past few months. We take a look at this phenomenon.

Slug: Poland-crisis
Date available for assignment: now
Time period for assignment: 3 days
Expiration date: N/A
Reporter(s): To be assigned
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Arts & Culture

Arts & Culture – United Kingdom
Is it real?
“Close examination: fakes, mistakes and discoveries” features 40 works of art such as Botticelli’s "Venus and Mars" which once fooled experts. It also shows the evolution of science in use to detect counterfeits. The exhibition, which opened earlier this summer at the National Gallery in London, also examines centuries-old works that were modified because of morality reasons or other concerns.

Slug: UK-Fakes
Date available: Now                                                                                     
Time period for assignment: 2 days
Expiration date: n/a
Reporter(s): TBA
Print: Y - Video: N - Audio: N - Photos: Y

Arts & Culture - Germany
Prost, Hundertwasser!
Austrian artist Friedensreich Hundertwasser designed whimsical residential buildings, outlandish train stations and colorful post offices. One of his last designs recently opened in small-town Bavaria: a brewery. 

The 35-meter-high tower topped by Hundertwasser's trademark gold onion dome and full of colorful rooms jutting out from the main body (with, of course, no angles) is to be inaugurated in March in Abensberg, located in a tourist no-man's land between Munich and Nuremberg. It was no mean feat for the brewery's owner, Leonhard Salleck, to get city approval for the project because of concerns it would clash with the town's historic architecture. But now city officials and the brewery owner hope to attract art-lovers – and beer aficionados – from the world over with the new brewery, which also features an exhibition of beer glasses and mugs and one on Germany's tradition of brewing “pure” beer.

Slug: Germany-Hundertwasser
Date available for assignment: March 1
Time period for assignment: 3 days
Expiration date: N/A
Reporter(s): To be assigned
Print: Yes - Video: yes - Audio: no - Photos: yes

Arts & Culture - Italy
Bad boy, Caravaggio
He was the Keith Richards of his era - a bar room brawler, a violent drunk, a womanizer dogged by rumors of homosexuality. He upset everyone and got himself into all sorts of brawls – and even killed a man. Yet Michelangelo da Merisi, aka Caravaggio was brilliant. Rome pays homage to the man on the 400th anniversary of his death.

The Italian capital is holding a series of exhibitions showing off dozens of the artist's greatest works on loan from around the world. The most impressive opened on Feb. 18 at the Scuderie del Quirinale Museum (through June 13): The exhibition highlights how Caravaggio developed the use of chiaroscuro (light and shadow) to achieve a realism not seen previously before. Meanwhile, Bologna University experts are analyzing remains found in December to solve the 400-year mystery of the Caravaggio's last resting place.

Slug: Italy-Caravaggio
Date available for assignment: Now
Time period for assignment: 3 days
Expiration date: June
Reporter(s): Josephine McKenna
Print: Yes - Video: no - Audio: no - Photos: yes

The Folkwang, founded in 1902, once contained Europe's best contemporary art collection before the Nazis tore it apart and scattered its treasures, deemed "degenerate art" all over Europe. In its first major exhibit opening in March called "The Most Beautiful Museum in the World," the museum is celebrating its reopening with a reunion showcasing 1,400 of these works - by Matisse, Munch, Kandinsky and many other celebrated artists - and once again taking its rightful place among Europe's top art venues.

Slug: Germany-Folkwang
Date available: now
Time period for assignment: 3 days
Expiration date: End of March
Reporter(s): To be assigned
Print: yes - Video: yes - Audio: no - Photos: yes

Arts & Culture - France
Beyond 'The Scream'
Edvard Munch's iconic painting "The Scream" is one of the most internationally recognized paintings in the world, widely thought to be a symbol for modern man's universal angst and emotional crises in the 20th century. But a new exhibition at the Pinacotheque in Paris, "The Anti-Scream," paints a very different image of the Norwegian artist. A collection of 170 of his paintings, lithographs and engravings that span Munch's career reveal stunning landscapes and intimate portraits of the artist's personal life. Although "The Scream" brought Munch international fame and recognition, the exhibition shows visitors an entire unknown world hidden behind the haunting painting.

Slug: FR-Scream
Date Available: Now
Time period for assignment: 3 days
Expiration date: July
Reporter(s): To be assigned
Print: Y - Video: N - Audio: N - Photos: Y

Arts & Culture - Germany
Come home, Nefertiti
Art lovers and history buffs flock to museums in Europe filled with artifacts from the ancient world - particularly those of ancient Egypt. However, viewing such treasures may become more difficult in the future: Egypt has launched a bitter battle to reclaim them.

Cairo recently severed its relationship with the Louvre in Paris and is now demanding the return of a 3,300-year-old bust of Queen Nefertiti, featured in the grand re-opening of Berlin's Neues Museum last year. As Egypt battles to reclaim pieces of its history, we take a look at the implications for museums and the art world.
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Slug: Germany-artifacts
Date available for assignment: Now
Time period for assignment: 3 days
Expiration date: N/A
Reporter(s): To be assigned
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Science, Technology & Environment

Science & Tech - Sweden
Green solutions
Whether it’s snow-based cooling systems or mini-rainforests in the office to purify the air, Mid-Sweden is the world’s leader this year in innovative green technologies: It topped the I-40 list in 2010 of Green-friendly regions.

This story will examine why the Mid-Sweden region, made of up the provinces of Västernorrland and Jämtland, is attracting tremendous international attention due it its environmental technology sector: It was rated number one on this year’s “Innovation 40” list by New Economy, a London-based business magazine. The I-40 List is similar to the Fortune 500 list, but in the environmental sector. It will also detail a number of the ‘Green Solutions’ being created in the region.

Slug: Green sweden
Date Available: Now
Time period for assignment: 3 days
Expiration date: N/A
Reporter(s): To be assigned
Print: Y - Video: N - Audio: N - Photos: N

Science, Tech & Environment - United Kingdom
Celebrating science
On Nov. 30, 1660, a dozen men listened to a young Christopher Wren give a lecture on astronomy. Afterward, they decided to form an organization to promote "Physico-Mathematical Experimental Learning." Since then, its members have been a who's who of science: Isaac Newton, Charles Darwin, Albert Einstein, Michael Faraday, Robert Boyle and James Watt. And 350 years after it was founded, scientists today are honoring an institution that has given the world gravity, evolution, the electron, the double helix and the Internet. In fact, the Royal Society in London has been credited by historians with changing the world, just by changing our understanding of it. And how to come to understand it as well: The academy contributed much to scientific method as well as promoting the publishing of papers and peer review.

This story is a fun look at an institution that did so much to advance modern science and how it has changed in recent times as scientific discovery and development in Asia and North America push the boundaries of knowledge.

Slug: UK-Academy
Date Available: Now
Time period for assignment: 3 days
Expiration date: December
Reporter(s): To be assigned
Print: Y - Video: N - Audio: N - Photos: Y

Science, Tech & Environment - Seas
Saving the Baltic
The heavily trafficked brackish Baltic is one of the most polluted seas in the world. Officials from the countries which border the sea, home to about 90 million people, are becoming increasingly worried over the situation and have started looking for solutions.

The leaders of countries bordering the Baltic Sea met in Helsinki in February at the Baltic Sea Action Summit to figure out ways to save the Baltic, which is particularly vulnerable to pollution because its shallow waters don't rid themselves of toxins as quickly as other comparable bodies of water. This story is a look at how countries are trying to find ways to improve standards and promote technological innovation to keep their sea clean and its marine life alive. 

Slug: Europe-Baltic
Date available for assignment: Now
Time period for assignment: 3 days
Expiration date: N/A
Reporter(s): To be assigned
Print: Yes - Video: no - Audio: no - Photos: yes

Science, Tech & Environment - Energy
The smart grid revolution
Smart grids are changing the face of energy sectors in many industrialized nations by revolutionizing electricity networks through intelligent IT systems. These systems are also challenging the highly profitable traditional business model of energy suppliers: They stand to lose against information and communication companies that are eager to conquer the lucrative energy market. In addition to the big IT and telecommunication corporations, new technologies are allowing many small and medium-sized enterprises and even start-ups the chance to enter the market.

All players need to overcome multiple technical, business and political hurdles. In the end, governments will be the decisive factor, shaping energy markets of the future by setting the regulatory framework. This article explores the complex technical, economic and political developments brought about by the development of smart grids and profiles some of the main players.

Slug: Smart-grids
Date available for assignment: Now
Time period for assignment: 6 days
Expiration date: N/A
Reporter(s): Ulrich Hottelet
Print: Yes - Video: no - Audio: no - Photos: no

Science, Tech & Environment - Forests
No firm rules
While REDD (reducing emissions from deforestation and degradation) initiatives were the only solid response that countries agreed to at the Copenhagen climate conference in December, they did not set down firm standards on how the program should be carried out. With so much money at stake, and confusion over the agreement, case studies suggest that government corruption could lead to violence and the further destruction of forests. Still, the good news is that the agreement also highlighted the political awareness and high-level of organization on the part of many local communities concerned over deforestation.

Slug: Deforestation-REDD
Date available for assignment: Now
Time period for assignment: 6 days
Expiration date: N/A
Reporter(s): To be assigned
Print: Yes - Video: no - Audio: no - Photos: no

Science, Tech & Environment - Energy
The Volkswagen in your basement
The German carmaker is well-known for its Golfs, Jettas and the legendary VW Bug. But now VW wants to do more than keep people mobile: It wants to heat and power homes through mini power plants that fit in homes.

In conjunction with eco-tility company Lichtblick, the company has begun production of these ultra-efficient small block heat and power plants that fit in one’s basement and could revolutionize the German utilities industry, by decentralizing power generation and distribution.

Slug: VW-utility
Date available for assignment: Now
Time period for assignment: 4 days
Expiration date: N/A
Reporter(s): To be assigned
Print: yes - Video: no - Audio: no - Photos: yes

Science, Tech & Environment - Energy
Blowing against the wind
Rødsand 2, a project of 90 wind turbines located a few kilometers off Denmark's southern coast, is to supply 200,000 homes with electricity starting next September – part of the country's drive to produce 50 percent of its power with wind by 2025. But if recent experiences are an indication, that ambitious goal will have to be scaled back.

Denmark just saw Horns Rev 2, the largest offshore wind project in the world, inaugurated after months of installation delays due to bad weather. The €2.5 billion ($3 billion) London Array, a towering, 1 gigawatt project, nearly folded because of delays caused by turbulent seas. And Germany’s first offshore wind farm, Alpha Ventus, took a year longer than expected, with costs ballooning by 30 percent to more than $350 million, because of erratic, violent weather. Now many engineers are asking: With wind projects moving farther from the coast and being equipped with bigger turbines, is the idea of harnessing so much wind outpacing our capacities to do so?

Slug: Offshore-windpower
Date available for assignment: Now
Time period for assignment: 6 days
Expiration date: N/A
Reporter(s): To be assigned
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Travel

Travel - Norway
Ice trekking into the midnight sun
The Svalbard archipelago is one of the most accessible regions of the High Arctic and its vast and impassive landscapes are breathtakingly spectacular. One of the more adventurous ways to take in this scenery is on a 10-day glacier trekking expedition.

"The flight to Svalbard was an experience in itself. The late evening flight from Oslo soon left the darkness of southern Norway behind as the plane flew due north, past the Arctic Circle and into the full glare of the midnight sun. 
 
As the plane approached Spitsbergen – the largest island in Svalbard – I looked down on a vista of black volcanic mountains and blindingly-white glaciers, one hour from the North Pole, as the plane landed in Longyearbyen, Spitsbergen’s main settlement.
 
Nothing had quite prepared me for the 24 hours of sunlight that Svalbard, at 78 degrees north, enjoys for at least four months of the year. We landed shortly after midnight but it might as well be midday. The first thing I reach for are my sunglasses…" 

Arctic birds and polar bears, dangerous crevasses, stunning landscapes and impenetrable fog – Mark Lantham sets out for an Arctic adventure.   

Slug: Travel-Norway-trekking
Date available for assignment: Now
Time period for assignment: 1 day
Expiration date: August 2010
Reporter(s): Mark Latham
Print: Y - Video: N - Audio: N - Photos: Y

Travel - Romania
Revisiting a revolution: A tale of three cities  
Two decades into democracy, Romania is still struggling to leave its traumatic communist past behind. That makes for fascinating contrasts for the traveler visiting Brasov, Timisoara and Bucharest, the three cities that marked the revolution.

Romania was the last European country to free itself from the ‘clutches’ of communism. In May 2010, the country will mark the 20th anniversary of its first free elections after the Ceausescu dictatorship. Yet even after two decades, the social, economic and cultural contrasts in this part of the EU are striking.

Capitalism flooded Romania in its most savage consumer version. Huge billboards of fast-food restaurants, mobile phone companies and automakers crowd shabby communist-style concrete monstrosities in Bucharest. At ground level, expensive cars share the streets with children sniffing glue, old women begging for money and occasionally, a small monument marking the death of a victim of the revolution.

In the heart of Transylvania, the center of Brasov is crowded with skiers in the winter and hikers in warmer months. Affluence abounds amid the renovated historic buildings, streets full of stores and trendy restaurants and cafes. 

And in the west, the former industrial city of Timisoara has transformed itself into a charming university town, full of parks, baroque grandeur and a lively nightlife. Many call this former backwater the most cosmopolitan city in Romania.

We take you on a tour of Romania, then and now.

Slug: Travel-Romania-revolution
Date available for assignment: Now
Time period for assignment: 2 days
Expiration date: End of 2010
Reporter(s): Meritxell Mir
Print: Y - Video: N - Audio: N - Photos: Y

Travel - Kenya
A little yoga with that safari?
Looking for sun and a little decompression in the dark cold winter months of more northern climates? Longing for something more interesting than a beach resort? Your correspondent, a novice to yoga and safaris, decided to try out a little of both in East Africa.

"I was tired – too tired to plan a complicated trip – or to go on one. I wanted out – to be far away from the gray, freezing and damp misery that is Berlin, November through March. And I wanted to go to a spa, exercise, rest, eat scrumptious food, in a place with guaranteed sunshine. Yet I wanted somewhere interesting, tantalizing, different: Kenya was the answer.

I tried my hand at yoga and meditation at a small, beautiful retreat south of Mombasa and recovered from months of stress with daily massages. I nourished myself with creatively prepared seafood and vegetarian dishes and watched the stars come out at night to the sounds of the Indian Ocean. Then, fully restored, I set out on a safari through three of Kenya’s national parks…"  
   
Slug: Kenya-yoga
Date available for assignment: Now
Time period for assignment: 2 days
Expiration date: None
Reporter(s): Jabeen Bhatti
Print: yes - Video: no - Audio: no - Photos: yes

Travel - Amman
From sleepy to sexy
It is often thought of as the sleepy capital of a small, Muslim kingdom: Most eschew Amman as a party destination for racy Beirut, the ‘sin city’ of the Arab world. But that is changing as discos, cafes and chic restaurants sprout up across the Jordanian capital.

It is often thought of as the sleepy capital of a small, Muslim kingdom: Most eschew Amman as a party destination for racy Beirut, the ‘sin city’ of the Arab world. But that is changing as discos, cafes and chic restaurants sprout up across the Jordanian capital.
A young generation hungry for a more Western lifestyle is driving the new scene in the capital, which includes numerous music venues, cafes and shisha bars. One new place, Upstairs, where young clubbers gather every night, is at the forefront of the change, full of young hipsters in cool clothes sipping cocktails and shedding traditions. And even though alcohol is not forbidden as in other Muslim countries, it isn’t as easily available as in say Beirut. But the young, and the forces of change they are ushering in, are winning in the struggle against the quiet conservatives in the country.

Slug: JO-Amman
Date available: Now
Time period for assignment: 2 days
Expiration date: n/a
Reporter(s): To be assigned
Print: Y - Video: Y - Audio: N - Photos: Y

Travel - Eastern Europe
Biking the Iron Curtain
From Russia to the Balkans, natural preserves, monuments and museums dot a landscape that once bristled with barbed wire. We visit a selection of spots in this formerly menacing region.

The Iron Curtain trail traverses more than 6,000 kilometers and nearly two dozen countries and is dotted with museums, monuments and natural preserves. It is easily visited as a sole traveler or on a tour: One eco-tourism operator offers a three month bicycle tour of the region. The story can highlight sections of the trail or a larger portion.

Slug: East-bike-tour
Date available for assignment: Now
Expiration date: None
Reporter(s): To be assigned
Print: yes - Video: yes - Audio: no - Photos: yes

Profiles & Interviews

Profiles & Interviews - Boyko Borisov
The colorful leader
The prime minister of Bulgaria cuts a colorful and sometimes vulgar figure. A black belt in karate and former bodyguard to the Bulgarian king, Borisov is beloved by Bulgarians for his no-nonsense manner and plain-speaking. That is an unusual and refreshing approach in a country known for its underhanded politics and high-level corruption.

This is a profile of the relatively new and unknown prime minister and former mayor of Sofia that could include an interview.

Slug: BU-Borisov
Date Available: Now
Time period for assignment: by request
Expiration date: N/A
Reporter(s): Eric J. Lyman
Print: Y - Video: N - Audio: N - Photos: Y

Profiles & Interviews - Serge Lutens
The nose behind the scent
He is one of the preeminent perfumers in the world. After working for Shiseido, Lutens launched his own brand, recognized internationally as one of the most refined perfumes on the planet. He recently invented an Eau de Cologne for men that is odorless. Yet he remains an enigma, the nose behind the scents, the silent master of the art.

We catch up with Lutens at home in Marrakesh, where he has lived for decades and where he finds inspiration for his work. This portrait is of a perfumer at work and of his life as a photographer, filmmaker, perfumer and expatriate.

Slug: MO-SergeLutens
Date available: Now
Time period for assignment: 1 week
Expiration date: none
Reporter: Aida Alami
Print: Yes - Video: No - Audio: No - Photos: Yes

Profiles & Interviews - Marco Travaglio
The charismatic muckracker
He is probably the most outspoken opponent of Silvio Berlusconi: an investigative journalist and host of a leading TV program, the author of numerous bestselling books, and the founder of the successful new newspaper Il Fatto Quotidiano (The Daily Fact). But none of that captures Travaglio's charisma: His is a compelling story that highlights the nature of power and influence as well, of course, censorship in Italy.

This profile will also include an interview with Travaglio.

Slug: IT-Travaglio
Date Available: Now
Time period for assignment: 1 week
Expiration date: N/A
Reporter(s): Eric J. Lyman
Print: Y - Video: N - Audio: N - Photos: Y

Special Reports

Special Reports - Europe
The burqa wars
Belgium has banned the burqa and face-covering veils known as niqabs. In France, a Muslim woman was recently arrested for veiling her face. And Germany, the Netherlands and other European countries are considering similar prohibitions, with some calling for continent-wide rules. From the banning of minarets to an all-out war against Islamic clothing, are European governments increasingly using legal means to enforce integration, regardless of what that means for freedom of religion?

Belgian's burqa and niqab ban has left many shaking their heads, wondering if it is inappropriate to step into the realm of religious and minority rights. Still others ask if legal measures are being applied equally to all religious communities: A recently appointed German state minister, a Muslim, argued that Christian symbols, like a crucifix necklace, should also be banned from the classroom—and was loudly condemned. This story will also examine the climate of distrust many Muslim communities face and how those communities are changing. Som Muslim women cling to their ‘differentness’ and make a statement by wearing the burqa or the Islamic headscarf.

Slug: EU-Burqa
Date available: Now
Time period for assignment: 1-2 weeks
Expiration date: June
Reporter(s): TBA
Print: Y - Video: N - Audio: Y/N - Photos: Y/N

Special Reports - L’Aquila, Italy
The ghost town
A year after an earthquake devastated the historic Italian city, thousands of residents remain in hotels while others have moved out. The city is still overflowing with rubble and politics and bureaucracy are hindering relief and reconstruction. In a year of devastating earthquakes around the world, L’Aquila offers some lessons on what to do – and not do – in the aftermath.

It was one of the few earthquakes in Italy in recent times to hit a city and cost 300 people their lives. Millions of tons of rubble remain on the streets and politics are dictating the priorities of reconstruction: the town’s medieval basilica and the historic fortress are first in line to be rebuilt. Impatient residents are wondering if they will ever be able to return or if life will ever return to normal. Already, the university has lost one-third of its students. Meanwhile, officials say that rebuilding is going to take 10 years.

Slug: IT-L’Aquila
Date available: April 4
Time period for assignment: 3 days
Expiration date: May
Reporter(s):
Print: Y - Video: N - Audio: Y - Photos: Y.

Special Reports - Zarqa, Jordan
The terror factory
The Jordanian city of Zarqa has given the world three of its most notorious terrorists in recent years, Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, double-agent Humam al-Bilawi and one of the bombers in th 1993 attack on the World Trade Center, Mohammed A. Salameh. This dense, dirty city of one million people has also produced countless jihadis and suicide bombers who have been active in Iraq and Afghanistan. 

Originally a town built around a military base, it has attracted both Palestinian and Iraqi refugees living alongside the powerful local tribes whose blatant corruption has left Zarqa with little to be proud of. Marked by narrow, trash-filled alleys with few trees and no parks, Zarqa's conservative Islamist residents once burned down the town's only movie theater. Children fill those alleyways, play in the dirt, and on one occasion threw stones at a reporter for entertainment.

Islamists have long since taken over Zarqa's public offices, and its particular brand of isolation, lack of education and culture of jihad make it a dangerous place for its enemies. Jordan's formidable intelligence services understand this, and use their connections to force potentially violent jihadis out of the country. The philosophy seems to be, jail them then ship them out. This is the template for Zarqawi – his mother related how he couldn't hold down a job anywhere in town because intelligence agents would harass the boss to fire him. With nothing left to do, Zarqawi took off for Afghanistan. But in recent years, the situation has had a boomerang effect: The dangerous jihadis return, radicalized from their time in Jordanian prisons, fearless from indoctrination in Afghanistan and ready for a fight.

This article would look at Zarqa – why the problem Jordan can't seem to control is increasingly affecting the world. What is it about Zarqa? What is being done to stop it? Does the American government understand the spillover effect from Zarqa? The report will provide the context for why Zarqa continues to churn out suicide bombers and terror masterminds.

Also, a new generation from Zarqa is learning to venerate Bilawi and Zarqawi as heroes, and readers should understand that it is happening openly in one of America’s most trusted strategic allies.

Our reporter has visited Zarqa and convinced the female members of Zarqawi’s household to grant her an exclusive interview and a private look into their world – how it functions and the extreme religious conservatism (no televisions, radios or reading material except the Koran). This is not at all unusual for a family in Zarqa.

The print story we can offer is 1,000 words minimum. A “behind the scenes” blog entry is also an option. Regarding video, we can offer footage of Zarqa that highlights the hopelessness there, giving a more visceral feel to why the blighted city is dangerous for the rest of the world, especially the US. We can also provide audio and video-taped interviews with shopkeepers and people on the ground to discuss the problems of their city.

Slug: Jordan-Terror-factory
Date available for assignment: Now     
Time period for assignment: 1-3 weeks      
Expiration date: none
Reporter(s): Kristen Gillespie
Print: yes Video: yes Audio: yes Photos: yes

Special Reports - Former Yugoslavia
A Balkans report card
Thirty years since the death of Tito and 15 years since the massacre at Srbrenica, Bosnia is still still as divided as over along ethnic lines. Kosovo, two years after declaring unilateral independence, remains a quasi-state ineffectively run by the UN and still at odds with Serbia over their status. But despite it all, the future of the region is looking up.

Croatia - back on track to join the EU by 2011 after resolving a dispute with Slovenia - and Serbia are looking particularly positive. Both countries no longer have viable right-wing nationalist parties (the Croatian run-off presidential elections earlier this year was a contest between two moderate pro-EU candidates) while the Serbian nationalist party - the party of Milosevic - has split into two. Macedonia and Montenegro are also on track for Atlantic integration (Macedonia, of course, needs to resolve its dispute with Greece first over the country's name).

There are also strong measures toward more regional cooperation - a new board, the Regional Cooperation Council, is helping foster relations on everything from trade (all countries part of the former Yugoslavia are now partners in the Central European Free Trade Agreement, or CEFTA) to regional investment programs like the Corridor Highways Project that will crisscross the former Yugoslav countries. There is also regional cooperation on organized crime, drugs, human trafficking and corruption. There is even a new regional organization, RECOM, that intends to share information on war crimes, ethnic cleansing and missing persons cases from the wars.

Most importantly, there seems to be an understanding that for the region to develop as a trade, political and economic bloc, it makes sense to work together. And a big aspect of that is EU integration, which all these countries see as the only way forward.

Slug: Balkan-report-card
Date Available: mid-March
Time period of assignment: 2 weeks
Expiration date: early July
Reporter(s): Ginanne Brownell
Print: yes - Video: no - Audio: no - Photos: yes

Special Reports - German reunification
United Germany?
In October, two giants roamed the streets of Berlin trying to come together in an open-air theater spectacular to celebrate German reunification. The fable ends as they meet up happily at the Brandenburg Gate, just as East and West Germans did 20 years ago.

But in the two decades since the fall of the Berlin Wall, one in seven East Germans say they wish the wall still existed: They believe they were better off in divided Germany in spite of the billions poured into the eastern states to bring living conditions in line with the West.

In this story, we examine the economic successes of cities such as Jena and Leipzig; the development of centers for cutting edge technologies; the horrors of double-digit unemployment and the rise of the far right; the exodus of East German women to the East; and the stories of those left behind to explore how far East and West have really been sewn together.

This story could be pegged to the 20th anniversary of German reunification on Oct. 3, 2010.

Slug: Germany-divide
Date available for assignment: Now
Time period for assignment: 1-3 weeks
Expiration date: N/A
Reporter(s): To be assigned
Print: yes - Video: yes - Audio: yes - Photos: yes

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