Headlines scream: "Israel move deeper into Gaza, Israel creates Buffer Zone in Northern Gaza." What can I tell you that you haven't read already? Not much but for the lazier ones out there, I'll provide a quick recap. The latest on the kidnapped soldier is that Hamas has "relaxed" their demands and is now asking for the release of 130 prisoners. Earlier this week, there were reports that Khalid Mash’al, the head of Hamas who is based in Damascus, was trying to sneak Gilad Shalit out of Gaza. The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) claim that their operations in southern Gaza have thwarted this attempt. Israel did not respond to Hamas' ultimatum which I mentioned several times in my last post, "calling the kidnappers' demands 'extortion.'" It doesn't seem that there is a resolution in site.

The kidnapping story broke on the first day of my internship. For the past two weeks since then, I've been following media outlets everywhere who have not given up on this story. There is no question that the kidnapping is still gripping Israel but here at the Media Line, it was time to move on to some other stories. The website (www.themedialine.org) still features the latest developments on Gaza but is also covering some other news from all over the Middle East (which here includes all the members of the Arab League. The Arab League includes all the usual suspects like Iraq, Syria, Jordan, Lebanon, Morocco, Oman, Kuwait, Qatar…ect. But get this, it also includes Mauritania, the Comoros Islands and everyone's favourite Djibouti ) So there's a lot of countries under the wide umbrella of coverage here at the Media Line. This is what brought me to Yemen and Somalia. No, I didn't actually get to physically go there but someone I spoke to in Yemen mistakenly thought I was there. And now I definitely have a better handle of what’s going on in Somalia, a country I'm embarrassed to say I first discovered after 2001's gruesome war flick Black Hawk Down.

Last week, Yemen expelled 8,000 of their foreign doctors. Yemen does not have so many doctors in the first place so this is a big deal for the country which the CIA factbook describes as being "slightly larger than twice the size of Wyoming." What a truly odd description. Yemen is located directly under Saudi Arabia and is east to Oman. For the trivia buffs out there, the capital of Yemen in Sana'a.

The doctors who were expelled were mostly from Russia and Uzbekistan. They were expelled because many of them were not doctors at all and were just posing as doctors to make money while harming unsuspecting Yemenites. My job yesterday was to locate someone in Yemen who could comment on the healthcare situation after this new development. First I contacted Dr. Hashim Ali El-Zein El-Mousaad who is the World Health Organization's representative inYemen. Coincidently it was his last day on the job. He was relocating to Jordan tomorrow but told me to drop by his office next week and someone will be glad to talk to me. I thanked him, told him I wasn't in the country at the moment and wished him a good trip. Next I called the Yemenite Newspaper who broke the story. If anyone wants the best quality English news from Yemen, check out the Yemen Observer. I scheduled an interview and at 5 o'clock in Israel and Yemen (I found out we're in the same timezone) Felice Friedson, the CEO here, interviewed the publisher of the newspaper. It was shocking to hear how fraudulent the doctors are in Yemen. He told the Media Line that sometimes people with just a headache do not make it out of the hospital alive after illegal doctors perform unnecessary surgery on them. Listening to interviews in the radio studio here at The Media Line is helping me learn how to pose questions properly. Soon I'll get a stab at speaking on the radio, which I guarantee will either be exciting or embarrassing.

If you cross the sea of Aden from Yemen, you end up in Somalia. Today, I finished an article today about the situation in Somalia which will hopefully appear at some point in the "facts in context" section of The Media Line. Somalia has been in the news lately because of the rise of the Islamic Courts. The Islamic Courts Union (ICU) are a group of courts who rule by Shari'a law. They have been restoring order to lawless parts of Somalia. In June, the ICU defeated warlords and seized the capital city of Mogadishu. Then the ICU pushed north and took over a city called Jowhar. The ICU are providing some stability to Somalis who have been living amid anarchy since 1991. There is a weak, transitional government that rules a small part of the country but it has not been effective in restoring order. After all, in 2004, when Abdallah Yousuf Ahmad was elected president of the transitional government, he swiftly appointed several leading warlords to his cabinet. The Islamic Courts rule by Shari'a law, meaning they give out strict punishments (amputations, stonings) for crimes such as robbery and rape. They also have set up clinics and schools and have organized local militias for protection.

Now why is this a hot topic? Well, the International community, especially the United States, is concerned that Somalia will become the next Taliban-like state and a haven for terrorists. There have already been reports of supposed terrorist training camps in Somalia. To counter this emerging Islamic state, the US is reportedly funding local warlords who oppose the Islamic Courts. That's right, the US has been giving money to warlords. There is reason for the US to be alarmed by the ICU. One of the leaders of the Islamic Courts is Sheikh Hasan Dahir 'Aweis. This guy is on the post-9/11 US list of suspected terrorists. He earned this spot by leading the Islamist militant group Al-Ittihad Al-Islami during the 1990's— a group with serious ties to Al-Qa'ida.

That's enough serious stuff for now. This is an extra long post since the Israeli Friday-Saturday weekend is almost upon us and I won't be in the office.

MJELACA posted that she wanted to hear what Israelis and Arabs have to say about what's going on in Gaza right now. I'll try to find out when I have a chance. BrandonM— I'm not sure if "Hothouse" is garnering a lot of attention here but it is up for the big award at the film festival. Plus I nabbed one of the last tickets to the show. Best part of interning—freebies. I'm going to the movie next week so I'll get back to you on that.

I made my first visit to the famous food market or "Shuk." I was never a huge fan of dried fruit but it looked very appealing at the time and now I have enough to open a small fruit stand. I'm writing this as I chew dried mango. Incidentally, I also took my first inner city bus this week. Not as scary as I thought. Have a good weekend. Italy or France? Any bets?