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people don't share what the depth of their need is," the 43-year-old mother of three said, wiping tears from underneath her glasses as she waited for her turn at the West Suburban Community Pantry, outside Chicago.
• "But . there' no room for pride," she added, "because we all come to a point in our life -- whether it's financial reasons, or medical reasons, or mental health reasons, or whatever they are -- where you recognize your need for help."
• ___
For UN's patient Syria mediator Brahimi, no war is irresolvable through peace talks
• GENEVA (AP) -- Lakhdar Brahimi has seen faces like these before, barely able to remain in the same room, much less speak to each other. Lebanese, Afghans, Iraqis, now Syrians. Even, two decades ago, Algerians like himself.
• For days now, the veteran U.N. mediator has presided over peace talks intended to lead the way out of Syria's civil war. He brought President Bashar Assad's government and the opposition face to face for the first time on Saturday, while still ensuring that they don't have to enter by the same door or address each other directly. He is 80. He is patient.
• "I am often accused of being too slow. But I think that being slow is a better way of going fast than precipitation. If you run, you may gain one hour and lose one week," he told journalists at the end of another long day. "So, we are going slow, and I hope we will continue to go slow."
• He speaks deliberately and fluently in French, English and Arabic, often switching among the three. Without a microphone, he would be nearly inaudible. By the end of several days of negotiating in Geneva, the creases in his face seem deeper and he enters the room slowly before easing into a chair. But he inevitably has enough spark left for a gently sarcastic comment or two -- just enough to draw laughs.
• Brahimi's negotiating style is famous among diplomats. Young ones emulate him, and veterans hope for favorable comparisons.
• ___
Palestinian prisoners secretly earn university degrees while serving time in Israeli prisons
• TUBAS, West Bank (AP) -- Jamal Abu Muhsin was a first-year Palestinian university student when he was convicted of stabbing a 76-year-old Israeli man to (Continued on page 29)
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