Frida Ghitis entered the news business in 1981, when she joined CNN only a few months after the launch of the first 24-hour news network. She was unit manager, producer and correspondent, traveling to major news events all over the globe. She has worked in more than 50 countries in virtually every region of the world. During her time at CNN she was part of the teams that covered the collapse of the Soviet Union from Russia, the 1991 Gulf War from Jordan and Saudi Arabia, the U.S. intervention in Haiti, the hostage crisis in Peru, multiple developments in Cuba, political conventions in the United States and a dozen presidential trips, from Ronald Reagan in Mexico and Madrid, to George HW Bush in Singapore and Somalia.
After leaving CNN in 2000 she authored "The End of Revolution: a Changing World in the Age of Live Television." She writes about world affairs for a variety of publications, and travels all over the world -- from Baghdad to Buenos Aires -- as an independent journalist.
In addition to The Miami Herald, her articles have appeared in The Washington Post, The Chicago Tribune, The International Herald Tribune, The Jerusalem Report and dozens of publications in the United States, Europe and the Middle East.
She grew up in Colombia and later moved to the United States, where she attended Emory University in Atlanta. She holds a bachelor's degree in economics and a master's degree in political science.
During a visit to Burma a few years ago, I decided to avoid the country's legendarily deadly airlines and instead hire a car to take me along the somewhat less deadly roads. Distances that on the map looked like they should take an hour to cover took entire days.
FOCUS ON ISRAEL
An intriguing theory has made the rounds in the scientific community for many years, claiming the existence of ''parallel universes,'' worlds that resemble ours but in which one event may have turned differently, sending the entire course of history in a different direction.
ENERGY
Will ''alternative'' energy ever dethrone oil as the king of fuels? That question came more than 150 years ago, when the king of fuels was oil -- whale oil. Back then, Nantucket and New Bedford were the Saudi Arabia and Abu Dhabi of whale oil production. People once thought that it would last forever.
Queen Rania is right. Ayman's story is a tragedy -- and, as she correctly points out, it is a man-made tragedy. No child should have to endure the hardships that he and other children of Gaza face. It is also tragic that children across from the Gaza border, on the Israeli side, live in constant fear of the rockets launched toward them from Gaza almost daily, with the express intention of killing civilians.
FOCUS ON ISRAEL
In a few weeks, the celebrations to mark Israel's 60th anniversary will begin in earnest. Some of the events, including a landmark visit by the German chancellor and her cabinet, have already taken place. On May 7, the country will come to a stop, remembering the thousands killed in Israel's many wars. The next day, Israel will mark six decades since the founding of the first Jewish state in two thousand years; a state many thought would not last past its infancy.
FOCUS ON ISRAEL
Sometimes a comedy can break your heart. The Band's Visit, a highly acclaimed Israeli movie now showing around the world, tells the story of a charming group of Egyptian musicians, the Alexandria Ceremonial Police Orchestra, who come to Israel to play at the opening of an Arab Cultural Center. A series of misunderstandings leaves the musicians -- resplendent in their sky blue uniforms -- stranded in a tiny Israeli desert village.
TIBET
Almost two decades have passed since the last time Tibetans felt they stood a chance of persuading Beijing to ease its oppressive rule of their ancient land. Until now, tiny Tibet, despite the enormous affection it engenders in the West, has proven no match for the Chinese behemoth. Once again, however, the Tibetan people are making demands of their Chinese rulers, testing whether brutality has given way to reason. With only a few months until the Beijing Olympics, perhaps China will show a new...
FOCUS ON ISRAEL
A debate is raging in Israel over what to do to stop the relentless attacks on Israeli civilians launched from Hamas-controlled Gaza. The rocket attacks started in 2000, but they became much worse after Israel withdrew all Jewish settlers in 2005, and then even more intense after Hamas seized control of the territory last year.
DEMOCRATS
By now, it has become the stuff of political legend how President Bush and Karl Rove performed the alchemy of turning the dark shadows of 9/11 into election-winning votes from frightened Americans. Democratic candidates like Sen. Barack Obama vow they will never use fear to ''scare up votes.'' Instead, Democrats have moved to the other extreme. When it comes to foreign policy, Democrats appear to have turned to a new version of the Scarlett O'Hara strategy: I'll worry about that tomorrow.
