Posted by Mark Silva at 6:30 am CST

SYDNEY -- You must be Americans, the man collecting tickets at the cable-car at the zoo said. Yes, we replied.

"That's your vice president passing by,'' the man said, pointing to a virtual armada of yacht and patrol boats and gun-rafts crossing the harbor beneath the watchful eyes of helicopters above.

Yes, we replied with a smile.

"Pathetic,'' he snarled.

So much for the "rock-solid'' relationship between Australia and the United States that Vice President Dick Cheney was touting this morning in a press conference with Prime Minister John Howard.

But the zoo is pretty darn good. A gorilla brawl broke out while we were there.

This is the armada that Prime Minister Howard assembled for Vice President Cheney, as seen from the harborside zoo at Sydney. Photo by Mark Silva

Posted by Mark Silva at 9 am, updated at 11:49 am, 1:05 pm and 5:18 pm CST

Since the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, protecting the speaker of the House has become a more important national priority – and that's all the White House has to say today about House Speaker Nancy Pelosi's kerfuffle-stirring bid for an airliner-sized military jet for her long commute from Washington home to San Francisco and back.

The 12-seat corporate-styled jet that the Department of Defense provided for former House Speaker Dennis Hastert for his commutes home to Illinois isn't suitable for the long haul to California, says the House -- now seeking an aircraft capable of a nonstop commute between D.C. and the Golden Gate. (Scroll on to see Pelosi, in her own words, explaining the airplane flap -- and suggesting she could live without the security.)

With the Department of Defense promising the new speaker a bigger ride, pending availability of the military's markup of the Boeing 757-200, the White House is attempting to stay out of the air-space of a story that is causing the Democratic House leader a bit of eyebrow-raising publicity today -- as some House Republicans cry foul over this particular frequent flyer's seating request.

"This is a silly story, and I think it's been unfair to the speaker,'' Tony Snow, the White House spokesman, said today. "I'm not getting into this argument. .. This is much ado about not a lot.''

This is a model of the military aircraft the House wants for the new speaker's nonstop Washington-San Francisco route.

Posted by Mark Silva at 12:01 am CST

HANOI – I set out on the back of a motorbike early this morning for a hair-raising ride into the heart of the old French quarter of Ha Noi, headquarters of colonial occupation by a nation that learned the painful way what it would take the United States another 20 years to learn about the depth of Vietnamese nationalism.

In the three decades since the Americans, and before them the French, departed this land, the Communist-run regime has discovered the benefits of Western capitalism, Ha Noi teeming with the commerce of one of Asia's fastest growing economies. Yet the government here has not relinquished its grip on personal liberties, restricting religious worship and freedom of speech. Before my bike ride, I spoke with an activist for democratic reforms who spent two years in prison and two in house arrest for translating an American document about democracy – and who says he was pulled out of his home yesterday again and beaten.

The way one crosses the street here is to step out into traffic. They steer around you. Photo by Mark Silva

Posted by Mark Silva at 6:10 am CST

HANOI – After Sen. John McCain, then a young Navy pilot, was shot down over Hanoi during the Vietnam War, he spent more than five years here as a prisoner of war. The POWs called one of the legendary confinements here, now long gone, the "Hanoi Hilton.''

Outside the Sheraton Hanoi today, President Bush, the second American president to visit since the war, paused to reflect on his thoughts about coming here – including what lessons might be derived from the war in Vietnam for the current debate over the war in Iraq. "We'll succeed unless we quit,'' Bush replied.

John McCain was shot down over a lake like this one in Hanoi. President Bush drove by that lake today, calling it a "poignant'' moment. Photo By Mark Silva

Posted by Jeff Zeleny at 4:09 p.m. CDT

N'DJAMENA, Chad – Sen. Barack Obama (D-Ill.) flew out of this central African capital early today, bound for Frankfurt, Germany. He was scheduled to arrive in Chicago this afternoon.

In a two-week trip to Africa, he visited the countries of South Africa, Kenya, Djibouti, Ethiopia and Chad. A side trip to Congo was cancelled at the request of the U.S. Embassy in Kinshasa, which was consumed with the violent fallout of the presidential elections.

As he returned from touring the Miles Refugee Camp in eastern Chad yesterday, he reflected on the trip in an interview with reporters. He spoke over the loud buzzing of a United Nations propeller-driven airplane.

"Visiting Nelson Mandela's cell," he said, "was a highlight for me personally."

Posted by Jeff Zeleny at 1:57 a.m. CDT

ABECHE, Chad – Since he was elected, Sen. Barack Obama (D-Ill.) has talked frequently about the humanitarian crisis in Darfur. Yesterday, at the conclusion of his two-week trip to Africa, he spent nearly 90 minutes touring the Mile Refugee Camp near the Sudan border.

As he flew back to the city of Abeche, the midway point between the camp and the capital of Chad, Obama answered a few questions from reporters about what was one of the most substantive stops of his African journey.

Q. Are the United Nations and the United States doing enough?
A. "Unfortunately, the international community has not put its shoulder behind the wheel and there hasn't been any clear leadership from any of the great powers. The United States has done better than Europe on this issue, but better is not good enough."

Posted by Jeff Zeleny at 9:01 a.m. CDT

N'DJAMENA, Chad – The final stop of Sen. Barack Obama's two-week trip to Africa is approaching as he arrives in the capital of this central African nation today and prepares to fly to a remote camp near the Sudanese border to visit refugees who have been driven from their country by violence.

Before visiting the Mile refugee camp tomorrow in Guereda, located in eastern Chad, Obama is scheduled to meet this afternoon with Idriss Deby Itno, the president of the Republic of Chad. The two will have a private discussion in the presidential palace, followed by a brief photo opportunity. (We're headed there now, we'll check back a little later with an update.)

Here in the Chadian capital, which is pronounced ja-MAY-na, there was far less hustle-and-bustle before Obama's arrival as in Kenya last week. There were, in fact, barely any outward signs of his impending visit on the dusty streets of this city in southwestern Chad, which sits on the Chari River.

Posted by Jeff Zeleny at 10:33 am CDT

MASAI MARA, Kenya – When the lion finally lifted its head, the mouth and whiskers were colored blood red. It was the shade of wildebeest blood, a pinkish stain that came from eating a carcass only moments after suffocating it here on the flat plains.

As though a live episode of Wild Kingdom was unfolding, it was impossible to turn away as the lion gnawed through the brown, brittle hide of a wildebeest that got snared. The lion didn't roar, but heartily ate its dinner before an audience of a half-dozen jeeps filled with camera-toting tourists.

Posted by Jeff Zeleny at 8:26 a.m. CDT

MASAI MARA, Kenya – It's the height of migration season here on the Mara, the time of year between July and September when an untold number of animals move from the Serengeti in Tanzania to this colossal game reserve across the border in southern Kenya.

Elephants, lions, buffaloes, rhinos and leopards – considered the must see, big five – make their trek across sweeping, grassy plains that stretch as far as the eye can see. Giraffes, gazelles, wildebeests and zebras do, too, creating a spectacle of nature paralleled by few places in the world.

One day last week, the management at Basecamp Explorer on the Mara received an unexpected telephone call from the Kenyan military. A guest of the Kenya government – an official state visitor – would be coming.

Posted by Jeff Zeleny at 6:20 a.m. CDT

NAIROBI, Kenya – As he prepared to deliver a public speech today about government corruption here, Sen. Barack Obama (D, Ill.) said a free and aggressive press plays a critical role in holding governments accountable around the world.

Obama visited the offices of The Standard, a daily newspaper here that was ransacked earlier this year after reporting aggressively on corruption in the Kenyan government. He has made corruption a central theme during his visit to Kenya, the home of his late father.