A series of truck bombs and other attacks have shaken central Baghdad today. According to the New York Times, the concerted attacks left huge dust clouds over the city and collapsed highways. A blast near the Foreign Ministry left a crater 30 feet deep and 60 feet wide. At this report, authorities estimate at least 75 people have been killed; over 300 were injured in the bombings. New York Times correspondent Sam Dagher joins us from Baghdad, along with the BBC's Natalia Antelava.

On Saturday, about 15 million Iraqis are expected to turn out to vote in that country’s provincial elections. The elections will test Iraq’s young democracy and may highlight not only divisions between Iraqi Sunni and Shiite Muslims, but also the differences and allegiances within those groups. The Takeaway talks to Andrew North, Baghdad Correspondent for the BBC, and Marina Ottoway, the Director of the Middle East Program at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, for a road map of the upcoming elections.

Volleys of rockets and an economic blockade have made the Gaza strip a tense area. Israel reopened three border crossings and is delivering humanitarian aid despite continued mortar fire from Hamas. Yet Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert has hinted there may be a military offensive. Katya Adler, BBC correspondent, has the latest.

The Iraqi journalist who threw a pair of shoes at President Bush over the weekend in Baghdad is expected to appear before a judge tomorrow. It's the first step in a legal process that could end in a criminal trial. But facing jailtime does not have to mean a quiet drifting into anonymity. Joining The Takeaway is Mark Borowski, a British publicist and the author of "The Fame Formula," a book about people who have soared from nothingness to fame.

The BBC's Dan Damon is in Iraq, patrolling on foot with the US military.