International Correspondents blog

August 29, 2008

This week was one of the more pivotal weeks in the U.S. presidential election campaign. The Democratic National Convention kicked off in Denver, Colorado with all the hoopla and drama one might have expected. Would Hillary fully endorse Barack Obama? Would her husband do the same? Well, after their respective speeches, the organizers could have been forgiven for heaving a sigh of relief. Or could they? How much of the convention was scripted and staged with the Democratic powers-that-be knowing full well what the Clintons were likely to say? Just how much, if anything was left open for improvisation? And how much of an actual story was there in the end for journalists to sniff out?

We speak to CNN's Deputy Political Director, Paul Steinhauser who has covered more conventions than he would almost care to remember. He tells us about the atmosphere, the incredible security and about how new technology is changing the way journalists cover the story. We also speak to an international journalist at the DNC. Laura Haim is the U.S. correspondent for CANAL+. She, too, has covered many conventions and has a lot to say about how the foreign media are treated by the organizers; particularly by the Obama camp.

Also on the program, the escalating tensions between Russia and the West. Precipitated by the recent conflict in Georgia, the war of words between both sides shows no sign of abating. Nor does the media war. Some argue that while Georgia lost the military war, Tblisi won the public relations battle. At the outset of the conflict, some say Russia didn't care what the West thought about its actions but belatedly, towards the end of the hostilities, began providing the international media with a pool of representatives from the various government ministries involved.

Fast forward to this past week and the announcement that Moscow was recognizing the breakway Gerogian republics of Abkhazia and South Ossestia. The Russians were somewhat faster out of the media gate this time, giving interviews to a select few international media, of which CNN was one. First, President Dmitry Medvedev gave CNN's Senior International Correspondent an interview and then a few days later, Prime Minister Vladimir Putin made himself available. Quite a scoop considering the Kremlin's hitherto, at best, ambivalent attitude toward the international media. We talk to Matthew Chance about what it's like generally being a foreign correspondent based in Moscow and about his reflections on the Georgian conflict.

Fidel Castro hasn't been seen in public for quite some time. The former Cuban President is still making himself heard though and not via a weekly radio address but via the Internet. Yes, the octogenarian revolutionary has begun a blog on the web where he expounds his political theories and views on anything and everything. Problem is, few in Cuba can read it on the Internet as access is severely restricted and those who can (in the state newspapers where it's reprinted) aren't apparently interested in what Mr. Castro has say. So, we talk to CNN's Havana Bureau Chief Norgan Neill and ask him what it's all about.

August 23, 2008

The conflict in Georgia headlines our program this week: specifically, the high death toll of journalists during the first few days of this short-lived war. We ask whether it is the beginning of a new kind of warfare for journalists, two of whom were Georgian and killed while filming.

They were not the only ones to come under fire from what some say were renegade militias, not always sober. We speak to CNN correspondent Cal Perry, a veteran of Baghdad and, at the time of writing, in Madrid to cover the dreadful plane crash there. He was in Georgia during the war and tells of the difficulties of getting around and through Russian checkpoints. In the studio, Rodney Pinder of the International News Safety Institute says he believes this is, indeed, a new kind of warfare for journalists by warring sides who in some cases do not want journalists to get the story out. However, each side in a war, Pinder says, has a vested interest in getting its story told. He compares the dangers of covering Georgia to Iraq where U.S. soldiers demonstrated a degree of responsibility to protecting news workers.

"'Tortured Truth" is a new documentary made by film-maker Christine Garabedian. Her subject is a safe house in Paris that has become home to several journalists forced to go into exile from their home countries. The Lebanese-born Garabedian joins us in the studio to discuss what prompted her to make the film about the inhabitants of "La Maison de Journalistes" and their tales of torture, incarceration, exile and in some cases, murder.

And as the Olympics draw to a close, we look at the games from the perspective of sports reporters rather than focusing, as we have in the recent past, on China's relationship with the news media. CNN's Larry Smith has been in Beijing; this is the fourth Olympics he has covered. He tells us this has been almost a flawless games in terms of organization.

Smith also shares with us his experiences of being out and about in the Chinese capital and being greeted by amazed Chinese nationals who had never seen a man with brown skin before and assumed he was an athlete. Pedro Pinto, our London-based sports correspondent, looks at the Olympics from the perspective of the London Organizing Committee for 2012 and the challenges they face following the "spectacular" games of Beijing. We ask what makes any Olympic Games a success: the city's organizational skills or the number of world records broken.

August 15, 2008

Events in Georgia eclipsed the Olympics this week in the news despite the incredible opening ceremony and the subsequent revelations of a certain duplicity on the part of the Chinese in relation to that display.

Before the weekend was out, it was apparent that while Russia had won the military battle, Georgia had won the PR offensive. Television pictures of a huge rally in the Georgian capital, Tblisi on Tuesday night were broadcast to a production level astonishing for a country at war. That, coupled with regular news conferences and appearances on international television, including CNN, of the country's beleagured President, served to highlight Georgia's predicament and underscore its message to the world. Later in the week, the Russian media arm of the Kremlin seemed to take note and by week's end, plenty of government officials and uniformed officers were on air. Indeed, Russia's ambassador to the UN, Vitaly Churkin strode to the podium Thursday evening to denounce what he called a propaganda war.

This week, we talk to CNN's Jill Dougherty, of late based in Washington but a longtime CNN bureau chief in Moscow. She flew to Russia when this crisis erupted and gives the view from there internally, as well as Moscow's view of how it feels it's been treated in foreign media. In the studio, Richard Beeston, Foreign Editor of The Times of London joins us to give his take on the international media's reaction to the outbreak of hostilities. Andrew Purvis, TIME Bureau Chief in Berlin, tells us how it is from the Georgian capital, Tblisi.

This past week, the Israeli Defence Forces released the findings of its investigation in the killing of a Reuters cameraman in Gaza in April. Fadel Shana's final video footage shows an Israeli tank firing a shell in his direction before the video cuts out; Shana had been targetted by the shell and was killed instantly. The Israeli army's top prosecutor found troops acted properly when they opened fire, suspecting the camerman was a militant preparing to fire a missile after setting up his tripod. The tank crew, according to a letter from the Israeli military to Reuters, had been unable to identify the object on the tripod as an anti-tank missile, a mortar or a television camera. Reuters' reaction was one of "disappointment and dissatisfaction." We're joined from Jerusalem by Alastair Macdonald, Bureau Chief for Israel and the Palestinian Territories and from Tel Aviv by Colonel Daniel Reizner, former Head of the International Law Department in the IDF.

The Olympics may have been overshadowed somewhat by Georgia but nonetheless, it made news and not just for its sporting events. Journalists waited eagerly to see whether they would be able to work unhindered by the Chinese authorities. As protests took place on the sidelines of the Games and journalists tried to cover the demonstrations, one British TV correspondent found himself the focus of unwanted and unwarranted police attention. John Ray was arrested when he was mistaken for an activist. Taken away, under protest, he was briefly detained and afterwards joined Becky Anderson from Beijing to talk about his experience. The Olympics, accompanied by intense press attention, continue and will no doubt feature in next week's International Correspondents. Until then.

August 8, 2008

The Olympics are underway and it's China's biggest party since 1949. Up to thirty-thousand foreign media representatives are there to cover every second of the next three weeks, be it sporting or non-sporting.

The emphasis in the run up to the Games has been the global torch relay with the accompanying protests, mainly about Tibet.

Recent days have seen journalists arrested and greater restrictions placed on the media in and around Beijing; among them the new regulation that a pass be required to film on Tiananmen Square. We talk to our correspondent, Anjali Rao who sets the scene for us in Beijing -- describing what it's like to work in and around the authorities.

Then we speak to a panel of journalists about what is at stake for both the media and China. John Sweeney of the BBC's Panorama program recently went to China and tested just how open the authorities are to foreign media coverage.

His experience was that while the Chinese people were "great," the authorities had much to learn about free and open access. Bingchuan Meng, a media lecturer at the London School of Economics, tries to unravel the complexities of China's thinking for us and Mike Chinoy, former Beijing Bureau Chief and now a Senior Fellow at the Pacific Council, joins us from New York to tell us why he thinks there will be a clash between the old and the new over the next three weeks.

And now for something completely different; the Brangelina twins. The first official photos of the newborn twins were sold to Hello! magazine and People magazine for many millions of dollars. Phil Black looks at the hype and what could be the latest baby boom.

August 1, 2008

Five years after the invasion of Iraq comes a major four-part drama on Saddam Hussein. Made by the BBC and HBO "House of Saddam" looks at the man, his rise to power, his talents, brutality and demise; all fueled by paranoia and a craving for absolute power.

It paints a picture of a complicated man, described by one of the show's consultants as a 20th century leader with 17th century tribal inclinations. A writer and co-director of 'House of Saddam', Alex Holmes initially wanted to do a drama on Fallujah and what transpired there in the aftermath of the U.S.-led invasion only to find himself becoming increasingly fascinated by the former dictator.

We speak to Alex Holmes who initially worked as a journalist before turning his skills to scriptwriting and ultimately, directing. He talks about the challenges of capturing the brutal deeds that transpired under Saddam's rule and adapting Saddam's life for screen, all the while staying close to the truth.

The search for veracity led him, for example, to the lawyer for Tariq Aziz, at that time in jail and in failing health, to confirm incidents and verify certain details.

The cast is an international one, including perhaps most notably an Israeli actor born in Baghdad, playing the role of Saddam.

The drama begins with President Bush's television address to the American people, telling them the time has come for Saddam to be removed. It depicts a man, Saddam, who is incredibly complicated and trusting of no-one, whose rule -- and ultimate downfall -- has left its mark not only on the 20th century but also, it would seem, well into the 21st.

Also on this week's program, a picture tells a thousand words and why the U.S. military may not like it. We speak to Michael Kamber who this week writes in the New York Times about how the military's regulations for photojournalists embedded in Iraq seem to have been tightened in recent years, to the point where some photojournalists have been expelled from embed situations with troops because of photos they have taken.

The U.S. military does not allow the use of photos that might give away "any tactics, techniques and procedures witnessed during operations" or that "provides information on effectiveness of enemy technique." Fair enough, one might think but Michael Kamber believes these guidelines are being interpreted differently on the ground in 2008 compared to a few years ago.

Kamber, himself has experienced firsthand how photos he has taken on assignment with U.S. troops have been queried and in some cases been withheld from publication. He joins us from Baghdad where he has been based for the last 16 months. We discuss how the military believes the regulations are a guideline and how often individual commanders on the ground make decisions based on what is taking place there and then.

July 25, 2008

The arrest earlier in the week of Radovan Karadzic in Belgrade caught everyone by surprise. Wanted by the International Criminal Court, Karadzic had spent almost 13 years on the run, evading his captors time and time again.

But if his arrest was a surprise, it was nothing compared to the astonishment which greeted his appearance; reinventing himself as a Santa Claus-type practitioner of alternative medicine.

The Western media was largely universal in its condemnation of the psychiatrist turned warlord and his subsequent detention. But how did the media in Serbia respond to Karadzic's arrest and what does the timing say about the state of relations within and beyond that country about the war?

This week, Milica Pesic joins us from Belgrade to give her thoughts on what has transpired in Serbia and how it has resonated across the media and the region. She tells us how the Belgrade-based media has focused on the human interest aspect of this story; focusing on Karadzic himself as opposed to gauging the reaction in Sarajevo.

Mark Austin of Britain's ITV News literally stepped off the plane from Sarajevo to join us in the studio. He covered the war in the 1990s and returned there this week to assess the reaction to Karadzic's capture. He tells us how Serbs in Pale feel the International Criminal Court in The Hague is, in their view, weighted against Serbs and how Bosnians feel a quiet satisfaction at his arrest.

This week, Barack Obama made a long awaited international trip. While not officially overseas as a candidate for the Presidency of the United States; nonetheless, it was impossible to forget that fact as Senator Obama made his way from Afghanistan to Iraq, across the Middle East to Europe.

This had been billed as a crucial, almost make-or-break attempt to show the 46-year-old senator has what it takes to be U.S. commander-in-chief. The media and specifically the U.S. media royalty, followed him as he wound his way from and back to the United States -- his every appearance and utterance ever so carefully choreographed by his campaign team.

Would it backfire? Was he being too presidential? Was the media giving him an unfair advantage over his rival, Senator John McCain? Yes, cried the McCain camp. No, said others who asserted Obama was genuinely making news with this trip. To discuss, we invited Chris Lockwood, U.S. editor of the Economist and well-traveled guest on this program and from Washington, Howard Kurtz, media commentator with the Washington Post and host of CNN's Reliable Sources.

In Britain, a blow struck for privacy in the media? That was the debate after Formula 1 Racing boss, Max Mosely successfully prosecuted the News of the World over an article and video which showed him cavorting with five prostitutes in an orgy. The High Court judge agreed with Mosely that the sex was private and consensual, saying he found no evidence of a Nazi theme which had been claimed by the newspaper. He also ordered the Sunday tabloid to pay $120,000 in costs as well as legal costs which could come close to $2 million. But no punitive or exemplary damages were awarded.

And, finally, rivalries and jealousies are not unknown in any business but a recent episode in a U.S. newsroom surely takes the biscuit. Two news anchors were caught up in an email hacking scandal which ended up in court. Watch to find how it all happened.

July 18, 2008

A mixed bag this week from this week's controversial (some ask why?) New Yorker cover to reporting from Myanmar to the bidding war over the first pictures of the Jolie-Pitt twins.

First the New Yorker; the cover depicts what the editors describe as a satirical take on some of the allegations surrounding the Obamas. It caused a furor in the United Sates. The Obama campaign was quick to deride it as was the McCain camp. Obama himself declined to comment at first, literally shrugging it off. But later on Larry King Live, he somewhat downplayed it, certainly when compared to the initial response from his campaign officials.

We talk to Britain's Daily Telegraph Washington Correspondent, Toby Harnden who is firmly in the 'what's the fuss about?' camp and Rachel Sklar in New York of the Huffington Post. She, personally, doesn't mind the fuss but can see why it caused such headlines.

We broaden the discussion out to ask about the impact Obama is having on the incorrigible talk show hosts of American television and the fact that in this presidential campaign season, the vast majority of them are shying away from lampooning Obama.

It has been two and a half months since the devastating cyclone which shook Myanmar. Details are still hard to come by; foreign journalists are still not allowed into the country. CNN's Dan Rivers ran the gauntlet of the Myanmar security services when he tried to visit the hardest hit area, the Irrawaddy Delta, immediately after the cyclone. So much so, in fact, that he had to leave for fear of imprisonment; not only his own but of his local colleagues who had helped him get around at great personal danger to themselves. In fact, even on the plane as he waited for takeoff, Dan couldn't relax as he was hauled off by officials and taken for questioning, only to be allowed to once again board the plane albeit with his passport stamped with the word 'DEPORTED'.

Now, CNN's Betty Ngyuen has ventured into the secretive country, to see for herself what, if anything has been done to help those affected. Hers is a harrowing tale, of continually dodging Myanmar security, of working under the cover of darkness for fear of being caught only to arrive in the Irrawaddy Delta to discover rotting bodies floating in the water...even now. Betty joins us from Thailand where she talks of the willingness of the local Myanmar people to talk about their plight, the almost complete absence of aid in the region and of the difficulty of being able to return there now that her reports have aired.

I said at the outset this week was a mixed bag and the birth of the Jolie-Pitt twins merely adds to the mix. The bidding to publish the first photos of the newborns has been high, with the money raised from the sale going to charity.

Celebrity PR guru Max Clifford joins us. A legend in Britain, he has been behind some of the biggest tabloid scoops and has represented some of the world's major figures. He's joined from Paris by Sandra Salazar of Voici Magazine, a celebrity publication. Voici had a reporter in and around the hospital in Nice before the birth.

We ask what can be reported when faced with a media operation as tightly controlled as the Jolie-Pitts'. We query whether this media phenomenon could have happened ten years ago and ask how this Hollywood couple manages to manage the media better than almost anyone else.

July 11, 2008

International Correspondents isn't often dominated by business and finance but this week with the economic downturn dominating the news almost every day, we have decided to look at journalists and their coverage of recent economic events. Is it as bad as it seems? Or is the media giving an accurate portrayal of events?

We speak to CNN's Financial Editor, Todd Benjamin who argues that while the situation is bad, some individual media outlets have been portraying a less than accurate picture of the situation.

Jon Hilsenrath, Markets Editor with the Wall Street Journal, joins us from New York where he makes the case that the downturn in the economy is a Western slump while Asia and the Middle East are booming. However, the Capital Markets Editor with The Economist, Philip Coggan, says that while the emerging markets are booming they are also suffering high inflation; something Western economies experienced 20 and 30 years ago and learnt to curtail.

How much do we really know about what is going on the global economy? Do media outlets in individual countries become slightly jingoistic by blaming other markets and is there any agreement among our journalistic colleagues about how serious the situation is and how long it might last? Join us to find out.

We're less than a month from the Beijing Olympics; an event long anticipated and somewhat shrouded in controversy. China's government has relaxed media restrictions of late. We saw that in the recent earthquake, only to find the limits reinstated to a certain extent once the initial shock and news headlines had passed. Some argue the genie is out of the bottle and that Chinese journalists will push for more and more liberties.

That remains to be seen but this week, the Chinese authorities opened the door, literally, to the main Olympic Press Center; a huge media complex which will be a temporary home for thousands of journalists covering the Olympic Games. CNN's Emily Chang takes us on a tour.

And, he's made his name and his fortune from his work as a photographer. But Mr. Paparazzi, as he's known, didn't start out as a celebrity snapper. An Australian who spent his first night in London sleeping on the floor of a pub in north London, Darryn Lyons now has his own photo agency and website, using the services of some one thousand photographers. Some of his photos are instantly recognizable from the heyday of the good times of the 90s.

I ask him whether the paparazzi and the plethora of celebrity magazines have contributed to the detriment or betterment of society. And whether, in the wake of the current economic downturn the public may no longer have an appetite for the goings on of others, wealthier than themselves. He says people will always want a distraction from the dullness of their lives. A colorful character, literally, he tells us how Rupert Murdoch gave him his first break which soon saw him in Bosnia covering the war. He was on his way.

July 4, 2008

Becky Anderson is at the helm this week. From Zimbabwe to Egypt, Robert Mugabe stole the show at the African Union summit in Sharm el Sheik.

His appearance was certainly controversial given it came a day after he was inaugurated as President. This week we ask what will the future hold for the media in Zimbabwe.

Journalists inside the country have reported that the freedom of the media has slowly been eroded and journalists living in exile trying to get the message to people in Zimbabwe say their attempt to disseminate news have been obstructed.

Take Wilf Mbanga from "The Zimbabwean" publication. He tells us that import duties have shot up and there have been attempts to stop the deliveries of his newspaper in Zimbabwe. Wilf joins us on the show along with Sunday Times correspondent, Christina Lamb. She has reported extensively from and on Zimbabwe and is the author of the book, "House Of Stone. The True Story of a Family Divided in War-Torn Zimbabwe."

The rescue of Ingrid Betancourt from the jungles of South America was always going to be big news and it generated headlines around the world. No more so than in France and the country was preparing to welcome home the French-Colombian citizen. We look at how the French media has covered the story. Christian Malard from France 3 TV helps us put it all into perspective.

Plus, we also take a look at life through the lens in Afghanistan. Seamus Murphy first traveled to the country in 1994 and has been back several times. Whilst there he photographed the effects of the Taliban, years of civil war, and the elections that took place after the regime fell. We have a look at a selection of images contained in Seamus Murphy's new book "A Darkness Visible: Afghanistan." They also form part of an exhibition at London's Asia House gallery.

-- From Matt Cargill, International Correspondents Producer

June 27, 2008

This week, it's Zimbabwe, Zimbabwe, Zimbabwe.

As the Presidential runoff election takes place and the international chorus of condemnation of Robert Mugabe's regime grows louder, we ask how much more difficult has it become for journalists in Zimbabwe to do their job.

A new report from the Committee to Protect Journalists highlights the dangers facing reporters and newsgatherers in the country, saying President Robert Mugabe and his regime have "unleashed the harshest media crackdown in their notoriously repressive tenure."

We speak to the report's author, Tom Rhodes, in New York who commends the people of Zimbabwe for their undiminished appetite for news, no matter how difficult to come by. According to his report, police have been arresting journalists throughout the runoff election period, charging them with laws that do not exist on the statute books.

Also with us in the studio is Bill Saidi, deputy editor of the Zimbabwe Standard. He tells of the intimidation faced by journalists on his weekly newspaper and of the challenge of gathering the news when journalists, afraid for their lives, understandably decline to cover an aspect of the story.

Saidi says the Internet is playing a huge part, with people going online and then using mobile phones to text their friends to tell them what is taking place in various parts of Zimbabwe. He and Tom Rhodes are joined in the studio by Rashweat Mukundu, the Director of the Media Institute of Southern Africa in Zimbabwe. He tells us about Operation Take Down Your Satellite Dish, initiated by the Mugabe regime in a bid to deprive the population (not to mention the police and the army) of international news outlets telling them what is going on in their country as well as the international reaction overseas.

One year on, and Gordon Brown must sometimes wish he had never become Britain's Prime Minister. Increasingly flagging in the opinion polls and amid a clutch of bad news events, as well as the slowdown in the world economy, there are those who wonder whether Brown will survive to serve a full term as PM before the next elections. To that end, we ask whether he is merely the victim of circumstance and perceived indecisiveness or to what extent the British media has played a role in his low standing. Tom Bradby, Political Editor of ITV Television is joined in studio by his opposite number, Andrew Porter, from Britain's Daily Telegraph newspaper to debate the Brown Premiership on its first anniversary.

And Euro 2008 is drawing to a close. The soccer tournament that promised "emotions" has produced some great football in the two host countries, Switzerland and Austria. We ask whether the beautiful game is still beautiful to a seasoned journalist who's seen many, many championships and even more matches in his lifetime. We also ask how easy it is to cover a tournament held in two different countries and how the facilities for journalists compare to those of other championships. We're joined from Vienna by Keir Radnedge of World Soccer Magazine, an Englishman who tells us why the tournament organizers and security aren't particularly lamenting the absence of his mother country from the championships.

Til next time.

June 20, 2008

We have a very special guest on this week's show. CBS News Correspondent, Kimberly Dozier was almost killed in a car bombing in Baghdad in May 2006. She had gone out on a story with the U.S. Army, who were following up on a bomb explosion the previous day. As they began questioning locals, a huge bomb exploded nearby. Dozier was seriously injured; she was given a 50-50 chance of living. Her cameraman and soundman were killed as well as an American Army captain and the Iraqi translator.

The story made big news at the time, partly because it involved a journalist who happened to be a woman. Two years later, Dozier has just published her account of what happened that day, detailing her near-death experience, her recovery, which involved multiple operations, and her doctors' almost certain conviction that should she survive, it would almost certainly be without her legs.

Ms Dozier defied the odds and survived with all limbs intact. Her book is a harrowing yet eye-opening account of the nature of the story in Iraq two years ago, the work of the U.S. army with journalists covering the news there, the incredible medical advancements made in treating blast victims (unfortunately due to the war) and Dozier's own battle against physical injury, trauma and above all, guilt: the guilt at knowing she had survived and that her colleagues and others had not. She faces questions about whether she should have gone on the story that May morning and whether some colleagues and family members, of both her crew and the Army who died that day, blame her for their deaths or resent her for surviving.

Just seven weeks now to the opening of the Beijing Olympic Games. Thirty thousand journalists are expected to cover the event and questions abound as to whether they will be able to report freely. We talk to two London-based Chinese journalists, Jenny Zhong of Phoenix Satellite TV and Nan Lin, of the EU Chinese Journal. They tell us why they think China gets a raw deal in the Western press, saying that the coverage in particular of the Olympic torch relay, has been unfair. They also talk about why they believe Chinese media is opening up, thanks to the Internet and its impact on China's society. We ask whether journalists covering the Olympics can expect to be allowed to work unhindered.

Enjoy the show.

June 13, 2008

This week's International Correspondents begins with an interview with a journalist whose interest in Zimbabwe's Robert Mugabe stems from more than 30 years ago.

Heidi Holland first met Mugabe in 1975 when he came for dinner at her home while on the run. She had no idea who the dinner guest would be, knowing only that a clandestine meeting at her house was being arranged. She interviewed Mugabe last December.

Holland's view is that in order for the international community to best deal with Mugabe, they should know more about the man himself, his origins and his motives. And as the octogenarian ruler moves towards a new round of Presidential elections in less than two weeks, we discuss just how far he might go to ensure victory.

The program may be called International Correspondents, yet the role of any correspondent overseas would be greatly impeded if it were not for the "fixer." Anyone who has ever landed in a foreign land without contacts, language, even a visa will hold the fixer all the more dearly to their heart.

Often local, working in extremely dangerous situations, the fixer has few of the benefits open to his journalistic counterpart and has the obligation to remain behind long after the reporter has flown back to his/her own country. That in itself can present the fixer with a dilemma as his face is remembered by the locals, often incurring great wrath and extreme personal danger.

Phil Cox, whose work in Darfur some years ago first highlighted the situation there, tells us of his dependence on the fixer wherever in the world he may be. He's joined by Tina Carr of the Rory Peck Trust whose role is to help protect the freelance news gatherer.

And finally to France. Headlines were made this week when it was reported that an anchor legend on TV channel TF1 was being replaced by a younger, female version, allegedly close to President Nicholas Sarkozy.

The President's relationship with the French media has long been the subject of speculation; this latest rumor merely fueled the discussion about the role of media and the state in France. We speak to Alison Smale, Managing Editor of the International Herald Tribune in Paris about it.

June 6, 2008

Was it such a big shock that Barack Obama secured the Democratic nomination? Did the media influence the result? We lead the show with the U.S. Presidential campaign: how the race has been reported so far and now that the two party contenders have been decided, we assess what issues will dominate leading up to November's vote.

To help us along, we're joined by Chris Cillizza. He's the author of "The Fix" on washingtonpost.com and we'll get the perspective of Mark Jurkowitz, the Associate Director with the Project for Excellence in Journalism. He's been keeping a close eye on the media's coverage of the 2008 campaign.

Now, with just five months to go, the real battle begins in earnest. It will be interesting to see how this story plays out in the press. The big question is, will it be issues or personalities that dominate between Obama and McCain?

We're also looking at Brazil and the conditions for reporters there. Reporters Without Borders is calling for a federal commission into recent attacks against the media.

This comes after two reporters said they were kidnapped and tortured by a paramilitary militia that included police. Officials have admitted that police could have been involved. They're trying to find those responsible and this week local media reported an arrest in the case.

The attack prompted a protest by reporters in Rio de Janeiro. We speak to Tala Dowlatshahi from Reporters Without Borders and Rogério Simões, Head of BBC Brasil for their take on the issues confronting media workers in the country.

And, you may have noticed CNN has had its Eye on France this week. We look at President Nicolas Sarkozy's relationship with the media since he took office just over a year ago. Jean Lesieur, Executive Producer for Magazines and Talk Shows with France24 gives us his thoughts on the subject.

Max Foster is in the chair for Fionnuala Sweeney who has been fronting our Eye on France coverage from various locations in the French capital. She was even granted the extraordinary privilege of broadcasting live from the Louvre museum.

Hopefully, we will be able lure Fionnuala back to the anchor's seat for next week's International Correspondents.

May 30, 2008

Myanmar, photography in Cuba and White House tell-alls. That's the content of this week's International Correspondents.

We start with former White House Press Secretary Scott McClellan's new book about his time in the Bush White House.

He has created a storm of controversy in America, not only among his former colleagues but also among the very journalists he used to brief. McClellan said that at first he believed the Bush administration was right to go to war in Iraq but as time passed, he viewed it as a mistake. He takes aim at what he calls the Washington game and culture.

As for the White House journalists he worked with, McClellan described them as "complicit enablers" in the run up to the Iraq war by not focusing on whether there was a need to go to war; preferring instead to concentrate on the buildup of forces for the invasion.

We speak to Howard Kurtz of the Washington Post about the timing of the book, McClellan's reason for doing an about face while President Bush is still in office and the impact the controversy is having on Washington media.

Myanmar has dominated the headlines of late, if only overshadowed somewhat by the earthquake in China.

News came this week of the extended detention of the democracy activist, Aung San Suu Kyi by the military junta. Much was made of the UN Secretary General, Ban Ki Moon's visit to Yangon prior to the announcement and the ensuing criticism that he had not done enough to help free the detained political prisoner.

We speak to journalist Justin Wintle, author of the recent book "Perfect Hostage; A life of Aung San Suu Kyi" and Colin Freeman, Chief Foreign Correspondent with the Sunday Telegraph. He was in Myanmar until very recently covering the aftermath of Cyclone Nargis.

We discuss the dangers for him, the Burmese people, how much or little the junta cares about the international press and whether western media understands the complexities and subtleties of that which is Myanmar.

And finally, a photographers' workshop in Cuba set up by Associated Press alongside an exhibition of some of the most iconic photographs in the AP photo library.

The idea for the workshop to help Cuban photographers came from Santiago Lyon, Director of Photography with AP. He has set up such projects in other countries, but found that Cuba required more planning and organization than most other countries.

We ask him about the photos on display and whether the fact that the Cuban government was happy for the exhibition and workshop to be held had anything to do with the relatively recent change in leadership in Havana.

May 23, 2008

Almost two weeks after its devastating earthquake, China continues to brace itself for more aftershocks. Its people are still trying to come to terms with the emotional aftershocks wrought by this tremor which at last count killed an estimated 51,000 people.

In sharp contrast to Myanmar's authorities, Beijing has been remarkably open about allowing western journalists access to the stricken areas.

And its own media, by initially ignoring government calls to stay away from the zone, have demonstrated greater degrees of openness than might have previously been expected. But will it last beyond the earthquake's immediate ramifications?

There are already signs that, above all, the Chinese media are of one mind in their desire to unite the country behind the government. This, despite mounting criticism over building safety standards, especially concerning those relatively newly-built schools which crumbled like a deck of cards following the quake.

This week we speak to former CNN Beijing Bureau Chief and Senior Asia Correspondent, Mike Chinoy. He's now a Senior Fellow at the Pacific Council on International Policy in Los Angeles. We ask whether the relative openess, by Western standards, exhibited by China's media in the wake of the quake marks a glasnost for journalism in the country.

Also this week, Cannes. Normally, an arthouse festival, it has fast become an indie-type alternative to Hollywood, albeit with all the glamour and stars only the French Riveria can rustle up.

This week we look at three films which debuted at Cannes -- all with political overtones. In the Israeli animated film "Waltz with Bashir," we followed the experiences of an Israeli soldier in Lebanon, caught up in the Sabra and Shatila refugee camp massacres by Christian Phalangists in 1982.

International Correspondents speaks to the Israeli director who witnessed the atrocity and gives his account of why he made the film and what message he hopes it will portray.

The second film deals with the Maze Hunger Strikers of 1981 in Northern Ireland. Entitled "Hunger" the movie was directed by Englishman Steve McQueen.

The film's title comes from the first and probably most famous hunger striker to die, Bobby Sands, who wanted IRA members to be treated as political prisoners rather than as criminals. The hunger strikes proved to be one of the more testing times Northern Ireland affairs posed for the London government of then Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher. We talk to producer Laura Hastings-Smith in Cannes.

And remember the controversy surrounding the publication of cartoons in Denmark depicting the Prophet Mohammed? We look at a new French film, "It's Hard Being Loved by Jerks." Daniel LeConte made the movie about the French satirical magazine Charlie Hebdo, brought to court for the defamation of Islam. This, after the magazine reprinted 12 of the Danish cartoons.

And finally, it's not often International Correspondents delves into the sporting world but this week's clash in the UEFA Champions League Final in Moscow between age-old English rivals Chelsea and Manchester United could not go without mention.

Anglo-Russian relations have been frosty, to put it mildly, in recent times. This week, we ask whether the staging of a huge football event in Moscow of an all-English final make way for better ties without either country losing face?

And, given the match ended at 1.34 am in Moscow, how did British print journalists in the Russian capital cope with the deadlines posed by their newspapers back home?

We're joined by CNN's Matthew Chance in Moscow and in London by Chrstopeher Davies, veteran sportswriter with the Daily Telegraph newspaper.

Enjoy.

May 16, 2008

Two natural disasters dominate our coverage this week: the aftermath of Cyclone Nargis in Myanmar and the earthquake in China. Both have had devastating consequences for the local populations.

In Myanmar, the military junta pondered for days how to react before finally deciding to allow only some international aid in.

Needless to say, foreign journalists weren't allowed in either though a few did manage to get inside the country. Once there, they became wanted men and women as the authorities asked hotels to inform them of any foreign guests and set up roadblocks where the police checked for journalists against photographs issued by the government.

Dan Rivers was one such journalist who eventually had to leave Myanmar for his safety. He tells us, from Bangkok, of his frustration of being chased around the country by the very authorities who should have been instead helping the displaced, dispossessed and injured.

It seems getting information into the country is as difficult for broadcasters as getting international aid in. We speak to Nancy Shwe of the Burmese service with Radio Free Asia and the Head of the BBC's Burmese Service, Tin Htar Swe, about how they have tackled the challenges posed by Cyclone Nargis.

They tell us of their reliance on citizen journalists for information on what's happening in Myanmar; the dangers such people undertake to get the story out; and the enormous appetite in the country for news.

China, on the other hand, handled its natural disaster far differently than one might have expected. Whether because of the Olympics or a need to bring in as much international aid as possible, the Chinese authorities allowed greater media access to the quake zone than at any other previous occurrence in the last 30 years.

Our correspondents write in the CNN blog of being begged by victims of the quake to take them to hospital in their reporter vehicles when in fact, the team was heading in the opposite direction to cover the story.

Emotional, heart wrenching and agonizing scenes and stories as the death toll continues to rise.

May 9, 2008

"CLINTON; SEEKING TO BECOME FIRST WOMAN PRESIDENT. Hillary Clinton's narrow win in Indiana kept alive the White House hopes of a woman who has been both admired and reviled..."

So reads a headline from Reuters correspondent Jeff Mason, the morning after Tuesday's Democratic Primaries in Indiana and North Carolina. But here is another headline from another Reuters correspondent:

"OBAMA TAKES BIG STEP AHEAD IN DEMOCRATIC RACE." This, from Reuters Political Correspondent John Whitesides, who was covering the Obama campaign.

Which is accurate? Is either inaccurate? We put this question and others to Jon Decker, the Washington Correspondent with Reuters, as well as Jonathan Allen from Congressional Weekly. Michelle Henry, an American journalist with the London Times newspaper joins us once again to share her views on a race that seems never-ending.

Is it all about the numbers? Be it be poll numbers or superdelegates? Which direction will the media take in shaping the course of the race and how will the campaign managers of either Democratic candidate try and set the media agenda?

Also this week: reporting Africa. From Somalia to Kenya to Zimbabwe, the news coverage out of the continent is often negative. But is it an accurate reflection of the overall situation in what is a hugely diverse continent? We ask two judges of the 2008 CNN Multichoice African Journalist Awards to share their views.

Azubuike Ishiekwene is Executive Director of Nigeria's Punch newspaper while Brahima Ouedraogo is a senior reporter with Radio Burkina in Burkina Faso. They tell us of their optimism for the continent and talk about the differences in the nature of stories submitted to the panel by journalists from 43 countries .The awards ceremony itself will be held in Accra, Ghana on July 19th.

And it was 40-years ago; 1968 was an iconic year in journalism. Vietnam was raging, Bobby Kennedy was shot dead, Martin Luther King was assassinated.

There were student riots in Paris, we saw the first images of Earth from space and also witnessed the Black Panther salute at the Tokyo Olympics. Not to mention the Soviet invasion of Czechoslovakia to put down the increasingly liberal government of Alexander Dubchek.

Well, all that and more can be seen through the eyes of the International Herald Tribune from that year. Published in Paris, its front page photographs captured the mood of the times, be it the funeral train cortege for Bobby Kennedy or the image of black Americans on the streets of Atlanta, digesting the news that their best political hope in years had been slain.

We take you on a tour of a new exhibition that has just opened in London of the front pages of the IHT in 1968. Hard to believe so much happened in one twelve month period.

Oh and keep an eye out for our new broadcast times; you can find out when in your region on this Web site.

May 2, 2008

The shocking case of the Austrian father who imprisoned his daughter for 24 years in a cellar beneath his house and fathered seven children by her is our top story this week.

The ramifications of this story for the woman and her children are, of course, immense and paramount; the implications for the media, also compelling.

In Austria, it is actually illegal to publish the name of someone who has been detained and yet to be charged. Most of the Austrian media decided to go ahead and publish Josef Fritzel's name as did much of the international media. As the week went on and more details emerged, media in Austria and around the world published a composite of the daughter, aged 42 and how she may look now.

Where lies the boundary between what is in the public interest and in the victims' interest?

To help answer those questions and more, we are joined in studio by CNN's Phil Black who spent most of the week in Amstetten, covering the story and from Vienna, by Eric Frey, the managing editor of Der Standard newspaper. His paper has yet to publish Fritzel's name or a photograph of his house.

Both he and Phil explain the complexities and different challenges both the Austrian and international media face in covering this story.

Allowing killers to get away with murder; the killers of journalists that is. The Committee to Protect Journalists has released a report on the countries it says are doing little or nothing to solve the killings of reporters.

The usual suspects are at the top of the list; Iraq, Somalia, Sierra Leone but also in there are several democracies from South Asia including India and the Philippines. Also in the top twelve but lower than last year is Russia but one of the more shocking revelations is Mexico; now the most dangerous place in Latin America for journalists.

To this end we speak to Joel Simon in New York of the Committee to Protect Journalists and in the London studio we're joined by Rodney Pinder. He's the Director of the International News Safety Institute.

A few months ago, four to be precise, we told you about the detention of a Saudi blogger, Fouad al-Farhan. He is now celebrating his release from prison without charge.

Al-Farhan had written under his own name, using his Web site to criticize alleged corruption and to demand democratic reforms in Saudi Arabia.

His detention had been protested by many bloggers and pressure for his release had come from international human rights groups. Many saw al-Farhan's detention as symptomatic of the wider issue of bloggers in the Arab world demanding greater freedoms. CNN's Mohammed Jamjoon has more.

Till next week.

April 25, 2008

This week was Primary week and so we top off this week's program with the seemingly never-ending Democratic nomination race.

A year ago, the media were saying Hillary was going to win the nomination; Barack Obama would not be able to make a dent; in January the refrain became that the longer Obama stayed in the race, the better his chances. And now in April, the media are saying he cannot seal the deal.

We speak to Jordan Lieberman, publisher of Campaigns and Elections Politics Magazine and we welcome back Chris Lockwood, U.S. editor with the Economist.

Chris has a knack of knowing what to watch for in this race; we ask him and Jordan where they think the story is going next and the relationship between the media and the candidates.

Has Hillary Clinton been given a rougher ride in the media than Barack Obama and if so, why?

Still in the news this week, Zimbabwe. Four weeks after the election, there is still no final election result. International reporters are largely barred from going into the country to cover the story.

We speak to one reporter, Laura Lynch of CBC who was one of the few journalists given official accreditation by the government of Robert Mugabe. It didn't stop her and her colleagues getting into scrapes with officialdom, however -- some of her co-workers were detained by police.

We ask her about her experiences there and also speak to Patrick Smith of Africa Confidential about whether international coverage has helped or hindered the people of Zimbabwe.

We also discuss how the British media have dealt with the situation and whether for them, this is essentially a story based on former colonial ties and what impact it has had on Robert Mugabe and ultimately his people.

And finally, the issue of celebrity.

Alison Jackson is a photographer who has won acclaim for the pictures she takes, or should I say, makes. Her work includes photos of Britain's Queen Elizabeth walking past a betting shop with corgis; David Beckham in an American football uniform and President Bush playing with a Rubik's cube. But take a second look and you realize the subjects are lookalikes.

We ask Alison, who claims to hate photography, why she does it and whether she is in fact anti celebrity or keeping the celebrity culture momentum going by producing such pictures.

Enjoy the show.

April 18, 2008

The political situation in Zimbabwe continues to occupy the news agendas of international media outlets. Following the recent election, foreign journalists defied the Mugabe government ban and entered the country without permission, often posing as tourists.

Our Paula Newton was among three CNN journalists who went in, aware they could be arrested and jailed, in a bid to find out what is really going on in the country which was once the breadbasket of the region.

She talks to us about what she saw, namely an impoverished land where ordinary Zimbabweans are hungry for information as well as food. Paula tells us about the difficulties and dangers of covertly trying to cover the story and ask her where she thinks the story is heading next.

We also have the story of the release of the Associated Press photographer held by the U.S. military in Iraq.

36-year old Bilal Hussein had been accused of having links to insurgents. He was held without charge for more than two years and AP had launched an aggressive campaign to have him freed.

We also have a report from Baghdad on the release of CBS journalist, Richard Butler who had been detained and held by insurgents for more than two months. He was being held in a house which was raided by Iraqi military forces who were looking for insurgents and who found Mr Butler instead.

Pope Benedict is in the United States in a country where 25 percent of the population is Roman Catholic.

His flock in America is troubled and divided, not least because of a sex scandal which rocked the Church a few years ago. At the time, the Vatican wasn't the best at dealing with it, to put it mildly and many Americans are now wondering whether the 81-year old Pontiff can re-energize the Church during his six days there.

We talk to Luke Coppen of the Catholic Herald in Britain and in Washington, and Robert Blair Kaiser, author and former correspondent with Time and Newsweek magazines and a commentator on the Catholic Church.

We discuss to what extent the Vatican thinks the media is important and whether the Pope is comfortable dealing with a media which has changed hugely even since he became Pontiff, not least because of the Internet.

And finally, the United Arab Emirates has a new newspaper; The National was launched against an international backdrop of declining readership and falling revenues for the newspaper industry in general. Wilf Dinnick takes a look at what prompted the publication of the new broadsheet and whether there is the market for it.

April 11, 2008

If you were a member of either the Chinese government or the International Olympic Committee, you would more than likely be increasingly concerned about the Olympic torch as it wends its way across the globe in the face of numerous protests over Tibet. And it's only April! A full four months until the Games themselves begin.

This week we look at how the controversy is being reported within China. We ask whether Beijing is actually concerned about the protests in the long term and look at whether the demonstrations are going to snowball and force a change of policy on Tibet and, perhaps, even other matters.

I'll be speaking to Bob Dietz in New York of the Committee to Protect Journalists who tells us about how much, or indeed how little of the torch relay is being reported in China and Rob Gifford of NPR Radio who spent six years reporting from Beijing.

Rob is of the view that many middle class Chinese don't particularly know or care about what's going on re Tibet and indeed other matters, and that if they do know, they tend to side with the authorities' viewpoint.

Also this week, we visit a new exhibition just opened in London. It features photographs shot by Reuters journalists in Iraq since just before the U.S.-led invasion five years ago.

Some of the photos are already seared in our memories as we ask what makes a good photograph and indeed, whether in five years' time, there will be another exhibition of photographs marking 10 years since the invasion.

We also speak to one journalist who nearly lost her life when a U.S. missile hit the Palestine Hotel in which she was working with her colleagues, one of whom died.

Samia Nakhoul was lucky to survive; perhaps unsurprisingly, she hasn't returned to Iraq since and yet she is responsible for one of the more memorable "good news" stories of Iraq; that of Ali who lost his family and his arms when a missile hit his house. Samia arranged for him to travel to London where he now lives, having been fitted with prosthetic arms.

And finally, we talk to Nick Davies; a journalist who has just written the book "Flat Earth News."

He argues that many media outlets are owned by big corporations these days and, as a result, it's having a detrimental effect on the news business -- where reporters are under pressure to come up with stories, but without being able to make contacts and check facts.

Nick joins me in studio where we discuss how much should we believe in what we see, hear and read.

April 4, 2008

Zimbabwe dominates our show this week. Uncertainty about the impoverished country's future means Zimbabwe is in limbo.

What makes it more difficult is that journalists find it hard to operate in the country. If they are Zimbabwean and do not work for one of the state organs then they literally risk life and limb. International journalists are not allowed in without special accreditation which costs roughly $1,800 per journalist.

That means it's virtually impossible for freelance journalists to cover the story, even if they are allowed in. CNN, like other international broadcasters, has been banned from the country.

So this week, we look at how accurate the information is coming out of Zimbabwe, given the obvious restrictions and whether current events there bode well for the future of journalism.

We speak to CNN's Robyn Curnow in Johannesburg who has been reporting from the Zimbabwean border this past week; also joining us, Andrew Meldrum, a journalist who was jailed for a time by the Mugabe regime in 2003 for his reporting. He is currently a Nieman Scholar at Harvard University and he joins us from Cambridge, Massachusetts.

Also with us in London is Zimbabwean journalist, Forward Maisokwadzo. He is based in Britain these days and is also co-coordinator of Exiled Journalists Network in the UK.

They may be eight months away but hardly a day goes by without some news of the U.S. Presidential elections. The Democratic race for the nomination is working its way towards a nail-biting finish.

The coverage of the various primaries and caucuses has caused many a viewer to stay up late in the night. So this week we ask, what makes this year's race one of the most exciting yet? Is it the personalities or the policies?

I recently had the opportunity to catch up with two of CNN's most experienced U.S. based correspondents, Jill Dougherty and Richard Roth, to mull over the pickings of what still is quite a journalistic feast.

And Spring arrived in the Northern Hemisphere this week with the clocks going forward and a noticeable change in the air. It also coincided with the beginning of April; April 1st, also known as April Fools' Day.

While not every country marks it, many take it to the limit with the British media at the forefront of the high jinks. Phil Black spent the day on the trail of the best jokes around. Enjoy.

March 28, 2008

An absolutely jam-packed show this week and all nicely topical. We kick off with Tibet and the recent protest by three members of Reporters Without Borders at the lighting of the Olympic flame ceremony in Greece.

We ask Vincent Brossel, one of the protesters, what the protest achieved and whether by using their press cards to get into the event, that other journalists legitimately wishing to cover Olympic related stories might now be adversely affected.

We are also joined in studio by our Beijing correspondent, John Vause who tells us how the Tibet issue is of little interest to ordinary Chinese, largely because they don't get to hear about it. And given the obvious parallels with Myanmar, we ask Dan Rivers who has covered that story why it is no longer on the front pages.

The second topic of the day is a film shot during the final days of the 2006 Hezbollah-Israel conflict in southern Lebanon.

A moving story, it follows the journey of one woman as she searches for her missing son and sister. A Shia woman, she manages to convince a taxi driver who happens to be Christian to take her on the hazardous journey from Beirut. The storyline follows their platonic but increasingly complex and evolving friendship as they make their way south.

We speak to the film's Lebanese director, Philippe Aractingi about how he conceived the script and how much was improvised due to the dangers of the conflict and the people they met along the way.

And finally, the state visit to Britain this week of French President Nicolas Sarkozy and his new wife, Carla Bruni-Sarkozy.

Just as the French had become acclimatized to their president's new domestic arrangements, along comes the British media, relentless in their pursuit of a "good" story. Did the presence of the new French First Lady by her husband and the Queen's side, help the Entente Cordiale become the Entente Amicable as much as her husband's speeches on the similarities between the two countries?

We speak to our own Jim Bitterman, Paris based correspondents about the Carla factor as well as James Blitz, Diplomatic Editor of the Financial Times.

Join us at the times on your screens.

March 21, 2008

A few months ago it was Burma, now it's Tibet.

There are many parallels to be drawn between the two situations; one distinction is that Myanmar's rulers hardly care what the world thinks. China, on the other hand -- with Beijing being much more an integrated member of the international community and with the Games coming up -- is very sensitive to anything which might destabilize its showcase Olympics.

We speak to CNN's John Vause, usually based in Beijing, who has been scouring the roads and byelaws to find a way of entering Tibet. Alas, in vain. The Chinese authorities have clamped down on international journalists so John joins us from Chengdu in China to bring us up to date with what's happening for journalists there.

Also, from Washington, we speak to Karma Dorjee with Radio Free Asia about his network's efforts to gather information from, and get information to Tibet.

This week sees the fifth anniversary of the Iraq War. Shock and Awe, we were told by Washington would be the defining element of the U.S.-led military campaign.

Some five years later, at least 90,000 dead and a war that has cost at least billions of dollars we ask three journalists for their thoughts: John F. Burns, former Baghdad bureau chief of the New York Times; Iraqi journalist, Ahmad al-Rikaby; and CNN's Michael Holmes who himself survived an attack which saw two of his colleagues killed and another injured.

And Zimbabwe is having elections again. CNN has been banned from covering them so instead Robyn Curnow in Johannesburg sits down with a group of Zimbabwean journalists and civil rights campaigners for their views on the upcoming vote.

March 14, 2008

This week's news in the States has been dominated by the Eliot Spitzer scandal.

As news of the story broke, the media pack en masse delved in and dug for more. But how much of this story is about Eliot Spitzer the public figure, his prosecution of prostitution rings and possible law breaking and how much is about his family?

Indeed, how much should we find out about the other "clients" apparently recorded by the FBI? And how much focus should there be on the former New York Governor's wife?

We speak to journalist and Spitzer biographer, Brooke Masters in London and Jon Friedman, Senior Columnist with the Media Web section of Marketwatch who is based in New York.

Also this week, the plight of a jailed journalist sentenced to death in Afghanistan for allegedly defaming Islam.

Sayed Pervez Kambaksh is 23 years old. His brother is also a journalist and has written several investigative pieces about the Taliban. Last October Pervez downloaded a document about Islam and women's rights from an Iranian Web site. He was arrested and ultimately sentenced to death at a hearing, which he claims lasted four minutes.

Some believe it is actually his brother who is being targeted for his work. Either way, the case has resulted in an international outcry, partly as a result of the attention given to it by The Independent newspaper in Britain.

The case is about to go to appeal and President Karzai has promised not to sign the execution order should it cross his desk. We speak to Kim Sengupta, Defence and Diplomatic Correspondent of the Independent and from Reporters Without Borders, Lucie Morillon.

And as the fifth anniversary of the Iraq war approaches, we look at how much of the country remains off limits to journalists.

France24 sent two of their more seasoned journalists to Iraq recently to see how life there has changed since 2003. One of their achievements in making their film was to be able to travel to the troubled city of Falluja, unaccompanied by U.S. troops -- no mean feat given the city has been virtually a no-go zone for journalists.

Lucas Menget joins us from Paris to tell us of his experiences there and about the highs and lows of working in a country which is still extremely dangerous for reporters.

March 7, 2008

It is still anyone's game - when it comes to the Democrats at least. Hillary Clinton wins three of four state contests. But the victories fail to put much of a dent in Barack Obama's delegate lead. But in the Republican battle, it was a clean sweep in all four states for John McCain, enough to put him over the top and win him his party's nomination.

For more on the winning strategies, and what comes next in this long-haul race Bill Schneider, CNN's Senior political analyst, London Bureau Chief of USA Today Jeffrey Stinson and Michelle Henery of the Times weigh in.

While the possible tides of change in the presidential race keep Americans gripped. The world is also hooked on the very close election drama.

In Lebanon, the anti-Syrian governing coalition has been locked in a 16-month-old power struggle with an opposition led by Hezbolla. While in Pakistan, political uncertainty also reigns: President Pervez Musharraf's party suffered losses in last months elections and faces pressures to step down.

CNN talks to Hisham Melham of Al Arabiya and Anwar Iqbal, of the Pakistani paper DAWN.

Also on this week's show, the deadly cycle of attack and counterattack continues. Rockets are fired from Gaza, and the Israelis fire back. Jerusalem was also the scene of a deadly attack on a Jewish seminary.

Covering the conflict is anything but black and white, we dissect the headlines with CNN's Ben Wedeman in Gaza and Akiva Eldar of Ha'aretz an Israeli newspaper.

-- From International Correspondents Producer Jenifer Fenton