Middle East analyst Robin Wright came on the show today to talk about the ongoing security crisis in Syria.

Filed under: CNN •Idesk •Syria

Ole Solvang, emergencies researcher for Human Rights Watch, came on the show to talk about his organization’s accusations against Syria’s air force.

Filed under: CNN •Idesk •Syria

Lauren Wolfe, Director of Women Under Siege, came on the show today to talk about the staggering statistics that show increasing violence against women in Syria.

Filed under: CNN •Idesk •Syria

A very interesting article by Le Figaro’s Edith Bouvier on France’s direct financial support for Syrian civil reconstruction and humanitarian projects. The idea is to give money to civilian groups to help rebuild bakeries, set up medical or collect trash even as the civil war rages on.

According to this article, France has so far sent 1.5 million Euros to fourteen “civilian revolutionary committees” from Aleppo, Damascus, Homs and other hard-hit regions.

This is also interesting because according to this report, France’s ambassador to Syria, Eric Chevallier, travels to within “a few hundred meters of Syria to meet with the representatives of these committees and to give them French help.”

During these meetings, the report goes on to say, the men talk about the unrelenting violence in Syria but also come equipped with reports and a “spreadsheet explaining every expense. For each financial donation, a promise is made to provide a detailed expense reports.”

Posted by: Hala Gorani
Filed under: France •Syria

Lawrence Rubin from Georgia Tech came on the show today and talked about whether sanctions against Syria are making a difference. Listen to who he believes is hurting the most from these sanctions.

Filed under: CNN •Idesk •Syria

In today’s in depth look at Syria we talk to Hugh Pope with the International Crisis Group about the risk of armed conflict between Turkey and Syria. Listen as Pope describes the possibility of these tensions turning into a crisis for Turkey.

Filed under: CNN •Idesk •Syria

Hello everyone,

Today on the show, we will look at the collapse of that huge European aerospace and defense merger between EADS and the UK’s BAE Systems. The $45 billion deal was designed to create a giant to rival U.S. plane maker Boeing. Jim Boulden joins us from London with more on what led to the collapse.

We also bring you the latest on a congressional hearing in Washington looking into the September 11^th attack on the American consulate in Benghazi and the deaths of ambassador Chris Stevens and three other U.S. citizens.

Prepared testimony to the House Oversight Committee hearing is expected to show that Under Secretary of State for Management Patrick Kennedy will address specific criticism by Republicans that authorities were ill-prepared before the Benghazi consulate attack. We’re live in Washington.

Later, an update on the condition of Malala Youssufzai, the brave 14 year old Pakistani activist shot and critically wounded by the Taliban for campaigning for girls’ education. The assault on Youssufzai had shocked many people, including ordinary Pakistanis. We’re hearing from one of her doctors that her condition is slowly improving after a three-hour operation to remove a bullet from her neck. Reza Sayah will have our report from Islamabad.

We also have new video of a clash between rebels and regime forces in a key town Syria’s Idlib province. Nick Paton Walsh will be live with us from Beirut.

We’ll have all that and the rest of the world’s top news stories, as always.

See you on air!

Hala

Posted by: Hala Gorani
Filed under: Malala Youssufzai •Pakistan •Syria •Today At The I-Desk

Hello everyone,

Today we kick off the show with more mass demonstrations in Greece on the day German chancellor Angela Merkel made a rare visit to Greece. The visit was designed to discuss Greece’s bailout plan and the austerity measures that have angered so many Greeks. Matthew Chance is live with us from the Greek capital.

Also topping the show today, the massive suicide blasts that reportedly targeted the Air Force Intelligence compound in Damascus. Experts say the AFI is considered the elite, primary intelligence agency of the Assad regime. A shadowy jihadist group called Al Nusra Front has claimed responsibility for the attack.

It is unknown how many people may have been killed or whether anti-regime detainees in the complex were hurt.

"We also fear for the lives of hundreds if not thousands of anti-government detainees that are being held in the basements of the air force security compound," said Rami Abdulrahman of the opposition Syrian Observatory for Human Rights.

If this Jihadi group was able to mount a successful attack against AFI, it could be significant for two reasons: first, it means the Jihadi suicide bomb tactics used in Iraq are now becoming a more prominent weapon used by some members of the anti-Assad rebellion; second, it could constitute more than a symbolic blow to the Syrian government by damaging or destroying surveillance equipment.

A little later, we’ll take you live to Bellefonte, Pennsylvania, where former PennState football coach Jerry Sandusky was sentenced to at least 30 years in prison for sexually abusing children during his time at the university.

Plus, there’s a new poll out that is no doubt given Mitt Romney’s campaign a little spring in their step. Check out the latest Pew poll:

Oct. 4-7

Likely voters choice for president

Sept 12-16    Oct.4-7

Obama 51%   45%

Romney 43%  49%

Sampling error +/-3.4% pts.

We’ll break down these new numbers with Paul Steinhauser.

Finally, Felix Baumgartner, the Austrian skydiver whose attempt to become the first human being to break the sound barrier is scheduled to take place during the show. We’ll go live to New Mexico where Brian Todd is covering the daredevil’s jump from outer space.

See you on air,

Hala

Posted by: Hala Gorani
Filed under: Barack Obama •Felix Baumgartner •Greece •Mitt Romney •Syria •Today At The I-Desk

Hello everyone,

Very busy day today at the I-Desk. We will bring you the latest on radical cleric Abu Hamza, who lost his last ditch appeal to avoid extradition to the United States. A high court in London ruled that Abu Hamza and four others could be extradited immediately to the U.S. to face terrorism charges. CNN’s Dan Rivers is in London and will bring us the latest live.

Big news today came in the form of a very unexpectedly positive September unemployment reading in the U.S. This is certainly very welcome news for President Barack Obama, whose lackluster performance in his debate against Mitt Romney on Wednesday did him no favors.

Not only did America’s jobless rate fall below 8% to 7.8% in September – its lowest level since January 2009 – but the number of jobs created in August and July was revised upward. I can imagine some administration officials are now breathing a big sigh of relief.

Nick Paton Walsh will cover the latest from Syria and the spiraling violence in the suburbs of Damascus. There are reports rebels have shot down a fighter jet outside of Damascus. We’ll bring you the latest on that.

That and all the big news stories of the hour as they develop, as always!

See you on air,

Hala

Posted by: Hala Gorani
Filed under: Abu Hamza •Syria •Today At The I-Desk •U.S. Elections

We go in depth to show you the ancient treasures being destroyed by the ongoing fighting in Syria. Watch to see what has been destroyed and what is trying to be done about it.

Filed under: CNN •Idesk •Syria