Refugees, nukes, a DMZ, smuggling, thieves... yikes!

A very busy week on the international front. Here's some of what the CNN teams are covering...

Monday, Dan Rivers reported from Islamabad on the fighting in the Swat Valley as the Pakistani army tries to oust the Taliban, as well as the mass exodus of residents to refugee camps:

Tuesday, Dan reported on the horrific conditions the refugees are describing in the home region:

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

After North Korea conducted another nuclear test early Monday, Morgan Neill (currently covering the Tokyo bureau) reported on Japan's reaction to the test:

Wednesday, as Japan officially downplayed the test, Morgan spoke to a woman of North Korean decent who lives in Japan about the reaction she feels from her fellow countrymen:

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

The same day, a piece from Zain Verjee gave us a look at the Korean DMZ:

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Wednesday, Paula Hancocks gave us a look at one of the smuggling tunnels used to move food and goods (and weapons) from Egypt into Gaza:

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Cal Perry is wrapping up a rotation in Baghdad and today he gave us a look at the infamous Thieves' Market before heading back to Beirut:

That's it for me this week. See you Monday!

All content, unless otherwise cited, is © All Things CNN and may not be used without consent of the blog administrator.

CIA: Cuba, Iraq, Afghanistan

Blogger is being grouchy again today...

Havana Bureau Chief Morgan Neill got a chance to do some man-on-the-street interviews Thursday as Cubans react to the lifting of travel restrictions for Americans:

Paula Newton reports on the Taliban attacks in Kabul:

And on TSR, the continued threat of acid-throwing attacks on schoolgirls:

Meanwhile, in Baghdad Nic Robertson reported on Tuesday's suicide blast:

And Chris Lawrence covered Pentagon concerns that attacks are once again rising in Iraq:

Friday, Nic reported on the verdict for the Iraqi journalist convicted of throwing his shoes at then-President Bush:

And John King previewed one of the pieces he'll have on State of the Union this Sunday: an Iraq war veteran whom John first interviewed just prior to his third deployment. (And don't be frightened by the photo at the end of the piece; it's just a graphic promo for John's interview with the former VP this week. Why they use a pic of Cheney smiling is beyond me!)

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Where in the World...?

SUNDAY: Jill Dougherty is back in Washington; Nic Robertson is in Baghdad.

MONDAY: Michael Ware was in New York; Anderson Cooper hosted AC360 from one of the other US bureaus, possibly Atlanta; Ali Velshi was in for Larry King.

TUESDAY: TJ Holmes was in for Tony Harris; Joy Behar was in for Larry; Anderson still away from home.

WEDNESDAY: Sean Callebs reported from Samson, Alabama on the spree killings there; Sanjay Gupta was in for Larry; Anderson hosted from Los Angeles.

THURSDAY: Rob Marciano was in for John Roberts (who was in Toronto; above); Don Lemon was in for Kyra Phillips; Judge Jeanine Pirro was in for Larry; Anderson still in Los Angeles.

FRIDAY: John King was in The Situation Room with a preview from his Sunday show that he filmed earlier this week in Savannah, Georgia; Rob was in for John Roberts again; TJ was in for Tony; Roland Martin was in for Campbell Brown; Joy was in for Larry; John King hosted AC360 from Washington.

All content, unless otherwise cited, is © All Things CNN and may not be used without consent of the blog administrator.

The latest on Russia, Iran, Lebanon, Afghanistan, and Venezuela

Last week, Christiane Amanpour appeared on American Morning to discuss the latest on relations with Russia:

A day later, Christiane was back to discuss Iran's latest announcement that it is willing to consider talking to the US about those pesky nuclear ambitions:

Meanwhile, Reza Sayah is in Tehran and covered public rallies marking the 30th anniversary of the Iranian Revolution (and takeover of the American Embassy):

Cal Perry covered a very different kind of rally in Beirut on Saturday -- the fourth anniversary of the assassination of Prime Minister Rafik Hariri:

 

Stan Grant spoke with a young girl in Afghanistan who is using poems to challenge the Taliban:

Morgan Neill is in Caracus, Venezuela to cover the ballot referendum there, which will decide whether Hugo Chavez will have to accept term limits:

That's it for me this week... but two CNN programming notes to share: tomorrow (Tuesday) night, Larry King has an exclusive interview with President Bill Clinton at the Clinton Library in Little Rock, Arkansas, and then the second hour of Anderson Cooper 360 that night will be another of Ali Velshi's "Money Summit" specials, this time focusing on the Economic Stimulus Package. 

All content, unless otherwise cited, is © All Things CNN and may not be used without consent of the blog administrator.

Ups and Downs

So if you're in Davos for the World Economic Summit and need a metaphor for the current global financial mess ... well, all you have to do is step outside! Richard Quest quite literally hit the slopes last Monday to explain it all:

Last Wednesday, Ben Wedeman reported from Jerusalem on the status of the truce in Gaza and the meetings going on with US Special Envoy George Mitchell:

Thursday Zain Verjee was in The Situation Room to talk to Wolf Blitzer about President Obama's upcoming world travels:

Havana Bureau Chief Morgan Neill was visiting "the Mothership" Friday and spoke with Kiran Chetry about the latest from the Castro brothers -- Fidel wants the US to give Gitmo back to Cuba, and Raul is visiting Russia. Well, it's nice to have Morgan get airtime with something other than hurricanes:

Michael Ware was up bright and early for the second hour of American Morning today and talked to Kiran about Saturday's provincial election in Iraq:

Michael stuck around the Time Warner Center and spoke to Wolf about the Iraqi elections and the "graveyard of empires" that is Afghanistan:

That's a wrap for me -- hope everyone is keeping warm; since Punk Phil has promised/cursed us with six more weeks of this nasty winter, I think it's time to throw another log on the fire!

All content, unless otherwise cited, is © All Things CNN and may not be used without consent of the blog administrator.

Advice for a new President

CNN has been providing a lot of advice for President Obama, and with all of the problems around the globe there are a lot of issues to discuss but also a lot of hope for the future. Some of the clips that have run since the Inauguration...

Wednesday we had Phil Black in London, David McKenzie in Nairobi, and Jim Bittermann in Paris:

Cal Perry with a look at a fascinating class being taught in Beirut, where students come in for two weeks and speak with the people making policy in the region -- US diplomats, leaders from Hamas and Hezbollah, even Iran:

And what of Iraq? Arwa Damon reports on what officials are saying in Baghdad:

We also had Reza Sayah in Islamabad with a look at the complex situation there:

Reza's report led into a discussion between Tony Harris (in Atlanta) and Christiane Amanpour (in New York):

Campbell Brown talks to Fareed Zakaria and Christiane Amanpour about what the most important priority is for the new administration:

Thursday morning, Morgan Neill reported on the news that Fidel Castro had watched the inauguration:

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Where in the World...?

SATURDAY: As the Inauguration neared, CNN had its own perch up on the roof of the Newseum, and at various times we had Wolf Blitzer, Anderson Cooper, John King, Soledad O'Brien, Roland Martin, David Gergen, Donna Brazile, and Don Lemon reporting from there; Candy Crowley was on the train bringing P-E Obama to DC; Suzanne Malveaux was at Union Station as he arrived; and Larry King was still doing his show in the Capitol; meanwhile, Nic Robertson was in Jerusalem; Ben Wedeman was in Rafah, Gaza.

SUNDAY: Karl Penhaul was in Rafah, Gaza; John King hosted his first Sunday program from the roof of the Newseum.

MONDAY: In honor of MLK Day, American Morning began an hour early as they broadcast from the Mall; Don and Soledad hosted throughout the day; TJ Holmes was at the Lorraine Motel in Memphis; Lou Dobbs Tonight was not on.

TUESDAY: American Morning again started an hour early, this time from the reviewing stand to the side of the main platform; Campbell Brown's program expanded to two hours, replacing LDT.

WEDNESDAY: Kiran Chetry was back in New York; John Roberts was on the SitRoom set in DC; Susan Candiotti was at GITMO; Arwa Damon is back in Baghdad; Don was a panelist in The Situation Room through the end of the week; Phil Black is in London, Jim Bittermann in Paris, and David McKenzie in Nairobi (above, toasting the inauguration with the specially-brewed "President" beer.)

THURSDAY: Peter Bergen is still in NOLA.

FRIDAY: Larry is back in Los Angeles; Nic was in Riyadh, Saudia Arabia; Anderson guest-hosted on Regis and Kelly.

That's it for me today... have a great weekend! And Happy Australia Day (Monday) to all the Aussies out there!

All content, unless otherwise cited, is © All Things CNN and may not be used without consent of the blog administrator.

Changes in Attitude, Changes in Latitude

The world could definitely use a little timeout in Margaritaville, but unfortunately that doesn't seem likely to happen. 

On Wednesday, Morgan Neill took a look back at 50 years of Castro rule in Cuba. Nice to see him get some airtime on Domestic that doesn't involve a hurricane:

On Thursday, the International (aka "Green") Zone in Baghdad was formally handed over to the Iraqis. American officials have moved into the brand new and extremely impressive embassy there, although the US military will be backing up the Iraqi Army inside the GZ for at least another 90 days. Jill Dougherty reports:

Reza Aslan discussed the current Israel/Gaza battles on Wednesday morning...

... and on Thursday Peter Bergen updated the status of Afghanistan and Pakistan:

Nic Robertson was traveling through Ashkelon, Israel on Thursday when the air raid sirens sounded. A look at that moment and an update from later that day:

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Where in the World...?

SATURDAY: Abbie Boudreau and TJ Holmes anchored Saturday Morning and NewsRoom at 7am, 8am, 10am, and 11am; Richard Liu anchored NewsRoom at 12pm, 2pm, and 3pm; Don Lemon anchored NewsRoom at 5pm and 11pm; Ed Henry was still in Honolulu covering P-E Obama; Paula Hancocks reported from Jerusalem on Israeli airstrikes in Gaza.

SUNDAY: Abbie and TJ anchored Sunday Morning and NewsRoom at 7am, 8am, and 9am; Richard anchored NewsRoom at 4pm and 5pm; Don anchored NewsRoom at 7pm and 10pm; Elaine Quijano was in Crawford, Texas to cover President Bush; Jessica Yellin was in Washington; Cal Perry was in Jerusalem to cover the Gaza offensive.

MONDAY: Richard was in for Heidi Collins; Suzanne Malveaux was in for Wolf Blitzer; Kitty Pilgrim was in for Lou Dobbs; Tom Foreman was in for Campbell Brown; Nic Robertson was in Jerusalem.

TUESDAY: Christine Romans was in for Kiran Chetry; Suzanne was in for Wolf; Kitty was in for Lou; Tom was in for Campbell; Karl Penhaul tried to enter Gaza on board a boat carrying humanitarian aid but was unsuccessful when Israeli patrol boats enforced the blockade, ending up in Tyre, Lebanon; Ben Wedeman was in Ashkelon, Israel; Nic was in Sderot, Israel.

WEDNESDAY: Christine was in for Kiran; Joe Johns was in for John Roberts; Fredricka Whitfield was in for Kyra Phillips; Suzanne was in for Wolf; Lou Dobbs Tonight was a repeat; Campbell's program was replaced by Tom's year-end special; Morgan Neill reported from Havana on Cuba's 50 years of Castro rule; Cal was in Beirut; Anderson Cooper, Erica Hill, and Don covered NYE festivities from Times Square.

NEW YEAR'S DAY: Joe was in for John; Fredricka was in for Kyra; Suzanne was in for Wolf (above); Kitty was in for Lou; Campbell's program was replaced by a repeat of Ali Velshi's special; Nic was in Ashkelon, Israel.

FRIDAY: Joe was in for John; Fredricka was in for Kyra; Kitty was in for Lou; Randi Kaye was in for Campbell.

NOTE: A few hours after I prepared this post, Israel's ground forces entered Gaza. On Domestic, Fredricka Whitfield broke into Your $$$$$ just after 1:30pm to speak with Paula Hancocks, who was reporting that it seemed to have started and while on-air was given the formal announcement by the IDF. Fred also spoke by telephone with General David Grange. At 1:53, they switched to the International feed for about 15 minutes before coming back to Fred. Christiane Amanpour is now in Jerusalem, it has been announced that Anderson Cooper will be hosting AC360 from Israel on Monday. I'll have more reports in the Monday post.

All content, unless otherwise cited, is © All Things CNN and may not be used without consent of the blog administrator.

Saturday catch-up

Just some interesting pieces you may have missed this week while racing around shopping/wrapping/cooking:

Morgan Neill reports on the Russian warships visiting Cuba, and also an offer to release political prisoners:

Arwa Damon updates the recovery of little Youssif, the boy who was doused with gasoline and set on fire by masked assailants in Baghdad:

Cal Perry did a piece for BackStory on how they get around the crowded Beirut streets in order to do stand-ups:

Richard Quest tells the story of one of the most common sights for travelers -- the Gideon Bible:

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Where in the World...?

SATURDAY: Don Lemon was back in Atlanta after spending Friday in Chicago.

SUNDAY: Alina Cho was in for Fredricka Whitfield.

MONDAY: Brianna Keiller, Ed Lavendera, and Jessica Yellin were all in Chicago, covering the transition and the governor; Nic Robertson reported from London on President Bush's visit to Afghanistan; Carol Costello was in for John Roberts; TJ Holmes was in for Kyra Phillips; Betty Nguyen was in for Tony Harris (Tuesday also).

TUESDAY: Candy Crowley interviewed President Bush at the White House.

WEDNESDAY: Gary Tuchman was in Springfield, Illinois to cover the State Supreme Court decision on the governor; Jill Dougherty is in Baghdad; Carol was in for Kiran Chetry; Don Lemon was in for Tony (also Thursday and Friday); Joy Behar was in for Larry King.

THURSDAY: Gary was in Fenton, Missouri at a Chrysler plant as it went into the temporary shutdown.

FRIDAY: Gary was in Chicago for the latest on Governor Blagojevich; TJ was in for Heidi Collins.

Okay... back to the Christmas shopping!

All content, unless otherwise cited, is © All Things CNN and may not be used without consent of the blog administrator.

Michael and Peter and MOB rules!

Michael Ware and Peter Bergen made some appearances on Veteran's Day to discuss the realities on the ground in Iraq and Afghanistan. What does the new administration face and is there any realistic chance of wrapping the wars up and getting the troops home anytime soon?

First, on Campbell Brown's program:

Later, on AC360:

Earlier in the day, Michael was on World News Europe on International, where he and retired General (and former presidential candidate) Wesley Clark discussed the threats on the ground:

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

I've always been fascinated with technology and gadgets, so I look forward to Miles O'Brien's reports. And he always seems like he's having such a great time investigating the latest cool stuff. But his most-fun reports are the Shuttle launches. (And I refrained from saying he always looks like he's having a blast!)

In a piece that was supposed to air Friday but got bumped, Miles covers some of the challenges facing NASA as we enter the Obama years: the Shuttles are about to be retired and there will be several years when we will have to hitchhike on Russian launches if we want to get into space. How long that gap is depends on how much money we give NASA:

In this piece from BackStory, Miles takes us on a tour of CNN's command-center RV as they get ready to cover the launch of the Endeavour last night:

And yes, he really did drink the recycled-urine water on the air:

And just because it is so beautiful: the nighttime launch of the Endeavour:

By the way, If you don't follow Miles as he Twitters (something else he does with relish ... and Miles can insert his own condiment joke here) here's a look at how launch day unfolded. Timestamps frozen at around 4pmET:

Launch day. Writing a piece for Sit Room on Obama and space. He did not start out well on this subject. But now offers chrome and tailfins. 4:55 AM yesterday from web

Got my cigars, DD ice coffee, some snacks - heading for launch complex 39. Blue sky - hope it holds. 8:37 AM yesterday from txt

First live shot from the Cape in 3 mins. I will drink urine water live! 10:56 AM yesterday from txt

Still 70% go for weather. Crew getting wx briefing now. Suit up pix shortly. If they don't launch today, it may be a while. Front coming. 12:11 PM yesterday from web

inspection team (ice team) is on the pad looking for signs of trouble. 12:20 PM yesterday from web

About to do a live shot for CNN-I. 12:48 PM yesterday from txt

Astro convoy just passed by our site on the mound. Armored vehicle - helicopter escort. Seems a little excessive. But tin gods love this. about 24 hours ago from web

Crew strapping in now. Soon they will be saying the astronauts prayer: "Dear Lord, don't let me be the one to f@*k it up" about 23 hours ago from txt

ten miles from O and C building to pad...plus stop at Launch Control Center for mgt. to get inside about 23 hours ago from web

Watch my piece on Obama and space at 5:50pm ET. CNN Situation Room. about 22 hours ago from txt

We will be broadcasting launch in High Def. Second time for us. Hope you have surround sound as well. about 22 hours ago from txt

Piece just got Hillary'd. S@#t about 22 hours ago from txt   [the Obama/space piece was bumped for the Breaking News that Hillary might be named SecState]

Hatch closed- checking to make sure it is sealed. This can be tricky at times. about 22 hours ago from web

Now about 50 mins to launch. Weather improves. Now 80% green. about 21 hours ago from web

getting ready to poll the team "go or no go" about 21 hours ago from web

'twas a beautiful thing - like dawn. Wish you were here. about 20 hours ago from web

Thirty minutes into the flight - and the shuttle is a third of the way around the world. 0 to 17,500 mph in 8.5 minutes. Not very good MPG. about 19 hours ago from web

Post launch jam on SR-3. Endeavour going mach 25. Me: 5 about 18 hours ago from txt

I love the whole Twitter thing when it comes to the reporters and correspondents; like BackStory, it gives us a chance to see what they do to get a story, put the piece together, and get it on the air. Absolutely fascinating.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Speaking of BackStory: Richard Quest tours the CNN DC bureau roof while getting ready to cover the G-20 summit for International. Ever heard of "roof envy"? Well, now you have:

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Where in the World...?

SATURDAY: Suzanne Malveaux was still in Chicago, covering the Obama transition team.

SUNDAY: David Mattingly was in Petionville, Haiti to cover the collapse of a school there; Morgan Neill reported from Ciego de Avila, Cuba on the effects of Tropical Storm Paloma; Matthew Chance reported from Moscow on the accident onboard a Russian nuclear submarine; Jessica Yellin was still in Chicago for the Obama transition; John King hosted Late Edition.

MONDAY: Barbara Starr was in Malakashay, Afghanistan; Carol Costello was in for Kiran Chetry; Fredricka Whitfield was in for Heidi Collins; John Roberts hosted Campbell Brown's show.

TUESDAY: Gary Tuchman was back in Atlanta; Fredricka handled in-studio duties while Heidi Collins reported live from the deck of the Intrepid; Michael Ware was in New York; Peter Bergen was in Washington.

WEDNESDAY: Fredricka was in for Heidi; Candy Crowley and Ed Henry were in Chicago for the Obama transition; John Zarella and Dana Bash were in Miami for the Republican Governor's convention; Wolf Blitzer was in Miami to interview Governor Sarah Palin.

THURSDAY: Fred was in for Kyra Phillips; Wolf was back in DC; Tom Foreman was in New Orleans to report on the KKK killing; Anderson Cooper hosted AC360 from Los Angeles (as he would also do on Friday).

FRIDAY: Chris Lawrence was in Montecito, California to report on the wildfire there; Richard Quest was in DC for the G20 summit; Miles O'Brien was at Kennedy Space Center for the launch of the Endeavor; Kitty Pilgrim hosted Lou Dobbs Tonight.

Don't forget to vote for the CNN Heroes, which will be presented Thanksgiving night on CNN. Enjoy your weekend!

All content, unless otherwise cited, is © All Things CNN and may not be used without consent of the blog administrator.