a daily independent global news hour

Democracy Now! correspondent, Sharif Abdel Kouddous profiles renowned Syrian human rights lawyer, Haitham al-Maleh, for The Nation magazine. Maleh, 81, has spent most of his life fighting against government oppression in Syria. Today, he believes victory could be at hand.

From Sharif’s new article in "Foreign Policy": "Five months after the fall of Hosni Mubarak, Tahrir Square has, once again, been transformed into a mass protest encampment and the epicenter of the struggle for change in Egypt. Thousands of protesters are entering the second week of a sit-in reminiscent of the one that captured the world’s attention during the 18-day uprising that began on Jan. 25."

In one of his first public events since being held under house arrest, WikiLeaks editor-in-chief Julian Assange appeared in London Saturday for a conversation with Slovenian philosopher Slavoj Žižek, moderated by Democracy Now!’s Amy Goodman. They discussed the impact of WikiLeaks on world politics, the release of the Iraq and Afghanistan war logs, and Cablegate — the largest trove of classified U.S. government records in history. [includes rush transcript]

Obama administration officials have told the New York Times that senior officials of the Pakistani spy agency, the ISI, ordered the killing of Pakistani journalist Saleem Shahzad of the Asia Times in an effort to silence him. One U.S. official said, “Every indication is that this was a deliberate, targeted killing that was most likely meant to send shock waves through Pakistan’s journalist community and civil society." Ali Dayan Hasan, the head of Human Rights Watch in Pakistan, first tied the ISI to Shahzad’s killing. Hasan recently spoke to Democracy Now! in his most extended interview in the U.S. press.

Democracy Now! producer Aaron Maté files exclusive audio reports on board the Gaza-bound "Audacity of Hope". The ship set sail from Greece at approximately 9:30 a.m. EDT but was soon stopped by Greek authorities. Listen to Aaron’s reports as the scene develops.

Under Mubarak, state-owned media was a propaganda arm of the government, parroting party dogma while dismissing public criticism and political opposition. After his ouster, the struggle for press freedom is far from over. Democracy Now!’s Sharif Abdel-Kouddous reports from Cairo for The Nation magazine.

Tonight’s debate between Republican presidential candidates marks the first national debate appearance of Mitt Romney, former MA governor. Meanwhile, fellow Mormon and former Utah governor, Jon Huntsman, has yet to announce and will skip the debate. Democracy Now! spoke with former Salt Lake City Mayor Rocky Anderson about the political record of Hunstman and Romney. The two became "great friends" when they worked together on the 2002 Winter Olympics in New York City. [includes rush transcript]

Former Black Panther Geronimo ji-Jaga Pratt died in Tanzania on June 2. He was imprisoned for 27 years, until his case was overturned in 1997. Hear Democracy Now!’s Oct. 5, 2000 interview: http://ow.ly/594MV

Amy Goodman and Sharif Abdel Kouddous are on the ground in Haiti covering former Haitian President Jean-Bertrand Aristide’s return after seven years in exile. We will post updates here over the coming days.

In defiance of the Obama administration, former Haitian President Jean-Bertrand Aristide is headed back to Haiti today for the first time since being ousted in a 2004 U.S.-backed coup. Hours ago, Aristide boarded a plane in South Africa bound for Port-Au-Prince. Joining him on the flight is his wife, Mildred Aristide, attorney Ira Kurzban and actor Danny Glover. Democracy Now! host Amy Goodman is also on aboard. Minutes before takeoff she filed this report and sent exclusive photos.