Highlights on
CNN in December, 2008:
Scream Bloody MurderOn: Friday 5th December at 02h00, 10h00 and 17h00
Saturday 6th December at 12h00 and 20h00 GMT
Sunday 7 December at 01h00, 0600 and 22h00
Duration: 2 hours
As the 60th anniversary of the United Nations' Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide approaches, CNN's chief international correspondent Christiane Amanpour presents Scream Bloody Murder.
This two-hour documentary investigates the recurring horror of genocide and reveals the stories of individuals who have been witness to atrocities and who have appealed to the international community to intervene.
Amanpour examines ethnic slaughters in Armenia, the Holocaust and systematic terror and violence in Cambodia, Rwanda, Iraq and Darfur. The rise of the brutal Khmer Rouge regime in Cambodia is investigated, and how in the 1980s Iraq's president Saddam Hussein unleashed poison gas on the Iraqi Kurdish population, killing tens of thousands.
She questions administration officials from the Reagan government who during the 80's opposed measures to sanction Iraq because it was trying to cultivate the country as an ally against Iran.
She returns to former Yugoslavia, where in the 1990s she reported on the 'ethnic cleansing' of Muslims by Serbs and to Rwanda, whose genocide in 1994 saw the mass killing of hundreds of thousands of Tutsis by Hutu militia, now hearing from the people who tried to alert the world to what was going on.
The documentary concludes with a report on what many consider to be the first genocide of the 21st century - Darfur. Amanpour interviews Dr. Mukesh Kapila, the UN's former top official in Sudan, who reveals what he says is today's challenge: the UN is powerless to compel its members to act, even in the face of mass murder.
Planet In Peril: Battle LinesOn: Friday 12th December at 02h00, 10h00 and 17h00
Saturday 13th December at 12h00 and 20h00
Sunday 14th December at 01h00, 06h00 and 22h00
Duration: 2 hours
The second installment of CNN's Planet in Peril documentary series takes viewers on a two-hour journey to places where the world's natural resources are caught in the crossfire of conflict.
Host Anderson Cooper, CNN's chief medical correspondent Dr. Sanjay Gupta, and Oprah Winfrey Show correspondent and National Geographic presenter Lisa Ling go to the 'frontlines' where the intersections of the battles are waged.
The documentary includes a look at the North Pole, where melting ice is causing international ownership disputes over the water and energy resources that lie beneath it, shark-finning operations in Taiwan, Costa Rica and South Africa and the critically endangered gorilla's of Eastern Africa.
My City, My LifeOn: Thursday 4th December at 09h30
Saturday 6th December at 09h30, 18h00 and 23h30
Sunday 7th December at 15h30
American rock legend Iggy Pop is the star of this month'sMy City-My Life which takes a tour of Miami to some of Iggy's favourite spots.
Iggy was the lead singer of controversial garage band The Stooges, which gave birth to punk rock in the swinging 60s. The band was infamous for its live performances involving self-mutilation, narcotics, verbal abuse and many other zany antics.
Now in his 60s, Iggy Pop is no less tame, taking viewers on a tour of the super-cool city of Miami. As well as offering a glimpse of the glamour Miami possesses, the show also looks at the back streets of the edgy, immigrant neighbourhoods.
Iggy also takes viewers to an old English pub, a voodoo store, a musical mecca and the beautiful Aviary Birdshop.
Iggy moved to Miami in the 1990's to escape his crazy lifestyle. "I was fed up after 25 years in huge, dark media-centric cities. I was looking for something in a kind of elegant coma with a lot of peace and convenience. It was a pretty nice life in Miami for the carefree set".
Living GolfOn: Thursday 4th December at 14h00 and 18h30
Saturday 6th December at 08h00 and 18h30
Sunday 7th December at 04h00, 08h30 and 14h30
Duration: 30 minutes
This month Living Golf is in Shanghai, China for the opening event of the 2009 season - the HSBC Champions.
The programme looks at how the European Tour has developed over the years, with it now being European only by name, not in nature. The tournament's new-look-format, the 'Race to Dubai' with 25 countries and five continents taking part, got underway in November.
The show looks at the future of the game, as the tour appears to be moving towards global domination and asks some of the world's biggest players what they think of the new format. Host Justin Armsden talks to the world number five player, Sergio Garcia, about the new-look European Tour and reflects on his most successful, but what he regards as his most disappointing, season to-date.
The Screening Room Xtra On: Thursday 4th December at 09h45
Saturday 6th December at 09h45, 18h15 and 23h45
Sunday 7th December at 15h45
Mexico has seen a dramatic increase in film production over the past decade and home-grown talent is challenging the might of Hollywood for plaudits. In December, The Screening Room Xtra focuses on the latest wave of Mexican film makers who have been generating box office excitement and earning critical acclaim.
Pan's Labyrinth director Guillermo Del Toro, Babel screenwriter Guillermo Arriaga and actor Gael Garcia Bernal talk about the vibrancy found within the Mexican film industry.
The Xtra team also goes on set with Alejandro González Iñárritu in Spain for the making of his new film 'Biutiful', starring Oscar winner Javier Bardem, plus 'Los Cuarones' film makers Alfonso Cuarón and son Jonas reveal their new film project 'Ano Una'.
Hajj On: Live daily coverage - Saturday 6th December to Tuesday 9th December
CNN correspondent Arwa Damon provides live daily coverage from Mecca and Mina during Hajj 2008. The annual pilgrimage to Mecca consists of several ceremonies symbolising the concepts of the Islamic faith, such as submission, brotherhood and unit to commemorate the trials of the Prophet Abraham and his family. The pilgrimage is required once in a Muslim's lifetime and over two million Muslims perform the pilgrimage annually.
Prize for Peace: Nobel 2008 - LIVE On: Wednesday 10th December at 16h00
Every year on the anniversary of the death of Alfred Nobel, CNN focuses on peace and those who strive to achieve it through its coverage of the Nobel Peace Prize.
Since 1995 CNN's Jonathan Mann has hosted the yearly award interview live from Oslo, Norway. The Nobel peace prize laureate for 2008 is Finland's ex President Martti Ahtisaari - CNN International broadcasts it live from Oslo Town Hall.
The Spirit of...Change On: Thursday 11th December at 14h00 and 18h30
Saturday 13th December at 08h00 and 18h30
Sunday 14th December at 08h30 and 14h30
Duration: 30 Minutes
In this end-of-year programme, 'The Spirit of...' examines the financial crisis that has impacted the world and asks what financial and political world leaders can do to help.
The programme analyses the causes of the problems, talking to some of the world's most respected financial thinkers including Niall Ferguson and Joseph Stiglitz.
There's a look back to the Great Depression in the 1930s: what lessons can be learnt, and what can be done to save the global community from a similar hardship this time round?
The programme looks at how emerging markets have been affected by the financial crisis, with a focus on India, and what plans its leaders have to help its economy in 2009.
Nobel Laureate Amartya Sen and financial heavyweight Ashok Wadhwa are interviewed, who discuss the impact of the crisis on the property sector and graduate school campuses.
The prgramme ends with a look at what world leaders must do to help alleviate the problems of the financial crisis.
The Screening RoomOn: Wednesday 24 December at 09h30 and 18h30
Saturday 27 December at 08h30 and 19h00
Sunday 28 December at 05h30 and 18h30
Duration: 30 minutes
This year’s final edition of The Screening Room comes from the Estonian city of Tallin. Host Myleene Klass attends the Black Nights Film Festival, one of the first festivals to pioneer competitions for mobile movies.
Building a new state-of-the-art cinema complex in time to host the European Film Awards, Estonia today has 70 cinemas for its population of 1.3 million people. Local productions account for about 15% of the Baltic box office, rising dramatically in the past decade.
Myleene talks to the founder of the film festival to find out how the rise has been accompanied by the film festival.
The Screening Room also joins Al Pacino for an acting master-class at the Rome Film Festival, and Oscar and Golden Globe winner Benicio del Toro talks about his compelling role in Traffic and his latest performance in Steven Soderbergh's epic, Che.
2008 Moments In HistoryOn: Saturday 27 December at 13h00 and 17h00
Sunday 28 December at 06h00 and 23h00
Duration: 60 minutes
CNN takes a look back at the major stories from each month of the year. The programme revisits the milestones and the mishaps, the fortunes and the failures from a full year of stories.
From soaring oil prices and plunging markets to political troubles and Olympic triumphs, Obama’s rise and Musharraf’s fall Moments in History looks at how the year played out and where the world goes from here.