A blockbuster scandal has surfaced in Beijing as the Communist Party attempts to pass the political torch to new leaders. The death of a British businessman in a Chongqing hotel room was declared a murder yesterday, and the wife of Bo Xilai, one of China's most powerful men, is the lead suspect. Michael Bristow is correspondent for our partner the BBC.

Violence continues in Syria, a day after the UN-backed ceasefire deadline. What will it take for Bashar al-Assad and opposition forces to stop what has been almost a year of continuous bloodshed? For that, we speak with Stephen Kinzer, journalist and commentator, and Professor of International Relations at Boston University.

The baseball season is just warming up, but Miami Marlins Manager Ozzie Guillen has wasted no time getting himself into hot water. Just five games into his career with the team, Guillen started a political row when he told Time Magazine that he loves and respects Cuba’s military dictator for staying in power as long as he has. The Sunshine State’s large Cuban community has been up in arms calling for the manager’s ouster.

The European Court of Human Rights in Strasbourg, France, ruled today that Britain can legally deport five suspects wanted in the United States on charges of terrorism. The ruling came despite an argument from European attorneys that prison conditions in the U.S. are inhumane for terror suspects and convicts. John Burns is the London bureau chief for The New York Times.

Last week we talked with a woman who championed a law that requires sites like Backpage.com to obtain documentation proving that the escorts they advertise are at least 18. But in addition to these laws, what else should be done to protect children from the world of sex trafficking? Nicholas Kristof, columnist for our partner The New York Times, has delved extensively into this question.

A UN-backed deadline for a ceasefire in Syria has passed, with government forces again shelling the central city of Homs. Jonathan Head, correspondent for our partner the BBC, reports from a refugee camp on the Turkey-Syrian border where Kofi Annan is scheduled to visit today.

In Iraq, the Christian community continues to suffer from intimidation and threats of violence, and the number of Christians in the country has dropped drastically following the U.S. invasion nine years ago in 2003. Rami Ruhayem is a correspondent for our partner the BBC, who has found that even though the levels of violent attacks have dropped recently, there is still a climate of fear.

We talk to BBC correspondent Damian Grammaticas, who was among a group of foreign journalists taken by train to North Korea's north-west coast to see the final preparations for the rocket launch, and the New York Times' Steven Erlanger explains the demands that the U.S. and its allies are planning before a new round of negotiations with Iran.

China's Communist Party faces a leadership transition this year, and is showing increasing concern about gossip over a foiled coup. The Liberation Army Daily, China's top military newspaper, has warned troops to ignore any rumors they hear and steel themselves for an "ideological struggle" as the Communist Party undergoes changes to its central leadership. Viv Marsh is the Asia-Pacific editor for our partner the BBC.

Twenty years ago today, Serb militants opened fire on thousands of peace demonstrators in Sarajevo, the Muslim-led capitol city of the newly independent state of Bosnia-Hercegovina. The attack set off what would become the longest siege of a capitol city in modern warfare — lasting from April 5, 1992 to February 29, 1996. We talk to Nadja Halilbegovich, born and raised in Sarajevo, who still has mortar in her body from the days of the siege, and Barbara Demick, author of "Logavina Street: Life and Death in a Sarajevo Neighborhood," which hits bookstores this month.

Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton has announced that the U.S. is ready to begin easing sanctions against Myanmar. Sunday's elections saw pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi and her party won 43 of the 45 seats up for grabs in the country. Clinton announced an easing of investment restrictions as well as intentions to name an ambassador to Myanmar and the establishment of a U.S. Agency for International Development. Rachel Harvey is a correspondent for our partner the BBC.

Rafid Ahmed Alwan al-Janabi is one of the most important people in the 20st Century, but most people only know him by his CIA codename: "Curveball." Mr. Janabi was a CIA informant whose information helped lead the nation to invade Iraq and begin one of the costliest wars in US history. Curveball makes his first public appearance in a two-part BBC documentary entitled "Modern Spies." The documentary presents a complicated character aware of the implications of his actions but unwavering in his reasoning. Michael Rudin, who produced the series, explains what it was like to speak to the man who helped bring two nations to war.

In the ongoing reporting of the Syrian uprising, there has been little information about the violence committed against women. Using a creative web based tool, our guest hopes to fix that. Lauren Wolfe is the director of Women Under Siege, a Women's Media Center project that has co-created a site to crowd-source data of violence against women. The first of its kind, this live, web-based map gives the world access to information on the violent uprising that has been, until now, impossible to report due to Syria's strictly monitored borders.

Syria says that it will start to implement Kofi Annan's six-point peace plan. But skeptics fear that Syria's government will not fully comply with the plan or with its April 10 deadline. The plan calls for a UN-supervised ceasefire by all parties, withdrawal of soldiers and heavy weapons from cities, and delivery of humanitarian aid. Barbara Plett, UN correspondent for our partner the BBC, joins us with her exclusive reporting from the region.

The story of Specialist Dennis Weichel is deeply tragic but shows a side of U.S. troops in Afghanistan that we haven't heard about recently, with the Koran burnings, drone attacks killing civilians, and the case of Sergeant Robert Bales. Rod Nordland is the foreign correspondent for our partner the New York Times.

After years under house arrest, on Sunday pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi was elected to serve in the Myanmar parliament. Rachel Harvey from our partner the BBC reports from Myanmar, where she speaks with those celebrating the election results.

Over the weekend, Friends of Syria, an organization of 60 nations created to support the Syrian opposition, gathered in Istanbul for yet another meeting on the seemingly unending revolt against President Bashar al-Assad. The meeting concluded with real results: Arab nations promised $100 million to pay the Syrian opposition fighters and the United States promised communications equipment and another $12 million in humanitarian aid. Is that enough to help the struggling opposition? Amr Al Azm, member of the Syrian opposition and professor of history and anthropology at Shawnee State University, explains. 

The British government is moving forward with a proposal to allow its intelligence agency, GCHQ, to monitor calls, emails, texts and online searches of everyone inside the U.K.'s borders. Robert Schifreen is an IT consultant in England, and argues that the GCHQ has been monitoring citizen's activities for quite some time, but passing a law such as the one proposed will make intercepted information admissible in court.

Over the weekend, pro-democracy activist and Nobel Peace Prize winner Aung San Suu Kyi was elected to Myanmar’s parliament in a landmark vote. It’s a historic moment for the country; after years of house arrest, Suu Kyi appears poised to finally step into a role of real power. What's the best way to build a real democracy? Do events in Myanmar offer a model for democratic transitions elsewhere? Suzanne DiMaggio is Vice President for global policy programs at the Asia Society. Robert Lieber is professor of government and international affairs at Georgetown University.

One week ago, Mohammed Merah, a 23-year-old Frenchman of Algerian descent, was shot dead by French security forces following a dramatic 32-hour police standoff. Questions remain about the attack itself: Did Merah act alone? And why didn’t French officials catch him before the rampage? Takeaway producer Arwa Gunja has been in France this week as a reporting fellow with the International Center for Journalists, and spoke with community members about their reaction to both the attacks and the tragedy’s fallout.