please join me in welcoming journalists and author, lindsey hilsum. [applause] [applause] liy, let's start with you talking about your reporting trips to the region last year. tell us about how you were able to navigate the w urcoatite n, a ten o the people that you observed and interacted with them. i would just like to add, in addition to providing a hiy ibwhhenrivo done is we've and profiles of libyans, both who had been in the country all along, and some who have returned to libya , to help us better understand how the revolution had an impact on ordinary people. >> ank you very much for ming. chago isn azingplace, a waom tripoli.iev lng lester, the arab spring, i guess that was the year i went into journalism for. it was the most extraordinary time. it was a time when histy was happening all aroundu. sldoww stisngen. this is a story which is only just starting. but i have been covering and think that covering the middle east for about 20 years. none of us knew when or how the lid of this would come of. ah sicide of a vegetable seller in tunisia.

. >> brown: then, lindsey hilsum

. >> suarez: lindsey hilsum of independent television news reports from libya where excitement and anxiety build in advance of saturday's historic election. >> for four decades only one was allowed. now thousands of faces look out from billboards across libya. it's almost too much to believe. >> woodruff: david brooks and e.j. dionne analyze the week's news. ♪ ♪ >> suarez: plus, jeffrey brown visits a music festival where up and coming musicians and opera singers study with the greats. >> it's not about you, it's about the full program. it's about getting audiences to enjoy this, to love this as much as we do. >> woodruff: that's all ahead on tonight's newshour. major funding for the pbs newshour has been provided by: ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ >> moving our economy for 160 years. bnsf, the engine that connects us. >> and by the bill and melinda gates foundation. dedicated to the idea that all people deserve the chance to live a healthy, productive life. >> and with the ongoing support of these institutions and foundations. and... this program was made possible by the corporation for public broadcasting. a

. >> brown: then, lindsey hilsum of itn updates the war in syria, as tens of thousands of refugees flee the escalating violence. >> suarez: judy woodruff checks in from florida. she reports on the president's push in that battleground state, and the pause in both candidates' campaigns after the colorado shootings. >> brown: and david brooks and e.j. dionne analyze the week's news. >> suarez: a follow-up to our rent story about smart meters used to monitor energy use. spencer michels reports on california activists who want to ban them. >> pacific gas & electric one of the nation's largest utilities has had to fight a coalition of people who suspect, among other things, that smart meters may be bad for your health. >> brown: that's all ahead on tonight's newshour. >> major funding for the pbs newshour has been provided by: ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ moving our economy for 160 years. bnsf, the engine that connects us. >> and by the bill and melinda gates foundation. dedicated to the idea that all people deserve the chance to live a healthy, productive life. >> and with the ongoing support of these insti

we have a report narrated by lindsey hilsum of independent television news. . >> protestors blocked theto damascus international airport today. a very public signal. president bashar al sad o upon ens are bringing the war ever nearer his seat of power. video released by the local free syrian army shares one of their member firing at a tank stuck down an alleyway. this is the second day of fighting in damascus. the syrian military has brought armour on to the streets to counter the rebels and helicopter gunships are firing into the city. >> the humanitarian situation on the ground is very, very bad. lots of wounded people are still lying in the streets. and there are-- they are calling for help, but getting nothing. >> but not far away, men are shouting god bless you to soldiers who have abandoned their tanks and given up the fight. assad's foot soldiers are sunnies like the men they're fighting. some will join the rebels, others may just want to save their skin. u.n. observers whose mandate expires this week set out for the suburbs today. u.n. envoy coffee annan is in-- kofi aan is in m

lindsey hilsum of independent television news reports. >> reporter: he was the highest ranking christiant bashar al-assad's government. the funeral of defense minister daoud rajha was held at the greek orthodox church of the holy cross in damascus this morning. ( cheers and applause ) the congregation cheered the syrian army, whom they see as their protectors, even as they mourned the minister and three other security officials killed apparently by a bomb on wednesday. as the coffin was taken away for burial, they cheered president assad. a mile or so to the south, the suburb of midan bears the scars of several days of fighting. the rebel free syrian army ceased control earlier in the week. but today, government forces took it back. the rebels can mount hit and run attacks, but they still can't hold onto territory in the capital, as the government counters with artillery and heavy weapons. a few people tentatively returned to their homes. tens of thousands of others, though, are driving to the border with lebanon. they fear that this is just the beginning of the battle for damascus. peop