(CNN) -- Check out the Road to Durban route map. Each month on our trip through Europe and Africa on our way to Durban for the 17th session of the United Nations Convention on Climate Change (UNFCC) in December, we'll add a new map of our latest destination. On each country map, click on the markers to watch the video.
AF447 pilot: 'Damn it, we're going to crash'
Book reveals chaos in Air France cockpit
STORY HIGHLIGHTS
- The data comes from flight recorders that lay on the sea bed for nearly two years
- The book "Erreurs de Pilotage" (Pilot Error) details the last two minutes of flight
- The BEA and Air France have both condemned publication of the transcript
- They say it shows a lack of respect for the victims
New extracts from the cockpit voice recorder reveal that three seconds before impact, one of the crew exclaimed: "Damn it, we're going to crash, this can't be true!"
Data from the flight recorders that were recovered after nearly two years on the sea bed previously revealed clues about why the plane crashed on its way to France from Brazil.
France's Bureau of Investigation and Analysis, the BEA, has said the crisis began after problems arose with the Airbus A330's devices that measure its speed, and disconnection of the autopilot. It also said the recorders revealed that the pilots failed to discuss repeated stall warnings.
Controversy over AF447 transcript release 
Final moments of Air France 447 crash The plane plunged 38,000 feet in just three minutes and 30 seconds but the recording -- as reported in the book -- illustrates that the crew didn't understand why the plane was not responding.
In one extract, a co-pilot says: "Climb, climb, climb." But his colleague answers: "But I've been pulling back on the stick for a while now."
In a computer-generated voice, the plane's warning system keeps repeating the word "Stall!"
The captain warns: "Watch out, you are pulling up." A co-pilot replies: "Am I pulling up?"
The BEA has strongly condemned the disclosure of the transcript, which it says is a violation of European regulations and shows a lack of respect for the late crew members.
"Any attempt at interpretation at this stage is partial and, as a result, can only fan the flames of the controversies of the last few months, which is harmful to all concerned," it said in a statement.
Air France has also reacted to what it calls "sensationalized and unverifiable information," which it says "impairs the memory of the crew and passengers who lost their lives."
CNN's aviation correspondent Richard Quest says the material gives a "dramatic insight into what was happening" but adds that it doesn't add anything new to the ongoing investigation.
He also says the inquiry poses questions about how difficult modern airliners are to fly in extreme situations.
The Air France statement says further work is necessary on what it calls the "delicate issue of human-machine interface."
The BEA has already issued 10 new safety recommendations, including ensuring extra training for pilots on manual handling of a high-altitude stall, and says new safety recommendations will be issued in the final report on the accident, due to be published in June next year.
Detention hearing set for Syrian-born American in spying case
Protesters shout slogans during a demonstration against the Syrian government in front of the White House in July.
STORY HIGHLIGHTS
- The Syrian Embassy denies the allegations
- The man could face a maximum of 40 years in jail
- The charges come amid Syria's tough crackdown on protesters
Federal prosecutors in Virginia will ask that Mohamad Anas Heitham Soueid, 47, continue to be held, saying he is a flight risk.
Soueid, of Leesburg, Virginia, was charged October 5 with conspiring to collect video and audio recordings and other information about people "in the United States and Syria who were protesting the government of Syria and to provide these materials to Syrian intelligence agencies in order to silence, intimidate and potentially harm the protestors," the Justice Department said Wednesday.
The Syrian Embassy in Washington responded Wednesday by denying the allegations, saying Soueid never worked for the Syrian government to spy on protesters.
Soueid was arrested Tuesday after a federal grand jury charged him in a six-count indictment.
He is charged with conspiring to act and acting as an agent of the Syrian government in the United States without notifying the attorney general as required by law; two counts of providing false statements on a firearms purchase form; and two counts of providing false statements to federal law enforcement, the Justice Department said.
This comes amid Syria's seven-month-long crackdown against protesters.
"Today's indictment alleges that the defendant acted as an unregistered agent of the Syrian government as part of an effort to collect information on people in this country protesting the Syrian government crackdown. I applaud the many agents, analysts and prosecutors who helped bring about today's case," said Lisa Monaco, assistant attorney general for national security.
The indictment says Soueid has been an agent of the Syrian Mukhabarat, a reference to Syrian intelligence agencies.
"At no time while acting as an agent of the government of Syria in this country did Soueid provide prior notification to the Attorney General as required by law, the indictment alleges," the Justice Department said.
U.N. rights chief urges 'immediate' international steps to protect Syrians
Supporters of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad wave Syrian flags during a pro-regime rally in Damascus on October 12.
STORY HIGHLIGHTS
- NEW: Activist group says at least 12 dead on Friday
- The death total in Syria includes at least 187 children, the United Nations says
- Activist reports clashes between military defectors and security
- Obama administration officials testify before a House panel
"The onus is on all members of the international community to take protective action in a collective and decisive manner, before the continual ruthless repression and killings drive the country into a full-blown civil war," said U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights Navi Pillay, in a written statement describing a dire human rights situation in Syria.
Her remarks came as protesters took to the streets Friday in various Syrian cities, a nationwide outpouring supporting the "free army," a reference to personnel who have defected from President Bashar al-Assad's military and to the recently formed Syrian Free Army. At least 12 people were reported dead in the latest protests, according to Syrian Observatory, an activist group.
Pillay said the government has "manifestly failed to protect its population" and has "ignored the international community's calls to cooperate with international investigations," she said.
"At stake are the universal rights to life, liberty and security of person which must never be brushed aside in the interests of realpolitik. The international community must speak with one voice and act to protect the Syrian people."
U.S. official: 'Multiple' sources strengthen case against Iran
Obama: 'There will be consequences'
STORY HIGHLIGHTS
- NEW: U.S. ambassador to U.N. met with Iranian counterpart, State Dept. officials say
- "Unusual but serious" picture emerged from verified sources, official tells CNN
- Large wire transfers of cash were key to showing plot was real, official says
- U.S. offering "specialized briefings" to other nations, State Dept. official says
When U.S. officials first learned of the alleged plot, "there were significant doubts there was any 'there' there," the official said. But "multiple sources of independently verified information" corroborated the account, the official said. "It coalesced into a picture of something unusual but serious," the official said.
The official said a key indicator that the plot was real was the wire transfer of large sums of cash.
The United States is offering "specialized briefings" to officials in other countries who have sought more information about the alleged plot, said State Department spokesman Victoria Nuland. She cited Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov as having wanted more information.
Why Iran may have wanted ambassador dead 
Fareed: Growing militant element in Iran 
Feinstein: Iran plot was real 
Santorum: Iran must not have nukes The news came on the same day that the United States reported having had "direct contact with Iran" about the alleged plot and as the Obama administration ratcheted up its rhetoric against the Islamic republic.
Official: Drone attack kills Al-Awlaki's son in Yemen
U.S.-born militant cleric Anwar al-Awlaki was killed in a drone strike in Yemen on September 30.
STORY HIGHLIGHTS
- The son had been hiding in the mountains for more than eight months, the official says
- The Awlaki family did not want to comment
- The strikes also kill the head media officer of AQAP
The attacks, carried out in the Shabwa district, killed seven suspected militants, the defense ministry said. It would not confirm that Abdul Rahman Anwar Awlaki was among them.
The senior security official in Shabwa, who did not want to be named because he is not authorized to speak to the media, said the younger Awlaki had been hiding in the mountains of Shabwa for more than eight months. He had first-hand knowledge of the death, he said.
The Awlaki family did not want to comment.
On September 30, a U.S. drone strike killed Anwar al-Awlaki, a U.S.-born miltant cleric who was a key leader of the terrorist group al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP).
President Barack Obama hailed that death as a "major blow" for the terror group.
Friday night's attack also killed Ibrahim al-Banna, the head media officer for AQAP, the Yemeni defense ministry said.
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