Uruguay preparing for pot legalization

Published on 28 Oct 2013 | Pot smokers in Uruguay are happy. Lighting up a joint is expected to be made legal any day now. And so is the production and distribution of marijuana, as the government tries to undermine the drugs cartels. Monica Villamizar reports from Monevideo.

First-Ever Case of Canadian Mining Company Going To Trial In Canada For Alleged Abuses Abroad

Published on 27 Oct 2013 | The trial of HudBay Minerals marks a first-time legal precedent of a Canadian company being held to account in Canadian courts for alleged shootings and gang rapes in Guatemala.

How the Internet Has Changed the News (VOA Oct. 25)

Published on 25 Oct 2013 | VOA multimedia reporter Kate Woodsome joins On Assignment's Imran Siddiqui to talk about the effects of the Internet age on reporting. Kate says covering breaking news on the Web is like being an air traffic controller -- sifting through multiple sources of information to get to the heart of what's happening.

Singapore to buy French Aster-30 surface-to-air missile system

Published on 18 Oct 2013 | Originally published on September 17, 2013 

Singapore will acquire a new European-made missile system named the Aster-30, the country's Defence Minister Ng Eng Hen said this week.

The city-state will buy the new surface-to-air missiles to replace the aging I-HAWK, already in service for 30 years, the minister announced on Monday.

"The Aster will allow us to engage multiple threats simultaneously and from a longer distance," Dr Ng told parliament. 

The Aster, developed by French firm MBDE Systems, like the I-HAWK from U.S. contractor Raytheon, is just over five meters in length, though it is 140 kilograms lighter and has a greater range than the I-HAWK.

Both systems rely on networked sensors for targeting information, though the Aster's are more advanced. The I-HAWK has a maximum range of 45 km. 

The Aster-30 has a range of 70 km and is more effective at engaging multiple air threats simultaneously.

Singapore has the largest defense budget in Southeast Asia, due to a cashed-up government benefiting from the country's robust economic growth.

It has set aside SG$12.34 billion ($9.8 billion) for defense in 2013, up from Sg$11.83 billion the previous year, the website Defence News reported.

Protesters in Cambodian capital call elections fraudulent

Published on 23 Oct 2013 | In Cambodia, there has been a large demonstration in the capital Phnom Penh. Opposition parties say national elections earlier this year were fraudulent. They want foreign intervention to force an investigation.

Following Nationwide Strikes, Bangladesh Garment Workers Win Minimum Wage Increase

Published on 21 Oct 2013 | Striking Bangladesh garment workers closed 20% of the country's garment production to achieve victory.

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Radioactive Rainwater Overwhelms Fukishima Nuclear Plant

Published on 22 Oct 2013 | Heavy rains have overwhelmed containment tankers at the crippled Fukushima Daiichi plant

what is the ruling nation of the world does?

Published on 21 Oct 2013 | France and other countries have demanded prompt explanations from Washington following fresh spying allegations leaked by former US security contractor Edward Snowden.Reports in Le Monde and German weekly Der Spiegel have revealed that the National Security Agency secretly recorded tens of millions of phone calls in France and hacked into former Mexican President Felipe Calderon's email account.

Ingenious homes in unexpected places

Published on Oct 16, 2013 | Iwan Baan speaking : In the center of Caracas, Venezuela, stands the 45-story "Tower of David," an unfinished, abandoned skyscraper. But about eight years ago, people started moving in. Photographer Iwan Baan shows how people build homes in unlikely places, touring us through the family apartments of Torre David, a city on the water in Nigeria, and an underground village in China. Glorious images celebrate humanity's ability to survive and make a home -- anywhere.

Gold Fever - Trailer for the 88 minute documentary

Goldcorp Inc arrives in a remote village in Guatemala. Soon follows blown up mountains, despoiled water supplies and broken promises over jobs. As the gold frenzy brings in a profits bonanza for the company, the community launches a powerful resistance struggle. Dynamic and beautiful quality, this film provides a powerful look at the reality of what it means when gold miners dig into the 3rd world.

David Cameron's gunning for The Guardian.

Grilling Guardian: 'Cameron declares war on investigative journalism'?

Published on Oct 17, 2013 | The British Prime Minister has called for an investigation into whether the Guardian newspaper broke the law - by publishing the Edward Snowden leaks that sent shockwaves about American surveillance worldwide. A parliamentary committee is now looking into it.

Millions affected by east India cyclone floods

Published on 16 Oct 2013 | Millions of people across eastern India are bracing themselves for more flooding as Cyclone Phailin continues to batter the coast. Emergency services are struggling to deliver aid as rising water levels sweep away roads. Cyclone Phailin menaced India for days, and while the states where the fierce storm made landfall were well prepared for its fury, the surrounding area has been caught by surprise. Twelve million people across East India have been affected by heavy rain and flooding. Al Jazeera's Nidhi Dutt reports from West Bengal, one of the worst hit regions.

Another U.S. Whistleblower Jailed? Investor Jailed After Exposing Corrupt Azerbaijani Oil Deal 1/3

Published on 15 Oct 2013 | In a Democracy Now exclusive, we look at the case of multi-millionaire American businessman and philanthropist Rick Bourke, who blew the whistle on a fraudulent scheme by international criminals to gain control of the oil riches of the former Soviet Republic of Azerbaijan -- only to end up as the only person sent to jail by federal prosecutors in the massive conspiracy. Since May, Bourke has been held in a federal prison, serving a term of one year and one day for violating the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act for alleged knowledge of the bribery that allegedly took place in 1998.

Other investors in the Azerbaijan scheme included former Democratic Senate Majority leader George Mitchell, and major institutions including Columbia University and AIG, but no one else was jailed in the United States. High-ranking former U.S. and British officials from the CIA and MI6 have raised serious concerns about the conviction of Bourke in part because the key witnesses during his trial were allegedly intelligence assets working for the U.S. government. They are not the only ones who question Bourke's guilt. Even the judge in his case has admitted having doubts. At the time of Bourke's sentencing, Shira Scheindlin of the Federal District Court said, "After 10 years of supervising this case, it is still not entirely clear to me whether Mr. Bourke was a victim, or a crook, or a little bit of both." We speak to Bourke's lawyer, the law professor and renowned attorney Michael Tigar, as well as former Washington Post reporter Scott Armstrong. "Why is it that they would go after the guy that blew the whistle on the thievery and bribery, Rick Bourke?" Tigar asks. "Why is it that the Czech citizen and the guy, the ex-patriot, and the German-Swiss lawyer all are walking free; the American citizen, philanthropist, and so on, is sitting in a minimum security jail? Well, investment in the Azerbaijan hydrocarbon industry is now safely in the hands of major petroleum companies. Is that a reason?"

Bosnia holds first post-war census

Published on 1 Oct 2013 | Bosnia is holding its first post-war census, a process which could stir tensions and dramatically alter the balance of power between the country's three main ethnic groups.The 1995 Dayton peace agreement introduced a political system in which Muslims - known as Bosniaks - Serbs and Croats were Bosnia's "constituent peoples" and the only ones with access to top state and legislative positions.