How Romania wastes EU funds and Brussels shrugs

Romania received EU funds to close a substandard landfill and implement better waste standards. Since then, little has changed — and no one feels responsible.

Can Americans trust their electoral system? | Conflict Zone

 

A deeply divided United States is heading towards its election between President Donald Trump and his Democratic opponent, Joe Biden, with polls showing many people are afraid of violence after their ballots are cast.

US orders Chinese consulate in Houston to be closed

In a further escalation of tension between the world's two biggest economies, the United States has ordered China to close its consulate in Houston, Texas. The US State Department said it was a necessary measure to protect American intellectual property, including coronavirus vaccine research.

Too Young to Say "I Do" - Child Marriage in Indonesia

Ibu Rayhan was married off at the age of eleven and became pregnant soon afterwards. Today she is fighting to stop child marriages in Indonesia. On the Indonesian island of Lombok, men traditionally have the say. Women and girls are expected to obey their wishes. In Indonesia, around one in every seven girls is married before the age of 18. Instead of attending school or getting an education, many child brides are subjected to beatings and abuse. Ibu Rayhan knows this only too well; she was married off at the age of 11. Now, together with Ulla, a fellow activist, she visits villages on Lombok and tries to change attitudes -- especially among the boys.

Visiting North Korea | DW Documentary

Anyone venturing behind the world’s last Iron Curtain into North Korea will experience a very different country to the one we know only through the usual images of rocket launches and mass rallies. The country is ruled by the dictator Kim Jong Un, whom the people worship - or are made to worship - as a god-like father figure. Little is known about daily life in North Korea, because all images that reach the outside world have been censored by the government. Visitors rarely see evidence of oppression, enforced conformity and starvation in the rural population. Still, journalist Luca Faccio is able to offer some interesting insights into the isolated country - although, of course, government watchdogs are on his heels everywhere he goes.

Banana's And Republics

How did United Fruit Company - now known as "Chiquita" - turn into a multinational empire that could downgrade Central American nations to easily manipulated "banana republics" and destroy millions of hectares with monocultures? Using the banana as an example, this documentary shows how globalized capitalism actually works. The documentary ‘On Bananas and Republics’ uses rare archival images, many unpublished, to illustrate the history of the United Fruit Company. Founded in the 19th century, the company held the monopoly over the world banana trade for almost a hundred years.