The school siege at Beslan was the bloodiest act of terrorism ever to take place on Russian soil. Yet beyond this horrible truth remain many unanswered questions. There is no agreement on who the terrorists were. How many they numbered? Where they came from? How they got to Beslan? What they wanted? Whether they were all killed or captured? And just how the siege which began on September 1 2004, e
When world-famous investigative journalist Anna Politkovskaya, one of President Putin's fiercest and most effective critics, was assassinated last October in Moscow, there was international outrage.At home, her colleagues at her newspaper, Novaya Gazeta, were determined that an investigation into her murder was not going to run into the sand, like so many before. So they set up their own priva
Award-winning filmmaker Kim Jung Eun (Shadows and Whispers: The Struggle of North Korean Refugees) lays bare the cruel realities of daily life in North Korea, presenting powerful undercover footage and interviews with defectors fleeing the regime. Working as secret cameramen, the dissidents that Jung Eun meets film public executions and concentration camps to expose the subjugated existence of a n
As Tibetan protesters take to the streets in the biggest and most bloody challenge to Chinese rule in nearly 20 years, Dispatches reports on the hidden reality of life under Chinese occupation after spending three months undercover, deep inside the region. Dozens are feared dead after the recent clashes and crackdown by Chinese troops, but with reporting so rigidly controlled from the region littl
North Korea lies somewhere between a 1930′s Soviet Union frozen in time and a dark, futuristic vision of society… as imagined back in the 70′s.Land of Whispers invites you to visit arguably the most unique and isolated travel destination in the world – not to criticize, but to observe and listen.Aside from usual highlights such as Pyongyang or Arirang, this unique one-man documentary bring
Panorama find themselves with unique access to one of the most unusual academic institutions, situated in North Korea its surprising that a country renowned for its secrecy and isolation would allow foreign lectures teach the sons of some of the countries most powerful men. This university which is funded by the west is attempting to open the minds of the future elite.
Having ruled Egypt for 30 years, Hosni Mubarak is now 83 years old.Mubarak, then vice-president, was the only candidate to succeed Anwar al-Sadat after the then Egyptian president was assasinated in 1981. He became the fourth president of the Republic; a president who would remain in power for over a quarter of a century. But during this period in Egypt, an important question had started to be
The dramatic stories of North Koreans who are risking everything, including torture and execution, to escape the repression and hunger of their homeland and reach safety in the South.The border between the two Koreas is so heavily guarded that refugees are forced to flee into China, dodging border guards and risking freezing to death crossing the river that divides the two countries. Once in C
With a population of 1.4 billion, the People’s Republic of China is vitally important to the planet. China’s rapid growth impacts the environment locally and globally. In a world affected by globalization, China embodies the phenomenon in both positive and negative ways. China’s modern society provides a better life for many but also brings with it a loss of cultural tradition and natural resource