Teaser: 'The World Tomorrow' Ep. 2: Left & right in 21st century

Tomorrow reveals the second episode of Julian Assange's controversial talk show 'The World Tomorrow'. This time Assange will be interviewing two people.

Last week Digital Journal reported on the first episode of the series in which Julian Assange interviewed Hassan Nasrallah, leader of Hezbollah including a video of the talk show. 

This highly controversial episode caused a media frenzy of both criticism of and praise for Assange, including one media outlet that dubbed him a "puppet for the Kremlin" for his choice of broadcasting channel. 

The second episode features interviews from two opposite points of view on some of the hottest issues in the world today.... read full article and view teaser video.

U.S. troops may stay in Afghanistan until 2024

The plan was for the U.S. to withdraw its troops from Afghanistan by 2014. However, this withdrawal may not be as full as planned.

A National Security adviser has said that the U.S. will help defend the country militarily for approximately a decade after the Afghans take control of their own security.

Rangin Dadfar Spanta, Mr Karzai’s top security adviser, has said that a new strategic pact has been agreed between the U.S. and Afghanistan. Part of this pact implies that the U.S. will not use the country to launch attacks on other countries in the region, including drone strikes.

However he did stress that the U.S. will only aid Afghanistan if approved by Kabul.

Spanta said that Washington may use “diplomatic means, political means, economic means and even military means.” ... read full article.

Egypt cuts natural gas supply to Israel

While insisting the move is not political, Egypt has cut the country's natural gas supply to Israel on Sunday. Egypt cited violations of contractual obligations.

On Sunday, Egypt's Natural Gas Holding Company announced the termination of its contract with Israel. Company head, Mohamed Shoeb has stated that Israel has not paid for its gas in 4 months. Shoeb stated: "This has nothing to do with anything outside of the commercial relations."

Israel purchases 40% of its natural gas supply from Egypt.

This move by Egypt also comes in the wake of cross-border attacks at gas pipelines following last year’s uprising... read full article.

Borat turns Kazakhstan into a desired travel destination

While leaders in Kazakhstan were initially upset at the spoof movie, 'Borat: Cultural Learnings of America for Make Benefit Glorious Nation of Kazakhstan', it seems the exposure has helped the tourism industry in the country.

In 2006 when the satirical film was released, there was an uproar. While the Kazakh Ministry of Foreign Affairs did not ban the movie outright, they did request the film's distributors not to release it in their country.

British comedian of Jewish origin Sacha Baron Cohen released the "mockumentary" and also plays the lead.

The story revolves around a fictitious Kazakh television star, Borat Sagdiyev, who travels to the U.S. in an attempt to improve the image of his home country abroad. He tells people that he is making a documentary on behalf of the imaginary Kazakh Ministry of Information. Many people interviewed in the movie believed he was the real deal.... read full article.

Pentagon's backup plan places 100's of Tomahawks near Iran

While Iran continues to deny that it is developing nuclear weapons, Washington is still concerned and has now deployed approximately 430 Tomahawk missiles in the Persian Gulf.

U.S. Defense Secretary Leon Panetta has reported that their plan for Iran "will be successful" according to CNN's Wolf Blitzer.

In an interview between Blitzer and Panetta, it was advised that Washington has not yet dropped its "all options stance" on Iran. The Pentagon still fears that Tehran may be building nuclear weapons.

Panetta said: “We are prepared with all options on the table if we have to respond," and added "there are plans to deal with Iran if the country does not give up its nuclear ambitions. I don’t think there is any question that if we have to implement that plan, it will be successful.” ... read full article.

Video: Russia & China unite in 'Naval Cooperation 2012'

Russian-Chinese naval maneuvers are on the go in Qingdao, a port in southern China. 4 Russian warships are docked at a Chinese naval base to cooperate on anti-piracy measures.

Normally the warships are situated in the pirate-infested waters near Somalia, but they are taking a break for joint military drills in the Chinese port.

RT reports that the maneuvers have been dubbed "Naval Cooperation 2012" and began on Sunday this week.

When the Russian convoy traveled from Vladivostok, they were frequently followed by NATO reconnaissance destroyers, submarines and planes. However, both Russia and China were quick to stress that these war games are not being directed against a particular military bloc or country.

The Russian-Chinese exercises have been designed to build on the experiences of the two counter-piracy forces in the Gulf of Aden... read full article and view video.

8 U.S. troopers died of opiate overdose in Afghanistan

Investigative reports have shown that 8 U.S. soldiers have died from a heroin overdose or by mixing prescription and other opiate drugs during 2010/2011.

The United States Army Criminal Investigation Command has released a report on 56 U.S. soldiers who were investigated on suspicion of using, possessing or distributing heroin and other opiates. Of the 56 soldiers, 8 have died from an overdose.

CNN reports that the death of the 8 soldiers was shown to be caused by heroin toxicity or by taking a mix of opiate and prescription drugs.

Statistics prepared by the military also indicate that the number of U.S. soldiers based in Afghanistan, who tested positive for heroin has risen from 10 in 2002 up to 116 in 2010... read full article.