Couchsurfing: a new way to travel on friendship (video)

The short documentary describes the travels of three "couchsurfers" - modern nomadic travelers who move around the world on friendship.

David is a French former business and management student who was employed as a sales representative for several years. He says that he lives most of the time on around $100 a month. He even lived in Spain for one month, totally without money.

Begz is a Mongolian who works in a public library and is married with four children. Begz accommodates many couchsurfers in his home... read full article and view video.

Shenzhou-9 successfully docks with Tiangong-1 (video)

In China's first manned space flight, the 3 astronauts on Shenzhou-9 have successfully docked with the Tiangong-1 module and are settling into their new home-from-home.

Digital Journal reported on June 16 on the successful launch of the Shenzhou-9 spacecraft, on its way to docking with the Tiangong-1 module.

On Monday, the space craft had a successful rendezvous and docking with the Tiangong-1 module. The docking was computer controlled. However, there was a manual override in place for the astronauts to use in case of problems.... read more and view video.

Ocean X returns to the Baltic Sea in search of possible UFO

In June last year, Swedish treasure hunters found a bizarre, disk-like object 90 meters under the Baltic Sea. Speculation is that this is a UFO and a return expedition is now ongoing. 

On June 19, 2011, Swedish treasure hunters were exploring the bottom of the Baltic Sea with their sonars, when they noticed a bizarre structure at a depth of 90 meters. International experts have failed to explain these sonar images. 

 The team describe the object as being covered in soot, with small "fireplace"-like structures, lying at the end of a 300-meter "runway". The object is huge, and rises three or four meters above the seabed and is approximately 60 meters in diameter... read more and view video.

Amazonians 'free the Xingu River' prior to Rio+20 UN Earth Summit

There has been much controversy about the construction of the Belo Monte Dam in Brazil. On June 15, the people did something about it, and freed their river.

As reported on Digital Journal in April, the Belo Monte dam project is a controversial one.It is slated to be the 3rd largest hydroelectric project in the world. This dam would divert 80% of the Xingu River's flow through artificial canals, which would flood over 600 square kilometers of rainforest.

It would also dry out a 100 kilometer stretch of the river known as the "Big Bend", home to hundreds of indigenous and riverine families.... read more and view photos.

China launches 1st manned space flight, with woman astronaut

Three Chinese astronauts, including China's first female astronaut, blasted off in the Shenzhou-9 spacecraft today in the country's first manned space flight.

Launching the first manned space docking mission in China, and including the country's first ever woman astronaut, the Shenzhou-9 spacecraft launched successfully at 10:37 GMT from Jiuquan launch center in north-west Gansu province.

China has now moved one step closer to becoming the second nation in the world performing regular space flights... read more and watch video.

Deadly legacy of Agent Orange spreads to Japan

U.S. veterans have told the Japan Times that the Marine Corps buried a massive stockpile of Agent Orange at the Futenma air station in Okinawa, Japan. 

This buried stockpile has possibly poisoned the base's former head of maintenance and is potentially contaminating the ground beneath the base, as well as nearby residents... read more

Water in Gaza not fit for human consumption say charities

Save the Children and Medical Aid for Palestinians say that the water in Gaza is unfit for human consumption, as it is contaminated with fertilizers and sewage.

After five years of the blockade, the sanitary conditions have now reached a crisis point. The only source of running water in Gaza is too dangerous for humans to consume. 

In a new report, the charitable organizations have called on Israel to immediately lift its blockade so that crucial sanitation equipment can be sent into Gaza... read more

Will Julian Assange be handed over to U.S. after Sweden?

Now that Julian Assange's appeal against extradition has failed, fears are that he will then be shipped on from Sweden to the U.S.A.

Digital Journal reported on June 14 that Assange's appeal to the U.K. Supreme Court to reopen his extradition case had been denied.

He is due to be extradited to Sweden in two weeks, where he is wanted for questioning over allegations of sexual assault and rape. 

It is feared that once in Sweden, he is likely to then be sent on to the U.S.A.The U.S. Government has apparently issued a secret, closed indictment against Assange. Because of this he will be branded a terrorist and a fair trial seems very unlikely should he be sent to the U.S.A.... read more

Microsoft & Yahoo selling personal info for political gain

Just when you thought that internet privacy was already at its worst, along comes Microsoft and Yahoo, selling your information to politicians for campaign targeting gains.

Politicians want your votes, and with modern technology such as it is, they have found the best way to target you with advertising in order to get those votes.

According to a 2010 article on the Wall Street Journal, there is nothing new to this practice. Its been going on for quite some time.

However, if you have an account with either Microsoft or Yahoo, you should be aware that these companies are selling your sensitive personal data to political campaigns, to help them target specific audiences... read more.

UK court rejects appeal — Assange to be extradited to Sweden

The Supreme Court in the U.K. has officially denied the appeal by WikiLeaks founder, Julian Assange, to re-open his extradition case.

Digital Journal reported on May 30 that Julian Assange had lost his first extradition appeal, but that the court had allowed him 14 more days in the country to try and re-open the appeal.

Today the Supreme Court has officially denied his appeal, and he is due to be extradited to Sweden within the next ten days... read more.