Sergeant Bales has revealed he will plead guilty when he goes on trial this week for massacring 17 Afghan civilians. With exceptional access, this report confronts the accusations that Bales didn't act alone.
Chief investigator, General Karimi, is suspicious that despite being fully armed Bales freely left his base without raising alarm. "How come he leaves at night and nobody is aware?" One thing however is very clear, the massacre has unleashed a wave of grief and outrage amongst Afghans that is showing no signs of abating: "If I could lay my hands on those infidels, I would rip them apart with my bare hands." SBS
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World - Building the Perfect Bug
- 24' min 40'' sec [2 April 2012]
Mutated superbugs that could kill millions are being engineered by scientists worldwide. But amid fears over their lab security and the rapid spread of bird flu in Indonesia, is the research too risky?
Bird flu is already aggressively lethal but scientists have now engineered a version of H5N1 that can be transmitted atmospherically. This controversial research has not only divided the scientific community but also enraged global security agencies concerned about bioterrorism. Some believe the benefits of research far outweigh any threats; for Dr Racaniello, "much of the rhetoric is simply alarmist and overblown". Yet for science journalist, Laurie Garrett, "[The Spanish flu of 1918] killed 100 million human beings with a 2% kill rate. Jump to the age of globalisation, and imagine a 50% kill rate." Is it just a matter of time before an outbreak of a devastating global pandemic?
ABC Australia
(Ref: 5479)
Sierra Leone - Zainabu's Big Decision
- 7' min 15'' sec [5 March 2012]
Decade on from war Sierra Leone still lacks healthcare
Married at 15, Zainabu has 9 children. Living in a small hut in Sierra Leone, she struggles to provide for them. Now she is fighting traditional views of family planning to change their future.
The new family planning clinic near Zainabu's village has caused a mixed reaction: traditional beliefs still dominate here. "I'm young to have so many children: it earns me respect", argues Sullay, Zainabu's husband. But a woman here has a one in eight chance of dying in childbirth. However, for Zainabu what's more important is that she and her husband cannot offer their existing children a brighter future if they continue to have more.
Lambent Productions
(Ref: 5332)
Portugal - Bull Breakers
- 11' min 24'' sec [2 April 2012]
Bullfighting has long been a male-dominated sport, but a group of women in Portugal are fighting against the tradition. But what's driving this controversial new interest in female bullfighting?
Meet the country's first female 'forcados' group, doing battle not only with the animals, but with male prejudice, too. "Girls are not for this!" There is little support for them from men in the bullfighting world, and condemnation from animal rights groups protesting outside Lisbon's main bullring. But the women persevere, because they are determined to overcome the prejudice that tries to keep them out of the sport.
SBS
