PROGRAM NOTES 11/08/13- This weeks show features stories from RADIO DEUTSCHE-WELLE, NHK WORLD RADIO JAPAN, RADIO HAVANA CUBA, and THE VOICE OF RUSSIA.

From GERMANY Germany believes that Britain is helping the US spy on government buildings in Berlin. The German government will not give asylum to US whistleblower Edward Snowden. The historic spying scandals have brought light to the vulnerability of online personal data- an in-depth conversation with French defenders of citizens online rights.

From JAPAN- A NYT report says that the NSA has been spying on Japan for economic and technological advantage. China is angry that the foreign press doubted that the deadly car crash in Tiananmen Square was the work of Uyghur terrorists. Iran's supreme leader Khamenei agrees with the nuclear negotiations being led by President Rouhani. In his first public appearance since July, Egypt's deposed President Morsi was confrontational in court.

From CUBA- The UN panel on Climate Change has warned of threats to the world food supply caused by global warming. In Greece a protestor was arrested for throwing a fistful of coins at an IMF official. NW Pakistan officials have voted to block NATO supply deliveries if the US drone strikes continue. Palestinian authorities say there will be no peace talk with Israel if expansion into the occupied West Bank continues.

From RUSSIA- An interview with a woman investigating BP oil company's continued use of Corexit, an oil dispersant, in the Gulf of Mexico. Corexit is highly toxic and banned in many areas including offshore in the UK.

"This Administration also puts forward a false choice between the liberties we cherish and the security we demand... That means no more illegal wire-tapping of American citizens. No more national security letters to spy on citizens who are not suspected of a crime. No more tracking citizens who do nothing more than protest a misguided war. No more ignoring the law when it is inconvenient. That is not who we are. And it is not what is necessary to defeat the terrorists... We will again set an example for the world that the law is not subject to the whims of stubborn rulers, and that justice is not arbitrary."
-- Barack Obama, 2007