Arabic Video News in English

Mexico’s struggle against drug gangs is made more difficult by the ease with which powerful weapons can be bought in the United States and smuggled over the border. It is almost impossible to legally purchase a gun in Mexico– there are no gun stores, the licensing procedures are very strict, and penalties for illegal possession are harsh– yet, ironically, the country is awash in powerful firearms, with a thriving underground trade in every city. Al Jazeera’s senior Washington correspondent Rob Reynolds discovers how easy it is to buy a gun in Mexico- and the toll gun-related violence is taking on Mexican society.

Drug traffickers in Colombia are finding ever more inventive ways of transporting narcotics out of the country.

Colombia is the world’s main producer and distributor of cocaine. As police continue their efforts to crack down on the drug cartels - they’re finding the battle is not only on land, in the sky or on the sea - but underwater.

Teresa Bo reports.

It’s estimated around one hundred and twenty thousand Russians die each year from drug and alcohol abuse. Now Dmitry Medvedev - Vladimir Putin’s likely successor - has promised to tackle the problem if he’s elected president on March 2nd.

But under Putin, Russia’s substance abuse victims have been largely ignored by an administration more keen on promoting its social achievements.

In the third of our series on the State of Russia, Jonah Hull reports from the city of Perm in the Ural Mountains about the problem claiming so many young lives.

The Pulse looks at the controversial drug being used to treat blood cancers.

The Pulse looks at the controversial drug being used to treat blood cancers.