RTD Documentary Channel

The range of all aircraft is limited by how much fuel they can carry, but luckily some can take advantage of a filling station in the sky to extend flying time and avoid the need to land. Combat Approved hitches a ride to see the process first hand, along with Russia's airborne tankers and the military planes that rely on them...

The United States remains one of a handful of the developed countries that still carry out executions. 31 states practise capital punishment, with five methods allowed: lethal injection, electric chair, gas chamber, firing squad or hanging. Despite the use of the death penalty being on the decline, public support for it persists. The latest Gallup poll shows that 55 per cent of US citizens support putting convicted murderers to death and 41 per cent oppose it.  Death penalty supporters and opponents...

One day, Japanese student Ryoji Tani decided he would never return to school, locked himself in his bedroom, and then spent eight years in isolation. He was suffering from a condition that has become common in Japan in recent years, when people withdraw from society and shut themselves away in their homes for extended periods. The Japanese call this phenomenon ‘hikikomori.’ This word, which literally means “pulling inwards” is used to describe both the affliction and the afflicted, who are also sometimes referred to as ‘hikki'...

Here’s a look at three countries where women still can’t freely end pregnancies. El Salvador: A crime to miscarry El Salvador’s abortion laws are amongst the most restrictive in the world. Pregnancies can’t legally be terminated under any circumstances in this predominantly Catholic country, even if the life of the mother is in danger. Women found guilty of having an abortion face up to eight years in prison, and even up to 40 in extreme cases. Doctors caught carrying out abortions can be imprisoned for six to 12 years...

Accidentally yanking out a loose baby tooth while helping your child pull off a T-shirt can be enough for Norwegian child protection agency to suspect you of domestic abuse and swing into action. Stories like this regularly send shock waves throughout Norway and beyond, as parents accuse social services of tearing families apart with no justification. Five-year-old Oscar Shianok was taken from school and placed in protective custody without warning after he told his classmates how he lost his tooth...

The Philippines island of Palawan is a real-life paradise: lush tropical rainforest, clear turquoise waters, untouched beaches and year-round sunshine. It is home to unique wildlife and a treasure trove of natural resources, such as nickel and gas. It has turned into a deadly frontline for environmental activists crusading against illegal logging, mining and the industrial takeover of a once-remote destination. Patricia Ortega was at work at a veterinary clinic when she was told her husband was killed...

North Waziristan is a region in northwestern Pakistan on the border with Afghanistan. It is peopled mainly by religiously conservative Pashtun tribes, which have lived primarily outside of government control. The Taliban and Al-Qaeda operated in this mountainous area virtually unhindered for years.  A bloody terrorist attack on Karachi’s Jinnah International Airport in June 2014, in which 26 people died and 18 wounded, proved to be the final straw for the Pakistani authorities. Shortly after that,...

Ten years ago, Georgia launched an assault against South Ossetia, a former province that had declared independence in 1991. Tbilisi’s attempt to retake the rebellious republic failed, as Russia responded with military force and pushed the Georgian Army back. We take a look at what led to the events of 2008. Since at least the early 20th century, friction had dominated relations between Georgia and South Ossetia, which finally escalated into bloody conflict. RELATED: Georgia's Gamble Revisited. South...

Every year, Kamchatka, arguably the most beautiful region in Russia, attracts intrepid men and women, along with their faithful dogs, to an extraordinary event called, Beringia. This long-distance dog-sled race pits participants against Mother Nature. For more than a month, human and hound endure Beringia's sub-zero temperatures, howling winds, and driving blizzards. The distance varies from year to year and in 2018 the route covered 2,100 kilometres across the rough, unrelenting tundra. This year’s...

This landlocked country has been mired in domestic strife ever since gaining independence from France in 1960. The instability intensified with a coup in 2013, which unleashed a brutal civil war with several disparate groups and factions still locked in battle against each other. Seleka – Is a mostly Muslim coalition that took power, but only briefly Seleka is an umbrella terrorist group of primarily Muslim rebels. They seized power in March 2013, after ousting Francois Bozize’s government. Seleka’s...

A 17-year-old girl from the West Bank became a well-known figure after several videos and photographs of her defiant confrontation of Israeli soldiers went viral. The incident won her praise and many historical comparisons, including a modern Joan of Arc, the Rosa Parks of Palestine and even Anne Frank, but it also landed Ahed in an Israeli prison for eight months. How it all started Ahed Tamimi comes from the small hamlet of Nabi Saleh, known for staging weekly demonstrations to regain control of land and freshwater springs taken over by Israel's Halamish settlement...

Michael Reynolds had a dream. The architect wanted to build self-sufficient homes that are part of the environment, rather than a burden upon it. The ideal house would be made from recycled materials, maintain a comfortable climate, generate sustainable power from renewable sources, treat its sewage, and provide clean potable water. He built his first ‘Earthship’ in 1972. Now he is a prophet for a movement that advocates “radical sustainability.” Hundreds of people from across the US, inspired by the idea of self-sufficient living, have moved into homes based on his designs...