Worldfocus correspondent Mark Litke and producer Ara Ayer report from the Philippines on the risks some reporters face in doing their jobs.

For more on Worldfocus’ coverage of the Philippines, click here.

For more on Worldfocus’ coverage of the Philippines, click here.

Worldfocus correspondent Edie Magnus and producer Ara Ayer interviewed Velasco in Santiago in July.  His interview will be featured in several Worldfocus stories on Chile, including Chile squirrels away copper fortunes and spends prudently. This is part of our ongoing series looking at how other nations tackle complex policy issues.

In this wide-ranging discussion,  Velasco speaks about Chile’s privatization of social security, its past and present economic policy, and the lessons advisors have learned from economic cycles of the past.

A few weeks ago Ivette Feliciano attended an event where Chile’s first female president, Michelle Bachelet, was honored by the Americas Society for her administration’s economic and social achievements navigating the global economic crisis.

She credited her country’s quick recovery after the crisis to her administration’s decision to put away money made when the price of copper was high a few years back. Copper is one of Chile’s main exports.

Watch President Bachelet answer Ivette’s question in the video below:

The Philippines is a microcosm of the problem, with children driven to the streets by crushing poverty.

Worldfocus correspondent Mark Litke and producer Ara Ayer report from the Philippines, where they encounter one man — a former child of the streets himself named Joe Dean Sola — who has dedicated himself to improving the lives of street kids.

Since the story was shot, street children have suffered even more as the result of the severe flooding in the region.

(View full post to see video)‘

For more on Worldfocus’ coverage of the Philippines, click here.

In the years since, a stunning transformation has taken place, turning those bases from the ash heap of history into thriving economic enterprises.

Worldfocus correspondent Mark Litke and producer Ara Ayer report from the Philippines.

For more on Worldfocus’ coverage of the Philippines, click here.

In this Sights & Sounds video, explore the desolate landscape of the Salar de Uyuni and its surrounding areas. 

Morales’ policies have won him praise in some circles, but he’s also made some powerful enemies. Recently, his government said he was the target of an assassination plot.

Morales joins Worldfocus’ Ivette Feliciano to discuss the assassination plot, why he chose to expel U.S. Ambassador Philip Goldberg and the future of U.S.-Bolivian relations. 

Worldfocus’ Ivette Feliciano, Bryan Myers and Ara Ayer venture to the “Salar de Uyuni” — the largest salt flat in the world, and one that may turn out to be the key to Bolivia’s future economic growth.

For more on how Bolivia and other developing countries might leverage their resources, listen to our online radio show on resources in the developing world.

It’s a proposal that has left many landowners unhappy. Worldfocus’ Ivette Feliciano, Bryan Myers and Ara Ayer report from Santa Cruz, where many of Bolivia’s largest landholders — ranchers, cattlemen and industrial farmers — live. 

For more on Bolivia’s complex relationship with coca, watch the Worldfocus signature story “Bolivians depend on coca plant despite anti-drug efforts.”

But Bolivia’s leftist leader, Evo Morales — himself a former coca farmer — recently expelled U.S. drug enforcement agents from the country. As Worldfocus’ Ivette Feliciano, Bryan Myers and Ara Ayer discovered, many impoverished Bolivians depend on the coca plant for their livelihood.

Also, pass through a drug checkpoint in Bolivia’s mountains (web original video).

Worldfocus special correspondent Daljit Dhaliwal and producers Sally Garner and Ara Ayer report on the scope of Latvia’s fall.

“Freedom of the moment:” An Estonian boy cries out at the apex of a climbing tower in Tallinn. Photo: Ara Ayer

Symbols of ethnic pride abound in the Baltics. Whether it’s Riga’s Freedom Statue, Vilnius’ Gediminas Castle or a little boy exalting on a climbing tower in Tallinn, no definitive monument stands to represent the ongoing struggle for independence in Latvia, Lithuania and Estonia.

The Baltic states may have traded membership in the former Soviet Union for entry into the European Union and NATO, but they struggle to maintain their separate identities. That they exist at all is a testament to the fortitude of their people. Before the Soviet onslaught, empires of Poland, Prussia, Russia and Scandinavia all tried to incorporate one or more of the Baltic states.

Possessing a prized coastline — an approximate collective land mass of two West Virginias, Vermont and New Hampshire, with a population less than New York City — the Baltic states remain vulnerable. Producing stories with Worldfocus colleague Sally Garner, I found each country has different approaches to self-preservation.

Up until the global economic downturn, Latvia had the fastest growing economy in Europe. It quickly shed its communist past and looked for security and success in the credit and economic structures of the West. Yet rather than providing safety and sustainable growth, Western banking policies and an awakened Latvian consumerism exposed the country to excessive risk.

Now, Latvia teeters toward bankruptcy. Street protests, government instability and rising unemployment are the hallmarks of a once-proud nation. In our reporting, we spoke with a Latvian on the brink of losing his job. He said Latvia is failing because it forgot itself, its strengths and limitations, in the headlong rush to become part of Europe. Disenchanted with a dream deferred, he says he’ll join thousands of his countrymen leaving Latvia for a better life. With over 40 percent of Latvians being of Russian, Ukrainian, Belorussian and Polish descent, the loss of every ethnic Latvian puts the country in a quandary.

Lithuania and Estonia are in better shape economically, but not by much. The Lithuanian government is investing in language, specifically Lithuanian, to help preserve its national identity. Lithuanian is the official and sole language in matters of law, commerce, government and public life. If you are Lithuanian and speak Russian, Polish or German, check your ancestry at the door.

The Lithuanian government has empowered a language police corps to yank down foreign language street signs, correct publications and catch the nation’s newscasters in Lithuanian pronunciation and grammar mistakes. One wonders if such forced obedience will play out in a multilingual world. But then again, they aren’t trying to save the world — just Lithuania.

Estonia by and large is the most technologically-evolved of the trio. The country has placed its future in the digital age by building a “state of the art” civic Internet service. Via computer and phone, one can view everything, from a child’s report card to a live press briefing from the Estonian prime minister. A specially-encrypted Estonian identification card with an embedded digital signature allows Estonians to securely authenticate legal documents, vote, even pay for parking — all online. Estonians believe such Internet access makes for transparent government, responsible citizenry and better business — touchstones of resiliency in uncertain times.

No one can fault these small countries in their ongoing attempts to ensure their existence. Possibly the most important thing each is doing to protect themselves is participate in NATO, United Nations and U.S. coalition military missions. All sent combat troops to Iraq and all are continuing to send troops to Afghanistan. Though their collective deployment has never exceeded 2,000 troops per mission, their commitment to building modern armies and strengthening their ties with NATO cannot be questioned.

The reemergence of Russia as a world power has the Baltics — people, politicians and military men — on edge. Speaking softly but carrying a NATO membership may be the best defense and innovation in preserving Baltic identity and integrity yet.

- Ara Ayer

During the 50 years of Soviet occupation, Lithuanians clung to their language as a not-so-quiet form of rebellion. Today, as Worldfocus correspondent Daljit Dhaliwal and producers Sally Garner and Ara Ayer report, they want to protect it — not from an occupying force, but from other languages.

As Worldfocus correspondent Daljit Dhaliwal and producers Sally Garner and Ara Ayer report, Estonia is quickly becoming E-stonia.

Watch an extended interview: Estonia’s Internet guru Linnar Viik shares cyber strategy.

For people who worship baseball, Cuba could become a hot destination if the travel ban were to be lifted. The game is a year-round sport, and while it may look the same, it is a far cry from the money game it has become in the U.S.

As Worldfocus correspondent Peter Eisner and producer Ara Ayer found on their recent trip, Cubans play baseball for the love of the sport, from the stadiums to the streets. Channtal Fleischfresser edited this video.

The small eastern European nation of Estonia, population 1.3 million, has sent troops to Afghanistan, just as it did in Iraq.

Worldfocus correspondent Daljit Dhaliwal and producers Sally Garner and Ara Ayer report on Estonia’s military after Soviet occupation and its alliance with the U.S. in Afghanistan.

Read producer Sally Garner’s blog from the field: Newly-minted Estonian soldiers head to Afghanistan.

Soldiers gather for a briefing in Estonia’s snowy woods. Photo: Sally Garner

Producer Sally Garner is reporting from Estonia and writes from a military base about the newly-independent country’s contribution to the war in Afghanistan.

This newly-independent former Soviet Republic takes its freedom very seriously. Proud of its membership in NATO and its friendship with the United States, Estonia is among the most committed of all the countries willing to send soldiers to Iraq and Afghanistan.

In 2002, Estonia — a country with fewer than 1.5 million people — sent its first soldiers to stand alongside the United States in the war on al-Qaeda and the Taliban. In 2003, Estonia signed on as one of the original members of the so-called “coalition of the willing” to fight the war in Iraq.

That may not sound newsworthy until you realize that this tiny country had no army until 1994 when Soviet troops finally left. As one army officer said, “We started from scratch.”

We saw this first generation of Estonian troops training for international missions on what used to be a Soviet military base not far from the town of Paldiski, about 50 miles from the capital city of Tallinn. Thirty young soldiers got their briefing in the snowy woods before tackling a tough lesson on searching for suspected Taliban fighters and weapons.

A soldier trains in Estonia’s fierce winter weather. Photo: Sally Garner

After scoping out possible approaches, they drove their armored personnel carriers up to abandoned Soviet barracks, a perfect training ground for soldiers learning how to maneuver in Afghan villages and towns. Perfect — except for the weather which is the complete opposite of the heat and dust they’ll experience during their upcoming summer tour of duty.

It’s an amazing sight to see. And what makes this a story that producer and cameraman Ara Ayer and I won’t forget is the discovery that many of these soldiers’ fathers were forced to serve in the Soviet Army during its long and disastrous invasion of Afghanistan in the 1980s.

But these Estonian troops aren’t really interested in history. They’re focused on their country’s future and value their international service for the combat experience they can’t get in their very young country. As one lieutenant told us, “We always need to be ready for any enemy who wants to take our freedom away.”

- Sally Garner

Watch for Worldfocus’ upcoming series exploring the Baltics in the coming weeks.

But as Worldfocus special correspondent Peter Eisner and producer Ara Ayer report, despite years of ill will between the U.S. and Cuban governments, many Cubans still have fond feelings for America — and look forward to changing relations under U.S. President Barack Obama.

Also, listen to our radio show exploring the roots of U.S.-Cuban relations and potential changes under President Barack Obama.

For another look inside Cuba, go inside Cuba’s boxing rings with PBS Wide Angle’s “Victory is Your Duty.”