PRI's The World Apr 9, 2012

A new smart app called "Whale Alert!" that has been designed to help prevent ships from colliding with endangered North Atlantic Right Whales.

A tiny Spanish town has a plan for digging out of debt: the mayor proposed growing marijuana.

Why gold is so valuable right now? What is the future of money? The World's Anchor Marco Werman talks with Matthew Bishop of the Economist, co-author of "In Gold We Trust: The Future of Money in an Age of Uncertainty", to find out more.

As gold prices are soaring, Scotland is set to open a new gold mine inside the Loch Lomond National Park in the highlands.

Jeffrey Bader was President Obama's top aide on China until last year. He tells host Marco Werman that the notion that the US is about to be eclipsed by China economically and militarily is a fantasy.

Israel has barred German author Gunter Grass from entering the country.The move is in response to a poem by Grass that accuses Israel of being a threat to world peace and compares Israel's nuclear potential to Iran's. The poem was published in a German newspaper last week. It ignited controversy in both Germany and Israel.

Egypt will hold presidential elections in late May. But one popular candidate, who's a critic of the US, probably won't be on the ballot. Hazem Salah Abu Ismail has been disqualified because his mother held a US passport.

Anchor Marco Werman speaks with Borzou Daragahi of the Financial Times on the latest from Syria. Syrian forces have reportedly fired on Syrians in refugee camps inside Turkey, raising questions about a UN-backed cease-fire that's supposed to go into effect on Tuesday.

Violence continues in Syria as Tuesday's ceasefire deadline approaches. German writer Guenter Grass is barred from Israel. And Scotland opens a gold mine.

Pasatono Orquesta is a musical group from Mexico that plays traditional music from the Mixtec region of Oaxaca.