From Our Own Correspondent

Passengers travelling with Ryanair to the UK on a South African passport are being asked to complete a test to prove their nationality. The airline says this necessary to combat a substantial increase in fake South African passports - an airline found to have taken a passenger to the UK on a fake passport can face a fine of £2,000. However, the required test is in Afrikaans, which has outraged many South Africans who view it as the language of apartheid. Audrey Brown is one of them, and explains why.More than 100,000 Cubans have fled the island this year - the biggest surge since1980. Some have set off on the tested route towards Florida in small boats, but others are taking detours via other Latin American countries. So why this sudden exodus? Will Grant has been talking to Cubans about their new desperation to leave.When BBC producer Mat Morrison was sent to Dnipro in Ukraine, it was his first experience of reporting in a country at war. Slowly, he says, he has learned how to recognise the sound of missile

Evidence suggests that war crimes have been committed in the Ukrainian towns and cities which fell under Russian occupation. Bodies of civilians have been left behind where Russian troops withdrew, and those Ukrainians who remained in their homes throughout have spoken of imprisonment, torture and murder. Sophie Williams spoke to a woman who managed to escape from Izyum, a city that Russian forces took over back in April, and she revealed what life was like there.Ukraine is effectively fighting a war on two fronts: there is the battle on the ground, but also the battle for public opinion, fought on the world stage. If Ukraine is to continue receiving arms from countries abroad, it must make sure it has those countries' support. That is particularly crucial when it comes to the US, which is supplying more assistance than any other. Tara McKelvey was watching as President Joe Biden tried to persuade people in the rural Midwest that such support is necessary.It is forty years since Argentinian troops invaded the

Captagon is a popular recreational drug used across the Middle East and Arabian Gulf. It can temporarily boost a user’s mood - though long-term it is highly addictive. Production is concentrated in Syria, and smuggled across the border into Jordan and onto the Gulf. Officials in Jordan say militant groups are profiting from the production of the drug, and Yolande Knell has been out on patrol with the people trying to stop them.About 2500 miles due south of Jordan, there is another criminal trade at large: the illegal catching and selling of Tanzanian fish. Mark Weston has been to Lake Victoria to hear about its controversial local delicacy: Nile Perch.Celebrations of the Queen's Platinum Jubilee are not restricted to Britain. Elizabeth II is head of state in 14 other countries, and a figurehead around the Commonwealth. Another country which feels a connection to Britain’s royal family is Greece, because Prince Philip was born there, on the island of Corfu. Julia Langdon has been to the spot where the Queen’s

Allegations have continued to emerge that Ukrainian civilians are being transported into Russia by occupying troops. Some have returned, with stories of being held in camps, and of being tortured. Jen Stout heard about one village near the city of Kharkiv where locals say that 90 people were 'tricked' into boarding lorries and then taken away.The changing borders of Poland mean that families in some regions have lived in different countries over the years, without ever having to move home. Monica Whitlock visited a village where these geographical shifts mean locals speak multiple languages, and sometimes go by multiple names.The conflict in Ukraine has drawn attention to how vulnerable supply lines can be, with grain, gas and sunflower oil among the exports now threatened. If our cupboards and fridges are kept fully stocked, that is be down to the great flotillas of lorries which criss-cross Europe’s borders. Horatio Clare joined a couple of long-distance drivers, to get a taste of their life on the road.The

Sri Lanka has been rocked by violent protests. The country is out of cash, which means it is struggling to import fuel, food and basic medicines. This in turn has prompted political turmoil, with anti-government protestors coming under attack from supporters of the ousted government. Rajini Vaidyanathan was there as battles broke out.It was Archbishop Desmond Tutu who first called South Africa the 'Rainbow Nation', reflecting hopes for a new era of equality for the country and as it emerged from decades of apartheid. Now though, migrants in South Africa are being blamed for unemployment and other social problems - some have been murdered by vigilantes. Shingai Nyoka reflects on this rising animosity with particular personal interest, as she herself moved to South Africa from Zimbabwe.It’s eight years since King Juan Carlos of Spain abdicated, following a string of highly embarrassing scandals. But just recently, the former king returned to Spain for a brief visit - the first since he left. Plenty of Spanish p

Reports have emerged of terrible atrocities committed against civilians in Russian-occupied areas of Ukraine. Some people have tried to escape, braving bullets and artillery fire in order to reach government-controlled areas. Among those helping them are volunteers carrying out rescue missions by driving into Russian held territory to pick up those wanting to flee and then taking them back out again across enemy lines. Carrie Davies has met them.Some of those who have escaped from Russian-held territory have fled Ukraine altogether - nearly a million people have ended up in neighbouring Romania. Once again, volunteers have stepped up to the mark, helping to provide the new arrivals with food, housing and healthcare. As Tessa Dunlop found, some say they feel a particular affinity with people who have lost so much, and suffered so greatly.There is a good reason why companies have chosen to base themselves in the Cayman Islands. This Caribbean nation has no income tax, or corporation tax, but does have a great c

First hand reports from Afghanistan, Cambodia, Estonia, Lebanon and the German village of Oberammergau.Taliban promises to respect women's rights seem to be fading. Reports have emerged of Afghan women being arrested for alleged “moral crimes,” and thrown in prison without charge. Ramita Navai managed to get into one of the prisons where these women are being held.Cambodia has some of the greatest Buddhist sites in the world, but many of these have suffered at the hand of looters. As Celia Hatton discovered, some of this theft has occurred very recently.Estonia is attempting to win over its Russian-speaking minority. One third of the country speak Russian as their first language, and in some regions, almost everyone does. Could Vladimir Putin use an alleged attack on Russian speakers’ rights as an excuse to intervene? Estonia's innovative strategy is to offer them a series of fun events in the Estonian language, which Lucy Ash went to watch.The politics of Lebanon are complex, and often bitterly divided. Leba

China has been warned by the World Health Organisation that its so-called 'zero covid' approach is unsustainable. Hundreds of millions of people have been kept under lockdown in cities across the country, leaving the economy severely jolted, and critics calling it an abuse of human rights. However, the Chinese authorities seem determined to carry on as before, and have announced that the city of Shanghai will be placed under its tightest restrictions yet. The news came as a disappointment to Rebecca Kanthor, who has already gone through seven weeks of lockdown.Choosing what to wear in El Salvador can be literally a matter of life or death. The country is plagued by gang violence, with eighty people murdered over just one weekend this year. The government has promised a crackdown, passing new laws which allow police to lock up suspected gang members as young as 12. Mike Lanchin lived in El Salvador during the 1990s, and when he returned for a visit with his family, he quickly learned the value of covering up.M

The small city of Bucha, not far from Kyiv, has experienced some of the worst atrocities of the Russian invasion so far. It's understood that hundreds of civilians have been tortured, raped and murdered by Russian forces. Yogita Limaye has been hearing the story of one woman who experienced this horror first hand. The war in Ukraine has caused particular worry in Finland, which shares a long border - and turbulent history - with Russia. Finland only became independent from Russia in 1917, and, historically, the price of sustaining that independence was neutrality. Joining other European countries in NATO was out of the question - and by and large, most Finns were not interested anyway. But what a difference a few weeks make, as Allan Little found. As far as Singapore’s prosecutors were concerned, he was a drug smuggler, pure and simple. His mother though insisted he was a victim, a man of limited intelligence, who’d been tricked into carrying a small amount of heroin across the border from his home in Malaysi

The former President of Honduras Juan Orlando Hernandez was voted out of power in January, and within weeks was arrested, accused of being part of a major international drugs ring. This month, Mr Hernandez was extradited to the US, where he will face charges of drug trafficking and money laundering - charges he denies. Meanwhile, back in Honduras, police say they are now trying to destroy the drug industry, and invited our correspondent Will Grant along to show how.A British man was killed this week while fighting in Ukraine, emphasising the international aspect of the crisis. Thousands of foreigners have travelled to Ukraine to take up arms, encouraged by the country’s President, Volodymyr Zelensky. But why would someone travel to a distant country, to fight in towns and cities they may have struggled to find on a map? Hugh Barnes found a wide variety of reasons - and people - who have answered the call.Across Ukraine, there are reminders of the warm relationship the country once had with its neighbour, Russ

Rivers and the sea have long-battered waterfront villages in Bangladesh, but this is a problem now made worse by climate change. Many people have had to flee several times, as land erodes and their homes crumble. Qasa Alom went to meet those forced to repeatedly restart their lives, and joins locals working on a solution to provide more permanent sanctuary.Morocco was once home to a thriving Jewish community, who began an exodus from the country in the 1950s as relations deteriorated between the Arab world and Israel. At its peak, there were several hundred thousand Jews living in the country, many in the coastal town of Essouira. With diplomatic relations between Morocco and Israel now restored, some citizens of Essouira are reaching out to Israelis. Elizabeth Gowing found herself wondering whether tensions of the recent past really can be replaced by fonder memories of a one-time shared communal history.When the US and its allies overthrew Saddam Hussein, they promised a new era for the people of Iraq, prov

What do Russians make of their country’s invasion of Ukraine? It is no easy matter to conduct opinion polls in Russia at the best of times, sampling views from St Petersburg to Siberia. Right now though, Russian people are not free to express their opinions anyway, with a new law in place making it a criminal offence to say anything about the Ukraine conflict which the authorities consider untrue. Jenny Hill is in Moscow, and has been keeping her ear to the ground.Globalisation, the extraordinary interconnectedness of modern life, means that the events in Ukraine are having profound effects in places far from any battle. Kenya, for example, has already been suffering from drought, but this has now been exacerbated by Russia’s invasion: because Ukrainian farmers have been kept from their fields, global food prices have risen. Ben Henderson recently travelled to Kenya’s far north, and found what looks like a major crisis in the making.2018 saw South Korea hold a successful Winter Olympics, in which North Korean

The destruction of Ukrainian cities such as Mariupol has garnered global headlines, but the fighting has also filtered out to the rural towns and villages which surround it. These lack the city’s resources for dealing with the dead, the injured, and the bereaved, and when Wyre Davis reached one of these rural spots, he found even the most day-to-day tasks present significant challenges and risks.Turkey’s President, Recep Tayyip Erdogan is trying to occupy the middle ground on Ukraine; he remains on good terms with Vladimir Putin, but Turkey is also a member of NATO. This has enabled President Erdogan to take a central role in efforts to reach a peace deal, inviting negotiators to meet in Istanbul. And this is perhaps the ideal city for discussions aimed at healing division. Istanbul marks the point where Europe and Asia meet, with the Bosphorus Strait running between the two. The Bosphorus also occupies a key strategic position in this conflict, which Ellie House found herself reflecting on as she took a boat

It’s 40 years since Argentina invaded the Falkland Islands – or the Malvinas – as they are known in Spanish. Nearly 1,000 soldiers were killed in the war – more than 600 of whom were Argentinian. Katy Watson spoke to people about what happened in the war and how relations between the two countries have changed An estimated quarter of a million Russians have fled their homeland since the invasion of Ukraine. An estimated 35000 have relocated across Russia's southern border to Georgia. The capital Tbilisi is a melting pot of several nationalities – all escaping the war. Rayhan Demytrie has spent the past week meeting some of them The island of Taiwan may have its own constitution and a democratically-elected government – but its legal status remains contested. China sees it as a breakaway state, which it has vowed to retake by force if necessary. As events have unfolded in Ukraine, it has left Taiwanese asking if Beijing would follow a similar course to that of Moscow, says Rupert Wingfield-Hayes. People in Ser

The pounding of civilian infrastructure by Russian forces has continued this week in cities like Mykolaiv and Mariupol even as peace talks were underway. And Russia's claims it will reduce its military activity in the north and focus more on Ukraine’s eastern Donbas region are being treated with scepticism. Orla Guerin is in Kyiv. Ukraine’s President, Volodymyr Zelensky, described the siege of Mariupol as a ‘crime against humanity’ this week. Mariupol’s mayor has called for the evacuation of the entire city. But the journey away from the city is fraught with danger and a safe passage is far from guaranteed. Hugo Bachega spoke to those that did manage to escape. A few days after the invasion, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz unexpectedly announced a massive boost in military spending. It’s arguably one of the most dramatic shifts in German foreign policy since the Second World War. According to polls most Germans support the new policy, but enthusiasm for it is muted. Our correspondent Damien McGuinness is in Ber

Since the Taliban took power last year, more than half a million Afghans have lost their jobs, and the country now faces a severe economic crisis. There was a glimmer of hope for secondary school girls this week though as they prepared to go back to school - but it was short-lived, says Secunder Kermani. Allan Little reflects on the parallels between this war and a previous conflict, in the former Yugoslavia, where cities also came under siege as Serbian nationalists sought to take back control of the state of Bosnia-Herzegovina. The Bosnians, like the Ukrainians, while out-powered, put up a courageous resistance, and, in that conflict, Nato ultimately decided to intervene. International observers are increasingly worried that a cash-strapped Palestinian Authority could face financial collapse. Earlier this month, the International Monetary Fund described the fiscal outlook as “dire." Meanwhile vital healthcare services are being dramatically affected. Yolande Knell visited a hospital in East Jerusalem. Texas

It’s one month since Russia first invaded Ukraine, under the pretext of denazifying the country. But Putin’s calculation that his troops would be greeted as liberators by Russian-speaking Ukrainians has proved to be wrong. Nick Sturdee has found that the invasion appears to have unified the disparate parts of the Ukrainian population. Romania's Prime Minister pledged “unconditional political support” for Ukraine in February and so far, has welcomed more than half a million refugees. Jen Stout has been to one of the border crossings and finds the arrival of the Ukrainians has helped locals forget their own differences. In Washington, the process of holding those responsible for the storming of the US Capitol last year has reached a new phase, as the first trial - Guy Reffitt, of Texas came to court earlier this month. Tara McKelvey spent time with the defendant’s relatives at the federal courthouse and saw the impact of the political divisions on that family and across the US. Ecuador’s president this year s

Ukraine saw further indiscriminate attacks across the country this week, including an attack on a theatre sheltering civilians in Mariupol. The city of Kharkiv, like Mariupol, has been under constant attack; bodies line the streets as its often too dangerous to bury them. Quentin Sommerville reflects on the horror unfolding on the ground. The tactics the Russians are using in Ukraine are familiar to countries not just in the former Soviet domain – but also Syria. Vladimir Putin’s military support for President Assad in the country’s civil war helped raise cities to the ground. Leila Molana-Allen spoke to some of the people who have lived through that war Western intelligence sources have expressed concerns about Russian activity in Moldova, which neighbours Ukraine. Moldova is also a former Soviet state, with a Russian-speaking separatist insurgency in the east. Newsnight’s Sima Kotecha spoke to Moldova’s Prime Minister about her fears for what may lie ahead and how the country is struggling to cope with the

Refugees cramming onto trains brings back memories of the Second World War, amid an invasion that heralds a grim new political realityThe war in Ukraine has brought back some uncomfortable memories. Refugees crowding on to trains in eastern European snow to escape a war. Young men volunteering to fight for their country and being sent into harm's way with almost no training. And the possibility that a new Cold War between Russia and the US and Europeans could be upon us, says Jeremy Bowen.When Belarus opened its country to tens of thousands of mostly Middle Eastern migrants and refugees last year and started pushing them across the border into Poland, most Poles supported the government’s refusal to let them in. Yet Poland is now facing a refugee crisis on a much bigger scale. Close to two million people, have crossed into Poland in just three weeks. Adam Easton met one of those Poles and the refugee he is supporting. Attempts to create humanitarian corridors over recent weeks from besieged cities like Mari

Millions of lives are being uprooted, or destroyed as Russia's bombardment of Ukrainian cities widens. Fergal Keane has covered the conflict with Russia and its proxy forces since 2014 – and has followed the story of a beekeeper from the Donbas, and his wife. Ukrainian journalists covering the crisis at a distance have been watching the horror unfold and grappling with its implications on friends, colleagues and loved ones. Irena Taranyuk, of the BBC’s Ukraine service, tells of her experience of putting the story out on the night the invasion began. Russia is becoming increasingly isolated internationally, with western companies stopping operations there. Thousands of Russians are packing up and leaving. Many say it’s because they have political concerns about the sort of country Russia will become; others fear of the imposition of martial law or worry that the economy will crumble. Caroline Davies spoke to some of them. More than 180 million voters went to the polls in 5 of India’s states this week, includin