Foreign Correspondent — Season 2024

Fake fashion is big business. From Gucci to Balenciaga, replica brands are everywhere. The trade is run by crime syndicates implicated in human trafficking and even terrorism. This story goes inside the counterfeit industry.

Indonesia has embarked on a radical plan to relocate its congested and sinking capital Jakarta to the jungles of Borneo. A new $45 billion mega city is currently being built but critics say it's too expensive and too remote.

The horrific events of October 7 and its aftermath have dramatically changed the lives of Palestinians and Israelis. With widespread loss of life and devastation, suspicion and revenge are boiling over and fear is everywhere.

In Punjab, northern India, the Sikh separatist movement is fighting to create its own independent Khalistan nation. Separatist leaders have accused the Modi government of targeting Sikhs around the world including Australia.

Italy's population is ageing and with towns dying out, residents in Sicily have undertaken a grand social experiment. They're selling abandoned houses to newcomers for just one euro in a bid to breathe new life into old towns.

In the jungle of central Vietnam lies Son Doong, a magnificent underground cave passage, the largest in the world. Undisturbed for millions of years, its future has been placed in doubt with plans to make it a tourist mecca.

Eighty years since Japan and the Allied forces waged a battle at Guadalcanal, Solomon Islanders are still paying the price with thousands of unexploded devices left behind and the threat of leaking oil from rusting warships.

In Japan the ancient sport of sumo is wrestling with how to accept women competitors on an equal footing, challenging deeply held traditions. We meet the women who are trying to modernise attitudes in a sport they love.

The UK illicit drug market is worth an estimated 9.4 billion pounds a year. In small towns in the north of England, drugs are being warehoused and sold by criminals who make large sums of money and lead enviable lifestyles.

In the decades since the Korean war, over 200,000 children have been adopted to families worldwide. Now as adults, adoptees are demanding investigations into falsified documents, duplicate identities and even stolen children.

Across Ukraine increasing numbers of women are running newsrooms and reporting the war from the frontline. While male colleagues have joined the fight, women are working hard to ensure isolated communities are kept informed.

Immigration has become a defining issue in this year's US Presidential Election race. In Texas, the Republican Governor has politicised the problem by sending busloads of immigrants to Democrat cities like New York

In the US political tension and deep division are causing concern for thousands of Australians who now call America home. Some are horrified by the state of affairs and are planning to leave. Others hail Donald Trump a hero.

In the Arctic, tensions between Russia and NATO nations are escalating in the Norwegian territory of Svalbard, one of the most geostrategic places on the planet. Russia is being accused of provocation and sabotage.

With Hong Kong's protest movement effectively silenced and with activists either fleeing or ending up in jail, the city is being remade. More than 100,000 people have left and the new arrivals are coming from mainland China.

Corruption, drug use and fraud are not what you expect from Thailand's Buddhist monks. A series of scandals is engulfing the religion. Go on patrol with the monk police and undercover agents trying to bring them into line.

In the tourist mecca of New Caledonia tensions between the French government and the indigenous Kanak people have resulted in violent uprisings. The push for independence has created ongoing deep divisions in the country.

A bouquet of flowers is the go-to gift for many occasions, but the world is paying a high price for out of season blooms. Go behind the scenes of the billion-dollar flower trade to reveal the true cost of the flowers you buy.

Australian doctor Ken Elliott tells his extraordinary story of being held captive in the Saharan desert by Al Qaeda terrorists for more than 7 years. Dr Elliott was 81 when he was kidnapped with his wife from Burkina Faso.

To combat its reputation as the most dangerous country in the world El Salvador has declared war on its gangs and built a mega prison capable of housing up to 40,000 inmates. Critics call it a 'black hole of human rights'.

Bali is one of the world's most popular tourist destinations, but the demand from holidaymakers and now digital nomads is turning paradise into a construction zone. Will cashed up foreign developers change the island forever?

Across New Zealand tensions are high with Maori protestors warning the country is facing a watershed moment on race relations. The protestors are angry about the rollback of Maori programs by the conservative government.

Copper theft is a billion-dollar crime that's causing chaos in South Africa. Across the country police and armed contractors are waging war on the criminals who are cashing in on one of the world's most sought-after metals.

The US state of Michigan is one of a handful of battleground states that will determine who will be the next American president. Will Kamala Harris' late injection into the race give the Democrats the boost they need to win?