Foreign Correspondent — Season 2025

It was the kiss that shocked the world and triggered Spain's "Me Too" moment. As the Spanish national team claimed football's ultimate prize, the 2023 FIFA Women's World Cup, in Sydney, they shared their triumph with a global TV audience of over 200 million people. But their joy was short lived. Within minutes of winning, the head of Spanish football, Luis Rubiales, kissed star striker Jenni Hermoso on the lips. Rubiales would eventually be charged with sexual assault and coercion, and his trial is now underway in Madrid.But Rubiales' behaviour was not an isolated incident. In this episode of Foreign Correspondent former players and staff reveal how they have endured a culture of toxic misogyny for years. The ABC's Europe Correspondent Kathryn Diss talks to the football stars who were there on the night, including two-time Ballon d'or winner Alexia Putellas and up and coming Arsenal star Laia Codina. They describe their world cup victory as "bittersweet". With all eyes now on the Rubiales trial the players are hoping this day of reckoning will forever change the appalling way women have been treated in the sport they love.

Three years of war in Ukraine has taken its toll. On the frontline and in makeshift hospitals volunteer medics work tirelessly in difficult and dangerous situations to save and repair the lives of soldiers wounded in combat.

Tea is the second most consumed drink in the world after water and chances are the tea in Australian cupboards comes from Sri Lanka. Consumers of the more popular brands are assured by guarantees clearly marked on the packaging that the tea they are buying is ethically and sustainably produced. But are these guarantees accurate?Foreign Correspondent goes deep into the tea fields of Sri Lanka to investigate the "ethical" promises made by the most famous brands of tea. Reporter Naomi Selvaratnam visits the estates to investigate the living and working conditions approved by independent certification schemes and reveals how the system is failing both Sri Lankan tea workers and consumers.

Imagine a state where all alcohol is banned, without exception.  Where you would go to jail for months for possessing a single drop.  Welcome to Bihar, India where the world's largest "prohibition experiment" is taking place. Booze has been banned in the state for the past decade – a move designed to curb high rates of domestic violence. But the ban has driven the production of alcohol underground resulting in a thriving bootleg industry with deadly consequences. On Foreign Correspondent the ABC's South Asia Bureau Chief Meghna Bali travels to Bihar where she goes on patrol with the bootleg police in rugged rural terrain as they hunt for illegal liquor networks. She secretly meets the bootleggers and smugglers who risk lengthy jail terms if they are caught selling alcohol. And she witnesses the devastating impact poisonous "alcohol" is having in some communities where death and disability are the result of a prohibited, unregulated industry. 

A spectacular falling out between the Philippines President Ferdinand Marcos Jr and his deputy Sara Duterte has unleashed a war between two of the country's most powerful political dynasties. The Marcos/Duterte feud has led to jaw dropping plot twists worthy of a political thriller with claims of drug addiction, corruption and the hiring of a hitman. The arrest of Sara's father, former president Rodrigo Duterte, for crimes against humanity, is also linked to the fallout with the President.    On Foreign Correspondent Natashya Gutierrez reports on how this feud has escalated so dramatically.   With the two clans at war she travels to the family fiefdoms in Ilocos Norte and Davao City to see how deeply rooted and damaging these political dynasties are to the country. 

Botswana has more elephants than any other country on the planet. But what's been hailed as a great conservation success story has become a deadly problem. While they have turbo charged photo tourism, in some parts of the country there are two elephants for every human and stories of elephants causing havoc, destroying crops and even killing people is fuelling anger towards these majestic animals. On Foreign Correspondent reporter Stephanie March travels across the stunning Botswana landscape to see who is benefiting and who is paying the price for this conservation triumph. 

Australians know bushfires all too well.  But no Australian city has experienced the scale of the urban wildfire that reduced large parts of LA to ash.  More than 150 square kilometers of homes and bushland were destroyed in the worst fires in southern California's history, US correspondent Barbara Miller was dispatched to the fires as they took hold.  Now, three months later, she reports on the aftermath and reconnects with the people she met while the flames burned. As fire experts predict the severity of the wildfires will only get worse, locals who have lost everything are weighing up whether they can risk going through it all again. 

When a former Al Qaeda commander and his allies swept the brutal Assad regime from power with stunning speed, it caught the world by surprise.  There was jubilation over the fall of the Syrian dictator, but huge questions about what comes next.  Ongoing outbreaks of violence between those allied to the new government and groups still loyal to Assad have only added to the uncertainty. On Foreign Correspondent reporter Stephanie March travels to Syria on a journey that would have been unthinkable only a few short months ago.  She sees first-hand the "new" Syria.  With an economy in ruins largely due to imposed sanctions, she meets the people who are trying to recover from decades of Assad's cruel dictatorship as well as those who have the most to lose if actions of revenge and retribution are allowed to continue. 

Australian tourists are visiting Japan in record numbers, with one million travelers expected to arrive this year. In Tokyo visitors are increasingly attracted by the nation's food – the city has become the number one destination for food lovers with more Michelin star restaurants than its nearest rival Paris. On Foreign Correspondent the ABC's north Asia correspondent James Oaten sets out to discover what's driving this foodie obsession. He meets a world expert on tuna, one of the country's best sushi chefs and a 96-year-old eel master to see first-hand what it takes to be the best. From the onigiri lunch shops to the world's best ramen restaurant James goes in search of the secret to Japan's culinary success. 

After more than half a century of armed conflict in Colombia more than a hundred thousand people are still missing, presumed dead. Decades of violence between leftist guerillas and right-wing paramilitary groups left large parts of the country lawless. The brutality of the notorious drug cartels only made the violence worse. Now the Colombian government has made it it's mission to find the bodies of the missing. On Foreign Correspondent reporter Natashya Gutierrez embeds with the CSI squad determined to find closure for the loved ones left behind. She visits the dig sites where searches are underway and meets the criminal forensic team using new technology to build replica images from skeletal remains. Natashya also talks to a former paramilitary soldier, forcibly recruited as a teenager, who admits his involvement in assassinations and murders. 

It's the world's largest island and one of the most remote places on earth. And now the most famous global property developer wants to buy it. The Danish territory of Greenland has become a sought-after piece of real estate and US President Donald Trump has declared that one way or another America is going to own it. On Foreign Correspondent the ABC's North America Correspondent Lauren Day travels to the icy territory to find out why it's become such hot property. It's strategic location and abundance of rare minerals is driving US interest, but Denmark is adamant Greenland is not for sale. While most Greenlanders ultimately want to be independent, they know they can't financially go it alone for now. But relations with their colonial ruler are far from ideal and some are wondering if this is the moment to strike a deal of their own. 

A wellness revolution has captured the White House. Donald Trump's ex-wife Marla Maples reveals the inside story behind the Make America Healthy Again movement and the role she played in uniting Robert F Kennedy Jr and Trump.

On Russia's southern flank, the former Soviet republic of Georgia is fighting for its very existence as a democracy.  Until recently it was a darling of the West, on a fast track to EU membership, but then something dramatically changed. The pro-EU government did an extraordinary U-turn. It stands accused of winning re-election in a disputed ballot, crushing civil society, jailing dissenters and passing a raft of draconian laws eerily similar to those on the books in Russia. So what is going on?  Foreign Correspondent reporter Stephanie March travels to the nation wedged between Russia and Europe on the edge of the Black Sea to witness a democracy crumbling in real time. The atmosphere is tense with an ongoing crackdown and cyber surveillance.  She meets protestors and opposition figures who believe Russia is pulling the strings, while senior government figures claim there's a dark western backed conspiracy designed to push Georgia into war with Russia. 

On the Mexican border 10,000 troops have been deployed to stop the traffic of the deadly drug fentanyl. The show of force by Mexico follows the threat of crippling US tariffs, but can the crackdown stop the drug cartels?

On August 6, 1945, the atomic bomb was dropped for the first time in an act of war on the Japanese city of Hiroshima.   It was one of the final and most famous acts of World War II following Japan's refusal to surrender in the face of overwhelming odds and enormous civilian casualties.  Eighty years later only a few Japanese civilian survivors remain. On Foreign Correspondent North Asia correspondent James Oaten meets the people who still have clear memories of those final months of World War II. Some survived the firebombing of Tokyo which killed 100,000 civilians, others remember the US invasion of Okinawa where another 150,000 civilians perished. And some are the last living survivors of Hiroshima. These last survivors are angry Japan, even today, still refuses to accept responsibility for the needless harm it caused its own people by not surrendering sooner. They know their time is running out and they want their country to confront its past before it's too late. 

Four years since the US withdrawal from Afghanistan, ABC's Foreign Correspondent looks at the lives of children living under Taliban rule.This is a generation whose entire lives have been upended and who are being forced to grow up quickly to survive. With rare access to the children of high-ranking Taliban members, this film captures the daily life of two boys who talk openly about their desire to be Mujahid fighters and who are already involved in standing guard for their fathers.By contrast the film also documents the much tougher lives of two girls who have both lost their fathers to war and who spend their days working to support their families. They are among the hundreds of thousands of children in the country who do this. The difference between the lives of the girls and boys in this film is stark but they have one thing in common: they still have a glimmer of hope that one day life for the children of Afghanistan will be brighter.

In Spain protests against mass tourism have erupted across the nation. Angry locals demand action to stop hordes of tourists from occupying their cities. Tourism is being blamed for a housing crisis that's forcing locals out.

This week on Foreign Correspondent, can you remake a country?One year ago, student protestors led an uprising in Bangladesh to overthrow a brutal dictator. Sheikh Hasina ruled for 15 years by murdering and jailing political rivals and ruthlessly cracking down on dissent. She fled the country after a violent crackdown on protesters where 1,400 people were killed. Now the student leaders have emerged as a new political force as Bangladesh prepares to hold its first free and fair elections in almost two decades.On Foreign Correspondent reporter Ellie Grounds travels to the capital Dhaka where election season has begun in earnest. She meets students who put everything on the line to overthrow Hasina and who are determined to remake Bangladesh from a dictatorship to a democracy. But their path won't be easy – established political parties who had effectively been sidelined during Hasina's reign are coming back strong. Conservative religious groups suppressed under the Hasina regime have also re-emerged, and are loudly protesting plans for progressive reforms, in particular changes that would give equal rights to women. The dream for the ‘new Bangladesh' is radical, but is it realistic?

Donald Trump's second term as president has taken off with breathtaking speed. Over several drama filled months he's pursued his agenda, implementing radical changes in foreign policy, immigration enforcement and the economy.  He's left his opponents struggling to keep up.  In the US around a hundred thousand Australians call America home and they're not immune to the new era of Trump rule. In the lead up to last year's Presidential election Foreign Correspondent spoke to a number of those Australians about their views on America's future.  It was Foreign Correspondent's most watched story of the year.  Given how momentous these first months have been, we've decided to find out how people are feeling now. Along with some we talked to last time, we've met others along the way to explore how they feel about living in Trump's America. From New York to Texas, from the sidelines of amateur AFL games to picnics in Philly and Aussie get togethers in Central Park to rodeo training grounds, everyone has a view. 

Tuesday's Foreign Correspondent, a film by Channel News Asia, looks at the legacy of China's strict one-child policy and the unwanted girls given away to foster families.In regional provinces in China tens of thousands of women are looking for their families. They are the legacy of China's strict one-child policy aimed at controlling population growth. They were abandoned by their parents who wanted their only child to be a son. Many of these unwanted girls were given away to foster families. But their foster parents weren't acting out of kindness. Instead, they had a clear goal: one day the girls were to marry their sons.On Foreign Correspondent, a film by Channel News Asia captures the stories of these women who are now trying to reclaim their lives. Many have struggled due to lack of education and social stigma and have never adjusted to being married to their foster brothers. As they search for clues to their past, DNA programs are helping them reunite with their biological families.

Throughout the northern summer anti-immigration protests have taken place across the United Kingdom. But while angry crowds have scuffled with police outside hotels housing asylum seekers, the most shocking confrontations have occurred in Northern Ireland.  It's the least diverse region of the UK and racial hate crime is at record levels. This week Foreign Correspondent reporter Barbara Miller travels to the town of Ballymena where some locals are waging a war on migrants, attacking their homes and cars and running them out of town. Ballymena is no stranger to violence. During the conflict between the Protestants and the Catholics known as the Troubles, Ballymena saw violent attacks on Catholic homes, schools and churches. Now attention has turned to the Roma community who have moved there in large numbers.   In Ballymena there's speculation paramilitary groups active during the Troubles are behind the mob violence as hit lists of migrants' addresses circulate throughout the community. 

For Gaza's one million children growing up isn't guaranteed. For almost two years more than 18,000 kids have been killed as Israel wages war to destroy Hamas. An intimate look at the toll the war is taking on Gaza's littlest.

In Iran's capital Tehran an uneasy calm has returned to the streets. For 12 days in June the world held its breath as Israel and Iran - two mortal enemies - traded blows. Israel's main targets were Iran's nuclear facilities, key Iranian military officials and nuclear scientists. The US joined in, dropping bunker bombs on Iran's underground nuclear facilities.  On Foreign Correspondent reporter Jonathan Miller has been granted rare access to the Islamic Republic to find out whether Israel, the region and the world is any safer. He visits the places bombed by the Israelis and meets family members and neighbours of those killed in the attacks. The accuracy of Israel's targets inside Iran were evidence of what Iranian authorities called "unprecedented infiltration" by the Israelis. Now the regime is relentlessly hunting for spies with trials and executions being fast tracked. The Foreign Ministry spokesman tells Jonathan the executions are justifiable because "no nation allows betrayal."     Jonathan also travels to Israel where a former senior Mossad chief explains how Israel's intelligence operates on the ground in Iran. It's not deep cover agents, he says, but "expendable" people who are willing to work for money.  What becomes clear as Jonathan travels between the two nations is that no-one believes this war is over.