19/12/2015 Reporters

I'm back at the top of the hour. Now it is time for Reporters.

Welcome to Reporters, I'm Philipa Thomas, from the world news room we

bring you the best stories from across the globe. This week. Foreign

military aircraft, this is Chinese navy. Stand off in the skies above

the South China Seas. Rupert Wingfield haste flies over one of

the most contested areas in the world. Our captain has said we are a

civilian aircraft and not a military aircraft. But it didn't make any

difference they just repeated that threat. We must leave the area.

Inside Columbia's cocaine panel. We join Columbian and British forces as

they take down a coke Tain lab. -- cocaine has been. This is the final

product. That is the cocaine that is sold opt streets of Britain, Europe

and America. A matter of life and death, why spending time in a coffin

is the latest motivational tool for South Korean workers. I have my rice

and plan Tain and chicken and this. It feels just like home. And a taste

of home. We ask why African food hasn't caught on in Britain's

restaurants. We start with a rare glimpse of

China's expansion in the South China Seas. It is one of most contested

areas in the world. But that has not discouraged China, which is building

huge artificial islands. The islands are difficult to reach, but Rupert

Wingfield Hayes flew into China's self-declared security zone and this

what is he found. It is just before dawn on this Philippine island. Even

at this hour, it is hot, but there is no sign of the trouble brewing a

few hundred miles out to sea. I'm about to take off on a trip the

Chinese Government has tried to stop. As we roll down the runway, we

are all tense. No one has tried what we are about to do. We are heading

south wrest towards a number of Chinese controlled atolls, where the

Chinese have been doing massive line reclamation. We want to see what

they're doing and see if the Chinese will try to stop us. Because the

whole area is according to most countries international air space.

Just 140 nautical miles from the Philippine coast we spot new land.

This place is called Mischief Reef. Until a year ago there was nothing

here, just a submerged atoll. Now look at it. Millions of tonnes of

material have been dredged up to build this new island. As we close

to 12 nautical miles this. Down below we with see a pair of

Chinese navy ships. Our pilots want to turn away. They're nervous. Wear

civilian aircraft flying over international waters, but we are

being threatened. We are What we have got is the Chinese sending out

that message, foreign military aircrat, leave this area

immediately, Chinese and in English, our captain has responded saying we

are a civilian aircraft, not a military aircraft. But it didn't

make any difference. They just repeated that threat to leave the

area over and over again. As we fly on, the full extent of the

construction is revealed. The lagoon is teeming with ships. A cement

plant is visible and a clear view of the new runway they're building. A

Chinese fighter take off here could reach the Philippine coast in nine

minutes. In the last year, China has built at least seven new islands and

three new run ways. One here at Mischief Reef. The biggest is at

Fiery Cross. The aim is to reinforce China's claim to the whole of the

South China Sea. America and its allies are now responding and over

the radio we hear one of them. What we are hearing is an Australian

military aircraft asserting freedom of passage. More than 40% of the

world's trade passes through the waters below us. China is determined

to assert its control. America and its allies say they won't let that

happen. But as we have found out, it may already be too late.

Now from the skies over the South China Seas to one of the most

violent part of South America and the war on drugs. Ian Panel joined

British and Columbian forces as they gained access to a makeshift cocaine

laboratory discovered deep in the Columbian forest. This is report

from a town that is considered the country's cocaine capital. It is one

of the most violent cities in South America. Britain's travel advice is

- don't come here. It is notorious for its chop houses, where gang

dismember their rivals and body parts float in the water. It is also

where much of the cocaine that reaches Britain comes from. The

trade that shatters a community and forces children into a world of

violence and abuse. So much blood has been spilled in a war that's

gone on for so long few realise it hasn't ended. We travelled with the

elite jungle forces in search of the crop that spawns this billion dollar

industry and despite huge changes here, Columbia is again the world's

leading producers of cocaine. America's involvement here is well

known. Now for the first time, British officers have agreed to

emerge from the shadows and talk to the BBC about their role in the war

on drugs. We exchange intelligence, we work specifically cases with

these law enforcement agencies. In order to A have an impact on

specific networks by seizing drugs, arresting people and seizing their

assets. But also by helping the country to stabilise itself by

making an impact on the organised criminals which cause so much harm

here. The Government says things are improving here. But tell that to

Maria. When she dared to stand up to the drug gangs, her 15-year-old son

was gunned down. When her daughter dared to testify in court, they came

for her. Maria has had to abandon his home, but she refuses to be

silent. TRANSLATION: I don't know if they did it to punish me, because I

always try to help the youngsters. They didn't just kill the child,

they killed the family. The choices are often stark for the sons and

daughters of Columbia's poor. Children become recruits or victims

of gangs. And when day passes to night, it is the others who come out

to work. We were taken to meet one of them. An asass sin who kills

people for his boss. Just one of the many responsible for the blood that

runs through this city's streets. A secret meet ing was set where a

young man confessed to a life of crime that started when he was a

child. Can you explain the life of this. Many things, death, jail, drug

trafficking. The boss calls me. And tells me we have to kill this guy

and if he says I have to kill, I kill. If he says I have to chop, I

chop. And I get a reward. If someone is disrespectful they have to be

cut, killed, chopped. Few survive this world, the profits can be

great, so too the losses. Death or jail. For tin side story of the

trade we met a British drug trafficker serving time in Columbia.

For security reasons, we can't show his identity. Cocaine is such a

fashionable drug and the money is so good people will say yes. That makes

the risk worth taking. If you're talking about a yearly salary being

earned, then yes. I don't think the trafficking will stop or the

consumption. Nor will the war on drugs. High in the hills on the

border antinarcotics police move in. They have a tip there is a cocaine

lab here. Most of the gang escape and only one arrest made. A local

farmer tempted by the chance of some extra cash for his family. He is

likely to get five years in prison. Because this is where he had been

working. A cocaine production site hidden deep in the woods. Officers

were deployed after midnight and they have moved on to the site. The

people here ran away. They made one arrest. This is the key part of has

been tri. The paste is brought up the hill and processed and this is

the final product. That is the cocaine that is sold on the streets

of Britain, Europe and America and will be taken across the border and

shipped overseas. It is worth a handful of pounds here, but in

Britain it is probably thousands of pounds worth. Britain's national

crime agency took part and we spoke to one officer, but we can't

identify him. It is important to Britain, because all the labs that

we blow up, all the cocaine that is seized is cocaine that is not going

to UK, Europe and the United States and everything we stop here stops

the supply in the UK. Explosives are rigged and the British officer and

Columbian police pull back, knowing tomorrow this fight starts again. In

a war against cocaine that may well be impossible to win.

This is the morbid the way to appreciate life to experience death?

Well in an attempt to deal with stress, some companies in South

Korea are making their workers take part in their own mock funerals and

it is one of many strange tools for motivating staff. It is the most

bizarre ritual. The coffins are ready. The company these Koreans

work for has brought its employees together to contemplate the meaning

of life. And death. Eyes are moist. They have written final letters to

their loved ones. Then at the grim climax of a simulated mass funeral,

they get into the caskets, which are knocked shut. Inside they're

confined in darkness and contemplation for ten minutes. And

then they see the light! TRANSLATION: I realised I made lots

of mistakes. I hope to be more passionate in the work I do and

spend more time with my family. The aim is to instill a love of life and

to teach workers to appreciate the good things, rather than seeing the

down side. The president of company told me he wants to strengthen the

sense of corporate togetherness. TRANSLATION: Our company's always

encouraged employees to change their way of thinking. It was about to

bring about a real difference. I thought going inside a coffin would

be such a shock it would reset their minds for a fresh start in

attitudes. And there is another office ritual. Forced laughter.

Every morning at work the supervisor oversees employees all laughing

together as one. The workers say they have value the coffin ritual

and the laughter, but it is hard to know how enthusiastic they really

are. Korean companies devise all kind of

bonding exercises, this competition from cradle to grave. It makes for a

strong economy. Whether it also makes for haar Yoni and happy --

harmony and happiness is not clear. I think most people know British

astronaut Tim Peake went into space this week. But not many know what he

will be doing there. He could be involved in experiments on

everything from whether bacteria can survive in space, to brain research.

Here is our guide to the work of the International Space Station and what

it is meant to achieve. Wild excitement in London during the

launch. 3,000 children caught up in exactly the kind of enthusiasm that

Tim Peake wants to inspire. And watching closely the first Brit ton

to go into space. I did it 24 years ago and Tim is doing that. For six

months this will be Tim Peake's home. Everything will be weightless.

It makes life unusual. So you can't watch your hair in the normal way.

You use dry shampoo. There are no bedrooms, you zip yourself into a

pod. That is good for strengthening. And you have to exercise for two

hours a day to avoid your muscles wasting away. So it will be a

strange existence on the International Space Station and will

take some getting used to. It is the largest structure assembled in

sprays. -- space. It is about 250 miles above us. That may not sound

much, but it is beyond the atmosphere. This outpost of humanity

is travelling around earth at 17 and a half thousand miles an hour.

Because each orbit takes 90 minutes, the crew can see at least 15 sun

rises and sun sets every day. The space station was built over the

last 15 years and one module is European. Here it is. It is called

Columbus, a laboratory where Tim will spend much of his time. Let's

imagine we could be inside it. It is cramped. Filled with experiments

that make use of the weightless conditions of space. One project

looks at metal alloys to work out how they can be improved for the

devices we use. Another is testing if bacteria can survive in space, to

see if they could be living on Mars. And there is a study on fluids act

inside the brain. That could help with medical problems. Here in

Southampton they're testing a new system for measuring pressure inside

the brain and they're looking forward to what Tim Peake finds out.

For decades the Government never wanted to pay for British

astronauts, now Tim Peake is the first to have official backing with

an investment of ?16 million. Others say it will enthuse others. They can

walk out and see him go over, a direct personal connection with

opportunity that exists in the future. We have to invest not just

in health and welfare, but also in research and development and

exploration and opportunities for the future and a space station is

the most stunningly successful example of that. Here are some of

the next generation. At Tim Peake's old school. I can't believe someone

from here is actually going up in space to the national space sfags.

Are you proud of him? Yes really. Cool that somebody who is... Used to

come to our school is actually going up into space. Until next June, Tim

Peake will be in orbit doing research to help future explorers

and inspiring now scientists and astronauts. We all

favourite Indian, Chinese or European restaurant, but not

reflected in the restaurant scene. We have been finding out why African

food hasn't caught on in Britain. London, one of food capitals of the

world. There is no limit to the delights you can find in this

bustling city. But despite the number of Africans here, the

continent's types of cuisine don't seem to have caught on. Well, one

woman is hoping to change that. I like to describe us as functional

eaters, we eat to survive. The whole razzmatazz with French cuisine, we

don't have it and it doesn't have to be you know at that level.

is no reason why we can't present our food better than we do, which is

where I come in, that is what I have been doing for the last few years.

British/Nigerian, a communitier scientist, he worked as a management

consultant for an accounting firm, but now she is just calls herself a

foodie. Potato salad. A few years ago she quit her job to make her

dream happen. Introducing Nigerian cuisine to the rest of the world.

Chilliies. Next she began a cook out, inviting friends to her

house to share in her passion. So I have got my rice, boiled plantain.

It feels like home. But what do others make of the food? It is

amazing. We weren't used to this Nigerian food, because we are

Spain. It is spicy and it is amazing. The food is great and

flavourful and bountiful as well. I love the food. It is a great mixture

of fresh veg, salad, cooked and spicy. So for me it is fabulous.

Judging from this reaction, she might be on to something. Her next

stop - opening her own restaurant and putting Nigerian food on

London's culinary map. That is all from Reporters for this week.

Goodbye for now. You have to pinch yourself. It is

less than a week to the big day and it has been another mild day. We

haven't