0:00:19 > 0:00:21Welcome to Reporters, I'm Philippa Thomas.
0:00:21 > 0:00:24From here in the world's newsroom, we send out correspondents
0:00:24 > 0:00:26to bring you the best stories from across the globe.
0:00:26 > 0:00:30In this week's programme, Miami blues - as President Obama
0:00:30 > 0:00:33becomes the first US president to visit Cuba in 88 years,
0:00:33 > 0:00:34Nick Bryant finds many Cuban-Americans are still
0:00:34 > 0:00:42against any ties with the Communist island.
0:00:42 > 0:00:46I never thought that I would see a day where Air Force One,
0:00:46 > 0:00:48with the United States of America President on board,
0:00:48 > 0:00:50would land in a Communist Cuba.
0:00:50 > 0:00:55Jump-starting Japan, Mariko Oi investigates how an ageing
0:00:55 > 0:01:00population could be a silver lining for the Japanese economy.
0:01:00 > 0:01:10And pitch perfect, Catrin Nye finds out how one of England's
0:01:10 > 0:01:12top football clubs, Arsenal, is helping children in Iraq
0:01:12 > 0:01:13to rebuild their lives.
0:01:13 > 0:01:16Look at the cheers and the smiles on their faces today,
0:01:16 > 0:01:19it's like they are forgetting all the violence and the war
0:01:19 > 0:01:22that they've come through.
0:01:25 > 0:01:28When President Obama steps aside in ten months' time,
0:01:28 > 0:01:32one of his biggest foreign-policy successes may be seen as Cuba.
0:01:32 > 0:01:36America's hostility to the country had looked anachronistic,
0:01:36 > 0:01:43even plain silly.
0:01:43 > 0:01:45This American leader has changed all that,
0:01:45 > 0:01:48opening relations with an historic presidential trip to Cuba this week.
0:01:48 > 0:01:50But not everyone is happy back home.
0:01:50 > 0:01:53Many Cuban-Americans are still against any engagement
0:01:53 > 0:01:58with the Communist island.
0:01:58 > 0:02:00Nick Bryant has been to Miami's Little Havana
0:02:00 > 0:02:02to speak to some of them.
0:02:02 > 0:02:04Protest is a way of life for the Cuban-American exiles
0:02:04 > 0:02:07of Little Havana, and for decades they've been venting their fury
0:02:07 > 0:02:10at the Castro brothers and any American president who has even
0:02:10 > 0:02:12flirted with the idea of rapprochement.
0:02:12 > 0:02:17Human rights for Cubans! Human rights for Cubans!
0:02:17 > 0:02:21President Obama's visit is seen as a betrayal of them and American
0:02:21 > 0:02:25values, one that legitimises a Communist government they despise.
0:02:25 > 0:02:28I never thought I would see a day where Air Force One,
0:02:28 > 0:02:31with the United States of America president on board,
0:02:31 > 0:02:34would land in a Communist Cuba.
0:02:34 > 0:02:37I always hoped it would be a day where the president,
0:02:37 > 0:02:39aboard Air Force One, would land in a free Cuba.
0:02:39 > 0:02:41Just around the corner, mid-morning mojitos and cigars
0:02:41 > 0:02:45for those who didn't take part in the protest.
0:02:45 > 0:02:47Many younger Cuban-Americans especially
0:02:47 > 0:02:48think it's time to move on.
0:02:48 > 0:02:51I think it's a good thing, let's see what comes out of it.
0:02:51 > 0:02:53If it's going to help the people,
0:02:53 > 0:02:55I think that is the most important thing.
0:02:55 > 0:02:59It doesn't worry you that he is there? No.
0:02:59 > 0:03:02At this time of new departures, America has signed an agreement
0:03:02 > 0:03:07with Cuba to re-establish scheduled air services between two countries
0:03:07 > 0:03:11separated by only a small stretch of water.
0:03:11 > 0:03:15Soon there should be over 100 daily round-trip flights.
0:03:15 > 0:03:17It's just 15 minutes flying time between the southernmost tip
0:03:17 > 0:03:20of mainland America and Cuba, but the countries
0:03:20 > 0:03:24have been estranged now for more than 50 years.
0:03:24 > 0:03:26Many Cuban-Americans believe the embargo has not just been
0:03:26 > 0:03:30ineffective but counter-productive.
0:03:30 > 0:03:33It allowed the Castro brothers to blame America
0:03:33 > 0:03:37for Cuba's economic woes.
0:03:37 > 0:03:39There haven't been any good changes in the past 50 years...
0:03:39 > 0:03:42Our pilot was born in Cuba,
0:03:42 > 0:03:46and he's delighted to see President Obama make the flight.
0:03:46 > 0:03:52It's time, it's time for us to connect once again.
0:03:52 > 0:03:54I mean, we are all Cubans.
0:03:54 > 0:03:58Some of us are living here and some there,
0:03:58 > 0:04:00but we are one family.
0:04:00 > 0:04:04What's been noticeable about the protests is their scale.
0:04:04 > 0:04:07This arch lasted only a couple of streets,
0:04:07 > 0:04:10because the exiles are so old and so frail,
0:04:10 > 0:04:14and it attracted hundreds rather than thousands,
0:04:14 > 0:04:18a pale imitation of demonstrations from decades past.
0:04:18 > 0:04:20Gone are the days when the exile community dictated America's
0:04:20 > 0:04:24policy towards Cuba.
0:04:24 > 0:04:28Nick Bryant, BBC News, Miami.
0:04:28 > 0:04:31When governments worry about an ageing population,
0:04:31 > 0:04:34they normally think of rising health-care and pension costs.
0:04:34 > 0:04:38But in Japan, they are starting to take a more positive view.
0:04:38 > 0:04:41Many companies and communities are starting to see the benefits
0:04:41 > 0:04:46of a rapidly growing number of older people who are still keen to work.
0:04:46 > 0:04:48As Mariko Oi reports,
0:04:48 > 0:04:54Japan's ageing population is helping to jump-start its economy.
0:04:54 > 0:05:00Tending to a client's rooftop garden in central Tokyo.
0:05:00 > 0:05:04Three years after retiring from his lifelong employment
0:05:04 > 0:05:11with Tokyo Gas, this 68-year-old signed up for part-time work.
0:05:11 > 0:05:16This is the company which got him the gig.
0:05:16 > 0:05:19Koreisha means "the elderly" in Japanese.
0:05:19 > 0:05:22Its mission is to help retirees who are still keen to be part
0:05:22 > 0:05:25of the country's workforce.
0:05:25 > 0:05:29Today it has over 750 registered members.
0:05:29 > 0:05:38The average age is 69, with the oldest at 81 years old.
0:05:38 > 0:05:40They can choose from various assignments,
0:05:40 > 0:05:44such as cooking at restaurants or being personal drivers.
0:05:44 > 0:05:47TRANSLATION: At our age, most of us don't want to work full-time,
0:05:47 > 0:05:51but putting in two or three days a week doesn't affect pensions,
0:05:51 > 0:05:55and being able to earn an extra 1000 US dollars a month is nice.
0:05:55 > 0:05:58But more than that, our members say it's great to be able to work again,
0:05:58 > 0:05:59because myself included,
0:05:59 > 0:06:03we feel like our energy and talent is wasted.
0:06:03 > 0:06:07Japan has one of the fastest ageing populations in the world,
0:06:07 > 0:06:10and it is a burden on the economy, with a falling birth rate,
0:06:10 > 0:06:14it means there are fewer people paying social security.
0:06:14 > 0:06:17Spending on health care and pensions already accounts for a third
0:06:17 > 0:06:23of the national budget, and it's ballooning fast.
0:06:23 > 0:06:26But instead of doing away with the old, the Government wants
0:06:26 > 0:06:32companies and communities to see them as a silver lining.
0:06:32 > 0:06:37Here in Kashiwa, these retired businessmen greet the children
0:06:37 > 0:06:42every morning and make sure they get to school safely.
0:06:42 > 0:06:4775-year-old Masatoshi Tsuneno is the leader of the group,
0:06:47 > 0:06:49and he's been volunteering for ten years.
0:06:49 > 0:06:51He says the key to a successful transition after retirement
0:06:51 > 0:06:57is to shake up the hierarchy entrenched in the working world.
0:06:57 > 0:07:01"I was an engineer for a company," he told me.
0:07:01 > 0:07:04But he won't discuss his professional past.
0:07:04 > 0:07:08He says it's important for people in his group to be able to treat
0:07:08 > 0:07:17each other equally, even if someone was a chief executive or diplomat.
0:07:17 > 0:07:19put together this surprise ceremony to thank the volunteers.
0:07:19 > 0:07:22It is the end of the economic year, and the schoolchildren have
0:07:22 > 0:07:26put together this surprise ceremony to thank the volunteers.
0:07:26 > 0:07:29The mix of young and old has been a hit for this community,
0:07:29 > 0:07:30but it's still a rare success story.
0:07:30 > 0:07:38Mariko Oi, BBC News, in Kashiwa.
0:07:38 > 0:07:41Professional footballers don't always get a good press about how
0:07:41 > 0:07:43they spend their money, but Arsenal players have donated
0:07:43 > 0:07:46a day's pay to help build pitches at camps for the children fleeing
0:07:46 > 0:07:47war in Iraq.
0:07:47 > 0:07:51The English club has teamed up with Save the Children
0:07:51 > 0:07:54to fund the project, which will train both boys and girls.
0:07:54 > 0:07:57Catrin Nye travelled with the Arsenal women's football
0:07:57 > 0:08:01captain, Alex Scott, as she helped to train young girls
0:08:01 > 0:08:05in how to play football.
0:08:05 > 0:08:10The tragedy of children forced to flee their homes by war in Iraq,
0:08:10 > 0:08:13and the wealth and fame of Arsenal Football Club.
0:08:13 > 0:08:18These two things don't obviously have much in common.
0:08:18 > 0:08:23But a new project is trying to change that.
0:08:23 > 0:08:26For me, growing up, football was more than a game to me then,
0:08:26 > 0:08:28and it's given me so much.
0:08:28 > 0:08:32Alongside Save the Children, Arsenal have built two pitches
0:08:32 > 0:08:37for children who fled war - boys and crucially also girls.
0:08:37 > 0:08:40It's a very powerful statement that a club like Arsenal can come
0:08:40 > 0:08:44in and say not just that you are a part of our community,
0:08:44 > 0:08:49but also that we care.
0:08:49 > 0:08:55So this is Kurdistan in northern Iraq, and relative safety compared
0:08:55 > 0:09:01to the rest of the country, but we are still just a few hours
0:09:01 > 0:09:08from the front line, from territory controlled by Isis.
0:09:08 > 0:09:11Esra, whose name we changed,
0:09:11 > 0:09:14is one of more than 6,000 people living in this camp.
0:09:14 > 0:09:18Since January 2014, more than 3 million Iraqis
0:09:18 > 0:09:21have fled their homes - half are children.
0:09:28 > 0:09:32Are there any good things about the camp, about living here?
0:09:39 > 0:09:42And this is that pitch.
0:09:42 > 0:09:50Today with Alex Scott as an extra player.
0:09:50 > 0:09:52Boys and girls are learning to play football here.
0:09:52 > 0:09:56Why did you decide today that Alex would teach the girls?
0:09:56 > 0:09:59To them, she's a big source of inspiration,
0:09:59 > 0:10:03the fact that she's a woman and she's made it internationally.
0:10:03 > 0:10:06Look at the cheers and the smiles on their faces today,
0:10:06 > 0:10:11it's like they are forgetting all the violence and the war
0:10:11 > 0:10:13that they've gone through.
0:10:13 > 0:10:15Bye!
0:10:15 > 0:10:19You'd never think people would be living like this.
0:10:19 > 0:10:23We are in the middle of nowhere, there's nothing around.
0:10:23 > 0:10:26But they just carry on with their life every day,
0:10:26 > 0:10:29hoping for something better.
0:10:29 > 0:10:33Hi!
0:10:37 > 0:10:39And that is all from Reporters for this week.
0:10:39 > 0:10:49From me, Philippa Thomas, goodbye for now.