:00:00. > :00:14.Now on BBC News, it s time for Reporters.
:00:15. > :00:20.From here in the world's newsroom, we send out correspondents to bring
:00:21. > :00:28.you the best stories from across the globe.
:00:29. > :00:30.In this week's programme, democracy Chinese style.
:00:31. > :00:32.John Sudworth in Beijing sees how the Communist Party silences
:00:33. > :00:34.independent candidates in one of the world's
:00:35. > :00:42.What we can see here, quite clearly, is the huge effort and expense that
:00:43. > :00:48.China puts in to stopping people exercising their democratic right.
:00:49. > :00:51.A rare look inside Myanmar's secret state where Jonah Fisher finds
:00:52. > :00:53.international laws against the trade in endangered animals
:00:54. > :00:57.This is one of the most secretive places on Earth.
:00:58. > :01:00.It is easier to get permission to go to North Korea than
:01:01. > :01:06.Total and complete shutdown of Muslims entering
:01:07. > :01:14.Martin Bashir asks whether the divisions which emerged
:01:15. > :01:19.during the election can ever be healed.
:01:20. > :01:22.America's Muslims, including those here in Michigan,
:01:23. > :01:26.must hope that the arc of Mr Trump's presidency will bend
:01:27. > :01:28.towards reconciliation and away from the rhetoric that
:01:29. > :01:40.Richard Galpin reports from the ruins of the ancient Iraqi
:01:41. > :01:42.city of Nimrud, days after it was recaptured
:01:43. > :01:46.In their ultra-extremist view, this was a place of false idols,
:01:47. > :01:55.And one of the world's most recognisable faces.
:01:56. > :01:59.Chris Buckler speaks to the Irish artist who has been commissioned
:02:00. > :02:02.to paint a new portrait of Queen Elizabeth.
:02:03. > :02:06.I cannot speak for what necessarily the motivation from the Palace
:02:07. > :02:10.or the Queen's point of view was, but I think about the fact
:02:11. > :02:20.After America, this week it was China's turn
:02:21. > :02:25.The district elections are one of the world's biggest.
:02:26. > :02:27.900 million people will vote in the next few weeks.
:02:28. > :02:30.In theory, they are open to any candidate.
:02:31. > :02:34.In reality, the Communist Party decides who is on the ballot.
:02:35. > :02:38.The Chinese authorities have been highly critical of what they see
:02:39. > :02:41.as the farce of American democracy, but as John Sudworth has been
:02:42. > :02:44.finding out in Beijing, it is not so keen on scrutiny
:02:45. > :03:04.We have turned up, as agreed, for an interview, but we find our
:03:05. > :03:11.The person who lives here is doing something that is very brave
:03:12. > :03:13.in China, trying to stand for election
:03:14. > :03:24.We are hoping we can come in and talk to you.
:03:25. > :03:30.Excuse me, I think we have permission to go in
:03:31. > :03:46.It is my right to stand for election, she begins to tell me.
:03:47. > :04:00.China often uses sinister, unidentified men to do its sensitive
:04:01. > :04:02.police work, and there are few issues more sensitive
:04:03. > :04:11.Every five years, hundreds of millions of Chinese people
:04:12. > :04:22.The district elections are, in theory, open to any candidate.
:04:23. > :04:29.In reality, the Communist Party decides who is on the ballot.
:04:30. > :04:31.And the Communist-Party-run media has, this year,
:04:32. > :04:37.The US election has been exploited to the full,
:04:38. > :04:40.as proof of American weakness and division, and Chinese
:04:41. > :04:52.But China, of course, has its share of discord and dissent.
:04:53. > :04:57.China has made huge capital out of what it sees as the farce,
:04:58. > :05:00.the circus, of the US election, the huge effort and expense that
:05:01. > :05:06.What we can see here quite clearly is the huge effort and expense that
:05:07. > :05:12.China puts into stopping people exercising their democratic rights.
:05:13. > :05:18.All this for one independent, local election candidate.
:05:19. > :05:30.But the heavy-handed control is as much a sign of insecurity
:05:31. > :05:46.It is one of the most secretive places in the world.
:05:47. > :05:49.The autonomous region of Wa State in eastern Myanmar was once famous
:05:50. > :05:51.for the opium trade, now it is closed
:05:52. > :05:54.It is also a place where international laws
:05:55. > :06:00.Jonah Fisher managed to get permission to visit Wa State
:06:01. > :06:03.and found that rather than drugs, there is now a thriving trade
:06:04. > :06:09.The mountains of Wa State were once covered with poppies.
:06:10. > :06:11.Opium grown here on the Burmese border with China was turned
:06:12. > :06:15.into heroin, and smuggled around the world.
:06:16. > :06:18.Now after years hiding from international view,
:06:19. > :06:20.the Wa say they have cleaned up their act and invited
:06:21. > :06:28.This is one of the most secretive places on Earth.
:06:29. > :06:31.It is easier to get permission to go to North Korea
:06:32. > :06:42.Though technically part of Myanmar, it is really a state within a state.
:06:43. > :06:51.Back in 1989, the Wa signed a ceasefire with the Burmese
:06:52. > :06:56.government, giving them full autonomy in return for peace.
:06:57. > :06:59.Judging from what we see, the Wa have stopped growing opium,
:07:00. > :07:05.but they have not kicked the drug habit.
:07:06. > :07:08.This ceremony is to burn some of the two tonnes of methamphetamine
:07:09. > :07:15.But plenty still reached Asian markets and many believe that Wa
:07:16. > :07:19.leaders are directly involved in the billion-dollar business.
:07:20. > :07:25.It is a view unsurprisingly rejected by the local police chief.
:07:26. > :07:28.He accepts that meth is a big problem, but says foreigners
:07:29. > :07:31.from China and Thailand bring the raw materials in and that the Wa
:07:32. > :07:38.Late one night, we give our minders the slip and make
:07:39. > :07:45.It is a supermarket selling endangered animal parts.
:07:46. > :07:47.This is a pile of tiger bone bracelets, costing
:07:48. > :07:55.These are tiger skulls, pangolins, elephant bones,
:07:56. > :08:03.and this carved tusk is priced at about $18,000.
:08:04. > :08:08.The women say they can arrange delivery to China.
:08:09. > :08:11.We have counted at least six of this type of shop in this
:08:12. > :08:18.It is clear that when it comes to producing drugs,
:08:19. > :08:21.and dealing in animal parts, the Wa make up their own rules.
:08:22. > :08:27.Meeting the Wa leadership to talk about the animal trade was not easy.
:08:28. > :08:30.In the end, they agreed, rather strangely, to do it
:08:31. > :08:34.from the presenter's chair of their own TV station.
:08:35. > :08:38.In Wa State, we do not have places where wild animals live.
:08:39. > :08:40.We cut down all the forests to plant rubber.
:08:41. > :08:52.This is people trading freely, you buy from me, I sell to him.
:08:53. > :08:55.Great efforts have been made to expand the regulations that
:08:56. > :09:00.Enforcing them in a place like Wa State is almost impossible.
:09:01. > :09:04.Jonah Fisher, BBC News, Pangkham, Wa State.
:09:05. > :09:07.One of the challenges facing a Trump presidency will be healing
:09:08. > :09:11.the divisions which emerged during the election campaign.
:09:12. > :09:13.American Muslims are seeking reassurance following his call
:09:14. > :09:17.for a ban on Muslims entering the US.
:09:18. > :09:20.The state of Michigan voted for Mr Trump, but it is home
:09:21. > :09:26.Martin Bashir has been to meet some of them to find out what they think
:09:27. > :09:33.Prayers in North America's largest mosque, in a state that
:09:34. > :09:41.His campaign has left its mark on Muslims.
:09:42. > :09:43.The bigoted rhetoric, the hatred, the racism,
:09:44. > :09:54.He has almost given a green light to individuals now that it is OK.
:09:55. > :09:58.I was walking one way, he was walking the other way.
:09:59. > :09:59.This 15-year-old experienced the Trump effect at school,
:10:00. > :10:07.There was a boy who told me to take the towel off my head.
:10:08. > :10:10.I told him to pull his pants up because he was wearing
:10:11. > :10:20.He thought that since our new President-elect thought that
:10:21. > :10:21.Muslims are terrorists, he can do the same.
:10:22. > :10:29.What many in the Muslim community perceived as an attack on Islam,
:10:30. > :10:36.culminated in the most dramatic proposal.
:10:37. > :10:38.The name is there, it is radical Islamic terror, total and complete
:10:39. > :10:43.shutdown of Muslims entering the United States.
:10:44. > :10:47.While Trump's rhetoric horrified Muslims in Dearborn,
:10:48. > :10:49.it galvanised voters down the road in recently bankrupted Detroit.
:10:50. > :10:52.They felt that globalisation and immigration had
:10:53. > :11:00.The messaging was very effective with the white working class.
:11:01. > :11:05.If you look at Macomb County, Monroe County, which are largely
:11:06. > :11:11.made up of the white working class, they voted in numbers for Mr Trump.
:11:12. > :11:14.Since winning in such unexpected fashion, Trump has made
:11:15. > :11:19.little mention of Muslims, though his website still promotes
:11:20. > :11:23.his proposal to ban them from entering the country.
:11:24. > :11:26.Is it safe to be a Muslim in a country where Donald
:11:27. > :11:35.We have great confidence in our country, and
:11:36. > :11:42.We want success, we want America to be as good as it can be,
:11:43. > :11:55.we want America to be great, in his vernacular.
:11:56. > :11:57.Donald Trump will be inaugurated as the 45th President in January,
:11:58. > :12:00.just four days after the annual public holiday honouring the life
:12:01. > :12:01.of America's greatest civil rights leader,
:12:02. > :12:08.America's Muslims, including those here in Michigan,
:12:09. > :12:10.must hope that the arc of Mr Trump's presidency will bend
:12:11. > :12:12.towards reconciliation and away from the rhetoric that
:12:13. > :12:20.Martin Bashir, BBC News, in Dearborn, Michigan.
:12:21. > :12:26.The full scale of the damage done by so-called Islamic State
:12:27. > :12:30.to the historic Iraqi city of Nimrud is now becoming clear.
:12:31. > :12:34.Less than a week after government forces recaptured the site,
:12:35. > :12:36.recovery teams are assessing the devastation after the group's
:12:37. > :12:41.two year occupation of the ancient city.
:12:42. > :12:44.Richard Galpin was one of the first people to reach the city ruins
:12:45. > :12:53.We joined an Iraqi army convoy on the road to Nimrud.
:12:54. > :12:56.In parts of this district, troops are still battling militants
:12:57. > :13:06.But today, the area of the prized archaeological site,
:13:07. > :13:09.safe enough for a top general to see what IS has done
:13:10. > :13:17.Everywhere here, wreckage of prized artefacts,
:13:18. > :13:19.the ancient capital of the Assyrian Empire.
:13:20. > :13:29.The intricate cuneiform writing carved into these
:13:30. > :13:35.back thousands of years, but now just part of a pile of rubble.
:13:36. > :13:38.For the Isis militants, the site was not something to be
:13:39. > :13:41.cherished for its huge historical and archaeological significance.
:13:42. > :13:44.Instead, in their ultra-extremist view, this was a place of false
:13:45. > :13:52.idols, and therefore to be eradicated.
:13:53. > :13:58.As part of their propaganda campaign, the militants posted
:13:59. > :14:00.videos online of the systematic destruction of Nimrud,
:14:01. > :14:06.The United Nations calls it a war crime.
:14:07. > :14:09.Before the arrival of IS militants two years ago, Nimrud had been
:14:10. > :14:16.The exquisite statues symbolising the power and culture
:14:17. > :14:27.This man, who grew up in this area, tells me 95% of the site
:14:28. > :14:31.I am very sad, he says, sometimes these ruins felt
:14:32. > :14:37.more important to us than our own lives and souls.
:14:38. > :14:41.And what ISIS has done here is just part of a pattern of cultural
:14:42. > :14:44.destruction here in Iraq and in Syria.
:14:45. > :14:57.To Kenya now where, if the Government gets its way,
:14:58. > :15:00.the world's biggest refugee camp on the Somali border
:15:01. > :15:06.It would mean the camp's 280,000 refugees will be forced to leave.
:15:07. > :15:09.Many people living there are Somalis and some have already started
:15:10. > :15:18.returning home to their nation's continuing instability and violence.
:15:19. > :15:20.Alastair Leithead has travelled to the Dadabb and to southern
:15:21. > :15:23.Somalia which is struggling to cope with the many
:15:24. > :15:28.It's a sprawling hot and dusty testament to years of drought
:15:29. > :15:38.Dadaab is the world's largest refugee camp.
:15:39. > :15:41.And now Kenya wants to close it down.
:15:42. > :15:43.Uncertainty gives way to anger and frustration at the gates
:15:44. > :15:48.of the UN refugee agency in the camp.
:15:49. > :15:52.Many were born here and have never left but Kenya threats and extra UN
:15:53. > :15:59.But this woman doesn't want to go back.
:16:00. > :16:03.Fighting forced her to flee Somalia six years ago.
:16:04. > :16:05.She says it's still too violent and here there's food,
:16:06. > :16:12.It's a directive coming from the Kenyan Government, she said.
:16:13. > :16:15.My children are in school, I want them to continue their
:16:16. > :16:22.She thinks the Kenyan Government will force them to leave.
:16:23. > :16:25.That's what they hear on Kenyan radio but it's
:16:26. > :16:31.The UN's been criticised for not telling people clearly enough
:16:32. > :16:43.It's not UN, it's the position the refugees will reach
:16:44. > :16:45.if and when they want to return and of course
:16:46. > :16:54.in line with the position the Kenyan Government has now taken.
:16:55. > :16:57.Thousands have been leaving since Kenya threatened to close the camp.
:16:58. > :16:59.It's a dangerous drive through an area controlled by the
:17:00. > :17:08.When they do return to Somalia they come to places like Kismayo
:17:09. > :17:11.where there are already tens of thousands of people displaced
:17:12. > :17:14.by years of fighting and there is even less for them here.
:17:15. > :17:16.Little in terms of food or water and certainly no education.
:17:17. > :17:20.This woman told us if she knew what it was going to be
:17:21. > :17:22.like when she got here she wouldn't have left the camp.
:17:23. > :17:25.She says there is no food here, nothing to give the children,
:17:26. > :17:32.Some young returnees are given training.
:17:33. > :17:36.These apprentice mechanics hope to get one of the few jobs.
:17:37. > :17:50.TRANSLATION: It is very possible for young men to be
:17:51. > :17:55.recruited by al-Shabab, if they don't have employment.
:17:56. > :17:58.The state's own security force controls Kismayo but al-Shabab
:17:59. > :17:59.rules the countryside, rebuilding a failed
:18:00. > :18:04.Somalia isn't ready for a mass homecoming, whatever
:18:05. > :18:10.Alastair Leithead, BBC News, Kismayo.
:18:11. > :18:14.Prostate cancer is the most common cancer in men.
:18:15. > :18:23.The disease tends to affect men of a certain age, more
:18:24. > :18:28.than half of those diagnosed are over 70 years old.
:18:29. > :18:31.Black men are twice as likely to get it it but no one knows why.
:18:32. > :18:33.Some believe the answer lies in west Africa.
:18:34. > :18:36.Martin Patience has been to Nigeria to look at the search
:18:37. > :18:39.But our story begins with John Maguire and a mechanic
:18:40. > :18:44.in London's East End who's trying to make a difference.
:18:45. > :18:50.Errol can change oil and fix fan belts and check tyres, he can also
:18:51. > :18:54.save lives. Whilst undergoing treatment for prostate cancer
:18:55. > :18:59.himself he made a spontaneous pledge to a customer, get tested and I'll
:19:00. > :19:04.give you a discount. He had traces of cancer in his prostate. He said
:19:05. > :19:09.to me, look, I want you to donate this money to the charity but, more
:19:10. > :19:12.importantly, I need you to raise the awareness of this issue because I
:19:13. > :19:17.would never have done this test had it not been for you. We both stood
:19:18. > :19:22.there in tears because I thought, well, how frightening is this? The
:19:23. > :19:30.PSA test isn't always reliable but Errol wants people to know more. He
:19:31. > :19:34.gives out 100 leaflets a day. Even passing celebrity Mark Wright gets
:19:35. > :19:38.collared and women who persuade male friends and family to take the test
:19:39. > :19:44.also save on their garage bill. Black men are twice as likely to
:19:45. > :19:48.have prostate cancer than white men At this clinic in London we meet
:19:49. > :19:56.Nigel who was diagnosed 16 years ago. He recognises for many this is
:19:57. > :20:00.a taboo subject. They seem to think it's something that as we say we
:20:01. > :20:03.don't know if it's a lifestyle, but they're afraid to talk about it,
:20:04. > :20:08.especially in the presence of women. This Professor's working to find out
:20:09. > :20:13.why black men are a higher risk. Could a solution be found in west
:20:14. > :20:17.Africa? Martin Patience, the BBC's Nigeria correspondent, takes up the
:20:18. > :20:22.story. Both his parents are from here so
:20:23. > :20:30.Frank's trip is personal as well as professional. As the most populous
:20:31. > :20:35.nation in Africa, Nigeria is key to prostate cancer research. Frank's
:20:36. > :20:40.part of an international team of doctors and scientists researching
:20:41. > :20:47.the causes of the disease. We are looking for answers, it's best to
:20:48. > :20:52.come to the source of black men and the slave trade, for example, from
:20:53. > :20:56.the West Coast of Africa, many were Nigerians, and where they have ended
:20:57. > :21:02.up, Brazil, the Caribbean, the UK and the USA, that's where you get
:21:03. > :21:10.the highest rates of prostate cancer. He is visiting a lab where
:21:11. > :21:15.research has been carried out on genetic samples provided by Nigerian
:21:16. > :21:21.men. These scientists may one day revolutionise our understanding of
:21:22. > :21:28.the disease. What we are trying to find out here is to look at and
:21:29. > :21:33.compare genetic profiles of prostate cancer patients in Nigerian men and
:21:34. > :21:38.those of other races to see if there are differences and if there are
:21:39. > :21:43.comparisons. The findings of the research are not expected to be
:21:44. > :21:50.published for two or three years. But any breakthrough in Nigeria is
:21:51. > :21:54.likely to help men in Britain. In Nottingham, they're working hard
:21:55. > :22:01.to raise awareness. Community radio stations help to get the message
:22:02. > :22:04.across and at this drop-in clinic men come to be tested and share
:22:05. > :22:10.their experiences. While scientists around the globe search for a cure,
:22:11. > :22:12.others promote prevention or at least early intervention. Another
:22:13. > :22:20.frontline in the battle against cancer.
:22:21. > :22:24.Finally, she's one of the world's most famous faces which makes the
:22:25. > :22:28.idea of painting a portrait of the Queen a daunting prospect. Colin
:22:29. > :22:31.Davidson is the latest artist to be given the task and this week his
:22:32. > :22:35.picture was unveiled by the Queen herself.
:22:36. > :22:43.Chris Buckler has been to see it up close.
:22:44. > :22:48.It is one of the most prized commissions. But for any artist
:22:49. > :22:53.there are nerves in revealing their interpretation of one of the world's
:22:54. > :23:01.most iconic images, a face known worldwide, but seen through the eyes
:23:02. > :23:08.of one individual. I'm very aware of the gravity of an Irishman being
:23:09. > :23:12.invited to paint the Queen. The monarch sits for relatively few
:23:13. > :23:17.portraits and this painting was commissioned with the purpose. To
:23:18. > :23:23.mark the Queen's part in advancing Anglo-Irish relationships. What I
:23:24. > :23:30.personally brought to it was I think the fact that I have witnessed over
:23:31. > :23:35.many years the Queen's actions in advancing healing. And that probably
:23:36. > :23:39.makes one opinion of this portrait more important than any other. Her
:23:40. > :23:44.Majesty's historic visit to Ireland... At an event in London
:23:45. > :23:48.organised by Co-operation Ireland, which commissioned the painting, it
:23:49. > :23:55.was unveiled by the Queen. APPLAUSE
:23:56. > :24:00.Among those invited were guests who reflect all shades of political
:24:01. > :24:05.opinion on the island of Ireland. And Colin Davidson's work has come
:24:06. > :24:10.to be a glimpse of how things have changed. His portraits of Ian
:24:11. > :24:16.Paisley and Martin McGuinness were painted to be shown together, a sign
:24:17. > :24:21.of the divisions gone but pictures that also signify what went before.
:24:22. > :24:26.I can't speak for what necessarily the motivation from the Palace or
:24:27. > :24:35.from the Queen's point of view was to allow me to make this. But I
:24:36. > :24:39.think about the fact that she did suffer personal loss through the
:24:40. > :24:44.conflict. That makes this a painting of its time. A portrait of a Queen
:24:45. > :24:48.defined by the landscape of a modern Ireland.
:24:49. > :24:50.Chris Buckler, BBC News, Belfast. And that's all from Reporters for
:24:51. > :24:58.this week. From me, goodbye for now.