From Our Own Correspondent

President Trump and his supporters remain defiant in the face of the impeachment inquiry against him. But many of Mr Trump's political allies are troubled by another issue: the withdrawal of American troops from Syria, which has allowed Turkey to attack Kurdish targets in Syria. Jon Sopel says Syria may turn into Mr Trump's bigger problem. The Kalash are a mountain people who live in a series of valleys in the Hindu Kush in northern Pakistan. They number only a few thousand today and there are concerns that there's increasing pressure upon them to convert to Islam. Emma Thomson has been to visit. There's a fuel crisis in Cuba at the moment and if you want to fill up you'd better be prepared to wait for several hours. As Will Grant reports, the government is taking other measures to save money, such as asking civil servants to work from home. China's economic influence spreads far and wide. It has reached the city of Sihanoukville in southern Cambodia where billions have been invested in industrial infrastructure. But Vincent Ni encounters ambivalent attitudes there to people of Chinese origin. Earlier this year the British government imposed a temporary export ban on one of JMW Turner's masterpieces, The Dark Rigi, the Lake of Lucerne. Lucy Daltroff has been to the source of his inspiration.

The wedding banquet put on hold by protests and emergency legislation in Hong Kong. Helier Cheung describes how she had to tell 300 guests the party was off. It's 250 years since Captain Cook first set foot in New Zealand and the first time the Maori encountered Europeans. That anniversary is being marked this month and this week a replica of Cook's ship, the Endeavour, docked in the small city of Gisborne. But the anniversary has not been universally welcomed, as Colin Peacock reports. Uganda has had the same man in charge, Yoweri Museveni, since 1986. Challengers for the office of president have come and gone and Mr Museveni has twice changed the rules - on the number of presidential terms and on the maximum presidential age - to ensure his longevity. But now a new challenger has appeared, in the form of a former pop star. Sally Hayden has been on the road with Bobi Wine. Bear Island - some 250 miles off the northern coast of Norway - is home to a few hardy souls who staff the weather station there. Legend says it got its name from a polar bear spotted swimming nearby in the Barents Sea. But David Baillie says these majestic creatures are few and far between now. More than 14,000 people in Britain have reached the grand age of 100. One of the perks of this achievement is the traditional message of congratulation from the Queen. In France there are even more centenarians but no similar tradition, no message from the president. Well, not until Nicola Carslaw stepped in.

Viktor Shokin was forced out as Prosecutor General of Ukraine in 2016. Since then he's been variously portrayed as a hapless bumbler or a fearless investigator of corruption. Jonah Fisher in Kiev has been trying to track him down. In Vanuatu, an archipelago in the Pacific, they've come up with a new way of raising government revenue - selling passports for a princely sum. But Sarah Treanor says very few of those who take up the offer are likely to set foot there. Italy is well known for its love of cycling. The Giro d'Italia, more than 100 years old, is one of the three great European races, demanding strength and stamina. But there's another race taking place this weekend. As Dany Mitzman finds out, appetite as much as stamina is what's needed. The former BBC correspondent Robert Elphick died recently. He reported on many historic stories none more perhaps than the crushing of the Prague Spring in 1968. We hear one of his despatches from the time. There was bad news this week in the State of Nature report about wildlife species in Britain that are threatened with extinction. It's not purely a British problem. Phoebe Smith has been following one particular conservation project on the Arabian peninsula.

Relations between Japan and South Korea have often been delicate. But they may now have reached their lowest ebb since they established diplomatic relations in 1965. Peter Hadfield reports from Tokyo on the background to the dispute and how it's playing out in Japan. The European migrant crisis has receded from its peak of 2015, but large numbers of people are still seeking refuge in Europe, their first stop often being the Greek islands. But the camps are overcrowded and the people living there close to despair, as Charlie Faulkner finds out on Lesbos. It's now 30 years since the first partly-free elections in Poland as it began to emerge from the Soviet shadow. Kevin Connolly, who reported on those elections in the city of Gdansk, has just returned. He notices distinct similarities in the restaurant menus then and now but a significant difference in what is actually served up. In southern Chad, as the rainy season begins to recede, the grass is lush, the grazing is good and the nomadic Wodaabe people are gathering for the annual Gerewol festival - a week of what you might call speed-dating under the stars. Mark Stratton has been to watch. There are a few basic rules if you're planning to drive your car into the Australian Outback: take lots of water, tell someone where you're going and make sure the car has enough fuel. Christine Finn says it's easy to forget.

As Afghanistan goes to the polls this weekend, Lyse Doucet reflects on the country's paused peace talks. Frank Gardner finds service with a smile in Saudi Arabia, but wonders if conflict could interrupt the kingdom’s economic reforms. There's a birthday parade in Beijing next week, as the People's Republic of China celebrates its 70th anniversary. In that time China has been transformed beyond recognition, and next week's events are more than just a commemoration says John Sudworth. Could you be convinced to swap a steak for a plate of tasty crickets? Emilie Filou visits a noisy farm in Madagascar, to find out how one company wants to put 'cricket powder' in everyone's kitchen cabinet. And in the North Atlantic ocean, on the Faroe Island of Stóra Dímun, Tim Ecott lends a hand on what's been described as the 'loneliest farmhouse in the world'.