On Assignment

Robert Moore heads to Iowa to see how the US presidential candidates are trying to rally support. Romilly Weeks looks at a nightclub killing in Bucharest. Tim Ewart investigates why the Catholic Church believes that the close relationship between a mother and son is posing a threat to the institution of marriage in Rome.

Martin Geissler reports on the growing frustration in Sweden which has allowed 160,000 refugees into the country last year. Chris Ship reports on the shifting political landscape in Spain. John Ray reports from South Africa's White only enclave.

In this edition, Middle East correspondent Geraint Vincent travels to the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights to see how the civil war in Syria is affecting the Druze communities that live across this uncertain frontier. International affairs editor Rageh Omaar visits Tehran, where a craze for plastic surgery has turned the city into the nose job capital of the world. Neil Connery reports from an ancient mountaintop town in Italy which is under threat from both nature and the modern world.

Rio de Janeiro: Countdown to the Olympic Opening Ceremony – Steve Scott

There are less than 100 days to go until the curtain raises on the Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro, but already political turmoil and high drama threaten to overshadow Brazil's showcase event. Nationwide protests, claims of corruption, the country's president now impeached: hardly the best build up to the world's largest sporting event. Add into the mix the devastating Zika virus and a crippling economic recession, and Brazilians could be forgiven for not feeling optimistic about the games.

But that is not the Rio way. This is a city that lives for a party and one party in particular: Carnival. Early every year, the city's streets come alive to a dazzling bombardment of the senses as revellers compete to be the most striking, colourful and vibrant show in town - played out to the irresistible rhythms of the Samba. It is exactly this spirit the games organisers are hoping to harness at the Olympic opening ceremony and make it a night to remember. Steve Scott has been to Rio to get a privileged glimpse behind the scenes as preparations gather pace and meets the city's charismatic mayor, who in the current political vacuum has been thrust further into the spotlight. Is he still confident the games will put Rio on the map for all the right reasons?

Yemen: Voices of a forgotten civil war – Neil Connery

The brutal civil war in Yemen has now raged for over a year, but little is heard from inside this bitterly divided country. Recently Neil Connery travelled to the country's ancient capital Sana'a, much of which now lies in ruins, and beyond into the harsh but beautiful mountains to tell the story of a people's struggle to survive in the shadows of war.

LA: Food deserts – Nina Nannar

For years Nina Nannar has covered the Oscars for ITV News, but this year she left the glitz and glamour of Hollywood behind for the Los Angeles suburb of Watts to meet the chefs on a mission to bring healthy eating to the streets of LA's poorest neighbourhoods. Once synonymous with riots and violence, today Watts faces a different challenge. Without even a supermarket in town, residents say that the lack of healthy, affordable food has created a reliance on cheap fast-food outlets and a serious obesity problem.

But Daniel Patterson and Roy Choi, two of California's most celebrated chefs, are determined to make a difference with their new breed of fast food which promises something healthier, delicious and nutritious at a price people can afford. Even Aqeela Sherrills, a former gang member, who once brokered a peace deal between the notorious Bloods and Crips gangs in the ‘90s has taken on this new fight against obesity. With Nina he hits the streets in his food truck, delivering free fruit smoothies and spreading the word about healthy eating to a young generation hoping for bright future.

Rageh Omaar presents a series in which ITV News journalists contribute in-depth reports from around the world on the stories behind the headlines.

News features from around the world. Juliet Bremner visits Portugal to meet the men risking their lives to fish for a prized Portuguese delicacy - the goose barnacle. Charlene White meets the hopeful competitors at Africa's first ever Ice Hockey Championship in Morocco. Penny Marshall is in France to discover whether a pioneering new law compelling supermarkets to redistribute edible food waste could prevent perfectly good food from ending up rotting in the bin.

Fronted by Rageh Omaar, ITV News's award-winning team of specialist journalists contribute in-depth reports from around the world and the stories behind the headlines.

The following reports will air in this programme:

AUSTRIA – James Mates

Could Austria become the first European country since World War II to democratically elect a far-right president? The polls show Norbert Hofer neck-and-neck with progressive opponent Alexander Van Der Bellen, who won the presidential election in May by a slim margin. Hofer's hopes have been reignited after the country's constitutional court decided to annul the election outcome after irregularities in the process were revealed and has now set a re-run for November. James Mates travels to Vienna and the surrounding countryside to explore the opposing perspectives dividing Austrian society. Could this lead the country to be the next member state to turn its back on the European Union?

TANZANIA – John Ray

In Tanzania on Africa's east coast, criminal gangs are increasingly using explosives to stun and kill fish - allowing easy collection and larger hauls. Yet their methods are having a devastating effect on the local ecosystem and entail potentially fatal consequences for the fishermen involved. Records reveal that there have been 8,700 explosions in just 14 months, resulting in thousands of metres of East Africa's most pristine coral reefs being destroyed. John Ray travels to the markets of Tanzania where dynamite is freely available and meets a fisherman who lost his hands to this dangerous and destructive practice.

ESTONIA: SPLIT BY A BORDER - Simon Harris

The Seto people in South East Estonia are one of the last folk cultures in Europe and are fighting to preserve their unique way of life. Simon Harris visits them on one of their most important religious holidays where they feast on the graves of their ancestors. Dressed in brightly coloured clothes, the Setos perform their traditional polyphonic songs, a tradition so prized it's protected by UNESCO. But the Seto culture is under threat as the border with Russia runs directly through their homeland, splitting their community and forcing many Setos to disperse across Estonia. With their numbers dwindling, the future of this small community hangs in the balance.

Rageh Omaar presents the current affairs show featuring several in-depth reports from around the world. In an exclusive interview for British television, Robert Moore meets Albert Woodfox, America's longest serving solitary confinement prisoner. Noreena Hertz is in Iceland, which has topped the Gender Equality Index for the last six years, to explore why women apparently fare better there than anywhere else in the world. Dan Rivers is on the remote and stunning Norfolk Island, where an end to years of self-governance has sparked outrage among some of the inhabitants.

Current affairs magazine show presented by Rageh Omaar, featuring in-depth reports from around the world. One year after the end of China's one child policy, Debi Edward explores the impact of the controversial law, and meets the women who now have the chance of having a longed-for second child. As President Obama prepares to leave the White House, Emma Murphy travels to a pop-up hospital in a remote corner of Virginia to witness the devastating effects the US healthcare system has had on generations of Americans. Rachel Younger visits the Belgian city of Geel, where an unusual mental health care programme sees patients living not in hospitals but as guests of families.