Our World

The war in eastern Ukraine between Russian backed rebels and the Ukrainian army has killed more than 10,000 people over four years, and peace remains a distant prospect. Despite the violence and poverty though,civilians in the war zone try to live as normal a life as possible. In the frontline town of Marinka, a new bakery has opened which brings some comfort and sustenance to war weary locals. From Marinka, Lucy Ash reports.

Lele Tao is an internet superstar in China's $3 billion dollar 'live streaming' industry.With more than a million fans she can earn thousands of dollars a day singing, dancing, flirting, or often just chattinginto her webcam. Fans buy her virtual gifts which she redeems for cash. In return she works hard to keep them entertained, always conscious someone younger and prettier could be waiting to take her place.

Hundreds of industrial towns across Russia face extinction. Once the pride of the Soviet Union, many have now been abandoned and millions have lost jobs and homes after the collapse of their local industry. The government now has a plan to save at least some of Russia's dying towns.

More than two thousand children were taken to France from the Indian Ocean island of Reunion between the 1960s and early 1980s as part of a French government plan to repopulate rural areas. Promised a betterlife, and an education, many suffered sexual and physical abuse. Some, now middle aged, are seeking an apology and compensation from the French state. For Our World, Katie Razzall travels from France to R�ion with two women searching for the families they lost more than 50 years ago.

For nearly 40 years Afghanistan has been in a constant state of war. How has this affected the mental health of its people? With unprecedented access to Afghanistan's only secure mental health unit Sahar Zandmeets patients, including a former Taliban fighter, struggling to deal with the trauma of war.

Compton in Los Angeles has long been renowned for gang violence. Thirty years ago local rappers NWA released the hugely influential album Straight Outta Compton which described drugs, guns and murder on thestreets. Gangs are still a fact of life in Compton but homicide and gun violence have fallen significantly because of fewer turf wars over drugs, better policing and a proactive Mayor. As Katty Kay discovers though, years of extreme gang violence has taken its toll. There are flashing images from the beginning of this film.

Leading challengers have been harassed out of the March 2018 presidential race in Egypt and Abdel Fattah al-Sisi looks guaranteed to be re-elected. Critics accuse him of an unprecedented assault on human rights. They say mass arrests, torture and 'disappearances' are hallmarks of his regime. With press freedom under attack much of the brutality goes unseen. The BBC's Cairo correspondent Orla Guerin meets victims and their families.

Ksenia Sobchak is young, wealthy and famous. Her father helped bring down the Soviet Union. Now she's challenging ex-KGB officer Vladimir Putin for the Russian presidency. A perfect pedigree perhaps. But some say she's a fake candidate, running a no-hope race to boost the Kremlin's democratic credentials. Gabriel Gatehouse travels to Russia to unravel a tale of family loyalties, a death in suspicious circumstances, and double dealings in the quest for power.

Collaborating with Israel can mean prison or death in Gaza. So why do people do it? Some Palestinians say they're forced or blackmailed, others believe they're helping to prevent attacks on innocent people. Israel says recruiting Palestinian agents helps protect its citizens. For Our World, BBC Arabic's Murad Batal Shishani travels to Israel and Gaza to unravel a complex web of desperation and exploitation.

When a fire at a children's home in Guatemala killed dozens of teenage girls, it exposed a terrifying culture of abuse. Linda Pressly investigates how the tragedy, in what was meant to be a place of safety, has revealed a child protection crisis of epic proportions.

In April this year a highly respected Norwegian child psychiatrist was convicted of downloading thousands of images of child pornography. The psychiatrist had been used as an expert, until his arrest, by Norway's controversial child protection system and was involved in decisions about whether children should be removed from their parents. Campaigners in Norway have long accused the system of removing children from their parents without justification and now, despite the serious nature of this man's offence, the authorities are refusing to review the child protection cases he gave evidence in. Tim Whewell has been to Norway to try to discover why child protection in one of the world's wealthiest countries appears to be in crisis.