"This is war. This is what we have to do"

Published: Oct. 6, 2018, 11 a.m.

Home-made muskets that often fail to fire and little but lucky charms for protection – what it’s like going into battle for the rebels fighting for independence for English-speaking parts of Cameroon. Colin Freeman meets a former member of the Red Dragons. Caroline Wyatt introduces this and other stories from correspondents around the world. Joanna Roberson hears why the people of Rome fear the historical heart of their city is being carved up by criminals as mafia seek out cafes and restaurants to launder their money. In China, Robin Brant meets Ian Simpson whose son Michael was murdered last year. Michael was killed by his ex-wife Weiwei Fu but now Ian wants her help to win custody of his grandchildren who are living with Weiwei’s relatives in rural China. Heidi Fuller-Love discovers what life is like on the Namibian island of Impalila. It may be close to the borders of Zambia, Zimbabwe, and Botswana, but it can feel a long way from anywhere. And Emma Jane Kirby meets her hero – the French musician Francis Cabrel who is revered in his home country but little known in Britain as he prefers to sing only in his native tongue.