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WARSAW, POLAND - AUGUST 19 2016 - Nocny Market

05/10/2019 GMT

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How Poland's changed in 30 years - plus stories from Vanuatu, India and Madagascar

How Poland's choices have widened over the past 30 years; Vanuatu's trade in passports; Kuki rebel forces in India wait it out; and cricket powder vs malnutrition in Madagascar

Kevin Connolly was a young correspondent in Poland in 1989, as the country began to emerge from the shadow of the Soviet Union and held its first partially-free elections since before World War Two. During his time there, he would often file stories of the daily woes of Communist life, from long queues to surly staff to wretched food. Thirty years on, he has been back to Warsaw - and seen how much the 'neon dazzle of capitalism' has changed its mood. 

Pascale Harter introduces this and other dispatches from correspondents, reporters and writers around the world.

Why would anyone be willing to pay more than $100,000 for a passport from a tiny, uninfluential Pacific island nation whose very survival is threatened by rising sea levels? It turns out that there are plenty of people very keen indeed to buy their way to citizenship of Vanuatu - and the vast majority of them are from mainland China. Sarah Treanor explores the trade in a very modern commodity.

From Colombia to Uganda, many countries struggle with the question of what to do with demobilised rebel fighters. Once their conflicts have cooled from shooting wars to disputes in dialogue with the national government, hundreds or thousands of former insurgents need a new purpose in life, and can start  trouble if they do not find one. In the jungles of north-eastern India, Martin Bader recently visited a camp holding former fighters in the Kuki National Army, once a separatist movement with a cause, now seeming somewhat adrift.

And how would you feel about eating a lovely crunchy cricket? The insects are packed with protein and other nutrients - but some cannot stomach the idea. In Madagascar, where many schoolchildren are malnourished and there is tremendous worry over protecting rainforest from agricultural demands, Emilie Filou visited a cricket farm producing cricket powder for school meals, and explored the product's myriad uses.

(Image: Nocny Market in Warsaw, Poland. Credit: Darek Majewski/Gallo Images via Getty Images Poland/Getty Images)

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