Correspondents Report

This week brought some very sad news for us here at the ABC, for you, the listener, and for our correspondents, scattered around the world. Mark Colvin died. The voice of PM was also a former correspondent and mentored many ABC journalists. He had a special place in his heart for our correspondents. Today, we'll hear their tributes and anecdotes.

China has achieved a major milestone in its goal to be a leading manufacturer of passenger planes. It successfully tested a domestically made passenger plane for the first time. But as China correspondent Bill Birtles reports, it'll be quite a while before you find yourself getting on board.

Tomorrow, and at just 39 years old, Emmanuel Macron could become the youngest ever French president. A year ago, he didn't even have a party he could call his own. The former economy minister in the socialist Hollande government quit last year to form his own movement, En Marche (On the Move). It is believed Brigitte Macron, wife and former teacher, will be a serious ally for the candidate if he wins.

The Japanese Prime Minister has told his country the time is 'ripe' to change the constitution that's been in place since the end of World War II. Shinzo Abe has made no secret of his ambition to revise Japan's constitution, but this week, he's laid out his plans for the first time and he says 2020, the year that Japan will host the Olympic games is the right year for a new constitution. It promises to be a tumultuous debate in Japan, where post-war pacifism has become ingrained in the nation's psyche.

Bangkok was recently ranked as having the best street food in the world for the second year in the row. The generals that run the country's military welcomed the praise but at the same time, they're evicting thousands of street food vendors. The junta says it needs to clear the capital's walkways but hungry customers and small business owners are upset that the city's famous culinary culture is being swept aside. Southeast Asia Correspondent Liam Cochrane is digging in, while he still can.

Life in Jakarta is not without its challenges. For many, it's a city that they ultimately come to love, but not without a few hardships along the way. A trip to a slum in the west of the city was a visual delight for Indonesia correspondent Samantha Hawley and the ABC crew and an eye -opener into the Indonesia capital.

Today marks 100 days since Donald Trump took office and many in America remain divided over what he has achieved and where he has failed. During the election campaign, North America Correspondent Stephanie March met dozens of Trump supporters, Trump haters and people who didn't know what to make of the unconventional candidate. Recently she revisited the voters, to see what they think about the President' so far.

The election of Donald Trump as US President created an unprecedented scramble by countries around the world trying to get a handle on this most mercurial of men. After 100 days, many questions remain. The signals are sometimes contradictory and the results unclear. But there is one thing everyone can agree on, Trump is not 'business as usual', for better or worse.

For China Correspondent Matthew Carney it was a dream assignment. Venture into the wilds of Western Mongolia and live with the last of the eagle hunters to document a dying tradition and the efforts to keep it alive. But to do it he had to endure some extreme conditions like temperatures as low as minus 40 degrees.

In India, there's a concept that can mean anything from ingenuity to craftiness, to out and out corruption. It's called 'jugaad'. Some Indians are proud of it, others despise it. South Asia Correspondent James Bennett has been learning about this complex part of the national psyche.