Correspondents Report

When people think of Washington DC, they usually think of the White House, its monuments and history - but perhaps not street crime.

On this week's edition: Conor Duffy on gun crime in the US capital; Adam Harvey on Lebanon's lucrative cannabis industry; Bill Birtles on a Chinese boy whose plight caught the hearts of ABC viewers; and Samantha Hawley settles into London life.

In this week's Correspondents Report: David Lipson discusses what it's been like behind the scenes reporting on the Indonesia tsunami disaster; Zoe Daniel delves into the Brett Kavanaugh debate that’s deeply dividing the United States; and Liam Cochrane reports from Thailand about the unusual ‘fish sauce’ case, involving torture with a stapler and evidence that’s rather smelly.

Several months ago Liam Cochrane told the moving story of Cambodian woman Srey Mom, who was injured in a house fire. After the story was aired, many listeners wanted to find out more about how they can help.

It's an old, forgotten case revisited in Thailand known as the "fish sauce" case. And as Southeast Asia correspondent Liam Cochrane reports, it's an unusual one, involving torture with a stapler and evidence that's rather smelly.

In the United States, allegations against Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh have reignited debate about sexual assault and women speaking up about years-old incidents of misconduct. The matter of who's telling the truth remains hotly debated and has opened the gap in a deeply-divided nation.

In Indonesia, more than a thousand people have been confirmed dead after an earthquake and tsunami on the island of Sulawesi. Our correspondent David Lipson discusses what it's been like behind the scenes reporting on the disaster.

A huge proportion of people in Papua New Guinea live in rural areas, and in some places they have little contact with the outside world. It's subsistence farming that prevails rather than a monetised economy and community traditions remain strong.

As part of the ABC's International Development branch, the Women in News and Sport program has been training women to cover sporting events in Pacific languages. It's helping them to carve out a career in a traditionally male-dominated field.

Osaka is one of Japan's biggest cities, but it's a different Osaka that's been drawing headlines in the country. Naomi Osaka fever has gripped Japan ever since the 20-year-old beat Serena Williams to win the US Open.