From Our Own Correspondent

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Saints and Sinners Jul 12, 2013

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The recent feuding within Nelson Mandela's family has reminded us that within the anti-apartheid hero's myth is a man and a family with very human frailties, as Gabriel Gatehouse ponders when he visits a play in Johannesburg. Yolande Knell pays a visit to the deported cleric Abu Qatada's new home - Jordan's al-Muwaqar Prison. Jo Fidgen joins the crew of a Norwegian whale hunting boat. Ed Stocker finds out why some poorer Bolivians can't afford to eat their staple food, quinoa, any more. And Dany Mitzman on the Calabrian mafia's most recent and high profile victim.

You Can't Hug on Facebook Jul 06, 2013

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Portuguese people are leaving the country in their thousands, travelling to the country's former colonies in search of work - Emma Jane Kirby's in Porto and Lisbon learning how recession's driving many away from their family and loved ones. The exodus from conflict-ridden Syria continues too - Kieran Cooke meets a family from Damascus now selling shoes in the Armenian capital, Yerevan. Kevin Connolly's in Cairo and asks how the military will react at the next election if the people once again select an Islamist candidate to be the country's leader. Beth McLeod has been finding out that a high proportion of Vietnam's sucessful businesses are run by women - she suggests the country's turbulent history may point at some of the reasons why. And far out in the Pacific, John Pickford's on Christmas Island where he stumbles across a reminder that this was the place where Britain carried out some of its first nuclear weapons testing.

A House in Damascus Jul 04, 2013

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What's happened to her house in the Old City in Damascus? Diana Darke hears how it's fared during the ongoing conflict in Syria. David Shukman is in Prescott, Arizona, a community devastated after 19 firefighters lost their lives battling a forest fire. Kinshasa in DR Congo is Africa's fastest-growing city - Jonny Hogg's been finding out how law and order's fast collapsing there too. Natasha Breed, who lives in Kenya and regularly films lions there, is shocked at the conditions a lion's forced to endure at a circus in France. And, on a lighter note, Rajan Datar, high in the Caucusus mountains of Georgia, is invited to try his hand, or rather his larynx, at the ancient art of polyphonic singing.

A Thousand Horses Come to Town Jun 29, 2013

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A thousand horses. Three thousand sheep. And people, thousands of them too, clustered like locusts around the Old Port in Marseille. What on earth were they all doing there? Anna Magnusson was finding out. European leaders have announced they'll try to tackle unemployment; Emma Jane Kirby's in southern Spain where the under-25s are finding it hardest to get jobs. Qatar has a new ruler, or emir; Frank Gardner's just back from this ultra-rich Gulf state wondering: is this the world's most ironic country? Rupert Wingfield Hayes has been to the Indonesian island of Sumatra to look into South East Asia's worst smog crisis in years. And among the correspondents in Senegal, reporting on the excitement, the rumours and the disruption which accompany a visiting American president, was Caspar Leighton. From Our Own Correspondent is produced by Tony Grant.

The Story That Never Happened Jun 27, 2013

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It's the great reconciliation story which never happened -- Andrew Hosken in Libya on a homecoming which didn't take place. Nigel Wilson tells us of the dangers involved in trying to provide a taste of home to Syrians stuck in Jordan. Marie Keyworth on the Portuguese struggling to get by as the long recession continues. In Croatia, Mick Webb finds many enthusiastic about joining the EU - the country's set to become a full member next month. And who's for some red-braised wallaby tail with native fruits? Not many Australians apparently. Fuchsia Dunlop says there's a reluctance to tuck in to some of the local wildlife. Tony Grant produces From Our Own Correspondent.

A Seat With a View Jun 22, 2013

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Air travel may be not quite the glamorous, magical experience it once was but our frequent flier Peter Day, sitting bolt upright in economy class, says there can still be something magnificent about it. For Shaiima Khalil, it's a long hot overnight train journey to Upper Egypt to find out how the revolution's playing out far from the big cities of the north. Chris Morris, covering the anti-government demonstrations in Turkey, hears the prime minister Mr Erdogan promise better days ahead. Fergal Keane tells of past and future colliding on a beach near the southern tip of Africa. And Stephen Smith, deep in a vault in London, gets his hands on some of the glittering riches of the Russian Tsars. From Our Own Correspondent is produced by Tony Grant.

Discontent on the Nile Jun 20, 2013

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'Everything is worse after the revolution' - tourism workers along the River Nile in Egypt tell Matthew Teller about the turmoil in their industry. Tessa Dunlop returns to Romania to see if the lot of orphans there has improved in the last twenty years. How some refugees from the fighting in Syria are finding a warm welcome in Hizbollah communities in northern Lebanon - Sakhr Al-Makhadhi explains. Alastair Leithead meets the Yurock tribe in northern California -- an ancient people in modern America. And why Andy Martin found the huge police presence at the G8 gathering of world leaders in Ireland distinctly disarming.

A Demo a Day Jun 15, 2013

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A passion for protest: street demonstrations, rarely permitted in the days of President Mubarak, have become common in Cairo and Egypt's other cities; Aleem Maqbool sets out to see if he can find a demo a day. Phil Goodwin on how war has changed Syria from a hospitable, friendly place into one that's brutal, paranoid and vicious. A meeting critical to the future of Detroit - Jonny Dymond on a great American city poised on the edge of bankruptcy. Peter Meanwell meets cross-dressing musicians in Equatorial Guinea and tucks in to crocodile in chocolate sauce. And a snake guarding a pot of gold? Jane Dyson says it's one of the less alarming ghosts believed to reside in the forests of the Himalayas.

God Bless Hungary! Jun 13, 2013

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Hungarians fight the floods! This collection of despatches from radio correspondents includes Nick Thorpe in Budapest on how people buried their differences and worked together to save their capital from an overflowing River Danube. Bethany Bell says they're picking cherries in the Golan Heights as the Syrian war rages on in the valley below. Croatia is about to join the EU - but Andy Hosken finds that the campaign to eradicate old ethnic animosities has only achieved limited success. Yolande Knell is in Gaza from where, in recent times, rockets have been fired at Israel. She discovers how Gazans are coping with the sanctions imposed on them by the Israelis. And who is responsible for climate change in the Himalayas? Kieran Cooke, who was there, is told the answer - by a Hindu holy man!

Mussolini's Gay Island Jun 08, 2013

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Correspondents' despatches from around the globe. Who'll emerge victorious from the struggle in Taksim Square? Paul Mason gives his view after spending the week in Istanbul. Lyse Doucet believes the new prime minister of Pakistan faces a daunting set of problems -- but she finds there's little chance of him going hungry! The Nigerian military say they're making progress in their campaign against the rebels of Boko Haram - Will Ross has been to the north-east of the country to make his own assessment. Alan Johnston explains how Mussolini's Fascists created a corner of Italy where homosexuals could be glad to be gay. And foreign journalists are rarely welcomed in North Korea but Juliet Rix has been there as a tourist and was delighted to meet the locals and go dancing in a park in Pyongyang. Tony Grant produces From Our Own Correspondent

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