From Our Own Correspondent

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Return of the Bunga Bunga King Jan 24, 2013

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Andrew Harding travels to the centre of Mali to find out how the fight against the Islamist rebels is affecting life in one small country town. Thousands of prisoners are being released from jail in Georgia -- Damien McGuinness has been learning that not all Georgians think that's such a good idea. Silvio Berlusconi's trying again to be prime minister of Italy. Alan Johnston in Rome's been finding out that many Italians don't want to see a return of the bunga bunga king. Orla Guerin tells us what it's like to live and work in Pakistan, a land which sometimes seems as if it's in perpetual crisis and ... turbulence at 35-thousand feet!!! Paul Moss takes a flight where the hostesses dispensed diplomacy along with the gin and tonics.

New Enemies, New Friends Jan 19, 2013

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Correspondents around the world telling their stories: Lyse Doucet has been meeting some of the millions of people who've been forced to flee their homes in Syria because of the continuing bloodshed there. Mark Doyle in Bamako on how the fighting in Mali has seen a new alliance being forged between the French and the Nigerian military. The Hungarian economy may be tottering - but Petroc Trelawny has been finding out it's boom time in the flea markets and second-hand shops of Budapest. Why are the French drinking so much less wine than they used to? John Laurenson set off for a country bistro in search of answers. And as the fighting continues in Mali, Nick Thorpe remembers a visit there and a drive across the Sahara Desert in more peaceable times - thirty two years ago.

Return of the Gendarme of Africa Jan 17, 2013

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Correspondents' news and views from around the globe: Hugh Schofield is in Paris as French troops take on Islamist rebels in the former French colony of Mali; Will Grant on how Venezuelans are starting to consider a future without their president, Hugo Chavez; Emily Buchanan on the Indian holy man who wowed the ladies in New England; Jo Fidgen on how the Sami people of northern Sweden haven't quite forgotten their traditionally nomadic ways and James Luckhurst takes shelter from the cold and finds a welcome in one of the most unusual museums in the Baltic states.

Title: Stateless in Kuwait Jan 12, 2013

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Kate Adie presents reporters' despatches from across the globe. Matthew Teller meets the stateless bidoons of Kuwait Mark Lobel looks attempts to improve one of Cape Town's poorest settlement in the wake of a devastating fire. Jonathan Fryer assesses Baghdad's surprising aspiration to become the conference capital of the Middle East. Alan Johnston wonders whether the mystery of Garbaldi's final resting place will ever be solved. Dany Mitzman describes the trials and tribulations of not eating meat while living in pork-crazed Bologna.

The secrets of eternal youth Jan 05, 2013

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Andrew North reflects on whether the recent rape and murder of a woman in Delhi might bring a greater soul searching amongst all sections of Indian society. Owen Bennett-Jones teeters on the "fiscal cliff" with anti-tax activist Grover Norquist, asking if he's really the most powerful man in America? Nicholas Shakespeare makes a nostalgic return to Phnom Penh. Andrew Bomford uncovers the secrets of eternal youth on the Greek island of Ikaria. Hugh Schofield banishes the January blues by exploring P.G. Wodehouse's love affair with France. And in the process, identifies what may be the master's finest opening paragraph.

Highlights of 2012 Dec 29, 2012

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As the year draws to an end, Kate Adie presents a feast of highlights from correspondents' despatches across 2012. Fucshia Dunlop is in Shanghai, dancing the the city's glamourous past. Lucy Ash is challenged by a call of nature in Russia's Siberian wilderness. Kate McGowan decides against boiled duck foetus for breakfast in Manila. Allan Little uncovers the great egg crisis in the Falkland Islands. Emma Jane Kirby is feeling distinctly under dressed as she takes a table in St Tropez. And Will Grant discovers that Mexico's 'Day of the Dead' is a suprizingly uplifting experience.

A Parisian merry-go-round Dec 22, 2012

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Kate Adie presents despatches from reporters across the globe. Lucy Ash travels to Burma where she finds that Chinese investment ventures are being challenged by local people. As Greece receives it latest tranche of bailout funds, Mark Lowen looks back over a tumultuous year in the country. Andrew North looks at the controversy surrounding the proposed introduction of foreign supermarkets to India. Joanna Robertson joins in the Parisan love affair with fairgrounds. Horatio Clare explains why change might be coming to the remote island of St. Helena in the very near future

Dementia Village Dec 15, 2012

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Reporters worldwide provide context to the week's news. Today: South Africa's ANC at the crossroads? As the party prepares for conference, its figurehead Nelson Mandela in fragile health, Andrew Harding reads the political runes at a critical time for the country. Allan Little is in the Polish city of Wroclaw observing how old allegiances and old identities are emerging in the new Europe. Now what's the attraction of the 'mitten' or 'hairy' crab? At this time of year in eastern China they're much in demand and Fuchsia Dunlop's been finding out why. Not many of our correspondents have got to meet the president of Equatorial Guinea, Teodoro Obiang. Stephen Sackur has though and asked him questions the president thought impertinent and malicious. And is getting dementia really the end of the world? The Dutch authorities have created a village for dementia sufferers which is pioneering a new sort of care.

A Nightmarish Tale Dec 08, 2012

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The BBC's Middle East editor Jeremy Bowen examines claims that a conclusion to the long conflict in Syria is within sight. After a year of protests against President Putin, Steve Rosenberg finds support for him is still strong -- particularly in cities away from the capital, Moscow. Bethany Bell's in South Tyrol where some are angry that the Italian authorities, in the midst of financial crisis, want this wealthy Alpine province to contribute more to the national exchequer. The Turks know that the television soap opera's an effective means of extending influence throughout the Middle East. And the BBC man Rajan Datar gets offered a screen part! And they've been harvesting the olives in the hills of Tuscany. Dany Mitzman's been lending a hand and observing that the harvest methods have changed little since ancient times.

Cairo at the Crossroads Dec 01, 2012

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Jon Leyne in Cairo reflects on the debate about Egypt's future. Will it be dictatorship or democracy? Secular or religious? Ed Butler's been to Halabja, the town in the Kurdish region of Iraq which, almost 25 years ago, was attacked with chemical weapons. The tea industry in India is in trouble - Mark Tully says change is on the way to the tea plantations of Assam. Celeste Hicks returns to her old base in Mali and finds that the traditional history-singers have little to say about the Islamist takeover of Timbuktu. And Kieran Cooke is in Norway trying to work out the appeal of a particularly unfragrant culinary delicacy.

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