From Our Own Correspondent

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The Worst Possible News Nov 24, 2012

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Despatches from reporters across the globe. Jon Donnison was in Gaza as the city came under Israeli attack and a BBC man took a distressing phone call. Gabriel Gatehouse was in Goma as rebels took the town in eastern Congo with UN peacekeepers standing by, seemingly unable to intervene. Petroc Trelawny was in a part of France which is taking a special interest in the vote in Catalonia which many feel could be a step along the road to Catalonian independence. Owen Bennett Jones has been talking to a famer in New York state who feels consultancy might be a better earner than growing onions. And cup cakes? Salsa classes? Nightclubs? Mary Harper's been seeing signs of Africa both old and new in the Ethiopian capital, Addis Ababa.

A Frugal Dinner Nov 17, 2012

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Reporters' despatches from around the world. Afghanistan: as pressure grows on the British prime minister to bring the troops back home early, defence correspondent Caroline Wyatt considers the legacy they'll leave behind. Russia: the Siberian city of Krasnoyarsk is the country's prisons capital. Alex Preston has been to meet a former convict trying to help others, recently released, to find a toehold back in Russian society. El Salvador: the murder rate in this Latin American nation has gone down significantly thanks to a truce between two notorious gangs. Linda Pressly has been talking to some of their leaders in a high security jail. France: the infamous Sangatte asylum centre may have closed but Emma Jane Kirby has been finding out that migrants continue to flow into the port city of Calais. Germany: Steve Evans gets offered relatively frugal fare at a dinner party in Berlin. But he isn't surprised.

A Poisonous Cocktail Nov 10, 2012

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Burma: Jonathan Head goes to Rakhine state in Burma where bitter unrest has resulted in more than a hundred deaths and a hundred thousand displaced. Libya: Kevin Connolly visits a war graves cemetery and considers stories of loss and love, grief and anger. Japan: Rupert Wingfield-Hayes takes a boat to the islands at the centre of a bitter argument in the South China Sea. USA: As the dust settles after the election Jonny Dymond's in Indiana looking on as the real business of America gets done. and Mexico: Will Grant's in Oaxaca state where they believe in bidding farewell to the dead in a festive rather than a funereal atmosphere.

Driving on Mars Nov 08, 2012

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The United States of America: after the election excitement the Obama team start planning for four more years. Paul Adams. Mali: preparations well advanced for a military operation to repel Islamist rebels from the north of the country. Afua Hirsch. Oman: the Arab Spring comes calling at the Gulf state once called 'a place of wind and spiders.' Matthew Teller. Georgia: Can the new government act to restore parts of the country now effectively under Russian control? Martin Plaut. The USA: A visit to NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory and a realisation that driving on Mars is harder than it looks. Richard Hollingham. Producer: Tony Grant

Terror in Northern Nigeria Nov 03, 2012

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Will Ross on the bloodshed in Northern Nigeria;Theopi Skarlatos on why Golden Dawn is becoming Greece's worse nightmare;Anu Anand vents her frustrations about shambolic India - business is booming but what about power cuts and burst balloons? Also privileged Princeton - Dave Edmonds explains why so many alumnae are happy to donate billions to one of the world's richest universities. And Joanna Robertson tells us why the French Prime Minister reminds people of a small chocolate covered bear.

No Safe Refuge Nov 01, 2012

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Gabriel Gatehouse talks to a once-loyal Alawite pilot who ran foul of Syrian intelligence and was accused of planting bombs on military planes. Syrian refugees in Jordan tell Sahkr al Makhadhi how they fled the war zone but are now desperate to return. In Moscow, a new map marking the homes of Stalin's victims gives our correspondent Daniel Sandrof uncomfortable information about his own flat. Fact-checking is always tough, but Rana Jawad says it's especially tricky in Libya, where the rumour mill is stuck on overdrive. And David Willis explains why some Californians cough up for presidential campaigns - while others rage against the gridlock when Obama visits.

In the Valley of the Dawn Oct 27, 2012

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Kate Adie presents despatches from: Tim Whewell in a small town in Syria in the midst of the current conflict. Andrew North on trepidation in Afghanistan as the country prepares for NATO withdrawal and elections in 2014. Rajan Datar meets members of Brazil's Valley of the Dawn cult. Tim Dinham explains why your social life really can depend on the kind of Bewab or caretaker your apartment has in Cairo. And Jon Donnison spends a day with the best Yasser Arafat lookalike on the West Bank.

The Party Animals Oct 25, 2012

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Will Grant in Cuba: 50 years after the Missile Crisis, Fidel Castro still has the power to made headlines. Jill McGivering in Shenzhen sees the gulf between different generations in modern China. Kate McGeown looks at the hopes for peace in the Southern Philippines. Kim Philley experiences the art of animist 'spirit possession' in Burma. And Steve Evans explores the etiquette of cycling in Berlin.

Cities United and Divided Oct 22, 2012

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Dispatches from reporters across the globe, presented by Kate Adie. Chris Morris in Berlin analyses Angela Merkel's increasing international confidence. Fergal Keane hears the echoes of history amidst Syrian refugees in the Turkish city of Izmir. Niall O'Gallagher takes the temperature of Catalan nationalism on the streets of Barcelona. Craig Jeffrey asks if "jugaad" - the spirit of creative and quick fixes - is really the solution to India's challenges. And Hamilton Wende in Maputo, the booming capital of Mozambique, finds corruption on the rise.

Lederhosen Style Oct 18, 2012

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Thousands of Kenyans prepare to go to court to pursue claims against the British. Gabriel Gatehouse in Nairobi explains how they date back to the Mau Mau rebellion in the 1950s and why they are getting little publicity inside Kenya itself. The Dutch are changing their famously-liberal drugs laws. Manuela Saragosa says the decision's delighted some but infuriated others. Caspar Leighton's been observing celebrations of fifty years of Ugandan independence. He says people there are wondering whether, after their nation's shaky start, they are now suffering from too much stability. Rich and poor , young and old, if you want to strike up a conversation with an Indian, start talking about gold. Rahul Tandon is in Calcutta finding out why. Lederhosen for men. Heidi-style dresses for women. Bethany Bell has been learning why these clothes, so long the preserve of the ultra-conservatives in southern Germany and Austria, have now become highly fashionable.

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