From Our Own Correspondent

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Changing Course Mar 17, 2018

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Is this going to be the moment when China's trajectory changed forever? Correspondents share their stories, wit, and analysis from around the world. Introduced by Kate Adie: With Xi Jinping now effectively allowed to remain in power for life, after the two-term limit on the presidency was removed, John Sudworth reflects on what this means for China and the rest of the world. Steve Rosenberg examines Russia's ever-shifting relationship with the West from the frozen rust-belt town of Karabash. Linda Pressly reports from Tysfjord, where police have revealed decades’ worth of allegations of sexual abuse in the tiny Norwegian community close to the Arctic Circle. Simon Maybin is on the tropical Panamanian island of Carti Sugdub to find out more about plans to move its entire population to the mainland and by doing so escape rising sea levels. And Lindsay Johns tries (and sometimes fails) to make himself understood in South Africa - the proudly polyglot nation.

Violence To Votes Mar 15, 2018

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Former Farc rebels stand for election, but for many Colombians, it’s too soon to forgive. Kate Adie introduces stories and analysis from correspondents around the world:

Katy Watson is in Colombia as former guerrilla fighters for the rebel group turned political party fail to make an impact at the ballot box. Chris Haslam is on 'the roof of the world' world in Tajikistan to meet a man threatening to take up arms and fight for Pamiri independence. Cindy Sui reflects on her experience growing up in China and asks what the recent ban on foreign imported garbage reveals about changing attitudes to recycling there. Simon Calder boards one of the last remaining boat ferries in Europe on which the carriages slot in between 40-ton trucks as they make their way from Denmark to Germany. And Sian Griffiths marvels at Ottowa's annual river ice blast, as dynamite is used to break apart sheets of ice and stop meltwater flooding the city.

Show Of Force Mar 10, 2018

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For the first time since the Vietnam War, a US aircraft carrier has arrived in the country. Kate Adie introduces stories, wit, and analysis from correspondents around the world:

Jonathan Head watches a show of military diplomacy as a 100,000 tonne, nuclear-powered carrier docks in Vietnamese waters with more than 5,000 crew and 70 aircraft on board. A spot of misery tourism and a night on the town in Dublin help Louise Cooper understand what’s really going on in Ireland’s economy. At the height of the European migrant crisis, Richard Hall walked the Balkan route. As he retraces his footsteps he finds fewer migrants but more dangers. In Democratic Republic of Congo, Sally Howard joins the impressively dressed lady dandies or sapeuses. And what’s it like to be teased by the Dalai Lama? Justin Rowlatt finds out

Blood And Tears Mar 08, 2018

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From Lebanon, Syrian refugees watch the destruction of their homes in Eastern Ghouta. Kate Adie introduces stories and analysis from correspondents around the world: "Life now is just about blood and tears,” one woman tells Yolande Knell, “all of Ghouta is crying over its lost people.” In India, Krupa Padhy meets the head of a new union for unregister doctors - the quacks may be unqualified but they are also in demand. In Sierra Leone, Ed Butler examines the economics of the sex trade and the role rich Western men play in it. Vicky Baker meets the Nicaraguan women speaking, and singing, out against sexism. And in Sweden, Keith Moore tries to teach his son how to speak with the help of Old MacDonald and Per Olsson - but do their horses say neigh-neigh here or gnägg-gnägg there?

The Hard To Find Mar 03, 2018

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India’s missing children, selling drugs in Colombia & searching for paradise in Costa Rica. Kate Adie introduces stories from correspondents around the world:

Activists say that as many as 500,000 children went missing in India last year – Sonia Faleiro meets the father of one of them who says he’s been forced to marry off his other daughters in order to protect them. Mathew Charles spends an evening with a Colombian drug dealer and learns how criminal gangs are searching for new ways to make money. Jenny Hill visits a fairy-tale mansion in Hamburg whose 71 elderly female residents are celebrating their role in bringing about a ban on diesel cars. Roger Hill goes to a market on the shore of the Panj River which separates Tajikistan and Afghanistan and looks for signs that life is getting better there. And in Costa Rica, Benjamin Zand discovers that while the lure of paradise may be strong, it’s always so difficult to find.

The House Always Wins Mar 01, 2018

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How the father of one of his presidential rivals helped Vladimir Putin to power. Kate Adie introduces this and other stories from correspondents around the world:

Ahead of elections in March, Gabriel Gatehouse looks back at the rise of President Putin and speaks to one of his challengers - Ksenia Sobchak. Vladimir Hernandez returns to Venezuela to find a coffee now costs the same amount as he paid for his first flat, his relatives have lost weight and children are starving. It may be thousands of years since the ancient Phoenicians traversed the seas but in modern day Lebanon claims on Phoenicians identity are still controversial, discovers Fleur MacDonald. Gavin Fischer explores the recently released archive of recordings from the Rivonia trial in South Africa. His uncle defended Nelson Mandela and some of his co-accused. And Phoebe Smith enjoys the solitude of Greenland’s Arctic Circle Trail – but for how much longer will others be able to experience its unspoilt landscape she wonders.

Men Of Mystery Feb 24, 2018

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A Gambian spymaster, a Czechoslovak secret agent and a South African ghost called Sam. Correspondents share wit, analysis, and tales of strange encounters. Introduced by Kate Adie.

Gambia’s intelligence agency has a new name and its boss is busy rebranding it – but beyond repainting the torture chamber, what does that mean, wonders Colin Freeman. Rob Cameron scours the archives of the StB – Czechoslovakia’s communist-era secret police– on the trail of ‘agent COB’. He meets the man who says he tried to recruit Jeremy Corbyn as an asset. Helen Nianais has coffee with a former jihadi who faces three years in jail after spending nine days in Syria. Now he’s trying to counter extremist propaganda online and help others reintegrate back into normal life in Kosovo. Shabnam Mahmood returns to Pakistan and finds that Uber and other cab-hailing apps are driving rickshaw drivers out of business, but there are still some parts of Lahore where older methods of transport dominate. And Harriet Constable visits Kaapsehoop – a village whose fortunes may have faded since South Africa's 19th century gold rush, but which remains rich in history, folklore, and ghosts.

Haiti: Republic Of NGOs Feb 22, 2018

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Many Haitians see Oxfam’s actions as the latest part of a much bigger problem. Kate Adie introduces stories, wit and analysis from correspondents around the world.

“Being poor, we’re a market for the NGOs” one Port-au-Prince resident tells Will Grant, “but it’s time to admit that we cannot develop our country with international aid.”

Ahead of elections in Italy, Dany Mitzman watches fascists and anti-fascists face off in Bologna - a city famed for its left-wing politics.

In Mozambique they’re trying to persuade parents not to give up on disabled children – Tom Shakespeare examine the latest development in inclusive education there.

In Uzbekistan, Caroline Eden visits the capital Tashkent - famed for its chewy, golden bread and its kindness.

And Alastair Leithead takes a trip along the Blue Nile with Marvin – a ball on a stick that sees virtually everything.

From Our Home Correspondent Feb 18, 2018

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BBC correspondents take a closer look at the stories behind the headlines.

Treading on Thin Ice Feb 17, 2018

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Kate Adie presents a programme reflecting on two men's political careers which effectively ended this week. Andrew Harding in Johannesburg reflects on the demise of Jacob Zuma who finally bowed to months of pressure and quit as president of South Africa; while Jenny Hill, reporting from Cologne, considers what the resignation of Martin Schulz, as leader of the Social Democrats (SPD), says about the current state of German politics. The death of a Cold War-era contact prompts Nick Thorpe in Budapest to consider how attitudes to the media more than thirty years ago seem eerily to be returning. Meanwhile Katty Kay has to persuade a nervous Moscow-born taxi driver that it really is safe to drive her to Compton, the city once synonymous with gang violence and murder and made famous - or notorious - by NWA's album, "Straight Outta Compton". Finally, Justin Rowlatt intrepidly ventures into India's icy Ladakh region to accompany a team bringing electricity to remote rural villages - and gets his feet frozen to the ice for his trouble.

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