From Our Own Correspondent

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A New Empire Dec 13, 2014

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Story-telling from the world of news and current affairs. 'For God, Tsar and Nation'. That's the motto of some of those fighting with the pro-Russia separatists in eastern Ukraine. Tim Whewell's been to talk to them about their dreams of a new Orthodox autocratic state; Mary Harper, in Mogadishu, has been finding out why there's a love affair going on between Somalia and Turkey; South Koreans are big believers in plastic surgery but Steve Evans, in Seoul, says there are now negative headlines after a string of news reports about botched operations; Bangladesh is known as a prolific producer of clothes for the mass market but Caroline Eden's been discovering it also makes saris so fine they're highly coveted and hugely expensive. And after more than a quarter of a century Justin Marozzi has mixed feelings as he bids farewell to the Moroccan town regarded as being the hashish capital of the world.

Dec 06: Spies are Everywhere Dec 06, 2014

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Reporters tell their stories: in this edition, Carrie Gracie travels to China's most troubled region Xinjiang - it's in the midst of a crackdown on what the authorities describe as 'terrorism driven by religious extremism'. Fergal Keane, just back from Ukraine, examines the circumstances which led to one of Europe's bloodiest conflicts in decades. Mike Wendling's in the United States where a campaign to persuade the Washington Redskins football team to change its name is gathering pace. Will Ross is in north eastern Nigeria where bows and arrows, magic and ancient hunting rifles are now being used in the battle against the Boko Haram jihadists. And David Mazower's at a festival in Poland where it's clear a growing number of Poles feel profound loss about the Jewish nation in their midst which was ripped apart in the Second World War.

The Buckwheat Barometer Nov 29, 2014

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Despatches. Steve Rosenberg sets out to discover who the Russian public holds responsible for rising prices and the ailing rouble? Owen Bennett Jones has a series of encounters in Tunis which offer clues to the direction in which the country's heading. Germany takes in more refugees than any other EU country - Jenny Hill in Munich says it's costing a huge amount and there's uncertainty over who will pay the bills. The giant tortoises on the Galapagos Islands may be used to playing a long game but Horatio Clare, who's just been visiting, says the islands' human residents are having to prepare for change. And Carolyn Brown has been finding out why a steady stream of travellers is choosing to stop off at a small town in the north of France

Swimming in Iran Nov 22, 2014

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Foreign correspondents. Nick Thorpe on the Russian speakers in Ukraine who want the future of their country linked to western Europe, not to Moscow; Thomas Fessy examines how the Islamist fighters of Boko Haram are extending their operations out of Nigeria into neighbouring Cameroon; Shaimaa Khalil in Karachi on the difficulties and the dangers health workers face trying to convince people to be immunised against polio; Chris Bockman in Montpellier has been learning what an exiled Syrian billionaire has to do with the local rugby club and what's the correct etiquette for an American woman keen for a swim in Iran? Amy Guttman has been finding out.

An End to Education Nov 15, 2014

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Despatches from correspondents worldwide. In this edition: Mishal Husain's in Lebanon's Bekaa Valley talking to refugees from the war in Syria and learning how a generation of Syrian children is no longer able to go to school; the waters off Somalia aren't the world's piracy hotspot any more - Mary Harper's been finding out how Nigeria's trying to counter an upsurge in maritime crime off the west African coast; with towns and cities expanding across India, Anu Anand has been seeing how animal habitats are being gobbled up, and it's the animals who're suffering; Victoria Gill is in Malawi where powerful motorbikes are now helping out in the country's battle against HIV/AIDS and ... empty that hot tub, do NOT fill the jacuzzi: David Willis says desperate times call for desperate measures in California, now in its third year of drought.

The Missing Students Nov 13, 2014

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Despatches from around the world. In this edition: Will Grant on the protests in Mexico City as families try to find out what happened to a group of students seized by the police; the Indian prime minister may have called for more protection for the country's women but Razia Iqbal, in Western Harayana, says many still suffer appalling violence; what's Qatar really up to in Syria? Frank Gardner sets out over a flat featureless desert in his attempt to find out; Hamilton Wende visits the casbah in Algiers and explains why he finds it filled 'with half-remembered pockets of history and of war' and where in these islands is the very best place to take a look at Venus and Mars? Christine Finn boarded a ferry and went to find out.

Jerusalem On Edge Nov 08, 2014

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Foreign correspondents. Today, Kevin Connolly on tension in Jerusalem:- a reminder, he says, that the very thing that makes the city one of the glories of human civilisation makes it difficult and dangerous too; a walk through the Menin Gate towards Flanders fields - Chris Haslam on the storm of commercialisation sweeping through the memorial sites of World War One; some of the Russian republics want independence but Mark Stratton, travelling through the Middle Volga lowlands, finds others happy to be part of Moscow's empire; students in India have been talking to Craig Jeffrey about their right to cheat in university exams and as Berlin marks the anniversary of the Wall coming down, Jenny Hill tells us the story of one young couple's 'forbidden journey'.

Talking to Ghosts Nov 06, 2014

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Reporters. Today, from Sierra Leone: why covering the Ebola outbreak is an assignment like no other, Andrew Harding; did the now-deposed leader of Burkina Faso ignore warning signs that an extension to his rule wouldn't be tolerated, Chris Simpson; Malta's an island rich in history and heritage, but it isn't only rooted in the past, Juliet Rix; Germany has its own views on immigration - official policy says the incomers must be made welcome, Jenny Hill; Germany and Korea were once BOTH divided countries; Steve Evans who's lived in Berlin and in Seoul finds these are nations which have much in common, yet they're very different too.

The Ghosts of old Naples Nov 01, 2014

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Reporters. Today: Alan Johnston on the richness of the past lying in the bones of the buildings in the historic heart of old Naples; Hugh Sykes in a minibus taxi in Tunis after an election which proved a victory for the secularists; Shaimaa Khalil in Lahore visits a palace of beauty which has been forced to face up to some ugly attitudes; Jon Donnison in Sydney talks to Muslims about the wave of Islamophobic attacks in cities across Australia; James Coomarasamy meets an unconventional mayor in Kentucky as the USA gears up for the mid-term elections

The Most Dangerous Job in th World? Oct 30, 2014

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Correspondents'despatches: Gabriel Gatehouse with the medical team who have collected hundreds of Ebola patients from their homes in the Liberian capital, Monrovia; Andrew Hosken on the extraordinary efforts made by the people of Baghdad to clear up amidst a new wave of bombings; once a part of the Austro-Hungarian empire, the city of Trieste now has an independence movement which believes the place would be better off severing its ties to Rome - Tara Isabella Burton's been there to listen to their argument; how can a herd of cows indicate the economic health of a nation? It's a question Damien McGuinness has been addressing in the German capital, Berlin; and three-solid-meals-a-day man James Jeffrey's been getting to know about the extreme fasting traditions of Ethiopia.

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