From Our Own Correspondent

Meeting the people populating the world of news. In this edition: thousands were massacred in the Bosnian town of Visegrad during the war there in 1992 - today, as Fergal Keane has been finding out, the authorities there want it to become a tourist destination. Visegrad is also on Nick Thorpe's mind only he's talking about the town by the River Danube in Hungary, where the so-called Visegrad 4, a grouping of regional nations, was born. Nick says that in today's Europe, their voice can no longer be ignored. As the US-election spotlight turns to South Carolina and Nevada, Robert Hodierne examines gun control and why the laws governing it won't be changing any time soon. Beth McLeod is in Malawi travelling on a boat built in Scotland when the country was a British protectorate which continues to provide a vital service to local communities. And he may have lived in Paris for two decades, but our man Hugh Schofield explains why it's only now, finally, that he seems to wield a bit of influence!

Colouring in the space between the headlines. In this edition: behind the scenes at the EU as a meeting nears which could determine Britain's future in Europe; why many in Venezuela, mired in economic crisis, have a fond word for their former hardline socialist president Hugo Chavez; mass migrations's one of the biggest stories of our time but in Portugal they're concerned not about new arrivals, but about the number of people leaving; a visit to a jail in the US state of Oregon leaves our correspondent considering what it must be like to be locked up there and what it must be like to work there -- and clog dancing's not a subject tackled frequently on this programme but in Brittany, we find, it’s a good excuse for a bit of a knees-up!

Human stories behind the headlines: Fergal Keane is on the frontline in Ukraine with a husband and wife who are determined to stay on in their home even as war consumes their town. Two boys talk to Quentin Sommerville about life, death and indoctrination in an ISIS-held town in Syria. Grace Livingstone is in the Venezuelan countryside finding that livelihoods are being hit hard by the financial crisis. On Mafia Island, off the coast of Tanzania, Hannah McNeish finds there are two principal topics of conversation - the performance of the new president and a fish called Jesus which, so the story goes, is as big as a car. And it is now official: the very best baguettes in the world are baked by Koreans. Steve Evans, in Seoul, talks of changing tastes in a young market with a global, fashionable appetite for the trappings of European culture and cuisine

The fuller story. In this edition, crime's a major talking point as campaigning intensifies in the US presidential election - activists under the banner 'Black Lives Matter' are drawing attention to the number of young African-American men who've been shot by the police; security forces are standing by as a presidential election looms in Uganda - some aren't happy that President Museveni is trying to extend a rule which has already lasted thirty years; Malaysia may be a rainbow nation made up of ethnic Malays, Chinese, Indian and indigenous people but resentment is festering and a controversy over the prime minister's financial affairs threatens to polarise the country further; thousands of migrants have come ashore on the Italian island of Lampedusa - it's a place which used to rely on its tourism, today the holidaymakers are staying away and … as Valentine's Day approaches, we look inside the world of internet dating - more and more people are using it but some say it's addictive, impersonal and it's made l

The human stories behind the headlines. In this edition one correspondent flies through the Latin American night visiting three countries in search of the truth about the Zika crisis; another accompanies members of a private militia on patrol in Kenya. They're looking for rhino poachers and if they find them, they'll kill them; the kingdom of Saudi Arabia has been built on oil. But the oil price has nosedived and for the Saudi leaders, it's a time of unprecedented insecurity; the Syria peace talks in Geneva have been put on hold - no point talking just for the sake of talking, says the UN special envoy. And 'imagine a dolphin or a unicorn jumping through your third eye!' That's one of the suggestions at a group therapy session out in the Sahara Desert. But what did the man from the BBC make of it all?

In this edition: how Russian military activity above and below the surface of the Baltic Sea is causing increasing concern in Sweden; Ethiopia's suffering its worst drought in years - but with a buoyant economy why does it need international aid to help it cope? We find out why Finns appear to have fallen out of love with the migrants and why the migrants no longer seem fond of Finland; Belarus might have a reputation as Europe's last dictatorship but a visit to its capital Minsk reveals a positively gleaming city - a cathedral with standing room only and an opera house thronged with the well-heeled and the expensively turned-out. Mali's best-loved export, music, has struggled to make its voice heard during recent years of instability in the country. But a festival's just been staged in the capital, Bamako. Its aim, to show the world there's more to Mali than disorder and violence

Correspondents around the world tell their stories. In this edition Gabriel Gatehouse is back in Tripoli as speculation grows about a new military intervention in Libya; Mark Lowen is in Diyarbakir where there's been intense fighting between Turkish security forces and Kurdish militants; Miles Warde is in a dusty town on the edge of Kenya where there are plans for pipelines, resort cities and Chinese-built railways but the locals wonder if any of them will ever materialise; Claudia Hammond visits what they call a 'geriatric rehabilitation centre' in Cuba where, apparently, there's never a dull moment and Victoria Gill is in Antarctica meeting the rather amusing residents of a place called Moot Point

Insight, storytelling, colour, detail. In this edition, the Russians in Syria show off their fighter jets and warships, a message from Moscow that Russia once again sees itself as a major player on the world stage. A million incomers to Germany in a year -- can they give the economy a useful bounce as well as defuse a demographic timebomb? The old men of the Vietnamese communist party leadership have their say at the big five-yearly meeting in Hanoi, but is their tightly-controlled socialist state beginning to unravel and is there anything they can do to stop it? We visit the world's largest refugee camp in the Kenyan desert. It has a population the size of New Orleans'. Many were born there and will never leave it. Some wonder if similarly huge camps will soon spring up on the fringes of Europe. Pensioners have been among the hardest hit by the Greek government's tough austerity measures. Their income's been cut a dozen times as the government tries to hit economic targets set by the EU and the IMF. It's lef

China's economy falters and is blamed for nosediving stock markets and, partly, for the loss of hundreds of steel industry jobs in South Wales. In this edition, Steve Evans visits a steelworks in China, which has just closed down, and considers the lessons the Chinese leadership may consider. The misery of the war in Yemen continues and Nawal al-Maghafi, recently back from there, explains why no-one is rushing into peace talks. Chris Morris joins a group of migrants on their voyage to across the Mediterranean to Europe and learns about some of the extraordinary lengths that Syrians are going to to escape the killing fields of home. Mobile phones and televisions come to a monastery in the foothills of the Himalayas in now-Chinese eastern Tibet. Horatio Clare wonders if a centuries-old monastic way of life is under threat. And, in Delhi, Anu Anand weaves a tale about music and memory set against a backdrop of love, loss and the passing of time

Today our correspondents ... are in the classroom as migrants, newly arrived in Finland, are taught about Finnish values, culture and the place of women in western society; consider how much the self-styled Islamic State has been damaged by recent successes by Iraqi government forces supported by foreign air power; go to Norway, a country outside the EU but inside the single market. Is that an example the UK might follow after the referendum has been held on whether it should stay in or leave the EU? Our man in Cuba takes a stroll through Havana's poorly lit streets amid concerns that an upsurge in tourism will lead to a rise in crime; and a trip to the hopfields of southern Germany where one brewer is finding that beer and art can be an intoxicating mix.

'Don't tell us how to run our country!' That was the word from Warsaw as the European Commission launched an investigation into some of the decisions taken by the new right-wing government in Poland; the authorities in India meet on Monday to evaluate the controversial traffic experiment in Delhi which was aimed at reducing pollution; the latest consumer spending figures in France offer little evidence that an economic recovery is underway -- but in Toulouse some people know where to get their food for free; lawyers for the Mexican drug lord known as 'el Chapo' have started to prepare a case against his extradition to the US -- some in Mexico would anyway prefer to see him face justice there. And there's something to sing about in northern Norway - after six weeks their polar night season has come to an end, the sun has finally made an appearance and it’s something to sing about!

The best in news and current affairs storytelling. Today, after a troubled week for the Chinese economy, we wonder who's more popular in China today, the author of that Little Red Book, Chairman Mao, or the founder of Kentucky Fried Chicken, Colonel Sanders. Violence continues to rain down on Yemen - the Islamic State group has now become involved in the civil war and is believed to have been behind a string of suicide bombings. Our correspondent witnessed the horrific aftermath of one such attack in the capital Sana'a. Chancellor Merkel's ruling Christian Democrats in Germany plan tougher action against migrants who commit crimes. The announcement follows the assaults on women in Cologne on New Year’s Eve which have triggered further heated debate about Mrs Merkel's welcoming policy towards migrants. Was the recent election in Seychelles, those 'paradise islands' in the Indian Ocean, rigged? While the people wait for a court's verdict, we visit Seychelles and hear there have been big changes in the way of li

Your window on the wider world. The Iraqi forces claimed victory over IS fighters when they swept into the city of Ramadi - but the place has been devastated, it will be months before residents can return to their homes. Thomas Fessy, who's been there, explains why this is being viewed as a significant achievement by the Iraqi security forces. On the Greek island of Lesbos, bad weather has slowed the tide of human migrants sweeping into the EU but Paul Adams says the new year will see European leaders trying again to come up with a coherent response to what's been one of the great human migrations of recent times. The new Argentine president is trying to breathe life into the country's moribund economy -- in Buenos Aires, as Petroc Trelawny's been finding out, some dare to dream this could bring the glamour back to the once-smart shopping streets of the capital. We're amazed to learn from Carolyn Browne in Brittany that it's possible to drive a car quite legally on the roads of France -- even if you've lost y

Looking back at some historic FOOC despatches: Allan Little, Bridget Kendall, Emma Jane Kirby, Steve Evans and Gabriel Gatehouse read pieces by Fergal Keane, Caroline Wyatt, Charles Wheeler, John Crawley and Kevin Connolly

Almost better than travelling yourself! Insight, wit and colour from around the globe. In this one: the tablecloth approach to ending war -- serious discussions about how to end the fighting in Syria; the end of another long conflict may be in sight as the government in Bogota signs an interim peace deal with Colombia's FARC rebels; arguments intensify over territorial claims in the South China Sea -- we meet Vietnamese fishermen who now find themselves in the front line; the Turks and the Hungarians redouble their search for the missing heart of Suleiman the Magnificent, but why are they bothering? And they've got problems in Rome: alleged corruption in high places, organised crime, traditional shops and businesses being chased away. But the Romans are putting all this to one side, at least for a few days. After all, it's Christmas! And there are menus to be planned!

The programme with the bigger picture. Why the controversial comments and adverse publicity surrounding Donald Trump are not harming the billionaire businessman's bid for the US presidency. Seismic shifts in Spanish politics - we get a view of the upcoming general election there from the Valley of the Fallen, where the country's late dictator Francisco Franco is buried. The talk in Malaysia's of scandal stalking the prime minister and of fears for the future of a country loved by many for its relaxed, inclusive and multicultural nature. The Inca citadel of Machu Picchu is one of the wonders of the world, so no wonder visitors have been trekking up there in huge numbers. Now the Peruvian government wants to make it easier for them to get there. But its plans have met spirited opposition. And from Germany we hear about the 12-people who're being paid to do everything lying down. That includes exercising -- and going to the loo

Colouring in the spaces between the headlines. In this edition: the Front National is expected to do well in the French regional elections - our correspondent goes for a drive along the Cote d'Azur and asks why the party's apparently finding favour with voters. 'We cannot allow our revolution to be stolen!' The Venezuelan president has been imploring the electorate there to give his socialists another term in office, but most observers feel the left's grip on this nation will be severely weakened in this weekend's election. Three and a half million and counting! We find out why so many young Nepalis have decided to leave their country. And is it the truth or is it just paranoia? We hear that the influence of the long-dead dictator Enver Hoxha continues even today in Albania.

Correspondents' stories. In the wake of the attacks in Paris, nearby Belgium has been portrayed as a dysfunctional place with failing state structures, a country where terrorists can go about their business unchallenged. Tim Whewell's been to Brussels to talk to some who feel alienated and abandoned by the Belgian state. Eight months of war in Yemen -- and Iona Craig has been finding out how people living in the country’s third city are now relying on smugglers to bring in vital supplies. Fifty-one thousand refugees are now living in Berlin -- Chris Haslam's been hearing that for some, their problems are only just beginning. Preparations are underway for the big climate conference starting in Paris next week. Some say global warming is a problem that's just too difficult to solve. But David Shukman believes there's reason for some guarded optimism. And Juliet Rix has been to Malta, the scene of the Commonwealth heads of government meeting. The Mediterranean island long ago ceased to be a British colony but sh

Foreign correspondents' stories. In this programme, Kevin Connolly talks of the dogged durability that got Parisians out to work again in the days after the terrorist attacks, 'the foot soldiers' ability to soldier on through the darkness'. Joanna Robertson, also in the French capital, says despite the huge numbers of police deployed in various parts of the city, many in the suburbs are complaining they've been left unprotected. She is asked: 'What's being done to protect our way of life?' Emma Jane Kirby meets up again with an Italian man who can't forget the day he went out boating and came across scores of migrants scattered across the sea, only some of whom he managed to rescue. A way of life comes to an end with the closing of a well-known narrow gauge railway in central India. Mark Tully's among the last to travel on the Satpura Lines in the centre of the country. A station master asks him: 'Why do they have to close such a busy railway?' Steve Evans tells us that in Seoul, a whole building is full of c

Analysis, observation, writing, storytelling. In this edition, the smells of a city's chequered history are resurrected in a shop in Serbia's capital, Belgrade. From inside Syria, the tactics a new force is employing to take the fight to the militants of IS. Aung San Suu Kyi's new government in Myanmar should soon be sworn in after its historic election victory -- but there are tough challenges ahead. All change in Poland too -- but why's the electorate there turned its back on an administration which provided new roads, airport terminals and jobs? And we're inside a beauty salon in Kabul turning down advice on a new coiffure and learning instead what sort of future Afghans think lies in store for their nation.