From Our Own Correspondent

Few French restaurants offer a menu without meat, so John Laurenson's been finding out why one of the country's top chefs has decided to do just that. Paul Adams explains why the government in the Ukrainian capital Kiev might have given up trying to seize back control of rebel-held eastern parts of the country. Misha Glenny talks of plans to establish a global parliament of city mayors taking powers away from 'tired old nation states'. One of Europe's most wanted men is thought to be hiding out in the mountains of central Greece - Jeff Maysh has been talking to people about this fugitive with a Robin Hood reputation and Antonia Quirke talks of Sicily where there's widespread exasperation about the corruption still pervasive in Italian society and where the Mafia continues to wield influence.

The kissing's had to stop in west Africa - a despatch from Mark Doyle about the Ebola crisis, which is now having a profound effect on people's lifestyles throughout the region. The United States Senate has approved President Obama's plan to arm and train moderate Syrian rebels to fight Islamic State militants - Jeremy Bowen, in Damascus, tells us this means a wide range of forces is lining up to combat the jihadists. Shabnam Mahmood's been to a society wedding in Pakistan - it was an opportunity to note some of the details of that country's social hierarchy. The controversial mayor of Toronto is in hospital battling cancer - Lee Carter says this latest chapter in Rob Ford's colourful life has brought a rare show of unity to a city Mr Ford was accused of dividing. And Will Grant tells us a story from the Latin American capital where the streets are clogged with vehicles yet many of the drivers haven't even taken a driving test!

Kate Adie introduces Correspondents' stories. This week Paul Wood hears warnings of civil war returning to Lebanon; Andrew Harding reflects on the Pistorius trial; Darius Barzagan can't get the images of MH17 out of his head; Niall O'Gallagher joins Catalans celebrating their National Day and calling for independence; and Lucy Ash meets Ivory Coast's most famous actress to talk about infidelity.

Kate Adie introduces correspondents stories from around the world. This week Gabriel Gatehouse takes a nerve-wracking drive, trying to avoid IS forces in Iraq. Shahzeb Jillani explains what Pakistan's political turmoil is about; John Sweeney comes face to face with President Putin after 14 years of trying. Claudia Hammond discovers that many patients in Israel remain on life support for years; and Steve Evans has the story of how a German board game took off in the trenches of WW1.

Global despatches. In this edition, Australia's tough immigration policy comes under the spotlight as a group of asylum seekers goes to court; why the mark which writer Ernest Hemingway left on Paris is now beginning to disappear; how the militants of Islamic State have affected Kurdish dreams of a state of their own; the tourists have returned to the beaches of Greece but, we learn, there's one correspondent who might not be so welcome in the country. And we hear from the reporter who's had second thoughts about wearing the headscarf, or hijab.

Foreign correspondents. Today: can a meeting of presidents halt the fighting in eastern Ukraine? Why the international health workers who've come to tackle the Ebola virus in west Africa are not always welcome. Deported from the US - and back home in Guatemala; why life is difficult for many of the returnees. On leaving Pakistan, there are many happy memories -- but none of them, one departing correspondent says, feature the national airline PIA. And it may be a cool damp summer in Switzerland, but the stories coming from parliament are distinctly hot and steamy.

Despatches from correspondents: Why should the west intervene with aid or arms? It's a question asked by our reporter in northern Iraq. The six-year-olds in Gaza who've already lived through three wars. Awesome sights and stressful moments as the Panama Canal celebrates its centenary. The militants of al-Shabaab use film and social media to get their message across - they also like to telephone a certain BBC editor. And why did another reporter pack an orange bottle of cleaning fluid along with the tennis shoes? She talks of a frantic shopping run before a return to Cuba.

Foreign correspondents tell their stories - in this edition, discussions in Israel about the conflict in Gaza, Tim Whewell; why the Turkish prime minister seems set to become the country's new president, Natalie Martin; why Argentina's demanding that global financial systems be overhauled, Katy Watson; tourists start to return to parts of The Philippines battered by storms and an earthquake, Rajan Datar and Reggie Nadelson visits a seaside town on America's east coast where African Americans traditionally took their summer holidays.

Despatches by reporters around the world. In this edition, Chris Morris, who was in Gaza twenty years ago, returns to chronicle how things 'have got worse, much worse'. Claudia Hammond, in Cyprus, on the latest attempts to find out what happened to those who went missing decades ago during fighting between the island's Greek and Turkish communities; Tim Mansel is in Sierra Leone amid growing alarm over the spread of the Ebola virus in west Africa. Why a seagull observed in Vatican City could be a disturbing omen for peace - that's from Alan Johnston and Petroc Trelawny finds out where the newly-weds like to go in Guangzhou, one of China's fastest-developing cities.

Correspondents tell their stories: a week in Gaza, Paul Adams; on the night train from Kiev to Donetsk, Gabriel Gatehouse; trouble in the vineyards of Moldova, Stephen Sackur; how the US city which brought us Campbell's Soup fell into decline, Sophie Reid and how frugality set two German brothers on the road to super-riches, Steve Evans

Back in the days of the Vietnam War the airwaves were full of protest songs. Today, plenty of conflict, but none of those songs. Humphrey Hawksley's been to Nashville to find out why. Jeremy Bowen's just been to Gaza, Syria and Iraq and reflects on what the fighting there might achieve. Caroline Wyatt's been reporting on global conflicts for seven years in her role as BBC Defence Correspondent. One question she's frequently been asked about war is: was it all worth it? The Irish economy may once again be gathering strength, but John Murphy, in the west of the republic, finds that emigration is taking its toll on rural life. And how difficult is it to go off for a swim? In the Indian capital Delhi, as Anu Anand's been finding out, the answer is ... VERY difficult!

Despatches. In this edition: some of the families caught up in Israel's fight against Palestinian militants in Gaza. Out on patrol on the dimly-lit streets of Caracas - the city with the highest murder rate of any capital. Two months to go to the Scottish referendum:- so what happened when other nations set out to assert their identities, to run their own affairs? And we find out why there are absolutely no women enjoying one of the most spectacular views in all of Greece.

We join the German football fans watching the world cup in the middle of a forest. Also: Fighting corruption in China; the culture of silence in a Mexican town ravaged by violence; why the French would rather speak Latin; and Italy's oldest police force celebrates its 200th anniversary. Presented by Kate Adie.

Jeremy Bowen laments the loss of everyday freedoms in Baghdad; Hilary Andersson investigates the mistreatment of prison inmates with mental health problems in the UDA; Alex Preston ventures into the biggest jade market in the world in Mandalay; Diana Darke meets Syriac christians rebuilding communities in their ancestral homeland in southeast Turkey; and Alex Marshall goes 'dumb walking' with his smartphone in Tokyo.

Reporting the world: correspondents with insight, colour and analysis from Baghdad, Kirkuk, Rome, Lahore and Paris

Global despatches: in this edition, why hunger is again taking hold in South Sudan - even after a plentiful harvest; Australia gets tough with asylum seekers -- and the problems pile up for those seeking a new life down under; how America's attachment to its First Amendment gives hate groups the freedom to disseminate their beliefs; we visit a cemetery in the Czech Republic: a place of awful history, but also one where you learn about a community determined to create a successful future for itself; and fine dining for only a few pounds? we meet a man in Chile dedicated to reviving his country's culinary heritage.

June the 28th 1914 was the day Gavrilo Princip shot Archduke Ferdinand. It led to the start of the First World War. Allan Little considers why today's Sarajevo is divided over whether Princip was a hero or a terrorist. President al-Sisi's new regime in Cairo: Louisa Loveluck's been finding out whether Egyptians regret voting in a new era of authoritarianism. Brazil has one of the world's worst crack cocaine problems: Katy Watson's been to see a government project which is trying to address it. Aidan O'Donnell visits a sacred city in the Horn of Africa. It is also noted for its production of beer. And while India's new rulers are keen to promote the use of Hindi, Craig Jeffrey's been finding out that the English language is still omnipresent, creeping into even unexpected corners of everyday society.

The foreign interventionists whose actions have contributed to today's violent events in Iraq. How Burmese rebels crash-landed a plane and then made off with its cargo of cash. Increasingly pressing challenges face the government of Kenya -- not least a drastic reduction in the number of people wanting to spend their holidays there. We are told that a refugee camp in Beirut might just be the best place to go and watch a match in the World Cup and find out why a village on the south coast of Spain is celebrating the life of the very English author Laurie Lee.

Correspondents' stories. Few British go to the Italian seaside town of Alassio these days but the library created for them there is still going - just. Coffee prices are rocketing in Brazil and the producers in this country which traditionally produces 'an awful lot of coffee' are concerned. There's a despatch from Baghdad, the Iraqi capital which is now a target of ISIS and other Sunni rebels. The problems pile up for the French president -- but he takes time off to praise an artist who only ever paints in black. And from the USA, we find out what happened to Little Germany, once a thriving part of New York City. Today, little more than a distant memory.

'Getting rid of Saddam was the easy bit.' The problems stack up for the United States as fighting continues in Iraq. Elves have had a place in Icelandic folklore for more than a thousand years. We find out why they're treated with such respect. Also, how countries around the world are drawing lines on the map of Antarctica, carving up the ice with their territorial claims. The climbing season on Mount Everest comes to a close; we hear it's been one of the worst on record and what happened when a British woman living in Bulgaria offered work to a gypsy boy.