From Our Own Correspondent

Reporters worldwide tell their stories. Steve Evans in Berlin on how, perhaps surprisingly given their history, Germans feel a real affinity for Britain. She used to be called 'the most powerful woman in Mexico.' Will Grant on the arrest, on embezzlement charges, of one of the country's top union leaders. Paul Henley tries to keep his cool listening to a stream of homophobic vitriol in Russia. Young people in Portugal queuing up to leave the country - Alison Roberts is in Lisbon where morale's plummeting as the jobless figures soar. And as the tenth anniversary of the US-led invasion of Iraq approaches, Kevin Connolly's there musing on how one never quite knows how history will work out. The producer is Tony Grant

Reporters worldwide: Rahul Tandon is in Calcutta as its people struggle to cope with an unaccustomed spell of cold weather. 'Together Bulgarians are Strong' - Nick Thorpe tells us that's the cry of protestors whose disenchantment's brought down the government. The Kenyan election's on Monday and Gabriel Gatehouse has been finding out that land remains an issue of vital importance to many. A difficult decision for parents in Guatemala - Humphrey Hawksley explains why many would prefer their children NOT to go to school and Jennifer Chevalier in Ottowa on why Canadians are nervous about Europe making trade advances to the US. From Our Own Correspondent is produced by Tony Grant.

When Madeleine Morris returned to her native Australia after twelve years in the UK she knew she'd find things different there, but she didn't realise her wallet would take such a battering! Ian Pannell, in northern Syria, finds a group of little boys sheltering in a Roman-era tomb and asking where their mother's got to. Craig Jeffrey's at the Indian college where once students demonstrated for the right to cheat in exams. Sicily looks like being one of the key battlegrounds in the Italian election -Chris Morris is there communing with the dead ahead of the big vote. And as France prepared to take on England in the Six Nations tournament at Twickenham, Chris Bockman finds the congregation deep in prayer at a church they call 'Our Lady of Rugby.'

Despatches from around the world: Jonathan Head on a little-reported but long-running conflict in southern Thailand; a rare protest on the streets of Singapore - Karishma Vaswani tells of mounting anger in Asia's richest nation; a new government in Italy, after this weekend's election, seems unlikely to tinker much with the employment laws - Ed Butler believes nepotism in the labour market is set to continue; Paul Lewis talks to Ugandans finding it hard to get by even if official forecasts are upbeat about the country's economic future. And getting around wasn't much of a problem for King Tut -- but Terry Egan finds the going tough in Egypt's Valley of the Kings.

Reporters' despatches from far and wide: a vegetarian of 37 years' standing, Nick Thorpe, is despatched to ask questions about horse meat and to investigate a slaughter house in Romania. Can Japan spend its way out of recession and into prosperity? Economists are thrilled at the idea. But Rupert Wingfield Hayes in Tokyo has his doubts. What's the US military doing in a remote corner of the Philippines? Kate McGeown's gone to find out. Will Ross is in northern Nigeria wondering why so few of those detained, and suspected of militant attacks, are appearing in front of the courts. And Tim Butcher in New York meets up with an old friend with whom he once went to war.

Reporters worldwide - today: Ruth Sherlock on how the Free Syrian Army's losing support as people turn to the Islamists for help in getting by during difficult times. Wyre Davies on a plot still unfolding: he's in a bookshop in Tunis looking out on an unfinished revolution. Mark Mardell on how experience in the US military is helping to shape the new team around President Obama. Tom Esslemont on murder in Corsica -- old scores are being settled against a Mediterranean backdrop. And it's like a scene out of 'Spooks' as our Christian Fraser's taken, furtively, into the heart of one of Europe's biggest infrastructure projects. The producer is Tony Grant

Stories from around the world. Today: Will Grant in Mexico on the night horror descended on a beach holiday on the shores of the Pacific Ocean. Why were 21-thousand knives handed out on the streets of Mumbai? Alex Preston was there and has the answer. Chris Morris finds out what the building with the biggest carpet in Europe can tell us about attitudes to the EU. Richard Hamilton senses a swagger of self-confidence on the streets of Nairobi but, he says, the ghosts of an older Kenya are never far away. And high-speed rail it isn't, but Will Ross finds it far from dull on the noon train to Kano in northern Nigeria.

Analysis, colour, wit and observation from journalists worldwide. Today: Pascale Harter chronicles the fury in Spain at reports that politicians are lining their pockets while the people are making painful sacrifices in the name of austerity. James Harkin on the death of a young engineer who wanted to help build a new Syria after the revolution. Jill McGivering on the Indian women being talked into hysterectomies by doctors eager to make more money. Orla Guerin meets an Afghan governor who says don't worry about the Taliban, peace is at hand - although he does keep an assault rifle close at hand! And Thomas Fessy, in newly-liberated Timbuktu, unearths the beer that had to be buried when the fabled city was seized by Islamist rebels. Produced by Tony Grant.

Tim Whewell, just back from Mali, talks of retribution. Every conflict throws up winners and losers. And it's the nomadic Touareg, he tells us, who have become targets for revenge. Arguments over gun control have once again been dominating the headlines in the US and Paul Adams has been reporting on a debate he says is quintessentially American. Darius Bazargan has been in northern Lebanon, where he has been talking to factions allied to different warring groups in Syria. The Swiss train service has an enviable reputation, but Imogen Foulkes has been finding out it has managed to anger its customers. And in South Africa, Hamilton Wende has been out with a group of township teenagers whose extravagance and flamboyance is angering some of their elders.

Correspondents take a closer look at events in their part of the world. Aleem Maqbool follows a week of street protests with the question - can democracy really take root in Egypt? The arts world is in turmoil in Hungary, and Nick Thorpe tells us how the government there is being accused of hijacking the cultural agenda to promote its own political ends. Parto Parvin, and that's not her real name, talks of the difficulties being faced by exiled Iranian journalists trying to cover events in their homeland. Daniel Sanford hears an extraordinary tale of survival from the Battle of Stalingrad, which was drawing to a close exactly seventy years ago. And Reggie Nadelson tours the New York theatre which has staged concerts by just about everybody in African-American musical entertainment.

Kevin Connolly in Jerusalem says keep that election bunting close at hand - Israelis may have to vote again before long. Will Self goes to the Romanian capital, Bucharest: millions live there but he's of the opinion that it would be hard to find a less homely place. The Chinese authorities say they're tackling the Great Smog of Beijing, but Martin Patience doesn't expect great change any time soon. A tale of violence, bribery and corruption from Brazil's Amazon frontier is told by Sue Branford. And in Paris, John Laurenson examines the shocking claim that French men no longer understand romance.

Andrew Harding travels to the centre of Mali to find out how the fight against the Islamist rebels is affecting life in one small country town. Thousands of prisoners are being released from jail in Georgia -- Damien McGuinness has been learning that not all Georgians think that's such a good idea. Silvio Berlusconi's trying again to be prime minister of Italy. Alan Johnston in Rome's been finding out that many Italians don't want to see a return of the bunga bunga king. Orla Guerin tells us what it's like to live and work in Pakistan, a land which sometimes seems as if it's in perpetual crisis and ... turbulence at 35-thousand feet!!! Paul Moss takes a flight where the hostesses dispensed diplomacy along with the gin and tonics.

Correspondents around the world telling their stories: Lyse Doucet has been meeting some of the millions of people who've been forced to flee their homes in Syria because of the continuing bloodshed there. Mark Doyle in Bamako on how the fighting in Mali has seen a new alliance being forged between the French and the Nigerian military. The Hungarian economy may be tottering - but Petroc Trelawny has been finding out it's boom time in the flea markets and second-hand shops of Budapest. Why are the French drinking so much less wine than they used to? John Laurenson set off for a country bistro in search of answers. And as the fighting continues in Mali, Nick Thorpe remembers a visit there and a drive across the Sahara Desert in more peaceable times - thirty two years ago.

Correspondents' news and views from around the globe: Hugh Schofield is in Paris as French troops take on Islamist rebels in the former French colony of Mali; Will Grant on how Venezuelans are starting to consider a future without their president, Hugo Chavez; Emily Buchanan on the Indian holy man who wowed the ladies in New England; Jo Fidgen on how the Sami people of northern Sweden haven't quite forgotten their traditionally nomadic ways and James Luckhurst takes shelter from the cold and finds a welcome in one of the most unusual museums in the Baltic states.

Kate Adie presents reporters' despatches from across the globe. Matthew Teller meets the stateless bidoons of Kuwait Mark Lobel looks attempts to improve one of Cape Town's poorest settlement in the wake of a devastating fire. Jonathan Fryer assesses Baghdad's surprising aspiration to become the conference capital of the Middle East. Alan Johnston wonders whether the mystery of Garbaldi's final resting place will ever be solved. Dany Mitzman describes the trials and tribulations of not eating meat while living in pork-crazed Bologna.

Andrew North reflects on whether the recent rape and murder of a woman in Delhi might bring a greater soul searching amongst all sections of Indian society. Owen Bennett-Jones teeters on the "fiscal cliff" with anti-tax activist Grover Norquist, asking if he's really the most powerful man in America? Nicholas Shakespeare makes a nostalgic return to Phnom Penh. Andrew Bomford uncovers the secrets of eternal youth on the Greek island of Ikaria. Hugh Schofield banishes the January blues by exploring P.G. Wodehouse's love affair with France. And in the process, identifies what may be the master's finest opening paragraph.

As the year draws to an end, Kate Adie presents a feast of highlights from correspondents' despatches across 2012. Fucshia Dunlop is in Shanghai, dancing the the city's glamourous past. Lucy Ash is challenged by a call of nature in Russia's Siberian wilderness. Kate McGowan decides against boiled duck foetus for breakfast in Manila. Allan Little uncovers the great egg crisis in the Falkland Islands. Emma Jane Kirby is feeling distinctly under dressed as she takes a table in St Tropez. And Will Grant discovers that Mexico's 'Day of the Dead' is a suprizingly uplifting experience.

Kate Adie presents despatches from reporters across the globe. Lucy Ash travels to Burma where she finds that Chinese investment ventures are being challenged by local people. As Greece receives it latest tranche of bailout funds, Mark Lowen looks back over a tumultuous year in the country. Andrew North looks at the controversy surrounding the proposed introduction of foreign supermarkets to India. Joanna Robertson joins in the Parisan love affair with fairgrounds. Horatio Clare explains why change might be coming to the remote island of St. Helena in the very near future

Reporters worldwide provide context to the week's news. Today: South Africa's ANC at the crossroads? As the party prepares for conference, its figurehead Nelson Mandela in fragile health, Andrew Harding reads the political runes at a critical time for the country. Allan Little is in the Polish city of Wroclaw observing how old allegiances and old identities are emerging in the new Europe. Now what's the attraction of the 'mitten' or 'hairy' crab? At this time of year in eastern China they're much in demand and Fuchsia Dunlop's been finding out why. Not many of our correspondents have got to meet the president of Equatorial Guinea, Teodoro Obiang. Stephen Sackur has though and asked him questions the president thought impertinent and malicious. And is getting dementia really the end of the world? The Dutch authorities have created a village for dementia sufferers which is pioneering a new sort of care.

The BBC's Middle East editor Jeremy Bowen examines claims that a conclusion to the long conflict in Syria is within sight. After a year of protests against President Putin, Steve Rosenberg finds support for him is still strong -- particularly in cities away from the capital, Moscow. Bethany Bell's in South Tyrol where some are angry that the Italian authorities, in the midst of financial crisis, want this wealthy Alpine province to contribute more to the national exchequer. The Turks know that the television soap opera's an effective means of extending influence throughout the Middle East. And the BBC man Rajan Datar gets offered a screen part! And they've been harvesting the olives in the hills of Tuscany. Dany Mitzman's been lending a hand and observing that the harvest methods have changed little since ancient times.