From Our Own Correspondent

Nineteen correspondents from around the world join Kate Adie in this special New Year edition of the programme. They consider such matters as the 'park and pray' facilities on German's motorways, a reporter's dilemma on encountering a baby close to death in Pakistan; a cinema in Kabul where people gather to try to forget their troubles, a club in Baghdad where time seems to stand still, a school in Kenya where the alphabet is spelled out in goat droppings, several harrowing episodes at our correspondents' dining tables, an eventful rail journey in Zimbabwe and another on an Indian train with a strange choice of name, buying a drink in an iconic Irish pub and whether French can ever be the language of rock.

Three years in America: Kevin Connolly has time to reflect as he prepares to leave an eventful posting in the United States. A cocaine factory is blown to pieces in a Colombian jungle clearing -- Frank Gardner was there watching as the security forces took their battle against the cocaine barons into the jungle. Gideon Long, our man in Santiago, on Chile's extraordinary, rollercoaster year. The Roman Catholic Cathedral in Algiers has just re-opened -- Chloe Arnold was at the inauguration where she she saw Muslims and Christians praying alongside each other.

Can America's dollars buy hearts and minds in southern Afghanistan? It's a subject Michael Buchanan has been examining in Helmand province; Hugh Sykes has been finding out how some Palestinians and Israelis have been forging connections across their deep divide. In Chennai, formerly Madras, Peter Curran has been listening in to an argument about the use of the English language; the best and the worst of life in one of South Africa's toughest townships -- Karen Allen's been visiting Gugulethu and Hugh Schofield has been on the hunt for the wild raiders who've been tormenting farmers in France.

The great silence that is the legacy of genocide -- Neil Trevithick considers the legacy of brutality in Cambodia; Andrew Harding manages to relax on the beach in war-weary Mogadishu and finds some Somalians optimistic about the future; Paul Adams eats oysters for breakfast and talks to some of those living with the aftermath of the Gulf of Mexico's oil spill disaster. With much of the opposition boycotting the second round of general election voting, Jon Leyne considers the nature of politics Egyptian-style and Pascale Harter's learning how to endure endless thirst in one of the hottest places on the planet.

Why Pakistan's flood victims feel they've been let down by their rulers – Jill McGivering’s been investigating; Peter Day’s just back from China with the story of a victim of the Cultural Revolution who emerged from prison and made a fortune. Russia's policemen fail to see the funny side of a campaign of ridicule as we discover from a despatch by Lucy Ash. Justin Marozzi mingles with the crowds at a football tournament being held, controversially, in Yemen while Barbara Plett is in New York with a tale of shame and horror at a BBC office there.

Ireland prepares to say goodbye to the best and brightest of its youth – Gavin Hewitt’s been finding out how the economic crisis there has forced thousands to consider emigration; Mark Urban’s at the NATO summit in Lisbon and points out that while some of the delegates question the continuing role of the alliance others believe fervently it has a role to play in the 21st century; in Rome David Willey says the rising tide of scandal may finally engulf Italy’s embattled prime minister; Paul Moss goes on patrol with the peacekeepers who have the challenging task of trying to maintain order in the Democratic Republic of Congo; while deep in the Amazon jungle, Justin Rowlatt finds himself confronting the jungle snack he’ll never forget …

A dark portrait is painted by our correspondent Rupert Wingfield-Hayes of millions of Russian lives lost in alcohol and despair; there are reflections on the death of a deeply troubled German hero from Eleanor Oldroyd; Will Ross explores the divisions that may be just about to split Sudan in half; A Chinese gourmet is introduced to fine Italian food by Fuchsia Dunlop in Turin and we know that the super spy, James Bond didn't like the Cold War Russians....but what, Kevin Connolly wonders, did he make of the Americans?

Christian families are leaving Iraq in large numbers amid continuing sectarian violence, Jim Muir has the latest developments. John Humphrys travels to China and finds political perils threaten the country's booming economy. In South Africa, Hamilton Wende hears tales of horror and victory from a veteran of the Battle of El Alamein. Lina Sinjab finds youngsters in Yemen disturbed by the way the world views their country. And in the Maldives, Tim Ecott witnesses the massing of the manta rays.

An undercover exploration of the glittering new capital city built by Burma's generals is carried out by Sue Lloyd-Roberts; Damian Grammaticas looks at the population count in China that will shed light on more than a billion lives; Daniel Schweimler finds a vacuum in Argentina after the death of former president Nestor Kirchner; anger and fear in Indonesia's restless province of Papua is reported by Rachel Harvey; while in a forest in the Czech Republic, Mike Wendling taps into the local passion for sausages, cold beer and a game that you may well have never heard of.....

The ruined heart of an American city, laid waste by economic collapse, is explored by Paul Mason; Mary Harper visits a hotel in Nairobi that's become a little piece of Somalia; from a South African prison, Hamilton Wende tells an inspiring tale of guilt and redemption; there's an explosion in modern art in the Turkish city of Istanbul, but Rosie Goldsmith's been finding out that not everyone's happy with that. And our correspondent David Willis struggles to embrace America's passion for Halloween.

Extra police have been drafted in to the Swedish city of Malmo -- Tim Mansel, who's there, says a gunman is on the loose who seems to have immigrants in his sights. The Chinese villages condemned to drown beneath the rising waters of the Yangtze - Peter Day's been to investigate. In the US, Andy Gallacher has a story of blood and guts at a rodeo in one of the country's toughest prisons. And Hugh Schfield tells us that while French may be the language of love and cuisine....it may not be right for rock and roll.

Today: We hear French lessons for an American truck driver; the surprising story of why some schools in Japan are funded by the North Koreans; there are the explicit stories told to get the Aids message across to Ugandan children; and we learn how a 21st Century St. Patrick could help out with Ireland's economic woes.

Today: we hear from Aleem Maqbool in Pakistan where it's easier to blame others for your troubles than to really face up to them; we're in Berber country, in Algeria, with Jonathan Fryer, where until recently kidnappings and killings were commonplace; we visit the Liberian countryside with Chris Simpson where they are dreaming of the good ol' days when some people had a monthly salary; in Okinawa Philippa Fogarty explains how some people are determined to preserve their culture, as distinct from the Japanese one; and our correspondent Jonah Fisher is in the burning Kalahari, with his charcoal pickles.

A huge welcome -- from some at least --as the President of Iran comes to southern Lebanon, Jeremy Bowen was there watching. Humphrey Hawksley's in Kiev as Ukrainians look nostalgically back to the days when they were part of the Soviet empire; a mixed press for the Commonwealth Games but Sam Miller finds there are technological reasons to be cheerful; Joanna Jolly's in Nepal where the world's tiniest man reckons his height is a passport to financial security. And Nick Thorpe tells tales of tragedy and hope after a week spent on the road covering the story of toxic sludge leak in Hungary.

The Colombian fighters who've given up the struggle, opting for education instead -- Robin Lustig has been to meet them; Gideon Long in Chile on what the rescue at the Copiapo mine tells us about the Chilean character; a flowering of democracy in Kyrgyzstan, but Rayhan Demytrie finds it's all too complicated for some; Chris Hogg's in Pyongyang as President Kim Jong Il annoints his son as successor and Jennifer Pak discovers even the heat can't melt the enthusiasm for ice hockey in Malaysia.

A mesmerising speech from a great South African churchman: the retirement of Archbishop Tutu is marked by Allan Little; Ian Pannell on the increasingly unsafe roads of Afghanistan; Farhana Dawood is in Leipzig noting the continuing divisions between Germans from the east and west of the country; Martin Patience tells us how the Chinese government is having to consider the implications of an ever-older population while Christine Finn is in the Northern Irish fishing village of Ardglass tasting one of the "silver darlings" on which the port has built its reputation.

Why some pro-democracy candidates in Burma won't be contesting the forthcoming elections; Pascale Harter's in Spain examining worries about the economy and the changes which a wave of immigration has brought to Spanish culture; In Srinagar, Kashmir, Chris Morris finds that local journalists, trying to report on a wave of unrest, have become targets themselves; Mark Mardell's in Nevada examining the reasons for the electorate's febrile mood ahead of November's midterm elections and a story about grandmother's chest of drawers and a mountain of red tape. That one's told by Chloe Arnold in Algiers.

Who says the Germans don't have a sense of humour? Steve Evans is in the east of the country as the anniversary of reunification approaches. Baghdad once had dozens of cinemas playing to full houses and even hosting glittering premieres. Gabriel Gatehouse discovers why the cinema in Iraq is dying. Hamilton Wende in Johannesburg explores one consequence of the biggest influx of immigrants since the gold rush: a babble of new languages on the streets of this South African city. Kevin Connolly looks at the challenges facing President Obama in the run-up to the Midterm elections while Justin Rowlatt finds that a song from our own correspondent can break the ice in Angola.

After years of conflict in Uganda, the people of Acholiland are returning home; but Richard Dowden finds memories of war are straining the Acholi tradition of forgiveness. Peter Marshall meets the British woman on death row in Texas, and considers whether she should be there. Martin Patience goes for a drive with the young people of China in search of new friends on the open road. Charles Haviland is in Sri Lanka, where people are sharing their memories of the long civil war. And a man with a shopping trolley attracts the attention of our man in Johannesburg, Andrew Harding.

A corner of old Germany is unearthed in Latin America as Will Grant follows Venezuelans preparing for a crucial vote. Jonathan Head travels to the east of Turkey where there’s been, according to the government, a gesture of reconciliation towards an Armenian minority, subjected to mass killing during the First World War. Fifty years on from independence in Nigeria, Anna Horsbrugh-Porter meets up with two men working there back in 1960. Paul Harper’s in a Yemeni town which comes to a standstill after lunch as its men grow euphoric, chewing the leaves of the qat plant. And why are numbers so sharply down at the Liberace Museum in Las Vegas? Kevin Connolly muses on the attractions of conspicuous consumption in a time of recession and the transience of fame.