From Our Own Correspondent

The Truth is Our Currency Owen Bennett Jones introduces an archive despatch from 1997 by Martin Bell. At a time when television news in particular had been focusing on the conflicts in the former Yugoslavia, journalism was wrestling with issues like the real meaning of 'objectivity' when reporting on wars, and the limits of neutrality.

The Road to Mandalay Owen Bennett Jones introduces an archive despatch from 1984. Veteran correspondent Bob Jobbins describes a journey through Burma's history and culture as he travels from Rangoon to Mandalay.

"The army was rotten to the core and could not put up a fight" - Kinshasa, May 1997 Owen Bennett Jones introduces an archive despatch from the country then still known as Zaire. Allan Little describes the last days of the Mobutu regime and the advance of Laurent Kabila's forces.

A dead man's suitcase in Cape Town transports Tim Butcher from today's Africa via World War Two Italy to Renaissance Tuscany. The most cosseted pets in the world: it's no dog's life, says Joanna Robertson, for the pampered pooches of Paris. High in the Himalayas Joanna Jolly goes searching for a little yellow idol which once wreaked terrible vengeance. Allan Little shares some of the jokes which have fuelled the big news stories in years gone by and Petroc Trelawny on the extraordinary history of Odessa and its enduring passion for music.

The polar bear's back in the news - this time it's at the centre of controversy in Canada where some believe it's a far better animal to be the country's national symbol than the one which currently holds the honour, the beaver -- Lorraine Mallinder has been finding out that some Canadians reckon the beaver's just too boring for the job. At the end of another stressful week in the eurozone Chris Morris tells us that the Germans don't seem too concerned -- the Christmas party season's on their minds! The revolution's brought a new look to Libya but Tarik Kafala, who's been back to Tripoli after many years away, says not everything's changed. Jill McGivering's in Indian Kashmir where questions are being asked about thousands of unmarked graves. And a celebrated bookshop owner passed away this week in Paris and Christine Finn, who worked in his shop recently, tells us what made this store, over the bridge from Notre Dame, so special.

'A political system which had considered itself as solid as rock has started to show cracks.' Steve Rosenberg's in Moscow on a weekend of more demonstrations. The Americans are preparing for their withdrawal from Iraq and Gabriel Gatehouse has been considering what exactly's been achieved during their nine years there. There's a view from Hungary where Nick Thorpe's been looking at how the country's affected by the crisis in the Eurozone. It's forty years since Bangladesh came into being and Mark Tully, who remembers the long struggle which preceded its birth, wonders if too much celebration of that anniversary will lead to further bitterness. And Linda Pressley's in eastern Cuba climbing mountains and asking awkward questions about the love life of Fidel Castro.

Being Italian is bad for your health! That's the contention from Bologna where winter is descending and a range of ailments, unknown to British correspondent Danny Mitzman, are making their presence felt! It's election time in the Democratic Republic of Congo and while you might expect the sounds of tear gas canisters being fired and angry argument about electoral fraud, Will Ross has encountered an orchestra playing Handel's Water Music! A bag of snakes tipped out in a government office in India - Craig Jeffrey says the incident's once again got the country talking about corruption. A book fair --and a beating up: Sara Sheridan in the United Arab Emirates on the issues surrounding the release from prison of a group of people accused of being disrespectful to a ruling family. And the American state of Iowa's preparing for its moment in the political sunlight. It's time for the caucuses, critical for Republicans hoping to become their party's candidate for the White House.

'But of course there will be violence,' says one seasoned observer to Andrew Harding as he travels in the Democratic Republic of Congo wondering if Monday's election is a chance for Africa's wounded giant to get back on its feet. And there's another election, in Egypt, starting on Monday: Lyse Doucet joins a family whose window, overlooking Tahrir Square, offers a unique view of world history unfolding. Fergal Keane, who's been watching the opening of the Khmer Rouge trial in Cambodia, finds young people there more interested in the future than in their country's bloody past. Mark Lowen's in the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia which lost the major part of its Jewish population to the holocaust and recalls the life of his own grandmother who once came face to face with the commandant of a Nazi death camp. And why James Harkin, chasing revolutionaries in Syria, found himself drawn, repeatedly, to what he claims is the best ice cream shop in the world!

Are the generals in Egypt really about to relinquish power? Stephen Sackur in Cairo takes a closer look at the Tahrir Square revolution as Egyptians prepare to cast their votes. David Loyn's in Burma where vested interests, the cronies they're sometimes called, look on to see what will happen with the leaders' programme of reforms; Lucy Ash is in the Republic of Dagestan, on the shores of the Caspian Sea, where bomb attacks and shootouts on an almost daily basis make this the most volatile corner of the Russian Federation; Mike Thomson explains why Kabul, the capital of Afghanistan, has become a 'closed city' but says it pays to get to know it better and Alastair Leithead's on a whirlwind tour of Colombia - he gets an apology from the president and tells us how gold has become the country's new cocaine.

"That's nobody's business but the Turks'." A quote from one of several songs which feature Turkey which are in turn quoted by Kevin Connolly as he talks about why the country remains keen to join the EU despite the Union's problems with debt and insecurity. Hugh Sykes is in Rome as prime minister Silvio Berlusconi's reported to be on the verge of resignation - he wonders why a country which does so many things so well, and manufactures so many goods coveted worldwide, can find itself in such trouble. A new property law's been introduced in Havana - Peter Day tries to answer the question: does this mean the grip of Castro-style Communism is being relaxed? Justin Rowlatt sends a despatch from Varanasi in India where the traditional practice of cremating bodies continues by the River Ganges. And you have to be fit to trek across the Pyrenees. We find out how Edward Stourton got on as he retraced the wartime route of the hundreds who used that route to escape from Nazi-occupied Europe.

'Prosperity for all!' That was the Ugandan president's promise as he stood for re-election but today, as Rob Young's been finding out, there's growing discontent at steeply rising food and fuel prices. There are accusations in Kyrgyzstan of persecution of the Uzbek minority in the south of the country -- Natalia Antelava, who's been investigating, says the official line is that reconciliation's well underway after vicious ethnic clashes there last year. Huw Cordey records that the image of Colombia is slowly changing now that government forces appear to have the upper hand in the long battle against the FARC rebels. Not all the British servicemen stationed in Germany will be coming home -- Chris Bowlby's been meeting some who plan to stay on there. And Vincent Dowd's been visiting a Philadelphia museum which offers a window onto recent American history ... and some rather fine singing too!

America has the Wild West, Russia has its Wild East. And Reggie Nadelson's there, in the port of Vladiovostok. The city, once closed to foreigners, is getting a big makeover. It'll be the new San Francisco, some claim. Paul Moss is in Athens where it's been a week of uncertainty and high political drama. Herman Cain is the choice of many Republicans to be the man to contest next year's presidential election. But his campaign's been sidelined by allegations of sexual harrassment. Mark Mardell's joined him on the campaign trail. There's a new rail line in Jerusalem. Matthew Teller says it provides interesting travel possibilities but it's also proving controversial. And Hugh Schofield's been to the south of France to talk to the iconic fashion designer Pierre Cardin and hear how he saw off all his rivals.

Silvio Berlusconi attends the G20 meeting in Cannes amid mounting alarm in Italy about the country's debt crisis -- Manuela Saragosa's been meeting some Italians who feel Mr.Berlusconi's become a liability and should resign. The G20 meeting is reported to be considering taking Chinese money to help bail out the beleaguered Eurozone. Much of the new Chinese wealth is in the hands of the private sector; Michael Bristow's been having lunch with an industrialist who's one of the country's new super-rich. Tamasin Ford's in Liberia ahead of next week's election runoff and hears concerns about intimidation of the media there. Damien McGuinness, our man in Tbilisi, has been examining the difficulties women in Georgia face in the workplace and in the home while Trish Flanagan has been sampling the wares at the celebrated English Market in the Irish city of Cork.

The appointment of a white vice president in Zambia indicates, according to Fergal Keane, that for Africa's whites, the long journey towards feeling they have a future as of right on the continent is finally underway. David Willey in Rome tells of Italian scepticism about their prime minister's ability to deliver on the promises he's made to EU-leaders about the implementation of austerity measures in Italy. Horatio Clare's aboard a vast container ship in the South China Sea finding out how economic hard times have been affecting life on the ocean wave. There's an incident in the High Pamir as John Pilkingon's dragged, feet first, into an icy river and much talk about the sort of food you can find in German canteens, and what it tells you about its eaters, from our own correspondent in the German capital, Steve Evans.

A dystopian vision of Venice - Rachel Harvey's words as she watches the flood waters approaching Bangkok's city centre. Allan Little, covering the historic first Arab Spring election in Tunisia, says there aren't many days in a life spent chasing news that are as unremittingly positive as this! Jennifer Pak's in Kuala Lumpur reporting on a controversy in Malaysia over a proposal to extend Islamic law. Garreth Armstrong visits the South African town of Mafeking -- once the scene of a British military triumph, today a peaceful place with more interest in the arts than in history. And Alex Kirby takes a boat trip in Ukraine and finds that when something as finite and crucial as water has to be shared between competing needs, there are inevitably losers. The programme's introduced by Kate Adie.

Gabriel Gatehouse describes the scenes at that infamous sewer pipe, where Colonel Gaddafi was found. Kevin Connolly wonders if Gaddafi will be the last of the "grotesque, blood-stained buffoon dictators." Peter Day is in Argentina, which famously defaulted on its massive foreign debts but now appears to be flourishing - could this be a lesson for Greece? Jamie Coomarasamy visits the campaign headquarters of Marine Le Pen, the head of France's far-right Front National; and Jon Silverman is with Africa's real Number One detectives, in Botswana.

Kate Adie introduces reports from around the world. Today Jonathan Head ask what keeps the fighters in Libya going, risking their lives, when perhaps they don't really have to? Sue Lloyd Roberts experiences life trapped in your own flat, with young children, in the middle of the Syrian revolution. The Arab Spring began with Tunisia's Jasmine Revolution, in January. Now they are preparing to vote and Celeste Hicks hears of the disappointments and hopes of young people, and the confusion as people grapple with the trappings of democracy. And Jonathan Barker tells us how the Asian Tsunami has had benefits for the Orang-utans of Sumatra - but watch out for your fingers!

Is the name of Bahrain being dragged into the mire by a string of alleged human rights abuses? Frank Gardner gives his assessment after meeting the King and the Prime Minister - and joining the riot police on patrol. Yolande Knell in Cairo says that with every month that has passed since President Mubarak was overthrown, public frustration has mounted. Katya Adler's investigating the scandal in Spain of the so-called 'ninos robados' or stolen children - sold off to 'more deserving' parents. A long way from Abidjan and a long way from Monrovia: John James is in that part of Ivory Coast close to Liberia and sometimes referred to as the 'Wild West.' It's a part of the country which was hard hit during the struggle, earlier this year, for the country's presidency. And Andrew Harding talks to Zargana, his friend the Burmese comedian, who's just been released from a 59-year prison sentence. Jeeves and Wooster, Andrew hears, were a great comfort in his cell.

'I'll Not Do It Again!' That's the verdict of some foreign businessmen, out of pocket after getting involved in the Indian market. Mark Dummett in Delhi examines whether this is really a difficult country in which to do business. Embarrassment for the French state: Chris Bockman on how it's having to pick up the hotel bills of radicals who were once convicted of trying to blow up the Eiffel Tower. Tamasin Ford visits the centre of the diamond trade in Sierra Leone while Michael Bristow meets the members of one of Shanghai's neighbourhood committees - the front line of Chinese government. And with two weeks to go until the Irish go to the polls, Kieran Cooke recalls early encounters with Martin McGuinness, the former IRA man who now wants to be Ireland's next president.

Why two crumpled pieces of paper are among the most precious reminders Lyse Doucet has of her reporting trip to beleaguered Syria; Nick Danziger's been back to Kabul and wondered why the voices of Afghan women are too often ignored; Steve Evans in Berlin reflects on the row surrounding the return of twenty skulls to Namibia; building a new nation is never easy, but now Rosie Goldsmith tells us that South Sudan faces an additional challenge as it tries to introduce English as the official language; and Hugh Schofield in Paris on how new technology has breathed fresh life into the ghosts of Montparnasse cemetery.