From Our Own Correspondent

Anu Anand in Delhi on what happens to the two hundred thousand Indian children abducted each year; a future vision for Africa -- Gabriel Gatehouse in Kenya meets a man with a radical plan; Chloe Arnold on how Algeria is desperate to escape the clutches of a violent past; how much has the Chinese rail network changed? Angus Foster has ample time for reflection on a 16-hour journey to Wuhan and Laura Trevelyan in New York gets an American style-makeover as she prepares to become an 'anchor' on American television.

Quentin Sommerville in Kabul says an early and substantial drawdown of British troops in Afghanistan is being privately considered David Willey wonders who else at the Vatican - besides the butler on trial for stealing Papal documents -- is dissatisfied with the way the church is being run Frances Harrison meets survivors from the civil war in Sri Lanka as officials there hope cricket will help restore the island's image as a holiday paradise Pascale Harter in Barcelona on the Chinese finding business opportunities amidst the recession in Spain Mattia Cabitza charts Peruvians' relationships with their cats: some revere them as furry family pets, while others think they make a tasty meal.

Unemployment's up, the tax bills are up, public cheerfulness is down. Hugh Schofield says these are gloomy times in France. Sunday's general election in Venezuela could be a close one. And already it's providing our correspondent Paul Moss with a wardrobe nightmare. The stalemate in London surrounding Wikileaks founder Julian Assange continues. Jo Fidgen says that in Sweden, where he's wanted after allegations of sexual assault, most people believe he should come back for questioning. Hundreds of thousands of Crimean Tatars have been returning to their homeland. Robin Banerji has been learning that many are finding it hard to track down their cultural heritage. And biggest, tallest, longest, most expensive? Modern China certainly deals in superlatives but Martin Patience wonders if size really does matter or if it's all a question of insecurity.

Lyse Doucet's in a Syrian suburb hearing stories about a civil war which is reaching more parts of the country every week. Damien McGuinness finds there are complaints from some Turkish women about the good times which have arrived at a resort town on Georgia's Black Sea coast. Justin Webb wonders whether ludicrous amounts of time and money are being spent trying to woo undecided voters in the US presidential election. Lucy Ash is at a monastery contemplating the growing influence on the Russian state of the Orthodox Church. And while visitors to the Philippines may have great things to say about a fascinating country, Kate McGeown says they rarely mention the food!

Justin Rowlatt visits Las Vegas and learns why America's casino capital has suffered more than most from the economic crisis. Sarah Birke, reporting from the border between Syria and Turkey, meets a rebel commander who says he'd rather write poetry than go to war. Will Ross has been investigating reports that young girls have been forced to hand over their babies for adoption in Nigeria. Daniel Nasaw's has learned how the battles of the American Civil War have helped to shape the debate in the current US presidential campaign. And Gideon Long's been to the remote island in the South Pacific which inspired Daniel Defoe's castaway classic Robinson Crusoe.

Damian Grammaticas in China on how accounts of forced abortions from around the country have fuelled a debate on a once-taboo subject: the state's One Child only policy. Paul Mason tells how Spain's third city Valencia is being buried under a mountain of debt. Now the chemists are running out of prescription drugs. Gabriel Gatehouse is in Kenya where questions are being asked about an outbreak of factional violence. Is it simply a matter of local feuding or should national politicians shoulder some of the blame? Steve Rozenberg's been to meet the hardline president of Chechnya and ask him questions about the Islamicisation of his Russian republic. And Georgia Paterson Dargham chronicles how Beirut is increasingly feeling the effects of the Syrian conflict. She tells us how some residents in the Lebanese capital are wondering: has the time now come to get out?

Andrew Harding says ending one miners dispute in South Africa does not mean the authorities' troubles are over. Judith Kampner, a new US citizen, volunteers to become an election worker -- and all does not go according to plan. Jonathan Fryer hears that while Istanbul may be one of the world's most cosmopolitan cities, Turkey does not officially approve of multiculturalism. Martin Buckley takes the slow train to Belgrade and finds a lively city keen to move on from recent Balkans history. Will Grant experiences an egg shortage in Mexico -- a country more reliant on eggs than any other.

Kevin Connolly suggests that two deaths in the Middle East, eight hundred years and several hundred miles apart, offer lessons on the wisdom of foreign intervention in Syria. Alan Johnston's been to a building in Rome they call the Palace of Shame where hundreds of migrants live with time on their hands to consider the difficulties of finding a dream life in Europe. Some of the millions who left Zimbabwe as the country fell into violence and poverty have started to make their way back. But Jenny Cuffe's been discovering that not all are being welcomed home with open arms. Nick Thorpe -- knocked off his bike in Budapest -- has had an unexpected opportunity to take a close look at the Hungarian health service. And the economic crisis may have hit Ireland hard. But Kieran Cooke, in Blacksod Bay, County Mayo, has been learning that people are still determined to have some fun.

Thomas Fessy flew into The Gambia to ask questions about recent executions. But he was thrown out of the country. It's left him asking: what have the authorities got to hide? Iraqi police and army officers have been accused of taking part in a murderous campaign of persecution against the country's gay community. Natalia Antelava meets one senior official who reckons there are only about ten homosexuals in the whole country and, he tells her "they need to change." John Laurenson's in a vast shanty town on the edge of Madrid hearing stories from people who've lost everything in the economic crisis. The man who looked after the sacred crocodiles in the Ivory Coast is not doing the job any longer. John James tells us about his very last day at work. And Kathy Flower, who lives in a village in the French Pyrenees, finds that the mayor plays a significant part in French community life.

Greece remains a land where millions go each year to enjoy their holidays. But Mark Lowen's discovered that it's now also a place where increasing numbers of people are finding it hard to cope with the austerity demanded of them. The Russian republic of Chechnya is enjoying the most peaceful time it's seen in years but Oliver Bulloughsays its people seem far from content. Linda Pressly's been to Israel to talk to some of the Haredi, the inclreasingly influential ultra-orthodox, who seem set to play a critical role in the country's future. Emma Jane Kirby is in St Tropez as the new French leader prepares to address his people on TV. She wonders if there might be lessons he can learn from the glitzy Cote d'Azure. Justin Rowlatt, in China, knows Tiananmen, Taiwan and Tibet are subjects the authorities might prefer him to avoid. But now he's learned there's a fourth T - toilets. The Chinese, he's been finding out, do not like people poking fun at their loos.