From Our Own Correspondent

Afghanistan has seen a surge in civilian casualties since US-brokered peace talks with the Taliban resumed last year. Ashraf Ghani, the Afghan President, however, still sees reason for optimism, thanks to the new-US administration with whom he hopes to have better relations. Lyse Doucet reflects on Kabul's battle to shake off a violent past. Businesses across Myanmar were closed on Monday as protestors in several cities held a General Strike in protest against the military coup and arrest of their civilian leader, Aung San Suu Kyi. Initial hopes for a peaceful resolution are now fading after troops fired live ammunition and tear gas into crowds in recent weeks. But a heavy-handed response is only sharpening the resolve of those on the streets, finds Ben Dunant. In 2014, a small farming village of Kocho in northern Iraq, was the scene of one of the worst massacres carried out by the Islamic State group, killing hundreds of people from the Yazidi ethno-religious minority. This month, 103 of the victims were returned to Kocho for proper burials. Lizzie Porter attended the funeral. In Greenland, a rare earth mining project is dominating the political agenda, with snap elections called for April. The proposed mine has inspired hopes that it could provide the windfall needed to gain full independence from Denmark. But, as Guy Kiddey discovered, on a recent trip,the project is also causing some distress. Every year in February, several towns in the French Riviera hold festivals to celebrate the Mimosa harvest. There are parades in the streets with floral floats, brass bands, and street orchestras And although the usual festivities have been cancelled this year, Christine Finn finds this year’s flowering still offers hope.Presenter: Kate Adie Producer: Serena Tarling

South Africa’s former President, Jacob Zuma failed to appear at a corruption inquiry this week - an inquiry he himself set up when he was in power. But now he has been called to testify, he has accused the judge of carrying out a personal vendetta against him. The case has split the country’s ruling party, the African National Congress. In the eyes of many the former President will always be seen as the legendary liberation hero. Andrew Harding looks at why it’s proving so difficult to hold certain politicians to account in South Africa. We visit Wuhan in China, where, just over a year ago, a whistleblower - Li Wenliang - first drew the world's attention to the severity of the Coronavirus outbreak. A team of international scientists from the World Health Organisation have just returned from their month long visit to the city to try to identify the origins of the virus. China correspondent, Stephen McDonnell followed the motorcade of scientists on their tour and found information about what they learned was hard to come by. Tokyo's Olympics has faced a number of hurdles: last year the Games were postponed for the first time in their 124-year history due to the pandemic; Japan's Olympic chief was recently forced to stand down for making sexist comments and now there is local resistance to pressing ahead with the Games this Summer due to concerns about continued outbreaks finds Rupert Wingfield-Hayes. We visit the Uffizi gallery in Florence for an almost private view of some of the great works of Renaissance Art. Between lockdowns and restrictions, the museum re-opened briefly in January and Julia Buckley managed to steal a visit, without the tourists.Presenter: Kate Adie Producer: Serena Tarling

We visit the tribesmen of Yemen, which has for years been wracked by civil war. The conflict morphed into a proxy war in 2015 after a coalition, led by Saudi Arabia launched attacks on Iranian-backed Houthi Muslim rebels. And as the conflict has raged on, Yemeni civilians face economic hardship and starvation. Some of the country’s tribespeople have stepped up to play the role of peacemaker to try to restore order. Leila Molana -Allen heard about some of the challenges they face when she was a guest at a tribal gathering in the south of the country. For a president to undergo an impeachment process was until recently a somewhat rareified event, but former president Donald Trump has now undergone not one, but two sets of proceedings against him. The latest one examined his role in the storming of the Capitol building on January 6th. In the end, the Senate voted to acquit Donald Trump – and as Anthony Zurcher found, the era of Trump’s influence is by no means a closed chapter for Republicans. Kosovo has been marking the 13th anniversary of its independence from Serbia. And voters have been ringing the changes, facing temperatures of minus 10 degrees Celsius and snow to cast their ballots – awarding a landslide victory for the opposition Self Determination party in last Sunday’s parliamentary election. Guy Delauney reports. Cuba is suffering. Economically the country is in its worst moment since the “Special Period”, a decade of severe austerity and shortages after the fall of the Berlin Wall. Breadlines are once again a common sight across the island. The hard times have prompted the government to undertake long-promised radical economic reforms. As Will Grant reports, the changes mean that even a low-key celebration of a special occasion can be tricky.Presenter: Kate Adie Producer: Serena Tarling

Israel’s health system has been in the spotlight as it races ahead with its coronavirus vaccination programme. More than half of eligible Israelis - about 3.5 million people - have now been fully or partially vaccinated. For our Middle East correspondent Tom Bateman, covering the pandemic meant a return to his beat after a mishap on the streets of Jerusalem, and a vivid episode of his own in hospital.Next, Ireland, which in recent weeks has been caught in the middle of the row between the UK and the European Union over the Northern Irish protocol. The Irish Taoiseach, Michael Martin, called for both parties to “cool it”. But Ireland’s relationship with Brussels has, to date, been a largely positive one. Chris Paige looks back on Ireland’s evolution since it became a republic into a firmly European nation.Thirty years ago an American air strike destroyed an air raid shelter in Baghdad, killing hundreds. The previous August, Iraqi President Saddam Hussein had invaded and occupied Kuwait, triggering a huge international response. Jeremy Bowen reflects on US interventions in the region and their bearing on the future.Pangolins are one of the most heavily trafficked species in the world and are now in the frame for being a possible source of the Covid-19 outbreak. In India, they are seen as a delicacy but a conservationist in Maharashtra is finding creative ways to help protect the mammals with a little help from Hindu mythology, says Geetanjali Krishna. We visit Seville, which may soon see the construction of its first new mosque since the 13th century. It’s a bold new initiative that has involved an ex-Premiership footballer, a former male model and an internet crowdfunding campaign, as Oliver Smith reports.Presenter: Kate Adie Producer: Serena Tarling

Ten years ago, former Egyptian president Hosni Mubarak, was ousted after weeks of protest in Tahrir square in Cairo. Demonstrators proved an unstoppable force despite a brutal crackdown by authorities killing hundreds. But the post-Mubarak era has not heralded a period of greater freedoms. Kevin Connolly, who covered the fall of Mubarak, looks back on the protests in 2011 which have now fallen silent.President Emmanuel Macron has chosen not to impose a further lockdown, instead tightening borders, closing shopping malls and imposing a night-time curfew to keep the virus under control. Mr Macron now has one eye on the looming presidential campaign as two polls this week suggested his lead over the far-right’s Marine Le Pen is narrowing. Hugh Schofield reports from Paris.It's Oscar season again – and Pakistan’s entry in the best foreign film category is making the headlines. The plot centres on the fictional story of a devout Muslim and estate agent whose life is turned upside down when he dances sensually to a song at a wedding. The film has angered a religious group, and the government has postponed its release – indefinitely, says Secunder Kermani.At the beginning of the pandemic, Bulgaria’s authorities moved swiftly to impose stringent lockdowns on the country’s Roma communities. Many Roma settlements are cut off from essential services. In some neighbourhoods, military police barred the exits. As Bulgaria starts to re-open, Jean Mackenzie visits one settlement.On the ski slopes of Lake Tahoe, it’s taboo to mention the pandemic. In the Diamond Lake ski resort, slopes are full of visitors, happy to visit the restaurants – and casinos. It's a different story down the road in California, says Alice Hutton.Presenter: Kate Adie Producer: Serena Tarling

Aung San Suu Kyi was once heralded by many in the west as a valiant campaigner for democratic rights. As civilian leader she looked set to put the country on a new path after years of military dictatorship. But her refusal to acknowledge the army’s ethnic cleansing of Rohingya Muslims damaged her standing abroad. And although her party managed to secure a landslide victory in elections last year, it may prove to have been a pyrrhic one, says Jonathan Head, after the military coup this week.Mexican’s President, Manuel Lopez Obrador, may have had a lucky escape from the worst effects of Covid-19, but the same cannot be said for a vast numbers of his compatriots who are battling to find treatment. The president has now recovered, says Will Grant, but his citizens are still struggling for breath.In a court in Moscow this week, Russia’s opposition leader described President Vladimir Putin as “a poisoner” before he was sentenced to nearly three years in prison. Alexei Navalny’s arrest and sentencing has had an electrifying impact on the opposition movement in the country, as throngs of protestors took to the streets of Moscow, and beyond. Has the Kremlin finally over-played its hand? asks Sarah Rainsford.Our central Europe Correspondent Nick Thorpe has been following the Danube, upriver, from Romania to Germany. On one night, he accompanied a conservation team to go jackal howling among the biggest reed-beds on the planet.South Africa has been battling to control a new variant of Covid, detected in the country last year. More than 45 000 people have died since the beginning of the pandemic. or those who are grieving, the customary burial process has been curtailed. Many are restricted to watching live streams of the funeral, while closest family grieve alone, says Pumza Filhani.Presenter: Kate Adie Producer: Serena Tarling

Six months ago, an explosion, caused by improperly stored ammonium nitrate, ripped through the city of Beirut. As the country struggles to rebuild amid a devastating economic crisis, a stringent lockdown has been imposed. In Tripoli, people are taking to the streets in protest. Leila Molana-Allen reports. San Francisco’s District Attorney is pioneering a new approach to tackling crime, focusing on the root causes with social care and drug therapy, rather than prison. Police unions are not convinced, and it’s not clear whether this novel approach to tackling crime, adopted in other liberal cities, will prove effective, says James Clayton. Last week the head of the Swedish Public Health Agency Johan Carlson admitted catching a bus during rush hour, without wearing a face mask. Carlson’s failure to adhere to the new restrictions hasn’t gone down well with the Swedish public. This has been compounded by a series of other breaches by ministers and public officials. It’s causing the country’s traditionally high levels of trust in authorities to wobble, as Maddy Savage reports from Stockholm. When China introduced economic reforms and began opening out in the 1980s, English language learning began with fervour. It remains popular today, with a proliferation of private English language learning schools across the country, but authorities are now downplaying its importance. Journalist LiJia Zhang once worked in a missile-factory – for her, learning a second language was the key to a new life. The Seychelles has two main industries that drive its economy: tourism and fishing. The fishing industry is struggling amid the pandemic, with fewer visitors, but it's also suffered years of mismanagement says Michelle Jana Chan.Presenter: Kate Adie Producer: Serena Tarling

Brazil is going through a deadly second-wave of Covid-19 – and it’s precipitated the collapse of the health system in– Manaus, the biggest city in the Amazon. The hospitals are overloaded with patients and oxygen supplies have run perilously low. Local and national leaders are now coming under scrutiny for their management of the outbreak. Katy Watson visited Manaus. We hear from Afghanistan, where there has been a recent surge of targeted killings, blamed on the Taliban. Peace talks between the Afghan government and the Taliban have stalled, and the rise in violence is proving a toxic backdrop. Meanwhile, locals are worried that the further US drawdown in troops could herald the Taliban’s return, says Yogita Limaye. We have an insight into the cyber world of online extremists. Meet the team who track the outlandish web of conspiracy theories spun by shadowy groups. They watched the emergence of the group now known as QAnon. In a fiercely divided America where facts are often dismissed as fake news, blurring the boundaries of reality and myth has becomes all too easy, finds Alistair Coleman. We visit the small Russian town of Nikel where, until recently, a decades-old smelter produced tonnes of nickel. Nornikel, closed the smelter in December in a move they claim is part of their shift towards a greener future. But for hundreds of employees, their future is less clear, finds Guy Kiddey. In September 2017, a ferocious Category 5 hurricane swept through Dominica, St Croix and Puerto Rico with 160-mile-per hour winds. On the eastern-Caribbean island of Dominica, Hurricane Maria left a trail of devastation and 65 people died.. Mark Stratton went to visit the island recently where efforts continue to rebuild, even as they face a new storm front: Coronavirus.Presenter: Kate Adie Producer: Serena Tarling

In Delhi, Republic Day is usually a ceremonial occasion celebrated with military parades and cultural pageantry. But this year’s event was marred by violence – as thousands of farmers drove their tractors into New Delhi in an escalation of months of peaceful protests against proposed agricultural reforms. Rajini Vaidyanathan reports from New Delhi. The Netherlands is seeing its worst violence in 40 years with scenes of looting and rioting across the country. The collapse of the government earlier this month, followed by a tightening of restrictions due to Coronavirus has had a destabilising impact. Anna Holligan says the Dutch are wrestling with the disruption to the usual sense of order. The Democratic Republic of Congo is rich in precious minerals such as gold, diamonds and cobalt - but is still one of the poorest countries in the world. For over two decades, rebel groups have fought over mines in the east of the country where thousands of children also toil in the mines. Olivia Acland went to visit one of them Portugal has become one of the European countries hardest hit by the second wave of Covid-19 and another national lockdown has been imposed. Audrey Gillan visited Armona, an island off the coast of the Algarve, which is suffering from tightened travel restrictions and low visitor numbers. Cuba’s Fidel Castro was probably one of the most widely photographed and documented men of his time.. Will Grant has been trying to verify the details of one of those pictures – of Castro as a young man in a sugarcane field – which he needed for a book. It led him to the story of the audacious young German woman who snapped it six decades earlier.

A year ago Wuhan imposed a lockdown on its citizens, as reports filtered through of the first human-to-human transmission of a new strain of Coronavirus. A delegation from the World Health Organisation has now arrived in Wuhan to investigate the origins of the outbreak. Robin Brant returned to the wet food market in the city where life has returned to normal - almost. Washington was transformed into a fortress this week – both for visitors and residents alike in the lead up to the inauguration of President Joe Biden. Aleem Maqbool reflects on the contrast between the ceremony this week – and that of 2016. Russia's opposition leader, Alexei Navalny, returned to Moscow having recovered from a nerve-agent attack, which he blames on the Kremlin. He was arrested upon arrival and placed in pre-trial detention for 30 days in what could have been seen as a blow to the opposition. But – undeterred, they had something else up their sleeve, as Steve Rosenberg reports. Last weekend bouts of violence erupted on the streets in over a dozen neighbourhoods across Tunisia, with young people clashing in the streets with the police. But what’s behind the latest unrest? Ten years on from the revolution which triggered the Arab Spring uprisings, the slow pace of economic reform and high unemployment has caused widespread discontent as Rana Jawad reports. India began the world’s largest vaccination roll-out last weekend, aiming to vaccinate 1.3 billion people. The arrival of millions of doses of the two approved vaccines was greeted with jubilation and a festive atmosphere in cities across India. But there is still some reticence in taking up the vaccine, finds Rajini Vaidyanathan.Presenter: Kate Adie Producer: Serena Tarling