From Our Own Correspondent

"Watch your back Howard!" was one of the politer messages the BBC Philippines Correspondent received after making a documentary about Rodrigo Duterte. As Howard Johnson has found, journalists who question the President can become the target of organised attacks by online trolls. Kate Adie introduces this and other stories from correspondents around the world: The CFO of Huawei once saw Vancouver as a refuge, a base outside of China should she ever need it, now she’s not allowed to leave the city. Micky Bristow gets a glimpse of life in Canada for members of the Chinese elite.Bee Rowlatt interviews Germaine Greer at the Jaipur Literature Festival – and wonders what its usually outspoken crowd will make of their outspoken guest.Jasmine Taylor Coleman joins a puffin patrol in Iceland, as locals try to protect the endangered birds. And disorganised chaos or a carefully choreographed dance? Alastair Leithead tries to figure out what’s going on in an airport in the Democratic Republic of the Congo and what it says about the country.

At the site of a US drone strike in Yemen, Safa Al Ahmad hears the sound of danger – the jihadi songs of ISIS fighters who want to know why she’s there. She reports from the no man’s land between Houthi rebels, the Yemeni army, armed tribes, Al Qaeda and ISIS - and she reflects on just how complicated the conflict has become. Kate Adie introduces this and other stories from around the world:In Nigeria, Mayeni Jones enters the wired world of political “Godfathers”. Their faces stare out of election posters, their rallies attract hundreds of adoring fans and yet they aren’t standing for election themselves. In Russia, Chloe Arnold remembers her first visit to the avant-garde Mayakovsky Museum in Moscow and asks will it ever be allowed to re-open?In Turkey, a yapping dog and a sleepless night lead Mark Lowen to question whether it’s ever acceptable for foreigners to tell locals how to behave.And in South Africa, Gavin Fischer finds out that while Fafi may be an illegal, Mafia-controlled lottery many players believe there is a mystical path to winning big.

To mark their transition from a heavily armed rebel group to a political party FARC has adapted the meaning of their name and replaced the rifles on their logo with roses. Mathew Charles finds out how some former guerrilla commanders are adapting to life as members of the Colombian congress. Kate Adie introduces this and other stories from around the world:As Greek MPs voted to accept a deal to end a dispute over the name of its northern neighbour ‘Macedonia’ a familiar cry echoed around the streets of Athens – Όχι. Paul Moss explores the long and proud history of the word ‘No’ in Greece. In India, Masuma Ahuja visits a prison which some inmates refuse to leave even after the end of their sentences. Sanganer Open Prison has no guards at the gate, no walls or bars and is home to about 450 people. In Romania, Chris Haslam meets farmers and craftsmen who blame the EU for the decline of traditional skills. The lure of better-paid jobs elsewhere can be difficult to resist for some young people. And in Sweden, Dougal Shaw visits, what its manager likes to describe as, a “high-fashion, trash shopping-mall.” At Retuna in Eskilstuna, everything on sale has either been recycled or upcycled but can it compete with mainstream shops?

'My smile should tell you everything' one victim of an army rampage explains in Zimbabwe. In a society where you never know who’s listening, and who can be trusted, people smile to protect themselves, says Andrew Harding. Kate Adie introduces this and other stories from around the world:Lyse Doucet is in Timbuktu where the threat of terrorism and a changing climate are making life harder for the people who live there and are deterring others from visiting the ancient, storied city. Krupa Padhy explores shifting family structures in Denmark where around 5% of babies are now born thanks to IVF. She meets solomurs - single women who’ve had IVF treatment, and diblings – children produced from the same sperm donor. Alexa Dvorson is in Iceland where an influx of tourists is making some locals angry - but not in the way you might expect.And Tom Colls spends an evening watching 'Integrity Idol' - a talent show for local government officials in Nepal.

The impact of Venezuela's economic crisis is being felt far beyond its shores; Colin Freeman hears how some former Venezuelan fisherman have turned to kidnap and smuggling guns and drugs into Trinidad to make money.Kate Adie introduces this and other stories from around the world: How will the Trump administration judge its allies in the Middle East, wonders Barbara Plett Usher. She joined the US Secretary of State on part of his rapid round of diplomacy in the region where one word kept cropping up – Iran.63,000 jobs and 19 million applicants – Rahul Tandon joins some of the people hoping to work on India’s railways.Juliet Rix joins the celebrations to mark 100 years since the Bauhaus school of art and design was founded.And Bethany Bell struggles through the snow in Austria to report on record falls in the Alps.

In the latest programme of the monthly series, Mishal Husain introduces dispatches from journalists and writers around the United Kingdom that reflect the range of contemporary life in the country. James Naughtie considers the contemporary legacy of Scotland's national bard as preparations for Burns Suppers reach their climax. Sima Kotecha wears a saree for the first time and looks at the place of the garment in her family's life. Chris Haslam sets sail off the Norfolk coast with firkins of beer: could this be a sustainable - and viable - way of transporting cargoes in our emissions-conscious age? Carly Appleby reveals the highs and lows of the treatment she is receiving after her breast cancer diagnosis. And Tom Edwards in the English Lakeland discovers if the boom in cold water swimming can transform the fortunes of a derelict lido overlooking Morecambe Bay. Producer Simon Coates

“As I approached the Dusit there was a strange smell in the air; a combination of smoke, petrol, and explosives. I’d smelt it before - the last time was in Northern Syria.” Joe Inwood reflects on the Al Shabaab terror attack on a luxury hotel complex in Nairobi, Kenya.Kate Adie introduces this and other stories from correspondents around the world. Stephanie Hegarty meets an 11-year-old social media star in Mexico who is using her online videos to come to terms with the death of her mother.Charlotte McDonald is in Toulouse with a French veteran of the Algerian War of Independence who’s still making peace with the atrocities committed by his own side. Karen Allen mingles with South Africa's growing Korean community, some of whom are making good money selling synthetic hair. And Justin Rowlatt explains why he took his wife on a romantic getaway to Chernobyl.

The Saudi teenager Rahaf al-Qunun was spared deportation after details of her plight were spread on social media while she barricaded herself in a hotel room in Thailand. She feared being killed by her family if she was forced to return to Kuwait. She was saved not by her passport but by her phone, observes Jonathan Head.Kate Adie introduces this and other stories from correspondents around the world:Olivia Acland reflects on why the people of the Democratic Republic of Congo may have to wait a little longer than expected to celebrate their country’s first ever democratic transfer of power. Nick Sturdee examines the split between the Ukrainian and Russian branches of the Orthodox church and has a strange encounter involving a black-robed priest, alleged KGB stooges and a mysterious man in a white car. Jane Wakefield has a glimpse of what may turn out to be the future – drones delivering much-needed medicines and other supplies to remote African villages. And Rob Cameron uncovers a disturbing secret about Prague’s cobblestoned streets.

“Something once whole, broken into so many pieces,” Anna Foster reflects on the toll conflict in the Central African Republic is having on its people. In the capital Bangui, she visits PK5 a Muslim enclave in the mainly Christian city and scene of regular violence. Kate Adie introduces this and other stories from correspondents around the world. As a proudly homophobic, far-right president assumes office in Brazil, Simon Maybin meets some of the country’s gay footballers. Chris Bowlby visits a bastion of loyal Protestantism in the Republic of Ireland. The Orange Order hall may have been refurbished with money from Dublin but it is proudly British. Peter Robertson heads to the hills in Uzbekistan to try and get a clear view of what’s changed there under Shavkat Mirziyoyev who became President following Islam Karimov's death. And Vivienne Nunis encounters a scarlet snouted, goblin-like spirit as she examines the damage caused by a recent typhoon in Japan.

Winter’s majestic carpet may transform Karabash into a fairytale land that seems sprinkled with icing sugar, says Steve Rosenberg, but the reality is far from magical. There he meets a man who might just be a Russian spy. Kate Adie introduces some of the many memorable meetings our correspondents have shared in 2018.Mathew Charles spends a twitchy night out in the company of a drug cartel killer and dealer who explains how Colombia’s narco trade is changing. Helen Nianias has coffee with a man who left Kosovo to fight jihad in Syria, but who was back less than two weeks later - before his mum even realised he'd gone.Aisha Gani stumbles across a rave in a refugee camp in Bangladesh – home to some of the hundreds of thousands of Rohingya who’ve fled violence in neighbouring Myanmar.And Gabriel Gatehouse has a strange and mysterious encounter with a troll in Sweden.