From Our Own Correspondent

In the Christmas edition, Mishal Husain introduces dispatches from journalists and writers around the United Kingdom which reflect the range of contemporary life in the country. Ian McMillan tells a story known with subtle variations across the country - the Christmas card that's received each year but which can't be acknowledged because you've lost the address of the people who send it. They aren't relatives, they're not friends and they're not really acquaintances. But their card says something profound beyond the sentiments it contains. Meanwhile, Jane Labous joins the Special Constables on Christmas patrol. They're part of the police force in England, Scotland and Wales and yet not for they are volunteers who have the power to detain and fine those who break the law. At a time of tight police budgets in Dorset, the regular police tell Jane, without the Specials there would be many fewer arrests. But who are the Specials and what is the essential job they perform for no salary? Those who are single at Christmas may be thinking the best present they could have is a partner to shower them with affection and maybe the odd gift. Increasingly, they are turning to technology to find that special one and Melanie Abbott discovers if online dating is delivering for them. With the seasonal party season in full flood, Datshiane Navanayagam reveals that while she loves make-up, she'd rather wear it indoors, unseen by the rest of us, and then wipe it off and go to bed than show it in public. Can a celebrity make-up artist she approaches change her mind? And Garry Owen explains why a rude horse is coming to call more frequently in Wales at this time of year and how she should be greeted if there's a knock at your door.Producer: Simon Coates

A controversial law in Hungary will allow employers to demand 400 hours of overtime from their workers and defer payment for three years. Nick Thorpe examines the rationale behind it, and watches as more than ten thousand people take to the streets in protest.Kate Adie introduces this and other stories from around the world:Lorraine Mallinder shares a story of survival and escape from Cameroon’s English-speaking regions, where hundreds of thousands of people have tried to flee violence between local separatists and the military. Jonah Fisher has the tale of a Ukrainian woman who thought her son had finally been found in Afghanistan. He went missing more than 30 years ago when serving in the Soviet military there. Jeremy Bristow meets a man trying to preserve the language spoken by Jesus and his followers as he visits some of the shrinking communities of Syriac Christians who still live in Turkey. And it’s the same procedure as every year for Joanna Robertson in Germany where New Year’s Eve is celebrated with a bang.

Before the contested referendum on independence, Carme Forcadell was the speaker of the Catalan parliament but since March she has been awaiting trial in a Spanish jail accused of rebellion. Niall O'Gallagher meets the ever defiant separatist politician.Kate Adie introduces this and other stories from around the world.Sarah Rainsford is surprised at the warm welcome she receives in the frozen Siberian city of Irkutsk - where, unlike in Moscow, people seem willing to criticise their President and are happy to speak to a Western journalist.Alastair Leithead discovers the vast size of the Democratic Republic of the Congo - as well as its dense forests, potholes, bureaucracy and corruption – make it a difficult place to get around as well as to govern.Rayhan Demytrie finds that the inauguration of Georgia’s first female President may not mean much for gender equality in the country.And Lucy Ash discovers that DIY DNA testing kits that help your trace your ancestors are revealing far more than some Americans bargain for.

At 13 Basma was forced to marry an older man and then repeatedly abused by him and his family. At 16 she was kidnapped and sent to work in a brothel. Then her own family decided to kill her. Now she lives and works in one of Iraq’s secret shelters for survivors of domestic abuse and shares her story with Shaimaa Kahlil.Kate Adie introduces this and other stories from correspondents around the world. As South Africa marks the fifth anniversary of Nelson Mandela’s death, Andrew Harding reflects on the role that racial power and politics still plays there. Bethany Bell is in South Tyrol where Italian nationalism is proving surprisingly popular among German speakers in the north of the country. Fleur MacDonald attends a cinema screening in a Tunisian prison to see how films are being used to challenge the way inmates see the world.And in Canada, John Kampfner spends an evening in a cold, cavernous warehouse throwing axes at a dart-board like target – for fun.

'Orwellian' may have become an overused political term, but in Xinjiang, it has never been more appropriate says John Sudworth. The region’s ten million Uighur people are under constant surveillance by the Chinese state.Kate Adie introduces this and other stories from around the world. David Willis explains how a pimp turned politician won a seat on the Nevada state legislature despite being dead. Peter Oborne visits a Syrian school which has only recently re-opened after jihadi militants were driven out of town.Charles Haviland discovers that the conflict in the east of Ukraine is also leaving its mark on the west of the country.And Joanna Robertson explores the competing plans to deal Paris’s rat infestation – from total extermination to blanket non-intervention.

The “gilets jaunes” (yellow vest) protestors trying to bring France to a standstill. Hugh Schofield, says they're angry at having to pay the price for Parisians to live more comfortably and feel they are treated with contempt and condescension by the French elite. Kate Adie introduces this and other stories from correspondents around the world. Nick Higham is on the Rock to find out what Gibraltarians think of the possibility of a no-deal Brexit.Devina Gupta explains what it is like to report from Delhi, where the polluted air makes her eyes water and her throat burn.Will Grant examines some of the many challenges Mexico’s new President, Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador, will face; from economic stagnation to the violent drug cartels. And Melissa Van Der Klugt visits a pioneering “wildlife corridor” in East Africa and discovers that simply moving fences has made a big impact on Kenya’s wildlife.

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. From politics to pastimes, from hallowed traditions to emerging trends, from the curious to the ridiculous, the programme presents a tableau of Britain today.Pieces this month include reflections on the very young and the very old playing together, how people on Lewis in the Western Isles are remembering a century-old tragedy that affected all families there, the special attraction of North Yorkshire for Goths and why a carol service takes us down to Strawberry Field.** as "From Our Home Correspondent" is a topical programme, pieces are subject to change at short notice.

The Brexit Withdrawal Agreement has prompted some very different and very passionate reactions. Adam Fleming reveals how, after an agonising wait which included taking the draft agreement on holiday with him - twice, its publication this week almost brought him to tears.

In 1918 Poland regained its sovereignty after 123 years of occupation by Austria, Prussia and Russia. This year Poles celebrated its centenary with a state organised march through the capital, Warsaw, which an estimated quarter of a million people attended. The parade, and the headlines, were overshadowed by the government’s last-minute decision to march together with far-right groups. Adam Easton was in Warsaw marching among the nationalists and the patriots. Kate Adie introduces this and other stories from correspondents around the world.David Baillie is with NATO in Norway where some of the companies singing really takes the cake. Humera Iqbal talks to a young Pakistani DJ who uses Electronic Dance Music to save traditional instruments from extinction. Adam Jones finds out how the idea of moderation works in the land of excess And Dany Mitzman is in Italy where the graffiti is surprisingly educational.

The risks some Indian women are prepared to take to try and have baby boys and how the battle to make them think again seems to be working. Sophie Cousins is in the state of Haryana where there are signs the gender imbalance is slowing improving. Kate Adie introduces this and other stories from around the world. Guy Hedgecoe explores why Spain still can’t decide what to do with the body of its former dictator General Franco, even as it prepares to celebrate 40 years since its transition to democracy.Rebecca Ford tells the story of the last French soldier to die during World War One – but when exactly did he die?Richard Dove takes a coach along the world’s longest sea-crossing bridge but fails to find much enthusiasm from his fellow passengers between the Chinese mainland, Hong King and Macau. And Ash Bhardwaj has pizza with a rapper in a town called New York not far from the frontline in Eastern Ukraine.