From Our Own Correspondent

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. Garry Owen takes us to the west Wales coast and finds an Aberystwyth hotelier honing his plans to meet the competition from the hospitality chains. Sarah Oliver goes on an East Anglian road trip with an old friend she's not seen for years to discover how well their bonds have stood the test of time. Tom Edwards visits Cartmel in English Lakeland and finds that what was once a place of pilgrimage is again today but for reasons twelfth century visitors would definitely have frowned upon. John Forsyth unearths the secrets of a good furrow from two Scots about to participate in the European ploughing championships. And Jane Labous is in Biggleswade keen to discover why retraining to plant flowers in Beds is so popular there. Producer: Simon Coates

Greece is poised to exit the terms of its third EU bailout as of August 20th. The Tsipras government has claimed this signals "the end of the drama" and greater freedom for Greeks to decide on their own fate and their own economy. Theopi Skarlatos talks to the Finance Ministry cleaners who became a symbol of the country's economic pain when they protested to keep their jobs - and hears what they make of the situation today.Meanwhile Dublin is preparing for its first papal visit since John Paul II told a crowd of millions "young people of Ireland, I love you!" in 1979. Vincent Woods considers what message today's Irish Catholics would most like to hear from Pope Francis, as the Church reels from a string of scandals and faces some existential threats. BBC Africa Editor Mary Harper pays tribute to a young Somali friend with a profusion of fresh ideas about how to make daily life in Mogadishu cleaner - and more colourful. Mohamed Mahamoud Sheikh Ali spotted a huge gap in the dry-cleaning market, ran a florist's, and mentored a whole new school of young entrepreneurs.As the Trump Administration pushes a policy of "Hire American, Buy American", and steps up immigration enforcement measures, Hugo Bachega visits a mid-American town feeling the effects of recent raids to find and deport undocumented workers.And fifty years on from the Soviet-led invasion of Czechoslovakia, Alexa Dvorson hears from three men who vividly remember the Praque Spring and its aftermath as turning points in their own lives, as well as in their country's history.

A hostage and captor meet again in Syria, anger grows amid Assam's floodwaters and young people take to the barricades in Nicaragua. Kate Adie introduces correspondents' stories from around the world.Quentin Sommerville was wary of interviewing two former members of the so-called Islamic State: he didn't want to give them any kind of platform. But in Syria he did get to talk to them - and witness their reactions when a man whom they'd once held captive got to ask the questions.As monsoon storms lash the subcontinent and flood waters rise, Nick Beake speaks to farmers and families who feel exhausted and marginalised by an endlessly repeating cycle of disaster and rebuilding in the northeastern Indian state of Assam.In the past week, Argentina's Senate voted NOT to decriminalise abortion in the first three months of pregnancy - despite a vocal and vigorous campaign, led by women, to change the law. Katy Watson hears from both sides of the debate.Arturo Wallace returns to Nicaragua, his homeland, and is unnerved by echoes of history in this year's political crisis there - as street protests, state repression, and unidentified assassins return to the streets of Managua. And there's a football match in Agadez, Niger - a major stop-off on the migrant routes funnelling people from West Africa over the Sahara desert to the Mediterranean, and (they hope) to Europe. Jennifer O'Mahoney watches from the sidelines as local talent play newcomers, and even the kit is shared.

The election was supposed to be the moment it turned a corner leaving fear behind. Kate Adie introduces correspondents’ stories from around the world: In Zimbabwe, Andrew Harding has followed the twists and turns of the past few days and reflects on the country’s struggle to shake off a repressive past. In Colombia, Frank Gardner meets a former FARC guerrilla commander now making friends with the police and goes in search of an illicit makeshift cocaine lab hidden in the jungle. In Holland euthanasia was legalised in 2002 but it remains controversial. While some say it should never be allowed as a means of dealing with psychiatric illness, Linda Pressly meets one bereaved mother who wants to make it easier for people to end their own lives. In Mongolia, Roger Hearing meets Ganbold Dorjzodov the man who exposed the 60 billion scam – an apparent plan to swap government jobs for substantial bribes. And in Albania Elizabeth Gowing finds herself surrounded by heaps of knickers and tables that are overflowing with bras – the textile industry is booming in Shkodra.

Elections in Pakistan, religious divisions in the Balkans and an ode to an Ethiopian airport. Kate Adie introduces correspondents' stories from around the world: Secunder Kermani looks back on the election campaign in Pakistan and assesses what it means for the country’s future. Anna Holligan travels around Bosnia - Herzegovina and finds that while the fighting may have ended more than twenty years ago, the country is even more religiously divided than it was before the war. Will Grant remembers a great man of Cuban radio - Raul Luis Galiano. As his family sort through the late broadcasters belonging they find a huge hoard of carefully preserved possessions – some useful, some of historical value and others surprisingly revealing. Mary Novakovich learns that while fish stocks are falling in Venice, local fishermen have stumbled on a new catch – tourists, and now take visitors out on expeditions to give them an idea of what life is like beyond the obvious attractions. And Horatio Clare has an apology to make; Addis Ababa Bole airport has not, as he predicted, turned out to be a huge waste of money – unnecessary and over the top. Instead, it has turned out to be a shrewd investment and a place that continues to fascinate him.

In the latest programme of the monthly series, Mishal Husain introduces dispatches from writers and journalists around the United Kingdom that reflect the range of contemporary life in the country. The BBC's Social Affairs Correspondent, Michael Buchanan, tells the story of a man, now in his fifties, who discovered only after the funeral of the woman he thought was his mother, that he was adopted and that his birth mother was seeking to find him. Sally Green, the children's and young adults author, explains the appeal of taking part in the weekly Warrington parkrun over 5 kilometres (three miles). Datshiane Navanayagam talks to one family about the scourge of homelessness among those in full-time work. Chris Bowlby journeys on what remains of the route of the Stockton to Darlington railway - England's first public steam-powered track - and reflects on the current state of train services in north-east England. And Mary-Ann Ochota, a keen hill-walker, travels to the Isle of Skye for her latest challenge - the ascent of the Inaccessible Pinnacle - and finds its name all too apt. Producer: Simon Coates

Children who are able to survive the ongoing civil war have to grow up fast in Yemen. Kate Adie introduces stories, insight, and analysis from correspondents around the world:According to The United Nations, one child under five dies every ten minutes from preventable causes in Yemen. Orla Guerin meets some of the families struggling on and speaks to the President Ab’d Rabbu Mansur Hadi about the conflict. In South Korea, Simon Maybin attends a lesson in the etiquette of dating, kissing and respecting your partner as the country tries to turn around its declining birth rate. In Tunisia, Charlotte Bailey hears why young men are setting themselves on fire – just as Mohamed Bouazizi did in 2010. His death was one of the catalysts of the Arab Spring. In the USA, Christine Finn follows in the footsteps of Henry David Thoreau and explores the shores of Walden Pond. And as Justin Rowlatt leaves India and auctions off his belongings, he learns that you can put a price on just about anything.

One of the few people able to strike fear into the international organised crime syndicate. Kate Adie introduces correspondents’ stories and insights from around the world: In Italy, Andrew Hosken meets Nicola Gratteri the single-minded judge who has put 6,000 Mafiosi behind bars. Today, he says, the biggest threat comes from the ‘Ndrangheta in Calabria whose power spreads far beyond their native Calabria. In Peru, Grace Livingstone meets some of the thousands of indigenous women who say they were forcibly sterilised in the 1990s as part of a government family-planning scheme. In the Sinai desert in Egypt, Fleur MacDonald meets the monks who have become the custodians of some of the oldest surviving Christian texts. While it was good enough for the makers of the Taj Mahal, Grace Banks hears how millennials in India show little appetite for Pietra Dura – the craft of creating images out of finely cut stone. And in Ireland, Andy Jones attends the Killorglin Puck fair – a three-day celebration in memory of the time a goat helped save the town from would-be British invaders.

Ever since Jacob Zuma's resignation his family has faced all sorts of legal headaches. Kate Adie introduces correspondents' stories from around the world: Three years ago, Duduzane Zuma drove his Porsche into the back of a minibus taxi, killing one passenger and injuring others. At the time, a magistrate concluded that the President's son had been negligent, but the state declined to prosecute. Now it's had a change of heart. Is the past catching up on the Zumas, wonders Andrew Harding in South Africa? Peter Morgan witnesses a pink revolution in Norway as salmon replaces cod as the catch of choice and fisherman turn to aquaculture or farming rather than going out to sea, but at what environmental cost? In Nigeria, Zeinab Badawi meets up with people weighing up the meaning of life in Lagos' death café. James Stewart admires the film-set, feel-good atmosphere of Seaside Florida - the town where 'The Truman Show' was filmed twenty years ago. And Mellissa Van Der Klugt meets the men and women making cheese on the African equator. The extreme weather may not be ideal, but that's not stopped Kenyan fromagiers.

When football takes over from Lebanon's other national obsession: politics. Kate Adie introduces correspondents' stories from around the world: Celebratory gunfire, fireworks, and moped motorcades are common sights in Lebanon usually used as shows of political power but not during the World Cup when Brazil flags replace those of Hezbollah and pictures of political leaders are replaced by Lionel Messi's image. For four week political and religious differences are put aside says Richard Hall. Nanna Muus Steffensen crosses the Turkish border into Syria to try and find out how the people of Afrin are faring since Kurdish fighters were forced out by Turkish troops and Syrian rebels. John Pilkington visits a country run by one of the world's most secretive and repressive regimes and is surprised by what he finds in Eritrea. James Jeffrey tries to locate the final haunts of his literary hero J G Farrell in the west of Ireland. And Laura Dawson hears how you can make money by spinning sob stories in rural Rajasthan. She meets an Indian man who has gone from making money from scamming tourists to using art to help others avoid lives of poverty or petty crime.