From Our Own Correspondent

The changing sights and sounds of Iraq's second city. Kate Adie introduces stories, wit, and analysis from correspondents around the world: Shaimaa Khalil meets a musician finally able to play his violin again and students returning to their studies in post-ISIS Mosul. John Sudworth finds that reporting from China’s Xinxjang province is difficult, risky and expensive – just the way the authorities there seem to want it to be. In Brazil, Katy Watson joins the queue for a Yellow Fever vaccine amid the panic caused by the latest outbreak. John Watkins delves into Albania’s national archive, where thousands of decaying film reels reveal much about its communist past. And Mike Wendling meets Swedish politician Hanif Bali who wants to close the country’s borders and keep migrants out. As well as being a social media star, the MP is also a migrant himself having left Iran as a child.

Opposition leader Raila Odinga declares himself the ‘People’s President’ in Kenya. Kate Adie introduces stories wit and analysis from correspondents around the world.Expecting trouble, Alastair Leithead attends a controversial swearing-in ceremony in Nairobi but the government’s show of force didn’t come from the security forces sent to police the event. The water crisis engulfing Cape Town is making headlines around the world, but Pumza Fihlani says a lack of running water has long been a way of life for millions of others in South Africa. Laurence Blair examines how immigration is becoming a political issue in Chile and how the recent arrivals and their hosts are having to adapt. In Switzerland, Katherine Forster revisits the site of a fancy dress party that changed her life and finds a country that, at first glance, appears the same. And Emma Levine plays chess in Armenia against an eleven yearold who is hoping to become one of the world’s youngest ever grandmasters.

Mishal Husain presents dispatches from journalists and writers around the United Kingdom that reflect the range of contemporary life in the country. In the latest programme, we hear from Chris Warburton on how Bolton in Greater Manchester is responding to the dramatically changing retail scene on its streets. The BBC's Religion Editor, Martin Bashir, draws on his own family's experience to consider the significance of the Church of England's intervention in the debate about pre-natal screening for Down's syndrome. Elizabeth Gowing reveals what one ex-offender has derived from his work with yoga and meditation - disciplines she has been struggling with - both out of gaol and while behind bars, and Martin Vennard explores a fifty year-old housing development with a new resident and the building's architect to see what ideas it may offer for tackling today's housing crisis. Finally, Felipe Fernández-Armesto - a globe-trotting historian with Spanish ancestry and impeccable British credentials - ponders the unravelling of the once tightly-furled British umbrella and the mores it represented.

Mark Lowen reports from both sides of the border as Turkey launches an offensive against Kurdish militia in Syria. In the Colombian jungle, Mathew Charles meets the surprisingly well-groomed members of the ELN guerrilla group. Are Louis and Louise beautiful or handsome? Joanna Robertson offers a lesson in the sexual politics of French grammar. Hero or villain? Peter Hadfield reports on how Taiwan views its former leader Chiang Kai Shek. And Melissa Van Der Klugt discovers why pollution in Delhi is giving some of its residents green fingers . . . and a new found interest in growing their own veg.

Waiting for elections and trying to answer awkward questions about sex in the DRC. Kate Adie introduces correspondents' stories from around the world:William Edmundson is in the Democratic Republic of Congo wondering just how democratic it really is. Katty Kay looks at how the mood in the #metoo movement has gone from hope to concern in the US. Will Grant boards a rather empty flight from Miami to Havana and assesses US –Cuba relations under President Trump - there may be turbulence ahead. Natalia Golysheva travels to the Russian Far East to meet some of the Old Believer sect, who’ve recently returned home. And Chris Bockman reports on the French island of Faisans that is soon to be Spain.

The Salvadoran woman who claims she faces 30 years in prison for having a miscarriage Kate Adie introduces correspondent's stories from around the world. Benjamin Zand is in El Salvador investigating the country's abortion laws - some of the harshest and most stringently enforced in the world. Colin Freeman meets the survivors of the Gambian dictator Yahya Jammeh's HIV treatment programme. His 'miracle cure' turned out to be deadly for many. Lyse Doucet hears tales of Aleppo’s ancient souk from the traders who are starting to return. Rani Singh is on the roof of the world exploring relations between India and China, and hanging with a cool ex-monk. And Kevin Connolly returns to Bulgaria and remembers its communist past.

Why it's far too early to write Silvio Berlusconi's political obituary. Kate Adie introduces stories from correspondents around the world. With a general election in March, James Reynolds finds some familiar faces on the campaign trail in Italy but will the grey men triumph? In Tanzania, it's idle machines and empty buildings that greet Helen Grady as 'mitumba' or cheap, imported, second-hand clothes are destroying the local textile industry. Auliya Atrafi is in northeastern Afghanistan in a village where few working-age men remain - many are now in prison in Iran sentenced to death for smuggling drugs. Jannat Jalil ponders presidential gifts, Franco-Chinese relations, and horse-diplomacy. And Lindsay Johns returns to Martinique to mark the death of a woman he once called mom.

Lucy Ash finds that morale is low amongst Ukrainian troops in the east of the country as they endure another winter at war and the frozen conflict rumbles on. John Sudworth assesses rural poverty in China from the dizzying heights of a village accessible only by climbing half a mile of ladders. Recent protests prompt Rana Rahimpour to reflect on previous rounds of unrest in Iran, and how parents are once again worrying if their children will return home. Sara Wheeler soaks up the scenery in the north of Vietnam and marvels at the foot rowers of Tam Coc. And Jeremy Grange finds that memories of the slave trade are still very much alive in Tanzania.

The migrants clinging to hope, NATO military manoeuvres and a jungle prince. Kate Adie introduces some memorable moments correspondents have shared on the programme in 2017. Benjamin Zand encounters 'lies, lies and yet more lies" as he follows the treacherous migrant route that hundreds of thousands of people have followed in the hope of reaching Europe from Africa. Shaimaa Khalil recalls growing up in Egypt and her first experience of sexual harassment aged 11 #metoo. Emily Unia watches a NATO display of military might in Romania, but can't escape noticing that some members of the press pack don't seem to be taking it seriously. Tim Whewell tries to talk his way into Abkhazia - a country which most of the world refuses to recognise. And Justin Rowlatt has the tale of the lonely death of an Indian prince reduced to living in abject poverty in a hunting lodge in a forest in Delhi. Producer: Joe Kent.

In a festive edition for Christmas Eve, Mishal Husain presents pieces by: Ian McMillan on the special pleasures of Christmas Eve; Sarah Oliver on advice for those daunted by the seasonal food extravaganza; Padraig O Tuama on what happened when Bethlehem came to Belfast; Datshiane Navanayagam on the make-or-break power of customer service departments at this time of year; and Jonnie Bayfield on how he fared in devising out-of-the-ordinary gift options.