From Our Own Correspondent

It's as if doomsday had arrived early in Raqqa as bats swoop over the remains of the city. Kate Adie introduces correspondents' stories and analysis from around the world. In Syria, Quentin Sommerville finds a city which had been occupied and terrorised by the so-called Islamic State and is now being destroyed by a thousand blows from coalition airstrikes.In Colombia, Katy Watson reports from the border bridge which 25,000 Venezuelans cross each day. Most do so in search of food and medicine, but more and more are deciding to stay. In South Africa, Milton Nkosi worries that history is repeating itself with the recent spate of political killings in KwaZulu Natal. In America’s Deep South, Fleur Macdonald joins fellow MacDonalds, Alexanders, Johnsons, MacSweeneys and MacWhannells as they celebrate their Scottish heritage and their allegiance to Clan Donald. And in Spain, Chris Bockman visits what was Europe's second-biggest train station, but was left to rot and rust. Today the terminal in Canfranc attracts more curious visitors than it ever did passengers. Producer: Joe Kent

The rescue workers sifting through the rubble in Mexico and the African migrants that refuse to give up on their European dreams. Kate Adie introduces correspondents' stories. In Mexico City, Rajini Vaidyanathan joins the search for survivors following the earthquake earlier this week. Benjamin Zand follows the deadly migrant route through Niger, Nigeria, and Libya which thousands of people pass along in the hope of reaching Europe. Steve Rosenberg takes a Magical Mystery Tour with the Russian military in Syria. Rosamund Jones visits the Icelandic isle of Grimsey – population 80 people and hundreds of thousands of birds. And Neil Trevithick visits the forests of Myanmar, where people have suffered but wildlife has been left to flourish.

A tour of Angela Merkel’s childhood, swapping books with Kurdish fighters and reading the landscape of Gabon. Kate Adie introduces correspondents’ stories.Jenny Hill visits the town where Angela Merkel grew up as she tries to learn more about the notoriously private politician. Richard Hall’s repeated trips to the Qandil mountains of Iraq allow him to assess the evolution of the PKK. But is a copy of Hemingway’s ‘For Whom The Bell Tolls’ an appropriate gift for a battle-hardened Kurdish commander fighting IS?Nick Thorpe meets the migrants trying to cross the Hungary-Serbia border and Robin Banerji visits the Indian city where biryani was invented, or so some locals claim. And Andy Jones learns how the Baka hunter-gatherers of Gabon are turning their mastery of the country's tropical forests against the poachers who prowl the region.

Kate Adie introduces correspondents' stories and analysis from around the world - including from the Bangladeshi border, where we meet the Rohingya fleeing violence in Myanmar. Sanjoy Majumder is on the banks of the Naf River as families arrive by the boatload trying to escape Rakhine state. In Uganda, Ruth Alexander finds out what it’s like to try and build a home and a new life in the country often applauded for its generous policy towards refugees. In Germany, Damien McGuiness meets the “elite hipsters” of Berlin living in a parallel, English-speaking society.In Russia, Martin Vennard joins the back to school celebrations on the Day of Knowledge. And in Colombia, Mark Rickards witnesses an extraordinary race around the country and explores how cycling is helping to bring together a once divided nation.

Kate Adie introduces dispatches by: Yolande Knell in Qaraqosh, who observes Iraq's trials of people accused of fighting for so-called Islamic State; Martin Patience, who takes his leave of Nigeria with mixed emotions after a two-year stay; Matthew Hill in Sri Lanka, who finds that the strains and tensions between those who govern and many of those whom they govern are intensifying; Harriet Constable, who reports from Kenya on the increasingly violent and costly incidence of sand harvesting; and Hywel Griffith visits one of Australia's many micro-nations to meet the white-bearded Prince Paul of Wy to discover why he has set up his own realm.

Catalonia's uncertain future, Sierra Leone after the mudslide, Ethiopia embraces industrialisation, Uzbekistan's Soviet era bus shelters and reflections from a Macedonian nail bar

Despite the threat from North Korea to fire missiles towards Guam, we find a surprising calm on the island. Kate Adie introduces correspondents’ stories from around the world.From Guam, Rupert Wingfield Hayes has the latest developments in the war of words between the US and North Korea. Secunder Kermani hears tales of the horrific violence that followed the Partition of India 70 years ago but finds little remorse amongst some of its perpetrators. Hannah Armstrong visits Cape Verde where European migrants are starting new lives in Africa. In Cuba, Will Grant finds that the 'battle against bureaucracy', launched by the late Fidel Castro in 1965, is far from over. Simple tasks like paying your rent can still take hours. And in Swedish Lapland, Elizabeth Hotson goes down to the woods in search of a big surprise, and a bear.

Mishal Husain presents stories on modern pilgrimage, British Asians' Partition experiences, reviving an ancient festival in Cornwall, a special stonemason and a cow man's reprieve

Marshal Khalifa Haftar has big ambitions for his army and his country, but what is the military strongman's vision for Libya? Caroline Wyatt introduces correspondents' stories.Stephen Sackur has some challenging questions for The Marshal in Benghazi, but will he get to ask them? In Liberia, Olivia Acland visits the Hotel Ducor and reflects on what it reveals about the country. It once attracted world leaders with its 5-star luxury - now it lies in ruins. For an insight into President Duterte's ongoing war on drugs in the Philippines, Colin Freeman heads to a morgue in Manila and joins some crime reporters on their night shift. In Italy, Dany Mitzman samples a plate of slippery, squidgy jellyfish. The ‘eat it to beat it’ movement offers a novel, and for some unpalatable, solution to dealing with invasive species.And, what to say to a border guard? Tim Whewell tries to talk his way into Abkhazia – a largely forgotten corner of the former Soviet Union.Producer: Joe Kent

Strange and sinister things often happen before Kenyan elections, but recent events have left the country in shock. Kate Adie introduces correspondents' tales and insights:In Nairobi, Alastair Leithead analyses the fallout from the murder and torture of the Kenyan election commission’s head of technology. In Italy, Bob Walker walks the Francigena pilgrim trail amidst apocalyptic scenes caused by the wildfires that are sweeping parts of the country. In Romania, Linda Pressly enters the world of online pornography as she explores the country’s growing live webcamming industry. In Venezuela, political turmoil continues and Vladimir Hernandez wonders what's driving so many people to risk their lives in the ongoing street protests.And in Germany, Rob Crossan visits the place that Elvis Presley once called home and is now preparing to remember ‘The King‘ 40 years after his death. Bad Nauheim is the town that gave him the GI Blues. Producer: Joe Kent