From Our Own Correspondent

Patriotic clubs in Uganda and gang violence in America. Kate Adie introduces correspondent’s stories from around the world. In America, Lucy Ash visits Long Island – not the opulent and extravagant mansions of The Great Gatsby but the other Long Island. The site of several murders linked to MS-13 - the street gang President Trump has vowed to crush. In Uganda, a teacher stands bolt upright, legs apart, with a rather stern expression. The words ‘Belief’ and ‘Determination’ are emblazoned on the wall. Mike Thomson attends a class in patriotism. Nicola Kelly meets the Yazidi families who fled violence in Iraq, only to find they are not always welcome among the Yazidis of Armenia. We take tea in Malawi as Nick Redmayne visits one of the country’s traditional tea estates trying to reinvent itself in response to changing tastes and falling prices. And in Goa, Paul Moss finds talk of body rebalancing, tantric imitation and a reptilian elite.

A diplomatic dance, football playing politicians, mountain music and robotic sex dolls. Kate Adie introduces correspondent’s stories from around the world.In Germany - he almost became a professional footballer now he wants to be Chancellor - Jenny Hill meets a former teammate, and childhood friend, of Martin Schulz. In Sierra Leone Bob Howard meets the ‘friends of the dead’ as young entrepreneurs seek any way they can to escape the country’s staggering levels of unemployment. Micky Bristow reflects on the diplomatic games being played out between China and Taiwan. Special number plates and invitations to Swiss summits may seem insignificant to some, but not when on you’re an island that few nations recognise as an independent country. In Peru, Robin Denselow samples the sounds of mountain music at a reconciliation concert high in the Andes. And in San Marcos, California, Jane Wakefield takes a tour of a rather unusual factory offering the latest in AI equipped, robotic sex dolls.

Somalia faces famine, ethnic conflict continues in Myanmar and the ‘She-Wolf’ retires. Kate Adie introduces correspondents’ stories from around the world. On a rare trip into the remote Northern Shan State of Myanmar, Nick Sturdee meets one of the ethnic militias still at war with the military. There are harrowing sights for Mary Harper in Somalia and Somaliland, as she sees for herself the toll that severe drought and threat of famine are taking on the population, particularly the children. In contrast Will Grant finds something to celebrate for Cuba’s socialist leadership. As the annual May Day workers’ march took place, the US Congresswoman described by Fidel Castro as the ‘big bad she-wolf’ announced her retirement. Elizabeth Hotson reflects on tales of the Cold War spies and challenges to press freedom, as she joins the Ski Club of International Journalists in France. And in India, Melissa Van Der Klugt watches a tent being cleaned. Rajasthan's Royal Red Tent, which is taller than a double bus and made from exquisite silk, velvet and gold, is being given its first proper spring clean in 350 years.

The summer fighting season has begun in Afghanistan and, as Justin Rowlatt discovers, there is already a shortage of coffins following a Taliban attack. As the world worries about North Korea, Nick Danziger gets a glimpse of life in Pyongyang; designer coats, European football shirts and courting couples furiously tapping away on locally-manufactured mobile phones were not what he was expecting. In Uzbekistan, it’s the crunch of crinoline and sound of snapping cameras that surprise Caroline Eden – because now is wedding season in the former Soviet state. In the UAE, Julia Wheeler discovers a road named ‘Happiness Street’, a Minister of State for Happiness and fines for those who aren’t quite happy enough. And Mark Stratton goes to Sao Tome and Principe to see how a new approach to the cocoa trade is replacing the bitter legacy of the slave trade.

Birthday cakes, icons of cool and the candidate coining new words in the French election. Kate Adie introduces correspondents’ stories from around the world. On the campaign trail in France, Hugh Schofield finds visions of a new world and calls to ‘“get em out’ ahead of the election on Sunday. Alastair Leithead asses the political turmoil in South Africa - not by speaking with protesters, but by mingling with party-goers at a presidential birthday-bash. In Argentina, Newsnight’s Stephen Smith meets Che Guevara’s younger brother and discovers that the revolutionary's legacy is probably not what he would have hoped for. As President Donald Trump approaches his 100th day in office Shaimaa Khalil has been on a road trip across middle-America, visiting the states that helped get him elected. And in Kabul Nanna Muus Steffensen meets that young student asking herself ‘should I stay and be part of Afghanistan’s future or get out while I can?’

Controversial votes in Turkey and Kashmir, and a university challenged in Hungary. Kate Adie introduces correspondents' stories: Justin Rowlatt is in Kashmir on election day where he sees plenty of police and protestors, but where are the voters? In Turkey Mark Lowen finds that paranoia has reached the level of absurdity ahead of the country’s referendum. Not only are TV chefs accused of being spies, but our own correspondent comes under suspicion of being a foreign agent, though thankfully not for long. In Cuba Linda Pressly meets the scientists behind a cancer vaccine now being trialled in the US; they owe everything to Fidel Castro, they tell her. As part of the World Service Life Stories season, Sahar Zand meets the Toraja people of Eastern Indonesia for whom death doesn’t always mean goodbye. And in Hungary Nick Thorpe dips his toe into the stream of controversy that surrounds the government’s ongoing war against liberalism.

Pastry police, pardoned bulls and pricey pigeons. Correspondents’ stories with Kate Adie. Stephen Sackur's visit to Venezuela ends rather more abruptly than he'd intended, foreign journalists are rarely welcome he discovers. In Spain the debate about the ethics of bullfighting has started its annual dance and Antonia Quirke finds both excitement and disgust. One hundred years after the Russian Revolution, a President Lenin will soon take office in Ecuador. Joe Gerlach watches election day unfold from an airport lounge in the capital. Flora Bradley-Watson is among the pigeon fanciers of Istanbul talking politics and feathered friends. And Owen Bennett-Jones finds himself answering, rather than asking, questions as he gets to know the Somali Americans living in Minneapolis.

Robbery, extortion, kidnapping; bananas with everything; and a monkey cascade. Kate Adie introduces correspondents' stories: Tom Stevenson is in the Libyan capital Tripoli, where the lights are out, the militias are enriching themselves, and chaos reigns. Matthew Brunwasser tells the story of the man fighting for justice in Serbia, 17 years after his three brothers were murdered. Gemma Newby tucks into bananas for breakfast, lunch and dinner in the Dominican Republic as she visits a now crumbling town built by one of the banana giants; Kieran Cooke is in the town in the West of Ireland which used to have the highest pub to people ratio in the country. That, and much else, has changed but the spirit remains undiminished. And in Ethiopia's Highlands, the writer Tim Butcher witnesses the extraordinary and heart-warming spectacle of the great African monkey cascade

Tall stories, strange names, ancient giants and linguistic confusion. Kate Adie introduces correspondents' stories. Colin Freeman, in the Pakistani city of Quetta, wonders if it is still a Taliban stronghold. Chris Haslam, in Zambia, is shocked by some of the strange names given to children. Tim Ecott is among giants on Mexico's Baja Peninsula - both in the ocean and on land. Sodaba Haidare visits a special restaurant in the Afghan capital Kabul which is empowering women victims of domestic abuse. And Joanna Robertson reaches for the NervenTee in Italy's South Tyrol region - but which language should she use? More tea please!

Rancid fried onion, a great wall of iron, chips and mayonnaise with a healthy sprinkle of identity. Kate Adie introduces correspondents' stories: Lucy Ash is in northern France, in Denain, scene of Emile Zola's Germinal. The poverty may be less extreme today but it's part of the "forgotten France" being targetted by the Front National. Gabriel Gatehouse grew up in Amsterdam in a time when questioning immigration would label you a racist. That's all changed as, it seems. And if the famous Dutch tolerance has gone, what's left? The vast region of Xinjiang, in western China, is home to 10 million people from the Uigher minority. The government says it's also the front line in its war on terror. It's not a place which the authorities like journalists to visit. But Carrie Gracie did get there. Lebanon has a million and a half Syrian refugees - the most per capita of any nation. Martin Bell is in the Bekaa Valley, where the refugees have become a profitable source of cheap labour. Many would like to return home but their chances of doing so are slight. And Kevin Connolly's mother is proud of the name she chose for him. But he's not so sure anymore - especially when he heard about "The Curse of Kevin" in a French magazine.