From Our Own Correspondent

With Egypt in turmoil Kevin Connolly discovers what Hosni Mubarak's sense of timing says about his character. Malcolm Brabant has been finding out how the dreams of migrants die on the streets of Athens. Why a Chinese chicken farmer is ruffling feathers in a Zambian market -- Justin Rowlatt's been investigating. In the southwest of France Chris Bockman's unearthed skullduggery among truffle hunters and their dogs. And Hamilton Wende's been to meet the bare-knuckle brawlers who fight for honour and glory in rural South Africa.

President Mubarak of Egypt is desperate to leave office with a degree of dignity, but Lyse Doucet meets people in Cairo who think the time for change is now. US-led forces in Afghanistan feel they are making progress; Robert Fox considers whether this might be the beginning of the end for the Taliban or just another lull in the fighting. Few countries are as homophobic as Uganda; homosexual acts can be punished with years in prison. But following the death of gay rights activist David Kato, Anna Cavell finds Kampala's gay community in defiant mood. Pripyat in the Ukraine is a ghost town, abandoned within hours of the disaster at the Chernobyl nuclear power-plant in 1986; Richard Hollingham explores the ruins of a model Soviet settlement frozen in time. Tea is a popular brew in both Britain and India but it's really not the same drink at all. Indian chai is something of a surprise to taste buds accustomed to the less spicy English preparation, but Judy Swallow soon fell in love with it.

Spectacular political developments across the Arab world as viewed from the Corniche in Beirut by Kevin Connolly; Quentin Somerville in Kabul views shocking evidence of what the Taleban call justice; Madeleine Morris is in the Indian state of Andrha Pradesh finding out why microcredit, once hailed as the answer to world poverty, has been getting a bad name; James Coomarasamy explores a town in Belarus where the spirit of Lenin still marches on and David Goldblatt is in Dakar getting a crash course in how to get streetwise in Senegal. And a correspondent goes in the footsteps of a master as he learns how to survive on the streets of Dakar....

The rampant corruption that blights India's dreams of a brighter future is chronicled by Chris Morris. Justin Marozzi is on the frontline of one of the most dangerous cities on earth. Sarah Monaghan is in once-thriving Dubai, the emirate learning to live with much harder economic times. David Willis has been hearing about the debt Las Vegas owes to the mafia.

Is China's economic muscle crushing the heart out of blue-collar America? Justin Rowlatt's been to Ohio to find out. But while America's industrial heartland's feeling the pinch, Mike Wendling finds that, in the social networking industry, Americans lead the field; Mary Harper tells us about the city in the Horn of Africa which has risen from the ruins of war; the story of an extraordinary Englishman who's immersed himself in Afghan tribal life is told by Nadene Ghouri; while Christian Parkinson makes a very important purchase in South Africa -- with a herd of cows!

As the political crisis in Lebanon deepens, Jeremy Bowen explores the country's tangled politics and finds out why intrigue surrounding the assassination of former Prime Minister Rafik Hariri five years ago is driving events today. Adam Mynott was in Tunisia as President Ben Ali surrendered power. He assesses the mood on the streets and reflects on the difficulty of reporting a revolution. In Vietnam, Alastair Leithead finds a booming economy and an appetite for western goods challenging the country's communist traditions. Christian Fraser visits the school outside Paris that has opened in the former barracks of the Hussars; with fencing and horse-riding on the curriculum, can a traditional education offer something new to France's frustrated teens? And in Moscow, Steve Rosenberg hears a history of modern Russia from a cleaning lady who has lived through it all.

Violence on the streets of north Africa -- Chloe Arnold in Algeria says it's not only been a problem for the authorities in Tunisia. Southern Sudan's farmers have been talking to Will Ross about their dreams of peace in a new nation; the Communists of Laos begin a journey down the path to capitalism - Claudia Hammond had time to give an elephant a wash and brush up as she learned more; why some Americans are captivated by the British royal family -- Laura Trevelyan travelled to Grand Rapids, Michigan, in search of an answer; and Clive Lawton was soaking up the atmosphere on a holy day in an ancient centre of Jewish mysticism.

The assassin who was garlanded: Orla Guerin on murder on the streets of Islamabad and the extent of extremism in Pakistan. Mark Doyle returns to his old stamping ground in Ivory Coast and visits the hotel that once gave pony rides to his son and now is a sanctuary and a presidential office at the same. Jonathan Fryer is in Azerbaijan looking at the city of Baku: crossroads between east and west; Justin Rowlatt is investigating Chinese economic activity in Brazil while Tim Ecott’s at the remote Indian Ocean island that brings together some scientists, a hundred thousand turtles and the occasional stranded Somali pirate.

Nineteen correspondents from around the world join Kate Adie in this special New Year edition of the programme. They consider such matters as the 'park and pray' facilities on German's motorways, a reporter's dilemma on encountering a baby close to death in Pakistan; a cinema in Kabul where people gather to try to forget their troubles, a club in Baghdad where time seems to stand still, a school in Kenya where the alphabet is spelled out in goat droppings, several harrowing episodes at our correspondents' dining tables, an eventful rail journey in Zimbabwe and another on an Indian train with a strange choice of name, buying a drink in an iconic Irish pub and whether French can ever be the language of rock.

Three years in America: Kevin Connolly has time to reflect as he prepares to leave an eventful posting in the United States. A cocaine factory is blown to pieces in a Colombian jungle clearing -- Frank Gardner was there watching as the security forces took their battle against the cocaine barons into the jungle. Gideon Long, our man in Santiago, on Chile's extraordinary, rollercoaster year. The Roman Catholic Cathedral in Algiers has just re-opened -- Chloe Arnold was at the inauguration where she she saw Muslims and Christians praying alongside each other.

Can America's dollars buy hearts and minds in southern Afghanistan? It's a subject Michael Buchanan has been examining in Helmand province; Hugh Sykes has been finding out how some Palestinians and Israelis have been forging connections across their deep divide. In Chennai, formerly Madras, Peter Curran has been listening in to an argument about the use of the English language; the best and the worst of life in one of South Africa's toughest townships -- Karen Allen's been visiting Gugulethu and Hugh Schofield has been on the hunt for the wild raiders who've been tormenting farmers in France.

The great silence that is the legacy of genocide -- Neil Trevithick considers the legacy of brutality in Cambodia; Andrew Harding manages to relax on the beach in war-weary Mogadishu and finds some Somalians optimistic about the future; Paul Adams eats oysters for breakfast and talks to some of those living with the aftermath of the Gulf of Mexico's oil spill disaster. With much of the opposition boycotting the second round of general election voting, Jon Leyne considers the nature of politics Egyptian-style and Pascale Harter's learning how to endure endless thirst in one of the hottest places on the planet.

Why Pakistan's flood victims feel they've been let down by their rulers – Jill McGivering’s been investigating; Peter Day’s just back from China with the story of a victim of the Cultural Revolution who emerged from prison and made a fortune. Russia's policemen fail to see the funny side of a campaign of ridicule as we discover from a despatch by Lucy Ash. Justin Marozzi mingles with the crowds at a football tournament being held, controversially, in Yemen while Barbara Plett is in New York with a tale of shame and horror at a BBC office there.

Ireland prepares to say goodbye to the best and brightest of its youth – Gavin Hewitt’s been finding out how the economic crisis there has forced thousands to consider emigration; Mark Urban’s at the NATO summit in Lisbon and points out that while some of the delegates question the continuing role of the alliance others believe fervently it has a role to play in the 21st century; in Rome David Willey says the rising tide of scandal may finally engulf Italy’s embattled prime minister; Paul Moss goes on patrol with the peacekeepers who have the challenging task of trying to maintain order in the Democratic Republic of Congo; while deep in the Amazon jungle, Justin Rowlatt finds himself confronting the jungle snack he’ll never forget …

A dark portrait is painted by our correspondent Rupert Wingfield-Hayes of millions of Russian lives lost in alcohol and despair; there are reflections on the death of a deeply troubled German hero from Eleanor Oldroyd; Will Ross explores the divisions that may be just about to split Sudan in half; A Chinese gourmet is introduced to fine Italian food by Fuchsia Dunlop in Turin and we know that the super spy, James Bond didn't like the Cold War Russians....but what, Kevin Connolly wonders, did he make of the Americans?