From Our Own Correspondent

In the latest programme of the monthly series, Mishal Husain introduces dispatches from journalists and writers reflecting the range of contemporary life in the United Kingdom.

Producer: Simon Coates

They believe they are fighting for their way of life, for Hong Kong’s very existence, but the protesters know they can’t really win says Paul Adams.

Kate Adie introduces this and other stories from around the world:

There is a saying in Russia “If he beats you - he loves you” hears Lucy Ash as she visits a refuge for the survivors of domestic violence in Moscow. “Twisted logic, yes, but it is still part of our mentality.”

In Ethiopia, Justin Rowlatt gets stung by killer bees as he examines successful attempts to re-green the region and restore long lost woodlands.

In Australia, bushfires burn. While scientists and firefighters agree that climate change is making things worse many leading politicians refuse to listen. Phil Mercer has seen the damage for himself.

And Joanne Robertson struggles to get a decent haircut in Paris and asks who is to blame?

From coca farmer to president, to political exile - Katy Watson shares the story of Evo Morales, Bolivia’s first elected indigenous leader.

Kate Adie introduces this and other stories from correspondents around the world:

In Austria, Bethany Bell reveals why the hare with amber eyes has returned to Vienna.

Finbarr Anderson is in Lebanon’s second city Tripoli, which is being called the ‘bride of the revolution’ because of its role in protests that have swept the country.

Chris Bockman visits a former factory in Southwest France now home to Yazidi families who fled violence in Iraq.

And Julia Buckley confesses to a crime in Tinsel Town and has an unsettling experience with the LAPD.

Producers: Joe Kent and Lucy Ash

What the murder of a Mormon family in Mexico reveals about the country; Will Grant has long chronicled the violence of the ongoing drug war.

Kate Adie introduces this and other stories:

Rajini Vaidyanathan reflects on the perils of living in Delhi having developed 'pollution anxiety' and become a smoker by proxy.

John Kampfner was in Berlin when the Wall fell. Thirty years on he's been back to see how the city has changed.

And how does a glass of radioactive water sound? It was once sold in Portugal with the promise of bringing health, strength and vigour. Margaret Bradley visits the, now abandoned, hotel that used it for baths, cooking and even colonic irrigation.

And a troubled nation writes itself another rousing chapter as South Africa wins the Rugby World Cup and the squad returns as heroes. It may only be a game, but stories matter, says Andrew Harding.

From their base in Albania, some 3,000 Iranian exiles are committed to overthrowing the government of Iran. Linda Pressly finds out how some members of the M.E.K - the Mujahedin-e Khalq – are adapting to life in Europe.

Kate Adie introduces this and other stories:

It's thirty years since the fall of Czechoslovakia's communist regime, but Chris Bowlby finds the ghostly remains of its past still looming large in one former steel town.

Long-sleeved shirt, trousers tucked into her socks and copious amounts of insect repellent – Sian Griffiths reports from Canada where tiny black legged ticks are migrating north and spreading disease.

“We Kenyan journalists joke that reporting on famine is easy: you just find your old script from a previous one - and repeat it” says Anna Mawathe as she considers one possible solution to hunger in her homeland.

And what happens when you get locked out of a motorhome in rural Andalucía, in the middle of the night, in the middle of nowhere, with no wallet and no shoes. Tim Smith reports from Spain.

The Rugby World Cup has drawn the attention of the world to Japan for the last six weeks. But the tournament has not been without its difficulties, mostly ones beyond the power of the authorities to control. Rupert Wingfield-Hayes has been sheltering from the storm.

Veganism is on the rise in many countries in the world. Switching to a plant-base diet is said to be one of the biggest contributions an individual can make to reducing their impact on the environment. But veganism has its own dangers, as Ashitha Nagesh finds out in St. Petersburg.

South Korea is today a beacon of democracy and economic stability in East Asia. Street rallies have recently forced the resignation of the justice minister. But it wasn't always thus. The country was run by the army within living memory. And John Kampfner says protest then was a different matter.

Somaliland, a small breakaway territory in East Africa, has a long coastline along the Gulf of Aden. But strangely it doesn't have much of a fishing industry. That's changing now and Amy Guttman finds people getting to know an entirely new cuisine.

Guinea - in West Africa - is one of the poorest countries in the world. Many look overseas for ways to earn money. There is much demand for domestic workers in the Gulf and in the age of the smart phone, these workers are often recruited via a mobile app. As Owen Pinnell discovered, the recruits are often under age.

Presenter: Kate Adie

Argentina has elected a new president at a moment of deep economic crisis. Out goes the centre-left, back come the Peronists. Katy Watson reports on a sense of deja vu, with the role of Eva Peron filled this time by Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner, a former president, now returning to power as vice president.

The winds of change are blowing through the Vatican, after bishops meeting in Rome voted in favour of relaxing the rules on celibacy among the clergy. David Willey reflects on how Pope Francis is conducting a papacy that reflects a changing world.

Liberia in West Africa is one of the poorest countries in the world. It has still to recover from a civil war that ended more than 15 years ago. More recently it suffered a devastating Ebola epidemic. Lucy Ash goes to meet the Zogos, a group of people who've suffered more than most.

Imran Khan used to be best known as a flamboyant international cricketer. Today he's the prime minister of Pakistan and thousands of people are on the streets of Islamabad today in protest against his economic policies. Secunder Kermani says they are also suspicious of his links to the army.

Buddhism in China, a country that has often had an uneasy relationship with religion, is enjoying official approval. President Xi sees it as a way of promoting his country's status. Richard Dove has been to meet some monks high in the mountains and to eat peanut biscuits.

The resignation this week of Mmusi Maimana, the leader of the Democratic Alliance, the main opposition party in South Africa, has exposed deep wounds from the apartheid era. Andrew Harding examines the implications for democracy in the country.

Demonstrators have been out in force on the streets of Santiago and other cities across Chile after the government announced it was raising the price of metro tickets. Jane Chambers has been speaking to the pot-banging protesters and says there are real fears of a return to the dark days of dictatorship.

A large shopping centre and an old Jewish cemetery: James Rodgers is in the Czech Republic, in a small town east of Prague, on the trail of scrolls saved from a synagogue there, which he'd first seen in Manchester.

Iceland is famously small, cold and welcoming to visitors. It's also a place where even the prime minister will take your call, as Lesley Curwen discovers.

It's 40 years since the release of Apocalypse Now, the Vietnam War epic directed by Francis Ford Coppola, which starred Marlon Brando. It was actually filmed in the Philippines. Howard Johnson has been to see if any traces of the set still exist.

Producer: Tim Mansel

The latest row between China and the US revolves not around trade, but around basketball. It all began with a tweet in support of the Hong Kong protesters by the general manager of the Houston Rockets which, as Robin Brant reports, has made the Chinese authorities deeply unhappy.

The people of Lebanon have been out on the streets in anti-government demonstrations for several days. It all started with a proposal, now withdrawn, to impose a tax on internet-based voice calls. But Lizzie Porter wonders if some of the protesters aren't simply enjoying the party.

Transylvania, now part of Romania, is a region of Europe that has belonged to many different states and empires. The legacy of this history is a variety of ethnic groups and languages. Andrew Eames has been to visit the small number of people there who still speak German.

There has been a series of police raids in northern Nigeria on institutions known variously as Islamic schools or rehabilitation centres. In reality they are places where children have been dumped and forced to live in terrible conditions. Mayeni Jones found the authorities there very reluctant to talk.

Kyrgyzstan, one of the 15 states formed as the Soviet Union collapsed, shares a long border with China. But the nomads in the interior lead a life apparently unchanged for decades, as Sara Wheeler discovers.

In the latest programme of the monthly series, Mishal Husain introduces dispatches from journalists and writers around the United Kingdom reflecting the range of contemporary life in the country.

Producer: Simon Coates