From Our Own Correspondent

A brutal assault on Kabul University, the biggest and oldest in the country, left at least 35 dead and 50 wounded. The attack was claimed by the Islamic State group, but the Afghan government and the Taliban are blaming each other for it, when the two sides are meant to be focusing on peace talks. Lyse Doucet speaks to one University lecturer about the students he lost. There was an attack in Austria too, in Vienna, which killed four people and injured more than 20 others, in a neighbourhood that houses Vienna's main synagogue, but is known as the Bermuda Triangle, a key nightlife area full of bars and restaurants. The shooting was the deadliest attack in Vienna for decades. Bethany Bell reports on an evening that shook a city. Eighteen Sicilian fishermen are being detained in prison in the Libyan city of Benghazi, accused of fishing in Libyan waters. This part of the Mediterranean is rich in the lucrative red prawn, and so these arrests are not uncommon. Usually the men are released after negotiations. But t

Nigeria's EndSARS demonstrations have ground to a halt following the fatal shooting of at least 12 people, although that number is disputed. Investigations into the incident are underway and a panel has been hearing evidence in Lagos. But as Mayeni Jones has found out, the search for the truth in Nigeria, involves a great deal of theatre. In China, ethnic Mongolians appear to have become the latest target for an ever-more repressive Communist Party under Xi Jinping. The central government – which is dominated by China’s majority Han Chinese – decided to reduce Mongolian language teaching, which prompted rare protests in China’s Inner Mongolia. Stephen McDonell went there to find out more. America's deep divisions about its attitudes to past and present injustices towards ethnic minorities manifested themselves in reactions to the tearing down of statues or Confederate flags this year. And as Jo Erickson found out when she walked up Mount Evans in Colorado, even the name of a mountain can be controversial - bu

Record numbers of Americans have already voted early in the US elections. The country has become more polarised under President Trump, but it remains to be seen whether the high early turnout is due to heightened political feelings, or concerns about catching the virus on polling day. Nick Bryant reflects on the political state of the nation, and on an election campaign that turned out very differently from how it looked before the pandemic struck. Thousands of young Nigerians have protested in recent weeks against a notorious police unit, the Special Anti-Robbery Squad, or SARS, which became infamous for unlawful killings, torture and extortion. The demonstrations spread from Nigeria’s largest city Lagos, to other parts of the country and even internationally. What had started as taking a stance against police brutality, turned into much more, as Yemisi Adegoke reports from Lagos. In Poland, a ruling from the constitutional court last week outlawed terminations in cases of severe foetal defects - 98% of thos

Five days before the American election, record numbers have cast their ballots already, making use of the expansion in early voting due to the pandemic. Naturalised US citizens make up one in ten eligible voters this year. Among them Laura Trevelyan, who voted in the presidential race as a US citizen for the first time, joining the queues in New York City. For Lebanon, 2020 has been a veritable annus horribilis: the pandemic, an unprecedented economic crisis, and the huge blast that destroyed parts of Beirut, and led to the resignation of the cabinet. Now a former Prime Minister, Saad Hariri, has been asked to form a government. If he succeeds, it’ll be his third time in the job. Plus ca change, or last chance for Lebanon, asks Martin Patience. Chile held a referendum on Sunday about replacing the current constitution, which dates from General Pinochet’s military dictatorship. The Yes vote won overwhelmingly. But the poll had been a heated topic of conversation for months, reflecting the deep divisions in soc

In South Africa, racial tensions have been heightened in some rural areas, particularly after the murder of Brendin Horner, a young white farm manager. Cases like his have led to claims of ethnic cleansing. But as President Ramaphosa pointed out, the killings are cases of criminality, not genocide. Andrew Harding went to the small town of Senekal to investigate what's underlying these racial tensions. In Paraguay in South America, the river of the same name last week dipped to its lowest level ever recorded after months of drought. That’s a problem in this landlocked country which uses the waterway to transport the vast majority of its traded goods. And where does it leave the local fishermen? William Costa has been finding out, and asks what's causing the lack of rainfall. The Covid-19 pandemic has severely restricted international travel. That's meant Kamin Mohammadi can no longer divide her time between Italy, Britain and Iran as she used to, for family and work reasons. Now Tuscany has become a true home,

Thailand has been rocked by months of student street protests that have intensified in recent days. They're unprecedented in that they don't just criticise the government, but also the monarchy - a taboo in Thailand. Jonathan Head in Bangkok reports on what may be a critical turning point in a political upheaval. This week it’s exactly a year since the Spanish government exhumed the remains of dictator General Francisco Franco from his mausoleum. But the question of how to handle the divisive legacy of the country’s 1930's civil war and the ensuing decades-long dictatorship under Franco remains a contentious issue in Spanish politics and society. And now there are new efforts to tackle it, as Guy Hedgecoe reports from Madrid. In Jordan, the already high unemployment has risen further during the pandemic, but the country remains attractive to migrant workers from nearby Egypt where wages are lower. But, as Charlie Faulkner hears from an Egyptian cobbler, the choice to stay in Jordan to keep his job, comes at a

Journalists in Africa like to play a game where they take language often used in Western reports on African stories ("armed militias", "strongmen", "rigged elections") and apply it to the US. This has become more tempting, and yielding more ironies, recently. There is a further similarity in South Africa: could ex-president Jacob Zuma be a "proto-Trump"? Andrew Harding teases out the parallels.China, too, is watching the US elections closely. And opinions are quite divided. Not, however, between those who are pro-Trump and pro-Biden, but between those who are pro- or anti-Trump. And, as Stephen McDonell reports, the pro-Trump camp unites some unlikely bedfellows, from Hong Kong activists and Falun Gong believers to Communist party leaders.In Brazil, fires are burning again in the Amazon, to turn land that's been deforested into pasture. Jair Bolsonaro's government supports turning the rainforest into ranches. But with the Pantanal wetlands badly affected this year too, what does this mean for the future of Br

Last month a fire burned down the Moria refugee camp on the Greek island of Lesbos, which had been hugely overcrowded. The cause was arson, but what was the real reason, and who stoked the fire once it was lit? Gabriel Gatehouse has been investigating the blaze, and Europe's dysfunctional migration policy.In Kenya, schools have reopened this week for the first time since March, at least for some year groups. The seven-month closure was to help stop the spread of Covid-19. But how have schools, teachers and students been faring in the meantime? And what's it like being at school now? Anne Soy has been finding out in Nairobi.Hong Kong has been a gateway to China, while enjoying freedoms such as a free press that do not exist on the mainland. But following months of often violent pro-democracy protests, and a new security law imposed by Beijing, the territory's identity is changing. Can it keep its status as a global powerhouse, asks Karishma Vaswani.Arunachal Pradesh, in India’s tribal Northeast, is home to mor

For President Trump to have had Covid-19 so close to the election presents political dilemmas. Play it down, and you offend the relatives of the dead. Play it up, you highlight the seriousness of the disease that killed so many on your watch. And then there are the pitfalls for the Democrats. Anthony Zurcher navigates the minefield in Washington. A state of emergency has been declared in the Central Asian republic of Kyrgyzstan, and troops have been ordered onto the streets of the capital Bishkek to quell the unrest that erupted after a disputed parliamentary election last weekend. Protesters are angry at alleged vote buying and intimidation. They clashed violently with police and seized government buildings. A new revolution, asks Caroline Eden? Despite certain advances, Nigeria still has a way to go to true gender equality. Take renting a home for example. It’s much harder to convince a landlord of your merits as a tenant, if you’re a woman, especially if you’re single, as Olivia Ndubuisi has been finding o

Fighting has continued in Nagorno-Karabakh, the territory inhabited and run by ethnic Armenians, but officially still part of Azerbaijan. The armed clashes have included Azerbaijani shelling of residential areas in the main town Stepanakert, from where Jonah Fisher reports that residents have had to take shelter or flee to neighbouring Armenia. US President Donald Trump tested positive for Covid-19 and was taken to a top military hospital on Friday. It was a fast-moving and seismic day not only for the staff at the White House - where suddenly everyone was wearing a mask, as Tara McKelvey observed - but also for the nation at large. The Vatican, the headquarters of the Catholic Church, has been the subject of rumours about financial secrets for a long time, something Pope Francis has hoped to change with greater transparency. And so a senior cardinal has suddenly been forced to resign over alleged financial wrongdoings. And the Church also published a "consolidated balance sheet"; a first says veteran Vatican

In Mozambique, the northernmost province of Cabo Delgado may have become the latest outpost of the so-called Islamic State insurgency, with reports of massacres and beheadings. The area is rich in precious gemstones and has huge natural gas reserves, but the local people are poor and increasingly have to flee. Andrew Harding reports on a region where everything is at stake. War has erupted again in Nagorno-Karabakh, the territory disputed by Armenia and Azerbaijan. Most of the residents are ethnic Armenians, who have been governing the territory since a first, vicious war three decades ago. But even the intervening years have hardly been peaceful, as Rayhan Demytrie found out. Hong Kong is living under a new National Security Law which authorities hope might put an end to a year of violent youth-led pro-democracy protests. This law has given Beijing unprecedented powers within Hong Kong to police public speech and demonstrations. There seems to be a new, mainland Chinese secret police too. Activists and journ

Lebanon has suffered not just a catastrophic blast that cost around two hundred lives, but also a devastating economic crisis. The value of the currency has plunged and the pandemic lockdown forced nearly a third of businesses to close, leaving thousands jobless. Is Lebanon now a sinking ship? People are leaving in droves, as Leila Molana-Allen reports from Beirut. Chile's central region has been so dry over the past ten years, that scientists speak of a “mega-drought”. But how do you farm without water? Jane Chambers visited the Til Til region to find out how the residents are coping with the agricultural crisis. In the Philippines Facebook took down more than 200 accounts accused of promoting pro-Duterte propaganda last week. Opposition politicians, human rights activists and journalists have reported receiving threatening posts. But a group was formed, to stand up to the abuse: The Troll Patrol. Howard Johnson went to meet one of them. In the Australian city of Melbourne, they’ve been having a second, full

The first formal face-to-face Afghanistan peace talks are underway in Doha, the capital of the Gulf State of Qatar. These historic negotiations between the Afghan Taliban and a delegation of the Afghan government are focused on finding a negotiated end to a destructive war that’s now lasted more than four decades. How much have the Taliban changed since their harsh rule of the 1990’s, asks Lyse Doucet. In Yemen, the United Nations have this week announced that the critical aid they supply across the country has had to be substantially cut, as they have only received a third of the donations they need to operate. This despite the fact that Yemen has been enduring the world’s worst humanitarian crisis as a result of five years of war. And that was already before the coronavirus hit. Mai Noman reflects on how her fellow Yemenis cope with it all. Cuba has long had a complicated monetary system, and currently three currencies: the peso, the convertible peso or CUC, and the US dollar. The dollar was illegal until h

Greece and Turkey have agreed to hold talks to help defuse their stand-off over disputed gas reserves near their shores. Ankara had deployed a research vessel accompanied by warships near a Greek island, and military exercises on both sides followed, giving rise to fears of war between the two long-term rivals, as Heidi Fuller Love reports from Crete.Pakistan was shocked by the gang-rape of a woman on a motorway leading out of the city of Lahore late at night. Sexual violence towards women in Pakistan is commonplace, but this case led to a backlash, as police appeared to blame the victim. As women come together to campaign for change, could it be a turning point to make everyday life safer for women, asks Secunder Kermani.Peru now has the highest per capita death rate from coronavirus in the world. More than half of the nation’s territory is Amazon rainforest and the indigenous people who live there have been badly affected by the pandemic, but have received little help, with little medical treatment availabl

The United Arab Emirates and Bahrain signed agreements to normalise relations with Israel, this week, motivated by a desire to build a united front against Iran. Palestinians have condemned the move as a betrayal. Yolande Knell reports on out how the deal has gone down with young Emiratis and Israelis. Wildfires continue to rage across the West Coast region of the United States. Tens of thousands of people have been forced to flee their homes as over four and a half million acres of land have now been scorched. President Trump visited this week and blamed “poor forest management” for the conflagrations. California’s governor insisted they’re due to climate change. Peter Bowes knows the devastation and destruction of these fires all too well.... On the Greek island of Lesbos, efforts have begun to move thousands of migrants and refugees from the fire-gutted Moria camp to a new tent city nearby. The camp had become overcrowded and squalid, and now many would prefer to leave Lesbos altogether. But where can they

India now has the second highest number of confirmed cases of Covid-19 in the world, having overtaken Brazil. This is placing huge demands on hospitals and ambulances. The medical services, particularly in smaller cities and rural areas, can find it hard to cope, sometimes leading to what relatives think were preventable deaths, as Yogita Limaye reports. Japan’s longest-serving prime minister, Shinzo Abe, is retiring. His politically conservative party will elect his successor on Monday. Mr Abe has taken his observers by surprise more than once. Rupert Wingfield-Hayes in Tokyo looks at the effect of those surprises, and at his legacy. In Poland, some politicians’ hostility to gay rights has become a flash-point in a culture war pitting the religious right against the more liberal-minded. Last month the EU denied funding to six Polish towns which had declared themselves “LGBT ideology-free zones”. Lucy Ash has been to one of them, Tuchow. Wildfires have raged through central and northern Argentina for most of

This week’s dispatches, introduced by Kate Adie, are:Steve Rosenberg in Belarus reflects on the history he shares with President Lukashenko, recently re-elected in a poll widely regarded as fradulent. It’s based on their separate links with a small town in the countryside. Yet even these didn’t prevent him from being detained by the regime’s police force.Phil Mercer in Sydney considers the strains being placed on Australia’s cohesion as many of its principal states and territories close their borders to each other. From the maintenance of urgent medical care to opportunistic flits across the country, the restrictions are causing hardship and leading to disaffection.A deal has been initialled in Sudan between its transitional government and the main rebel alliance designed to bring peace to the long-troubled North African state. Hailed by outside governments, the agreement has, however, yet to be endorsed by all parties to the Sudanese conflict. Anne Soy reported on widespread protests in the country last year

This week, as the leading opposition figure in Russia, Alexei Navalny, lies comatose in Berlin’s Charité hospital, Sarah Rainsford in Moscow considers the Kremlin’s peculiar hate and fear of its critics and the methods it is widely thought to have employed in dealing with them.Gabriel Gatehouse in Beirut observes the sharp generational divide that characterises post-civil war Lebanon – and wonders what it might portend for the country's future.North America Correspondent, Jane O’Brien, checks in to the “virtual” Republican party convention centred on the White House and detects a new confidence and a different style in the Trump – and Republican – campaigns for November’s US elections. What explains the shift?Sebastien Ash in the Swabian town of Heidenheim, southern Germany, reveals the significance of a face-off of statues linked to the so-called “Desert Fox” – Erwin Rommel, the well-known general of the Nazi era, noted for his role in World War Two’s North Africa campaign.And Christine Finn takes the plung

Mishal Husain presents a range of perspectives on Britain today.Edinburgh is usually thronged with crowds and alive with performers from around the world at Festival time. But the Scottish capital is in decidedly unfamiliar guise this August. Long-time resident, James Naughtie, experiences a city that is not itself.Sparked by the shift in living patterns during lockdown, councils in England have implemented low traffic neigbourhoods aimed at cutting the number of vehicles on busy streets. But, as Tom Edwards, BBC London's Transport Correspondent, discovers, while residents like the respite, for motorists the new measures add to already time-consuming journeys.Deep in the Cotswolds lies an opera house popular with aficionados for miles around. This summer, though, silence - not music - has reigned there. Gillian Powell, part of Longborough Festival Opera's team, reflects on what she has been missing, what's still been possible to do and what she might be able to look forward to next year.During the Hindu festi

Former US Vice-president Joe Biden accepted the Democratic party’s nomination for the presidency via video-link from his home in Wilmington, Delaware. The party convention was going to be a big celebratory event in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, with balloons and standing ovations. But not during the pandemic. Laura Trevelyan reports from this unconventional convention. South Africa banned alcohol to help keep hospital beds free for Covid-19 patients. So many have a drinking problem in the country that over 62,000 deaths a year are attributed to alcohol. But banning it damages the drinks industry. Vumani Mkhize reports on that dilemma and looks back at his own experiences with alcohol. There have been protests and strikes in Belarus since the contested elections of 9 August. And now the long-term ruler Alexander Lukashenko has given orders to end the unrest. The official result gave him 80% of the vote while the opposition denounced the poll as fraudulent. But where do they go from here, asks Jonah Fisher in the capit