From Our Own Correspondent

The ruined heart of an American city, laid waste by economic collapse, is explored by Paul Mason; Mary Harper visits a hotel in Nairobi that's become a little piece of Somalia; from a South African prison, Hamilton Wende tells an inspiring tale of guilt and redemption; there's an explosion in modern art in the Turkish city of Istanbul, but Rosie Goldsmith's been finding out that not everyone's happy with that. And our correspondent David Willis struggles to embrace America's passion for Halloween.

Extra police have been drafted in to the Swedish city of Malmo -- Tim Mansel, who's there, says a gunman is on the loose who seems to have immigrants in his sights. The Chinese villages condemned to drown beneath the rising waters of the Yangtze - Peter Day's been to investigate. In the US, Andy Gallacher has a story of blood and guts at a rodeo in one of the country's toughest prisons. And Hugh Schfield tells us that while French may be the language of love and cuisine....it may not be right for rock and roll.

Today: We hear French lessons for an American truck driver; the surprising story of why some schools in Japan are funded by the North Koreans; there are the explicit stories told to get the Aids message across to Ugandan children; and we learn how a 21st Century St. Patrick could help out with Ireland's economic woes.

Today: we hear from Aleem Maqbool in Pakistan where it's easier to blame others for your troubles than to really face up to them; we're in Berber country, in Algeria, with Jonathan Fryer, where until recently kidnappings and killings were commonplace; we visit the Liberian countryside with Chris Simpson where they are dreaming of the good ol' days when some people had a monthly salary; in Okinawa Philippa Fogarty explains how some people are determined to preserve their culture, as distinct from the Japanese one; and our correspondent Jonah Fisher is in the burning Kalahari, with his charcoal pickles.

A huge welcome -- from some at least --as the President of Iran comes to southern Lebanon, Jeremy Bowen was there watching. Humphrey Hawksley's in Kiev as Ukrainians look nostalgically back to the days when they were part of the Soviet empire; a mixed press for the Commonwealth Games but Sam Miller finds there are technological reasons to be cheerful; Joanna Jolly's in Nepal where the world's tiniest man reckons his height is a passport to financial security. And Nick Thorpe tells tales of tragedy and hope after a week spent on the road covering the story of toxic sludge leak in Hungary.

The Colombian fighters who've given up the struggle, opting for education instead -- Robin Lustig has been to meet them; Gideon Long in Chile on what the rescue at the Copiapo mine tells us about the Chilean character; a flowering of democracy in Kyrgyzstan, but Rayhan Demytrie finds it's all too complicated for some; Chris Hogg's in Pyongyang as President Kim Jong Il annoints his son as successor and Jennifer Pak discovers even the heat can't melt the enthusiasm for ice hockey in Malaysia.

A mesmerising speech from a great South African churchman: the retirement of Archbishop Tutu is marked by Allan Little; Ian Pannell on the increasingly unsafe roads of Afghanistan; Farhana Dawood is in Leipzig noting the continuing divisions between Germans from the east and west of the country; Martin Patience tells us how the Chinese government is having to consider the implications of an ever-older population while Christine Finn is in the Northern Irish fishing village of Ardglass tasting one of the "silver darlings" on which the port has built its reputation.

Why some pro-democracy candidates in Burma won't be contesting the forthcoming elections; Pascale Harter's in Spain examining worries about the economy and the changes which a wave of immigration has brought to Spanish culture; In Srinagar, Kashmir, Chris Morris finds that local journalists, trying to report on a wave of unrest, have become targets themselves; Mark Mardell's in Nevada examining the reasons for the electorate's febrile mood ahead of November's midterm elections and a story about grandmother's chest of drawers and a mountain of red tape. That one's told by Chloe Arnold in Algiers.

Who says the Germans don't have a sense of humour? Steve Evans is in the east of the country as the anniversary of reunification approaches. Baghdad once had dozens of cinemas playing to full houses and even hosting glittering premieres. Gabriel Gatehouse discovers why the cinema in Iraq is dying. Hamilton Wende in Johannesburg explores one consequence of the biggest influx of immigrants since the gold rush: a babble of new languages on the streets of this South African city. Kevin Connolly looks at the challenges facing President Obama in the run-up to the Midterm elections while Justin Rowlatt finds that a song from our own correspondent can break the ice in Angola.

After years of conflict in Uganda, the people of Acholiland are returning home; but Richard Dowden finds memories of war are straining the Acholi tradition of forgiveness. Peter Marshall meets the British woman on death row in Texas, and considers whether she should be there. Martin Patience goes for a drive with the young people of China in search of new friends on the open road. Charles Haviland is in Sri Lanka, where people are sharing their memories of the long civil war. And a man with a shopping trolley attracts the attention of our man in Johannesburg, Andrew Harding.

A corner of old Germany is unearthed in Latin America as Will Grant follows Venezuelans preparing for a crucial vote. Jonathan Head travels to the east of Turkey where there’s been, according to the government, a gesture of reconciliation towards an Armenian minority, subjected to mass killing during the First World War. Fifty years on from independence in Nigeria, Anna Horsbrugh-Porter meets up with two men working there back in 1960. Paul Harper’s in a Yemeni town which comes to a standstill after lunch as its men grow euphoric, chewing the leaves of the qat plant. And why are numbers so sharply down at the Liberace Museum in Las Vegas? Kevin Connolly muses on the attractions of conspicuous consumption in a time of recession and the transience of fame.

Why is China restoring a British railway in Angola? Justin Rowlatt boards the Benguela Railway. A new generation is shaping the future of Afghanistan: Lyse Doucet finds out how. Just back in Russia, Steve Rosenberg considers the country's future. Annie Caulfield visits a Kenyan reptile sanctuary and discovers the role snakes play in the environment. And Christopher Landau explains why he's giving up journalism to pursue a more spiritual vocation.

Why are America's new breed of soldiers studying philosophy? David Edmonds is in New York state finding out. Jon Leyne has been monitoring speculation in Cairo about who will succeed President Mubarak. There's a significant diplomatic development, Mark Lowen tells us from Belgrade, in Serbia's stance towards its breakaway province of Kosovo. Which are the countries who'll be having their say on world affairs in ten years'time? It's a question Bridget Kendall poses ahead of the UN General Assembly in New York. And some say it was Africa's biggest market. But Louise Redvers says the site, in Angola's capital, Luanda has been closed down and its traders moved on.

A big week for the Turkish Prime Minister. Jonathan Head gauges reaction to his growing power. Jennifer Pak finds out what sex education is like for teenagers in Malaysia. Angus Crawford meets the children of Senegal made to beg for money by their teachers. Lorraine Mallinder is in Mauritius finding out what happened to the Chagos Islanders exiled there. And Zeb Soanes goes to Hollywood and gets a shave from the barber to the stars.

Will economics force the French to rethink their lifestyles? It's a question Christian Fraser in Paris answers in the week a million French people took to the streets to protest at the government's plans to raise the retirement age. On the anniversary of 9/11 Laura Trevelyan in New York's been talking to the Manhattan Muslims about the furore surrounding plans to build an Islamic cultural centre and mosque close to Ground Zero. Mark Tully visits a hill station -- it's the sort of place the British, back in colonial days, would go to escape the heat of summer. Today, it seems, they have a rather different character. Jane Beresford's in the fields of Sierra Leone finding out why women there welcome the sight of new tractors at their farms and Ella Fitzgerald sang of eating baloney at Coney. Today, as Antonia Quirke has discovered, the city has plans for the amusement district of Coney Island ... and not everyone's happy.

There's a dilemma for Jill McGivering, covering the floods in Pakistan; Gabriel Gatehouse in Baghdad on the changing lexicon as America redefines its mission in Iraq; Wyre Davies is in Jerusalem and detects little optimism for the Middle East peace talks which have restarted in Washington; James Reynolds is at the mine in the Atacama Desert where 33 miners are trapped far undergound and Andy Kershaw visits the arena in Kinshasa which was the site of the world's greatest boxing encounter.