From Our Own Correspondent Folgen

A love affair going nowhere in Damascus -- it's what happens when a rebel footsoldier falls in love with the daughter of one of the Syrian regime's security chiefs; one correspondent comes face to face with what she describes as 'the most exquisite banquet in Chinese history' while another is with the protestors in the Ukrainian capital Kiev saying the city 'looks and feels like some surreal parallel universe where an idealised, heroic past has collided with a menacing dystopian future.' We hear that Kazakhstan is suffering an identity crisis: while some now chase post-perestroika wealth, others are looking to the past and seeking guidance from the cults of their ancestors. And their songs have been labelled 'vulgar and slanderous' but we find out that the Calypsonians of Guyana claim their government's trying to silence them.

Reporters' despatches from around the world, introduced by Kate Adie. Today, Will Grant on the astonishing prevalence of guns in Central America: Josh Spero in Jerusalem asks how best to teach Israeli children about the Holocaust without traumatising them: Jake Wallis Simons witnesses friendship across the Muslim-Christian divide in Sierra Leone: Lina Sinjab returns to her home city of Damascus, where the once-vibrant cafe society is fast fading away: and in Toulouse, Chris Bockman discovers that the municipal bathhouse has become a virtual community centre. Producer: John Murphy

As athletes turn up to the winter Olympic games, what might they find? The Thai fishing industry is accused of using slave labour; Syrians can only look across the border from Turkey at their old homes and hope to return one day; an Italian priest takes on militia groups in the Central African Republic to save Muslims and Christians alike; and we hear of one of Britain's worst military defeats which is still a source of great pride for Zulus. Kate Adie introduces these reports from around the world.