From Our Own Correspondent Podcast

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. Traditional cider-making is a slow business. But, as the poet Julian May has been discovering this autumn while he collects the variety of apples which ensure its special quality, it is a richly satisfying process which links to Somerset's past, present and future. Anisa Subedar has seen sons leave the family home for university before, so why is she feeling the departure of a third so keenly this autumn? Growing numbers of young people are declaring themselves non-binary. But, as Sima Kotecha explains, while this can be liberating for them it can pose challenges for parents and other other adults which they can find difficult to meet. Amid the financial and other pressures on local newspapers from online sources of news in particular communities, village newsletters have assumed new importance. Andrew Green considers how his Oxfordshire village newsletter is put together each month and the special skills required to ensure the medium's survival. And Alice Hutton draws back the veil on the highly-organised postal services that operate at music festivals and the poignant, heart-warming and bizarre messages that they specialise in delivering - nearly all of them with only the most rudimentary addresses. Producer: Simon Coates

The Turkish military offensive seems to have achieved its major aim - to force the Syrian forces away from the border area they had once controlled. But what does this mean for the future of the Kurds? Jeremy Bowen takes a long view. In Vienna last Saturday the Kenyan Eliud Kipchoge made history by becoming the first man ever to run a marathon in under two hours. In doing so, he brought Kenyans together, says Anne Soy in Nairobi, and made the whole country proud. It's now 30 years since the momentous events of 1989 that changed the politics and geography of Europe and led to the demise of the Soviet Union two years later. Steve Rosenberg visits a bookshop in the Latvian capital, Riga, for a lesson in Baltic history. They make beautiful cowboy boots in the Texan city of Fort Worth. But you'd better be well-heeled if you fancy a pair. Elizabeth Hotson eyes up the merchandise but is too shy to try any on. And in France they’ve recently launched a lottery to raise money to save the country’s vast architectural heritage. Hugh Schofield visits an old coaching inn where they have had a skeleton in the back yard, if not in the cupboard.

There's been violence for several days in Barcelona in reaction to the jail sentences handed out on Monday to Catalan separatist leaders. Guy Hedgecoe has been on the streets as demonstrators and riot police clashed. He says there's no end in sight to this deepening conflict. There's a general election in Canada on Monday, and Justin Trudeau is hoping for a second term as prime minister. But the man who was once an emblem of hope and progressiveness has seen his reputation tarnished. Jennifer Chevalier in Ottawa says he's now got a fight on his hands. There was much excitement last week in Ethiopia when it was announced that the prime minister Abiy Ahmed had been awarded this year's Nobel Peace Prize. But at home, despite considerable achievements, his popularity has diminished, as Tom Gardner reports from Addis Ababa. Recycling rubbish can be a lucrative industry. But in Romania that’s been made harder by government regulations on private companies. Nick Thorpe has been to find out more. The Svaneti region of north-west Georgia is spectacularly beautiful and home to a particular ethnic group. the Svan. They number only a few thousand and their cultural traditions are under threat. But they are generous hosts. Antonia Bolingbroke-Kent drops in for lunch.

President Trump and his supporters remain defiant in the face of the impeachment inquiry against him. But many of Mr Trump's political allies are troubled by another issue: the withdrawal of American troops from Syria, which has allowed Turkey to attack Kurdish targets in Syria. Jon Sopel says Syria may turn into Mr Trump's bigger problem. The Kalash are a mountain people who live in a series of valleys in the Hindu Kush in northern Pakistan. They number only a few thousand today and there are concerns that there's increasing pressure upon them to convert to Islam. Emma Thomson has been to visit. There's a fuel crisis in Cuba at the moment and if you want to fill up you'd better be prepared to wait for several hours. As Will Grant reports, the government is taking other measures to save money, such as asking civil servants to work from home. China's economic influence spreads far and wide. It has reached the city of Sihanoukville in southern Cambodia where billions have been invested in industrial infrastructure. But Vincent Ni encounters ambivalent attitudes there to people of Chinese origin. Earlier this year the British government imposed a temporary export ban on one of JMW Turner's masterpieces, The Dark Rigi, the Lake of Lucerne. Lucy Daltroff has been to the source of his inspiration.

The wedding banquet put on hold by protests and emergency legislation in Hong Kong. Helier Cheung describes how she had to tell 300 guests the party was off. It's 250 years since Captain Cook first set foot in New Zealand and the first time the Maori encountered Europeans. That anniversary is being marked this month and this week a replica of Cook's ship, the Endeavour, docked in the small city of Gisborne. But the anniversary has not been universally welcomed, as Colin Peacock reports. Uganda has had the same man in charge, Yoweri Museveni, since 1986. Challengers for the office of president have come and gone and Mr Museveni has twice changed the rules - on the number of presidential terms and on the maximum presidential age - to ensure his longevity. But now a new challenger has appeared, in the form of a former pop star. Sally Hayden has been on the road with Bobi Wine. Bear Island - some 250 miles off the northern coast of Norway - is home to a few hardy souls who staff the weather station there. Legend says it got its name from a polar bear spotted swimming nearby in the Barents Sea. But David Baillie says these majestic creatures are few and far between now. More than 14,000 people in Britain have reached the grand age of 100. One of the perks of this achievement is the traditional message of congratulation from the Queen. In France there are even more centenarians but no similar tradition, no message from the president. Well, not until Nicola Carslaw stepped in.