A midget street thug on a kiddy bike. Incompetent thieves who resort to stealing air-conditioning units. A woman too drunk to notice a police car heading towards her with all lights flashing. These are just some of the criminals and junkies, the faithful and forlorn encountered by one police officer cruising the streets of one Midwestern US city. But this policeman has an eye for the weird, an overdeveloped sense of humour and a talent for narrative. Which is why Officer Jay Chiarito-Mazarrella created a cult following for his “Street Story” podcasts, vivid vignettes of his work for the Tulsa Police Department. In “24 Hours in Tulsa,” we hear the best of the Street Stories, giving us a fresh, funny and sometimes downright scary insight into policing from the horse's mouth.

Twenty years ago, on November 9th, the Berlin Wall came tumbling down. The greatest symbol of the Cold War, which many never dreamt they would see disappear, was overwhelmed by people power. This momentous event precipitated largely peaceful revolutions across Eastern Europe as people shook off 40 years of communism. The BBC’s World Affairs Editor John Simpson, experienced it at first hand. He was in the thick of the action for the gun battles in Bucharest, Romania. Taking Romania as an example, John looks are the re-integration of Central and Eastern Europe into Europe as a whole and asks how well has the process has been managed.

The Canadian city of Vancouver is routinely named as one of the best communities in the world in which to live. But the city, which is to host the 2010 Winter Olympics in the coming weeks, is fast developing another reputation: one built on illicit drugs and guns. Bill Law reports for Assignment on the youngsters in the city who are exploiting legal loopholes to build a multi-billion dollar industry.

Back in the year 2000, the world's leaders did not seem to be troubled by the notion of global warming, so what has changed? Edward Stourton tries to make sense of a decade in which history has been put on fast forward.

What have been the defining moments of the decade? Edward Stourton explores Google's mighty impact on the internet and finds a world of complex moral and legal pitfalls beneath the promise.

Nick Baker is on a mission to connect people, stories and places via internet cafe. Via Kenya and France he finds a remarkable story in Benin of a young man for whom a single search changed his life.

It's estimated that up to one million people were killed during communism in Eastern Europe, but there's no clear figure for those imprisoned, persecuted or spied on. While few have been put on trial for those crimes, most countries have started to open their secret police archives and some have limited the participation of former communists and informers to public office. The whole issue of what to do about the past - forget, forgive, confront - is a live and contentious in Eastern Europe. All the countries have taken different approaches. So how successful are these different approaches? In this two part series our European affairs correspondent Oana Lungescu, one of many Romanians who looked for their own secret police files, investigates.

Until recently, little Latvia appeared to have a rosy future. It was the fastest growing economy in Europe. But now that boom looks like a mirage. No country in the EU has been worse hit by the global recession. Its economy has been in freefall, property prices have collapsed, unemployment has been rising rapidly. Six months ago, Assignment visited several Latvians from various walks of life to see how they were affected by the crisis – now the programme returns to find out how these same individuals are coping as the recession deepens.

Nick Baker is on a mission to connect people, stories and places via the internet. His journey takes him to New York, China and London.

Quentin Peel, International Affairs editor of the Financial Times, looks at the communist regimes and movements orphaned by the collapse of the governments of the Soviet Union and eastern Europe. In Programme Two Quentin looks at the new self-proclaimed "radical" governments in Latin America, such as Venezuela and Bolivia, which draw inspiration from that key "orphan of 1989", Cuba.

To what extent did communist regimes intrude into the lives of ordinary people? And how are they dealing with those transgressions now the files have been made publicly available?

Six years ago, the second Palestinian Intifada – or uprising – was raging in the West Bank town of Nablus in the Israeli-occupied territories. This was an era when Palestinian militants regularly battled the Israeli Defence Force in the streets. The BBC’s Alan Johnston reported from Nablus during those dark, dangerous days. Now, for Assignment, on his first reporting trip back in the Middle East since he was kidnapped in Gaza, he returns to Nablus to find out how life has changed for the town.

The second part of Jonathon Porritt's report from China, where, amidst the toxic power stations and burgeoning numbers of cars, he finds some extraordinary and pioneering green solutions. In two provocative and counter-intuitive programmes, Jonathon Porritt flies in the face of international protest and fear at what China is 'doing' to the world's environment in order to properly explore what's actually happening across the vast country. Although the Chinese are avid to grow their economy at all costs, Porritt is convinced that they are effectively leap-frogging the older industrial societies of Europe and America and bringing on real long term environmental solutions, sustainable power and eco design.

Quentin Peel, International Affairs editor of the Financial Times, presents the first of a two-part series looking at the communist regimes and movements 'orphaned' by the collapse of the governments of the Soviet Union and eastern Europe.

Did I turn out to be the son you wanted? What was the saddest moment of your life? Questions like these have arisen out of StoryCorps - an American oral history project described as "a story-foraging mission of epic proportions".

Twenty-five years ago, a gas leak at a Union Carbide pesticide plant in Bhopal killed 8000 people. Allan Little returns to the scene of the disaster to find out why people are still suffering.

Jonathon Porritt reports from China, where, amidst the toxic power stations and burgeoning numbers of cars, he finds some extraordinary and pioneering green solutions. In two provocative and counter-intuitive programmes, Jonathon Porritt flies in the face of international protest and fear at what China is 'doing' to the world's environment in order to properly explore what's actually happening across the vast country. Although the Chinese are avid to grow their economy at all costs, Porritt is convinced that they are effectively leap-frogging the older industrial societies of Europe and America and bringing on real long term environmental solutions, sustainable power and eco design.

In the final part of this series, Owen Bennett-Jones examines the Islamic leader who confronted the might of the British Empire. The Mahdi was a devout man, who developed a huge following. This programme examines his rise to power and his clash with the British General, Charles Gordon.

How would you like to leave a record of your life for your great-great-great-grandchildren? That's the future for participants of StoryCorps, an American oral history project. What do people choose to talk about?

Twenty seven years after Britain and Argentina went to war over the Falklands, or the Malvinas islands, Argentine army officers are facing prosecution. Not for the way they treated the enemy, but for crimes allegedly committed against their own troops.

In Assignment Peter Greste investigates whether Rwandans in France and Germany are controlling a deadly African militia in the Democratic Republic of Congo. For the last 15 years, the rebels of the FDLR have enforced their control through a series of brutal atrocities. Now Assignment has secret intelligence suggesting that they were taking orders from political leaders living openly in Europe.

The BBC World Service has been investigating the controversial issue of whether poor countries have ever seen all of the money promised by industrialised countries in 2001. According to some less than 10 percent of it has been paid: others disagree.

In the third instalment of The Crescent and the Cross, Owen Bennett Jones examines one of the most important Muslim empires in history - the Ottoman Empire. In particular, it focuses on the time of Suleiman The Magnificent, a towering figure in the rivalry between Christianity and Islam, and a crucial battle - the 1565 Seige of Malta.

The BBC's World Affairs Editor John Simpson tells the story of 20 years of post-communist life. Through personal stories, he traces the different roads that East Germany, the Czech Republic and Romania have taken since 1989. In part two John returns to Prague to speak to those who lived through the Velvet Revolution.

In Nepal, severe drought and unreliable monsoon rains have led to acute food shortages. The impact is felt most by people like Charuri who is struggling to feed three children and cannot afford the medical help she needs.

Owen Bennett Jones explores five crucial battles in the relationship between Christianity and Islam. This episode looks at the Crusades.

Seventy years after the start of the Second World War the overwhelming impression is of a conflict fought on the battlefields of Europe by white troops. Britain’s war effort was bolstered by soldiers from the white Commonwealth – Australia, Canada and New Zealand and later by the United States. The war in the Far East is often overlooked, as is the fighting that took place in Africa. Yet one million African troops participated in the conflict, fighting their way through the jungles of Burma, across the Libyan deserts and in the skies over London. In this documentary we hear first hand from the African troops who participated in the war – and who played a critical part in freeing the world from the threat of fascism. Martin Plaut reports.

As governments struggle to curb the so-called “casino-banking” practices which some blame for the global financial meltdown, Michael Robinson now reports on growing concerns over super-fast, computerised share-dealing systems which are earning massive new profits for banks.

Thrown off nearby farms at the time of Namibia’s independence, the squatters of Otjivero lived a hand-to-mouth existence. Last year a scheme was established to give every inhabitant a basic cash grant of US$10 a month, to spend as they wanted. School enrolment has shot up, small businesses are springing up, and the nurse at the local clinic says malnutrition rates amongst the children have dropped.

The Crescent and the Cross, a four-part series, presented by Owen Bennett-Jones, examines several turning points in the relationship between Christianity and Islam covering Muslim Spain, the Crusades, the Ottoman Empire and the struggle for Africa. Part One starts by look going back over 1,000 years ago, in what we now call Spain, but was then known as al-Andalus.

To mark the 50th birthday of Youssou N'Dour, Robin Denselow travels to Senegal to profile the best known African musician of recent times.

Mark Doyle reports from Guinea in West Africa on the harrowing events of 28 September when government troops crushed an opposition rally in the centre of the capital, Conakry. This programme contains some graphic description of sexual violence.

What keeps a billion people trapped in the most persistent poverty? Mike Wooldridge travels to Nicaragua to meet Justa who hoped for a better life after the Sandinista revolution.

The extraordinary but little-known tale of Russia's three all-female regiments that flew more than 30,000 missions on the Eastern Front. At home they were celebrated as 'Stalin's Falcons' but terrified German troops called them the 'Night Witches'.

Public Places, Private Lives is a series of portraits of well known places that reveal the lives and stories of those people who come to a famous spot not to gaze as tourists, but for work or for their own private reasons. The second programme is set in the Taj Mahal, where we hear the experiences of those people for whom one of the most important sites in India is part of their daily landscape.

Jill McGivering travels to Pakistan's largest city, Karachi, to meet a doctor who is battling against the odds to prevent women from dying in childbirth. Listeners may find parts of this Assignment programme distressing.

Nigeria is campaigning for a new image and a new reputation in an effort to attract some much needed investment. Reporter Henry Bonsu follows the many steps of this charm offensive.

The head of Britain’s Secret Intelligence Service Sir John Scarlett, talks for the first time about the interrogation of terrorist suspects and MI6’s role in the run-up to the war in Iraq.

Public Places, Private Lives is a series of portraits of well known places that reveal the lives and stories of those people who come to a famous spot not to gaze as tourists, but for work or for their own private reasons.

When a 17 month-old London child died after horrific abuse by his family, it unleashed a barrage of criticism against British social services. For Assignment Catherine Miller gains rare access to the people whose job it is to protect Britain's vulnerable children.

Can the home of 419 internet scams, corruption and voodoo ever transmit a positive image? Is changing Nigeria's image an impossible mission?

In Programme Two, we find out what were spies really up to behind the Iron Curtain. MI6 chief John Scarlett describes his clandestine meeting with an agent, and the Russian defector Oleg Gordievsky talks about his reasons for coming over to the other side.

Every two years teams from all over the world compete with one another in the Chess Olympiad. In the last two Olympiads, the winning medal has gone to a small country in the Caucasus. How has this nation done it? Gabriel Gatehouse investigates.

The BBC's World Affairs Editor John Simpson tells the story of 20 years of post-communist life. Through personal stories, he traces the different roads that East Germany, the Czech Republic and Romania have taken since 1989.

An unprecedented look inside MI6 - Britain's Secret Intelligence Service, which marks its centenary this year. Programme One - Gadgets & Green Ink explores the early years of MI6, set up by Sir Mansfield Cumming, a formidable figure known as 'C' who signed his name in green ink.

Imagine that conflict and violence force you to flee your country, leaving behind all that you know and love. In the chaos and panic, you have to choose a single object to take with you - something so full of resonance that it will always remind you of the life and people that you left behind. In the second part of Memento, we meet people who have fled to Britain.

A life sentence for stealing a pair of socks. In California the tough 'three strikes' law is sending people to prison for life even if their third crime is a non-violent one. Now a group of law students is trying to change things. Rob Walker reports.

Yiddish was the language of the Jewish Diaspora, the language of a people on the move across Europe. It has suffered a dramatic decline over the last century. What will become of it now?

The third part of the BBC's definitive series on the banking crash tells the extraordinary story of how politicians reacted, and asks what has been learnt from the entire calamity. Could it happen again?

Imagine that conflict and violence force you to flee your country, leaving behind all that you know and love. In the chaos and panic, you have to choose a single object to take with you - something so full of resonance that it will always remind you of the life and people that you left behind.

It's straight out of the pages of a thriller novel: a cargo ship, lost without trace; pirates working the seas at the heart of Europe; whispers of arms smuggling and the scent of international conspiracy. The mysterious disappearance of a Russian-operated cargo ship off the coast of Britain in late July sparked furious speculation that's never been resolved. For Assignment, Sarah Rainsford tries to shine a light on what really happened on board the vessel, the Arctic Sea.

Presenter Jenny Cuffe sets out to find Fereinatu, a teenage girl who was trafficked for sex. She had returned to her impoverished home in Benin City, but she is missing once more and relatives fear she may have been sucked back into prostitution.

This week's Assignment looks at the much-vaunted crackdown on tax havens announced by the G20 earlier this year. The drive is aimed at getting tax havens to agree to yield up information on tax cheats. But is the G-20's weapon of choice, shooting blanks? Is its approach cumbersome and ineffective in the fight to get every dollar that's owed to tax authorities? Lesley Curwen investigates.

The second of this three-part series that examines the boom before the bust of 2008 looks at how our attitudes to risk and debt changed with disastrous consequences.

Can we build our way out of the recession? The Empire State Building was started just weeks after the Wall Street Crash, giving Americans hope in times of depression. Jonathan Glancey, architecture correspondent for the Guardian newspaper in London, looks at the economic and social policies of the 1930s and the parallels we can find today.

Two years ago, Jenny Cuffe followed the journeys of migrants trying to leave Africa and find a better life in Europe. Innocent Akibor left Nigeria to get to Spain. As exploitation greets him at almost every step of his journey, listen to find out if he made his dream come true.

What were the key moments that led to financial meltdown, and what happened in the aftermath? The first of a three-part series that looks closely at the turbulent events in the autumn of 2008.

If my dog is tough then I'm tough. Killer dogs give teenagers status in Chicago. For Assignment, Nina Robinson, goes right to the heart of the cruel sport of dog fighting that is attracting so many young people in the run down areas of Chicago's south side.

Just weeks after the Wall Street Crash in 1929, work began on the Empire State Building. The Guardian's architecture correspondent Jonathan Glancey assesses the economics of building out of a recession.

President Barack Obama has famously written of the influence exerted on him by his father in his memoir Dreams of My Father, but what of his mother, Ann Dunham? Listen to Judith Kampfner as she unveils more about this unconventional and idealistic woman.

enjamin Jealous is the leader of America's oldest and largest black civil rights group. In a USA fronted by Barack Obama, what are the future battlegrounds for African American human rights?

Bermeja Island is missing. This strategically important island was clearly visible on maps of the Gulf of Mexico until the middle of the 20th century but it's now gone. BBC Mundo's David Cuen goes in search.

What role did the business schools play in last year's financial crisis? In this week's edition of Assignment, Ed Butler investigates whether, as the chair of Harvard's MBA programme insists, the schools were guilty only of teaching a deficient assessment of risk in the business world, or whether something more fundamental was at fault. Some inside the system tell Assignment that there had been a growing disconnect between the schools and society, with insufficient attention being paid to the ethics of the business world, and the sole focus of the programmes being on maximising shareholder value and personal enrichment.

n the second episode Michael Buerk visits Cairo and experience for himself how bloggers - arguably among the most hounded anywhere in the world - are taking on the Egyptian government.

Enterprise, money, innovation are all there. Is tapping into a continent's optimism the key to Africa's future? Mark Doyles looks at the solutions to solve Africa's poverty.

Rachid Sekkai from the BBC's Arabic Service talks to Muslims currently serving in the Israeli Defence Force and also to former soldiers and hears about the conflicts they face, at home and on duty, and the pride that military service sometimes brings them.

Colin Yu is a teacher who lives in Shanghai. He has a job but still struggles to support his parents on his modest income. Colin would like to spend more money and the Chinese government is offering incentives to people like him to go out and buy Chinese goods. They're hoping that by doing so it will help the country to survive the current global economic downturn. Average savings rates in China stand at around 30% and, as Chris Hogg discovers, most of that money is spent on healthcare. For Assignment he follows the story of Colin's family as they face difficult decisions over how to spend their money and how to match their savings to their healthcare needs.

Michael Buerk analyses the potential – and the dangers – of citizen journalism. In part one, he talks to bloggers and critics from Sri Lanka, Iran, Burma, and Iraq.

Accusations of tribalism, corruption and complacency have all been offered as explanations to the question of Africa's poverty. Mark Doyle looks at each of these and asks why the status quo persists.

Violent footage from the Kashmir conflict has been shared almost in real-time by citizen-journalists on video sharing websites. Suvojit Bagchi tells the story of the impact of new media communication in a conflict zone.

Six months ago there was a short military revolt in Bangladesh that threatened to push the country into nationwide armed conflict. But some things remain mysterious. Why was it so brutal? Who was really behind it? What did they hope to achieve? In this week’s addition of Assignment, Mark Dummett has tracked down key participants and eyewitnesses in search of some answers.

Nick Rankin explores how we assess the value of gold.

Mark Doyle crosses the continent of Africa and finds a place rich in natural resources and human potential, which begs the question, why is Africa poor? Outsiders have been coming to Africa for centuries for its raw materials and potential. It was an exploitative relationship that has contributed to Africa's poverty, but can foreigners now turn the fortunes of a modern Africa?

Ko Ko Aung from the BBC's Burmese Service, travelled to Burma to find out why a rebel army of 100 men is taking on the 400,000 strong Burmese army.

Fran Abrams is given rare access to the US base in Djibouti questioning military chiefs, local leaders and ordinary Djiboutians as she explores the role and impact of America's African outpost.

Nick Rankin descends into the deepest goldmine in the world – Tau Tona in South Africa for part two of this series. Five thousand miners extract gold up to four kilometres under the surface but for every tonne of ore they take out, there is only 8 grams of gold to be found. Nick talks to miners about their lives underground and learns about the real price of gold.

Mukul Devichand tells the story of the Europeans who are trying to persuade China's expanding middle class to ditch their noodles and soya in favour of pricey European fine foods.

American physicist Richard Feynman fell in love with the remote Russian region Tuva through his hobby of stamp collecting. He died just before his visitor's visa arrived but his daughter Michelle went to the land of throat singers in his honour.

The Afghan drugs mafia is rich, powerful and entrenched, with connections running into the heart of the Afghan state. But a new, multi-million dollar counter-narcotics justice system has started to get results and is putting senior traffickers in prison. So when people heard that the Afghan president, Hamid Karzai, had pardoned five traffickers, they were stunned. This week’s Assignment looks into allegations that the pardons were part of a political deal, ahead of presidential elections on the 20th August. Kate Clark reports.

Man's long-term obsession with gold and the lengths we have gone to to get it. From the ancient myth of King Midas, through Alexander The Great and the Spanish Conquistadors to the massive mines of South Africa, Nick Rankin unlocks the history and enduring fascination of the rare yellow metal that has been integral to economic exchange systems for millennia.

Navid Akhtar examines the influence of Islamic design and values in the life of Victorian designer, poet, and craftsman William Morris.

The World Health Organisation has warned that the worldwide spread of the so-called Swine Flu virus is now unstoppable. As cases continue to multiply, reporter Julian O'Halloran investigates the origins of the H1N1 virus and examines claims that it is linked to factory style pig farming.

Iran in the post 9/11 era, a time of friction and unrest over its nuclear ambitions.

A slice of life at a shabby but popular tenement in Hong Kong's teeming commercial district.

Colin Grant reflects on the BBC’s role in boosting Caribbean writing in the region 60 years on from the original broadcast of Caribbean Voices.

The inside story of Iran's war with Iraq, and how the US viewed the conflict - ultimately a battle for control and influcence in this most vital, but unstable, part of the world.

Nick Rankin travels to Fair Isle, one of the most remote inhabited islands in the British Isles, to see how newcomers find their place in a small and tight-knit community on a rocky island which is too windy for trees to grow on.

In this week's edition of Assignment, Jill McGivering travels through Pakistan, hearing the stories of some of the two million people who fled their homes as a result of the fighting between government forces and the Taliban in the country’s North West – and assesses the consequences of the humanitarian crisis for Pakistan and its people.

Award-winning journalist Sorious Samura drops into the middle of an undercover investigation of a Chinese brothel in Accra, Ghana, where 16 women have been trafficked to work as prostitutes.

For the first time, the BBC tells the story of Iran's relationship with the West over the last 30 years - as seen by the key insiders on both sides.

A soundscape of memory, loss, regret and hope from men who have been living with HIV for over 20 years in New Zealand.

In this series, Ayisha Yahya explores climate change issues in the African desert. In the final programme, she meets Egyptian scientists experimenting with techniques to make the desert bloom.

The story of four imprisoned Uyghur men transferred from Guantanamo Bay to the wealthy paradise of Bermuda.

South Africa's wealthy are retreating to high-security gated communities to protect themselves from violent crime. In Islands of Security we explore why the issue of keeping people out is a sensitive one in post-Apartheid times.

150,000 Cambodians are reported to be facing eviction from their land. Huge tracts of the country have been granted to private companies for large scale agriculture or other purposes. Some of those who have tried to resist say they have been attacked or threatened. Rob Walker reports for Assignment.

In this three part series, Ayisha Yahya explores climate change issues in the African desert. In programme two she visits the Desert Research Station in Namibia. Can they increase the water available in arid areas such as the Namib?

Teenagers on the island of Alert Bay, British Columbia, talk openly about the beauty and frustration on living in a remote place.

Thembi Ngubane’s Radio Diary about living with Aids in a South African Township.

It's widely regarded as one of the most secretive religious organisations in the world. It makes heavy demands on its members - and has been accused of cult-like practices. It's also an influential movement within Roman Catholicism. Opus Dei, made famous by Dan Brown's bestselling novel the Da Vinci Code, has many critics - but few have found out what life is like on the inside. The BBC's religious affairs correspondent, Christopher Landau, has been granted exclusive access to the movement's extensive headquarters in Rome. He meets both priests and lay people who devote their lives (and their money) to this movement which, though less than 100 years old, exerts powerful influence over both its members and the wider church.

In this three part series, Ayisha Yahya explores climate change issues in the African desert. In programme one she asks, what are the implications for traditional nomadic desert communities?

In this special edition of Assignment, John Simpson reveals how the protests, and the police reprisals that followed, are intricately linked to the rivalry inside the clique of clerics who created the Islamic state.

When the dried blood of Naples' patron saint fails to liquefy, Neapolitans believe great misfortune will descend upon them. With Mount Vesuvius overdue for a major eruption, Malcolm Billings investigates if tragedy awaits this historic city.

After 28 years in power, President Mubarak's promise of shepherding his country into a stable democracy has all but dissipated.

In a programme first broadcast in April, Ed Butler reports from New York on how the super rich have been dealing with the impact of the financial crisis.

In the final part of this series, Mike Gallagher meets a British farmer working vast landholdings in Hungary and Serbia. Does 'going global' in agriculture really offer a better future?

After 28 years in power, Mubarak's promise of leading Egypt into stable democracy has dissipated. Magdi Abdelhadi reports.

Listen to the story of Suzanne, a single woman in her forties who opted for a trans-racial adoption and became the mother of an African-American baby.

Hundreds of thousands of people have fled from Somalia since civil war broke out there in the early 1990s. Many of them go to refugee camps in Kenya, others to Tanzania - and many have spent more than 15 years living in those camps. But one group has been more fortunate than others - the Somali Bantu, whose ancestors were taken to Somalia as slaves from southern Africa in the 19th Century. In 2001 the Somali Bantu were recognised as an especially vulnerable group by the United States and two years later 12,000 of them were airlifted out of the camps and flown to new, permanent homes in the United States. In this week's Assignment Tim Mansel visits one group of them in the western city of Boise in Idaho.

In this series, Mike Gallagher meets two farmers working outside their own countries. In programme one, a young Ecuadorian visits Hawaii. What farming techniques can he take back to Ecuador?

Justin Webb goes beyond his role as a journalist to explore the issue from the perspective of a parent who is desperate to know what the future holds for his child.

The final programme in the My World series explores the story of Pornthip Rojanasunan, Thailand’s leading forensic scientist who has turned a straightforward autopsy into a battleground for the truth.

In this series, David Goldblatt charts the rise of Twenty20 cricket. In the final programme he asks, can the Twenty20 revolution help to make cricket become a truly global game?

A poetic story of survival set against the soundscape of the Mathare slums in Kenya. Meet Kades, a teenage poet who has escaped poverty.

Martin Wolf, of the Financial Times, predicted that the global downturn would be much worse than anyone had reason to believe.

Since the beginning of last year, pirates have succeeded in seizing more than 70 ships off the coast of Somalia. Hundreds of crew members have been held to ransom, and millions of dollars have been paid to the pirates to secure their release. For Assignment Rob Walker has gained exclusive access to the people involved in one of those hijacks – the captain, the ship owner and the mysterious middleman – the pirates negotiator.

David Goldblatt charts the recent arrival and rise on the sporting scene of Twenty20 cricket. David meets those who run the game, former and current players, and seasoned commentators. Has Twenty20 changed cricket for ever?

Tracing the profound physical and emotional toll on all those involved in the wake of a single collision on a road.

Every year, 15 million people will suffer from a stroke, five million of them will die and a further five million will be left permanently disabled. This documentary tells the story of Dr Jill Bolte Taylor, a brain scientist who suffered a massive stroke 13 years ago. Knowing how the brain operates, she was able to observe and understand the deterioration that followed.

James Miles, the BBC's China correspondent in 1989, was an eye-witness to the events leading up to the Tiananmen Square protests.

Abraham Lincoln's legacy and political influence is more powerful today than it ever was. Allan Little looks at how movements and leaders from very different political perspectives have looked up to Lincoln.

Follow the story of Gemma Tracee Apiku, a former refugee who spent her teenage years in the camps of Sudan, as she returns to Africa to become a relief worker herself.

Until the end of last year Bernard Madoff was a highly respected financial guru and long time advisor to America's rich and famous. Then on Thursday the twelfth December 2008 he was exposed as a major crook. His 'Ponzi' scheme is probably the largest ever pyramid fraud in US history. Amongst his victims there were not only individuals and banks but also charities. For Assignment, James Coomarasamy looks at the damage he has done to two charities in particular - The JEHT Foundation and the Picower Foundation.

James Miles, the BBC's China correspondent in 1989, was an eye-witness to the events leading up to the Tiananmen Square protests.

Mauritania is a country with a tradition of slavery, but in August 2007 owning slaves became a criminal act. David Gutnick visits Mauritania and finds out how entrenched the master/slave relationship still is.

Continuing his award-winning reports for the BBC World Service, Michael Robinson looks at the increasingly desperate efforts to stave off a global economic slump and depression. He visits Europe and Asia to identify the dangers that lie ahead and investigates how the present bail-out packages devised by leaders in rich countries will hit newly emerging nations.

Vivek Kumar runs India's number one detective agency and business - investigating marital infidelities - is booming.

In the last of this four part series, Sorious Samura is in a fishing village near Freetown in Sierra Leone.

Exploring the world of an extraordinary individual. This week, we travel to Colombia to experience a day in the life of Cartagena’s Martin Murrillo – mobile cart librarian and self-taught teacher.

Continuing his award-winning reports for the BBC World Service, Michael Robinson looks at the increasingly desperate efforts to stave off a global economic slump and depression. He visits Europe and Asia to identify the dangers that lie ahead and investigates how the present bail-out packages devised by leaders in rich countries will hit newly emerging nations.

Award-winning journalist Sorious Samura heads back to his native West Africa for a trip through his homeland of Sierra Leone and other neighbouring countries. In part three Sorious returns to Liberia to follow the journey of a 26-year old woman called ‘Black Diamond’ as she travels hundreds of miles across Liberia in search of the daughter she calls ‘Beloved’. The child was born after Diamond, then aged 15, was raped by government soldiers. During the rape her parents tried to defend her and were killed. Fuelled by anger, she joined the rebels to become one of Liberia’s most infamous child soldiers. She tells Sorious her version of the war.

Just one year ago Wall Street bankers enjoyed widespread regard, even veneration, in American public life, respected as people who understood the world of money and finance. Twelve months on the story is very different with many of those bankers having experienced a meterioric fall from grace. So what's happened to our respect for the financial whizz-kids? And how do they now see the world, now that the world has disowned them? For Assignment, Ed Butler travels to Wall Street to hear their stories.

Professor Jim Al-Khalili looks at the legacy of scientists from the Islamic world. In part three of The Secret Scientists, he talks about the work of Abu Rayhan Biruni, who calculated the Earth's circumference with an incredible degree of accuracy. Jim explores how the Christian Crusades, the invasion of the Mongols, the fall of the Abbasid dynasty and the discovery of the New World may have contributed to the decline of great scholarship in the 13th century. Finally he explores the status of science in the modern Muslim world and investigates recent developments in funding and research.

Jim Al-Khalili looks at the scientists from the Islamic world who created a legacy for scientists in the European renaissance.

Sorious Samura takes four journeys that explore the challenges and contradictions of life in modern West Africa. In Part One, we hear about Cletus Anaaya and his efforts to stop the widespread killing of so-called 'spirit children' in northern Ghana.

Jim Al-Khalili looks at the scientists from the Islamic world who created a legacy for scientists in the European renaissance.

The Eritrean government is turning its country into a giant prison, according to new report released by Human Rights Watch. For this week's Assignment Pascale Harter travels to Sicily, where thousands of Eritrean refugees arrive every year, to ask why they're fleeing their country.

In Guatemala four years ago, 80 million documents were discovered. They contained evidence of police atrocities during Guatemala's civil war. In programme 2 of this series, Gerry Northam continues his tour of the archives.

In Guatemala four years ago, 80 million documents were discovered. They contained evidence of police atrocities during Guatemala's civil war. In programme 2 of this series, Gerry Northam continues his tour of the archives.

In 2003 peace was declared between the Liberian government and rebel groups.

In 2003 peace was declared between the Liberian government and rebel groups.

Ten years after the war in Kosovo, Michael Montgomery returns to the region for Assignment. He investigates allegations of torture, kidnap and murder by the Kosovo Liberation Army both during and after the war.

Ten years after the war in Kosovo, Michael Montgomery returns to the region for Assignment. He investigates allegations of torture, kidnap and murder by the Kosovo Liberation Army both during and after the war.

In Guatemala four years ago, 80 million documents were discovered in a warehouse. They contain evidence of police atrocities during Guatemala's 36 year long civil war. Gerry Northam investigates the story of the archive’s chance discovery.

In Guatemala four years ago, 80 million documents were discovered in a warehouse. They contain evidence of police atrocities during Guatemala's 36 year long civil war. Gerry Northam investigates the story of the archive’s chance discovery.

Jared Thomas is an Aboriginal Australian. Born of mixed race parents. We follow his search for the nature of identity and see how it relates to a generation of young Aboriginal Australian men.

Jared Thomas is an Aboriginal Australian. Born of mixed race parents. We follow his search for the nature of identity and see how it relates to a generation of young Aboriginal Australian men.

For twenty five years, Turkey fought a dirty war with Kurdish separatist insurgents. Atrocities were committed on both sides but most of the 40 000 people killed were Kurds. Many thousands of deaths remain unexplained. But now a high profile trial of suspected members of an alleged ultra nationalist gang has led some Kurds to believe there may finally be a chance for justice. Sarah Rainsford reports for Assignment.

For twenty five years, Turkey fought a dirty war with Kurdish separatist insurgents. Atrocities were committed on both sides but most of the 40 000 people killed were Kurds. Many thousands of deaths remain unexplained. But now a high profile trial of suspected members of an alleged ultra nationalist gang has led some Kurds to believe there may finally be a chance for justice. Sarah Rainsford reports for Assignment.

Mark Urban asks if Barack Obama's presidency will see substantial reform at the Pentagon.

Mark Urban asks if Barack Obama's presidency will see substantial reform at the Pentagon.

Richard Dowden joins the greatest of all African novelists, Chinua Achebe, on his first trip back to his homeland of Nigeria for many years.

Richard Dowden joins the greatest of all African novelists, Chinua Achebe, on his first trip back to his homeland of Nigeria for many years.

What is it really like to be old? In this four part series, Jane Little meets Third Agers from four continents to find out. In the final programme Jane hears from people who have dared to think the unthinkable in managing old age.

What is it really like to be old? In this four part series, Jane Little meets Third Agers from four continents to find out. In the final programme Jane hears from people who have dared to think the unthinkable in managing old age.

During the cold war, more than thirty west German women were prosecuted after been tricked into handing over secrets to Romeo spies sent by the Stasi, the East German secret police. For Assignment, Angus Crawford asks if twenty years after the fall of the Berlin wall, they deserve to be forgiven.

During the cold war, more than thirty west German women were prosecuted after been tricked into handing over secrets to Romeo spies sent by the Stasi, the East German secret police. For Assignment, Angus Crawford asks if twenty years after the fall of the Berlin wall, they deserve to be forgiven.

In the run up to the Indonesian elections in April, Anita Barraud explores how terrorism, tourism and globalisation is affecting Bali's local politics.

In the run up to the Indonesian elections in April, Anita Barraud explores how terrorism, tourism and globalisation is affecting Bali's local politics.

What is it really like to be old? In this four part series, Jane Little meets Third Agers from four continents to find out. In programme three, Jane explores what happens when older people become frail or ill.

What is it really like to be old? In this four part series, Jane Little meets Third Agers from four continents to find out. In programme three, Jane explores what happens when older people become frail or ill.

Yiddish was the language of the Jewish Diaspora, the language of a people on the move across Europe. It has suffered a dramatic decline over the last century.

Yiddish was the language of the Jewish Diaspora, the language of a people on the move across Europe. It has suffered a dramatic decline over the last century.

In the run up to elections, Anita Barraud finds out why poverty and starvation are causing major problems for West Timor. Join her as she travels deep into the countryside and discovers malnutrition that rivals parts of sub-Saharan Africa.

In the run up to elections, Anita Barraud finds out why poverty and starvation are causing major problems for West Timor. Join her as she travels deep into the countryside and discovers malnutrition that rivals parts of sub-Saharan Africa.

What is it really like to be old? In this four part series, Jane Little meets people from four continents to find out. In part two, she hears from older people facing financial challenges in Kenya, Brazil, the UK and the US.

What is it really like to be old? In this four part series, Jane Little meets people from four continents to find out. In part two, she hears from older people facing financial challenges in Kenya, Brazil, the UK and the US.

Anita Barraud explores how peace and democracy is working in Aceh, a region that has endured dictatorship, decades of war and the 2004 Boxing Day tsunami.

Trafalgar Square is a must-see destination on any tourist map of the UK. But beyond the statues and clicking cameras are the lives and stories of those for whom this space exists as an everyday environment.

Trafalgar Square is a must-see destination on any tourist map of the UK. But beyond the statues and clicking cameras are the lives and stories of those for whom this space exists as an everyday environment.

What is it really like to be old? In this four part series, Jane Little meets Third Agers from four continents to find out. In programme one, Jane meets some extraordinary women who’ve given old age a whole new meaning.

It's a year since Kenya's political rivals signed a power-sharing agreement to end the violence which broke out after presidential elections there. In this week's Assignment Pascale Harter travels back to the scene of some of the worst violence to see if the power-sharing government really has reconciled Kenyans.

In the run up to the Indonesian elections in April, Anita Barraud travels to four different regions of the country to take a closer look at its politics and democracy.

Lucy Ash looks at a successful prison reform scheme in Kansas that is turning crack dealers into respectable businessmen. She also visits Italy where a maximum security jail has become Tuscany's most exclusive eatery. Join Lucy on the final stop on her global journey looking at innovative ways to cut crime.

As Beatlemania swept throughout the world in 1964, it seemed unable to penetrate the Iron Curtain. However, an underground culture grew which used ingenious ways to discover the Beatles' music. Paul Gambaccini reveals the extraordinary ways the Beatles' music was listened to in the Soviet Union during the 1960s. Did the music and spirit of The Beatles help to end communism?

Lucy Ash looks at why allowing prisoners to raise puppies has proved to be a successful way of bringing out their caring, and more emotive side. Join her on her global journey as she looks at innovative ways of cutting crime.

Worldwide, the illegal trade in wildlife is worth up to $25 billion US a year. Australia is one of the countries counting the cost as its rare birds and reptiles are targeted by international criminal gangs. Sharon Mascall tracks this trade across Australia and speaks to investigators, customs officers and dealers, attracting the attention of smugglers along the way.

Nadene Ghouri goes undercover to expose the trade in children by some charities registered in the United States and operating as businesses in Liberia.

As prison numbers in Britain continue to soar, what can be done to stop criminals re-offending? In part one, Lucy Ash finds out if creativity can help to cut crime.

This three-part series looks at the impact the bicycle has had on people's lives. In programme three, two newspaper deliverers in New Delhi, India take us on their daily cycle route.

At the end of last year, violent clashes broke out in Jos in central Nigeria after a disputed local election. Christian and Muslim mobs took to the streets burning mosques, churches and homes. Hundreds were killed: in some of the worst incidents, children were burnt inside their schools. This is just the latest round in a cycle of sectarian violence that has killed at least ten thousand Nigerians over the past decade. Robert Walker travels to Jos, a town still under curfew, to find out what caused the clashes and to investigate why many residents believe more violence is likely.

Justin Webb explores the domestic and international legacies of President George W Bush as he leaves office. In part two, he looks at how President Bush's failures paved the way for Barack Obama.

This three-part series looks at the impact the bicycle has had on people's lives. Programme two visits Kampala, Uganda where the bicycle is being used as a wheelchair for disabled users.

Is the UN's Human Rights Council fulfilling its role to protect the most vulnerable from human rights abuses or a cabal fixated on protecting itself?

This series features three portraits of the use of the bicycle around the world. The first programme looks at a new bicycle system in Paris, France called the Velib.

Justin Webb explores the domestic and international legacies of President George W Bush as he leaves office. In part one, he looks at how 9/11 changed American foreign policy and how the world viewed the US.

Kwame Anthony Appiah is one of America’s leading public intellectuals. In this investigative feature he is on a mission to find out what Barack Obama is like as an intellectual.

A US president has a constitutional and inalienable right to grant pardons. He usually does this just before he leaves office. It is a mysterious and controversial business - notorious past pardons include Jimmy Hoffa, Caspar Weinberger, Ford's pardon of Nixon, Patty Hearst and fugitive billionaire Marc Rich. Listen to Owen Bennett-Jones as travels to Washington to find out what the process involves and who might be getting one from President George W. Bush.

On 1st January 2009, Cuba marks the 50th anniversary of its revolution. All over the world, this Caribbean nation has cultivated a name-recognition and influence much greater than its size.

Peter White tells the story of Louis Braille, the founder of Braille, and the story behind his invention, in the light of new technology for the blind, which threatens to make it redundant.