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Episode details

Radio 4,03 Jan 2026,28 mins

Rebuilding a life amid Syria's ruins

From Our Own Correspondent

Available for over a year

Kate Adie introduces stories from Syria, China, the USA, Greece and Brazil. In the devastated Syrian district of Ghouta, a man calls out from the ruins to our correspondent Lyse Doucet and tells the story of how he is rebuilding his home - and his life - after the fall of the Assad regime. Chinese ambition continues to strive for pole position in the global pecking order as it makes advances in green energy, artificial intelligence, and military might – but what could be its Achilles heel? Laura Bicker looks at the challenges facing Beijing in the year ahead. It’s nearly a year since Donald Trump was inaugurated as the 47th President of the United States – a victory built around unquestioning loyalty among his MAGA base. But some Republican voters are now beginning to question the effectiveness of some of his policies. Tom Bateman reports from New Orleans. An outbreak of sheep pox in Greece, which began in the Summer of 2024, has seen a surge in cases over recent months with mass culling affecting farmers across the country - more than 400,000 sheep and goats have been killed so far. Hester Underhill travelled to the agricultural heartland of Thessaly. In Brazil a group of industrial agriculture companies are trying to overturn a landmark moratorium on trading soybeans grown on newly deforested Amazon land - a policy said to have saved thousands of hectares from the chainsaws. Justin Rowlatt gets a bird's eye view on the issue. Series Producer: Serena Tarling Editor: Richard Fenton-Smith Production coordinators: Sophie Hill & Katie Morrison

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