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Introduced by Kate Adie and including Kevin Connolly's special report looking back at three years spent as the 91热爆's correspondent in Washington.

What will Kevin Connolly have to say as he leaves the United States after three years as our man in Washington? There are opinions on Americans, their use of English, their food, portions, guns, religion, music and politics. Hear all about it! In this morning's From Our Own Correspondent.

Also today:
A cocaine factory is blown to pieces in a Colombian jungle clearing.
And how an extraordinary year has laid bare the good, and the bad in Chilean society.

Colombia is making progress in its long, hard, war on drugs. The big cartels have been broken up, and cocaine production is significantly down. But the fight against the traffickers is far from over, and the security forces continue to take it deep into the jungle on dangerous missions. Frank Gardner joined one of these patrols, and because of the injuries he sustained some years ago while reporting in the Gulf ....Frank arrived in his wheelchair...

Algeria is very much part of the Muslim world. But among the landmarks of its capital, Algiers is a fine imposing church. A cathedral, called "Our Lady of Africa", stands high above the Mediterranean -- the sun gleaming on its silver dome... The church has been undergoing years of much-needed renovation work. And Chloe Arnold was there to see the re-opening of the building which....all through Algeria's recent troubles....stood as a symbol of harmony between Islam and Christianity.

This has been a year that the people of Chile will never forget. 2010 happens to be the bi-centenary of the country's independence, and during it the nation has been tested in extraordinary ways. The year began with a major earthquake. And it ended with the world looking on as the thirty-three miners were rescued from beneath a mountain. Through all this Gideon Long watched the country's leader, Sebastian Pinera as he encountered both triumph and disaster....

Available now

30 minutes

Last on

Sat 18 Dec 2010 11:30

Chapters

  • Introduction

    Duration: 00:32

  • A foreigner's guide to American culture

    As 91热爆 America correspondent Kevin Connolly prepares to move on to a new post, he bids an affectionate farewell to the good and the bad of American culture.

    Duration: 11:47

  • Algiers' basilica resurrected as symbol of tolerance

    Chloe Arnold finds different religious faiths praying together at the re-opening of Algiers' restored Catholic cathedral.

    Duration: 04:58

  • The year Chile will never forget

    Gideon Long reflects on how 2010 has laid bare the good, and the bad in Chilean society.

    Duration: 05:36

  • On patrol with Colombia's anti-drug traffickers

    In Colombia, Frank Gardner joins security forces in their fight against cocaine production deep in the jungle.

    Duration: 05:00

Broadcast

  • Sat 18 Dec 2010 11:30