From Our Own Correspondent - 10/07/2010

Our correspondents have many tricky moments. But not all of them come on front lines, or at dangerous checkpoints. Some come at the dinner table. The face veil worn by some Muslim women is meant to deflect unwelcome attention. But it's doing rather the opposite in France at the moment. The wearing of the veil there is attracting huge political attention. Parliament is debating whether to ban it. Those opposing the veil see it....among other things....as an affront to France's commitment to equality. But as Christian Fraser explains, it's a sensitive issue that raises questions about the place of Islam in French society. History has a way of repeating itself in Afghanistan's wars. Back in the seventies, the Russians handed the fight over to the Afghan army, and withdrew. And now the Americans hope to do something similar. So how quickly might the Afghan forces be big enough and strong enough for the job....? Well, much depends on the kind of training programme that Frank Gardner has been watching at a base in the south of the country. The West looks economically exhausted -- badly overspent, and deep in debt. Europe is braced for a coming "age of austerity". But in China....on the other hand....all the talk is of coming prosperity. Its economy may grow by as much as eleven percent next year. And Michael Robinson says China's car-makers are poised to mount a new challenge the industry's established giants around the world.... That was Michael Robinson....and you can hear more from him in a new, weekly series called "China; Shaking the World", starting on the World Service on Monday. For years now, Gaza has been blockaded. Its confrontation with Israel has made it extremely difficult for goods and people to come and go. Gazans often talk of their tiny, strip of territory as being a kind of prison. But some have actually managed to dig their way out. Tunnels have been a kind of economic lifeline. And as Jon Donnison explains, it's been possible to make serious money with a shovel in the sands of Gaza.... Our correspondents have many tricky moments. But not all of them come on front lines, or at dangerous checkpoints. Some come at the dinner table. There are times in more remote places when it would be rude not to eat what you're given. But that's not always easy. I remember once....in the Kyrghyz mountains.... very much struggling to finish a sheep's ear.... And Rajesh Mirchandani has just had a rather similar experience in Alaska....