麻豆社

Pascale Harter introduces correspondents' and writers' stories from Mexico, Lebanon and Tanzania.

2024 was a Presidential election year in both the United States and Mexico - but the outcomes were very different. Now the relations between these near neighbours could get shakier - as President Trump threatens tariffs and mass deportations, while Claudia Sheinbaum still has to battle Mexico's narco cartels and a booming trade in fentanyl. Will Grant takes a look at the threats and opportunities ahead for both nations.

Exactly fifty years ago, Jim Muir drove into Beirut to take up a post at the Daily Star, then Lebanon's main English-language newspaper. He had thought that the "Switzerland of the Middle East" would make for a good base for observing and reporting on the rest of the region. But as he recalls, it wasn't long until events began to move faster - and more dangerously - around him. After witnessing decades of war, truce and then war again, he's still in love with Lebanon.

It's the season for New Year resolutions - and self-improvement is often the focus. But perhaps the journey to reaching your goals is just as important as hitting the milestones. Reha Kansara reveals how climbing Kilimanjaro, in Tanzania, revealed that conquering her own perfectionism ended up being more important than getting to the summit.

Producer: Polly Hope
Editor: Richard Fenton-Smith
Production coordinator: Katie Morrison

Image: Claudia Sheinbaum, Mexico's president, during a news conference at the National Palace in Mexico City, Mexico. Photographer: Stephania Corpi/Bloomberg via Getty Images