From Our Own Correspondent Folgen

Kevin Connolly suggests that two deaths in the Middle East, eight hundred years and several hundred miles apart, offer lessons on the wisdom of foreign intervention in Syria. Alan Johnston's been to a building in Rome they call the Palace of Shame where hundreds of migrants live with time on their hands to consider the difficulties of finding a dream life in Europe. Some of the millions who left Zimbabwe as the country fell into violence and poverty have started to make their way back. But Jenny Cuffe's been discovering that not all are being welcomed home with open arms. Nick Thorpe -- knocked off his bike in Budapest -- has had an unexpected opportunity to take a close look at the Hungarian health service. And the economic crisis may have hit Ireland hard. But Kieran Cooke, in Blacksod Bay, County Mayo, has been learning that people are still determined to have some fun.

Thomas Fessy flew into The Gambia to ask questions about recent executions. But he was thrown out of the country. It's left him asking: what have the authorities got to hide? Iraqi police and army officers have been accused of taking part in a murderous campaign of persecution against the country's gay community. Natalia Antelava meets one senior official who reckons there are only about ten homosexuals in the whole country and, he tells her "they need to change." John Laurenson's in a vast shanty town on the edge of Madrid hearing stories from people who've lost everything in the economic crisis. The man who looked after the sacred crocodiles in the Ivory Coast is not doing the job any longer. John James tells us about his very last day at work. And Kathy Flower, who lives in a village in the French Pyrenees, finds that the mayor plays a significant part in French community life.

Greece remains a land where millions go each year to enjoy their holidays. But Mark Lowen's discovered that it's now also a place where increasing numbers of people are finding it hard to cope with the austerity demanded of them. The Russian republic of Chechnya is enjoying the most peaceful time it's seen in years but Oliver Bulloughsays its people seem far from content. Linda Pressly's been to Israel to talk to some of the Haredi, the inclreasingly influential ultra-orthodox, who seem set to play a critical role in the country's future. Emma Jane Kirby is in St Tropez as the new French leader prepares to address his people on TV. She wonders if there might be lessons he can learn from the glitzy Cote d'Azure. Justin Rowlatt, in China, knows Tiananmen, Taiwan and Tibet are subjects the authorities might prefer him to avoid. But now he's learned there's a fourth T - toilets. The Chinese, he's been finding out, do not like people poking fun at their loos.