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From Our Own Correspondent: The life and death of a Syrian rebel, a trip through Bangladesh, and more

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16/02/2013

The life and death of a Syrian rebel, a trip through Bangladesh, and more

BBC World Service - From Our Own Correspondent, The life and death of a Syrian rebel, a trip through Bangladesh, and more

Stories on a rebel in Syria, a trip through Bangladesh’s richest region, and more.

Dispatches from foreign correspondents including a story about the life and death of a rebel in Syria, a trip through Bangladesh’s richest region, and more.

‘If any more Syrians who help me report the conflict there get killed, no one’s going to want to talk to me at all.’ James Harkin has been covering the conflict from the start, and he tells the story of a 24 year-old activist called Amjad Siofy who died in a blizzard of shells – a gripping account of the life of one young Syrian who was motivated to go to war against his government.

Wyre Davies visits Al Kitab – probably the best-known bookshop in Tunis. It occupies a prominent space in Bourgouiba Avenue, the main thoroughfare that runs through the modern heart of the Tunisian capital. And while bans on certain types of books have been lifted since the revolution two years ago, a repressive feeling is returning to the air.

The district of Sylhet is the richest in Bangladesh, mostly because of the remittances sent back by the more than 10 million people who have emigrated from the region. But during a meandering trip through Sylhet, Rani Singh found that the land they left behind is rich in other ways as well.

Plus, we look at two changing institutions: the British pub and the French bistro.  Jake Wallis Simons finds that while pubs in the UK are closing at an unprecedented rate, craft brewing is breathing new life into the beer industry – and many pioneer brewers are women. 
 
There are 35,000 bistros in France today – down from 200,000 a half century ago. John Laurenson still managed to find one in a small village on a dark night. Inside, he found some odd characters and old-fashioned drinks.

Presenter: Pascale Harter
Producer: Mike Wendling

Image: A traditional English pub. Credit: Getty Images

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