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From Our Own Correspondent: Life, Death and Taxes

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Life, Death and Taxes

19/03/2016 GMT

BBC World Service - From Our Own Correspondent, Life, Death and Taxes

Surprising stories from the Spanish end of Basque country, Syria, the USA and Ethiopia

Surprising tales from the Basque country in Spain (or at least for now), the dancefloors of Damascus, the American tax system and Ethiopia's stunning Simien mountains

Pascale Harter introduces dispatches from Spain, Syria, the USA and Ethiopia - revealing hidden truths and surprising sights.

In the Basque country of northern Spain, Guy Hedgecoe hears why some call recently-released ETA prisoner Arnaldo Otegi a terrorist, others a local hero - and some even mention him as the last best hope for a comprehensive deal between Basque independence movements and the central Spanish government in Madrid.

Lina Sinjab revisits her home city of Damascus, and finds it full of paradox - from the dancefloors where they play songs praising Hezbollah to the sites still thronged with visitors, amid a half-ruined country.

Taylor Brown recently qualified as a volunteer tax preparer - that is, someone who'll help you fight the red tape and report your financial affairs to the Internal Revenue Service in the USA. But what does the American tax system tell us about the nation's priorities?

And Mary Harper is amazed by the unique wildlife and landscapes of Ethiopia's soaring Simien Mountains, yet also concerned for the future of the people who live there.

Photo: Arnaldo Otegi, veteran Basque leader and former member of the armed separatist group ETA, at a public welcome by supporters in the northern Spanish Basque city of Elgoibar after his release from prison. Despite his own criminal record, Otegi has been credited with helping end violence in the Basque country and vowed to keep pushing for peace after he was released from jail. (ANDER GILLENEA/AFP/Getty Images)

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