麻豆社

Pascale Harter introduces dispatches from Lebanon, Israel, Albania and Senegal.

The interlinked political and economic crises besetting the Lebanese people have sharpened over the past months, with the country currently without a sitting President and banks still refusing to return depositors the full value of their savings. Recently there's been a spate of armed hold-ups in banks - not asssaults by hardened robbers, but dramatic gestures by ordinary citizens who just want their own money back. Leila Molana Allen's been to meet some of them.

The Israeli elections this week have returned Benjamin Netanyahu to power - and appear to have strengthened the position of one particular element of the ultra-nationalist right wing. Tom Bateman reports on the signs that Itamar Ben Gvir, co-leader of the Zionist Nationalism party, and his Jewish Power faction will be wielding increased clout in the next Israeli government.

As the UK puts migration in the spotlight and more attention falls onto people arriving illegally in the UK by sea, Sara Monetta looks into the factors driving so many young workers to leave Albania. Leaving the suburbs of Tirana for a better job elsewhere is nothing new - but some parts of the country are becoming increasingly empty.

And can endless jokes about bread help unite a nation? Tim Whewell's been on the trail of one type of teasing in Senegal, which is part of a long heritage of using humour to smooth the way between different social groups. But what's it got to do with baguettes?

Producer: Polly Hope
Editor: Richard Fenton-Smith
Production Co-Ordinator: Iona Hammond
Photograph: Leila Molana-Allen