麻豆社

Pascale Harter introduces dispatches on Syria, Myanmar, the Russian Orthodox Church and a global Morse code contest held in Tunisia.

The number of Syrians estimated to have been imprisoned, tortured and killed during the Assad dictatorship is staggering - well into the tens of thousands. Following the fall of the regime, families have flocked to the sites of prisons, hospitals and alleged mass graves to look for any trace of their missing relatives. Yogita Limaye heard grief, anger and continued anguish in the voices of those she met at a hospital morgue in Damascus.

They're nicknamed 'watermelons': the green of a military uniform on the outside, but rebel red within. Myanmar's pro-democracy rebel groups have a network of moles like these inside the country's armed forces, passing information on troop movements to their enemies. Rebecca Henschke talked to the wife of one such double agent - and to a former major in Myanmar's army who now works against the regime he used to serve.

Russia's Orthodox Church has its internal dissidents, too - a number of priests who've balked at the increasingly bellicose rhetoric they're expected to preach in support of Moscow's war on Ukraine. Some have been suspended or expelled from the Church - and others have left Russia altogether. Lucy Ash met one who now serves a different Patriarchate in the Netherlands.

Morse code is not just a binary language of dots and dashes. For those who love and practise it, it's a world unto itself - and the language which binds an international friendship group together. Monica Whitlock describes the scene at the world high-speed telegraphy competition recently held in Tunis - where everyone brings their own Morse key, the code flies thick and fast, and contestants build relationships beyond global borders.

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

Image: Syrians attempt to identify their relatives' bodies after fall of Assad regime. Credit: Hasan Belal/Anadolu via Getty Images