Bahrain and France

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Alan Johnston presents insight, wit and analysis from BBC correspondents around the world. In this edition Frank Gardner reports from Bahrain and Kathy Flower from the French Pyrenees. Bahrain - Old tensions, new fears Bahrain is in crisis - its security forces are determined to crush the protest movement led by members of the Shiite community. Hundreds of suspected activists have been jailed, and there have been deaths in custody. Our correspondent, Frank Gardner, has been watching events there and recently travelled back to find out what's really been happening. He's also been remembering sleepier, gentler days, when the island was his home in the mid 1990s. Spring in the spas of the Pyrenees For centuries, people have believed in the healing powers of the right kind of water. Across Europe you'll find spa towns built around well-favoured springs. But many of these places aren't prospering as they once did. Nevertheless, Kathy Flower says that each spring still brings fresh migrations of seasonal birds and keen patients to the spas of the French Pyrenees.