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News from inside Syria: meeting a group of cafe regulars in Damascus, Lina Sinjab hears what they do to preserve some sense of normality amid the conflict - and what it's like to watch a civil war play out from your balcony. Many of the Syrian capital's former social and cultural spots are now closed or deserted; tens of thousands have died or left the city. But there are still moments of peace, and even of pleasure, to be had, as one artist explains.

In Toulouse, where the rituals of French daily life are being squeezed by financial distress rather than war, Chris Bockman finds there's a cunning way to get around the rising costs of housing and heating: the municipal shower. As more and more clients from the "new working poor" show up for a soap and a wash, these establishments seem ever more vital to social cohesion as well as general hygiene.

Presenter: Pascale Harter.
Producer: Polly Hope.

Photo: Smoke ascending after a Syrian military helicopter allegedly dropped barrel bombs southwest of Damascus, 7 January, 2014. FADI DIRANI/AFP/Getty Images