This week: Are the troubles returning to Northern Ireland?--Germany mourns school shooting victims--Five years after the Madrid bombings--Swiss prostitute is reburied amongst the great--What it takes to be an Olympic champion--French employers woo workers to rural jobs--Are human rights top of the pops in the Czech republic? And why tourists are trekking to remote villages in Greece. Tune in to Inside Europe on the radio or sign up for the Inside Europe podcast! You can also download the programme from the website.Germany mourns victims of school shootingGermany is in mourning after a teenage gunman went on a killing spree in the southern town of Winnenden shooting dead 15 people before turning the gun on himself.Investigators say 17 year old Tim Kretschmer was a keen player of so-called shoot-em-up style computer games. Wednesday’s massacre comes despite draconian gun laws in Germany. It was the fourth school shooting in this country since 2002. Report: Tanya Wood Are the troubles returning to Northern Ireland?Thousands of people attended peace rallies in Northern Ireland this week following the murders of two soldiers and a policeman.The three men were killed in terrorist attacks. Dissident republican groups claimed responsibility for the killings. They want the British province to separate from the UK and become part of a United Ireland. And they bitterly oppose the peace process that has brought mainstream republicans into the government of the province. Some commentaters have warned that Northern Ireland is now staring into an abyss. But as Stephen Beard reports the peace process may have been strengthened.Organization works to improve Catholic and Protestant relationsOne organization monitoring developments in Northern Ireland is the Peace and Reconciliation Group.It works at a community level to improve relations between Catholics and Protestants. Helen Seeney asked its Director Michael Docherty for his response to the killings. Interview : Helen Seeney/Michael DochertySpain Mourns Five years after the Madrid bombingsWednesday marked the 5th anniversary of the bombings of commuter trains in Madrid.It was the worst terrorist attack on the European continent: 191 people were killed and more than 1,800 were injured. And the bombings changed the politics of Spain. Reporter: Jerome Socolovsky Swiss prostitute is reburied amongst the greatNow, does it matter where you are buried, and who lies next to you?That’s a question many Geneva citizens are asking, following an unusual and controversial funeral, which has caused a debate over who deserves a place in the city’s most prestigious cemetery. Reporter: Imogen Foulkes Just what does it takes to be an Olympic champion?Is it possible to turn a couch potato into an Olympic athlete in just 4 years? An English fitness instructor, Rob Parsons, says yes it is.And to prove it, he’s carrying out a unique experiment. He’s training a 29 year old maths teacher called Natasha Hunt to become an Olympic pentathlete in time for the 2012 Games in London. Natasha began the programme 6 months ago – until then her idea of exercise had been taking the dog for a walk. These days, she spends 18 hours a week running, fencing, swimming or circuit training with a team of advisors. But is it paying off? Fitness instructor Rob Parsons told Helen Seeney more about the experiment. Interview: Helen Seeney/Rob Parsons Why tourists are trekking to remote villages in GreeceHigh up in the rugged mountains of Epirus, in North West Greece, lies a group of 42 stone villages. They’re known collectively as the Zagori which means “Beyond the Mountains”.Once largely depopulated, this area is enjoying a comeback as a popular destination for serious hikers and nature-lovers, foreigners and Greeks - as well as the 'chic elite'. As a result, traditional guest houses have sprung up across the Zagori, thanks in part to European Union funding, and to the traditional know-how of craftsmen and stone-masons from Albania, which is just over the border. Nina-Maria Potts took some time out to savour the attractions of the Zagori region. Reporter: Nina-Maria Potts Are human rights top of the pops in the Czech republic?The Czech Republic has a new minister for human rights and minorities, and he's an unusual choice – he’s a 54-year-old rock musician called Michael Kocab.Mr Kocab is known to a generation of Czechs as the frontman for the 80s rock group Prazsky Vyber and he later served as a close advisor to the country's first post-communist president Vaclav Havel. He's no stranger to politics, but he’s already being severely tested by a number of potentially explosive problems. Report: Rob Cameron

[ Sat, 14 Mar 2009 07:05:00 GMT ]

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