European Journal

Every January, the village of Vevchani greets the new year with a colourful carnival procession. It's a tradition that goes back 1,400 years, and has led to Vevchani's inclusion in the Federation of European Carnival Cities. The name of the country it is in is registered as the "Republic of Macedonia", much to the annoyance of the Greeks, who claim the same name for their northern province. Greece insists that its neighbour should call itself the "Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia". Now, Athens has threatened to veto Macedonia's membership of NATO and the EU over the issue.

The men who killed 21-year-old Paul Quinn did it with extraordinary brutality, beating him beyond recognition. The murder occurred in October last year in south Armagh in northern Ireland, where former members of the IRA are still calling the tune. Quinn was said to have had several run-ins with the IRA. But there are also indications that he was involved in illegal business activities. There is little political pressure to solve the murder - in Belfast, unionists share power with Sinn Fein, the political wing of the IRA. Together with the civil pressure group "Real Justice", Paul Quinn's family is fighting to see those responsible for the killing brought to justice.

Muzaffer Celikendaze doesn't understand the row over muezzins who sing too loudly. He's been reciting the call to prayer since he was ten years old. He's been climbing the narrow staircase up to the minaret of Istanbul's Blue Mosque for 35 years. And his voice has won him prizes - he's been singled out as Turkey's most popular muezzin more than once.

The film "Schindler's List" honours the bravery of Oskar Schindler, who saved thousands of Jews from the gas chambers. The movie has ensured his name will go down in history. But who's ever heard of Irena Sendler? Now 97, as a young nurse she smuggled more than 2,000 children out of the Warsaw Ghetto. Despite being tortured, she refused to reveal the children's identities. Now she lives in a modest Catholic care home in Warsaw - a heroine who doesn't want to be celebrated as such.

Switzerland has been home to a group of exiled Tibetans since 1959, when more than 100,000 refugees fled Tibet after the Chinese invasion. Most of those followed the Dalai Lama to India, but the majority of Tibetans seeking refuge in Europe settled in Switzerland. Now the Alpine country is home to around 2,000 exiled Tibetans, most of them in the Winterthur region. They are well-integrated, without neglecting their cultural roots. The children learn how to read and write Tibetan, and Buddhist traditions are maintained in a local monastery.