Watching the World Cup

When football takes over from Lebanon's other national obsession: politics. Kate Adie introduces correspondents' stories from around the world: Celebratory gunfire, fireworks, and moped motorcades are common sights in Lebanon usually used as shows of political power but not during the World Cup when Brazil flags replace those of Hezbollah and pictures of political leaders are replaced by Lionel Messi's image. For four week political and religious differences are put aside says Richard Hall. Nanna Muus Steffensen crosses the Turkish border into Syria to try and find out how the people of Afrin are faring since Kurdish fighters were forced out by Turkish troops and Syrian rebels. John Pilkington visits a country run by one of the world's most secretive and repressive regimes and is surprised by what he finds in Eritrea. James Jeffrey tries to locate the final haunts of his literary hero J G Farrell in the west of Ireland. And Laura Dawson hears how you can make money by spinning sob stories in rural Rajasthan. She meets an Indian man who has gone from making money from scamming tourists to using art to help others avoid lives of poverty or petty crime.