July 16, 2011

Could the Libyan rebels be poised to march on the capital Tripoli? Gabriel Gatehouse, who's been spending time with them near the coastal city of Misrata, doubts they have the capability for military victory; Andrew Hosken's just returned from Somalia where the rains have failed again, drought has taken hold and many people are in danger of starving to death; a battle between modernity and an older way of doing things is underway in the Indian state of Orissa and Justin Rowlatt's been finding out that in this case, the modern world might be about to lose out; Chris Simpson's in the Gambia where the president has made it clear that he has a low opinion of journalists -- the media people, on the other hand, complain of harrassment and worse. And from the Seychelles out in the Indian Ocean, a tale from Tim Ecott about the extraordinary coco de mer; a coconut tree with erotic connotations.