The Mermaid of Madagascar

Storytelling, writing and looking beyond the news spotlight. Today: warm orangeade, a tot of rum and some chain-smoking - all part of daily life for the fishermen and women of Madagascar who've harnessed new conservation techniques to long-standing traditions. Also, a despatch from south-eastern Turkey, where renewed hostilities between government forces and Kurdish PKK militants have left efforts to establish a long-term peace in shreds; there's an examination of the reasons why Russia has chosen to step up its military activity in the Middle East; the Spanish bullfighting season's coming to an end and many now wonder if the same will soon be said of bullfighting itself. And why tonight's big rugby match at Twickenham might set off some wild, if lonely, rejoicing in a small hotel room in Japan.