Yemen and Peru

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Owen Bennett Jones introduces personal reflections, wit and analysis from BBC correspondents around the world. Today: Stephen Sackur considers the near-anarchy he encountered in and around the Yemeni coastal city of Aden; Mattia Cabitza takes a bus ride through the traffic-choked streets of Lima, in Peru. A barren land on the brink of chaos For the last decade, the main frontline in the US conflict with jihadism has been "Af-Pak" – Afghanistan and Pakistan - where the US has taken on the Taliban and al Qaeda, on the grounds that weak central government has allowed spaces to develop in which jihadi activity can take root and flourish. But there are other places that have similar characteristics and yet have seen little US military interest, let alone activity. Yemen is one: it's been a perennial "back-burner" concern during the so-called 'war on terror' - but that status could change fast. Stephen Sackur has just been there. Roads to ruin It took twenty-five years to build, but finally Peru’s capital, Lima, has a metro system. It consists of just one line so far – an elevated light rail with 16 stations - but there are plans for expansion, and already thousands of commuters are saving time. The expansion was certainly needed: at the moment, travelling around Lima means navigating a baffling (and sometimes dangerous) network of unofficial, privately-operated buses. Their vehicles, touts, chauffeurs, driving technique - and even the en-route entertainers - give a true taste of the city, as Mattia Cabitza reports.