Libya and Yemen

Available for over a year

Owen Bennett Jones presents personal reflections and experiences from reporters and writers around the world. In this edition, Shaimaa Khalil reveals an unexpected side of longtime Libyan militia leader Salem al Derby, founding father of the Abu Salim Brigades, whom she recently met for an interview at his family ranch in the mountains. In between answering questions about Libyan jihadis' past resistance to the Gaddafi regime, their current role in Syria and what links they may have with al-Qaeda, he revealed a true passion ... for gardening. And Daniel Owen explains what camera traps have exposed of Yemen's fauna - a rarely-seen, but surprisingly diverse collection of wild animals - from rock hyraxes to the magnificent Arabian leopard.