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Insight, wit and analysis from BBC correspondents, journalists and writers.

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From Our Own Correspondent: Libya and South Korea

Libya and South Korea

BBC World Service - From Our Own Correspondent, Libya and South Korea

Insight, wit and analysis from BBC correspondents around the world

Alan Johnston with stories from correspondents around the world. Today: Andrew Hosken finds that unfinished buildings litter Benghazi; Lucy Williamson struggles to understand recycling in S Korea.

Alan Johnston introduces the stories behind the headlines, from BBC correspondents around the world. In this edition: while Andrew Hosken finds the Libyan city of Benghazi still littered with projects meant to burnish the Gaddafis' image, Lucy Williamson engages in an epic battle of the bins - as she tries to learn how to recycle the South Korean way.


DIY demolition crews attack Gaddafi's pet projects

The people of Libya are lucky enough to sit on a sea of oil. Their country has the largest known reserves in Africa and there are also extensive gas fields beneath the desert sands. But under Colonel Gaddafi's rule, many Libyans have seen little of the wealth generated by their natural resources. Some estimates suggest that a third of them live in poverty. 

Andrew Hosken, in Benghazi, took a tour of the city's landmarks, and wondered if their unfinished state indicated something deeper about the nature of Gaddafi's regime.


Mr Bu and the bins: a domestic saga in Seoul

It might have taken a while to catch on, but mankind does seem to be very gradually getting the message. We're beginning to understand that we need to treat Planet Earth better. Many countries now try to get people to think harder about what they consume, what they throw away, and how they dispose of it. But South Korea stands out for the speed - and the fervour - of its conversion to a "greener" attitude. 

As Lucy Williamson has been learning, keeping up with her neighbours in Seoul is not straightfoward when it comes to domestic recycling.

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