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From Our Own Correspondent: Libya and Lebanon

Libya and Lebanon

BBC World Service - From Our Own Correspondent, Libya and Lebanon

John Murphy introduces despatches from Alastair Leithead and Georgia Paterson Dargham.

John Murphy presents despatches from correspondents abroad. While Alastair Leithead 'commutes' to the frontlines around Sirte, Georgia Paterson Dargham enjoys Lebanese luxury - even on a labour ward.

John Murphy introduces personal stories, insights and reportage from correspondents around the world. In this edition: while Alastair Leithead trudges though his 'commute to war' while trying to report from the frontlines around Sirte, Georgia Paterson Dargham enjoys a rather more luxurious time - on a Lebanese labour ward, of all places.

A real war - but how do the pictures look?

In Libya, Colonel Gaddafi's forces have been holding out in pockets across the country, including in his hometown of Sirte. The televised images of the fighting tend to show us a ramshackle bunch of men in pick-up trucks, firing off guns and missiles in what seems an almost haphazard fashion. But in fact both the former rebels, and the journalists trying to follow them, have some well-established routines and tactics laid out.

Alastair Leithead has been tracking the ex-rebels' advance, and trying to convey the reality of this war to our screens.

Why status is all in Beirut

When the civil war ended in Lebanon in 1990, attention turned to reconstruction. Gleaming new high-rise blocks rose up in the city centre, decked with plenty of expensive marble. Shops and restaurants moved back in. Displaying your wealth became an important move in Lebanese society. 

Georgia Paterson Dargham has been living in Beirut and recently gave birth there. She says that even in the hospitals, it's all but required to show that you're a cut above the rest.

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