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Outlook: Six Years as an al-Qaeda Hostage

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Stephen McGown

30/08/2017 GMT

Six Years as an al-Qaeda Hostage

BBC World Service - Outlook, Six Years as an al-Qaeda Hostage

Stephen McGown's dream trip turned into a nightmare when he was kidnapped by al-Qaeda

Stephen McGown was travelling by motorbike from the UK to his home in South Africa when he was captured by al-Qaeda in Mali

In 2011, Stephen McGown was an enthusiastic motorbike rider who had just set out on what he thought would be the trip of a lifetime. He was newly married and planned to travel from the UK to his home in South Africa. But when he got to Mali, he fell into the hands of al-Qaeda. His ordeal lasted almost six years and he has only recently been released. 

Prem Raja Mahat is a Nepalese folk singing legend who's been referred to as both 'the Elvis of the Himalayas' and 'the Bob Dylan of Kathmandu'. He had the best-selling album in Nepal for 10 years in a row and now runs a restaurant in Baltimore in the United States. 

Engy El Shazly is an Egyptian ballerina determined to challenge stereotypes in the world of ballet. She started dancing when she was 27, an age when professional ballerinas normally start thinking about retirement. And she became quite a sensation because she dances while wearing a hijab.

American David Milarch is on a mission to save the world's oldest trees by cloning and replanting them. The inspiration to devote his life to saving the trees came from a very unusual source - a vision he had when he was seriously ill in 1992.

(Picture: Gulshan Khan/AFP/Getty Images.)

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