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Syria, Iraq and Mexico

Jeremy Bowen in Iraq and Syria ponders the dilemmas facing the US about potential allies to fight IS, and Will Grant discovers how easy it is to get a driving licence in Mexico.

The Syrian war is in its fourth year, and the so-called Islamic State is spreading its brutal campaign for a caliphate, most recently seizing two dozen Syrian-Kurdish villages, and staging an incursion into Lebanon. Over the border in Iraq, IS has beheaded Western hostages, as well as seized territory and towns. President Obama wants to respond, concentrating on air power. So who is going to fight IS on the ground? In Iraq the Kurds are, and Shia militias. But as Jeremy Bowen reports, in Syria the question is much more complicated.

Mexico City is a sprawling metropolis, rivaled in Latin America only by Sao Paulo. Around four million vehicles circulate on its streets every day. How good is their driving? When Will Grant tried to get a Mexican driving licence himself and was surprised to learn that you do not need to pass a test to get your licence

(Photo: Lebanese woman mourning a dead relative, a soldier killed in a roadside attack. Credit: Hussein Malla/AP)

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10 minutes

Last on

Tue 23 Sep 2014 14:50GMT

Broadcast

  • Tue 23 Sep 2014 14:50GMT