蜜芽传媒

Insight, wit and analysis from 蜜芽传媒 correspondents, journalists and writers from around the world - introduced by Pascale Harter. In this edition:

"Looking for men with long beards"

In Mali, what began as a Tuareg secessionist rebellion backed by Islamic militants has become a three-way conflict. The Tuareg now find themselves in conflict with their former allies, Ansar Dine and al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb, over territory they'd seized together. Meanwhile, the Malian government in Bamako, in the south, is trying to push them all back.

But are Mali's government troops a match for Islamic militants battle-hardened in Libya, or for the Tuaregs themselves, who know the sands of the Sahara desert better than anyone? Mike Thomson went on patrol with a group from Mali's special forces to find out.

The not-so-mighty sort of dollar

If you mention illegal Peruvian exports, most people would automatically think of cocaine, or people-trafficking. But there's growing concern about a new illegal business in the country: the production of counterfeit banknotes.

US watchdogs have named Lima as the source of an increasing number of false bills, not just masqerading as US dollars but as euros and Peruvian soles as well. In Peru itself people are using an ever-widening repertoire of tricks to detect the fakes. Delving into the business, Mattia Cabitza discovered a new use for nail varnish - and got into a room with more money than he'd ever seen in one place before.