Royal wedding sickbag. What a fantastic idea from Lydia Leith. Read about it here. Get a couple from here. Will definitely need them. One to use on the day. The second to keep as a souvenir.

Gadaffi seems bonkers.

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But how does a nutter retain power for over forty years? A Libyan expert explains here. Frank Gardner of the BBC has written this. A good article from the BBC exploring the influence of tribal loyalties in Libya here.

The Economist's report, here, is far more graphic than the BBC's. And from here a link to Saif Gadaffi's doctoral dissertation titled 'The Role of Civil Society in the Democratisation of Global Governance Institutions'.

The Economist's 'Shoe Thrower Index' here. 'Mapping the Arab World', an interactive chart, here.