Jenny Cuffe investigates how British-based Somalis are being lured into fighting for the al-Qaeda-linked Islamists of al-Shabaab.

There have been consistent rumours that dozens, perhaps scores of British-based Somali men have travelled to Somalia to join the militant Islamist group which was banned by the British Government earlier this year.

In September the rumours were given new urgency when the Director of MI5, Jonathan Evans, warned it was only a matter of time before the UK suffered an act of terrorism committed by al-Shabaab-trained Britons.

File on 4 explores the techniques used by Al-Shabaab to persuade young members of the 250,000-strong British Somali community to sign up for Jihad in Somalia. Members of the close-knit and reticent British Somali community tell Jenny Cuffe of their fears that youngsters are being seduced through the internet and by shadowy recruiting sergeants for the Horn of Africa's most feared military force.

And the programme travels to the state of Minnesota to see how a vigorous FBI investigation and cooperation from the Somali community have laid-bare a pipeline which first lured, then transported young American Somalis to the training camps and battlefields of Somalia.

Producer: Andy Denwood.

On the streets of Lagos, it is not the police who wield power but gangs of fight-hardened young men known as Area Boys. Louis spends time with several outfits, joining them as they patrol their turf, clash with local rivals and keep the peace in a brutal and haphazard fashion. The main income for the Area Boys is an arbitrary and unofficial form of taxation, extracted from local businesses and commercial drivers. Louis gets to know the rich and glamorous Area Boy leader MC, a former street youth himself, who has now become a friend of the most powerful men in the city. Taken under MC's wing, Louis experiences the top levels of the Area Boys' world from the inside, complete with a tour of MC's grand residence and extensive shoe collection, and ending in a chaotic mini-riot with gunshots, blood and mayhem.

On the side of the law, Louis rides with KAI, the government's Kick Against Indiscipline paramilitary task force, as they storm different city districts. With bulldozers and arrest warrants, KAI use their own strong-arm tactics, and are in their way as feared as the Area Boys.

In Law and Disorder in Lagos, Louis wrestles with life in a world in which the forces of law and the forces of disorder are not always readily distinguishable and nothing is quite what it seems.

Zaiba Malik explores the work, and the social revolution, of the Mourchidat - female Muslim leaders in Morocco.

Roger Hardy sees how the Amsterdam Moroccan Muslim community is faring, particularly women, with dilemmas over faith & identity.

Simon Reeve continues his epic journey around the world following the Tropic of Cancer, the northern border of the tropics region.

Simon rejoins the Tropic of Cancer in Egypt and follows it through Saudi Arabia, Dubai and Oman. In southern Egypt, next to the ancient temple of Abu Simbal, Simon meets Nubians struggling to maintain their culture following the damming of the Nile and dives in the pristine reefs of the Red Sea.

In Saudi Arabia, he goes racing with the Jeddah Boyz, in Dubai he meets construction workers suffering in the economic downturn, and he watches as rare baby green giant turtles start their own epic journeys as they head into the Arabian Sea from the beaches of Oman.

Simon Reeve continues his epic journey around the world following the Tropic of Cancer, the northern border of the tropics region.

The second leg of the journey sees Simon dodge the Moroccan secret police in Western Sahara, travel on one of the world's longest trains in Mauritania, visit a forgotten refugee camp in the Algerian desert where more than 100,000 people live, and take a swim in a Libyan oasis with a government minder who bears an uncanny resemblance to Colonel Gaddafi.

After travelling around the Tropic of Capricorn and the Equator, this series completes Simon's trilogy of journeys exploring the amazing tropics region with his toughest, longest, most ambitious challenge yet.

With record gold prices stimulating demand, Jenny Cuffe reports from the Democratic Republic of Congo on the scale of illegal mining and asks if the industry does enough to ensure that gold supplies aren't being used to fund conflict.

Matthew Parris presents the biographical series in which his guests choose someone who has inspired their lives.

Kate Humble discusses her heroine, the South African singer and anti-apartheid activist, Miriam Makeba.

Peter Greste journeys down the Omo River from Ethiopia's central highlands to Northern Kenya where the lives of nearly half a million of the world's most remote tribespeople are threatened by a massive hydro-electricity project. The tribes, already fighting over increasingly scarce water and land, have warned that the dam could plunge them into an all-out struggle for survival.

Louis Theroux travels to Johannesburg, where the residents find themselves increasingly besieged by crime. Despairing of the capability of the police and the courts to protect them, many have turned to an industry of private security, offering protection for a price. Are the sometimes brutal methods of these private police really a solution or just another part of the problem?

The first stop for Louis is a meeting with William Mayangoni, the local co-ordinator for a security firm known as Mapogo. Based on the outskirts of Diepsloot, one of the squatter camps that ring Johannesburg, William investigates thefts for his mainly white clients. When he catches a suspect, he gives them 'medicine': the alleged offender is beaten with a leather whip known as a sjambok.

Although his clients seem to support what they see as 'an African solution to an African problem', William's methods alienate the people of Diepsloot. Finally, their patience snaps dramatically, and William has to call out the real police in order to protect himself from the vicious threat of the mob.

In the centre of Johannesburg, a security company called Bad Boyz work in an area called Hillbrow, notorious for its high crime rate. Louis meets company director Hendrik De Klerk who explains that much of their activity involves reclaiming and securing buildings that have been taken over, or hijacked, by criminal gangs who illegally take rent from tenants. Louis watches dramatic evictions unfold, in which the police and security companies are not afraid to use force to kick out the protesting residents.

Nadene Ghouri goes undercover to expose the trade in children by some charities registered in the United States and operating as businesses in Liberia.

With the country still reeling from the devastation of a vicious civil war and with unemployment and hunger rampant, she reveals how desperate parents in Liberia are giving their children up to unscrupulous operators who arrange fast-track adoptions with American families. The parents do not realise that they are unlikely ever to see their children again.

Louis travels to Limpopo Province to stay in a hunting lodge. Hunting in South Africa has become easier than ever before - in fact, it is a blossoming tourist industry. The cost of a trophy animal ranges from as little as $250 for a baboon to as much as $70,000 for a rhino. The animals are bred to purpose on private game farms. In fact, lion breeder Piet insists that hunting, by putting an economic value to the animal, has allowed populations of exotic species to flourish.

Monty Don visits the world's 80 most inspiring gardens. At Cape Town's famous Kirstenbosch Botanic Gardens he sees the king protea, South Africa's national plant. In the Drakensberg Mountains he sees some native flora in its natural environment. His favourite garden is a school vegetable patch in Thembisa, one of Johannesburg's townships. Monty is intrigued by how gardening styles have changed here since the Dutch first settled in the 19th century.

Monty Don continues his extraordinary journey in the Mediterranean - the cradle of European civilization.

In Italy, Monty visits some of the elaborate high Renaissance gardens of stone and water which have hugely influenced western garden design. He also visits the remains of Emperor Hadrian's palatial retreat.

Monty then looks at the artistic achievements of the Moorish culture. He travels to Marrakesh, where he visits The Aguedal - one of the oldest continuously maintained gardens in the world; and in Spain he visits The Alhambra, thought by many to be the most perfect garden in the world.

Travel documentary. Simon Reeve travels the Tropic of Capricorn, the line of latitude that cuts across South Africa, South America and Australia. Simon is distraught when he witnesses the Zimbabwean refugee crisis. He watches giant rats clear land mines in Mozambique and eats soup made from the penis of the Xebu. He visits a shanty town where thousands of impoverished Madagascans are digging for sapphires.

Following the success of Equator, Simon Reeve embarks on a journey along the tropic of Capricorn, the line of latitude which cuts through Southern Africa, Australia and South America. During his epic journey around the world, he uncovers extraordinary stories from the southern hemisphere.

The first leg sees Simon crossing the beautiful landscapes of Namibia and Botswana. He has a close encounter with hungry cheetahs and visits the world's largest diamond mine. He crosses the Kalahari Desert in search of the famous Bushmen, who claim they have been evicted from their ancient homelands.