Despres spent ten minutes trying to extricate himself from a patch of mud and cut a frustrated figure at the end of the stage.

CNN: Gordon cuts Peterhansel's lead

Beneath the hovering helicopter, an ugly mud-orange clearing has been cut for it from the lush green forest.

ECONOMIST: Tropical forests�� best hope

The army hopes to install a pontoon bridge to reach the part of the village cut off since the old bridge was swept away by the mud on Monday.

BBC: 'One year' to clean toxic spill in Hungary

When the rains come in April and the Bedunge turns to marsh and then glutinous mud, sending up clouds of malarial mosquitoes, this region is all but cut off from the outside world.

ECONOMIST: Independence has left South Sudan with much to do