The outing will include a steel drum concert and excursions to see banana plantations and leatherback turtles near Pigeon Point.

So, where are we?

The answer is the island nation of Trinidad and Tobago. It lies southeast of Grenada….and is just out of the path of most South Atlantic hurricanes. It has some of the Caribbean’s best diving spots and, unofficially, the best steel drum music.

We want you to name the state where Mumbai is. This is considered India’s richest state. Some of its wealth comes from Bollywood — the film industry based in Mumbai. It churns out hundreds of films every year — featuring actors, dancers and singers mostly from India. Foreign artist appear on screen sometimes.

But that could be a thing of the past — if a campaign to ban foreign artists from Bollywood is successful. We’ll hear more about that in a minute. Your mission — meanwhile — is to name the state that’s home to Bollywood.

It features pop singer Kylie Minoque singing a raunchy dance tune called Chiggy Wiggy:

“CHIGGY WIGGY”

Harshita Kohli is an entertainment reporter in Mumbai. Listen:
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Red Wednesday is an ancient Persian festival that’s celebrated now in a number of countries. It’s a prelude to the arrival of spring, and the Persian new year. Tradition calls for leaping over fires and lighting firecrackers.

Now — the country we’re focusing on is pretty much always in the news. So we have to be careful not to give this one away. But here’s a newsy clue.

Police in this country were out on the streets during the festival — trying to discourage any anti-government rallies.

And by the way — the color adopted by the opposition there is green — not red.

Listen:
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Some of the best kite surfers in the world recently converged on an island in the Philippines. We’re looking for the name of this island that’s home to Bulabog Beach…where the wind and the waves make for perfect kite surfing conditions.

The island’s a water sports paradise attracting surfers and scuba divers. Now kite surfing, a sport that seems to combine surfing, sailing, snowboarding, and a laid back philosophy — all in one — is catching on fast:

“Kite surfing’s special because you can just go out there and do your own thing. There’s nothing holding you down back you just go up and down fly around in the air do your own thing and when the day is done you come in and back to normal life.

We’ll pay a visit to Bulabog Beach 200 miles south of Manila and answer our quiz…”

Reporter Sunshine de Leon recently had a chance to see some of the world’s best kite-surfers in action.
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Photos of the kite surfers on Boracay.

• BBC coverage
• 2010 FIFA World Cup
• England’s Soccer Dilemma
• Talking Travel Podcast: South Africa and The World Cup

The city straddles the Aura River — right where it empties into the Baltic Sea. Residents have an easy way to distinguish the city’s two halves:

It’s either “this side of the river” or “the other side of the river.” This was Finland’s first capital.

It lost that crown long ago to Helsinki. But it still has some bragging rights. This city was chosen to be a European Culture Capital next year. And its home to one of the world’s best orthopaedic surgeons. He’s well-known among top level athletes.

In fact, a certain soccer superstar went there today for some much needed surgery to his Achilles tendon. So which city on the south-western corner of Finland are we talking about?

Geo Answer:
The answer to our Geo Quiz is Turku, Finland. David Beckham may not be the best soccer player in the world — now or ever. But he’s certainly one of the most talked about athletes on the planet.

And today, David Beckham is making big news because of an injury. Beckham tore his Achilles tendon during a match in Italy yesterday. That means Beckham is almost certainly out of this summer’s World Cup tournament. Which of course, sets off all kinds of debate among soccer fans.

The World’s William Troop is following the Beckham saga. Listen:
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The first is a type of pasta shaped like ears. The second is what Italians call turnip tops or greens. You may find both ingredients at your local grocery store. But if you want them freshly picked — and deliciously prepared — try south-eastern Italy.

We’re looking for a region that borders both the Adriatic and Ionian Seas. You might picture it better as the heel of Italy’s boot.

This region is known for its trulli — stone houses with cone-shaped roofs. And its also known for the freshness of its cuisine. We’ll hear about that from a local chef…

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http://www.trulliresidence.it

And they’re to the west of mainland Greece — in the Ionian Sea. We want to know the collective name of these islands. Now we’re not suggesting that any major Greek island is for sale. But one smaller island in the Ionian Sea is.

The asking price is around 10 million dollars. Seems a bit steep. But the ad says you get more than a property — you get your “own little world.”

We have an appointment with an island broker…when we reveal the answer here…

Paxos and Corfu are NOT for sale. But there may be some other sweet deals in the Ionian Sea. Chris Krolow is CEO of Private Islands Online, based in Toronto. Listen:

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Islands for sale around the world

The three largest islands in the world are Greenland, New Guinea, and Borneo. So you can rule those out.

This island-nation is about 250 miles off of Africa’s south-eastern coast. Its isolation means that the country is rich in unique wildlife and plants. But the country’s economy is poor.

Most people there live in poverty. Here are a couple of more clues. The capital is Antananarivo.

And…this country is the world’s biggest exporter of vanilla. Think about it.

We’ll find out if you’re right…when we answer today’s Geo Quiz.

The answer is Madagascar … and that just happens to be the native country of singer Razia Said.

She left the island when she was 11 years old to join her mother in Gabon. She now lives in New York City. But Said returns to Madagascar from time to time to visit her grandmother. On her most recent trip, she witnessed a level of environmental destruction she had never seen before. Razia Said decided to devote her next album to raising awareness about the issue.

Listen:
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This country in the southern hemisphere has always been a hot, dry place. But lately it’s been even worse than usual. Much of it is in the grip of a 10-year drought… that’s left farms and cities alike seriously thirsty.

The last few months, though, have started to bring some relief. Heavy rains have drenched towns where children have grown up never seeing as much as a puddle. And that’s got farmers hoping… that what they’ve come to call “the big dry” may finally be over.

We’ll have the answer to the Geo Quiz and hear about the rejuvenating power of rain…

It’s raining. A lot. So, Australia is the answer to our quiz. Big downpours have drenched parts of the country recently. In some places, that’s caused damaging floods.

But farmers in the state of New South Wales say the rains there are the best they’ve had in more than a decade. And as Phil Mercer reports, many hope it’s a sign that Australia’s long drought is becoming less severe. Listen:
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The square actually marks the point where the old road from the city of Potsdam entered Berlin. This weekend a hotel in this square hosted an international poker tournament. Some of the world’s best poker players were vying for millions in prizes … when suddenly … gunmen stormed in.

Chips scattered, and there was a mad dash for the door.

“I was in the press room and we barricaded the doors as best we could, we just put a chair against outside of it it because at this point we didn’t know whether it was one gunman what they were after and just waited to see what happened really there was not much else we could do.”

We’ll let you know how it all turned out and … where it happened … in just a minute.

We have an eyewitness to tell the tale… and to give us the answer to our Geo Quiz. Grand Hyatt in Potsdamer Platz, Berlin.

It’s not just any lake…it’s about 400 miles across and its the deepest lake in the world. It’s the planet’s largest reservoir of fresh water.

A frozen lake in Siberia

Alright — that’s the view from the frozen lake — and its name is? Think quick!

Listen to the interview after 5PM EST today.

Ray Zahab and Kevin Vallely

For example: The London Symphony Orchestra performs Sibelius and Haydn symphonies here in coming weeks. The new 3D version of Alice in Wonderland arrives next week for screening. And there are edgy dance and experimental theatre performances going on.

We’ll hear more about a wild and some say wacky exhibit in today’s global hit. For now try and name this art refuge that’s just a short walk from London’s Liverpool Street rail station.

Céleste Boursier-Mougenot’s sound installation at the Barbican

There’s usually something for everyone there: visual art, music, theatre and dance. What caught our ear today is the latest exhibit by French musician and artist Céleste Boursier-Mougenot.

Imagine a small flock of zebra finches flying around, flashing their bright red beaks, and chattering away. Now add a little bird seed, some electric guitars and amplifers. As the finches flutter around and perch on the guitar strings — they create music.

“I tried to organize the contrast between the little finches and the big heavy metal sound”

Boursier-Mougenot didn’t just use guitars. He also placed cymbals in the exhibit, turned upside down and filled with bird seed. A YouTube video of the bird’s haphazard music is making the rounds.

It’s already inspired a copycat to coat his own electric guitar with bird seed and hang it like a backyard feeder. The video even shows one finch wielding a twig like a guitar pick

But is it music? Or art?
Well — Barbican curator Lydia Yee says call it anything you like. Just don’t forget to have a little fun with it.

“It is I think a bit of a parody of the rock guitarist rather than having a very macho guy wielding a les paul we have delicate little finches landing on them and producing as big a sound as any of them could make.”

The artist, Celeste Boursier-Mougenot has a reputation for pushing the limits of art. He has — for instance — explored the space between noise and music by hooking up vacuum cleaners to harmonicas. And he says people’s appreciation of art and music changes over time.

“When I was 20, people said this is not music this is noise, and now they say this is music definitely so we’ll see. I think the worse way to go is to restrict what is music or not… history will show what is music.

Celeste Boursier-Mougenot’s musical finches exhibit continues at The Curve at London’s Barbican Center until May. He’s already planning his next creation.

It involves 300 goldfish and an underwater videocam — But that’s another story.

• Listen to a story about a coconut palace
• Listen to a story about coconut fuel

But things have since reversed. This country’s unemployment rate has now climbed above 20%, the highest in the European Union. Steep tax increases and spending cuts are on the table.

It’s not a pretty picture. And now a TV news program is reporting that some banks and state-owned companies in this country may be cashing in on the country’s recession.

The station got the information … courtesy of an anonymous hacker:

“Yea, the police is after him. It’s hard to tell so far they haven’t caught him, he revealed himself February 11 so there hasn’t been any information that the police has tracked him down.”

It’s where an alleged hacker is accused of leaking data about the bonuses of bank executives …. and other secret financial dealings.

The answer is Latvia.

… and the Mexican city, just across the Rio Grande from El Paso, Texas is Juarez. It’s one of the world’s most violent cities. And yet, 18 high school seniors from Europe, Asia, and South America are studying there this year. They’re part of the Rotary International Exchange program. Juarez isn’t exactly New York, or Paris, or London. But the students whom reporter Monica Ortiz Uribe met couldn’t be happier.

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• Geo Quiz archive