We're live on Thursday with you and G Money talking about the caste system in India where riots have killed 18 people. It's a complex hierarchy, but is it actually holding back the country?
In Naples there's been no rubbish collection for weeks, trash is piling up on the streets. Are you there?
We'll have messages as we do each day for Alan Johnston, our missing correspondent. And finally lifers in prisons in Italy have asked the president to bring back the death penalty to end their sentence sooner - should they have a say?
You do, so email us at worldhaveyoursay@bbc.co.uk , post your comment on the blog, call us on +44 20 70 83 72 72 or text on +44 77 86 20 60 80
Vicki here logged in as Fiona.....I'm going to be blogging the morning meeting today. We'll have Glenna a listener in Uganda joining us by phone. We met Glenna at Issa's house in Kampala last week when we broadcast WHYS from there.
Looking through the news this morning, my attention was caught by the story of the dead panda in China - he was the first giant panda to be bred in captivity and released into the wild. I have to admit I'm even asking myself why pandas always make the news? They seem to get far more coverage than any other animal.
The other story that grabbed me was about the prisoners serving life sentences in Italy who've written to the president asking him to bring back the death penalty because they're fed up of 'dying a little every day'. Is there a case for prisoners getting a say in their punishment?
Given that we're just back from our Africa roadshow, I was also interested in the main militant group in the Niger Delta claiming it's ready to stop its campaign of violence if the new Nigerian president, Umaru Yar'Adua, is serious about negotiating a political solution. I'm sure our listeners in Nigeria will have something to say about this.
Anna has sent you her thoughts for today, we'll be discussing all of these and more shortly.....I'll keep you posted on our progress.....
Ros Atkins has been called some names in his time (he will almost certainly need to change his name to Rose by deed poll after his African adventure) but the host of today's World Have Your Say isn't Atkins with another new name. G-Money can usually be heard on Ö÷²¥´óÐã's 1Xtra, but takes the hotseat for Thursday's and Friday's programmes. I'll leave him to introduce himself properly here later on, but here's a few of the topics that could well be discussed on the programme.....
Allison Stokke is a pretty girl. She's also a serious pole vaulter in California. She's only 18, but has won several championships. A month ago, Allison posted a 3-minute interview about her pole-vaulting technique on You Tube. Within days, she became an internet sex symbol. She now avoids leaving the house alone. Her father checks the internet every night for potential stalkers and she's hired a media adviser to fend off the public. Her You Tube interview has been viewed 160,000 times and photographers frequently gate crash her athletics meetings. How much personal information do you share on the internet? Maybe we're not all destined to become internet celebrities, but how do you decide how much to post and share? And with whom?
Richard Bowen| 11:07 UK time, Wednesday, 30 May 2007
Struggling to find a decent line in any of the stories I've read this morning I phoned x70635 (my office extension) hoping to find salvation. Instead I found my newest colleague and friend (my word not hers) Vicki. Well, I thought, she'll do (just kidding Vick!!) I then asked her what we should be talking about today and she said, "the recent , and we should be asking, why would anyone want to go and work in Iraq?"
So there you are, i've asked it. What do you make of this story?...
As Peter Dobbie wrote earlier, today we are discussing the reality TV programme which allows the audience decide which one of three people in need of a kidney receive the organ. And, do the Teletubbies "promote a homosexual lifestyle"? Tinky Winky and his handbag do according to Ewa Sowinska in Poland.
As ever, we will hear your messages for Alan Johnston.
Right, question time. What's Telly Tubby language for "hello everyone, Peter Dobbie here. It's me, with World have Your Say". More on that later -- oh, and if you just answered that question with something like "eee-ohr" you've watched far too much television :-)
First, how far would you go to save a loved one, or indeed save your own life?..
Not on World Have Your Say, but on a new TV show in the Netherlands.
Three competitors will take time out of dialysis to try to from a dying woman for a reality TV show. Big Brother makers Endemol will show the programme on Friday despite politicians calling it "wretched".
Is it a good way to highlight the donor organ shortage? Or just morbid entertainment? Will you watch it?
As Anu wrote earlier, Hugo Chavez has closed down RCTV, the most popular TV station in Venezuela. We'll be asking what this means for press freedom there.
And, Asma Abdol Hamid wants to be Denmark's first muslim MP. In the country that started the Prophet Mohammed cartoon controversy, Asma's headscarf has been compared to a Nazi symbol. She won't shake hands with men, but says she has gay friends and supports abortion rights. You can put your questions to her.
Hi, it's Anu writing to you from a cold, wet London! We seem to be having our summer in reverse-- March and April were hot... May is wet, cold and windy! I spent the weekend picking homegrown radishes out of my vegetable patch (they grow from seeds in just a few weeks!) and trawling charity shops in wealthy parts of London (a long way from my neighborhood) to find a nice pair of jeans that didn't cost $300! (I found several incidentally, along with two pairs of shoes and a handbag! Rabiya will be very proud of me!!)
IS IT THE END OF PRESS FREEDOM IN VENEZUELA?
Imagine waking up to find the nation's oldest and most popular TV station off the air. RCTV in Venezuela faded to black a few hours ago. And just outside the telecom authority, police hit protestors with water cannons. Meanwhile, supporters of President Hugo Chavez have been celebrating. He has criticized RCTV for being openly against him, and refused to renew its license. And, he says its telenovelas (soap operas) were 'dangerous' for young boys and girls.
His own channel, TVes, has replaced RCTV. RCTV's president says Chavez's decision is driven by a 'megalomaniacal desire to establish a totalitarian dictatorship.' Should journalists stay out of politics? If you're in Venezuela, did you watch RCTV? How do you feel now that it's been shut down?
WHYS settles into normal mode again after the heady past two weeks in Africa. Today we have a Danish female Muslim politician on the show: Asmaa Abdul Hamid. Click here to find out more about her.
What other stories are getting you talking? Right now the most read story on the Ö÷²¥´óÐã's website is FIFA banning high-altitude because of 'competition distortion'. Is this a talking point . . . ?
I am parked in a small booth at Nairobi airport and much to our disappointment our time in Africa in running very short. Now I've had plenty of opportunities here and on air to talk to you about what I've seen and heard here, but the rest of the team have been too busy keeping the show on the road to take too much time for reflection.
So I've persuaded them to have a break from the curio shops and write a few words before we get on the plane. You don't hear them on the show too often, but it's only through the hard work of Richard, David, Vicki, Michael and our technicians Shona and James that WHYS' African shows were possible. So thanks to them, all the team back in London and the hundreds of you who came to see us. My head's still swirling with it all to be honest.
Cheers, Ros
I'm in the London studio ready to read your texts and emails on your reaction to the last programme of our Africa trip. The team are in Nairobi at the Africa Radio Awards and on the agenda is press freedom in Africa and what African unity really means.
Welcome to the Daily Truth (renamed from the Daily Email in honour of an impressively confident advertising campaign for a Ugandan newspaper which promised readers they’d could ‘read the truth’ by opening its pages.)
So here I am sitting next to a life-size wooden elephant and an Italian coffee shop with Lionel Richie playing in the background. I’m not quite sure how it came to this! We’re at the very pretty Safari Park Hotel just outside Nairobi but the only big beasts to be seen are some of us guests. (The reason we’re here is that it’s the Ö÷²¥´óÐã African Radio Awards tomorrow, and we’ll have a fantastic range of people attending on the show.)
HAVE AFRICANS CHANGED YOUR VIEW OF AFRICA OVER THE LAST TWO WEEKS?
Email us: worldhaveyoursay@bbc.co.uk – and please put your phone number if you’d like to come on air.
I'm sure Ros and the team in Kenya will be blogging their thoughts ahead of the final programme from World Have Your Say's trip to Africa soon. In the meantime, I've been having a look at the stories making the headlines around the world.
There's only one thing on my mind today - and that's my trip to the brand new Wembley stadium tomorrow to watch my home town football team, Shrewsbury Town, fight for promotion. The first game at Wembley, last weekend's FA Cup final between the two top teams in the Premiership, was a sleep inducing disappointment. Let's see if the teams three leagues down can do a better job!
Ros sent his thoughts from Nairobi earlier (quite a lot of information about storks if you're interested) and now we're hearing from our friends and listeners in Nairobi.
You can read emails and text messages here, and of course post your own comments as well.
We’ve arrived safe and sound in Nairobi ahead of today’s programme. Much to my delight, the road that runs from the airport and down past the national football stadium remains home to hundreds of . They are very strange looking and I fell for them last time I was here.
They must be a metre high, with big black wings, short spindly legs, a massive curved beak and a hunch that makes them look an old man pulling a heavy cloak around his shoulders. The road is often jammed with cars, minibuses and lorries all belching out exhaust, and with the concrete mountain of a stadium just to one side, grey clouds above, and all the dark shadowy storks watching down on you, it can feel quite apocalyptic. Then again if anyone is to take over from us, I’d be happy for it to be the Marabou storks.
Fiona Crack| 18:01 UK time, Wednesday, 23 May 2007
Here we are in London - it's Alex here, blogging the show live on air. We've got a packed hour ahead. We'll be talking about Pakistan, Congo, Lebanon, and Serbia, and we'll speak to fans around the world ahead of the Champion's League football final in Athens.
First we talk to Talal, a 21-year-old Palestinian. Her home in the Lebanese refugee camp Nahr al-Bared was completely destroyed in the recent violence, and she's now moved to another camp close by with her family...
Hi everyone. While Ros and the team move on to Kenya and more adventures, the programme comes to you today from humble Studio 38 in London. It doesn't beat Issa's fantastic hospitality in Uganda, but the water is nice and cold, the seats semi-comfortable and most importantly, the mics are open!
HOMELESS IN LEBANON
There have been alot of very disturbing stories coming from the Nahr al-Bared refugee camp in southern Lebanon. One of two residents have managed to contact the Ö÷²¥´óÐã and we're trying our hardest to get them on the programme today. It's a tall order, as their main concern is obviously to get to safety. But we hope to hear from at least one or two people who've left the camp to find out what life inside is like inside and what they've witnessed over the past few days. Would you like to speak to them? Get in touch via email or the blog and we'll do our best to get you on air.
Paul Coletti| 08:52 UK time, Wednesday, 23 May 2007
Good morning. This is the time of day we look round to see what talking point are out there. One of the sources we use is the mailbox behind worldhaveyoursay@bbc.co.uk. Amidst the requests from African kings and Thai princes for 'fund transfers' and offers for Viagra, we find nuggets from you our listeners. Martin in the Czech Republic wrote us a mail . . .
Today's show is coming live from Issa's house up a turning off a dusty road twenty minutes out of the centre of Kampala.
Issa's family and neighbours will be with us, and he's also invited some of the locals including the doctor who runs the nearby health centre, and some of the local shopkeepers. If you have a question for any of them on any aspect of daily life in Uganda, you can post it here.
Issa is a community activist and a regular listener to World Have Your Say and he's kindly offered to host Ros and the team.
There's no running water, and there's been no power all day, so the WHYS team have been busy buying lights, and getting in firewood. We're running off a generator and have put our satellite dishes on the roof of the van.
Inside the walled compound, there's a patch of dusty ground with a paw-paw tree in the corner, and three small single-storey houses with corrugated iron roofs. The women have been cooking goat stew and maize on charcoal burners outside and bringing it in to eat.
Just down the path, the main road is lined with stalls and shops struggling to keep going with the power shortages. The woman who sells milk out of big fridges was only selling bottled drinks today. Next to her another woman was selling a range of locally-made herbal medicines for coughs, vomiting and Aids.
Hi everyone. After the thrill of seeing and hearing an enormous university classroom overflowing with people last night, we’re scaling back today.
WELCOME TO ISSA’S
Issa is a listener to WHYS who lives on the outskirts of Kampala. I’d spoken to Michael and Richard (the two WHYSers behind our operation here in Uganda) about the possibility of broadcasting from someone’s house, and when asked Issa didn’t need much persuading. We grateful to him for hosting us....
Ros, Richard, David, Vicky and Michael are in Kampala for tonight's show. They will be broadcasting from the home of Issa, a WHYS listener who lives about 20 miles from the centre of Kampala.
There's plenty to discuss today. Some of our guests in Uganda are concerned about plans by Indian company Mehta to spread their production of sugar cane into northern Uganda - which would involve losing much of the Mabira Forest. An advisor to Uganda's President Musevani, says the , but the eleven thousand people who have don't agree.
We'll be asking if progress should ever come at the expense of the environment, and will be hearing from other parts of the world on the subject....
Not my line, but one stolen from one of the thousands of adverts for Ugandan cell-phone providers that appear everywhere here.
We landed just a few metres from Lake Victoria yesterday morning (by design, not mistake) and drove through the lush rolling hills that seperate from the Ugandan capital Kampala. After a week in Abuja, briefly in Lagos, and Accra, the fresh air was a treat.
Good evening and welcome. We're live in Ghana's capital city. That's if you don't know. As ever you can e-Mail us: worldhaveyoursay@bbc.co.uk or call us or text us. The numbers are on the right hand side . . . .
What's it like being a female Muslim politician in Denmark, a country where cartoons depicting the Prophet Mohammed caused outrage around the world?
Asmaa Abdol-Hamid will be appearing on World Have Your Say on Monday, the 28th of May. She is a 25-year-old hoping to become the first ever Muslim woman to enter the Danish parliament. She's facing harsh criticism from all sides -- with conservative Muslim leaders disapproving of her activism while right wing politicians from the Danish People's Party are outraged that she might wear the headscarf in parliament.
You can read more about Ms Abdol-Hamid and the controversy surrounding her here .
If you have a question you would like Ms Abdol-Hamid to answer, please post it to this site.
We’re going to be live from the Kofi Annan Center in the Ghanaian capital Accra today. Most of you who are going to be coming along are young adults (a title that has slipped away from me in recent years), and several of them are going to help me host the show.
We know that electricity or the lack of it, the African brain drain (as raised by Tumi in Sierra Leone), Ghana’s ‘lack of ambition’, and job opportunities are four issues they want to talk about. But there are no set plans, and you’re welcome to make any point or ask any question. If you’d like to contribute, email worldhaveyoursay@bbc.co.uk.
There's also no shortage of talking point in this morning's papers....
Mark Sandell| 17:56 UK time, Thursday, 17 May 2007
It's Alex here, blogging a very special World Have Your Say programme to mark Alan Johnston's 45th birthday. Anu Anand and Puja Kapoor are in the studio.
We will mark Alan's birthday with a series of messages from writers all over the world. We will- hopefully- through the voices of some Gaza residents, shed some light on the situation there. The story Alan would of course be bringing you, if he was allowed.
Paul Coletti| 14:30 UK time, Thursday, 17 May 2007
Our colleague Alan Johnston is 45 today and has now spent days in captivity. As many of you know, it's traditional to write greetings to folks celebrating an anniversary so who better to mark this occassion than a collection of the world's most famous writers. If the names Rankin, McCall Smith, Coehlo, Byatt and Stoppard mean anything to you then Dear Listener, both you, and Alan, are in for a treat on tonight's WHYS. If however, you cannot wait, you'll find our writers' birthday wishes as audio in this post.
I don’t have great deal of first-hand experience in Ghana that I can tell you about. We only arrived late-ish last night, and this small computer room has been my first port of call today. I doubt you’re interested in what kind of printer they’ve got here.
There is one big difference between Nigeria and Ghana. It’s just as hot, but I can see blue sky and the sun, something which never broke through the vast grey blanket of cloud in Abuja. Also, there don’t appear to be any lizards around the hotel which is a major disappointment.
I read an article in the Ghanaian Times with disbelief today. They’d reprinted by the Ö÷²¥´óÐã’s Francis Ngwa Niba in Cameroon. I’ve since found it on and judging by the messages at the bottom of Francis’ article I have been underestimating the issue.
It really is worth reading from beginning to end...
Mark Sandell| 18:06 UK time, Wednesday, 16 May 2007
It's Alex here, blogging the programme on air....
We're live from Paris at the Place des Vosges... Anu asks what's the mood been like today, as Nicholas Sarkozy takes over from Jacques Chirac? Are people hopeful or fearful? And as the new president promises to bring in reform ,what will it mean to be French?
Call us on +44 20 70 83 72 72 or post on the blog.
We go now to Pakistan: where does the crisis between the government and the judiciary go from here. It's supposed to be pretty simple: the judges say they're being deliberately undermined so General Musharraf can stay in power. But what do you think?
Peter talks to Farzana Shaik, an expert at Chatham House, currently in Princeton.
But first - breaking news- 30 journalists are trapped in a building in Gaza, caught in the crossfire between Hamas and Fatah gunmen. There's been fighting in the lobby and all the journalists are barricaded into a room on the 9th floor.
Our correspondent says people have been calling in tears asking people to stop the violence. Ironically, there is meant to be a ceasefire at the moment - the fourth ceasefire held in four days.
Paul Coletti| 13:52 UK time, Wednesday, 16 May 2007
We've doubled up on the presenters tonight. Peter will be in Bush House, London and Anu will be live from the in the fashionable Le Marais district of Paris. If you're in Paris, pop along to the north side of the square and say hello....here's the .
Paul Coletti| 08:55 UK time, Wednesday, 16 May 2007
Welcome to World Have Your Say's broadcast from France. While WHYS Squad A exfil from Abuja to Accra, Squad B have infiltrated across the channel and are deep undercover in the land of cheese, chanson, and champagne. As Rabiyah mentioned we're asking what now for France?
Of course, if there are other great talking points for today then feel free to let us know.
Day two of our tour of Africa and we're back in Abuja, Nigeria. A bit of a homely feel to our programme today, as we are broadcasting from the new Ö÷²¥´óÐã bureau there, which I'm told is all very new and shiny.
We’ve had some humbling moments on previous WHYS trips when hundreds of you have turned out to take part in our shows, but to meet Sam, Roberts, Daniel, Sam, Nick and Kingsley last night was something else. They’d all travelled over 1000kms from different parts of Nigeria to attend the show.
In my line of work, it’s best not to be lost for words too often, but the stories of their journeys and their enthusiasm for WHYS stopped me in my tracks. If you’ve ever taken part in a show, be sure that there are people here who are fascinated by what you’ve got to say.
We’re in Abuja again today: if you’ve got a question about life in Nigeria – any subject is fine – then please email us.
Obviously, we like to think that what we do is really complicated and only really intelligent people will understand. Sadly, that's nonsense as you can find out if you to the World Service Email Network.
So said a massive sign as we wandered bleary-eyed through Abuja airport very early on Saturday morning. However, there have been no signs saying ‘Welcome to the California of Nigeria’ as one Nigerian described Abuja to me before I left. Based on my two days here, that may be a little wide of the mark.
Not long now till WHYS embarks on it's biggest trip ever. We're off to East and West Africa for the first time in the programme's history. We're all hugely excited by the chance to meet some of you who listen in Africa and by the challenge of reflecting your lives and concerns to the rest of the world. There'll be seven shows from four countries in two weeks and, as always, we need your help.
Before I tell you how you can help here's where we'll be and and when...
Ros is busy packing his bags for Africa, so I have the pleasure of being with you today and a couple of days next week. On today's show, we're discussing how far parents should go to protect their children?
Three-year-old Madeleine McCann was taken at a holiday resort in Portugal while her parents were having dinner nearby. Portuguese police called off the search today, although a British businessman, moved by her parent's anguish, has offered a reward of two million dollars for any information. It's been a big story all over Europe, but has brought up issues close to the heart of any parent....
After a busy day discussing the departure of Tony Blair yesterday, I've checked our inboxes for e-mails not related to the topic and have come across three story suggestions for today's programme.
The first is from one of our loyal listeners in Portland, Oregon. A US citizen married to an illegal immigrant...
So we have a date - June 27th. That's when Tony Blair will tell the Queen he's resigning as Prime Minister. What's your assessment of his ten years in power, and what has he done for your country? Do you think the world will be better or worse without him in power?
If you want to contribute, post here, or you'll find our contact details are on the right hand side of this page.
Tony Blair is to announce his plans to step down as the leader of the Labour party today. He's expected to end his decade in power towards the end of next month, British newspapers are reporting that he will spend most of the next few weeks out of the country, with a farewell tour which will take in Paris, Washington and Africa.
Deputy Leader Gordon Brown will be around to take care of domestic duties, and is the clear favourite to become the next Prime Minister of Great Britain. I wasn't too suprised to hear on the radio this morning, that if you like a flutter, and wanted to make a hundred pounds on Brown taking the top job, you would need to put 20 thousand down.
Paul Coletti| 16:55 UK time, Wednesday, 9 May 2007
One thing nobody could deny is that the journalist is controversial. Whenever he puts pen to paper you can bet there will be opprobrium and praise in .
John Pilger will be appearing on World Have Your Say tomorrow, Wednesday 9th May. He'll be talking about his new film: which comes out on June 15th and takes a look at Latin America. The man himself says: "I’ve long regarded Latin America as the source of hopes of freedom from poverty for the very poor, and the current, extraordinary rising of millions against the old order is defying all the stereotypes."
If you have a question you'd like Mr Pilger to answer then please let us know by posting on this site, joining the debate over on bbcnews' main debating arena , sending us an e-Mail or texting us on +44 77 86 20 60 80.
Mr Pilger has never been shy of controversy . . . .
I'd like think that the whole of WHYS could be described as such, but just to make sure your ideas are easy to find on the blog, we've created a section called, er, 'Your ideas'. (I know it took us a while to come up with that one.) If you've stories or issues you'd like to hear on the programme, then email them to me or worldhaveyoursay@bbc.co.uk, and we'll post them. Of course, you're very welcome to run a critical eye over everyone else's suggestions as well.
Here are some suggestions we've received today... let us know what you think...
As Ros wrote earlier, today we're asking if exam papers are being sold in your country, following a suggestion from a listener in Liberia. We'll also be talking to , the South African athlete who'd like to be able to race against the world's fastest able-bodied athletes... But athletics' ruling body the IAAF has said no.
We got a post on the blog yesterday from William in Liberia. This is it.
'Dear Ö÷²¥´óÐã,
I am very much troubled by the recent 12th Grade Exams that were conducted in my country Liberia. How can more than three students share one question sheet? Even the officials were involved in the sale of test questions before the administration of the test. What a shame. I demand that the entire exam administration resign and be replaced with individuals who will demonstrate high degree of trust and reliability. '
I read it on air, and we immediately got a massive response from across Africa, with more and more stories of corruption in schools. We'll hear some of your experiences, and try and get some explanations and solutions as well. We're hoping to have the Liberian Education Minister among our guests.
Good morning and welcome to the time of day when we try and see what talking points are out there. Last night on World Have Your Say we threw out a topic suggested by a listener from Africa who was concerned about the state of his country's exam system. To put it bluntly: there's a lot of cheating going on.
We received 19 texts on the subject so I've a feeling we'll be revisiting this tonight. Read on . . .
As Ros wrote earlier, today we're hearing reaction on the election of Nicolas Sarkozy as the French President, and asking if atheism has become more extreme than many of the religions it criticises.
I get very excited when we hear from people who are enjoying WHYS. Last week we got word that various top brass at NATO in Brussels and some UN peacekeepers in Togo are avid listeners. Well today, we can add a 12 year-old member of the Singaporean President's family to that list. She's just emailed me and asked to be added to the Daily Email. With pleasure…
Good morning and welcome to the time when we decide what topics we'll be talking about this evening. As ever, call us on +44 207 557 0635 (the office phone, not the number you call to come on air) if you'd like to take part. Alternatively you can do what Jibo in Nigeria did and send us a mail.
Also, Dear Listener, we're pleased to announce that we've lined up internationally acclaimed, controversial, campaigning journalist John Pilger for Wednesday 9th May. He's got a new film out, click the pic for more details.
If you have questions for Mr Pilger, and we're sure you will have, then let us know: worldhaveyoursay@bbc.co.uk
and it's Max blogging in Fiona's name. We are talking about new science to find out the sex of unborn child from six weeks into the pregnancy, but will it be abused? Also, should developing stop pursuing lifestyles of developed countries, because it's too enegy-consuming?
To listen live click here. You can also email or text us and Richard will try read them out for you.
Michael in Nigeria's just emailed....'I would like have my say live on today’s show. The issues I would like to talk about are 1. Abortions 2. Borat and Bush 3. About the Man who married a goat.' That's a big range you're suggesting there Michael. We're definitely picking up on one of them....
The UK news agenda is this morning dominated by local elections in England, Scotland and Wales. I live here and I'm not interested in hearing more about them, so I doubt they're a talking point for a global audience.
What do you think we should discuss on today's programme?
Mark would like to hear more on the currently taking place in Egypt...
I currently live in the capital city of Ohio, Columbus, which is located in the heart of the Midwest in the United States. I graduated with honors from St. Louis University in May of 2006 with a bachelor’s degree in Business Administration. My college education was both vast and expeditious. I had the opportunity to spend four months studying in Madrid consequently allowing me to travel to various parts of the world.
Hi my name is Bryce Baker, I am 23, and I live in Portland, Oregon in the USA. I am a bookkeeper for an accounting company. I listen to World Have Your Say every day at work while I am balancing the company books....
It's World Press Freedom Day and we're on air discussing just how much journalists need protection? We'll be crossing several time zones and we've guests from the Blogosphere, the MSM and Ö÷²¥´óÐã as well as you, the folks that matter, our callers. We trust you'll find it enjoyable.
As ever to listen live click here. To call or text us use the numbers on the right hand side >>>
It's the today and the event's organisers say that too many journalists are being killed for what they do. The most dangerous place was report was Iraq, with 138 killed. Russia came next, with 88 deaths.
Alarmingly, in the last 15 years, according to the , about 85% of all journalists’ murderers faced neither investigation nor prosecution for their crimes.
...sang the band Culture Club back in the 80's. It's a sentiment Richard from World Have Your Say would agree with I'm sure, and possibly one of worst pop lyrics of all time. That's according to a survey being conducted by British music radio station 6Music, who are on a quest to find the most ridiculous lyrics ever. Weirdly, Shakira's classic line from "Whenever, Whatever" hasn't made it into the top ten:
Lucky that my breasts are small and humble, so you don't confuse them with mountains...
Indeed Shakira.
I'd love to hear your nominations, I can't promise they'll make it onto the show, but they should at least raise a smile in the World Have Your Say office.
Paul Coletti| 15:30 UK time, Wednesday, 2 May 2007
I joined this morning's meet via telephone but I could feel the agony as we debated how to pull together all the talking points. It wasn't easy but somehow we've arrived at a consensus. The debate centred around an Australian senator's description of a female politician as "deliberately barren" . . .
I've just received this email from Zita in Sri Lanka. If you'd like to write about an issue that's important to you in your country, you can always email me direct. Here's what she sent, and of course the opinions she's expressing are hers and not the Ö÷²¥´óÐã's. You get the latest Ö÷²¥´óÐã News on Sri Lanka .
Paul Coletti| 08:40 UK time, Wednesday, 2 May 2007
Good morning and welcome to a sunny London. There are three oil-related stories in my post today . . . you may find that a little too much but we'd like to know what you think are talking points for today's show: worldhaveyoursay@bbc.co.uk
It's May Day and the weather's so warm and breezy I almost feel like putting on some clogs and getting a Maypole set up in the office. Sadly, our little shoe box doesn't quite have the space.
My name is Virginia Davis and I will be 65 in November. My father was in the US Army chasing Rommel the Desert Fox in Africa with the British when I was born in November of 1942. And my father was an aviator in the First World War. I was raised as "an Army brat"...
The international press is full of reports on the longest and most expensive terror trial - that of .
In the Times is reveals that the for the prosecution was Pakistani-American Mohammed Babar, who was arrested in the United States and confessed to helping the men acquire materials for the bombs. His statements were vital. Do we need more Muslim supergrasses to combat extremism?
WHYS is a global conversation hosted by Ö÷²¥´óÐã News. For updates on the stories and issues being covered on our broadcasts, pls visit . This is when we're on air:
1100 & 1700GMT Monday to Friday Ö÷²¥´óÐã World Service radio
1500 & 1930GMT on Fridays Ö÷²¥´óÐã World News television
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Just before we sign off tonight on WHYS, I wanted to let you know what's coming up on tomorrow's programme.
So said a massive sign as we wandered bleary-eyed through Abuja airport very early on Saturday morning. However, there have been no signs saying ‘Welcome to the California of Nigeria’ as one Nigerian described Abuja to me before I left. Based on my two days here, that may be a little wide of the mark.
Not long now till WHYS embarks on it's biggest trip ever. We're off to East and West Africa for the first time in the programme's history. We're all hugely excited by the chance to meet some of you who listen in Africa and by the challenge of reflecting your lives and concerns to the rest of the world. There'll be seven shows from four countries in two weeks and, as always, we need your help. 
Ros is busy packing his bags for Africa, so I have the pleasure of being with you today and a couple of days next week. On today's show, we're discussing how far parents should go to protect their children? 
Tony Blair is to announce his plans to step down as the leader of the Labour party today. He's expected to end his decade in power towards the end of next month, British newspapers are reporting that he will spend most of the next few weeks out of the country, with a farewell tour which will take in Paris, Washington and Africa. 
