Monday - Terror threat/Mugabe/Proposals
Hello, good morning. It's James here with a look at a few of the stories which may make the show later.
If you would like to pitch your idea to the team, just call us on +44 207 557 0635 and we'll call you back.
BRITAIN ON ALERT
Attempted car bombings in Glasgow and London over the past 72 hours have put the UK on the highest state of terrorism alert. You will have probably seen the dramatic videos over the weekend. Arrests have been made, roadblocks have been put up and and airports up and down the UK. It's a massive test for Gordon Brown - less than a week after he took over as British Prime Minister...
...He's linked the events to Al-Qaeda, although the group hasn't claimed responsibility. Police say the investigation into who was involved is moving at "breathtaking speed". It comes less than a week before the second anniversary of 7/7. Car bombs are used by jihadists in Iraq almost daily - so are terrorists moving into a different phase in the UK by using similar tactics to those in Baghdad and beyond? What about looking at what jihadists want - what was the aim of the attempted bombers? Is it as simple to suggest they want British troops to pull out of Iraq? There's certain to be more developments before we go on air - your thoughts on this please.
MUGABE PORTUGAL
Over the weekend, Portugal took over the rotating Presidency of the European Union. A key task is to get 53 African leaders around the table talking to their EU counterparts. Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe has been invited to the summit in December, despite the fact that the EU has imposed a travel ban on him. Most EU members aren't happy about it , but the African Union - chaired by Ghana - is demanding Zimbabwe be treated in the same way as every other African country. It certainly makes things tense - but who's right?
AFRICAN UNION
Meantime, the ninth session of the African Union summit is under way. This year the focus is on the idea of a pan-African government. Libya's Colonel Muammar Gaddafi is , but many African leaders do not support his initiative. They say it'll push crises in Somalia, Darfur and Zimbabwe off the agenda. Do you agree with Mr Gaddafi's proposal for a pan-African state? Is unity the only way for Africa to survive?
JAPANESE MINISTER APOLOGISES
Japan's defence minister has apologised following , saying the dropping of atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki by the US "couldn't be helped".
Fumio Kyuma said he had not meant to offend victims of the attacks when he said that the bombings had brought World War II to an end. Some opposition parties have called for his resignation - should he go?
HONG KONG - 10 YEARS ON
A decade ago Hong Kong returned to Chinese rule, after more than 150 years of British administration. Since the handover, personal freedoms have remained uncompromised, but there have been fears China is becoming . On Sunday there was a small demonstration in HK. This, despite a Chinese promise to preserve the old way of life for 50 years. Do you live in HK and how have things changed? What is your hope for the city. Is this a good topic for today's show?
SMOKING BAN IN ENGLAND
It's now . Campaigners say it's the biggest boost to public health since the introduction of the National Health Service in 1948. But David Hockney - a well known artist who's been waging war against the ban - called it a "grotesque piece of social engineering" imposed by a "political and media elite". Ireland became the first country in the world to ban smoking inside in March 2004, heading a now rapidly growing list of countries including France, Italy, Spain, Dubai, Hong Kong, Australia, Canada and parts of the United States. The same issues have been raised before, but is it worth revisiting them today?
ALAN JOHNSTON
Our friend and colleague - abducted in Gaza - is now entering his 112th day in captivity. We'll be pausing at 1315GMT today to mark this. If you haven't yet signed the online petition, demanding Alan's release, you can do so
ARGENTINE FIRST LADY
Some interesting news coming out of Buenos Aires over the weekend. The senator wife of President Nestor Kirchner, Cristina, will after he decided not to seek re-election. Many are drawing comparisons with former US President Bill and Senator wife Hillary - who's also running for the Presidency. Could there be a question here about the effectiveness of husband and wife teams at the top of the political tree? Let us know.
BLAIR PROPOSAL
Meantime, a Ö÷²¥´óÐã documentary claims that ex-British Prime Minister Tony Blair proposed to wife Cherie ...not very romantic really is it? Although Cherie begged to differ. Anyway, it got me thinking - do you have any weird and wonderful stories of how you proposed? Maybe we should end our programme with the best ones today? What do you think?
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