Monday - Darfur, Afghanistan & Alan
Hello, James here with a few ideas we're looking at for the show later. As ever, please leave your comments below and if you have something you think the world should be discussing then please, get in contact.
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.
FAILURES IN DARFUR
The US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice has said the world has . Her comments come as a summit's held in Paris focusing on the troubled Sudanese region. Speaking to reporters she pulled no punches, saying:
"I do not think that the international community has really lived up to its responsibilities here"
Some 200-thousand people have died and 2.4m have fled the violence in Darfur since 2003. Representatives from the US, France, China and Egypt will be at the conference, but not from Sudan nor the rebel factions. So can the meeting achieve anything concrete if two of the main players aren't there? What is the future for the people of Darfur and can the international community really have an impact on the region? Your thoughts please ...
...So what else are we looking at?
AFGHAN NATO
Some interesting news items about Afghanistan over the weekend. On Saturday, President Hamid Karzai for failing to co-ordinate with their Afghan allies. Mr Karazi said the lack of communication was causing civilian deaths. 24 hours later Nato issued a response and agreed - to a point. It said it had to "do better" in its operations there. More civilians have been killed this year as a result of foreign military action than have been killed by insurgents. A point not lost on the Afghan President. Should we be discussing the role of Nato in the country? And possibly, why communication appears to be breaking down at crucial stages? ...
CHEMICAL ALI DEATH SENTENCE
On Sunday, a cousin of the late Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein, for the mass murder of Kurds in 1988. Ali Hassan al-Majid, known as "Chemical Ali" for using poison gas in the Anfal campaign, was convicted of genocide. So has justice been done for the victims of Anfal and was this the right decision? What does this signify for the future of the Iraqi people?
TWO YEAR ANNIVERSARY FOR AHMADINEJAD
On this day in 2005, conservative hardliner Mahmoud Ahmadinejad won a surprise victory in the Iranian Presidential poll. Since then Iran's hardly been out of the headlines for its stance on nuclear technology. Tehran is under pressure from the EU and US to suspend its nuclear programme and uranium enrichment activities. They accuse the Islamic Republic of seeking to build nuclear weapons. Iran says its nuclear programme is entirely peaceful and is solely aimed at producing civilian nuclear power. So two years down the line, what has Mr Ahmadinejad achieved? Can the nuclear "issue" be resolved? Should we be talking about this today?
ALAN JOHNSTON
Our colleague, friend and ³ÉÈË¿ìÊÖ Gaza correspondent Alan Johnston has now been missing for 15 weeks. In a distressing development , but this time showing Alan with, what appears to be, explosives strapped to his waist. His captors have threatened to detonate the explosives, if any attempts are made to release him by force. But there is hope. In the video - Alan urges negotiations to continue, saying they are "very close to achieving a deal." As happens on every Monday since his abduction, we'll be holding a vigil for Alan outside Bush House and Television Centre in London at 1315GMT today. Over 170-thousand people have signed an on-line petition demanding his release - if you haven't added your name, . And please keep your messages of support coming into us here at World Have Your Say.
LAST 48 HOURS (and a bit) FOR BLAIR
It's Tony Blair's last Monday as British Prime Minister. He steps down and makes way for Gordon Brown on Wednesday. Should we be talking about what Mr Blair could do next? In the past few weeks he's been linked with top jobs including the post of for the United States, the EU, the UN and Russia. Maybe he just needs a few months off - rekindle those guitar jams with members of his old band maybe? Your thoughts please.
WORLD HERITAGE SITES
The UN's cultural organisation to discuss which sites to add to the list of most valuable natural or manmade treasures. Those that could be deemed endangered include the Galapagos Islands, Dresden in Germany, Machu Picchu in Peru and the Tower of London. The committee must decide if they are at risk from war, tourism, over-development or neglect. It got me thinking how do the people at Unesco decide on what makes it onto the list and what doesn't? What are the biggest threats to the world's most interesting places? What makes a place "special"?
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