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<title>
World Service - World Have Your Say
 - 
Victoria Harrison
</title>
<link>https://nontonwae.pages.dev/blogs/worldhaveyoursay/</link>
<description>WHYS is a global conversation. It&apos;s hosted by BBC Global News, but its agenda is set by everyone taking part. We&apos;re live on BBC World Service radio weekdays at 1700GMT (1800GMT if you&apos;re in Africa).</description>
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<item>
	<title>WEDNESDAY NIGHT Libyan deal - do you agree with it?</title>
	<description><![CDATA[<p>We're off air now, after talking about whether a deal should have been struck with Libya securing the release of the Bulgarian and Palestinian nurses. Your responses coming into the BBC website were largely against a deal with Tripoli and many of you questionned the motives behind one.  We also asked is there any sport you trust and whether are there any that remain drug-free? Lots of you responded to this item, but we didn't have much time for it, would you like to hear more tomorrow on this? </p>

<p>And MySpace purges the profiles of some 29000 sex offenders who were using the social networking site. We discussed whether the news of this crackdown was a concern or relief to you. Stephanie called in, she goes into schools to talk to teens and parents and describes herself as a 'tourist guide to the internet'. Here are the links as promised to her website and blog <a href="http://stephanie-booth.com">http://stephanie-booth.com</a> or <a href="http://climbtothestars.org">http://climbtothestars.org</a></p>]]><![CDATA[<p><em>This should be called  Tour de shame  as it just vested with doping and unsportmanship. Now nobody trusts no cyclist. William in Tanzania </p>

<p>The sport i like most cos it's devoid of cheating is ludo. It's drug free. If you're on drug & play it, you miss plenty. Its my best sports! Gilbert in Syama, Mali </p>

<p>I will only be concerned if the cheat wins in the sport, if not i couldnt care less. I trust football because even if players cheat,we don't hear about it. Abbas in Kaduna. </p>

<p>Boxing is my favourite Francis</p>

<p>Whether chess is a sport or not is an on going debate, however it is the game i trust the most,never heard professional players in such scandals - Lusayo in Malawi </p>

<p>I trust football most. A lot of skills is displayed and so the game is entertaining. Nyagaka in Busia</p>

<p>I've stopped following the Tour de France because of dopping. I think Gymnastics is a clean sport. Tibaga in Kenya </p>

<p>I don t fully trust any sports, but love athletics & football. Doping seem to have taken a back seat thru corruption & favouritism by sports officials & agents. Mary Olum from Kenya. </p>

<p>The stakes are just too high in sports these days. Unless the stakes are lowered, sport will lose its relevance. Atsu, Ghana.</p>

<p>Sports: Maybe motor sports is the only one where one does not need unnatural energy to develop bulging muscles with drugs. Roy </em></p>]]></description>
         <dc:creator>Victoria Harrison 
Victoria Harrison
</dc:creator>
	<link>https://nontonwae.pages.dev/blogs/worldhaveyoursay/2007/07/on_air_libyan_deal_do_you_agre.html#042472</link>
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	<pubDate>Wed, 25 Jul 2007 17:52:42 +0000</pubDate>
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<item>
	<title>Who do young girls look up to?</title>
	<description><![CDATA[<p>This email came in for one of our regular listeners, Steve</p>

<p>"I just read the Lindsay Lohan was arrested again. For drunk driving, and they also found cocaine in her car. Unfortunately, girls grow up thinking that Lohan and Paris Hilton are role models. They emulate them, they dress like them, and unfortunately, they act like them. I really fear the future of society where girls think it's okay to put everyone at risk on the road, engage in very irresponsible behavior, and use illicit drugs (cocaine can actually kill, and it has killed many)........</p>]]><![CDATA[<p>Also, the behaviors that go along with cocaine usage are enough to make any parent cringe. Why don't girls have role models that aren't selfish, self absorbed, drug abusing attention seekers? I pray that Britain and the rest of the world don't look up to monsters like Lindsay Lohan and Paris Hilton, there would be no future for humanity if the rest of the world is like this too. I hope she gets a HUGE sentence, so maybe something good can come of this if girls can see that you go to jail when your life is all about partying and not caring about how you might affect other people. Enough with this self absorbed instant gratification society!<br />
Steve"</p>

<p>Who do young girls look up to today? If you're a teenage girl, do you have a role model? Ask your daughters, sisters or friends, and let us know if there are any worthy role models for them. If you're a parent, are you concerned who your daughter aspires to be like?</p>]]></description>
         <dc:creator>Victoria Harrison 
Victoria Harrison
</dc:creator>
	<link>https://nontonwae.pages.dev/blogs/worldhaveyoursay/2007/07/who_do_young_girls_look_up_to.html#042470</link>
	<guid>https://nontonwae.pages.dev/blogs/worldhaveyoursay/2007/07/who_do_young_girls_look_up_to.html#042470</guid>
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	<pubDate>Wed, 25 Jul 2007 13:41:35 +0000</pubDate>
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<item>
	<title>Speak to Cuba</title>
	<description><![CDATA[<p>Two Cuban women, whose husbands are serving long sentences in the United States for conspiracy to commit espionage, are <a href="http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/6903228.stm">campaigning to be allowed to visit them in jail.</a> It's not the Cuban authorities who are refusing them permission to travel but for some 10 years the American authorities have repeatedly refused to grant them visas. <a href="http://web.amnesty.org/library/Index/ENGAMR510132007?open&of=ENG-2M4">Amnesty International</a> has questionned the fairness of their husbands' trial and called for temporary visas for the women.</p>

<p>They are among the wives of the so-called Cuban Five who were arrested in Florida in 1998 as part of an alleged spy ring. We've got permission to speak to one of the families about the case, their campaign and relations between Cuba and the US.  Send us your questions or let us know if you'd like to take part live in the programme tomorrow, Tuesday.</p>]]></description>
         <dc:creator>Victoria Harrison 
Victoria Harrison
</dc:creator>
	<link>https://nontonwae.pages.dev/blogs/worldhaveyoursay/2007/07/speak_to_cuba.html#042464</link>
	<guid>https://nontonwae.pages.dev/blogs/worldhaveyoursay/2007/07/speak_to_cuba.html#042464</guid>
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	<pubDate>Mon, 23 Jul 2007 19:18:30 +0000</pubDate>
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<item>
	<title>Critics please leave -- for Friday&apos;s programme</title>
	<description><![CDATA[<p>Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez has vowed to<a href="http://www.miamiherald.com/579/story/179360.html"> expel foreigners who publicly criticise him</a> or his government. <br />
"No foreigner can come here to attack us. Anyone who does must be removed from this country," he said during his weekly TV and radio programme. </p>

<p>And he's not the only leader to make such threats. Earlier in the year Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe <a href="http://www.pbs.org/newshour/bb/africa/jan-june07/zimbabwe_03-19.html">threatened to expel Western diplomats </a>whom he accuses of supporting the political opposition.  The warning came after international criticism of the beatings inflicted on members of the opposition held in jail.</p>]]><![CDATA[<p>China is known for <a href="http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_qn4155/is_20030125/ai_n9617211">expelling dissidents</a>. At the start of a year a <a href="http://www.humanrightsfoundation.org/media/mediaSamartino.html">Cuban refugee was thrown out of Bolivia</a> for criticising both governments.   <a href="http://www.alertnet.org/thenews/newsdesk/L23436011.htm">Gambia also ordered the expulsion of a U.N. official </a>after she criticised the president's assertions that they were curing AIDS patients with herbs.</p>

<p>Here in the UK, columnist Carole Malone wrote this weekend <a href="http://www.sundaymirror.co.uk/news/columnists/malone/tm_method=full%26objectid=19493603%26siteid=98487-name_page.html"> "what amazes me is that if these women (protesting in support of four extremists who were jailed for encouraging murder and terrorism) - who weren't brave enough to protest without the protection of a full niqab - hate the West so much, why don't they shove off and live in a country where they can practise and live by whatever religion and rules they believe in?"</a></p>

<p>Should critics of governments or countries be expelled?  Do they have to accept any kind of attacks on their values or systems? Should we be encouraging acceptance of all views and values at the expense of our own? We'll be talking about this later in the week, send us your thoughts and let us know if you'd like to take part live.</p>]]></description>
         <dc:creator>Victoria Harrison 
Victoria Harrison
</dc:creator>
	<link>https://nontonwae.pages.dev/blogs/worldhaveyoursay/2007/07/critics_please_leave.html#042460</link>
	<guid>https://nontonwae.pages.dev/blogs/worldhaveyoursay/2007/07/critics_please_leave.html#042460</guid>
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	<pubDate>Mon, 23 Jul 2007 14:01:36 +0000</pubDate>
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<item>
	<title>New Orleans revisited</title>
	<description><![CDATA[<p>Morning, it's Vicki here in London doing the early post on the blog. Can't say I have much sympathy for the team in New Orleans and the heat they're having to deal with......we're having a dreadful summer here and more rain is forecast for the weekend. My lawn desperately needs mowing. </p>

<p>In the US the team has got guests lined up as <a href="https://nontonwae.pages.dev/blogs/worldhaveyoursay/2007/07/its_only_90_degrees.html">Anna mentioned in her post</a>, including some of the people we spoke to after Hurricane Katrina. What would you like to hear from New Orleans? Let us know if there are particular stories you're interested in or questions you have.</p>]]><![CDATA[<p>Otherwise the news in the UK is still dominated by the <a href="http://media.guardian.co.uk/site/story/0,,2129708,00.html">faked phone-in competitions</a> at the BBC. There's lots of soul-searching here and talk of the possible fall-out. There's a feeling that because the BBC is funded by the public through the television licence fee they have to pay, there's a different relationship between us and our audience than with other broadcasters. Can we win back their trust? </p>

<p><img alt="ny.jpg" src="http://blogs.bbc.co.uk/worldhaveyoursay/ny.jpg" width="203" height="152" /></p>

<p><a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2007/07/19/nyregion/19explode.html?_r=1&hp&oref=slogin">New Yorkers were shaken by a huge explosion</a> caused by a ruptured underground steam pipe during the evening rush hour. At least one person died and around thirty were injured. People described clouds of steam gushing up, and mud and rocks being thrown into the air.  It does sound pretty scarey. Are you in New York? Did you see it ? How's the morning commute been today? Are people still a bit shakey?  </p>

<p>Tony Blair faces his<a href="http://news.independent.co.uk/world/politics/article2782505.ece"> first real challenge as the Quartet's Middle East envoy </a>with the meeting today aimed at re-opening the peace process between Israel and the Palestinians. When they say the Palestinians at the moment they only mean Fatah in the West Bank. So what can they hope to achieve? And could they actually be weakening President Abbas' mandate?  We've asked before whether Blair is the man for the envoy's job and whether the international community should be talking to Hamas. Do you want to revisit the subject? </p>

<p><a href="http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/6905905.stm">Is India ready for a female president</a>? The electoral college will vote on a new president and Pratibha Patil, the candidate of the governing Congress party and its allies, is expected to win. We'll know the result on Saturday. But how are people in India reacting to the idea of their first female president? Can women bring different skills to such jobs? </p>

<p><img alt="pakistan.jpg" src="http://blogs.bbc.co.uk/worldhaveyoursay/pakistan.jpg" width="203" height="152" /></p>

<p>We keep mentioning <a href="http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/world/asia/article2100317.ece">the state of play in Pakistan </a>following the storming of the Red Mosque last week. There has been a wave of bomb attacks against government targets since security forces flushed out the mosque controlled by radical Islamists. In the latest attack 30 people have died.  Should we be worried about the growing instability in the country? What are people there saying?</p>

<p>Tomorrow we're hoping to talk to <a href="https://nontonwae.pages.dev/blogs/worldhaveyoursay/2007/07/my_view_of_islam_from_ali_in_k.html">Ali in Kuwait</a>, who criticised the portrayal of Islam in the media. We posted his comment on the blog and a heated debate has been building. There's still time for you to take part, so let us know your thoughts on the issue.</p>]]></description>
         <dc:creator>Victoria Harrison 
Victoria Harrison
</dc:creator>
	<link>https://nontonwae.pages.dev/blogs/worldhaveyoursay/2007/07/new_orleans_revisited.html#042453</link>
	<guid>https://nontonwae.pages.dev/blogs/worldhaveyoursay/2007/07/new_orleans_revisited.html#042453</guid>
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	<pubDate>Thu, 19 Jul 2007 09:19:33 +0000</pubDate>
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<item>
	<title>US mixed report on Iraq</title>
	<description><![CDATA[<p>Morning, Vicki again today on the early blog post. The big story around is still Iraq and <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2007/07/12/world/middleeast/12surge.html?_r=1&hp&oref=slogin">the US report on progress there</a>......we've already asked this week whether the surge is working and whether the world is too scared of Al-Qaeda. But talk of Iraq and US troop withdrawal isn't going away. </p>

<p>The report is expected to give a mixed assessment claiming progress in some security areas like a drop in sectarian killings in Baghdad. What's the situation like outside Baghdad now? I read recently that some of the violence has been pushed out of Baghdad to other areas because of the surge.</p>]]><![CDATA[<p>The report is also expected to criticise the Iraqi government for its lack of progress on political reconcilation.  The last big Iraq report out of the US recommended <a href="http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/07/11/AR2007071102451.html?hpid=topnews">withdrawing support for the Iraqi government </a>unless it showed "substantial progress" on security and national reconciliation, and changing the primary mission of U.S. forces from combat to training Iraqis so that combat units could be withdrawn by early 2008. So what has the Iraqi government been doing? What state are the Iraqi forces in today? Is it fair to push the blame on Maliki's administration?</p>

<p>We still hope to bring you the story about the illegal abortions in Kenya. 300000 backstreet abortions take place there each year and around 3000 women die as a result. There's been a <a href="http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/6246688.stm">strong debate about legalising abortion</a> in Kenya since a forum was disrupted by pro-life campaigners and 4 pro-choice participants had to flee the venue. Should access to safe abortions be considered a woman's right?</p>

<p>In Tanzania there's a debate raging about whether an Indian chemical company should be allowed to construct <a href="http://environment.guardian.co.uk/conservation/story/0,,2124251,00.html">a soda-ash plant on Lake Natron</a> -  it's one of the country's great sites of natural beauty. The tourism ministry wants to promote it as such. Millions of pink flamingos live on the lake and could disappear. The locals don't think they'll benefit from the plant. But the vice-president is reported to have said construction of the plant will go ahead. The idea of sustainable development has been around for a while now but how in practice do you balance the demands for growth with conservation? Can lessons be learnt from countries like Costa Rica? Should they look at the problems in places like Kenya's Lake Magadi?</p>

<p>Scientists in the UK are urging <a href="http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/health/6291072.stm">taxes be placed on fatty foods</a>. They say more than 3,000 fatal heart attacks and strokes could be prevented in the UK each year as people would buy less unhealthy food if the prices were high. One of the researchers declared the time was right to debate a "fat tax".  What do you think?</p>

<p>We're getting lots of emails into the BBC News website about the <a href="http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/6292778.stm">decision in Chile not to extradited former Peruvian president, Alberto Fujimori.</a> He's accused of human rights violations and corruption back home, but has recently announced he will stand in this month's Senate elections in Japan. (He has dual nationality and fled to Japan in 2000 after massive protests in Peru brought down his government. He's now in Chile.)  Should he be sent back to face justice at home in Peru?</p>

<p>And can you ask the <a href="http://news.independent.co.uk/media/article2758871.ece">British Queen to take off her crown</a>? One American photographer did......</p>]]></description>
         <dc:creator>Victoria Harrison 
Victoria Harrison
</dc:creator>
	<link>https://nontonwae.pages.dev/blogs/worldhaveyoursay/2007/07/us_mixed_report_on_iraq.html#042436</link>
	<guid>https://nontonwae.pages.dev/blogs/worldhaveyoursay/2007/07/us_mixed_report_on_iraq.html#042436</guid>
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	<pubDate>Thu, 12 Jul 2007 09:16:38 +0000</pubDate>
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<item>
	<title>Snowy South America</title>
	<description><![CDATA[<p>Morning. It's Vicki today doing the early blog post.</p>

<p>Argentinians are getting to grips with <a href="http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/in_pictures/6288410.stm">melting snow and ice...</a>but unlike us Brits who still can't cope with an annual scattering of the white stuff......it was the first snow in almost 90 years in Buenos Aires. Schools, airports and roads are closed. More cold weather is forecast. Chile and Bolivia have also been hit by the cold spell. Are you in South America? How are you coping? Has the initial excitement now worn off as you try to get back to work? </p>

<p>And should John McCain give up the race for the US presidency? <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2007/07/11/us/politics/11mccain.html?_r=1&hp&oref=slogin">Pressure is mounting on him </a>as two senior aides resigned and he's lost support - apparently because of his backing of the war in Iraq and for the failed immigration reform bill.  Should he bow out or stay the course?</p>]]><![CDATA[<p>In a new campaign against female genital mutilation, <a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/crime/article/0,,2123435,00.html">police in London are offering $40,000</a> for information leading to the first prosecution here. They say over the summer holidays many girls are taken from Britain to be subjected to the procedure, mostly in sub-Saharan Africa and Middle Eastern countries. Should the British authorities be getting involved? Could this approach help reduce the number of cases?</p>

<p>New research has proved that global warning is <a href="http://environment.independent.co.uk/climate_change/article2753395.ece">a man-made phenomenon, not related to the sun.</a> The scientists behind it say in fact since the mid-1980s the sun's impact on the climate has been a cooling one, not warming. But last week a poll found many of us don't think climate change is as big an issue as the polticians and experts are making out. Does it merit so much attention? Or should we just be accepting it now and getting on with looking for solutions?</p>

<p>And in a similar vein, New York is trying to persuade people <a href="http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/6286606.stm">to give up bottled drinks and consume tap water </a>instead to help protect the environment. Officials say it will save people money and reduce waste. Environmentalists say 4 out of 5 plastic water bottles end up on landfill sites and the production process contributes to global warming. Is it fair to single out one type of product? How much difference can we really make by giving up bottled drinks? Some restaurants in California only serve tap water now - shouldn't the consumer be given the choice?</p>

<p>And the raid on the Red Mosque in Islamabad continues. Are you in Islamabad? What's happening today? Do you know anyone who managed to leave the mosque earlier in the week?</p>]]></description>
         <dc:creator>Victoria Harrison 
Victoria Harrison
</dc:creator>
	<link>https://nontonwae.pages.dev/blogs/worldhaveyoursay/2007/07/snowy_south_america_1.html#042433</link>
	<guid>https://nontonwae.pages.dev/blogs/worldhaveyoursay/2007/07/snowy_south_america_1.html#042433</guid>
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	<pubDate>Wed, 11 Jul 2007 09:26:59 +0000</pubDate>
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<item>
	<title>Living with terror</title>
	<description><![CDATA[<p>Morning....there's still only one story around here today. In the UK, we're still talking about the failed attacks on London and Glasgow. More arrests have been made - one in Australia. Given that those involved seem to have been foreign-born and relatively recent arrivals to the UK, questions are being asked about immigration and <a href="http://www.ft.com/cms/s/900ee214-28c3-11dc-af78-000b5df10621.html">whether we need tougher entry requirements.</a> </p>

<p>That said, the government has welcomed "<a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/terrorism/story/0,,2117216,00.html">the strong measures of condemnation we have heard throughout the weekend from  (Muslim) community leaders across the country</a>". This is being read by some as the start of a new hearts and minds campaign aimed at Muslims living in Britain. In a significant choice of language, the new Home Secretary, Jacqui Smith, rarely mentioned Muslims in her statement and she described the perpetrators as criminals.</p>

<p>There's also lots of discussion about the fact <a href="http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/uk/crime/article2017698.ece">those behind the attacks were doctors</a> and the idea we often imagine that bombers are from more deprived or excluded backgrounds.</p>]]><![CDATA[<p>I've heard and read several discussions about <a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/terrorism/story/0,,2116328,00.html">living with terror.</a> Last night the station I normally go home from was closed due to a scare. And this morning I'm working from a different BBC office, but the tube I was travelling on couldn't stop where I needed to get off because of another alert. So I ended up walking most of the way to work today.</p>

<p><a href="http://news.independent.co.uk/uk/crime/article2730502.ece">The security level remains at critical.</a> We're being told not to travel to airports by car and take public transport if we can. Police aren't allowing people to be dropped off outside airports like Heathrow and they're checking vehicles at main railway stations. At Wimbledon concrete barricades have been put up outside to stop would-be car bombers getting close to the venue. Do you live with these levels of security every day?</p>

<p>There's still talk about why these groups do what they do. On a BBC programme this morning former British jihadist, <a href="https://nontonwae.pages.dev/radio4/today/">Hassan Butt</a>, said that while Iraq and Afghanistan played a part, the main reason they carry out these kinds of attacks was for, what he described as, 'the pleasure of their religion'. What does he mean by this? Do you want us to look at different interpretations of what the Koran says about terror?</p>

<p>Do you think we should still be discussing this story?</p>

<p>There are obviously other things around.....like President Bush stepping in to save <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2007/07/03/washington/03libby.html?_r=1&hp&oref=slogin">convicted former White House aide, Scooter Libby,</a> from going to prison. Should presidents have the right to intervene? How would something like this go down in your country?</p>

<p>We're still looking at Kenya, where public debate on abortion has been raging. An event aimed at gauging the temperature of the debate was disrupted last week by pro-life campaigners, and four pro-choice participants were forced to flee the venue. 300,000 illegal abortions take place and 3000 women die each year in backstreet abortions in Kenya - given the demand, should abortion be legalised?</p>

<p>Some of you have emailed in and asked us to look at the idea of a 'United States of Africa' - our sister programme Africa Have Your Say will be discussing this very issue later today.</p>

<p><a href="http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/sci/tech/6263690.stm">A poll out today on climate change</a> suggests many people don't think it's as big an issue as experts and politicians are making out. The global warming issue certainly seemed to gain ground over the last year - what do you think ? Does it merit the attention it gets? </p>

<p>And should a girl in Canada give birth to her half brother or sister? Her mother is freezing her own eggs for the future, because her seven year old daughter has a condition which means she will never have her own children. But if one day she decides to use her mother's eggs, <a href="http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/health/6264082.stm">she'd effectively be giving birth to her half brother or sister.</a></p>]]></description>
         <dc:creator>Victoria Harrison 
Victoria Harrison
</dc:creator>
	<link>https://nontonwae.pages.dev/blogs/worldhaveyoursay/2007/07/living_with_terror.html#042416</link>
	<guid>https://nontonwae.pages.dev/blogs/worldhaveyoursay/2007/07/living_with_terror.html#042416</guid>
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	<pubDate>Tue, 03 Jul 2007 10:49:17 +0000</pubDate>
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	<title>Kenya backstreet abortions</title>
	<description><![CDATA[<p>Abortion is the talking point in Kenya at the moment.  A mock trial highlighting the 300,000 illegal terminations and 3000 deaths from backstreet abortions every year was disrupted by pro-life demonstrators earlier this week.....  as a consequence four pro-choice participants were forced to abandon the forum in Nairobi... And abortion has been at the centre of debate since.</p>

<p>We're going to be picking up on the discussion in detail on Monday's programme but we're already getting emails about it...</p>

<p>Dr Olungah in Nairobi writes<br />
In this country, when a young girl in school gets pregnant, she is expelled from school, ostracised by her parents, ex-communicated from church, shunned by her peers and abandoned by her boyfriend. She faces a double if not triple tragedy. The morality so common in our African backyard must now be challenged.</p>

<p>Mike also in Nairobi says <br />
Abortion should never be legalised in Africa. Africans unlike Europeans are known to be sexually irresponsible, and legalising this satanic act of murder will culminate in more vices and escalate the hiv/aids pandemic.</p>

<p>What do you think ? Post your comment here. Or if you'd like to take part in Monday's programme, let us know</p>]]></description>
         <dc:creator>Victoria Harrison 
Victoria Harrison
</dc:creator>
	<link>https://nontonwae.pages.dev/blogs/worldhaveyoursay/2007/06/kenya_backstreet_abortions.html#042413</link>
	<guid>https://nontonwae.pages.dev/blogs/worldhaveyoursay/2007/06/kenya_backstreet_abortions.html#042413</guid>
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	<pubDate>Fri, 29 Jun 2007 19:31:23 +0000</pubDate>
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<item>
	<title>Happy Birthday Lubna</title>
	<description><![CDATA[<p>For those who listen to us on a regular basis, you'll know Lubna. She oftens calls and texts us from Baghdad.  She contacted us this week to ask what hopes she could have for the future in Iraq as she turns 21 today. Three of her friends have been killed in the last few weeks, and the once-optimist Lubna now doesn't really know what she has to celebrate.  Last night I chatted to her at length, she dictated a letter to me over the phone expressing her feelings on the eve of her birthday.....you can read it below. Lubna will be on today's programme - send her your messages or leave your number if you'd like to speak to Lubna tonight.  Here's her letter...</p>]]><![CDATA[<p>"My name is Lubna, I am a 3rd year medical student at Baghdad Medical School, I live in Al-Karradah district in Baghdad, and I want to be a paediatric doctor in the future because I love children and I hope I could treat them from any disease they’re suffering from… So I’d like to be a paediatric doctor… I’d love to be a successful paediatric doctor. I just want to live…peacefully…I just want to go on with my life peacefully, to have a normal life with my friends, with my family, at college.......</p>

<p>... I hope that, you know…it’s just like… the summer holiday is going to begin in July and that means I’m going to be locked up at home from July to October, November, because if I don’t go to college, that means I’m going to stay at home. I can’t get out because of the security concerns, especially I live in Al-Karradah district where so many terrorist attacks have happened before…so many roadside bombs and car bombs, whatever, so my family is terribly afraid of death getting inside…. especially.… In spite of being the most beautiful district in Baghdad – it’s not because I live in it, but all agree that Al-Karradah is one of the most beautiful districts in Baghdad… really, it’s really beautiful. But you know I just can’t get out and enjoy my life in the summer holidays because there are so many security concerns, so I’ll have to stay at home for about four months, or three months, until I can go on to college next year. So it’s just like, when I think about my life, it’s boring. It’s full of routine……and I hope that it would be boring and full of routine because sometimes days that change can happen in it…..just like….i was trying…</p>

<p>Look, in the beginning of June, from the 1st of June to 10th of June, I was trying to contact my friend, Sarah, in Diyala. She left with her family to Diyala. She left with her family to Diyala because her father was threatened in Baghdad. So they left for Diyala in order to get started there because, you know, it’s just like the bigger family, how can I express it, the bigger family lives in Diyala. So they left for Diyala to be with their…her  uncles, and her cousins, and whatever….so they wanted to feel safe within their bigger family in Diyala….so….a week before the 10th June, the 2nd or 3rd, I was texting Sarah … </p>

<p>You know, we in Iraq are fond of our texts, our cellphones. We like to text, we like to call, it’s like because we have nothing but each other…. so we like to contact each other a lot…this doesn’t happen in the West a lot, where everyone is busy with themselves. We here…because we are so afraid, so when a person is so afraid he tries to stick to his family, to his friends, to the people he loves and cares about. So I was texting her a lot, I was calling her a lot….I was texting her but she didn’t reply, and that is really rare. I waited for about 3 days, 4 days, 5 days….no reply. So I tried to call her… but you know it’s just like, I thought ‘What will she think when she finds ten missed calls on her cellphone? What will she think? Has Lubna gone crazy or what?’ There was no reply. </p>

<p>On the 10th June about 9pm my time … it’s a very sacred time for me because it’s the time of the broadcasting of your programme…. ….there was no programme at that time, it was Sunday …..a text came to me, I opened the text it was from Sarah’s cellphone it said….hi..I wanted to say it in Arabic….it said ‘Lubna you’ve been contacting Sarah for a week, I’m sorry to tell you that she’s dead, I’m her brother.’….I thought that she was joking, because she was doing that all the time. You know, she was …she was the…pretty girl between us. You know, we’re just like… we were girls in the secondary school and I was the….you know, I was the girl who wants to be a doctor, who wants to save the world, and Sarah was the pretty girl. I assure you…if you had seen her, you know, I just like…I tore down all the pictures after she died. I just took…my pictures with her, I just tore them down because I, I just couldn’t look at them anymore….If you’d have just seen them, she was like a movie-star, she’s very beautiful. If you had seen her alive, Victoria, you wouldn’t doubt that she’s British…she was really, really beautiful…and she was very funny, always tries to joke and laugh….and make everyone aware of her presence.  She was…there was always a noise around her.  So I thought that she was joking, I, I called back, and I called, I called. Her brother picked up the phone…he couldn’t speak…so he takes the phone to his mother, and his mother tells me the whole story. She was sitting with her father in their car, and those bad guys who were threatening him in Baghdad, followed him to Diyala and tried to assassinate him… Sadly, the bullet came in her head instead of his head. And her head was blown up in front of her father. Her father didn’t die, she died instead of him. You understand? That was what happened to her. And, after that ...I….just…you know….so…Sarah’s dead. That is the truth I had to accept…and I had a final exam the day after. And, you know, it’s just like…so…Sarah’s dead…and days passed. </p>

<p>And…and then, the 20th June came. I was still having a problem in believing that Sarah’s dead, because a person like her can not die, simply…. No, everyone accepts Sarah, Sarah can’t die…she was just…attached to life. She was life….by, by herself.   </p>

<p>And I knew that Noor came back to Iraq,  Noor my other friend. Her father and her mother came back to Iraq to finish family business.  They were..they were in Jordan….look, just look at the tragedy of life….They were in Jordan, and they came to Iraq in order to die…can you imagine that?</p>

<p>The mother and the daughter were passing through Al-Halami district. On the 20th June, which was on Tuesday, I believe, Tuesday yeah….a terrorist attack happened, and so many people lost their lives – about 70. It happened that Noor and her mother were (among them)</p>

<p>I was trying to call her an hour before your programme started, about 8 pm or so….And….her father just picked up the phone and shouted ‘She’s dead’…simply.. as simple as that … ‘she’s dead.’ She just…you know… and he just hang up in my face. And that’s how I realised I lost 2 of my friends in about ten days or so……he said ‘She died’ …that’s….that’s ….that’s the truth, that’s the fact I have to accept. </p>

<p>After that…days passed and Sunday came, this Sunday, I went to my college to discover that one of my colleagues – a first year medical student, he was 19 years old – his name was also Noor, because you know in Iraq you can call a boy Noor and you can call a girl Noor…it’s a name for both sexes…girl and a boy… Noor means life by the way in English.     </p>

<p>And his name was Noor, he was also assassinated. He was assassinated on June 17th. And there was a black sign at the door of my college indicating his murder…and…and there was.. there was a phrase on the sign, which I really, I really feel sorry about. They would say ‘We’re so sorry because he died so young…(Arabic)….we’re so sorry he died while he was so young’   …and….because you know…..his pictures were just all over….all over the, the college. And he’s like a childish face, come on, he’s young…he’s younger than me two years. And we, at the College of Medicine, we like to joke a lot about the first year medical students because they are just like kids, like children…they don’t know what to do, they don’t know how to study….they are just, you know, beginners. We like to joke about them a lot. </p>

<p>Now I just find that this kid has died….and simply…we have final exams, and we went on with our exams, just like nothing happened…we didn’t, we didn’t lose any one of our colleagues.     </p>

<p>You know when someone dies in Iraq, these days, these days, not in the beginning of the occupation…everyone says ‘Oh God, someone died...may God bless his soul.’ And then everyone would close the subject. Everyone would close the subject. Believe me, death has come as something pretty normal in Iraq…it’s no big deal.  He only died.</p>

<p>Actually, look tomorrow (Wednesday 27th), I am going to be 21 years old. Tomorrow’s my birthday…so… last year was completely better than this year. I can say it with complete confidence…Last year we were better. Last year we were pretty much better than this year. …and I can tell you with complete confidence that my 22nd birthday is going to be worse than this birthday. </p>

<p>Actually, I make so many interviews with the BBC and I was always the optimistic Iraqi girl…I was always optimistic about the future. But you know, it’s just like I tell you, we have no hope completely in this country.   We need complete chaos……those guys who were supporters of Saddam need to get back to rule in order to make things stable in Iraq. Democracy, freedom of expression.. err.. free elections…put those phrases aside, Victoria. </p>

<p>Saddam Hussein was able to hold this country with a firm hand. And he was killing everyone who stoned in his face….We all knew what we had to do…we had to stay aside from Hussein. Just leave Saddam alone. Let’s go on with our life. And everything goes well. Those guys need to get back to rule again….with an American support, without American support, I don’t know. If we go on with this, free elected governments, international unity governments …what, whatever expression I listen to. We are not going to get any further. We will just lose so many lives, so many Iraqis will die, so many Iraqis will travel abroad…..and the only thing…..you know….</p>

<p>I am a student, I told you, at Medical School.  My career is the most important thing that I really care about in my life…and you know, so many of my teachers are leaving… so many of my friends are leaving….You know what? My closest friends in college, I heard them, some day in the near past, maybe before the final exams. One says he will go to Kufa, she’ll go to Kufa in the south to proceed in Kufa University.  The other said she will go to Kurdistan…..so maybe I will wake up some day to find out that all my close friends have travelled. And what’s the worth of a person without friends? Especially if he was having a life just like ours, where we stick at home.</p>

<p>What is the level of education I’m going to get? Believe me, Victoria, we get typed copies of our lectures and we go at home to study them and then we go to our college in order to have exams on them. Nobody explains for us. Noone explains the curriculum for us. We have to teach ourselves. Not our teachers. You can imagine how good doctor I’m going to be when I graduate.  And it’s not about me, it’s about so many Iraqi students, who are so worried about their future and what they’re going to be. You know, I might be more luckier than others, because like, you know, a doctor has a guaranteed future in Iraq. But other students in other colleges they will graduate knowing that they will not get work. They will stay at home. </p>

<p>You know, I’m afraid to hope anything for the rest of my life, because whenever you hope…because you know…I, I, I used to say recently Iraq is the country of assassinated hope. You know, whenever you hope anything in Iraq you would wake up to see that your hope has gone. So I’m afraid I just want to live, to live at the moment. To live…and not to live by myself… that every person that I love and care about would live with me. I don’t want anyone that I know, and Allah, and I care about dies... That is my hope for the moment. I don’t need anything else."</p>]]></description>
         <dc:creator>Victoria Harrison 
Victoria Harrison
</dc:creator>
	<link>https://nontonwae.pages.dev/blogs/worldhaveyoursay/2007/06/happy_birthday_lubna.html#042403</link>
	<guid>https://nontonwae.pages.dev/blogs/worldhaveyoursay/2007/06/happy_birthday_lubna.html#042403</guid>
	<category></category>
	<pubDate>Wed, 27 Jun 2007 09:53:25 +0000</pubDate>
</item>

<item>
	<title>ON AIR - A solution for Darfur?</title>
	<description><![CDATA[<p>Condoleezza Rice has accused the international community of letting down those in Darfur. French Prime Minister Nicholas Sarkozy has called on countries to make a greater effort. And UN Secretary General, Ban Ki -moon, says slow but credible and considerable progress has been made to end the crisis in western Sudan.  As another round of talks takes place today, the local people of Darfur continue to suffer. 200,000 have died and 2 million have been displaced.  But what is the solution? What can be done?  Let us know what you think - follow the debate here or post your comment below.</p>

<p>To take part in the programme now call us on +44 20 70 83 72 72 or text on +44 77 86 20 60 80 - remember to tell us to ring you back.</p>

<p>Are you in Cologne? We're talking later in the programme to people on the different sides of the debate about a new mosque being built in the city.....did you join the protests against it?</p>]]></description>
         <dc:creator>Victoria Harrison 
Victoria Harrison
</dc:creator>
	<link>https://nontonwae.pages.dev/blogs/worldhaveyoursay/2007/06/on_air_a_solution_for_darfur.html#042397</link>
	<guid>https://nontonwae.pages.dev/blogs/worldhaveyoursay/2007/06/on_air_a_solution_for_darfur.html#042397</guid>
	<category></category>
	<pubDate>Mon, 25 Jun 2007 18:06:27 +0000</pubDate>
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<item>
	<title>LIVE Oil and Africa</title>
	<description><![CDATA[<p>We're on air, it's Wednesday and Peter Dobbie is hosting today's discussions. It's 100 days since our colleague Alan Johnston was abducted in Gaza, we've got dozens of messages of support for him from journalists and presenters around the world. We hope he's listening.</p>

<p>And as Nigeria grinds to a halt due to a nationwide strike over increases in fuel prices, Ghana is celebrating new oil reserves discovered earlier this week. We'll be hearing from Nigerians across the country about the impact of the strike and the test for the new government that it's seen to be. We'll also be asking Ghanaian oil - jackpot or jinx ? There are mixed reactions to the new find. What do you think?</p>

<p>Have your say - email us at <a href="mailto:worldhaveyoursay@bbc.co.uk">worldhaveyoursay@bbc.co.uk</a>, post your comments or follow the debate here on the blog, call us at +44 20 70 83 72 72 or text us  +44 77 86 20 60 80.</p>]]></description>
         <dc:creator>Victoria Harrison 
Victoria Harrison
</dc:creator>
	<link>https://nontonwae.pages.dev/blogs/worldhaveyoursay/2007/06/live_oil_and_africa.html#042389</link>
	<guid>https://nontonwae.pages.dev/blogs/worldhaveyoursay/2007/06/live_oil_and_africa.html#042389</guid>
	<category></category>
	<pubDate>Wed, 20 Jun 2007 17:47:48 +0000</pubDate>
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<item>
	<title>ON AIR - Should the Jamaican police or the media apologise over the Bob Woolmer murder claims?</title>
	<description><![CDATA[<p>Anita Rani is hosting the show - we're talking about today's announcement by the Jamaican police that the Pakistan cricket coach, Bob Woolmer, actually died of natural causes.  Earlier they'd opened a murder inquiry, fuelling speculation that he'd been killed in suspicious circumstances, and feeding rumours about who the suspects and what the motive might have been. Fingers are being pointed at the Jamaican police and the media. What do you think? Who was to blame ? Are apologies owed?</p>

<p>We'll also be talking about a case which has caused controversy in the US - a young man was sentenced to ten years in prison for having had consensual oral sex with a fifteen year old girl. He's served two years and had his sentence overturned by a judge yesterday, but the state attorney has not released him because he intends to file an appeal. Should the young man be released? If the couple had consensual sex, should he have been charged at all? Or do you think he should serve the full ten year sentence?</p>

<p>Call us at +44 20 70 83 72 72 to take part, or text on +44 77 86 20 60 80 - let us know if you'd like us to call you back, email at  <a href="mailto:worldhaveyoursay@bbc.co.uk">worldhaveyoursay@bbc.co.uk</a> or simply follow the debate here on the blog</p>]]><![CDATA[<p>Here are a few of the texts we're getting...</p>

<p>Wayne in Salt Lake City says 'Ok, so if it was the other way around & we found he'd been murdered we'd still be giving the police a hard time. They were under a lot of pressure internationally & they went off what information they had. I think it shows a great professionalism from the police that they triple checked just to make sure.'</p>

<p>Lawson from Jamaica says 'he's is ashamed that the jamaican police is so incompetent' </p>

<p>Indradale in Jamaica writes 'Is the case that complex?...i don't think so,  it only makes you think about the so-called corruption in the Jamaican police force.'</p>

<p>Riz in Sydney says 'the Pakistani team deserves an apology more than anyone at the moment, considering the loss of moral that the incident caused them. They need some encouragement don't they?'</p>

<p>Suman from Nepal writes 'I think the media handled  the coach's death very badly. Especially the Indian media accusing everyone without any grounds'</p>

<p>And coming in on the emails .......<br />
 <br />
Olivene in Jamaica says 'I am sorry that things were so protracted in coming to a definitive conclusion about Mr. Woolmer's cause of death.  However, far better to investigate thoroughly and eliminate murder as the cause than to have been slack and ignore possible evidence which could have allowed a murderer to escape justice.'</p>

<p>Stan in USA writes 'Sounds like pathology fixing.  The 1st pathologist said his neck was broken.  Either his neck was broken or not.  That cant be rocket science.'</p>

<p>Michael in Oregon emailed 'I lived in Jamaica for a dozen years... until quite recently.  Jamaica's police force are back in the 1950s.  They don't solve murders in Jamaica.   If you read the statistics you will see that that is not what the police in Jamaica do. '</p>

<p>Kalypso in Vienna asks 'What kind of doctor is this? I mean surely dying from natural death and having been strangled give TOTALLY different pictures'</p>

<p>Abu from Nigeria writes 'Bob's death couldn't have been natural. lt's a shame the Jamaican police acted like a Nigerian police cover-up.'</p>

<p>Dominic in Sierre Leone emails 'Bob was an incredible manager, his death was a great lost to all cricket associate. May his soul rest in peace.'</p>

<p>Ronald Bana in Uganda says 'Jamaican Police did professional job. I think what they said should is true. Give credit where it s due.'</p>

<p>Dr Akele in Nigeria wrote 'I find it difficult to believe that the Jamaican police cannot differentiate the difference between asphyxia from natural cause from that caused by strangulation.'</p>

<p>Alie emails 'the Jamaican police and the media should make an open statement of apology to the team and all cricket lovers all over the world.'</p>

<p>Mansour of Monrovia says 'THE POLICE MUST APOLOGIZE FOR THE DELAY IN ESTABLISHHNG THE CAUSE OF THE DEATH.'</p>

<p><br />
On our other story......</p>

<p>Jerry in the US says 'Newsflash! Teenagers have sex! And, in other news, the sky is blue, water is wet, and grass is green!'</p>

<p>Gordon also in the States writes  '10 years jail for doing what teenagers have been doing for millenia ? Me thinks this judge has neither children nor a grip on reality !'</p>

<p>Michael in France asks  'IS THE GIRL IN JAIL TOO?'</p>

<p>Hana in Prague writes 'Jailing teenagers for having sex? Why don t we jail the elderly for playing bingo?'</p>

<p>Alistair also in Prague says 'ten years is a wildly excessive term for two people agreeing to have sex, even though one was just underage. Changing the law to reflect reality is necessary to stop the judiciary becoming a laughing stock.'</p>

<p>This anonymous text says.... 'It reminds me of when  a bit of hoohah by Clinton set off impeachment proceedings in the US and stopped the country. American prisons are full enough as it is. Why jail people who were just being consensually intimate with each other ? Grow up USA !'</p>

<p>Gary in Sydney writes 'If we jailed every underage teenager in Australia who had sex we'd have to take everyone out of Tasmania and build a fence around it and send them all down there'</p>

<p>And Ash in Exeter says 'Hey underage sex is always going to happen, nobody can stop it. This guy got caught.'</p>

<p>In emails.....</p>

<p>Rodger in The Netherlands writes 'I find the position of the the Attorney General very strange. I thought Attorneys-General were there to safeguard the legal welfare of the citizenry.'</p>

<p>Peter from Jamaica says 'teenagers will have sex no matter what. it s all that hormone'</p>

<p>Jill in Portland emails 'The law is not intended for teens engaging in normal social behavior but sexual predators. What a waste of this poor boy's life and our resources.'</p>

<p>And an anonymous emailer writes 'Can you please have the Lawyer explain what would have happened had the two had consensual intercourse, not just oral sex. I think it is called the "Romeo and Juliet" law.'</p>

<p>Angel in Portland says 'Sexual moralities are not the governments business and it is the repression of sexual expression that has left us in a culture of sex-phobia and sex-obsessed mentality that is eating at the very core of our health and safety.  Teenagers have sex all the time - just like adults.  Putting an arbitrary number on when kids can start having sex "legally" is a perversion of human nature.  When anyone is having consensual sex the government needs to stay out of it - especially when the individuals are close in age.'</p>

<p>Eben writes 'I find it is funny that he is considered a teenager until he is convicted and sentenced as an adult.  But this is what you can expect from a country where the drinking age is 21 and kids are put on trial as adults as young as 13.'</p>

<p>Michelle in Detroit says 'Genarlow Wilson was headed to college and this has ruined his life!  I feel for this kid and respect his refusal to plea.'</p>

<p>Roland in Canada emails 'He is only is jail because he is black and the girl is white.  This is purely about race in the American South'</p>

<p>Ayodeji also writes 'Unfortunately, I believe the sentence was racially motivated. Consenting sex among minors???? Jail every baby-daddy under 18 in America then, including the baby mamas.'</p>]]></description>
         <dc:creator>Victoria Harrison 
Victoria Harrison
</dc:creator>
	<link>https://nontonwae.pages.dev/blogs/worldhaveyoursay/2007/06/on_air_should_the_jamaican_pol.html#042374</link>
	<guid>https://nontonwae.pages.dev/blogs/worldhaveyoursay/2007/06/on_air_should_the_jamaican_pol.html#042374</guid>
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	<pubDate>Tue, 12 Jun 2007 18:03:38 +0000</pubDate>
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<item>
	<title>ON AIR - Official translations hinder immigrant integration</title>
	<description><![CDATA[<p>We're on air at the start of the week, Peter Dobbie is in the hot-seat again. We'll be discussing the debate sparked by a British government minister who has said too much translated material can deter immigrants from learning English and hinder integration. We've had lots of comments coming in today on this subject. Let us know what you're thinking......post a comment here, email us at <a href="mailto:worldhaveyoursay@bbc.co.uk">worldhaveyoursay@bbc.co.uk</a>, text us at +44 77 86 20 60 80 - remember to let us know if you want us to call you back to take part on air, or call +44 20 70 83 72 72</p>

<p>We're also asking 'The Sopranos - why was it such a success?' After 8 years, the US television show came to an end last night.  Millions watched the last episode. What made it such a hit? And what did it do for the image of New Jersey?</p>]]></description>
         <dc:creator>Victoria Harrison 
Victoria Harrison
</dc:creator>
	<link>https://nontonwae.pages.dev/blogs/worldhaveyoursay/2007/06/on_air_official_translations_h.html#042371</link>
	<guid>https://nontonwae.pages.dev/blogs/worldhaveyoursay/2007/06/on_air_official_translations_h.html#042371</guid>
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	<pubDate>Mon, 11 Jun 2007 17:52:27 +0000</pubDate>
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