The Israeli Army says that more than 10 people have been killed after its commandos stormed ships carrying aid to Gaza. See video footage from the ship here.
Condemnation has been swift. The Turkish government said it might cause 'irreversible consequences' to its relations with Israel.
Many of the people on board the boats are Turkish.
Israeli newspaper Haaretz speculates this could lead to a 3rd intifada, or Palestinian uprising, and says
The damage that Israel has caused itself internationally can hardly be exaggerated.
Anyone who knows me will know how deep my irritation at "anniversary journalism" goes. So i'll take the stick that goes with this post as i want to know how you think we should mark the 5th birthday of WHYS at the end of October.
Hurricane season here in Louisiana starts in two days. Today, Mother Nature gave us a preview.
The rain came down in full force as hundreds of people descended on Jackson Square in New Orleans for a protest against BP.
It was unlike any protest I've ever been to. There were colours, there were costumes, and there was Cajun music. This is people-power Mardi gras style.
George Barisich is a third generation fisherman here in Louisiana.
I spent yesterday on his boat in Bayou La Loutre hearing how this oil spill is affecting his life and that of his friends. He fears it will spell the end of their culture.
I spent the day with fishing families in the Bayou La Loutre, about 30 miles east of New Orleans. Many of them were just recovering from Hurricane Katrina nearly five years ago.
"Now this," shrimping fisherman Charles Robin III told me. "I have no idea why we are constantly kicked while we're down."
Chloe here: Will you continue to donate to the International Committee of the Red Cross knowing they provide this kind of training? Is it morally wrong, or is neutrality a fundamental part of the charity's work? The ICRC will be coming on to today's show to take your questions.
There's lots of chatter on Twitter about this story. Here's what AEBJ tweeted:
'Red Cross has been giving Taliban food, blankets & medical supplies for years. I will never donate 2 them again'
Chloe Tilley| 13:59 UK time, Thursday, 27 May 2010
As pressure grows on President Obama for his handling of the Gulf of Mexico oil spill, the White House says a moratorium on deepwater oil drilling will be extended for six months. In that time a commission will study the reasons for the spill, which is on course to be the worst in US history.
Critics say Barack Obama should take over the disaster response if BP's latest tactic to plug the spewing oil - known as a top kill - fails. Others says he should have acted sooner.
A Nobel Peace prize-winner, a former UN Secretary General, a diplomat and a world leader walk into a.....well not a bar actually, but a room with microphones.
Four of the Elders - all of them African - Desmond Tutu, Graca Michel, Kofi Annan and Ladkhar Brahimi - will be meeting Lyse Doucet in South Africa at the weekend to talk to the audience of young people, but she also wants to put your questions to them.
This video is all over the place at the moment and shows a 2 year old Indonesian boy smoking a cigarette. Ardi Rizal smokes 40 cigarettes a day. His parents say he was given his first cigarette at 18 months and now he cries if he isn't allowed to smoke.
WillieGeist tweets,
'As the father of a 2-year-old, I'm outraged by this smoking baby'
traceyann says it's
'totally disturbing to watch'.
But not everyone is as shocked, tinkerbella27 tweets
'so wrong yet perversely funny'
chemistryofcool writes
'Funny how people get about a 2 year old smoking cigs. What about the 100s of 1000s of kids eating happy meals each day!!! Get over it.'
Prime Minister Bruce Golding has vowed to undo Kingston's reputation as one of the world's murder capitals. But does the recent violence mean too much damage has been done?
On the deathbed of the old Jamaica, we need the confessions of truth about the current tragic state of affairs. The old Jamaica is dying so as to give birth to the new country. I remain hopeful.
Good going Singapore, felicitations Geneva and despite your financial woes- way to go Dubai. But a special 'ich gratuliere' to Vienna who have come out top in Mercer's quality of life survey.
Chloe here, there seems to be alot of confusion about North Korea and whether it is an aggressor we should fear, or a victim without the power to inflict any damage... should it want to. So on today's show we are assembling a panel of 3 people to answer your questions about North Korea. You can post them here.
Hello from New Orleans. I arrived late last night to a very muggy and warm Louis Armstrong International Airport. Hopping into a taxi, my driver Betsey was ecstatic to hear I was here for the BBC World Service to cover the human stories of the oil spill.
"It is truly horrible, what's happening," Betsey exclaimed. "All of us taxi drivers are afraid it's just another thing that will kill tourism in New Orleans."
Google, the world's most popular search engine, is itself being looked into this week as investigations are launched to find out whether its collection of private Wi-Fi data across the world is illegal. Germany opened an investigation last week, alongside a letter from privacy commissioners across the world sent to Google, questioning privacy issues.
It's finally here. The eagerly awaited iPad hits shops around the world on Friday.
Apple stores will be open one hour earlier than usual in order to meet the exceptional demand - and give the queuing public a break. Pre-orders have soared and analysts predict sales might hit a million units in under a month.
If you're American, you've heard this all before. The iPad has been been available in the US since early April - and one high profile citizen is not impressed.
Jamaica and Dudus Coke - two names that are still on many most read news sites around the world today. Today, more people have been killed in Kingston as security forces continue to look for Dudus Coke and battle with the people loyal to him.
The WHYS team were fascinated to hear the details of how 'garrisons' work in Kingston.
We'll go back to some of those people in Jamaica to hear what's happened in the past 24 hours, and discuss further benefits men like 'Dudus' can bring when the state fails to provide.
His humble origins make him a liberator for poor, black South Africans. His fiery mouth make him feared by some and a nightmare for many others, black and white. Whichever way you look at it, Julius Malema has become one of South Africa's most controversial and influential political figures.
In a recent BBC interview, Malema has defended his behaviour after being disciplined by the ANC over a series of outbursts about race, Zimbabwe and President Jacob Zuma. You can here the interview here.
Original post:
Christopher 'Dudus' Coke does not crave media attention, he goes about his business quietly and is benefactor to some of Jamaica's poorest. Sounds pretty noble to me.
Hi there WHYS listeners! It's Robyn here from the World Update programme. I wanted to say a quick hello and introduce myself before hopping on a plane bound for New Orleans first thing on Tuesday morning.
I'm headed to Louisiana for the next two weeks to cover the human stories from the oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico. I'll be speaking to shrimpers and crabbers who fear their livelihoods may be destroyed by the spill.
This is the New of the World story that's been picked up around the world, and this is the BBCNews.com update on it. The Duchess of York Sarah Ferguson is alleged to have accepted £40,000 with the promise of half a million more to give a businessman access to Prince Andrew (her ex-husband who has a role as a UK trade envoy).
The businessman turns out to be the NOTW's notorious 'Fake Sheikh'. This was a classic case of entrapment. Does Sarah Ferguson deserve to hang her head in shame? Do you feel she's betrayed the Royal Family? Or should our ire be turned on the NOTW for using these kind of tactics? Maybe you couldn't care less...! But we know many of do fee strongly about the Royals so it'll be on today's show.
Dr Craig Venter and his team created their own synthetic "genetic software" and put it into host bacteria cells. The cells then changed to look and behave like the species that was transplanted into them. As Dr Venter told the BBC
As soon as this new software goes into the cell, the cell reads it and converts into the species specified in that genetic code.
It took Molly Norris only half an hour to draw the Prophet Muhammad in the likeness of a coffee cup and a box of pasta. It was a moment of creativity which inspired a page on the popular social networking site Facebook called 'Everybody Draw Mohammed Day!' with thousands of budding artists ready and willing to have a go at painting the prophet.
They loved us and left us. At least, most of them loved us. But they've all gone, and each one played a part in making WHYS what it is. So thanks to all. Here they are in the order in which they've said goodbye - starting with the most recent.
This has been amongst the most read on bbcnews.com for hours now. We're going to hear your reaction to an international report's conclusion that a North Korean submarine's torpedo sank a South Korean navy ship on 26 March. We're particularly keen to hear from you if you're Korean, Chinese or Japanese. How should your countries respond?
A baby of 6 months can tell the difference between good and evil and not only that but most babies choose good over bad. In a recent study Professor Paul Bloom from Yale University says: 'Just about all the babies reached for the good guy'.
Remember the old saying "Give me a child until he is seven and I'll give you the man"? Do we need to be taught to be good, if we're born that way?
This is Rima Fakih, she's the first American Muslim Woman to be crowned Miss USA. Rima is a 24-year-old from Michigan of Lebanese origin. Unsurprisingly the blogs haven't been slow to comment on her victory. Tunku Varadarajan from the Daily Beast celebrates her triumph. He says Rima's win will advance cultural diplomacy:
"This example, this integration by bikini, could go a long way toward demonstrating to Americans that Muslims are not a weirdly, frighteningly monolithic group, and thus begin to break down prejudice."
He's accused of being smart enough to out-smart officials at one of the world's most renowned academic institutions. For many, Adam Wheeler's entry into Harvard is proof enough that he's one clever guy.
'The guy has balls - he "acheived" something. At least Adam Wheeler's lies were trying to get him somewhere,' says one comment on the Liars' Club forum.
And many like Pattranid_J on Twitter just want life back to normal
'Getting worse and worse. Is this how you guys really love Thailand? Please stop it. I'm embarrassed.'
Despite the fact that four senior Thai anti-government protest leaders have now surrendered to the police, the country is on edge. Is this really game over for the Red Shirts?
Not according to Asia Sentinel who feels that this is a new type of revolution.
A proposed new law in France to stop women wearing the Burkha in public would punish husbands more severely than their wives because the French government believes many women are forced to wear it by their husbands
Punishments for men could include one-year prison sentences and fines of up to $20,000, whereas women caught wearing the burqa would face a smaller fine of about $140 because the draft says they are
Last month the state of Arizona passed America's toughest law on illegal immigration.
Police now have the right to detain people on "reasonable suspicion" of being illegal immigrants.
According to a recent ABC News Poll 59 percent of Americans approve of the law.
The issue has generated a lot of discussion over the past couple of weeks, including here on the WHYS blog. Now, it's back in spotlight as the Mexican President, Felipe Calderon visits Washington.
The blame game continues as the story of the BP oil spill evolves. There doesn't seem to be a consensus on exactly what risks were taken, how much damage has been done, or when it will be cleaned up and who will foot the final bill. It's tough to get to the truth.
Major General Khattiya a renegade Thai general who supported the red shirt protesters has died after he was shot in the head last week. Since then fighting between protesters and soldiers has intensified and dozens of people have been killed. The government has rejected a call for the UN to hold talks between the two sides, and has told protesters to leave their camp or face jail.
Some people would argue this isn't a debate about what you learn but where you learn it. Is it time to stand up and say if you live in a country you should only be taught about its culture at school, you can learn about anything else at home?
Krupa's original post If you're one for cultural unity, Arizona might not be your favourite place right now.
Chloe Tilley| 14:06 UK time, Thursday, 13 May 2010
She was a sex symbol in the 1970's and has been married four times, but now Hollywood star Raquel Welch is questioning whether the contraceptive pill has damaged the institution of marriage.
"One significant, and enduring, effect of The Pill on female sexual attitudes during the 60's, was: "Now we can have sex anytime we want, without the consequences. Hallelujah, let's party!"
It remains this way. These days, nobody seems able to "keep it in their pants" or honor a commitment! Raising the question: Is marriage still a viable option?"
It's Britain's bromance- a match made in heaven . But why do Nick Clegg and David Cameron, seem to get along so well when it was only last week that they were sworn enemies?
The Telegraph tells us not to be fooled, but for others like Bernard Donoughue, there is something more fundamental that means that these two leaders can and will get along.
My mum always told me to marry an slightly older man - "they're more mature" she'd say. I didn't. I married a man my age and apparently that's been a wise move - I'll live longer.
That's the line from a new report that finds that having an older or younger husband can reduce a woman's life expectancy. For men however, a younger woman means a longer life.
It's hardly a meeting of like-minded politics, but somehow two British political parties - one on the left, the other on the right - are to govern Britain for the next few years.
The new Deputy Prime Minster Nick Clegg hopes this will be a "new type of politics".
Attacks on the pope and the church come not only from outside the church, but the suffering of the church comes from inside the church, from sin that exists inside the church
The words of Pope Benedict on the abuse scandal that's rocked the Catholic Church.
Hi Nuala here with a request from the BBC World Service's first writer in residence!
Hamid Ismailov will be writing creatively about events in the news over the next two years and in his first post he talks about the clash between his day job of covering dramatic events versus his urge to write creatively away from work.
And, Hamid has a project for you.
He's asking you to write in 200 words or less on how you strike the right balance between your daily work and creativity. Click on this link to post your experience or to read how your fellow listeners manage to do it.
ANOTHER UPDATE...Conservative Party leader David Cameron has become the new UK Prime Minister with Nick Clegg, head of the Liberal Democrats as Deputy Prime Minister.
Watch and read about David Cameron's first speech outside 10 Downing Street
UPDATE: Just 25 hours after Gordon Brown stated his intention to resign, he stood outside 10 Downing Street and resigned. As I write, he is in Buckingham Palace tendering his resignation to the Queen. David Cameron is expected to go to the Palace in the next hour and become the new UK Prime Minister.
SHEETAL'S ORIGINAL POST:
British Prime Minister Gordon Brown has just announced he intends to stand down. This follows days of speculation after a general election failed to produce an outright winner.
Frank Ahrens thinks we may look back on yesterday and say "that was the moment the euro was saved" or "that was the begining of the end for the euro".
What happened yesterday? Well,16 European countries agreed on an emergency stability package to stop the Greek debt crisis from spreading to other eurozone countries. It didn't come cheap, it's a cool 750 billion euros and some think it may not work.
One month to go until the first football World Cup ever to be staged on African soil.
There were great celebrations and high expectations from some that the 2010 tournament really would be a World Cup for Africans with a fabulous legacy.
And although thousands queued in Cape Town to see the trophy last week - which was also pictured with a certain former President - there is some disquiet over whether ordinary people will actually benefit from the tournament.
One of the phrases we've heard a lot throughout the financial crisis is moral hazard.
This is the idea that people protected from risk behave differently than they would if they were fully exposed to the risk.
The term has come up again following Europe's trillion dollar support package for ailing Eurozone economies.
Peter Boone and Simon Johnson wrote on the influential economics blog, The baseline scenario,
"This is a whole new level of global moral hazard - the result of an alliance of convenience between troubled governments in the south of Europe and the north European banks who enabled their debt habit."
For a lot of us, I suspect The Markets are the afterthought in news bulletins, the mysterious numbers the news presenter rattles through, the graphic the TV people put up between more interesting items ...
But in a couple of the big stories of the moment, it seems The Markets and their up-and-down numbers are calling all the shots.
The results of the UK election are still coming in as I write, and although the Conservative Party is in the lead, so far there is no clear picture of who will form the next British government.
The Conservatives have won 305 seats, followed by Labour on 258 with the Liberal Democrats coming in third with 57 (I'll update these figures as more results come in). In order to gain a majority in parliament the Conservatives needed to win over half - that is 326 seats.
Hundreds of voters have been turned away and police have been called to deal with queues which meant hundreds of Brits did not have a chance to vote.
Tiggerchick emailed the BBC,
' I'm disgusted that I have just been denied a vote. I have been at work all day so turned up to vote at 9.30. The queue was huge. There were only 2 people checking off details to allow votes. Why didn't they put more people on? How many other places this happened in and therefore how valid the final count will be!'
22:51:Houghton and Sunderland South constituency first results in...goes Labour's way although down 12%
22:44: Mandelson: "The public has won the election"
22:25: David Cameron will fall 19 seats short of a Commons majority, according to a joint BBC/Sky/ITV exit poll.
22:05: BBC economics editor Robert Peston on his blog after big falls on US markets: Will the new British government inherit responsibility for the second global financial crisis in less than two years?
On today's show, in light of the sentencing to death of the sole surviving Mumbai gunman, we're looking at whether the death penalty is the only option when dealing with terrorists. Previously when we've discussed the death penalty on WHYS we often focus on the moral issues. But the view coming out of India is that this man should die to protect the population from him becoming a bargaining chip in the future. Sensible, logical argument or something that will do little more than escalating the violence?
And does it depend on the gravity of the crime? The scale of the atrocity? Should a failed bomber, like the person responsible for the Times Square attempted attack in New York, face the death penalty?
NUALA'S ORIGINAL POST
The only gunman to survive the 2008 attacks in Mumbai (Bombay) has been sentenced to death by a court in India. Mohammad Ajmal Kasab, will be executed by hanging for his involvement in the three-day siege which left 166 people dead. The death penalty still has to be confirmed by a higher court, but it is unlikely to be overturned.
UPDATE: The oil spill continues to dominate headlines with questions about the risks involved in drilling for oil. Today, New York Times columnist Thomas Friedman also chimed in, he thinks there's no fooling Mother Nature:
"You can't fool Mother Nature. She knows when we're just messing around. Mother Nature operates by her own iron laws. And if we violate them, there is no lobby or big donor to get us off the hook. No, what's gone will be gone. What's ruined will be ruined. What's extinct will be extinct -- and later, when we're finally ready to stop messing around, it will be too late."
You mentioned "the debts being passed on to young people around the world" and ask the question "Have those between 30-70 years old, bequeathed their children and grand-children the cost of their lifestyle?" I think it's a fascinating question, and deserves a full show about it.
Nigerian President Umaru Yar'Adua has died following a long illness. The government announced seven days of national mourning and said the president would be buried on Thursday.
How will you remember President Umaru Yar'Adua?
Between 0500 and 2100GMT, we're not allowed to publish any comments about the UK election. So please don't post comments between those times as they'll just get deleted. These restrictions also mean that we won't be tweeting, posting on facebook, or initiating discussions on subjects relating to the UK election.
BUT.... from 2100GMT, I'll co-presenting a UK election special with Robin Lustig and from then on your involvement is more than welcome. Krupa, Tom and I will be online right through the night.
Here's the idea for today's show ahead of tomorrow's election. We've invited a panel of five voters onto the programme who are willing to listen to your advice on the issues that they should make a priority, and the candidates that they should support. So what would tell our panel of UK voters? Which policies affect you, and which policies should be the most important when they decide which way to vote?
One of your panellists isn't planning to vote. You may have some words of advice specifically for him.
CLAUDIA'S ORIGINAL POST:
Khaliq in Kabul wants more troops in Afghanistan. He thinks the Conservative party in the UK is the most committed to this, and so he's voting for them in the British general election on May 6th. Atique lives in Bangladesh and his house was once destroyed in a cyclone. He's really worried about climate change and thinks the Liberal Democrats will do the most to fight it, so they've got his vote. Kwabena from Ghana is worried about international trade and says Britain has enormous power in global politics. He thinks the Labour party are most likely to look out for his interests and is voting for them.
All three are taking part in 'Give Your Vote' where people in the UK (who have signed up) are directed to vote for a particular party by someone in another country. The campaign says politicians in powerful countries make decisions on issues like war, climate change, migration and poverty, which affect people all around the world. They are trying to give those people a democratic say in those decisions.
'Torn between voting with my heart, and voting tactically to avoid the worst case scenario. 35 hours to decide... '
What would you advise?
The British election kicks off tomorrow and many voters are still undecided. As the prospect of a hung parliament continues to loom, tactical voting is becoming a real option for many voters like Parrais.
In recent days the Labour party has come under fire for calling on people to vote tactically - a call that has been dismissed by former Prime Minister and party leader Tony Blair. Mr. Blair thinks it's simple - vote for who you believe in - but is it really that simple?
How far would you go to keep the candidate you don't support out of power?
A couple of months ago, our World Affairs Editor, John Simpson, produced a harrowing report about the number of birth defects in the Iraqi city of Fallujah.
Watch it here:
He describes children suffering from paralysis or brain damage - and a photograph of one baby who was born with three heads.
... for the whole of Tuesday's programme. For most of you he'll need no introduction, just in case though, this is the self-styled 'skeptical environmentalist' who has refused to accept the majority view of what's happening to our environment and why.
Afghanistan, Sudan and Yemen are just some of the countries that feature in the bottom ten. And of the developing countries, Cuba has come out top for providing the best conditions for motherhood.
What's been your experience of childbirth and pregnancy where you are? Are you expecting a baby at the moment and are you satisfied with the level of care you are receiving?
It's worth a cool 146.2 billion dollars, and there's no way the Eurozone members and the IMF would have signed off the three-year package for Greece, if the Greek government hadn't been promising a range of austerity measures.
Yet, according to opinion polls around half the Greek population is prepared to take to the streets to oppose these austerity measures - something that some of you are far from impressed about. As it was this or defaulting on a debt payment, a little gratitude might be in order you argue.
Increased taxes, a raised retirement age and pay freezes are just some of the factors that pushed angry Greeks onto the streets of Athens this weekend in protest against the agreed EU and IMF bailout.
'Berlin today does not look or feel like an imperial centre....So you might understand why Germans, and their leaders, have been slow and wary to accept that their fortunes are now intimately linked to a circle of countries that have become economic colonies, and that this responsibility carries very large-scale, and non-optional, costs and responsibilities for the German taxpayer.... the front page of Bild, the flamboyant Berlin tabloid that represents a window into the country's unguarded id, went apoplectic: "Billions for Greece: What's In It For Us?" it asked in three-inch-high type.'
If you are part of a community like the EU, is it fair for your country to have to bailout other members? Is that part of the deal? What if your own country was in financial crisis?
WHYS is a global conversation hosted by BBC News. For updates on the stories and issues being covered on our broadcasts, pls visit our facebook page. This is when we're on air:
1100 & 1700GMT Monday to Friday BBC World Service radio
1500 & 1930GMT on Fridays BBC World News television
This page is best viewed in an up-to-date web browser with style sheets (CSS) enabled. While you will be able to view the content of this page in your current browser, you will not be able to get the full visual experience. Please consider upgrading your browser software or enabling style sheets (CSS) if you are able to do so.
| 12:05 UK time, Monday, 31 May 2010
Some people would argue this isn't a debate about what you learn but where you learn it. Is it time to stand up and say if you live in a country you should only be taught about its culture at school, you can learn about anything else at home?
One month to go until the first football World Cup ever to be staged on African soil.
