On air: Staring into the abyss?

Hello I’m Stephen Nolan. Today I’ve been asked to present World Have Your Say from my home town of Belfast. On my phone-in radio programme that went out on BBC Ulster today, I listened to Angela the wife of a police officer who told me how her son clung to her husband terrified he would be shot, begging him not to go to work. She echoed the fear and shock for many in our province that dissident factions have murdered two soldiers and one police officer in the last few days.

Back to the troubles?

As I write Shaimaa is grabbing our technical equipment and heading to the airport for tomorrow’s special programme live from Belfast. In the last 48 hours 2 soldiers and a policeman have been shot dead in two separate incidents. The first murders of security forces in more than a decade.

The programme will be hosted by the Sony Award winning presenter Stephen Nolan, from an as yet undecided location. He’s born and bred in Belfast and presents radio and TV programmes on BBC Radio Ulster and our sister station here in the UK BBC Radio Five Live. There is, frankly, no-one better to illustrate to the world what the mood is like in Northern Ireland at the moment.

On air.. Africa and the economic crisis: Your stories

Meet Alfonse. WHYS will be coming to you live from his little bar this evening. 

His place doesn’t have a name, and it doesn’t need a name -it’s the only hang out on the coast of Dar-es-salaam. It’s located on the famous Oyster Bay where families lay out picnics by the side of their cars every sunday and young men lounge on the bonnets of their cars to woo the ladies.

Alfonse tells me that people save for weeks to be able visit his bar once a month. It never used to be this way and he’ll be joining us on the programme this evening to tell us more.

Northern Ireland tomorrow, Africa today…

2 soldiers shot on Saturday, a policeman last night… Northern Ireland’s troubles appear far from over. We’re going to be in Belfast tomorrow asking if, contrary to recent impressions, peace continues to be a fragile thing.

Is Northern Ireland staring into the abyss once again? Comments and questions below for tomorrow’s programme.

Today’s programme is coming from Tanzania for a special link up with Senegal and Zambia (and you) as the International Monetary Fund meets there to discuss the impact of the economic crisis on Africa. Read about her first impressions here. Her latest post is below.

On air: Don’t blame bankers – its our fault

The issue of who’s to blame for the financial crisis is again hot in the news today. The IMF says its taking the blame for not warning the crisis was on its way. And in a major speech over the weekend, the Archbishop of Canterbury said blaming the bankers is far too easy and governments should take more responsibility. But are we missing the crucial point here? Could the biggest blame lie, in fact, with ourselves?

Krupa in Tanzania

KofI Annan, Jeffrey Sachs, Bob Geldof and many other famous names are attending the IMF African economy conference in Dar-es-Salaam tomorrow – but none of the locals I spoke to today seemed to care. Most did not even know such a high profile event was even taking place on their doorstep.

Talking Points for March 9

Time to retire retirement? Should you stop working at a certain age? Whose decision it? Would you like to be able to retire but cannot? See Tom’s blog here.

***

The death of Mrs Tsvangirai

It’s been confirmed that Susan Tsvangirai, the wife of Morgan Tsvangirai, the new prime minister of Zimbabwe, has been killed in a car crash south of the capital, Harare. Morgan Tsvangirai was slightly injured. A member of Mr Tsvangirai’s MDC party, said the couple were travelling to their country home in Buhera where Mr Tsvangirai was due to hold a rally on Saturday, when their car was in collision with a truck.

On-air: Is the Catholic Church out of touch over abortion?

A nine-year-old Brazilian girl who was raped has had an abortion. The Catholic Church have excommunicated her family and the doctor as a result. Is the Church right to remove them from the faith or is the Church out of touch?

The end of retirement

Around the world, from Finland to Kenya, the retirement age is rising. Money has gone from pension funds, governments need workers to stay on longer to keep the economy going, some simply want the opportunity to be able to work into their 70s. So do we need a retirement age?