Why is Africa Poor ?

BBC correspondent ,Mark Doyle went on the road to ask that question across the continent. He’s come back with three documentaries. Part one – Africa and the world- airs Monday on the BBC World Service Radio. Mark will join us on WHYS do discuss the issue and share some of the things that he has come accross during his visit. Read on and have a look at Mark’s first post from Liberia. Why, do you think, is Africa poor? Also, post any questions you have to Mark here.

On air: Was it right to release the Lockerbie bomber?

He’s going home. The man convicted of killing 270 people in the 1988 bombing of a Pam Am flight over the Scottish town in Lockerbie, has been released from prison on compassionate grounds. Abdel Baset Al-Megrahi is already on his way home to Libya, where it is believed he will die of prostate cancer within three months.

Should athletes be excluded for having a natural advantage?

She’s very, very fast. And she’s very, very fit. But is ‘she’ really a she? And do we have the right to demand an answer to that question?

18 year old Caster Semenya has gone from relative anonymity to being discussed around the world after some lightning fast performances on the track in recent times, and winning the 800m in one minute and 55.45 seconds at the World Championships in Berlin yesterday.

But questions are now being asked about the new world champ – very personal questions that go right to the heart of just who Semenya is.

On air: Is a flawed election better than no election?

It’s the eve of elections in Afghanistan but even before a vote is cast, questions are growing about how credible the poll will be. The Taliban say they will disrupt the election and there’s been more violence today. A BBC investigation suggests the election could be beset with fraud and corruption after voting cards were being sold openly.

Is Iraq going backwards?

Iraq is still coming to grips with the deadliest series of attacks in the country this year, which left 95 people dead in the capital Baghdad yesterday. 
And as they reel from those horrors, yet another bomb has reportedly has gone off near a restaurant today, killing another two people.

The prime minister, Nouri Maliki, called Wednesday’s bombings “a desperate attempt to derail the political process” in Iraq and has ordered a security review.  But will a security review make any difference?

Should we all lead transparent lives?

Jeff Jarvis is a man whose thoughts I always pay close attention to. I don’t always agree with him, but he continually tests the assumptions that we make about which parts of our lives we can and should share. Now he has followed his arguments through and decided to blog and tweet about the news that he has prostate cancer.

Here, he lays out why there will come a time when the benefits of us sharing the details of our lives will outweigh all concerns about privacy. In a previous column he’s argued that all journalists should be open about who they vote for. Do you agree? And would you be willing to be open about your qualifications, marital history, political inclinations, health and just about everything else? And if we all followed suit, would that create a world you’d be excited to live in? Also worth considering these recent stories about Twitter…

Has the West backed the right man in Afghanistan?

  “Karzai has one of the most difficult jobs imaginable. But what is clear is that he isn’t doing it anywhere near as well as he used to. One can’t help but think that someone who has not had their character changed by the stresses and strains of the job might, at least briefly, do better and be better for Afghanistan.”

That’s the case from the Spectator for why Hamid Karzai must lose Thursday’s election.

What takes priority – respect for someone’s culture or your principles?

I am getting married this weekend and I know how hard preparing guest lists can be. So I cannot imagine how this couple felt when one of their  guests, the British MP Jim Fitzpatrick,  turned up with his wife at the Muslim ceremony only to walk out when he discovered that men and women would be segregated.

On air: Does America need to treat visitors with more respect?

And do certain stars deserve different treatment? These two questions sit at the heart of your discussions off the back of the Shah Rukh Khan story which has gone into orbit online. In case you missed it…

The greatest athletic performance of all?

You don’t have to speak to German to know what the commentator’s saying here. I was in the car, and when the BBC guy on the radio shouted ‘Nine point five…’  my eyes welled up as they do when sport really takes you by surprise. Can anything compare with knocking 0.11 off a record that has slowly come down in hundredths?