Blank Page No.2

Your Blank Page hosts this weekend are Brett in Virginia and Lubna in Iraq. All yours you two…

Which pop song best sums up the Olympic torch saga?

Hello Jon here. In the corridors of the BBC in London today we’ve been trying to come up with the pop song that tells the tale of the much embattled Olympic torch….our efforts are none too clever….China in Your Hand by Tpau, Candle in the Wind by Elton John, Eternal Flame by the Bangles…can anyone do better?

On air: Who leads Africa?

At the suggestion of the Zambia President, tomorrow the two sides in Zimbabwe will sit down at a meeting with southern Africa’s political elite. Have Africa’s leaders once again shown themselves slow and ineffective in responding to a crisis? Or is the fact that violence in Zimbabwe has been limited since the election evidence that men like Thabi Mbeki are quietly guiding the continent extremely well. Who do you want to take a leading role in Africa?

Should the torch attendants be banned?

Japan’s decided it’s not interested in having the ‘Olympic Holy Flame Protection Unit’ surrounding the Olympic torch when the relay arrives in Nagano. These are the guys in blue tracksuits who looked anything other than amateurs.

Talking Points for 11 April

Good morning, Zimbabwean opposition leader, Morgan Tsvangirai has met with South African president, Thabo Mbeki ahead of an emergency summit on Zimbabwe this weekend. But what does he expect him to do and is he strong enough to do it?