Is it time for fat people to fight back?

In a short while Newshour’s Saturday programme will be on air with a close look at the “fat acceptance” movement which has been in the headlines because of President Obama’s choice for Surgeon General, and because reality television has recently embraced fatness with a series of new programmes.

On air: Can we trust ourselves not to get into another financial mess?

If you haven’t been affected by the economic crisis in one way or another, a) you’re very lucky and b) where do you live?! I want to move there!

This past year has seen many of us who don’t really have an interest in the business section of the newspaper sneak a peak to try and make sense of it all.

Every economist was trying to get their head (and ours) around what had happened. Even the Queen of England wanted to know why no one had predicted the crisis?

On air: Has anything in Iran changed?

It has been 40 days since Neda was shot dead in Iran, and this is traditionally marked by Shia Muslims.

People are posting messages in memory of her. Jamshid wrote

‘…We will never forget you nor what you represent – the will of a nation to be free! Sleep in peace Neda, for the Iranian nation is awake.’

40 days on, has anything changed in Iran?

1989 and all that….

How many people remember the momentous events of 1989? The revolutions across Eastern Europe, the sense of impending change, the excitement of “people power”?

Chances are, if you’re in your 20s or younger, you’ll have heard that Europe used to be divided by the Berlin Wall, but you didn’t live through those years.

On air: Women of Gaza : Virtue reality

“We have to encourage people to be virtuous and keep them away from sin “

Hamas has launched it’s “virtue campaign” in  Gaza . 

Lingerie can’t be displayed in shop windows, female lawyers will have to wear headscarves in court and teenagers must stop playing “suggestive” music.

Men and women are also being told to celebrate separately at wedding parties.

On air: Do gay people still need separate events?

On your marks. Get set. Gay!

The World Outgames 2009, a celebration of gay sport and cultural diversity, has kicked off in Copenhagen.  The Games’ website says the 9-day event celebrates “the talents and contributions of homosexual, bi-sexual and transgender men and women from every corner of the globe”. And, in true flamboyant style, its 5500 participants were introduced on a ‘catwalk’ .

Should you serve a sentence in the country of the crime?

Pregnant British woman Samantha Orobator, convicted of drugs smuggling in Laos, could serve her jail term back in the UK after successful talks between British and Laotian authorities. She’d been threatened with the death penalty after trafficking 680g of heroin, but became pregnant in jail. Under Loatian law, pregnant women cannot be sentenced to death.

What’s worse for your health, a bad marriage or divorce?

A study out this week says divorce has a lasting impact on your health, with divorcees 20 per cent more likely to suffer from chronic illnesses than those who never marry. For those who get married again after divorce, the figure drops to 12 per cent.

Can you still afford private education?

It’s James here – scholars of WHYS cameos will know I’ve occasionally sat in the presenter’s chair in the past (I’ve posted the evidence below :-)).

At the moment i’m working as a reporter for World Service, and I’m wondering if the WHYS community can help with a story i’m looking into. I’m asking whether financial problems are forcing parents to take their kids out of private schools and put them into the public system.

On air: Is Islamic extremism Africa’s newest fear?

150 people were killed in Northern Nigeria after two days of violence. Residents in the state of Borno said that Islamic militants burnt a police station, a church and a customs office early yesterday.

The group, which calls itself Taliban, emerged in Nigeria in 2004. It has never been clear if it has proper links to the Taliban in Afghanistan but its leaders profess allegiance to and admiration of Osama bin Laden.