On air: “Do starving Africans a favour. Don’t feed them”

This is what Sam Kiley suggests in his article.

Is the best way of helping Africa … well, not helping it? Or helping in a different way ?
Sam’s article came up last week when we were discussing the famine in Ethiopia,25 years on, and the latest appeals for aid.

America’s deadliest month in Afghanistan

Just seeing that 8 US soldiers have been killed in bomb attacks in southern Afghanistan. That means 55 Americans have died there this month which according to AP makes this the deadliest month since operations began back in 2001. Does the level of casualties affect your opinion on whether the Americans should be there?

Fareedoone’s story on being a student in a war zone

I’ve been on the phone to Fareedone this morning explaining what we’re trying to do today and he had a lot to say and is very excited. Read his story below. Tonight, he’ll be talking to Lubna in Baghdad and and Arsalan and Khadija in Islamabad.

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My name is Fareedoone. I am 25 and I am from Afghanistan. I am a Student of Law in Kabul. I was invited by World Have Your Say to share my experiences as a Student who’s grown up in a conflict zone.

Lubna’s story on being a student in a warzone

Update: Since this post first went up last week, Lubna’s been on big demand speaking on BBC Radio 4’s the Today Programme and The Weekend News on BBC Radio 5 live. I’ll try and dig up a clip…

Last week all schools and universities were closed in Pakistan after suicide bombers attacked a university in Islamabad this week. We thought it would be interesting to have a discussion about how difficult life is for young people living in countries such as Iraq, Afghanistan and Pakistan. So we asked Lubna, a medical student in Baghdad, to tell us her story. If you have any questions for Lubna or want to take part as a student growing up in conflict please get in touch with the WHYS team via this blog.

Khadija’s story on being a student in a war zone

I am Khadija Ali from Rawalpindi, Pakistan. I am 20 years old, a law student, living in a conflicted country since 2001. Although we have to some extent gotten accustomed to the suicide bombing in our country, the recent attack in Islamic International University has depressed the youth of this country on a completely different level.

Church of Scientology “guilty of fraud”..

A court in France has found the church guilty of fraud – but has stopped short of banning them from the country.

The case centred on a complaint by a woman who says she was pressured into paying large sums of money after being offered a free personality test.

France regards Scientology as a sect, not a religion and prosecutors had asked for the group’s French operations to be dissolved.