Topics for the day
A lively editorial meeting this morning, resulting in some stories we definitely want to cover - Egypt, African land reform, the fear of youth violence - one to check out (Nepal), and some that we'll try and develop over the next day or two - wind farms, peak oil, and funeral music.
On the bombs in Egypt, we began talking about the effect on the tourism industry, and wondered about asking whether you would think twice about going there on holiday or for a visit. But some people felt this was an overly western perspective on a story that's primarily impacting on Egyptians themselves. So we've decided to hear from Egyptians; what do they want the government to do to prevent more attacks, who do they think is responsible, will they keep visiting the Red Sea coast?
We'll be looking at land reform across southern Africa, prompted by President Mugabe's offer to white farmers to lease back land. Is this a sign that land reform has failed in Zimbabwe? Will white farmers who've left think about going back? And how will it be seen in South Africa and elsewhere, where land reform has proceeded more cautiously than in Zimbabwe? Let us know if you have a view on this.
In Britain a group of mothers have set up their own political party and are busy campaigning for next week's local elections. They want to reclaim the streets from violent and anti-social youngsters. It's an issue that affects people all over the world and we'll put a debate up on the bbc website to pull in as wide a spread of opinion as we can.
The protests in Nepal have turned into a mass celebration of people power, following the king's climbdown yesterday. We've heard a lot from Nepal in the last couple of weeks. Is it time to hear back from Nepalis? Is it too soon? We've decided to ring round some of our recent callers to gauge the mood, and will take our cue from them.
And thanks to Bob, who emailed us to suggest we cover the topic of 'peak oil' - the theory that oil production may have peaked and the future will be one of falling output and rising prices. We hope to get Bob on the programme to explain why he wants us to cover it, and we plan on covering it on a future programme.
Finally, what music do you want played at your funeral? It's in the news in the British papers, with suggestions that the traditional choices of religious music and hymns are being replaced by more modern alternatives. It's one of those great questions that everyone has a view on. We'll try and post it on the bbc website and perhaps return to the subject on tomorrow's show.
