On Wednesday 25 January 2012 at 11.00GMT Bill Gates, the founder of Microsoft and the Gates Foundation, will be linking up with students to discuss Global issues. Every year the entrepreneur releases a letter detailing his plans for his foundation and this year students who work with the BBC's World Class project have written to Mr Gates to give him their ideas on how to change their world.

If you'd like to take part you can write to the Foundation here and also send your thoughts to World Class.

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As I wait for my bags in the arrivals hall a Libyan man wearing a Canadian baseball cap launches himself into the arms of his family. They can't contain their emotions; the men quickly dry their eyes before the crowds notice.

The last time I came to Libya I had to travel two days across the desert to reach Tripoli, the slow queues in the airport were a dream compared to the cramped condition of a small car crammed with our equipment.

Over the next week WHYS will be in Libya to broadcast five live shows on a range of issues from five locations. Tune in at 1100gmt to catch them.

Graffiti on a wall in Libya

I've only been here a day but it's clear on the surface many things have changed; most of the armed check points have gone, new shops have opened and the standard of revolution graffiti has become an art form. However, from speaking to the people many of the deeper problems remain.

There's real concern about the number of guns on the streets and people are struggling for money. In August citizens laughed off these worries but now, months on, it's a huge challenge for the new interim government.

During the week we'll try to reflect on what happened during the revolution, talk to Gaddafi supporters about their situation and hear about the concerns of people living here.

If you want to get involved post a question below or on our Facebook page.

Today on BBC World News TV the founder of Wikileaks, Julian Assange, will be taking your questions live on-air.

The whistle-blowing website has released information from a variety of countries but it's perhaps most famous for publishing three batches of US government documents relating to the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq as well as thousands of diplomatic cables.

Many of you have already been in touch about the documents; the lack of redactions, the motivation and the consequences of their release but there are also other things to talk about. Julian Assange has become a controversial figure, I notice a few posts on Facebook talking about him as a person and his motivations.

Also, questions over the future financing of wikileaks has been raised this week. You may have also read in the past 24hrs that a date has been set for the ruling on Mr Assange's bid to block extradition to Sweden.

We'll be broadcasting live from 15.00GMT. If you'd like to ask him a question you can post below or our Facebook page.

Writing in an official government newspaper explaining the law the French Prime Minister Francois Fillon said, "The French Republic lives in a bare-headed fashion,"

The fine is more symbolic than anything else, a 150 euro fine, that's £133, $217. However people forcing women to wear the veil face a much larger fine and a prison sentence of up to two years.

If you want to join the discussion, you can call country code 44 20 70 83 72 72, text country code 44 77 86 20 60 80, email us, or post here. Thanks for taking part.

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Dubai is said to be the hub of the gulf and home to experts and ex pats from around the region, so it's a good place to come to examine what's taking place in nearby countries like Bahrain.

Owen Bennett-Jones and I have been broadcasting special editions of our sister show Newshour from Dubai all weekend. Owen has now left and I'm staying on to gather some students together for tonight's WHYS.

Dubai is relatively liberal for the Middle East, people have a certain amount of freedom but its hard to get people to open up. I've heard the phrase "I don't talk politics, just economics" stated a few times.

As I wondered through the few traditional souks left in Dubai and visited the giant malls that have replaced them people are guarded about what they say. The one Emirati that did speak to me tried to explain why "We have everything we need here. When I was married I was given $22,000 cash with free land and a house. Why do I need to fill my head with politics? I just live my life and be happy."

The Al Maktoum family has ruled Dubai since 1833 but you'll be hard pushed to find people on the street who has anything but high praise for the Sheikh. There's a certain amount of pride in what's been achieved here.

Many of the protesters around the region want democracy, the people here have no say over who leads the country but when you have so much success and wealth does it really matter? My Emirati friend doesn't think so - I wonder how many of you would take wealth over democracy?

This topic was discussed on World Have Your Say on Tue 15 Feb. Listen to the programme.

Over the past few weeks my email inbox has been fit to burst. I'm part of a special BBC mailing list that started out looking at social media trends in Tunisia during the protests and then spread to encompass all the protests across the Middle East.

Experts from across the BBC share the latest news, video, images and tweets in order to help gather fresh news and content. It's meant to be an alternative method of news gathering and often feeds into the reports produced by those on the location.

Today I've received images of protests and security forces in Iran. Other people have forwarded tweets from Bahrain, Iran and Yemen.

It's clear that the protests are spreading but will anything become of it? On the show tonight we'll try to pull together some of the best content we've received and try to give you a picture of what's been going on in the Middle East today.

Reporters from BBC Arabic and BBC Persian TV will give you a flavour of what's being said across the region.

See listeners' comments about this programme

After three shows from South East Asia it’s back to business as usual on WHYS with Chloe presenting from London.  Ros and team will be back from Bangkok in time for Friday’s TV programme, which you can catch on BBC World News at 15.00gmt.

Egypt is still by far and away the most talked about story, after just three weeks of protests some commentators are saying we’re witnessing a world changing event that will usher in “a new age in world history.” Strong stuff but for some things aren’t changing quickly enough.

Baroness Warsi is seen as a fast rising political star in the UK, she’s the chairman of the Conservative party, which is part of the ruling coalition, and the first Muslim woman to be a Cabinet minister. Yesterday she said Islamophobia is not just rife in Britain but it’s also the last socially acceptable form of bigotry.

For far too many people, Islamophobia is seen as a legitimate, even commendable, thing. You could even say that Islamophobia has now passed the dinner-table test. So when people get on the Tube and see a bearded Muslim, they think 'terrorist'; when they hear 'Halal', they think 'That sounds like contaminated food'; and when they walk past a woman wearing a veil, they think automatically 'That woman's oppressed'. And what's particularly worrying is that this can lead down the slippery slope to violence.

If you’re in the UK do you think she is right? For those of you outside the UK does Baroness Warsi’s comments ring true for you? Are you worried about it? Or do you feel its legitimate to have concerns about the Muslim community?

This has obviously sparked much debate in the UK and I just wanted to give you a flavour of some of the emails that have been sent to the BBC from the Muslim community.

 
Ovais in London says

I've been born and raised in the UK. Before 9/11 it wasn't much of an issue being Muslim but afterwards, the Pakistani jokes changed to Muslim jokes, even with my non-Muslim friends.

I tend to find the media doesn't help, including the BBC. A case of domestic violence involving Muslims will automatically get a headline saying 'A Muslim man beat up his wife', which immediately gives a negative image of Muslims.  

Mohammed in Birmingham emails...

Why is Baroness Warsi raising the subject of Islam as a talking point? To me it seems pretty farcical, almost counter-productive. All she is doing is bringing the whole Islam-Islamaphobia issue to the fore.

There are prejudices, but there are other prejudices occurring in different parts of the world that are far more important than this.

Tariq in Bedford emails

I've lived in the UK for 37 years and I don't know of anyone else living near me who is also from Afghanistan so I understand why some Muslims stay together. People need the comforts of a shared language and culture. There are lots of frightening, daunting and intimidating circumstances where people need to be near someone else who understands their fears.

Is casual racism towards Muslims becoming acceptable behind closed doors? Is it the result of some Muslims being seen as a threat after the attacks on 9/11, the London and madrid bombings? Or, as WHYS listener Kevin in North Carolina believes, is it a reaction to Muslims portraying themselves as victims?

Why are all the Muslims so much more testy about their faith and assassinate people who are only exercising their freedom of speech rights when it comes to a joke? ....If Muslims stopped using religion as a propaganda tool and weapon, took better care to fully educate ALL of their children, including women, and took legitimate measures to eliminate corruption in their political systems, and less of an interest in "revenge" killings, maybe we'd all be better off.

Men accused of murdering police, IRA members convicted of a bomb attack aimed at the UK Prime Minister and now Charles Taylor. For thirty years Courtenay Griffiths QC has made his name as a leading barrister who's prepared to defend the notorious. On Wednesday he'll be taking your calls and questions on WHYS. 

Mr Griffiths has been called one of the most influential people in British law, he's outspoken on a range of issues and is now lead counsel for the first African leader to be tried for war crimes. 

Charles Taylor stands accused of 11 counts of terrorism, murder, rape and torture. Those of you who listened to the programmes broadcast from Sierra Leone in December will remember all too well the details of the civil war. The former leader of Liberia is charged with arming and directing rebel groups from the neighbouring country in order to take control of Sierra Leone's diamond fields.  Charges Mr Taylor denies.

The court case is by no means over but you'd have already seen the headlines, particularly when Naomi Campbell and Mia Farrow testified. At the time Courtenay Griffiths was noted for his flamboyant style, one newspaper even printed a list of his "killer put-downs." 

"The morality of Charles Taylor is none of my business. That's between him and his God, whichever God he chooses to worship. My job is to present his case in court. I'm certainly not going to be making moral judgements about any of my clients. I've defended, for example, terrorists - but to make a moral judgement about such defendants is to forget that, you know, one man's terrorist is another man's war hero."

At present the vast majority of cases brought to The Hague are against Africans, Mr Griffiths would like to see a more even playing field.  "There's an unbalanced application of international law against African leaders...If Blair came to The Hague I'd switch sides and do some prosecuting." 

Originally from Jamaica, growing up in England Mr Griffiths is also very outspoken about racism.  

"One of the first times I went to court in south London, I arrived in court suited and booted, brief in my briefcase - only to be told: 'Oh, the defendants sit at the back of the court sir'. "Meaning, because I was black, I had to be awaiting a charge, or had to be up on a charge. I couldn't conceivably be a barrister representing anyone in that court."

On Wednesday the 19th Myself and Ros will be in The Hague to broadcast the show with Courtenay Griffiths QC. Please post any comments, questions or suggestions you may have.

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Update: All afternoon we have been hearing of new developments in Tunisia. President Ben Ali sacked the government before declaring a state of emergency in his country, which says that gatherings of more than three people are banned.

The latest reports from Al-Jazeera say that President Ben Ali has left Tunisia and the army has taken over and the Prime Minister is now in control.

The situation in Tunisia is changing rapidly. For the latest updates, follow the BBC's live event page.

President Ben Ali has been President of Tunisia for almost 25 years; he won his fifth term with ninety per cent of the vote. Opposition groups said the vote was unfair, human rights activists claim his government jails opponents and clamps down on free speech.

Protestors fed up with the situation and angry at the lack of opportunities have taken to the streets. The government reacted with lethal force leaving 23 dead.

However, despite all this, last night the President appeared to make a dramatic u-turn. In a speech to the nation Mr Ben Ali expressed “deep and massive regret” and went on to announce political change.

Only this week the President called the protestors “terrorists” but now claims he was misled by advisors and troops have been ordered to only fire in self-defence. Measures to scrap censorship and slash food prices were also revealed.

Today they were further indications of political change, the foreign minister said it would be possible to form a national unity government involving the opposition.

Protests are still due to take place today, with demonstrators calling for the President to leave office immediately. Is this strong leadership or a man who’s been forced into change? Are you convinced by the reforms?

Has the President been backed into a corner or is he simply admitting he got it wrong? Isn’t that the sign of a good leader – the ability to listen to the people? Would you like to see your leader back down more? or is it a sign of weakness?

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You’ve probably heard of El Nino or “Little boy” well there’s another equally damaging weather pattern called La Nina or “little girl.” The reason people have suddenly started talking about it is because it’s causing havoc on a global scale.

There’s massive flooding in Australia, Sri Lanka, the Philippines and now Brazil with many hundreds dead and millions affected. Meanwhile, drought is leading to a spike in food prices in Argentina, Brazil and Uruguay. 

Experts say the cooling of the tropical seas in the Pacific is having a knock on effect around the world. For a good explanation have a look at this BBC video. La Nina is a regular weather pattern but it hasn't caused a major event like this since 1989.

Some computer climate models tend to show a future trend toward more El Nino episodes as the world warms.

Climate scientists say it will be some years before a clearer pattern is likely to emerge. By then computers will be much more powerful to run detailed, high-resolution simulations to test the impacts of warmer oceans and atmosphere over time-scales of several decades to a century.

Scientists say a warmer world will mean more extreme droughts and floods and possible sudden shifts in ocean or atmospheric patterns, with devastating impacts.

On Monday we asked if the shootings in Arizona reflected the state of political debate in the US, many acknowledged a problem with the type of language used but there was much discussion about whether it was new or dangerous.

Speaking at a memorial service yesterday, President Obama entered the debate. Mr Obama urged people to talk to each other in a way that healed, not in a way that wounded. The President said blaming opponents for “all that ails the world” was unhelpful.

As the debate rages over the impact and nature of political debate in the US the question is will people listen to the President? We’ve heard many liberal commentators label this shooting a wake up for America – but will anything change?

For me, Obama’s best moment came when he warned that “what we can’t do is use this tragedy as one more occasion to turn on one another.” In his honor, I am not saying a word about Sarah Palin’s video.

So that’s one commentator holding back but do you expect the same from others? Jill Lawrence from politics daily called the speech Lincolnesque but it unsure whether this will change anything:

Is this a turning point? As we now know, even 9/11 -- the ultimate unifying national trauma -- did not set us on a path to harmony, or even civil debate. Obama is offering another chance at a new start. It's partly up to him to make it happen. The rest is up to us.

 

This topic was discussed on the 12th of January 2011. Listen here  

Unfortunately WHYS all too often discusses violence between ethnic or religious groups. After a long civil war Sudan thinks it may have the solution to its tensions; split into two. It’s a little more complicated than that but dividing the Christian and Muslims populations is the essence of it.

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There’s a long history of violence between two regions, which is too long to go into here but you can read about here. On Sunday, as part of a peace deal, the South started a referendum on possible independence.

Many other African nations are watching events closely, as Greg Mills and Terence McNamee from South Africa's Cape Argus explains

The south's inevitable divorce from the north is causing jitters in African capitals and further afield. The oft-heard mantra is that it would open a Pandora's box of separatist claims elsewhere in the continent.

There are separatist movements in Somalia, Senegal, Angola, Congo and some people have even called for Nigeria to be broken up. Ivory Coast could be another example? in Nigeria thinks this could spread:

The referendum in Sudan could have a domino effect. It is likely to be infectious to other parts of Africa in the sense that most countries , particularly in the west, are divided along the lines of Christians and Muslims.

This referendum raises all kinds of questions about the nature of a country; when do regions have the right to go it alone? For the sake of peace is it just easier for countries to be divided on ethnic or religious grounds? Is the Sudan referendum a model for other nations?

This topic was discussed on 10th January 2011. Click here to listen to the programme.

Another grey morning in London today, Nuala wrote about the shooting in Arizona over the weekend and I’m spending the early part of my shift moderating your blog posts and looking over comments on Facebook and Twitter. It wasn’t long before many of you started to draw a link between the tragedy and tone of political debate in the US.

London Ring Rules posts

Politics desperately needs to right itself with truthful, civilized discourse conducted by honest brokers to avert worsening tragedies.

However many of you don’t see it in the same way, Jennifer writes:

The shooter was just crazy; and he is responsible for his actions. Sarah Palin should not be blamed for this shooting. I got the same email contribution request with the crosshair graphics that some are saying incited this violence. The implication that the crosshairs meant anything violent is inaccurate.

Of course Jennifer is referring to a much criticised campaign run by 2008 Vice President Nominee Sarah Palin. The campaign used cross-hairs to target key campaigns in the recent midterm elections. Mrs Palin is no stranger to using gun metaphors, she’s often used the phrase “Don’t retreat, reload.”

Commentators are saying it’s this kind campaigning that’s contributed to a highly charged atmosphere in US politics. Even Gabrielle Giffords herself warned of the repercussions of this kind of debate:

The way that she has it depicted has the crosshairs of a gun sight over our district, when people do that, they have got to realize there are consequences to that.

What do you think? Can you draw a link between the tragedy and angry political debate? The Sheriff investigating the shooting is quoted as saying “The anger, the hatred, the bigotry that goes on in this country is getting to be outrageous.” Is he right or is this simply the act of a deranged gunman? Is it wrong to read too much into this?

Some writers, including Jack Shafer are saying as aggressive as this language is its hard to draw a link with direct violence:

For as long as I've been alive, crosshairs and bull's-eyes have been an accepted part of the graphical lexicon when it comes to political debates. Such "inflammatory" words as targeting, attacking, destroying, blasting, crushing, burying, knee-capping, and others have similarly guided political thought and action. Not once have the use of these images or words tempted me or anybody else I know to kill. I've listened to, read—and even written!—vicious attacks on government without reaching for my gun. I've even gotten angry, for goodness' sake, without coming close to assassinating a politician or a judge.

So should this type of debate be accepted? Does a hot debate make things more interesting? Or do you want politics to be reserved and measured?

Today, as part of our discussion on this shooting we’ll be hooking up with KJZZ, a NPR station in the capital of Arizona. I’m sure they’ll give us a good flavour of how people in the state are reacting and what they are saying. In the meantime I’m interested in hearing your thoughts.

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This topic was discussed on World Have Your Say on Tuesday 4 January 2011. Click here to listen.

Update: After an attack on a church congregation in the early hours of New Years day Christians in Egypt are desperate to make a point. They’ve clashed with Police every night since the bombing and in Cairo last night there was a riot in the North of the city.

One protestor said the situation in the country is critical at the moment:

It's driving all of Egypt into a volcano. People need to take initiative, people need to wake up, and people need to look out for our rights. We are not a minority. This is our country just as much as it is the Muslims  We have a presence in the country, and we have to be considered, but we are completely placed on the sidelines.

Christians make up ten percent of the population in Egypt. This attack has sparked a debate in the country and people are discussing the role of Christians in the nation and the wider Arab world. What do you think? Do Christians have a future in the Middle East?

Worshippers at the al-Qiddissin church in Alexandria, Egypt had hardly seen the New Year in before a car bomb exploded as people left the midnight service. Since then hundreds of angry Coptic Christians have taken to the streets calling for better protection.

Over the festive period we’ve seen a number of other attacks against Christians, particularly in Iraq. On New Years Eve a series of attacks across Baghdad killed two and injured 14. In October an attack on a cathedral in the capital killed more than 50 people.

Journalist Mark Seddon believes this is more than just a series of attacks:

We may be witnessing a new age of Christian persecution.

Some Iraqi Christians believe the attacks amount to Genocide with over half a million fleeing their homes in the country. Pope Benedict XVI is also very worried about the situation, in his New Year message he announced he would organise a summit with other religious heads to discuss how peace can be achieved.

Muslims and Christians alike have been targeted by inter-religious violence many times through history – is this time any different? Can different religions ever leave in peace?