Radio
April 13, 2011
Other messages are appearing on the walls of north-eastern Baghdad; messages warning men against shaving their beards and women against choosing Western clothing over the abaya. As quickly as the messages are painted over by the security forces, they return elsewhere.
These slogans are the work of the Sadrist movement based in Iraq, of which the Mahdi Army is a part.
I spoke to Dr Ben Isakhan, research fellow at Deakin University’s Centre for Comparative Social Research, Faculty of Arts and Education about the influence of the Sadrist movement and its leader Moqtada al Sadr in Iraq.
Recorded for ‘Neighbourhood Watch’ on Radio 2Ser – aired April 13, 2011.
March 9, 2011
Ships are taken hostage in the Indian Ocean on a regular basis and the situation is getting worse by the week.
Last year one thousand one hundred and eighty one people were held hostage off the Somali coast. About half were released after the payment of ransoms and roughly seven hundred and sixty are still being held.
Many have died due to neglect and hunger and last month four Americans were shot dead on their private yacht.
The pirates are attacking both merchant and tourist vessels and in some cases using the merchant ships to launch further attacks.
The number of attacks has risen dramatically in the past few years. In 2005, there were thirty five attacks compared to two hundred and nineteen last year.
Ransom demands have also increased sharply from one hundred and fifty thousand dollars in 2005 to an average of five point four million dollars per ship last year.
International shipping bodies have been working hard to tackle the growing problem.
Peter Hinchliffe is the Secretary-General of the International Chamber of Shipping in London. He explained what the problem involves and what is being down to combat it.
Recorded for ‘Neighbourhood Watch’ on Radio 2Ser – aired March 9, 2011.
March 2, 2011
Last April the largest cheese sculpture was built in Ostend: one thousand and fifty nine kilos of Gouda.
And in August, two thousand eight hundred and seventy five people broke the world group hula-hooping record.
Today sets a new world record. Belgium has now been without a government for two hundred and sixty two days making it the longest any country has been without a government.
A patchwork of political alliances makes forming government in Belgium a traditionally fraught process, but never has the process dragged on this long without an end in sight.
I spoke with Professor Pascaline Winand Director of Monash European and European Union Centre in Melbourne.
Recorded for ‘Neighbourhood Watch’ on Radio 2Ser – aired March 2, 2011.
February 16, 2011
For many Ugandans he is the only president they have known and his work in reforming parts of society have not gown unnoticed.
Uganda has seen peace for the past quarter of a century, public stability and continual economic growth. As the West floundered through the GFC in 2008, Uganda saw economic growth of 7% and this year is expected to see growth of 4%.
A general election is being held in Uganda tomorrow local time electing the president and all parliamentary and local government seats.
Australian social worker Sue McCarthy, has been working intermittently in Uganda over the past six years and has just returned to Australia after spending time on the campaign trail with local candidate Florence Nayiga.
I began by asking her what the locals’ desire for a change in government.
Recorded for ‘Neighbourhood Watch’ on Radio 2Ser - aired February 16, 2011.
