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31/01/2015

Morning news and current affairs. Including Yesterday in Parliament, Sports Desk, Thought for the Day and Weather.

2 hours

Last on

Sat 31 Jan 2015 07:00

Today's running order

0715
Andargachew 'Andy' Tsege, a father of three from London and a prominent critic of the Ethiopian government, has been held in a secret location in Ethiopia since his kidnap at an airport in Yemen in June 2014. Now, the authorities in the country have broadcast a video of him, in which he appears to deny recent media reports that he has been tortured. Yemi Hailemariam, Andargachew 'Andy' Tsege’s partner. Maya Foa, Director of the Death Penalty team at Reprieve.

0720
The British Army is setting up a new unit to help it fight wars using psychological operations and social media. Seventy seven brigade will be made up of regular troops and reservists as well as civilians with specialist skills in the internet age. The unit will resurrect the old Chindit insignia of a Chinthe - a mythical Burmese creature that's half lion, half dragon. Jonathan Beale, Defence Correspondent and Simon Bergman, retired British army officer who spent a significant amount of time carrying out psychological ops and public affairs work in the Balkans, Kosovo, Iraq and Afghanistan.

0730
The Police Federation, which represents 124,000 police officers in England and Wales, is calling for an expansion in taser availability, following evidence of terrorists’ plans to kill officers. Their leaders will vote next month on a proposal that every frontline officer - traditionally unarmed - should be trained in the use of Tasers. Steve White, chairs of the Police Federation.

0740
Is tennis still a young person's game? Serena Williams steps out on court as the oldest Australian Open finalist today. The 33 year old is taking on her long-time rival, 27 year old Maria Sharapova, who first stormed onto the scene a decade ago, beating Williams at Wimbledon at the tender age of 17.Μύ The men's game paints a similar picture - Andy Murray beat 19 year old Nick Kyrgios, and the pundits' favourite -23 year old Grigor Dimitrov - to win his place in Sunday's final alongside his fellow 27 year old veteran, Novak Djokovic.
Nick Bollettieri, is world famous for coaching some of the best players in the world and Greg Whyte, is a sports scientist.

0750
Labour's general election campaign is just a "pale imitation" of Neil Kinnock's losing operation in 1992, with the prospect that it could deliver the same result, Alan Milburn, the Blairite former health minister warned this week. Labour's focus on extra funding for the NHS without plans to deliver the reforms that the service needs could prove to be a "fatal mistake".Μύ Is he right?Μύ Is Labour on course for failure at the polls? Are they focusing too much on the NHS to appeal to core voters?Μύ Is this a re-run of 1992 and is there a split opening up in the ranks?Μύ Roy Hattersley, Labour's deputy leader in 1992 and
Mary Riddell, political commentator for the Daily Telegraph

0815
The Government's proposals to place a legal duty on universities to prevent students being drawn into terrorism and to ban extremist speakers has run into more opposition this week. When the proposals were debated in the House of Lords peers who spoke out against them included the former head of MI5 Lady Manningham-Buller. The Bill is due to come before the House of Commons again next week. So should the Government back down? Baroness Pauline Neville Jones, Former Security Minister and
Dusty Amroliwala, Deputy Vice Chancellor of University of East London.

0820
Today marks the 150th anniversary of the birth of the Irish poet, WB Yeats. The Βι¶ΉΤΌΕΔ's Paris Correspondent, Hugh Schofield, has come across an unpublished poem by Yeats about his muse Maud Gonne and the death of her baby boy George, and how she tried to reincarnate the baby by having sex on his tomb. The poem On a Child's Death was written by Yeats to mark the death. Prof Warwick Gould, Senior Research Fellow, Institute of English Studies, University of London.

0830
The EU Commissioner for Economic and Financial Affairs, Taxation and Customs, Pierre Moscovici, has told the Βι¶ΉΤΌΕΔ that Greece must honour its financial commitments and there is no support among the other Eurozone countries to write off its debts. Mr Moscovici made his comments in an interview with HARD TALK, as Greece's new left-wing finance minister Yanis Varoufakis held talks in Athens with Jeroen Dijsselbloem, the head of the Eurogroup - the eurozone finance ministers. Mr Varoufakis said his government will not negotiate over the Greek bailout conditions with the "troika" team from the EU and IMF. Pierre Moscovici, The Commissioner for Financial Affairs at the European Commission,. Stathis Kovelakis, Reader in Political Theory, at King’s College London.

0840
Previously secret papers have revealed that a former senior British diplomat was engaged in "sexual perversion" in the 1960s and was vulnerable to blackmail.Μύ The briefing for the then Prime Minister, Margaret Thatcher, said that Sir Peter Hayman had fantasies about children but hadn't acted on them.Μύ He was also a member of the now notorious Paedophile Information Exchange group.

0850
The Muslim Council of Britain is organising a national on Open day on Sunday 1st February 2015: British mosques all over the country will open their doors to the public. The initiative, named #VisitMyMosque, is part of a national initiative by Muslims to reach out to fellow Britons. Ameena Blake is the Assistant Secretary General, the Muslim Council of Britain.

0850
The British Army is setting up a new unit to help it fight wars using psychological operations and social media. Seventy seven brigade will be made up of regular troops and reservists as well as civilians with specialist skills in the internet age. The army says the new force has taken inspiration from the Chindits, British soldiers who fought deep behind enemy lines in Burma during the second world war. The unit will resurrect the old Chindit insignia of a Chinthe - a mythical Burmese creature that's half lion, half dragon.
Tony Redding, Author of Wilderness: The Chindits in Burma, 1943-1944,
Paul Shenton, Chair of Friends of the Chindits Association.

0855
To vote in a mature democracy demands a historical perspective going back to the post war creation of the welfare state, according to historian David Kynaston. He thinks politicians are failing us with a debate which lacks historical depth. TV debates in particular, he says, must be a forum for debate not just delivering statements as they were in last general election. He’s the inspiration for a festival at the Southbank Centre in London combining politics, culture and society to help fill the gaps in that debate – a three month project that takes us up to the election (the festival starts today).

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Broadcast

  • Sat 31 Jan 2015 07:00