The UN’s former envoy to Afghanistan, Kai Eide (pictured), has strongly criticized Pakistan’s recent arrest of high-ranking Taliban leaders. Eide told the BBC the arrests had completely stopped a channel of secret communications with the UN. Pakistani officials insist the arrests were not an attempt to spoil talks. Jason Margolis will have more in today’s show.(Audio available after 5PM Eastern)

• BBC interview with Eide
• Taliban conflict
• Richard Holbrooke on the fight against the Taliban

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A strike by British Airways cabin crew will go ahead after talks between the airline and the Unite union collapsed. A three-day strike begins on Saturday, with a four-day strike scheduled to commence on March 27. BA’s CEO Willie Walsh said the strike was “deeply regrettable” while Unite’s joint general secretary Tony Woodley claimed that BA “ultimately wants to go to war with this union”. Laura Lynch reports from London. (Audio available after 5PM Eastern)

• BBC coverage

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The Vancouver Winter Olympics may be over but athletes from around the globe are still competing in British Columbia, this time in the Paralympics. Rick Hansen is following the Games in Vancouver. He’s a former Canadian Paralympian and an activist for people with spinal cord injuries. Jeb Sharp talks with him. (Audio available after 5PM Eastern)(Photo: Nicholas Wolaver)

• BBC coverage
• Rick Hansen Foundation
• Rick Hansen videos

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Touch screens on high-tech gadgets may be fun to use, but making them is another story. Kathleen McLaughlin is a reporter with Global Post based in China. She’s found that in at least one Chinese factory that produces touch screens, workers were exposed to a toxic solvent that violated local codes and was used without proper safety equipment. Host Jeb Sharp speaks with Kathleen McLaughlin. (Audio available after 5PM Eastern)(Photo: Mikael Häggström)

• Global Post: Kathleen McLaughlin’s series “Silicon Sweatshops”
• Photo Gallery: Silicon Sweatshops
• The World: Lead recycling in Senegal
• The World’s Technology Podcast

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Secretary of State Hillary Clinton has dismissed the idea that US-Israeli relations are in crisis amid a quarrel over Jewish settlers in East Jerusalem. The spat has certainly been getting a lot of attention in both the US and Israel. But what’s been the reaction in the Arab world? The World’s Jason Margolis has more. Download MP3

• BBC coverage
• The East Jerusalem issue
• Jerusalem’s controversial archaeology

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Where the Blue and White Niles meet in Khartoum, Sudan, lies Tuti Island. While Khartoum developed into a modern city, Tuti retained its bucolic environment. But that may be about to change now that a new bridge has been built connecting Tuti to the capital city. Reporter Hana Baba has the story. Download MP3 (Photo: Hana Baba)

• View pictures and read the transcript

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The US Pacific Island territory of Guam is notable not just for its US military bases, which are soon to be expanded. Guam is also the world’s leading consumer per capita, of Spam. The World’s Mary Kay Magistad reports about the Guamanian craze for processed meat. Download MP3 (Photo: Mary Kay Magistad).

• Official Spam website
• Guampedia: Spam Fried Rice

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BBC DJ and world music champion Charlie Gillett has died after a long illness, aged 68. The British broadcaster is credited with discovering Dire Straits in 1976 after playing Sultans of Swing from their demo tape on his Radio London show Honky Tonk. The World’s Jeb Sharp has an appreciation of Gillett’s work. Download MP3

• BBC coverage
• Charlie Gillett’s website

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Haiti’s government estimates that the country will need $11.5 billion to rebuild after the devastating earthquake in January. Although it’s been a terrible tragedy it has also provided a rare opportunity for Haitians who are living in the United States illegally. The federal government is allowing undocumented Haitians to apply for temporary protected status – or TPS. It will allow them to get jobs and come out of the shadows. The World’s Katy Clark recently met some Haitians in the Boston area who were applying for TPS. Download MP3 (Photo: Katy Clark)

• BBC coverage of the earthquake
• USCIS Responds to Haiti Earthquake
• On The World: How to fix Haiti’s economy

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Reporter Amy Bracken is currently on assignment in Haiti, a country that she knows well, having lived and worked there extensively in the past. The World asked her to keep a diary of her experiences on this trip. In this, her first entry, she writes about being back in the country, and about how the Haitians are preparing for the rainy season. (Photo: Amy Bracken)

• The World: Amy’s coverage from her previous trip to Haiti (Jan. 19, 2010)
• The World: Amy reflects on post-earthquake Haiti (January 14, 2010)

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An important piece of history has been lost in Uganda. Fire destroyed a 150-year-old royal tomb in Kampala on Tuesday. It’s not clear who or what caused the blaze. What is clear that the thatched-roof mausoleum, called the Kasubi Tombs, was an object of deep reverence by Uganda’s largest tribe, the Buganda. In fact, it was a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Jeb Sharp talks with the BBC’s Joshua Mmali is in Kampala. Download MP3

• BBC coverage
• In pictures: Kasubi tombs fire
• Kasubi Tombs website

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The small town of Ballina is known as ‘the Salmon Capital of Ireland’. It’s home to only about 11,000 people. But it’s also home to an extraordinary collection of historical documents. The World’s Alex Gallafent reports from New York. Download MP3 (Photo: Courtesy of the Jackie Clarke Library and Archive)

• See photos and read the transcript
• The Jackie Clarke Library and Archives

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Emotions have been running high in Jerusalem over the al-Aqsa mosque, Islam’s third holiest site, which sits on the Haram al-Sharif or Temple Mount, next to the Jewish Western Wall, in Jerusalem’s heavily contested walled Old City. After several weekends of riots by Palestinians over rumors that a Jewish temple will be built there , Israeli police sealed off the West Bank and limited Muslim prayer at the mosque. As Daniel Estrin reports from Jerusalem, the archaeology of the area can be just as explosive. Download MP3

• BBC coverage
• On The World: The East Jerusalem issue
• Archaeology and the struggle for Jerusalem

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US Middle East envoy George Mitchell has postponed a visit to Israel amid a continuing quarrel over Israel’s decision to build more Jewish homes in East Jerusalem. The building announcement angered Washington. Tension remains high in Jerusalem, with more security forces moving in as rock throwing protesters vent their frustration. The World’s Matthew Bell chronicles the developing tensions over East Jerusalem. Download MP3 (photo: Matthew Bell)

• Matthew’s pictures from East Jerusalem
• BBC coverage
• On The World: Strains in US-Israel relations

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The wounds of World War II are still deeply felt in the Baltics. That was evident in Latvia today where veterans gathered to commemorate troops who had died defending Latvia against Stalin’s Soviet invaders. The annual ceremony angers some in Latvia because the troops being commemorated fought in two Waffen SS divisions on the side of Nazi Germany. The BBC’s Damien McGuiness is in Latvia’s capital Riga. Download MP3 (Photo: German Bundesarchiv)

• BBC coverage
• Country profile: Latvia

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