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On Monday, Diane Abbott MP wrote the letter below for the Times Newspaper column -  'The Letter I Wish I Had Written'. She writes:

Mummy,

You have been evasive about your illness and the results of your recent hospital tests for too long. That is why I asked for an appointment with your consultant.

Education Secretary: Adoption race rules scrapped

Roy Greenslade -  professor of journalism at City University and was editor of the Daily Mirror from 1990-91. wrote for yesterday's Guardian  Comment is Free  as follows:

Daily Express's new editor plays the same one-note tune

Radio 4 presenter Sarfraz Manzoor has blasted a former BBC executive for claiming that the channel was "dumbing down" by trying to get more ethnic minorities on air.

Manzoor spoke out after the BBC's former head of current affairs, Dr Samir Shah, alleged that Radio 4 was lowering its standards by hiring black and Asians in a bid to attract a more diverse audience.

US star Usher has pledged to bring his pioneering youth charity to London to help tackle knife crime.

Between his O2 show dates the singer met teenagers at Fulmar’s Brunswick Club for Young People to discuss the problems they face.

The Evening Standard has reported that the singer now hopes to establish a permanent London base for his New Look Foundation to mentor teenagers from impoverished areas.

A consortium of agencies have added their support to a letter to the Equalities and Human Rights Commission from campaigns group Black Mental Health UK calling for data collected on mental health services and ethnicity to be made public.

The letter comes in the wake of growing concerns across the community that moves are afoot to bury this information, which was due to be published back in October 2010.

OBV Alumni member  Sonia Dixon-Fairweather is setting out on a journey to  Machu Picchu, Peru, to raise money to help children in need in Haiti. She seeks your support to help her exceed the 3,500 target she has set for her trip.

One year after the devastating earthquake in Haiti, 1m people – approximately 380,000 children - remain displaced and are still living in crowded camps!

Despite resistance from Black care groups and sustained campaigns against trans-racial adoption new government guidance will advise social workers that they should allow white couples to adopt black and ethnic minority children.

The guidelines to be unveiled by Education Secretary Michael Gove this week will make clear to adoption and care agencies that if prospective adopters show that they are able to parent a child race should not be a barrier to the process.

Following the unprecedented success of the Operation Black Vote & Ministry of Justice Magistrates’ Shadowing Scheme, a series of free one day seminars entitled, ‘A Judiciary for All’ are being organised in regions across the country.

The aim of the seminars is to help improve Black and other minority ethnic (BME) representation within the magistracy and increase awareness within BME communities about the work of the courts.

An off-the-cuff mention about the merits of BBC children’s cartoon Rastamouse is said to have parked a racism row.

With comments varying from those who see the cartoon show as harmless fun to others who believe the character paints a negative image of Rastafarians.

The good natured patois-speaking Rastamouse puppet fights crime, bringing peace and love to resolve the incidents that he and  ‘Da Easy Crew’ are called out to solve.