Reuters Online is inviting readers to send their questions about London’s staging of the 2012 Olympics to Seb Coe and John Armitt, key figures behind the preparation and running of the Games.

London’s successful bid has raised both expectations and ire among the general public and athletes.

Cost, design, current training facilities, the legacy and environmental issues have been among the questions put to organisers during political debates in the London Assembly.

Reuters is inviting readers to put their questions to Coe, who heads the London Organising Committee of the Olympic and Paralympic Games (Locog), which is responsible for preparing and staging the 2012 Games, handing out most
of the contracts.

Armitt, chairman of the Olympic Delivery Authority (ODA), will also be available to answer questions in connection with the building of the new venues and their
use after 2012.

Reuters will pass a selection of your questions to Coe and Armitt, and print the questions and answers on the site at a later date.

European Union leaders are celebrating after clinching agreement on a treaty to reform the nation bloc’s institutions, bringing to an end two years of supense and stalemate.

The 27-nation bloc will get a long-term president, a more powerful foreign policy chief, more democratic decision making and more say for the European and national parliaments.

Prime Minister Gordon Brown said no red lines have been crossed in handing over powers to Europe, and Britain retains opt-outs on justice, tax and social security rules, workplace legislation and union rights and foreign affairs.

But Rupert Murdoch’s stable of newspapers has made it clear they believe Brown has betrayed the country, signing over to Brussels veto powers in 61 areas. “Bottler Brown in Euro sell-out”, the Sun’s front page said.

The Conservative Party has called for a referendum on the treaty, saying Brown had walked away from an earlier promise to hold one.

What can Britain do to ensure that its voice is not weakened? Should Britain hold a referendum? Send us your comment.

Sebastian Coe said the negativity shown by Londoners towards hosting the 2012 Olympic Games doesn’t get him down.

But he must have had the wind knocked out of him by the questions and sometimes anger shown by local residents and politicians in recent question and answer sessions.

During meetings with the London Assembly and Newham residents, Coe and various other important Olympic-planning bods were constantly put on the spot by doubters about the costs and financing of the Games.

“We’re being taken for a ride over costs,” said one councillor.

At one stage during a meeting at Stratford Circus Arts Centre, in Newham, near the site of the proposed main stadium, Olympics Minister Tessa Jowell was forced to dismiss similarities with the much under-used and unloved Millennium Dome.

Coe and co were keen to stress the legacy the Games will provide, including providing employment, skills, affordable housing and business space. But residents were more concerned about the now.

What about the cyclists who have had to give up their track to make way for the Olympic park only for their replacement to be held up by a protected breed of newt?

What about the effects of contamination that has already forced the canoeing events to be transferred to another site?

What about the mum and dad who have to drive their daughter to Sheffield to train because there aren’t diving facilities?

Surely the emphasis should be on the youngsters and their dream of competing in 2012 rather than on buildings, one councillor asked.

That prompted the double-gold medallist Coe to suggest the “world was beginning to wobble” if the councillor was implying he didn’t understand the demands of training.

“Hit a nerve, have I?” she retorted.

And what about the cats being rounded up from the site, asked one woman? Well, 150 have been collected already, an official answered.

Coe must be wondering how much more cattiness there is to come

It is 50 years since the former Soviet Union launched the beeping satellite known as Sputnik into space.

Since then we have had man walking on the moon and so-called space tourists paying hundreds of thousands of dollars to orbit Earth.

People’s fascination with the outer frontier continues, even if state funding for it has stalled.

Theoretical physicist Stephen Hawking said space exploration is vital because life on Earth may eventually be wiped out. 

How important is space discovery - do you think the human race has a future if it doesn’t go into space?

Should the state fund space exploration against the competing demands of public services such as health and education? Has the early spirit of adventure gone?

Does it rely on a space war to advance technology? Or is space tourism the answer to funding and development? Would you pay to catch a pin-point glimpse of Earth? 

Send us your comments.

It was not long ago that that the modernising David Cameron was ahead in the opinion polls — just before Gordon Brown took over the Labour leadership and became prime minister in fact.

But the fate of the two men have taken very different turns since, with one recent opinion poll putting Brown and the Labour Party 10 points ahead of Cameron’s Conservatives.

Brown has been boosted by his steady handling of a series of emergencies including attempted bomb attacks in London and Glasgow, the country’s worst floods in 60 years and an outbreak of foot and mouth disease in farm animals.

In contrast, Cameron has suffered from a damaging party row over grammar school policy, humiliation in the Ealing Southall by-election, accusations of abandoning his constituents during the floods when he was in Rwanda and confusion during his attack over the government’s running of the NHS.

What does Cameron have to do to catch up with Brown’s Labour Party?

Does he need to move closer to the centre ground or to the right?

If he moves to the right will he suffer the same fate as his recent predecessors William Hague, Iain Duncan Smith and Michael Howard?

Has New Labour made the centre-ground their own? Or does the centre-ground still even exist?

Tell us your views

United Nations envoy Ibrahim Gambari has flown into Myanmar in an attempt to persuade its ruling generals to use negotiations instead of guns to end mass protests.

The arrival follows days of peaceful pro-democracy demonstrations led by the country’s monks which have been met by a crackdown by troops. At least 10 people have died.

Countries across the world, as well as Pope Benedict, have called for a peaceful end to the situation, while U.S. President George W. Bush urged for a tightening of sanctions against the ruling junta.

He also called on neighbouring China, the closest the junta has to an ally, and key trading partner, to use its influence.

The military regime said its security forces had handled the protests “with care, using the least possible force”.

Do you you think sanctions are the answer, or should Myanmar’s leaders be encouraged to bring about change through negotiations?

Should the UN have acted sooner, or is it an internal matter for the Myanmar regime?

How do you see the situation ending?

Send us your comments.

So-called “have-a-go heroes” are to be given greater protection if they stand up to criminals, Justice Secretary Jack Straw says.

The former home secretary, who has himself stepped in to detain suspected criminals on four separate occasions, wants the legal scales tilted more in favour of the good citizen.

He said many good citizens go through anxious and humiliating police investigations, with some ending up in court.

The new law would protect those who use reasonable force, but not those who use excessive violence.

Would such a law make you more willing to intervene against suspected criminals? Would it encourage you to go to the aid of somebody being attacked?

Or do the current laws strike the right balance, as argued by Tony Blair’s administration?

Conservative Party leader David Cameron is proposing a modern-day equivalent of national service in an attempt to get youngsters in shape for adulthood and to teach them self-respect and social responsibility.

His plan for a National Citizen Service will not replicate conscription but will rely on volunteers signing up to six weeks of charity work and physical training on leaving school.

Cameron believes it will give youngsters a sense of “purpose, optimism and belonging” and bring them together.

Do you think youngsters will volunteer for such a scheme? What would you like to see in a modern-day national service?

Or do you think the criticisms of  modern youngsters are over exaggerated? Did national service really instil respect?

Send us your comments.

A senior judge has called for the whole population to be included on the national DNA database– even visitors to the country.

The UK already has the biggest database in the world, but Lord Justice Stephen Sedley told the BBC the new system would be fairer because currently the data of everyone arrested remains on computer, regardless of whether they are prosecuted or not.

He stressed the database would only be used for crime detection and prevention. 

But critics said such a scheme would be expensive and potentially open to exploitation.

How do you feel about having your DNA profile permanently on a database?

If you are living abroad and planning to visit the UK, would it put you off?

Send us your comments.

Regulators are to decide whether to permit the creation of hybrid human-animal embryos for research into illnesses such as Parkinson’s, Motor Neurone Disease and Alzheimer’s.

Two teams of scientists have applied to Britain’s Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority (HFEA) for permission to inject human cell nuclei into hollowed-out cow egg cells to overcome a shortage of donated human eggs.

Do you support their plans to use the hybrid embryos to create stem cells to help find new medical treatments?

Or do you agree with opponents of the plan, who say mixing even a tiny amount of human genetic material with that of an animal is unnatural and wrong?

Is it medical progress, or do you think it is a step too far?

Send us your comments.