Today - 09/01/2009

Presented by Edward Stourton and Sarah Montague. EU spokesman Ferran Tarradellas Espuny says monitors are key to a gas supply deal with Russia. Laura Trevelyan discusses the US's abstaining from the UN Security Council vote for a ceasefire in Gaza. Ruth Alexander investigates statistics on prostitution. Prof John Oxford says that a strain of flu resistant to anti-viral drugs is not a real worry. Dr Sarah Rankin, Tom Feilden and Prof Roger Pederson discuss developments in stem cell research. Tim Franks hears from the Israelis who say that the battle goes beyond Gaza. Thought for the day with Rabbi Laura Janner-Klausner. Tory health spokesman Andrew Lansley and Nigel Evans of the NHS discuss hospitals still using open-plan, mixed-sex wards. Jeremy Bowen explains why the US abstained from the proposal urging a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas. Kevin Connolly and Prof Joseph Stiglitz discuss why the US is losing jobs at the fastest rate since the end of WWII. James May and Jennifer Cox discuss the trouble with suitcases. Garry Richardson interviews Sir Clive Woodward, the British Olympic Association's elite performance director and former coach of the England Rugby Union team. Israeli foreign ministry spokesman Yigal Palmor discusses the likelihood of a ceasefire in Gaza. Isobel Hilton and James Lilley discuss how the relationship between the US and China has changed. David Aaronovitch and Ken Livingstone discuss the way the conflict in Gaza is being described. Treeva Fenwick visits the Wadworth Brewery in Devizes, where England's last remaining master cooper is desperately seeking an apprentice. Producer of Natural World Mike Birkhead discusses the significance of the footage that revealed how a cuckoo lays its eggs.