Today - 18/09/2009

Presented by John Humphrys and Justin Webb. The British general soon to take charge of troops in Afghanistan says troops in the south of the country do not have time on their side. Security correspondent Frank Gardner reflects on his interview with Major General Nick Carter. The Royal College of Psychiatrists is calling for action to address the danger to girls which, it says, comes from websites that promote eating disorders such as anorexia and bulimia. Dr John Morgan, director of the Yorkshire Centre for Eating Disorders, discusses whether the internet poses a danger to young people. More than 80 people have been killed in an air raid on a camp for displaced people in northern Yemen, reports say. Correspondent Paul Wood reports on the attempt by government forces to contain a growing insurgency by Shia rebels known as Houthis. The case of the South African athlete Caster Semenya has drawn attention to different types of medical disorders where it is not clear if someone is male or female. Reporter Zubeida Malik talks to a mother and her daughter, who has androgen insensitivity syndrome (AIS), about the condition and the difficulties they have faced. How can the quality of public services be maintained or improved at a time when government is looking to reduce spending? Justin Webb visits Leicester, where the Total Place pilot scheme is giving local authorities the chance to take over the delivery of services. In recent days the British media has been busily examining the many revelations contained in the newly-published official biography of the Queen Mother. The book's author, William Shawcross, and author Miranda Carter, unauthorised biographer of George V, Tsar Nicholas II and Kaiser Wilhelm II, discuss whether an official biography is better than an unofficial work. Thought for the Day with the Chief Rabbi Sir Jonathan Sacks. Gunmen have carried out another attack on a drugs rehabilitation centre in the Mexican city of Ciudad Juarez, killing 10 people and injuring two others. Correspondent Matthew Price reports on the inter-gang drug war which has seen around 1,400 deaths so far this year. Jose Reyes Ferriz, mayor of Ciudad Juarez, discusses what can be done to halt the shootings. Chancellor Alistair Darling has begun holding a series of meetings with cabinet colleagues to target potential savings in public spending. Political editor Nick Robinson reports on when these potential savings could be revealed. Liberal Democrat Treasury spokesman Vince Cable examines which programmes could be sacrificed and which should be spared. US President Barack Obama has scrapped plans for controversial bases in Poland and the Czech Republic in a major overhaul of missile defence in Europe. Commentator on US-Russian affairs Mary Dejevsky of The Independent and Tomas Valasek, director of foreign policy at the Centre for European Reform, discuss the reaction from the around the world to the decision. Tens of thousands of Iranians have joined the annual rally in support of Palestinians in Tehran. Correspondent Jim Muir reports on eyewitness claims of clashes and some arrests. Islamic extremists have detonated two suicide car bombs at an African Union peacekeeping base in the Somali city of Mogadishu. The news comes at a time when the humanitarian crisis in the country is at its worst for nearly two decades. Correspondent Mike Thomson, in the third of his reports, examines the problems faced by the UN in being able to help the troubled nation. Should local government be given more control over spending and taxation? Sir Michael Bichard, executive director of the Institute for Government, and local government expert Tony Travers, of the LSE, discuss a pilot scheme to test the water and examine plans by political parties to allow greater local control. Until recently, anglers came from around the world to Texas to hunt as many Alligator Gar, a fish which can weigh over 160kg (350lbs) and measure over 3m (10ft) in length, as they could find. Correspondent Kevin Connolly reports on new legislation that limits hunters to one catch a day. The international community should be worrying about the damage to archaeological sites and destruction of artefacts in Iraq, a new book argues. Author Lawrence Rothfield, of the University of Chicago, discusses what sort of objects should be preserved and the sites that should be saved.