Today - 19/07/2008

Presented by James Naughtie and Edward Stourton. Including: Pope Benedict has apologised in Australia for the pain caused to victims of sexual abuses committed by some priests. Nick Bryant reports. Gordon Brown is going to Southwold in Suffolk for his summer holidays while David Cameron is visiting Cornwall. Do politicians feel they can't be seen holidaying abroad? Patricia Yates of Visit Britain and Andrew Gimson of the Daily Telegraph discuss the benefits of a British holiday. Thought for the day with Rev Rob Marshall. Diplomats from six countries are to sit down with Iran's chief nuclear negotiator in Geneva. Philip Bobbitt, former director for intelligence programmes at the White House, discusses the possible results of the talks. Should art galleries continue to explain art by placing captions next to works? Critic and cartoonist Tom Lubbock and Tate creative director Jane Burton discuss. Citibank head Win Bischoff says that the housing market may not recover for two years. Gerard Lyons, chief economist at Standard Chartered, discusses whether there is a pessimistic mood in the City. George W Bush has called on Congress to lift its ban on offshore oil exploration. Kevin Connolly reports from the New Jersey coast, one of the places where prospectors say there could be vast untapped resources. It is rumoured that Margaret Thatcher will be the first Prime Minister since Winston Churchill to be afforded a state funeral. Brian Wilson, a former Labour minister, and Matthew Taylor, chief executive of the RSA, discuss whether she should be given this honour.