Today - 19/09/2009

Presented by John Humphrys and Sarah Montague. The Liberal Democrats' Treasury spokesman Vince Cable has drawn up a 14 billion pounds-a-year list of cuts he says are needed to begin tackling Britain's record national debt. Correspondent Ross Hawkins reports from the Liberal Democrats' party conference in Bournemouth. President Obama has recorded interviews with all the US Sunday talk shows to convince people about his plans for healthcare reform. Washington correspondent Imtiaz Tyab considers how unusual it is for a president to do so many interviews at once. Followers of the exiled former Thai prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra are holding a mass rally in Bangkok to coincide with the third anniversary of the coup which ousted him. Correspondent Alastair Leithead reports from the rally on what the so-called 'red shirts' are hoping to achieve. English councils lose almost 90 million pounds a year through people falsely claiming the single person's discount on their council tax, the Audit Commission says. Correspondent John Andrew reports on the efforts of the Newcastle councillor Sir Jeremy Beecham to do something about it. As violence and anarchy continues in Somalia, so does the exodus of many of its people. Some resettle in calmer corners of Somalia but, as correspondent Mike Thomson reports, many others are so desperate that they are braving desert conditions, bandits and militia groups to get out of the country altogether. The North-East Passage, running from the northern Pacific to the North Sea along the northern coast of Russia, has until recently been too icy to navigate. Reporter Richard Galpin meets one of two German ships which have just completed the journey at the Russian port of Arkhangelsk. Prof Paul Berkman, head of the Arctic Ocean geopolitics programme at the University of Cambridge, considers whether there will be battle for ownership of this potentially valuable trade route. Thought for the Day with Rev Bob Marshall, an Anglican priest. A solicitor who faced a disciplinary panel after campaigning against care home closures has been cleared of breaching the codes of her profession. Yvonne Hossack explains why she began campaigning and the support she was given by the home secretary, Alan Johnson. President Obama's decision to shelve plans for bases in Europe has been seen in a variety of ways by US commentators: both strong and weak, sensible and reckless, pragmatic and idealistic. World affairs editor John Simpson and Dr Robin Niblett, director of the think-tank Chatham House, discuss how the new approach to foreign policy is being seen around the world. A fourth farm in England has closed because of concerns about E.coli. Hugh Pennington, Emeritus Professor of Bacteriology at Aberdeen University, discusses whether all children's animal attractions should be closed down until the outbreak has been contained. A new set of guidelines on how to treat patients who are dying in hospitals is facing criticism from relatives and medical experts, who say that in some cases people are dying too early because they have been put on the scheme. Reporter Jack Izzard investigates the Liverpool Care Pathway and meets staff and patients' relatives to discuss the initiative. France has said it intends to close the camp in Calais known as 'The Jungle', where migrants gather to try to reach the UK. William Spindler of the UNHCR Sir Andrew Green of Migration Watch UK and Donna Covey, chief executive of the Refugee Council, discuss the move by the French government. The avid art collector, gallery owner and advertising oligarch Charles Saatchi rarely reveals much about his private life. Gavin Turk, one of the Young British Artists - or YBAs - and art critic Brian Sewell discuss their opinion of the art collector and consider his impact on the world of contemporary art. Scotland's most senior prosecutor has condemned a fresh move by the Lockerbie bomber to protest his innocence. Tony Kelly, Scottish lawyer for Abdelbaset al-Megrahi, explains why documents relating to an appeal against his client's conviction for the 1988 bombing have been put on a new website. Is enough being invested in the long term future of British design? Sir John Sorrell, chairman of the London Design Festival, and Alice Rawsthorn, design critic for the International Herald Tribune, discuss some iconic pieces of work and the role design can play to help the UK through the recession.