Ontelly

Today - 25/06/2008

Logo for Today - 25/06/2008

Presented by Sarah Montague and James Naughtie. Including: Ministers have apparently reached an agreement with rebels over the Planning Bill, undermining a potentially damaging Commons defeat. Planning Minister John Healey explains the implications of the bill. BAA chief executive Colin Matthews will be making the case for a third runway at Heathrow at a conference. Should beavers be released into the wild? Alex Bushill reports from Escot Estate in Ottery St Mary in Devon, where a pair of beavers, brought over from Germany last year, have been given a two-acre enclosure. Files just released from the National Archives show that in 1972 scientists at Porton Down were asked to develop new non-lethal weapons as a matter of urgency. Sanchia Berg reports. Thought for the Day with Reverend Dr Giles Fraser, vicar of Putney. The Army is bringing in new ration packs for troops, with 20 new menus specifically designed for hot climates such as Afghanistan and Iraq. Major General Patrick Cordingley, who commanded the Desert Rats in the first Gulf War, and Times restaurant critic Giles Coren taste some of the new food on offer. Neuropsychiatrist Dr Peter Fenwick has written a book called The Art of Dying, in which he recounts the experience of those who have witnessed deaths.