Today - 28/10/2009

Presented by John Humphrys and Sarah Montague. An attack on a guesthouse in Kabul has killed six UN workers. Adrian Edwards, chief spokesman for the UN mission in Afghanistan, discusses its impact. The review into MPs' expenses is expected to recommend substantial measures to reform the system of parliamentary allowances. MPs will no longer be able to employ family members on the parliamentary payroll and will be banned from claiming expenses for mortgages on their second homes. Instead, second homes will need to be rented. Sally Hammond, wife of Tory MP Stephen Hammond and who works for him, and Tory MP Roger Gale, who employs his wife, discuss the Kelly committee's reported conclusions. The government is expected to perform a U-turn on its plans to cut the budget of the Territorial Army. Correspondent Iain Watson comments on the decision. The setting for the end of Shakespeare's Richard III is being marked with a stone memorial and visitors' centre. The battle of Bosworth on the Leicestershire/Warwickshire border is said to be where King Richard reeled around the battlefield and vainly offered his "kingdom for a horse". But for years historians have disagreed on the precise location of the battle. Correspondent Bob Walker reports from the site. US Secretary of State Hilary Clinton has arrived in Pakistan for a mission President Obama considers crucial in the military strategy against the Taliban. While the outside world focuses on the Pakistan/Afghan border and the offensive launched by the Pakistan army against the Taliban in south Waziristan, many Pakistanis blame their troubles less on the insurgents and more on their old antagonist, India, and their long-term ally, the US. Correspondent Andrew Hosken reports from the extraordinary ceremony which marks the closure of the Pakistan-India border crossing near Lahore each evening. Rare birds are becoming more common, and common birds are becoming rarer, according to the latest assessment from the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (RSPB). The research shows that the numbers of almost 60 per cent of the 63 rare birds that breed in the UK have increased over the last ten years compared with only just over one third of common species. Dr Mark Avery, the RSPB's conservation director, examines the change in bird populations. A 106-year-old board game designed to entertain supporters of the Suffragette Movement, while raising funds for them, will be sold today at Bonhams auctioneers. The game, 'Pank-A-Squith', titled after the leader of the Suffragettes, Emmeline Pankhurst and Britain's prime minister of the time, Herbert Asquith, is expected to fetch between £600 and £800. Luke Honey, who is handling the sale for Bonhams, discusses the historical importance of the game and demonstrates how it was played. Thought for the day with Oliver McTernan, director of NGO Forward Thinking. The European Commission is expected to approve the government's plan to split Northern Rock into a "good" and "bad" bank. The plan was submitted to European regulators earlier this year, and forms a central part of the government's aid package. The bank's toxic assets will be placed into the "bad" bank, which will remain in state ownership. The more profitable banking business will be put into the "good" bank and sold off. The same is also likely to happen to Lloyds and the Royal Bank of Scotland. John McFall, who chairs the Treasury Select Committee, and the Liberal Democrat's treasury spokesman, Vince Cable, analyse the strategy. The BBC understands that the review of MPs' allowances will recommend a number of measures to reform the current system. MPs will no longer be able to employ family members on the parliamentary payroll and will be banned from claiming expenses for mortgages for their second homes. And MPs who represent constituencies within a reasonable distance of London will no longer be able to claim expenses for a second home. The changes will be phased in over five years. Labour MP Sir Stuart Bell, who is on the Members' Estimates Committee, discusses how MPs have reacted to the expenses review's recommendations. The government is expected to perform a U-turn on its plans to cut the budget of the Territorial Army. Shadow Defence Secretary Liam Fox discusses the change in the government's stance, and political editor Nick Robinson sums up the mood in Westminster. Comic Hollywood actor Steve Martin, famous for his films including Cheaper by the Dozen and Father of the Bride, is producing an album of banjo music. Mr Martin has been paying the instrument for 40 years and his album, The Crow: New Songs for the Five-String Banjo, topped the bluegrass charts when it was released this year. Sarah Montague spoke to the star about his musical career. In Pakistan up to 50 people may have died in a bombing in a market in the city of Peshawar. Correspondent Orla Guerin reports on the latest from Islamabad. German Chancellor Angela Merkel's coalition