Today: Saturday 18th September

The Pope is expected to address his concerns about religion being sidelined in public life when he meets David Cameron and other political leaders. Several rocket attacks and allegations of fraud have marred early voting in Afghanistan's parliamentary elections. And could Sarah Palin be the Republican candidate for President in 2012?.

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0709
Voters in Afghanistan cast their ballots in key parliamentary elections amid fears of violence and threats from Taliban militants. Correspondent Ian Pannell explains how a senior electoral official has claimed that irregularities are starting to emerge in the vote.

0715
Tomorrow, on the final day of his state visit, the Pope will travel to Birmingham for the beatification of Cardinal Newman. Religious Affairs correspondent Robert Piggott reports on the questions raised about the validity of the miracle attributed to Newman.

0717
The Pakistani city of Karachi is still under night-time curfew and a 10-day period of mourning has begun after the murder in London of Imaran Farooq, a senior figure in the MQM party. Pakistani journalist Ahmed Rashid outlines why Farooq fled to the UK a decade ago.

0720
The paper review.

0723
The Liberal Democrats prepare to meet at their annual conference in Liverpool, for the first time in 65 years as a party in power. Political correspondent Vicki Young discusses fears within the party about whether spending cuts are in danger of masking the early achievements of the coalition government.

0727
The sports news with Rob Bonnet.

0732
It seems likely that today will be the day that the Pope meets victims of sexual abuse by Catholic priests. Sue Cox was abused by her family priest and explains what happened to her when she was a little girl 50 years ago. This interview contains descriptions which may disturb some listeners.

0748
Thought for the Day with Catherine Pepinster, Editor of the Tablet.

0750
The UN has launched an appeal for more than $2bn to help Pakistani flood victims, its largest ever response to a natural disaster. Correspondent Aleem Maqbool who has been journeying down the Indus River describes the enormous scale of the catastrophe which has affected some 20 million people.

0755
The former Alaskan governor Sarah Palin will deliver the keynote speech at the Iowa Republican party's Ronald Reagan Dinner on Friday night - a move that lays some foundations for a possible run at the presidency in 2012. Former President Bush speechwriter David Frum analyses Palin's chances of reaching the White House.

0810
Last weekend, Basel III set out new rules for banking regulation that increased the capital banks have to hold from 2% to 7% and came up with a stricter definition of what constitutes as capital. Former City minister Lord Myners discusses whether the new rules will help prevent a future banking crisis.

0820
Barack Obama has joined the ranks of celebrities trying their hand at writing a children's book. Two authors, Philip Womack and Charlie Higson, discuss how the trend for celebrities to write for young people has upset some people.

0827
The sports news with Rob Bonnet.

0832
The Pope has been blunt about what he calls "aggressive secularism" and about his conviction that "faith and reason" needed each other for the good of civilisation. The National Secular Society's Keith Porteous Wood and Fr Christopher Jamison, former Abbott of Worth, and director of the National Office for Vocation discuss whether the Pope's message will reach a wider public beyond the Catholic faithful.

0840
The paper review.

0843
This week, our science reporter Tom Feilden has been reporting on new developments in genetic research into cancer that could lead to more effective drug treatments. The head of the Scottish Medicines Consortium, Ken Patterson, discusses the hard choices to be made over funding drug research.

0848
The diplomatic spat between Paris and Berlin over the deportation of Roma from France has touched some raw old nerves. Political editor of the Economist David Rennie discusses how the Second World War remains a political no-go area in Europe.

0855
In a week's time we will know the name of the new leader of the Labour party. Labour peer Lord Radice and Neal Lawson, of the pressure group Compass, examine who it is likely to be.