On the podcast today, we have extracts from a rare interview with the president of Zimbabwe, Robert Mugabe. The South African journalist Heidi Holland was granted the face-to-face encounter for her new book.
We hear from our political commentator Martin Kettle on Gordon Brown's embryo bill climbdown - could the row with the Roman Catholic church have been avoided?
The Observer correspondent David Smith, who returned from Basra a month ago, reports on the latest violence in the city. He says it seems that a power struggle is under way.
Plus, Forget the Taj Mahal or the Statue of Liberty - Blaenavon in the Welsh valleys is the latest stop on the World Heritage trail. Steven Morris reports.
Our diplomatic editor Julian Borger leafs through the latest human rights report from the Foreign Office - but are they just warm words?
And we hear from our football correspondent Kevin McCarra on David Beckham's 100th cap and the selection of Rio Ferdinand to captain England for tonight's friendly against France.
