Best of Today

The SNP has pulled off a stunning by-election victory by winning Glasgow East, one of Labour's safest seats. Des Browne, secretary of state for Scotland, and Professor John Curtice, of Strathclyde University, discuss the 22.5% swing in the vote.

In Afghanistan, another British soldier has died and at least four have been injured in Helmand province. Correspondent Alastair Leithead, embedded with 2 Para battle group in the Sanguin Valley, saw the intensity of fighting first hand.

The Archbishop of Canterbury and other religious figures will stage a procession in London to call on governments to keep their promises on aid commitments for the world's poor. The Archbishop of Canterbury, Rowan Williams, discusses the importance of ending extreme poverty.

Six of the UK's biggest internet service providers are believed to be backing a government plan to tackle music piracy online. Andy Burnham, culture secretary, musician Billy Bragg and Becky Hodge, of consumers' digital rights campaign the Open Rights Group, discuss whether this will stop the illegal downloading of music files.

Hospital admissions in England, prompted by alcohol related problems, have risen. Ministers have told the drinks industry to act more responsibly in adhering to its voluntary code or face new laws governing alcohol sales. Professor Ian Gilmore, of the Royal College of Physicians and the UK Alcohol Health Alliance, and Dawn Primarolo, the minister for public health, discuss the government's move towards legislation.

All doctors in the UK will face annual assessments which could see licences removed from poor performers. The proposals mean GPs, hospital consultants and private practitioners would have to renew their licences every five years, under proposals from the chief medical officer, Liam Donaldson. Patients organisations have welcomed the news, saying they have been waiting for such an initiative since the Shipman inquiry. Dr Hamish Meldrum, chairman of the BMA, explains how the scheme would work.

The prime minister will address the Commons on Iraq. He is expected to speak about cutting the number of British forces there, while stopping short of a complete withdrawal. Retired Major General Tim Cross, the most senior British official who worked on post-war planning in Iraq, discusses how far the situation has progressed over the last five years.

Bosnian Serb war crimes suspect Radovan Karadzic, one of the world's most wanted men, has been arrested in Serbia after 13 years on the run. Today reporter Jon Manel, Kemal Pervanic, whose village was wiped out by the Serbs, Lord Ashdown, former high representative for Bosnia and Herzegovina, and John Simpson, BBC world affairs editor, discuss how important this arrest is.

Is there an argument for weakening the authority of Canterbury over Anglican churches in other countries? Theologian Theo Hobson and the Right Reverend Nick Baines, the Bishop of Croydon, discuss the importance of international relations within the Church.

Work and Pensions Secretary James Purnell is to propose full-time work in the community for those unemployed for more than two years. He says that it would "transform lives".

What can we learn from the texts of Shakespear that might be useful today?

We've been reporting all the stories of SATS tests that have been delayed, gone missing or been badly marked. Sanchia Berg reports and we talk toMike Tomlinson, former chief inspector of Schools

Diplomats from six countries will sit down with Iran's chief nuclear negotiator in Geneva today. Our middle east editor Jeremy Bowen and Philip Bobbitt talk to Today.

Sir Win Bischoff talks to our business editor Robert Peston

Schools are finding children's "Sats" scripts are being returned unmarked - with the pupils wrongly recorded as having been absent for the tests. Shadow schools secretary, Michael Gove, responds to further examples of delayed results.

A report into the losses incurred by policyholders in Equitable Life says the government should apologise and pay compensation. Vanni Treves, of Equitable Life, says that "the government must pay the bills for its own failings". Paul Braithwaite, of the Equitable Members Action Group, says it is "a red letter day for 1m households".

The 650 bishops attending the Lambeth conference are going on a three day retreat of prayer and reflection led by Archbishop of Canterbury Dr Rowan Williams. But what exactly is a retreat? Alan Hunt, of 'team-building specialists' Sandstone and Giles Fraser, the vicar of Putney, explain how it differs from a corporate exercise.

People are to be given more choice over where they die as part of a package of measures to improve care for the dying. Maria Gleeson, who lost her husband from cancer at 51, gives her account of a death with dignity and Health Secretary Alan Johnson says that these proposals will mean better quality care for patients.

Drivers who cause death on the roads should be treated more severely, judges and magistrates in England and Wales have been told. Peter Neyroud, of the sentencing guidelines council, Mary Williams, of road safety charity Brake, and solicitor David Sonn discuss the implications of these proposals.

The Conservatives will argue that the credit crunch means more companies are finding it hard to get hold of the funds they need to survive and are increasingly facing liquidation, leading to job losses. Conservative leader David Cameron discusses how he will get people off welfare and into jobs when there are fewer opportunities available.

The US gay Bishop Gene Robinson had to stop his sermon in a West London church yesterday when he was heckled. Comedian Jo Brand and the Labour MP Stephen Pound discuss what makes a good heckle and how best to deal with it.

The US government has announced measures to shore up the nation's two largest mortgage finance companies. Business editor Robert Peston and LSE director Howard Davies discuss the implications.

John Humprys speaks to David Milliband.

We still have more than 4,000 British soldiers there but the defence secretary says Basra is now a city transformed, no longer the dangerous place it was only four months ago. John Humphrys went to find out if that's true.

There've been all sorts of stories in the press over the past week about the position of Sir Richard Dannatt, the head of the army who in the past has made some fairly robust public comments about pay and conditions in the service. Allan Mallinson and Eric Joyce discuss.

There is no absolute right to have as many children as we want, a study from the Optimum Population Trust argues. This report coincides with UN Population Day. Professor John Guillebaud, a patron of the trust, and Dominic Lawson, columnist for the Independent, discuss whether humans have a right to procreate.

David Davis, the former Conservative home affairs spokesman, has won his by-election battle over civil liberties. He won with more than 70% of the vote, but neither Labour nor the Liberal Democrats offered a candidate. David Davis discusses what he will do with his 42-day detention campaign now he is an MP once again.

Gordon Brown has compared himself to literary character Heathcliff in this week's New Statesman. Juliet Barker, an expert on the Brontes and Quentin Letts, from the Daily Mail, discuss whether this is a wise decision.

Barratt announces 1,200 job cuts and the deputy leader of the Labour Party Harriet Harman says the situation in the housing market is of "grave concern". Housing minister Caroline Flint says she wants to see more homes built.

Sir Tim Berners-Lee, the man who is credited with the invention of the world wide web, is now looking ahead to a new and more sophisticated way of using the internet known as the semantic web.