Taliban prepares to announce new government

We'll have the latest from Afghanistan where thousands of Taliban fighters are taking on resistance forces in the Panjshir Valley. We are also expecting the Taliban to announce who will be in the government. Our BBC Afghan colleague will be explaining what is known about the new leadership.

We speak to a woman who had an abortion in the US state of Texas just before the new law that that bans abortions for most women came into effect.

We'll discuss today's coronavirus stories with our regular expert, Dr Rick Malley, who specialises in vaccines at the Boston Children’s Hospital.

One of the BBC's most experienced foreign correspondents, Sarah Rainsford, who first started reporting from Russia some 20 years ago has been expelled from the country. She is considered by the authorities to be a threat to national security. Sarah has returned to the UK this week and has answered listeners' questions about her years in Russia.

(Photo: Afghan women"s rights defenders and civil activists protest to call on the Taliban for the preservation of their achievements and education, in front of the presidential palace in Kabul, Afghanistan September 3, 2021. Credit: Stringer/Reuters)