Author Salman Rushdie is still in a critical condition but “his usual feisty and defiant sense of humour remains intact”, his son says. Zafar Rushdie said his father had sustained life-changing injuries, but was able to speak to his family. We hear from Raphael Geiger – U.S. Correspondent at German magazine Stern – who had the most recent interview with Rushdie. Also in the programme, dozens have died – at least forty-one according to the Egyptian authorities – in a fire at a church on the outskirts of Cairo; and a new study reveals climate change is increasing the risk of a California ‘megaflood’. (Image: A general view shows UPMC Hamot Surgery Center, where novelist Salman Rushdie is receiving treatment after the attack, in Erie, Pennsylvania. Credit: REUTERS/Quinn Glabicki)

The novelist Sir Salman Rushdie has been taken off a ventilator and is now able to speak, two days after being repeatedly stabbed. We hear from a friend who defended him in court, and hid him in his home. Also in the programme: Egypt's health ministry says forty-one people have been killed in a fire in a Coptic church in Giza; and we report from southwest France, where firefighting services are being pushed as never before by the summer wildfires. (Image: Salman Rushdie at the Cheltenham Literature Festival in England / Credit: David Levenson/Getty Images)

The man suspected of stabbing novelist Salman Rushdie at an event in New York on Friday has been charged with attempted murder. Hadi Matar, 24, has appeared in court and has been remanded without bail. The award-winning writer remains in a critical condition. We hear from A. L. Kennedy about Rushdie’s influence on her work as a writer, and expert on U.S.-Iranian relations Trita Parsi. Also in the programme, a U.S.-based rights group says that a terrorism court in Saudi Arabia has jailed a women’s rights activist for thirty-four years over comments she posted on Twitter calling for reform; and – almost a year after the militant group seized power – Taliban fighters disperse dozens of female protesters in Kabul demanding rights to work and political participation.

There has been international condemnation of the stabbing attack on the writer Salman Rushdie in Erie, Pennsylvania. He is now on a ventilator with serious wounds. Mr Rushdie has lived under the threat of assassination since the fatwa imposed on him by Ayatollah Khomeini in 1989. We speak to two of Salman Rushdie's friends and supporters, and get reaction from Tehran. Also in the programme: our Chief Chief International Correspondent Lyse Doucet remembers Afghanistan a year ago, as the Taliban took power; and why former US president Donald Trump's claim to have declassified the secret documents found at Mar A Lago is no defence to the charges he could face. (Image: UPMC Hamot Surgery Center, where novelist Salman Rushdie is receiving treatment after the attack, in Erie, Pennsylvania, U.S., August 12, 2022 / Credit: REUTERS/Quinn Glabicki)

Author Salman Rushdie, 75, has been stabbed on stage at an event in New York state. Eyewitnesses say he was struck many times by an attacker wearing a mask. Police said he appeared to have been stabbed in the neck. His literary agent says he is now in surgery - but doesn't have an update on the author's condition. Also in the programme: As Ukraine and Russia continue to accuse each of shelling at the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power station, our correspondent has managed to speak to workers at the plant; and how did humans develop the ability to speak? Scientists believe they've found the answer in the voice boxes of primates. (Photo: Author Salman Rushdie. Credit: Reuters)