Background Briefing

It's well known that soldiers can be traumatized by war but peacekeeping can be just as stressful with its own horrors. Australian veterans of the peacekeeping operation in East Timor have taken their own lives, committed crimes, or are living with mental illness. Reporter, Tom Morton.

America's image and support across the world is low, and it's a concern for big business and policy makers. A panel of young people discuss why this has happened, whether it's justified, and also whether it's important. And, if so, what can be done to fix it. A forum from the Commonwealth Club in San Francisco.

They are called herbal medicines, or complementary, or alternative - but many of them are not useful and may be harmful. At the very least you are likely to be wasting money. There are legal ways in which open debate is discouraged. Reporter: Gordon Taylor

The churches and welfare agencies are finding it uncomfortable to dance to the government's tune. But they need the money. In the case of the Catholic Church, it's dependent on about $500 million it gets to administer government services. Other churches and agencies, too, may draw a line in the sand. Reporter Wendy Carlisle.

Sir Robert Menzies was at the centre of the Suez crisis - one of the great failures of western political history. He was sent into negotiate with Nasser, but behind the scenes the UK, Israel, France and the USA all had other agendas. Were they treating Menzies as a mere tool in their wider game? Reporter Stan Correy.

Donating your body, or the body of a child, to medical research is a great gift to mankind. Most of you can be recycled: your eyes, your skin, your bone or even a little piece of your heart. Now they want to grind your bones for surgical putty. Then, your dead bits will be helping a biotech company's bottomline too. Can altruism and commerce live side-by-side when it comes to giving "the greatest...

Commentators Mark Steyn and Owen Harries debate the battle of ideas going on inside western cultures. Has the west lost its nerve? Recorded at the Centre for Independent Studies.

Nuclear is back. Australia, with its abundant ore and 'good guy' status could become a key member of the uranium enricher's club. But what would the neighbours think? And how would the twin threats of weapons proliferation and waste disposal be addressed? Reporter Tom Morton.

Virtual worlds are flourishing as millions of online players move in to set up their virtual lives. There are fortunes to be made, and there are real world consequences. Reporter: Cath Dwyer

Opinion shapers in Washington worry that they are losing the war of ideas with the Jihadists. But are they? Reporter: Stan Correy

Financial markets have responded to climate change by buying and selling greenhouse gases. This is the carbon trade, and business leaders are confident it will lead to solutions for global warming, but governments and politics are getting in their way. Reporter Wendy Carlisle.

When Australia's role in the South Pacific is raised, the terms 'arc of instability' and 'failed states' will commonly follow. As the dominant nation in the region, Australia's national interests are to the fore, as are Australian resources and personnel in providing assistance. But how well does Australia understand its Pacific neighbourhood?

Returning to Kabul, four years after Patch Adams led a clown doctor mission there, Australian clown Jean-Paul Bell and reporter Gerald Tooth are struggling. They return with their own aid to find a nation at once resentful of and utterly dependent on international assistance. Can a drop in the ocean make any difference? Reporter, Gerald Tooth.

The incidence of self harm is rising and there's a search for understanding and solutions. Princess Di admitted to it. As many as 1 in 5 young people are likely to deliberately hurt themselves to release internal tension and pressure. What is it, and how can parents handle it? Reporter, Jane Shields.

Scientists, lawyers, politicians, security forces—everyone's walking a fine line with avian flu, between the rights of the individual and the rights of the wider public. When a pandemic happens each of us will be on our own, as the authorities look at the big picture. Reporter, Ian Townsend.

Worldwide, the airport is no longer somewhere to catch a plane. It is a commercial city growing fast under special conditions. The services and shops are for all those captive billions of passengers and for customers from outside. The new-look airport brings good returns for your super investment - until something happens. Reporter Stan Correy.

They operate in 70 countries, and give medical aid to those who need it most. The M&#233decins Sans Fronti&#232res international president is Australian Dr Rowan Gillies. This week on Background Briefing, he explains why it is important, but difficult, to stay clear of politics, cultural judgements, and too much co-ordination. And why they must sometimes just walk away.

The cost of boom times in India is a surge in demand for everything - and top of the list is water. Industry, agriculture, households in middle class suburbs and global corporations all want as much as they can get. Is privatisation the answer when governments are struggling?

Whether you call them guest workers or skilled immigrants, they're part of a globalising workforce. Over 700,000 foreigners work in Australia - from CEOs to meatworkers and fruitpickers. Taking Aussie jobs? Exploitation? Maybe, but there are also one million Australians working overseas. Presented by Wendy Carlisle.

The man who wrote The End of History? is now disenchanted with American foreign policy. Fukuyama remains a conservative, but has strong views on what has gone wrong. He sees a need to demilitarise the struggle against violent fundamentalism. This talk was given at the Philadelphia Free Library .

Not long ago Windale was the most disadvantaged postcode in southeast Australia. Now it is beginning to turn itself around. It has had startling successes in reducing child abuse and neglect. Government money might have got things going, but momentum is kept by working with community strengths rather than weaknesses.

America has plans for Cuba after Castro, including the use of Guantanamo Bay. In Cuba, many people believe their world will not change. Others say it must, and are preparing for dangerous times. In Miami, exiled Cuban business people, and the US government wait for their day.

John R Bolton may be called 'the ugly American' and be widely disliked, yet his pivotal role as US Ambassador to the UN makes him extraordinarily powerful and important in world affairs. Obsequious, arrogant, doctrinaire and above all, Americanist - but no fool, neocons hope he may save the Bush administration.

Privatisation of health care in China has failed, and Beijing knows there may be social and political unrest as a result. The rich can buy good care - but for others the biggest concerns are incompetence, frayed services, and misery. In the case of a viral pandemic, weaknesses in the health system in China could affect the whole world.

Queensland has been having the fastest growth in population in the developed world, and is second only to Phoenix in the money that growth is bringing in. And yet, the schools, hospitals, roads and services haven't kept up. Premier Beattie is reassuring, smooth and soothing as he faces Queenslanders living with too much growth, too fast.