Background Briefing

It's what keeps aeronautical engineers awake at night - an engine explosion at 30,000 feet. They are rare but the Qantas A380 incident has triggered a fierce debate about the design, maintenance and safety of engines that power the new super jumbos. Reporter, Stan Correy.

A local fishing community is pitted against the mining giant, Anglo-American, in a battle for natural resources in Alaska. A mine at the headwaters of a king salmon spawning area could threaten the wild salmon run. Nick Rankin reports from Bristol Bay in Alaska as the fishing frenzy begins. A BBC World Service documentary.

Alcohol, gunja, payback killings and a refusal to go bush - Aboriginal elders in Central Australia are watching the erosion of their traditions and authority. Can customary laws deal with today's problems? Reporter, Chris Bullock. Photo: Michael Coggan

In Central Australia traditional payback law is corrupted, leading to grog fuelled killings. Suicide has become a payback issue too. For the first time Indigenous men are trying to stop these escalating cycles of violence. Reporter: Chris Bullock

The bizarre case of young couple Tegan Leach and Sergei Brennan, who faced jail for procuring an illegal abortion using RU486, ended with the jury returning a resounding 'not guilty'. Now no-one knows what the l9th century abortion law means -- not the church, and certainly not the state. Reporter Wendy Carlisle

The hacking scandal won't go away for the Murdoch family. This program looked at the issues getting James Murdoch angry including piracy and the British Library.

30% of Australia's water comes from underground, but we don't understand this huge national resource. We're draining some aquifers and overfilling others - with no agreement on what's sustainable - not even amongst the scientists. So what are we willing to sacrifice for fresh fruit and veg? Reporter Di Martin

Professor of Management Science and Engineering, Robert Sutton of the Stanford School of Business is a prolific author and speaker on boss and employee relationships. Hear what he thinks makes a good boss, and how the psychology of how bad bosses and bad employees can be managed. From the Commonwealth Club of California.

There have been thousands of cases of dengue fever in the Commonwealth Games city of Delhi and more than a dozen confirmed cases of dengue fever in Cairns in recent weeks. As outbreaks are becoming more common is there anything we can do to stop the spread of dengue fever and its favourite carrier, the aedes aegypti mosquito? Or should we be more concerned with other nasty mozzies and the viruses they can transmit? Reporter Ian Townsend.

All political parties agree that trains do it better, but who will make it happen? Meanwhile, thousands of trucks are about to churn up the roads trying to get a huge wheat harvest to city ports, and two million tourists choke Byron Bay with cars. The rest of the world - even France - is joining its regional areas with high speed trains, and it works. Reporter Ian Townsend.