Background Briefing

As the world's available farming land shrinks in the face of population growth, climate change and soil degradation, Australia's vast tracts of land are going to be increasingly important for global food security. Overseas players are already buying up Australian agricultural resources and interest is growing. There are economic benefits but is the sell-off in Australia's long term interests? Reporter, Stephen Crittenden.

Despite the built-in appeal process, Australia's criminal justice system still produces wrongful convictions based on flawed evidence. There are calls for a new review body, independent of the judiciary, to help identify miscarriages of justice. Henry Keogh's conviction for murder is being put forward as a case in point. Reporter: Hagar Cohen

These are the colliding trends that confront India, China and much of the developing world. How do you meet the expectations of hundreds of millions of people currently without electricity, as well as reducing carbon emissions?

As we watch the worst environmental disaster in US history unfold, it's worth comparing with our own gusher in the Timor Sea last year. The Montara well leaked uncontrollably for over 70 days before it exploded in a fireball incinerating the rig. With the findings of a Commission of Inquiry into the Montara spill still locked down by the Gillard government, will we ever know the true environmental impact? Reporter, Wendy Carlisle.

Businesses and advertisers can already access enormous amounts of personal data on social media sites, from where you live to what you like. The next step is sentiment analysis, where online conversations are mined for words and thoughts, for a commercial advantage. Is this ethical, and could computers really sift sarcasm from enthusiasm? Reporter, Shevonne Hunt.

Beneath the rich farming soils of the Darling Downs there's a gaseous gold mine. Mobile drilling rigs dot the landscape as energy companies rush to secure the next big export contracts - for natural gas. It's cheaper and cleaner than oil and looks set to supersede coal for making electricity. But farmers fear it will contaminate an even more valuable resource - water. Reporter, Ian Townsend.

Primary school kitchen gardens, behavioural economics and frugal innovation, they're all important elements in a complex strategy to improve heart health and reduce the obesity epidemic. (From a public forum at the St Vincent's Institute in Melbourne.)

From Hollywood to Harvard, rock'n'roll to rap, American soft power is well understood. But what about Confucianism, or the Peking Opera, Bhangra music and Bollywood? They are part of the soft power emanating from the East, from the emerging superpowers, China and India. Reporter, Philip Dodd of the BBC. (Image of Xi'an treasures at the China Pavillion, Shanghai Expo)

Bunnings, Greenpeace, Ikea and the US Congress are part of an unlikely coalition pushing for a ban on illegally logged timber. An Australian DNA test may solve the problem of enforcement but the Rudd government is yet to impose a ban it promised three years ago. Reporter, Stephen Crittenden.

The National Farmers Federation says another 20,000 pickers are needed to harvest Australia's crops. Growers complain of fruit rotting on the ground. Backpackers and others are heading to farms on the promise of abundant work, only to find the promises are often empty and it costs them more in rent than they can earn. Reporter, Brendan King.