Background Briefing

Rebel soldier Alfredo Reinado is young, Australian trained, armed and ready for a fight. From a mountain hideout (where he says he can order pizza and cappuccino) he challenges and mocks East Timorese President Ramos Horta and the government, saying he will die rather than submit himself to the current Timorese justice system. Reporter Chris Bullock met and interviewed Alfredo Reinado in October. Now there is mounting pressure on Alfredo to surrender, and on the government to bring him in, with his criminal trial on charges of murder, attempted murder and revolt scheduled for court this week.

KPMG analyst Bernard Salt says that within a few years 30 percent of people will live alone. The accompanying boom in pets is a looming political reality, and may even become an IR issue. It's good news for the pet food business. Already households spend more on pets than on childcare. Reporter Wendy Carlisle.

Niger has lots of uranium, and the world wants it. Australian companies are there, pegging out their stakes. There's murder, kidnapping, hijacking and rebellion in a volatile mix of Tuareg tribesmen (and musicians) at war with other ethnic groups and the government of Niger. The government is playing China and America off against each other and there are whispers that al-Qaeda is in there, too. Reporter: Stan Correy.

Conditions have improved for the cattle, sheep, and goats Australia sends overseas for slaughter in other countries, but animal welfare groups have continued to keep a close eye on shipments. Recent FOI documents reveal more disturbing facts about the deaths and distress of animals on long journeys. Meanwhile halal abattoirs in Australia are booming, and can't fulfil the demand from Islamic countries for processed halal meat. Reporter: Erica Vowles.

The world's richest man is Mexican entrepreneur Carlos Slim, and Mexico City has the population of Australia. Mexico is one of the worst countries in the world for wealth disparity. The cultural adjustments for Australians living there can be shocking, delightful, exciting and disturbing and fascinating all at once. Reporter, Michelle Crowther.

Across Australia 220,000 volunteer firefighters are ready to protect our lives and property. If we had to pay them for their time, it would cost us something like $2 billion a year, but it's getting harder to attract them, and harder to keep them. Debates rage about hazard reduction burns, about whether people should stay in their houses or just get out, and about insurance levy issues. Reporter Jane Shields.

In a first for the international media, Bali bomber Ali Imron is let out of prison to explain why he's now working to stop terrorism. In this exclusive interview, Ali Imron tells of how he's battling with his radical brothers to prevent further violence. It's just one part of Indonesia's ground breaking and controversial counter terrorism strategy. Reporter: Di Martin.

Australia has promised $200 million to Southeast Asia to stop deforestation, but on the rich Tiwi Islands priceless and irreplaceable native forests are cut down and burnt to grow plantation timber for wood chips for Japan. It's really a tax minimisation scheme and Tiwi forests could be worth more to the locals in carbon trading. Reporter: Wendy Carlisle.

Across Australia, many local councils have invested their money in high yield, but risky investment schemes. Now, with the whole low-doc, subprime world so shaky, they're losing money. Ratepayers want answers, and some councillors who didn't see the writing on the wall are having to explain. Reporter Stan Correy.

How Israel handles itself in the Middle East is a challenge to Jewish morality, says renowned historian Professor Michael B Oren. Now with the Shalem Centre in Jerusalem, he has been a visiting professor at Harvard and Yale, author of two New York Times best sellers, and a frontline soldier. He presented the Richard Pratt Oration of 2007 on the history of Israel and its moral dilemmas.