Since 2001 the number of children born with birth defects in China has risen dramatically, by as much as 40 percent in some locations.
Some estimates suggest a child with special medical needs is born every 30 seconds, straining the resources of governmental and NGOs alike.
Greece has won a major pledge of financial support from the other countries that use the euro and the International Monetary Fund in a deal that aims to halt a government debt crisis undermining confidence in Europe's currency union. But it’s a deal that has highlighted sharp differences between other members of the eurozone.
It is a tough world out there, and we all need something to give us that special edge over the competition. But what are today's employers looking for, and how do applicants satisfy those needs without compromising their own goals and ambitions?
According to statistics from the State Administration of Radio, Film and Television, China produced 456 feature films in 2009 - up 50 from the year before. But how many of them will become hits or even break even. How mature is the local movie industry - and is it ready to compete with its biggest rival, Hollywood?
Gary Xu, Associate Professor, Department of East Asian Languages and Literature, University of Illinois
Richard Trombly，Writer/Editor, Associate Producer of "Distance Runners"
Liu Jun, Researcher, Beijing Film Academy
Donny Liang, expert with consulting firm Entgroup
More than 175 countries have just concluded a meeting in Doha to discuss the future of the world's most endangered species. According to some reports, it was not entirely successful. Here in China the focus is currently on the Tiger and what is being done to secure the future of this magnificent animal.
Whether you view nuclear power as the promise for a better tomorrow or a whopping down payment on a mutant-filled apocalypse, there's a good chance you won't be easily converted to the other side. After all, nuclear power boasts a number of advantages, as well as its share of downright depressing negatives.
Jerry Taylor, Senior Fellow, CATO Institute
Charles Ebinger, Director, Energy Security Initiative, Senior Fellow, The Brookings Institution
Fan Jihong, General Manager, Department of R&D Management, State Nuclear Power Technology Corporation
After describing Israel's decision to defy US and world opposition and built 16-hundred new homes in East Jerusalem as an 'insult" - Secretary of State Hilary Clinton said Israel's actions were undermining Washington's credibility as a peacemaker in the Middle East. Yesterday, however, Clinton said "America’s support for Israel was rock solid, unwavering, enduring, and forever" - words that will not be well-received in the Arab capitals of the Middle East."
Thailand's neighbors have expressed their concern at the ongoing political unrest in the country, and called on the Thai government to find a speedy resolution. So what is it all about? Who are the Red Shirts and the Yellow Shirts? What do they want?
According to the National Geographic, earthquakes, also called temblors, can be so tremendously destructive, it’s hard to imagine they occur by the thousands every day around the world, usually in the form of small tremors. Some of the simplest questions about earthquakes remain hard to answer. Why do they start? What makes them stop?
To realize China’s goal of a low-carbon society, Premier Wen Jiabao in his Government Work Report called on the country to build an "industrial system" with low carbon emissions and make energy conservation a good habit throughout society. So what is the "industrial system" with low carbon emissions, or low-carbon economy?
Dr. Xavier Chen, Chair of Energy Working Group, European Chamber of Commerce in China
Ms.Wang Dongying, Energy and Climate Change Program Officer, Global Environmental Institute
Wang Li, Researcher, Institute of Quantitative And Technical Economics, CASS
Despite various roles in the armies of past societies, the role of women in the military, particularly in combat, is controversial and it is only recently that women have begun to be given a more prominent role in contemporary armed forces. As increasing numbers of countries begin to expand the role of women in their militaries, the debate continues.
Kingsley R. Browne, Professor of Law, Wayne State University Law School "Co-ed Combat: The New Evidence that Women Shouldn’t Fight the Nation’s Wars"
Amit Ben-Yehoshua, Attorney at Law - Former combat medic IDF
It is one of the world’s fastest growing economies, it is the second largest economy in Africa. So why is this nation of 150-million people so frequently in the news headlines for all the wrong reasons?
At the opening of the just concluded annual session of the National Peoples' Congress Premier Wen Jiabao outlined China's economic planning for the year ahead. Central to the plan is a target of 8-percent GDP. Is it achievable?
Reform of China's education system has been a recurring theme here on Today, and is again being highlighted at the ongoing high level political conferences here in Beijing. So what are the problems and what needs to be fixed?
We've heard a lot about health care reform in the United States and indeed here in China. So how do health care systems around the world stack up against each other? What works, and what works best? There were a lot of nice words about Britain's National Health Service, take a listen. Dr. Michael Rachlis, Health Policy Analyst and Associate Professor University of Toronto Prof. Wang Hufeng, Director, Health Reform and Development Center，Renmin University Prof. Barbara McPake, Director, Institute of International Health and Development, Queen Margaret University Audio: Health Care Comparisons (Hour 1)
As embattled Japanese auto giant Toyota launched a broad counter-attack on Monday aimed at refuting research that suggests electronics may be at the heart of runaway acceleration problems that have led the automaker to recall more than 8 million vehicles, there were reports of a runaway Prius on a California highway. The company just doesn’t seem able to catch a break – but do they deserve one? Klaus Paur, Regional Director Automotive North Asia of TNS Research International China Waldemar A. Pfoertsch, Professor of Marketing, China Europe International Business School Audio: Toyota-gate! (Hour 1)
Bill Russo, President of Synergistics Limited
The coalition of incumbent Prime Minister Nuri Al-Maliki appears to have taken an early lead in last weekend's parliamentary elections with turnout estimated at 62-percent. Optimists say the turnout reflects more stability and a brighter future, pessimists are concerned that a more engaged Sunni minority signals further problems ahead. After a lively debate, the panel was split on whether the target of 2011 for a complete withdrawal of American troops would be met. Where are you putting your money? Mr Rahman Muhsin - Second Secretary, Iraqi Embassy, Beijing Stewart Stogel, UN Correspondent for Time Magazine Gao Zugui, Director of Institute of World Political Studies, CICIR Stephen Zunes, Professor of Politics & International Studies, Chair, Middle Eastern Studies Program, University of San Francisco Audio: Iraq Parliamentary Election (Hour 1)
The first International Women's Day was held 99 years ago. The success of the first International Women's Day in 1911 exceeded all expectations. Men stayed at home with their children for a change, and their wives, the captive housewives, went to meetings. Have the expectations and aspirations of that first meeting been met? We asked the following guests, and invite you to listen to an absolutely delightful hour of chat. Judith Lorber, Ph.D. Professor Emerita, Graduate Center and Brooklyn College, City University of New York Lisa Rofel, Professor and Chair, Department of Anthropology, University of California Santa Cruz Julia Broussard, Country Programme Manager, UNIFEM Project Office in China Audio: International Women's Day (Hour 1)
It has been described as the agricultural silver bullet that will feed the world and save the environment - and it's been described as Frankenstein Food. The controversy over GM - Genetically Modified crops rages on, but how much of it is already out there? Are you eating it now? And do you know? Excellent debate with some surprising twists! Lorena Luo, Greenpeace Senior Campaigner-Food and Agriculture Program C.S. Prakash, Professor in Plant Molecular Genetics and Director of the Center for Plant Biotechnology Research at Tuskegee University Audio File: GM Food Debate (Hour 1)
Jay Weinstein, Author of "The Ethical Gourmet"
The climate change lobby has been dealt a blow with the sudden resignation of influential UN climate chief Yvo De Boer. Using record low temperatures and high snowfall this winter as evidence, critics of the global warming science now say the science is seriously flawed, and Al Gore should be stripped of his Nobel Prize for spreading unnecessary alarm. So what is the climate debate reality?
Dr YU Jie, Head of China Policy and Research Program, The Climate Group
Kim Carstensen, Leader, Global Climate Initiative, WWF International
Dave Finnigan, CSP, Two Years to Change
Audio File: Climate Controversy (Hour 1)
General David Petraeus - the army general overseeing the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq has warned of a hard year ahead. "We've killed boatloads of bad guys" he told a gathering at Princeton University, but added the mission is far from over. So what challenges do lie ahead?
Gao Zugui, Director of Institute of World Political Studies, CICIR
Rong Ying, Vice President and Director of the South Asian Studies Center at China Institute of International Studies
Mirwais Nab, first Secretary, Afghan Embassy to China
Faiz Khorshid, Television correspondent, Kabul
The Middle East is never very far away from the headlines, and in the past week we've seen international concern over a targetted killing in Dubai, continued tensions with Iran, a US bid toward rapprochement with Syria, and a furor over religious sites in the West Bank.
David Israel-Rosen - Chairman/CEO China Transition Institute - Former member of the Israeli Defense Force (On Phone from Chicago)
Li Guofu, researcher, director of Middle East Studies Center, China Institute of International Studies
Ezzat Shahrour, Beijing based Arab journalist
