The Current from CBC Radio (Highlights)

These days the conflict between the neighbouring Gaza Strip and Israel is the preoccupation in Egypt. But Egypt's domestic problems are roiling. With 2 out of 5 Egyptians living in poverty and a loan from the International Monetary Fund on its way, we discuss whether the money will help those who most need it.

Today we celebrate but we also look forward with a special panel of thinkers. Former diplomat and humanitarian Stephen Lewis; award-winning writer and doctor Dr. Vincent Lam; and Lorna Dueck, host of Context with Lorna Dueck, discuss the Dilemmas that Will Define us as Canadians at home and abroad. How we navigate these issues will shape Canada's future identity and global standing.

We look at the importance of speaking up and setting the record straight with Mahar Arar. He says The Current helped after his imprisonment in Syria because it allowed him to tell his story publicly. That led to healing, the fight to clear his name and it brought attention to the horrible practice of rendition. And comedian Mary Walsh joins us to discuss changing the way we talk about and treat mental health and addiction problems. She says so many Canadians suffer in silence and we too often criminalize people who desperately need health care.

Anna Maria sits down with Fifth Estate co-host and Giller prize winner Linden MacIntyre for a special one-on-one... with Linden asking the questions about the defining moments of Anna Maria's career and what it took to become one of Canada's most respected journalists. And we give the Last Word to lots of people on this program … today, it was to Anna Maria, to her voice and to acknowledge the woman who gave her her voice … her mother, Eleanor Tremonti.

The Israeli Defense Force launched its war on Gaza on Twitter and is keeping followers updated through tweets, blogs and other online tools. We look at how social media is giving everyone a means to challenge and get their own message out and how hard it is to control.

150 years after the U.S. Civil War, a new secessionist movement is growing south of the border. We speak with a man who wants his state -- Alabama -- to say goodbye to the government of Barack Obama.

It is an extraordinary moment when Dr. Adrian Owen slides his patient into an FMRI machine, a man who has been in a vegetative state for a dozen years, suddenly able to communicate basic information with thoughts that register as activity in a brain scan. Adrian Owen has found a way to connect with some patients for whom that had been little hope of ever communicating again. Today, our project Line in the Sand looks at the implications of his discovery for everything from our treatment of traditionally unresponsive patients to end of life care.

It began as an ambitious effort to streamline Ontario's Air Ambulance service but within half a dozen years. The story of ORNGE became one riddled with scandal, private spin-off companies, secret salaries, spotty safety records and unanswered questions. It is also the story of a reporter who just wouldn't let the story go. Journalist Kevin Donovan peels back the Story of ORNGE.

All in and All Over. From the email trail that ensnared two Generals a biographer and a socialite to the video of an incarcerated teen that enraged so many Canadians, we're following up on stories of the week and sorting through emails, voicemails and tweets. Also today, we look at endangered racehorses. The changes by the OLG to terminate slot revenues to the horse industry has resulted in lower prices for horses and the purses at races are making it economically unfeasible for horse owners to continue their business.

It was about a year ago that Jacques Duchesneau, the head of an anti-collusion unit in Quebec leaked his own report on the scope of corruption in the awarding of construction contracts in Quebec. He made lots of enemies for that but won the popular vote and now sits in Opposition in the National Assembly. With so much fallout from the inquiry, it is time to hear from the man whose act of defiance kick-started the process.

Chrystia Freeland she says the richest people on earth aren't the 1 % ... they are the .01%. The Plutocrats, whose staggering wealth and dexterity with private equity is hollowing out the middle class, whose influence gives them a disproportionate voice and whose distance from the rest-of-us .. may be transforming our society. Today, Chrystia Freeland introduces us to the Haves and the Have Mores.

Alberta is poised to wipe all references to the Charter of Rights and Freedoms and provincial Human Rights out of its Education act, after pressure from home-schooling advocates. Opposition politicians say the Redford government is pandering, civil libertarians worry the government is lowering human rights protections and a national school board association is pleased they got a compromise.

After the public humiliation of admitting to an affair, life becomes one long double entendre for David Petraeus. Should it? Did David Petraeus need to resign as chief of the CIA? Was the affair with his biographer anyone's business but theirs? Even with new revelations coming out? And how is it that a so-called Sex Scandal in the year 2012 - can still be so lethal? We're asking.

Britain's high court has halted the deportation of Tamil refugee claimants over concerns that they face torture on their return. A British Human Rights Agency says it has documented ongoing torture by government forces, even though the civil war has ended. That's led to similar calls for reconsideration of those Tamil refugees claiming asylum in Canada. Today, we bring you the story of one man whose Canadian employer is fighting to keep him here.

Today, the remarkable story of the 36 hour operation that changed the life of American Richard Norris. For 15 years, he was so disfigured that he would shop only at night and wear a mask during the day. Earlier this year, he had the most extensive face transplant on record. And among his doctors was a Canadian who has taken his expertise home. We speak to Dr. Daniel Borsuk.