The economic case for closing 31 pits and putting 30,000 miners on the dole was "unanswerable", the government said. But public outcry forced them to order a review.

On 20 January, Bill Clinton will become the first Democratic president of the United States for 12 years. Peter Jay, who was Britain's ambassador to the USA during the Carter administration, examines the mood of the country.

First of a two-part report. As South Africa prepares for the coming election, David Dimbleby talks to President F W De Klerk and to Nelson Mandela.

Second of a two-part report. David Dimbleby talks to President F W De Klerk and to Nelson Mandela, and assesses the chances of the white and black population reaching a settlement which will put an end to the confrontation and bloodshed.

This year sees the 40th anniversary of the Queen's coronation. What is the prospect for the monarchy today, and what place is there for its ancient magic in Citizen Major's Britain? Vivian White reports.

A new military power looks set to overtake Saddam's Iraq. In the Islamic republic of Iran the heirs of Ayatollah Khomeini are spending billions on arms. Jane Corbin investigates that Iran is trying to get weapons of mass destruction.

The dramatic increase in the numbers of children expelled from school is causing problems for a Government already grappling with public anxiety over juvenile crime. Many children now receive as little as one hour's education a week.

As the post-Cold War military cuts go deeper, Britain faces hundreds of thousands of job losses in the defence sector, bringing despair to areas of previously high employment.

Nisha Pillai reveals the emergence of a Muslim underclass among Pakistanis and Bangladeshis and looks at the dangers and dilemmas it throws up.

Britain's top policemen now admit that their old Dixon of Dock Green image was always a myth - and that in the battle to convict criminals, truth has often been the first casualty. Steve Bradshaw reports.

By the end of this decade more than a million people in Britain will be over 85. Some families are already abandoning relatives when they become very old and frail, Margaret Gilmore investigates.

Tom Mangold investigates the tobacco companies' conspiracy to cover up research that helps prove the link between smoking, cancer and other diseases; and how the industry decided to drop the successful marketing of a safer cigarette.

Are workers in Britain being exploited by bosses who say they are lucky to have a job? Thousands are being forced to work longer hours for less pay. Others are sacked for no reason and there is nothing in the law to protect them.

For more than ten years, Salvatore Riina was the Godfather of the Mafia, the world's largest criminal organisation. After 23 years on the run, he was arrested. Does his arrest mark a turning point in the struggle against organised crime?

The race is on to discover the genes that determine people's susceptibility to illness and disease. Billions of dollars are available in the new market for genetic testing but the human costs of such advances may outweigh the benefits.

A report from Aldermaston, Britain's top-secret nuclear weapons factory, known as the Citadel. Nuclear weapons are being constructed in buildings that were condemned 15 years ago by an independent inquiry into the Atomic Weapons Facility.

Lloyd's of London - the most famous insurance market in the world - is in crisis. After hurricanes, terrorism and tanker disasters losses run into billions, and legal actions alleging negligence and fraud abound.

Can hospitals be trusted to provide the best possible care? Panorama offers evidence that some cannot and that differences in financing and treatment mean that certain hospitals and surgeons are more effective than others

Thousands of Catholic priests have left active service to marry. Sex scandals involving American archbishops have rocked Rome and led Pope John Paul II to concede that the public's trust in the church and priestly morale is being eroded.

Wessex Regional Health Authority is said to have wasted tens of millions of pounds on installing a computer system that had to be abandoned. Vivian White uncovers the people and companies responsible for squandering vital NHS funds.

Florida dentist Dr David Acer has been held responsible for transmitting the deadly HIV virus to six of his patients. Two have died. Yet after a two-year inquiry no one can find out how it happened.

In cases of sexual assault, are the courts too lenient when it comes to sentencing? Will the government respond to public disquiet? Deborah Davies reports.

Is Britain becoming a nation of vigilantes? Peter Godwin investigates a growing trend of DIY crime-fighters - some legal, others definitely not.

A succession of miscarriages of justice have brought about tougher measures to protect the accused in criminal cases. But have the scales of justice tilted too far in favour of the defendants?

Two IRA bombs in a crowded Warrington shopping centre on 20 March this year killed 3-year-old Jonathan Ball immediately; 12-year-old Tim Parry died five days later. Steve Bradshaw reports.

The story of a Norwegian couple who had formed a secret channel between the Israelis and the Palestinian Liberation Organisation.

Michele is 22 and expecting the fifth of her babies she's had by two different fathers. Janet lied to the authorities to gain extra welfare benefits for her children. Panorama investigates the cost to the state of young single motherhood.

"It's very easy when you're in politics - to find yourself cut adrift from the everyday concerns of people in the country" John Major tells Panorama. Huw Edwards asks party members whether Mr Major can dispel the doubts on his leadership.

Stephen Bradshaw reports that the state pays out billions of pounds in benefits to pensioners who don't need the money. Would it not make sense to target their pension money at the millions of poor old people who desperately need it?

John Penycate examines the Branch Davidians and David Koresh's bizarre cocktail of religion, violence and sexual abuse, and reveals the story of the US government's role In the Waco shooting, siege and final conflagration

With the Jamie Bulger trial about to start, and public concern about child criminals in the news, the Government is promising tough new policies to deal with the worst offenders. They plan new sentences and new lock-ups for 12-14 year-olds

A few yrs ago water charges were a small item on the rates bill, but now they're increasing up to 8 times the rate of inflation. While water chiefs and shareholders enjoy a profits bonanza, water poverty threatens millions of families.

This week the government is expected to give the final go-ahead to Thorp, a nuclear "laundry" meant to clean the used fuel of a new generation of atomic power stations. But is Thorp really needed? Correspondent Ian Breech reports.

New government figures suggest that racially motivated attacks in Britain are far more frequent than was previously estimated. Only a small proportion are reported, however, and even fewer reach the courts. Margaret Gilmore reports.

Stephen Bradshaw reports from Foca, in Bosnia, where innocent civilians have been victims of war crimes, and of history's broken promises, and he names local politicians who failed to intervene and stop these crimes.