Panorama - 1990 (1990)

After fleeing the capital as revolutionary fervour spread, Romanian President Nicolae Ceausescu and his wife were captured and returned to Bucharest to face the revolution's summary justice on Christmas Day 1989.

David Lomax reports on how patients are suffering as a result of the 1990 ambulance dispute.

Every day this term more than 200,000 pupils will play truant from Britain's schools. In London alone a quarter of all 15-year-olds will be missing from class.

As crises mount for President Gorbachev, what about the Russians - the people who will ultimately determine the fate of his revolution?

Britain's police are facing a crisis of public confidence. In the wake of the Guildford Four case, the break up of the West Midlands Crime Squad and the Wapping report, there is a widespread fear that the police bend the rules.

August's shooting of a young Catholic, Loughlin Maginn, was the 2,744th murder since the N. Ireland troubles began. But it will be remembered as the killing which triggered off a damaging row between the governments of London and Dublin.

East Germans vote next Sunday in their first free elections in over 50 years. But already the hundreds of thousands who have voted with their feet, moving to the west, have settled the issue in favour of 'One Fatherland'.

In England and Wales 38 million people are about to receive their first poll tax bills - many will be higher than Government predictions.

In the 90s, Britain will need new roads, houses and industrial developments if it is to prosper in Europe. But birds, plants and animals are under increasing pressure as the concrete spreads.

The very poor in Britain live at the margin. Any crisis, from a house burning down to something as everyday as a child needing new shoes, can push them over the edge. All they can turn to in an emergency is the Government's social fund.

More than three million people have joined Britain's army of homeowners since Mrs. Thatcher came to power. But for many, high mortgage rates and the slump in property prices have turned the dream of home ownership into a nightmare.

The mighty Red Army that Lenin created to defend the Motherland is coming home from camps across Eastern Europe. But it is returning to an uncertain future.

18 months ago, the Gov't launched a radical reform of the NHS. It wanted to turn a £20 billion state monolith into an internal market that would offer its 'customers', the patients, a better service, choice, and better value for money.

All over eastern Europe, dark secrets from the past are being unearthed. Many countries face the dilemma of what to do with the former communist dictators and their thugs from state security.

Steve Bradshaw reports on the effects of global warming.

One self-confessed ringleader of the Strangeways riot has claimed to Panorama that the disturbance was originally planned as a protest against the prison regime.

As the Government's changes to the education system start to take effect, how well are Britain's schools coping? Roisin McAuley reports on the effects on one typical secondary, Campion School in Leamington, Warwickshire.

With Westminster rife with pre-election fever and Labour ahead in the opinion polls, the Leader of the Opposition, the Rt Hon Neil Kinnock , MP, gives his first major television interview of the year.

After a rather difficult political year, the Conservatives are now preparing to fight their fourth election campaign under the leadership of Margaret Thatcher. It looks as if it may be the toughest yet for her as well as for her party.

How did the west allow Saddam Hussein to build up his terrifying arsenal of weapons? Jane Corbin reveals the scale of Saddam's arms production network in Britain, Germany and America.

To many Palestinians, Saddam Hussein is a new saviour. Panorama analyses the Saddam-fever that is sweeping through Jordan and the West Bank into Israel. Robin Denselow reports.

David Dimbleby and Tom Mangold report from America on the latest developments in the Gulf crisis. Is a compromise still possible? How long will the American people be prepared to support such a massive commitment of American forces?

Britain's defences were undergoing their most drastic review for over a generation when Iraq provoked the Gulf crisis. Fred Emery reports on the controversy raging inside the Ministry of Defence.

Reporter Steve Bradshaw investigates the legacy of Militant Tendency in Liverpool.

Gavin Hewitt has been examining who actually pays for the Conservative Party. Why do individuals and companies give and what do they expect in return?

An examination of the cause and effect of the savage violence which has been sweeping South Africa, a threat to the peace process which, in Nelson Mandela 's words, could leave the country 'drowning in blood'.

President F W de Klerk's promise to abolish all race laws and share power with the black majority has set white against white in South Africa. David Dimbleby meets some who are reconciled to change and others who are determined to resist.

In an attempt to make the family a lasting commitment, the Government is changing the law to track down fathers who abandon their families so they can be forced to pay maintenance.

David Dimbleby in Potsdam presents a debate with representatives from several European countries on their adjustment to the new freedoms one year on from the fall of the Berlin Wall.

The Chancellor of the Exchequer's decision to take Britain into the Exchange Rate Mechanism provoked short-lived euphoria. Now the British economy has to conquer inflation and compete in Europe with a fixed rate for the pound.

Fred Emery presents a Panorama special about the demise of British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher, looking at the final week of her premiership.

As the world marks international Aids day, Panorama reports on the relentless spread of the disease into the general population. The authorities are still not encouraging those who think they might have the virus to get tested.

Anthony Howard accompanies former cabinet minister Nicholas Ridley on a journey around Europe, highlighting his opinions of the European Community in the light of recent political events.

The Department of Public Prosecutions is considering whether to prosecute a group of junior Surrey detectives who are alleged to have fabricated the confessions of some of the Guildford Four.