ÃÛÑ¿´«Ã½

Insight, wit and analysis from ÃÛÑ¿´«Ã½ correspondents around the world, presented by Pascale Harter. In this edition:

King Coal - dethroned
The ebb and flow of history can change the fortunes of whole regions; as one commodity or another peaks or slumps, settlements built on it might wither, prosper or simply die away. Jonny Dymond has been to visit a place in eastern Kentucky at the foothills of the Appalachian mountains, where the people are hardy and they've known life to be hard. But as coal, which was once the lifeblood of their town falls out of favour, even the modest expectations they do have are built on shaky ground.

Big Brother or little gnome?
Attitudes to welfare are one area where European and American social norms differ most. The line between state oversight and interference can be a fine one; and the same system which can provide generous benefits might also insist on similarly high levels of co-operation. Jo Fidgen is in Sweden, where a sort of 'Big Brother' is watching you, even in your own home. But she finds that even this level of supervision seems to some a way to find freedom through big government, via the Swedish welfare state – or the "People’s ÃÛÑ¿´«Ã½", as its taxpayers prefer to put it.

(Image: Coal)