The inability of the fee-for-service system to provide good preventive care is arguably one of the main reasons why the average American is no fitter than, and lives no longer than, people from European or Asian countries that spend far less on health care.

ECONOMIST: Your money or your life

Ministers are uneasy about the move on several fronts, some related to the degree of opposition within their own party, others to the strength of local feeling, including the Daily Post campaign, and the precedent of actively moving the service out of the Welsh health system and into the English one.

BBC: Over-rule on the cards on health?

On one section of the system, restoring even limited service has required workers to reach back in time, using a system to move trains that dates to the age of the telegraph.

WSJ: PATH's Road Back Is Rocky

Two to four years of relevant professional experience, including at least one year in the United Nations system or in a diplomatic service.

UNESCO: Main Menu

Facebook's service is designed to combine traditional email, instant message and cellphone text messages into one system, routing messages to whichever service is best for each person, and keeping an archive of it all.

WSJ: Facebook's New Front in Google Rivalry