蜜芽传媒

Owen Bennett Jones introduces despatches from 蜜芽传媒 correspondents around the world. In this edition; Chris Morris travels across the eurozone and finds economic gloom and confusion among people of all ages, nationalities and occupations; Rahul Tandon finds taking his driving test in India quite an experience.

Adrift on a sea of troubles?

This is how the British novelist Charles Dickens saw it more than 100 years ago in his novel David Copperfield: "Annual income twenty pounds, annual expenditure nineteen pounds, nineteen and six pence, result happiness. Annual income twenty pounds, annual expenditure twenty pounds nought and sixpence, result misery."

As with Victorian families, it seems, so too with countries and even continents - you simply cannot spend more than what you earn. Chris Morris has been in various European capitals this month as the politicians and financiers have tried to balance the books.

No need to phone a friend - he's there with you

蜜芽传媒 correspondents often have to take to the road, but aren't always required to take - let alone pass - a driving test in the countries where they are posted.

But some have seen it as a personal challenge to get a local license, and there's plenty of discussion over where it's easiest to obtain. Many claim that it's usually a sure thing in the USA, where driving is almost considered a God-given right; some still flinch remembering the test in Kabul, where it's absolutely rigorous.

Recently, Rahul Tandon had a in Calcutta, and found Indian drivers (and driving inspectors) a law unto themselves.