Original version

BBC World Service Online

From Our Own Correspondent

News

Insight, wit and analysis from BBC correspondents, journalists and writers.

Insight, wit and analysis from BBC correspondents, journalists and writers from around the world.

From Our Own Correspondent: USA and France

USA and France

BBC World Service - From Our Own Correspondent, USA and France

Tony Grant presents wit and insight from correspondents Lesley Curwen and Chris Bockman

Tony Grant with stories from correspondents worldwide. Lesley Curwen muses on the US dilemma over its "debt ceiling"; Chris Bockman's in a French village some believe a haven from looming apocalypse.

Tony Grant introduces reflection and unexpected stories from correspondents around the world. In this edition, Lesley Curwen ponders the risks of the USA's "eyewatering" government debt, while Chris Bockman visits a French hamlet which some sects see as a haven from coming apocalypse.

Walking the high wire

Could the world's wealthiest nation really be about to run out of cash? US President Barack Obama says the American government could default on its debts within weeks if it doesn't get permission from Congress to borrow more money. 

Lesley Curwen, who's been following developments in Washington, says a default would have serious - and perhaps unforeseeable - consequences.

White tunics in the woods

The end of the world is on the way - and according to some estimates it might be upon us rather sooner than you might think. Some believers claim the Mayan astrological calendar predicts doom for the Earth in 2012. But there is a place, we learn, where you might just be spared. 

Chris Bockman's been there to see if there's room for us all.

Accessibility links

Programme Index

From Our Own Correspondent

USA and France

Genres

Brand

BBC World Service Online

About BBC World Service