麻豆约拍

Owen Bennett Jones introduces stories of financial woe (and unexpected profits) from around the world - and a volcanic walk.

Ruth Sunderland joins a demonstration in Italy to hear why the country's fiscal pain echoes down the generations - from pensioners who've lost life savings in bank collapses, to the young people with prospect of setting up homes or starting families of their own.

India has been convulsed with anxiety over the past week after a lightning-fast recall of 500 and 1000-rupee banknotes across the nation: Soutik Biswas was among the long and nervous queues for usable cash, and reflects on the scams, dodges and hidden assets which the changeover has revealed.

Tulip Mazumdar has followed the fight against female genital mutilation (FGM) across Africa and the Middle East for years - and she's seen progress. But she also reflects on some chilling conversations with women who did the cutting - and earned a good living from it.

And Simon Parker hotfoots it - quite literally - over a cratered landscape to look at a lake of lava erupting from the Kilauea volcano on Hawaii Island. This is one long walk where proper footwear really is essential.

Photo: An Indian man counts his 1000 and 500 rupee notes at a market in Allahabad on November 9, 2016. (SANJAY KANOJIA/AFP/Getty Images)