Business Daily

The Spice Islands' urban planning director, Dr Muhammad Juma, is a pioneer in mapping technology, using drones to get a clear picture of Zanzibar's urban sprawl. But it was an innovation borne out of necessity - the archipelago's population is booming, and so are its slums.

Katie Prescott travels to the Tanzanian province to meet the man. She also speaks to drone pilot Khadija Abdulla Ali, one of hundreds of young people involved in the mapping project, and - unusually in this traditional Muslim country - a woman in charge of a team of men. Plus Sebastian Dietzold, who is building an entire new eco-friendly conurbation called Fumba Town.

(Picture: Dr Muhammad Juma, director of Zanzibar Urban and Rural Planning; Credit: Chris Morgan/BBC)

Africa is urbanising at break-neck speed. So how do people keep track of where city amenities are, or indeed which areas are at risk of flooding?

Katie Prescott reports from Dar es Salaam, Tanzania's most populous city. Its population is growing at more than 4% a year, often with little planning. The slums of Kigogo district for example are regularly inundated by the neighbouring rivers, as community leader Osiligi Losai explains.

The first step to solving the problem is to map it. Katie speaks to Hawa Adinani of the Dar Ramani Huria project which aims to chart the city's drains, and Edward Anderson of the World Bank, who is using drones to locate key infrastructure for urban planning and disaster reduction. Plus urban political scientist Robert Muggah discusses what makes cities fragile.

(Picture: Dar es salaam aerial cityscape; Credit: Moiz Husein/Getty Images)

Will Britain's role on the world stage be diminished by leaving the EU? Views from veteran pro-Europe UK MP Ken Clarke, Dutch writer Joris Luijendijk and Ian Bremmer, president of Eurasia Group, a political risk research and consulting firm in Washington DC.

Producer: Laurence Knight

(Photo: British and EU flags at a protest in London in September 2018, Credit: Getty Images)

The online retail giant has announced that it will split its long-anticipated new headquarters between Long Island City In New York City, and Arlington, Virginia.

Some 238 cities across North America had competed for the role. But many residents at the lucky winners are angry about the billions of dollars in alleged "corporate welfare" offered by their city authorities to lure Amazon in. Winner's curse?

Michelle Fleury meets the protestors in Long Island City, while Edwin Lane speaks to urban studies theorist Richard Florida, Seattle-based professor of public policy Jake Vigdor, and to Vinous Ali of the British tech industry body TechUK.

(Picture: Boxes with the Amazon logo turned into a frown face are stacked up after a protest against Amazon in Long Island City; Credit: Drew Angerer/Getty Images)

Climate change is an existential threat, so are civil disobedience and direct action the only way to save the planet? And is a global carbon tax the best tool to do the job?

Justin Rowlatt speaks to protestors from the new and militant environmentalist movement Extinction Rebellion as they occupy the UK's Department of Energy building in protest at their government's alleged failure to tackle global warming. He also speaks to Ben Stewart of the 49-year-old campaign group Greenpeace, who have themselves been targeted by their new rivals for not being radical enough.

But what policy change should they be calling for? Professor Bill Nordhaus of Yale University received this year's Nobel Prize for Economics for his work on economic models for how government's might go about taxing carbon dioxide emissions. But why does he think that so few governments are implementing it?

Producer: Laurence Knight

(Picture: Extinction Rebellion activists occupying the UK Department of Energy in London; Credit: Roger Harrabin/BBC)

Does increasing the number of women on a company's board boost its financial performance? It's a popular narrative, but Manuela Saragosa speaks to Professor Renee B Adams of Said Business School at Oxford University, who claims there is no evidence to support it. And she asks Gay Collins of campaigning group the 30% Club whether it even matters.

Plus, how do you tell a male colleague that he's wrong without hurting his feelings? Or interact with a male employee without threatening his ego? Comedian Sarah Cooper has some tongue-in-cheek tips for the aspiring female executive.

(Picture: Young businessman being disciplined by female boss; Credit: LukaTDB/Getty Images)

As university tuition fees rise and rise, young female students are flocking onto online sugar dating platforms to find wealthy older men who can foot the bill. But where is the line between sugar babies and escorts - or indeed prostitution?

Manuela Saragosa speaks to the founder of one such dating platform. Brandon Wade is founder and chief executive of seeking.com, which claims 10 million members worldwide. And she asks Kavita Nayar, who is researching computer-mediated intimacy and erotic labour at the University of Massachusetts-Amherst, whether these young women are being exploited, or liberated.

Producer: Laurence Knight

(Picture: Young woman with an older man bearing a gift; Credit: Stockbyte/Getty Images)

Engineers showcase new technologies to help women return to work after maternity leave - but why is the engineering profession itself so male-dominated?

(Picture: Woman holds up smart breast pumps; Credit: Frederic J. Brown/AFP/Getty Images)

Half of the world's population don't access the internet, and they're missing out on economic and social benefits says Dhanaraj Thakur, research director at the Web Foundation. Satellites might provide the solution to reaching people in remote areas according to Jason Knapp from the company Viasat and Larry Smarr from the University of Southern California. Dudu Mkhwanazi, CEO of Project Isizwe, describes the benefits of access for poor townships in South Africa.

(Photo: Internet users in the Ivory Coast, Credit: Getty Images)

The US unleashed what it calls its "toughest ever" sanctions against Iran. The Trump administration reinstated all sanctions removed under the 2015 nuclear deal, targeting both Iran and states that trade with it. They will hit oil exports, shipping and banks - all core parts of the economy.

But what difference will they actually make? Ed Butler hears from Professor Jeffrey Sachs of Columbia University, an outspoken policy advocate who thinks Trump's America First policies are endangering the very status of the dollar as the world's chosen reserve currency.

And to explain how a reserve currency works, Ed hears from Barry Eichengreen, a well-known currency expert and professor of economics at Berkeley in California. And the programme considers whether China's renminbi, or the euro, could ever take over from the mighty dollar.

Producer: Laurence Knight

(Picture: An Iranian protester burns a dollar banknote; Credit: Majid Saeedi/Getty Images)