Business Daily

Alastair Leithead and his wife Ana moved to Portugal during the Covid pandemic. They live off-grid, meaning they have no access to mains electricity or water supplies. They also have to manage their own waste water and sewage.

Now the former BBC correspondent is embarking on an ambitious project to build and run a hotel, meaning their solar powered utilities will not only have to work for them, but also paying guests.

Produced and presented by Alastair Leithead.

(Image: Alastair and Ana at their property. Credit: Alastair Leithead)

In the first of a two part series, we're in the Alentejo region where people are buying land and empty properties in an area without power or water supply.

Former BBC correspondent Alastair Leithead is one of them - he has moved there with his wife, and is trying to build and run a hotel. He travels around the region and speaks to his neighbours about their experiences.

Plus - what do local people think of this influx of foreigners coming to live off-grid?

Presented and produced by Alastair Leithead.

(Image: The sun setting over solar panels in Portugal. Alastair Leithead)

Pakistan's first female architect came out of retirement to help rebuild her country after the 2005 earthquake.

Now she's helping communities devastated by the 2022 floods.

Dr Lari talks about her experience starting out in a male-dominated field, the changing focus of her career, and her mission to build a million flood-resilient homes in Pakistan by 2024.

Produced and presented by Emb Hashmi.

(Image: Dr Yasmeen Lari. Credit: Getty Images)

President Recep Tayyip Erdogan heard Turkish voters back in May when they said they wanted change in the economy.

So, he appointed a new finance minister and central bank governor to lead the charge.

Despite the president’s strong opposition to using higher interest rates to cool rising prices, he’s allowed rates to rise in each of the last six months.

While that’s helped bring about an economic turnaround, it’s put added pressure on households who have for years been reliant on low borrowing costs.

Will the president’s patience with economic orthodoxy last, or are these early policy changes a sign of long-lasting change?

Presenter Victoria Craig

(Image: Eren and Ümit Karaduman and their children. Credit: Victoria Craig)

Despite the name, Bolivia is actually the world's biggest exporter of Brazil nuts.

We travel to the hot and humid north of the country to look at the production process which can be extremely dangerous.

Plus we hear how the business of Brazil nuts is helping stop deforestation in the Amazon.

Presenter: Jane Chambers

(Image: A worker unloading Brazil nuts from the Pando region at a nut processing plant in Riberalta, Bolivia. Credit: Bob Howard)

When private companies around the world want to raise cash, they can do so by starting a process to list on a stock exchange. This is known as an IPO, or initial public offering.

Analysts watch such public listings to gauge the health of an economy.

In 2021, IPOs were booming, but in 2023 there's been a big drop in activity - with a record low number of companies choosing to offer their shares publicly on stock exchanges in the US, UK and Europe.

What's going on, and why does it matter when IPOs don't do well?

(Picture: The hand of a man holding a phone, monitoring trading data on his phone, tablet, and computer. Credit: Getty Images)

Produced and presented by Frey Lindsay

Shoplifting has long been a concern for small and large retailers worldwide, but many believe the issue has recently increased - including incidents of retail violence.

Sam Gruet speaks to some of these retailers in New Zealand, India, Pakistan and the UK, to explore the possible reasons behind the rise in retail crime and what measures they’re introducing to respond to the escalating issue. These include covert security, body cameras and stab-proof vests.

He also asks if advances in technology can act as a powerful deterrent to potential shoplifters, and if it could be the solution to minimise retail loss.

(Picture: Security camera. Credit: Getty Images)

Presenter: Sam Gruet

Niccolo Ricci is the CEO of Stefano Ricci, a luxury clothing brand whose suits are worn by the rich and powerful.

The firm was established more than 50 years ago by his parents, and now, Niccolo, and his brother Filippo, run the family business; supplying high-end luxury attire to clients all around the world. It's a brand that counts heads of state and business magnates among its patrons.

In an era of casual fashion, this is a rarefied world where discretion is the name of the game.

Presenter: Leanna Byrne

(Photo: Niccolo Ricci. Credit: Getty Images)

The COP 28 climate talks in Dubai have closed with a deal to "transition away" from fossil fuels.

So what does this mean for the future of oil, gas and coal companies?

Sam Fenwick talks to two companies who sent representatives to COP 28; the Norwegian energy giant Equinor and the Middle East's oldest private energy company, Cresent Petroleum. Do they plan to ever abandon fossil fuels entirely?

And she finds out what the leader of COP28’s Greenpeace delegation makes of the agreement.

Presenter: Sam Fenwick

(Photo: Offshore drilling platform during sunrise with work vessel. Credit: Getty Images)

One month before pivotal elections in Taiwan, Ed Butler meets ordinary citizens getting ready just in case growing threats of a Chinese invasion do come to pass.

First-aid and weapons training are top of the list. But why isn’t the government doing more to get people ready?

Presented and produced by Ed Butler

(Image: A first aid training exercise)