Money Talks

US President Joe Biden has won Republican support for a massive infrastructure spending package. It's aimed at repairing crumbling roads, bridges and airports in the world's largest economy. The administration's proposed spending around a trillion dollars over the next eight years. A bipartisan group of 21 Senators has agreed to support the bill. Ten of them are Republicans, and together with the chamber's 50 Democrats, the measure should have the 60 votes it needs to pass. The current proposal is a result of weeks of talks. The White House had originally asked for more than two trillion dollars, but trimmed the total to win over the opposition. For more on this, we spoke to Dan Raviv in Washington DC. He's a columnist for Newsday.

#JoeBiden #Bipartisan #InfrastructureDeal

A South African biochemist has quit her day job to produce her own formula of laundry washing powder and other household products. The start-up is a hit with low-income earners in Soweto. She believes her Gogo Washing Powder has a market neglected by more established brands. Matuba Mahlatjie reports.

#Biochemist #CleaningProducts #GogoWashingPowder

The crackdown on cryptocurrencies is gathering momentum in many countries, as regulators look to curb tax evasion and regulate all financial transactions. In South Korea, authorities seized more than $47 million in bitcoin, ethereum and other crypto assets from 12,000 people accused of tax evasion. Police in Iran have shut down a cryptocurrency mining farm and taken custody of 7,000 computers. Authorities have also banned the Iran Blockchain Association, a local collective of miners. China has ordered all electricity companies to stop supplying to crypto mining projects. The move is expected to shut down 90 percent of the sector in the country.

#CryptoCurrencies #DubaiNasdaq #GovernmentRegulations

European leaders will meet in Brussels on Thursday and Friday to further co-ordinate their response to the pandemic and the bloc's economic recovery. Reintroducing travel and tourism across the bloc is a priority ahead of the launch of a digital COVID-19 certificate that should make crossing borders easier. Sarah Morice reports. For more on this, Vicky Price joined us from Athens. She's board member at the Centre for economics and business research.

#EUSummit #Brexit #DigitalCOVID19Certificate

Preparations for the Tokyo Olympics have entered the final stretch. For organisers, it's been a marathon of logistical and financial problem-solving, after the Summer Games were postponed for a year because of the coronavirus pandemic. With a month to the finish line, most Japanese still oppose the event. But as Paolo Montecillo reports, pushing through makes a lot of financial sense. Senior Producer Paolo Montecillo joined us in studio.

#Olympics #Tokyo #Pandemic

Robots can already cook, clean, drive cars and provide security. Now, a San Francisco start-up says it's invented one that will change your beauty routine forever. Natasha Hussain reports on a bot that truly nails it.

#Robots #AI #Manicures

To Britain, where travel restrictions are forcing many people to opt for staycations. But soaring demand, combined with the fact that many of last year's holidays have been rescheduled for 2021, means most accommodation is booked up for months. It's good news for domestic tourism businesses, which have spent long stretches of the past year closed, but perhaps not such good news for holidaymakers desperate to get out of town. Natalie Powell reports.

#UKhotels #DomesticTravel #Pandemic

Social media website Twitter is currently banned in China, North Korea, Iran and Turkmenistan and, as of earlier this month, Nigeria. But more countries may join that list soon. In India, which is one of its top markets, Twitter has been entangled in a legal spat with the government for months. Rahul Radhakrishnan has more.

#TwitterBan #PoliticalPressure #UserRights

A UN committee has recommended that Australia's Great Barrier Reef be added to a list of World Heritage Sites that are 'in danger'. UNESCO says the climate crisis is steadily destroying the world's largest reef. But its recommendation has prompted outrage from the Australian government. Angela Murphy finds out why. Ariane Wilkinson is the Great Barrier Reef Program Manager at WWF-Australia. She has more on the implications of UNESCO's recommendation.

#UNESCO #GreatBarrierReef #CarbonEmissions

Africa's vaccine roll-out is getting a big boost from the World Bank. Its agreed to finance shots for hundreds of millions of people. The World Health Organization also plans to set up a technology hub in South Africa to help low-income countries produce their own coronavirus vaccines. These are the latest moves to help the continent, where immunisation rates have lagged even as cases rise. Paolo Montecillo has more. For more, we spoke to Amit Thakker. He's the president of the Africa Healthcare Federation and joins us from Nairobi.

#AfricaVaccineDrive #Inoculation #WHO