Money Talks

In the 1980s, the West African country Burkina Faso experienced one of the worst famines in its history due to climate change. Large swathes of fertile land became increasingly arid, especially in the northern region, where more than 70-thousand people depend on farming. But one man's dedication is gradually restoring the ecosystem and improving agriculture. Adesewa Josh has more.

#Seeds #Conservation #ForestEcosystems

Taiwan's biggest company, Foxconn has joined the chorus of voices warning that the global chip shortage is getting worse and could last until next year. The chip crunch initially impacted carmakers, but it's now affecting a wide range of electronics. Paolo Montecillo reports. For more on this, Malcolm Penn joined us now from London. He's founder and chairman of Future Horizons, a global semiconductor industry analyst.

#Foxconn #ChipShortage #Semiconducters

A trip to the hospital is becoming a whole new experience for patients at one clinic in Russia, where they're now being greeted and treated by a robot. The machine is doing some tasks nurses used to do. And as Sarah Morice reports, its services have become particularly popular during the pandemic.

#Russia #MedicalRobot #SocialDistancing

They're an instantly recognisable part of British life but now thousands of red phone boxes are up for grabs. It's part of an initiative to find a new use for these relics of a bygone era. The growth of mobile phone use means there are only 7-thousand working red phone boxes left in Britain, and half of them don't make money. Natalie Powell has more.

#Phoneboxes #Libraries #RedPhoneBooth

One of the richest horse racing events in the world has taken place in the United Arab Emirates. Horses and jockeys from around the globe competed at the Dubai World Cup on Saturday. But as Jacob Greaves explains, there were some differences to the prestigious competition this year.

#UAE #Pandemic #horceRacing

Egypt will have a new capital by the end of the year with the first residents moving-in as early as April. In the next few months, the government will move its offices to the new city, which is 45 kilometres east of Cairo. Officials say the relocation is designed to relieve congestion in one of the world's most crowded cities.

#Egypt #AdministrativeCapital #Cairo

France's second- largest drug maker, Servier, has been found guilty of manslaughter for deceiving customers about the deadly side effects of its weight loss drug. A Paris court has also pinned part of the blame on the nation's regulators for their refusal to outlaw the pills sooner. But as Paolo Montecillo reports, the penalties on both parties amount to little more than a slap on the wrist.

#Servier #BigPhrma #Manslaughter

After being blocked for six days, the Suez Canal has finally re-opened to hundreds of vessels waiting to use the vital trade artery. Crews have managed to dislodge and refloat the massive container ship, the Ever Given, and guide it to a nearby lake for inspection. More than 360 vessels, including oil tankers and other container ships, have been waiting to pass through the waterway.. and global trade worth billions of dollars has been impacted. Mobin Nasir reports. For more on this, we spoke to Ranjith Raja from Dubai. He's head of Middle East and North Africa Oil and Shipping Research at Refinitiv.

#SuezCanal #EverGiven #CargoShips

Sophia has become the first Artificial Intelligence robot to create an NFT artwork sold at an auction. NFTs - or Non-Fungible tokens - are the latest craze among crypto investors and on social media. Some investors are pouring millions of dollars into the unique digital items. Michelle Hennessy was following the online auction for Sophia's masterpiece from Hong Kong.

#Sophia #NFTartwork #Robot

The COVID-19 pandemic has closed hundreds of thousands of small businesses across the US. But applications for new businesses last year rose at the fastest rate since 2005, despite warnings from trade associations that the impact of the pandemic on the economy will be long-lasting. Fred Katayama takes a closer look at what's spurring this flood of entrepreneurship.

#Pandemic #NewYork #SmallBusinesses