Money Talks

To Africa now where a thriving tech start-up is turning to battery-powered tricycles to deliver goods to customers in Uganda. The online shopping company says it's reinventing the micro-retail sector by reducing the cost of doing business, and saving the environment using renewable energy. Adesewa Josh has the details.

Thousands of farmers have converged on New Delhi, protesting against recent changes to India's agriculture laws. The government says it's making the sector more competitive. But as Mobin Nasir reports, many farmers fear they will get muscled out by large corporations. Sunil Poshakwale joined us from Birmingham. He's professor of international finance at the Cranfield School of Management.

#India #Farmers #ProduceMarkets

Saudi Arabia and Qatar are reportedly close to a preliminary deal that could end a bitter dispute that's divided the Gulf for more than three years. The potential reconciliation would be a major diplomatic win for the Trump administration, which has helped to broker negotiations to end the blockade against Doha. And as Paolo Montecillo reports, it could also help the region recover from the pandemic. For more on this, we spoke to Luciano Zaccara. He's a professor at Qatar University's Gulf Studies Center in Doha.

#SaudiArabia #Qatar #Blockade

Besides Pfizer, we've also seen promising results from Moderna and AstraZenica's vaccines, which could also be certified before the end of the year. The question will then become how to deliver hundreds of millions of doses around the world as quickly as possible. As Miranda Lin explains, success could depend on shipping companies staying very cool under pressure.

#ColdStorage #VaccineRollout #Binder

New Zealand has joined more than 30 countries on Wednesday in declaring a global climate emergency. This comes amid growing calls from the UN chief Antonio Guterres for the international community to help tackle climate change. Rahul Radhakrishnan has more.

#ClimateCrisis #NewZealand #CarbonNeutral

It's been a year since around 400 hundred refugees and asylum seekers were rounded up by police in South Africa and sent to a deportation centre. They were victims of xenophobic attacks and had been camping outside UNHCR offices in the capital city Pretoria, demanding to be resettled in other countries. Many of them are still in the facility used to hold illegal immigrants and say they fear going back to their communities. Others who have come out are struggling to rebuild their lives. Ntshepeng Motema reports.

#SouthAfrica #Xenophobia #Refugees

The UK has become the first country in the world to approve a COVID-19 vaccine. On Wednesday, the country's new medicines agency cleared the Pfizer-BioNtech vaccine as safe and effective. The British Government has already bought 40 million doses and says vaccinations of medical staff and the most vulnerable will begin next week. Worldwide testing has shown the vaccine to be 95 percent effective across all age groups. Simon McGregor-Wood has more. For more, we spoke to Doctor Muhammad Munir in the UK. He's a virologist at Lancaster University.

#CoronavirusVaccine #Pfizer #BioNTech

Faced with limited entertainment options and social isolation during the COVID-19 pandemic, more and more Americans are turning to the great outdoors. Kyoko Gasha takes a closer look at this popular pastime and the hiking gear and equipment sales it's spurring.

#Pandemic #HikingTrails #OutdoorActivities

Global coffee exports have fallen by 5 percent this year, as the pandemic disrupts production in some parts of the world. In Colombia, the coffee growers' federation is hosting its annual conference online as many farmers struggle to harvest their crops. They're rushing to find more labourers, which are tough to come by amid the pandemic, before their coffee beans rot on the ground. Manuel Rueda has more.

#Colombia #CoffeeGrowers #Coronavirus

The United Nations is appealing for a record 35 billion dollars in aid for 2021. It says the economic fallout from the COVID-19 pandemic has pushed tens of millions of people into extreme poverty. As a result, the world body is warning there may be multiple famines in the coming year. Natasha Hussain reports. We spoke to Yens Larkin in Geneva. He's a spokesperson with the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs.

#UnitedNations #COVID19 #Poverty