Money Talks

The takeover of Afghanistan is complete. Twenty years after a US-led invasion removed the Taliban from power, the group is back in control. It says there will be no revenge, and it's told Afghans to stay in their homes while a new government is formed. But many people fear for their lives and livelihoods and are trying to flee the country. Mobin Nasir reports. For more on this, Torek Farhadi joins me from Geneva. He was an economic adviser to former Afghan president Hamid Karzai, as well as the then finance minister and now ousted president Ashraf Ghani.

#Taliban #Afghanistan #AfghanEconomy

In Sweden, thousands of unprofitable grocery stores have closed down in the last three decades. In 1996, the country had around 7,000 stores. That number has fallen to around 5,000. Many people in rural areas have to travel far from their homes just to buy essential goods. But as Tayyibe Aydin reports, one start-up has found a way to bring back the convenience store.

#Sweden #GroceryStore #Convenience

Now to the US, where employers are finding creative ways to attract new workers, and keep current ones from quitting. That's because people who lost work during the pandemic are refusing to return to low-paying jobs, resulting in a record number of vacancies in the world's largest economy. While it threatens to derail the economic recovery, employees are finally getting gains they've sought for years. Paolo Montecillo has more. For more, we spoke to Mickey Levy. He's the chief US and Asia economist at Berenberg Capital Markets.

#USjobsnumbers #EconomicRecovery #Vacancies

We begin in Afghanistan, where the Taliban's blitz of Afghan territory has continued, with fighters seizing control of the city of Ghazni. It's the 10th provincial capital to fall in recent days. The group has ramped-up its offensive since May, as the US and its allies finalise the withdrawal of their troops. The surge in violence has prompted tens of thousands of Afghans to flee. And as Laila Humairah reports, those who stay, fear their livelihoods could be crushed by the conflict.

#Afghanistan #Livelihoods #Taliban

Thousands are protesting in Lebanon against the central bank's decision to remove fuel subsidies. The bank says the move is a necessary cost-cutting measure, but for citizens, it's just another burden for people already suffering food, medicine, and energy shortages. The Lebanese central bank says it spent more than 800 million dollars on fuel subsidies last month alone. This has drained foreign currency reserves, which now stand at 15 billion dollars, down from 40 billion in 2016. We got more on this from Linda Tamim who joined us from Beirut.

#Lebanon #EconomicCrisis #FuelShortage

Turkey is in the middle of a YouTube boom. Pandemic lockdowns have driven millions of people to the platform in search of entertainment, making it one of most-visited websites in the country. Competition is also heating up, with content creators spending big to make sure their channels look professional. Paolo Montecillo has more. For more on the Youtube boom in Turkey, we were joined by Demet Tuncer. She's an award winning actress, singer and Digital Content Producer, and joined us from Istanbul.

#ContentCreation #YouTuber #PandemicRestrictions

We go now to one of the most stunning moves in football history. Lionel Messi has left Barcelona to play for Paris Saint-Germain. The Argentinian is regarded as one of the best to get on a pitch, and his arrival promises to result in more wins and money for his new club. For more on this 'Messi' break-up, we spoke to Kieran Maguire. He's a sports finance specialist at the University of Liverpool and joins us from Brighton in the UK.

#LionelMessi #Barcelona #PSG

The US Senate has approved a plan to spend $1 trillion to fix the country's infrastructure. It's also set the wheels in motion for allocating another $3.5 trillion for expanding health and social care support, tax breaks and climate initiatives. President Joe Biden says the bills will create millions of jobs and boost the economy. But as Mobin Nasir reports, both bills are likely to face opposition in the House of Representatives. And that could delay support for those who need it most.

#USSenate #JoeBiden #InfrastructurePlan

Cars lining up for kilometres outside food banks across the US were a common sight in the early days of the pandemic. More than a year later, even as the economy recovers and businesses begin re-hiring, the need for emergency food assistance remains high. Kyoko Gasha visits a food pantry and mobile market in New York City.

#NewYork #EconomicRecovery #EmergencyFoodAssistance

Facebook is facing the biggest challenge to its dominance yet. The social media giant's various apps have lost their spot as the world's most downloaded programmes to Generation Z's new favourite, TikTok. And as Paolo Montecillo reports, the Chinese platform is just getting started. We spoke to tech analyst Daniel Ives in New York. He's the managing director at Wedbush Securities.

#Facebook #TikTok #Downloads