Money Talks

A Chinese-built dam in Cambodia has been condemned for its damaging impact on the environment. A state-owned company built it as part of China's massive Belt and Road infrastructure initiative on a major tributary of the Mekong River. But Human Rights Watch says its effects extend far beyond the environment. The rights group says the Lower Sesan 2 Dam has flooded 300 square kilometres of land, disrupted fish migrations in the Mekong and displaced around 5-thousand people.

#Cambodia #China #LowerSesan2Dam

Here in Turkey, authorities have put-out almost all the forest fires across the country, but the damage has been tremendous. One of the areas affected is Turkey's lucrative pine honey industry. TRT World's Hasan Abdullah has more.

#Turkey #PineHoney #WildHoney

One week on and firefighters and residents are still battling to control a massive wildfire on Greece's second-largest island of Evia. Hundreds of homes and businesses have been lost and thousands of people have been forced to flee. The country's peak tourism season is also being interrupted, as the Greek government comes under attack for not being prepared for the fires. Gavin Blackburn reports. We spoke to Marina Prentoulis in Athens. She's an Associate Professor in Politics and Media at the University of East Anglia. She has also been the UK spokesperson of Greece's main opposition party, Syriza.

#GreeceFires #FireFighters #Tourism

After a year-long delay and the threat of a coronavirus outbreak hanging over the event, the Tokyo Olympics have finally come to a close. A total of 340 gold medals were handed out to the best of the best. But for some, the real prize will come after the Games. Paolo Montecillo has more.

#Olympics #Tokyo2020 #Coronavirus

BioNTech swung to a massive profit in the second quarter. The German drug maker is set to deliver millions more of its pioneering coronavirus vaccine in the coming months, and it's lifted its sales forecast for the full year. That's as the global market for COVID-19 vaccines is expected to top 70 billion dollars, with giants BioNTech, Pfizer and Moderna on course to take the lion's share. We got more on this story from Ranjit Thomas in Raleigh, North Carolina. He's a Managing Partner at Spice Capital Advisors and has written extensively about Biontech.

#GlobalVaccinations #BioNTech #Pfizer

A recovery in global demand and spiking international prices helped oil giant Saudi Aramco triple its profits in the second quarter. Despite the jump in earnings, it doled out around $19 billion in dividends, which is similar to its payouts in recent quarters. Some analysts are calling on the company to raise dividends, but as Mobin Nasir reports, Aramco's got other plans for spending its cash.

#SaudiAramco #OilPrices #BrentCrude

Humans are unequivocally causing global heating and some of the damage is irreversible. That's the sober conclusion of the world's largest ever climate report. The study by the UN's Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change warns extreme heatwaves, flooding and droughts will all become more frequent and intense. But scientists say a catastrophe can be avoided if the world acts fast. Sarah Morice reports. We spoke to Bob Ward in London. He's the Policy and Communications Director of the Grantham Research Institute on Climate Change and the Environment at the London School of Economics and Political Science.

#UNclimatereport #GlobalHeating #Droughts

Kosovo is home to many species of native eagles, and photographers have long relished the opportunity to take snaps of them in the wild. But recently, they've been zooming in on a rather surprising discovery.

#BlackStorks

Pop star and make-up mogul Rihanna has work-work-worked her way on to the Forbes list of billionaires. It's largely thanks to the success of her cosmetics line, Fenty Beauty. The company caters to people of colour, a market that the rest of the industry had long ignored.

#Rihanna #Billionaire #Forbes #Fenty

Mexico's government is suing 11 major US gun makers, for their role in the illegal cross-border trade of arms. The lawsuit accuses Baretta USA, Smith and Wesson and others, of fueling drug-related violence in the country. Its seeking up to $10 billion in compensation along with stricter enforcement of gun controls. Mobin Nasir reports. For more, lawyer and social commentator, Joseph Haynes Davis joined us now from Orlando, Florida. He's an advocate of the Second Amendment of the US Constitution which protects the right to bear arms

#GunSales #Mexico #IllicitWeapons