Three months ago, Houthi fighters from Yemen hijacked a cargo ship in the Red Sea and took the crew captive. It was the group’s first attack on commercial shipping in response to Israel’s military offensive in Gaza. Around 30 similar assaults have followed and the US and UK have retaliated with air strikes against Houthi targets in Yemen.

The Houthi attacks have wreaked havoc with shipping in the Red Sea, forcing hundreds of ships to re-route and make the much longer journey around the bottom of Africa. Supply chains have been interrupted and insurance costs have risen for vessels still passing through the area.

With no end to the tension in the region in sight, some companies are readjusting their timelines and accepting that the current situation might become the “new normal”. We ask whether the Houthi attacks have changed the way we move goods around the world for ever.

(Picture: Ships crossing the Suez Canal towards the Red Sea. Credit: EPA-EFE/REX/Shutterstock)

Presented and produced by Gideon Long

Tony Fernandes has worked in the music industry, owned a formula one team and co-owned a professional London football club, but these days he’s concentrating on his core business as the CEO of the parent company of AirAsia, a Malaysia-based budget airline he co-founded that has transformed travel in South East Asia.

We speak to him about his varied career, the airline industry’s recovery from the Covid pandemic, and the recent safety issues at Boeing.

(Picture: Tony Fernandes. Credit: EPA-EFE/REX/Shutterstock)

Presented and produced by Gideon Long

Only four sportspeople have turned success on the field to success in business, making it to the 10 figure club.

Tiger Woods, Michael Jordan, Lebron James and Magic Johnson, the last to join in October 2023, according to the wealth-tracking business magazine, Forbes.

Matt Lines finds out the secrets behind the fortunes of these four athletes and who could be joining the list in future.

(Picture: L-R: Tiger Woods. Credit: Reinhold Matay/USA Today Sports. Magic Johnson. Credit: Allison Dinner/EPA-EFE/REX/Shutterstock. Lebron James. Credit: Dale Zanine/USA Today Sports. Michael Jordan. Credit: Franck Fife/AFP/Getty Images)

Presenter/producer: Matt Lines

Scaring people has become big business.

There’s even a catch-all term for the trend: dark tourism, where thrill seekers visit the scenes or replicate the experiences of horrendous moments in history.

Elizabeth Hotson goes to investigate.

(Picture: Someone wearing a skeleton mask, pointing at the camera. Credit: Getty Images)

Presented and produced by Elizabeth Hotson

We hear from former moderator Daniel Motaung, who has taken Meta and their outsourcing partner, Sama, to an employment tribunal in Nairobi.

US lawyer Cori Crider, from tech justice NGO Foxglove - which supports Daniel and others who have taken legal action - believes that content moderation is one of the most important tech jobs, particularly when there is a conflict in the region. The recent war in Ethiopia and some of the posts made on Facebook were the catalyst for another lawsuit challenging Facebook’s algorithms.

And social researcher and activist Leah Kimathi believes that there is not enough investment in moderating in various African languages. She also campaigns for the Big Tech and African governments to end, what she calls, the “Wild West” approach and get together to create specific legislation governing how social media companies operate on the continent.

Produced and presented by Ivana Davidovic

(Image: Daniel Motaung. Credit: Foxglove)

The secretary general of the world’s biggest humanitarian network – the International Federation of the Red Cross - rose from humble beginnings in Nepal.

We hear how Jagan Chapagain became involved in humanitarian work, and how he deals with all of the current global crises, whilst remaining politically neutral.

(Picture: Jagan Chapagain. Credit: Getty Images)

Presenter: Ed Butler Producer: Olie D'Albertanson

From tackling the long commute to sleeping on the job - we head to Lagos, New York, Tokyo, Bengaluru (formerly Bangalore) and Dublin to look at the diverse ways businesses are attempting to boost productivity and therefore also boost profits.

We hear from businesses installing sleep pods in the office and others using technology to boost production on their farms and in their factories but are these techniques really working?

Producer: Hannah Mullane Presenter: Leanne Byrne

(Image: Buildings working on a roof space. Credit: Getty Images)

It's an exclusive business club with over 8,000 companies, which put environmental and social values at the heart of their work. But the B Corp badge has come under some criticism for taking on some multinational companies - some smaller businesses say that has diluted its values. We hear from Anjli Raval, who reports on what goes on inside the world's biggest companies for the Financial Times.

One of the biggest growth areas for B Corps is expected to be Africa. Tahira Nizari is the co-founder of new B Corp Kazi Yetu, selling traceable products like tea and spices from Tanzania. Max Landry at Peppy - a health tech company - who specialise in underserved areas of healthcare lets us know the hoops to join the B Corp club. Jonathan Trimble, the CEO and founder of creative agency And Rising, which helps new brands with their marketing plans tells us what he wants B Corp to change. Chris Turner, Executive Director at B - Lab UK, tells us how their standards will shift in the next year.

Produced and presented by Rick Kelsey

(Image credit: Kazi Yetu)

As Malmö receives the keys to this year's event, we look at how Copenhagen in Denmark could be the real economic winners - without having to pay for it.

When the Swedish city last hosted the competition in 2013, officials estimated around a third of overnight stays were in the Danish capital.

We speak to officials in both cities - just 30km apart and connected by the Øresund Bridge - to examine what fans can expect, and explore how other nations around the world get in on the action when a neighbouring country hosts a global event.

Produced and presented by Daniel Rosney

From its emergence in London’s underground scene and pirate radios in the early 2000s, to becoming a major music genre, Grime has come a long way – contributing more than £2bn to the UK economy and creating opportunities to members of some of Britain’s most deprived communities.

Dylan Kwabela Mills - professionally known as Dizzee Rascal - is someone who has been at the centre of this genre from its inception, and who many credit for Grime’s exposure to pop culture.

Twenty years on, the electronic dance music, with rapid beats that critics described as the “soundtrack to knife crime”, is now critically acclaimed, and many of the pioneers who were teenagers at the time are now multi-millionaire business owners.

(Picture: Dylan Kwabela Mills, known as Dizzee Rascal. Credit: Getty Images)

Presented and produced by Peter Macjob

The continent's fashion industry holds all the cards to becoming one of the world’s fashion leaders. It has the natural resources, the workforce and a growing middle class who want to wear African brands.

However, there are challenges including poor infrastructure, lack of investment and limited training opportunities in fashion - highlighted in a recent Unesco report.

We hear from designers on the continent and overseas to get their opinion on what’s needed to help the industry grow and learn why Afrobeats is helping to put African fashion on the map.

Produced and presented by Megan Lawton.

(Image: Atmosphere at the Labrum London show during London Fashion Week February 2022. Credit: Getty Images)

The island of Mauritius is well established as a luxury holiday destination with five star hotels, beautiful beaches and clear blue waters.

But in the last couple of years it has also become Africa’s financial hub, attracting billions of dollars of investment by leveraging on decades of political and economic stability, a strategic location on the Indian Oean plus a multiple taxation system that incentivise investors.

Critics say it’s a tax haven - an allegation the island is keen to put at bay.

Can Mauritius sustain its status as a high income country and attract the skilled labour it seeks to expand the economy?

Presenter/producer: Peter MacJob

(Port Louis is Mauritius main settlement. Credit: Getty Images)