We meet the real estate developer who’s been tasked with turning Saudi Arabia into a global tourism hub.It’s part of Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman’s vision for the Kingdom, diversifying the economy away from oil. Red Sea Global CEO John Pagano has managed massive development projects including London's Canary Wharf, a luxury holiday resort in the Bahamas, and now, a tourism mega project on Saudi Arabia's Red Sea Coast. We hear about his career to date and why he likes an ambitious project. This is his biggest yet - can he pull it off?Presenter: Leanna Byrne Producer: Elisabeth Mahy Additional production: Niamh McDermott(Picture: John Pagano, CEO of Red Sea Global. Credit: Red Sea Global)

We meet the real estate executive with projects spanning Canary Wharf to the Red Sea

John Pagano: the CEO trying to grow Saudi tourism

More countries are considering selling state-owned postal services - many have failed to make a profit for years. As businesses and people send fewer letters, there's also strong competition from global package delivery companies. We hear about the challenges facing postal services in Ireland, many of which have been in business for more than a hundred years. And we look to the US, where President Donald Trump favours privatising the national mail service; while in India, the state-run post office network will remain under government control. We also examine efforts to modernise postal services, which could mean delivery by drones and robots in the near future, supervised by AI.If you'd like to get in touch with the programme, our email address is businessdaily@bbc.co.ukProduced and presented by Russell Padmore(Image: A green pillar postbox in Ireland)

As they fail to make a profit, more countries are considering privatisation

What's the future for state-owned postal services?

This week, the country becomes the first in the world to implement a social media ban for under 16s. We look at the impact on content creators, tech companies, and on businesses that sell via social media.We find out how they're navigating this change, and ask if other countries will look to follow suit.Presenter: Ed Butler Producer: Matt Lines(Photo: A group of young people looking at phones. Credit: Getty Images)

What's the impact on content creators, businesses and tech companies?

The cost of Australia’s social media ban

It’s one richest sports in the world but it still needs to adapt to the times. F1 is now trying to appeal to a younger fan base through deals with Netflix and Lego.Plus it's trying to break that lucrative US market with races in Las Vegas and huge broadcasting deals. We hear from the key figures at F1 and from former F1 driver David Coulthard, who witnessed the end of tobacco sponsorship and saw the likes of Red Bull coming into the paddock.If you'd like to get in touch with the programme, our email address is businessdaily@bbc.co.ukPresented and produced by Victoria Turner(Image: Max Verstappen races down the Las Vegas Strip during the Formula 1 Las Vegas Grand Prix on 22 Nov 2025. Image credit: Getty Images)

It's trying to appeal to a younger fan base and break into the lucrative US market

Formula 1’s new business model

Miishe Addy started her first company in California’s Silicon Valley followed by another business in Accra, Ghana. Now, she runs one of Africa’s fastest-growing logistics tech firms.She describes how she’s tackling the hidden costs of African trade, and what she’s learned as a female founder building companies in two continents.If you'd like to get in touch with the programme, our email address is businessdaily@bbc.co.ukPresenter: Sam Fenwick Producers: Ahmed Adan and Niamh McDermott(Picture: Miishe Addy. Credit: Jetstream)

We meet founder Miishe Addy who runs one of Africa’s fastest-growing logistics tech firms

Miishe Addy: From Silicon Valley to Accra

Whether you call it football or soccer, next summer, the US, Mexico and Canada will host the FIFA World Cup. It’s the first time three countries have organised the tournament.A record 48 teams will compete across 16 host cities, with millions attending games across North America and billions watching at home.But how much does it cost to host a World Cup? What does it take for a city to welcome hundreds of thousands of fans? And does that investment really boost the local economy? We go pitch-side to find out.If you'd like to get in touch with the programme, our email address is businessdaily@bbc.co.ukPresenter: Megan Lawton Producer Sam Gruet(Picture: Sharon Bollenbach, Executive Director of World Cup Hosting for Toronto, Canada.)

We go behind the scenes to see how preparations for the tournament are taking shape.

The making of a World Cup

In Lugano, Switzerland, the cryptocurrency is accepted in some shops and for local municipal services.But the drive towards using what can often be a volatile payment method instead of Swiss francs, hasn't been welcomed by everyone.We hear from businesses, officials and consumers who are navigating this new world.Produced and presented by John Laurenson(Image: View of Lake Lugano, Switzerland)

In Lugano, Switzerland, the cryptocurrency is accepted in shops and for local services

Welcome to 'Bitcoin city'

TV channels dedicated to them are shutting down around the world and some superstars have even stopped making them, so are music videos in decline, or are they more vital than ever to grab our attention? We hear from industry insiders in the US, Europe and in South Korea on how the streaming era has changed how we consume music - and shifted the way record labels make money. Produced and presented by Daniel Rosney(Image: Ne-Yo on set during the filming of a music video for his song "Closer" at the Santa Clarita Studios on 10 April 2008 in California (Credit: Matthew Simmons/WireImage)

Streaming is changing how record companies want to promote artists

Is it the end of the music video?

Staff shortages and strikes are leaving passengers and airlines frustrated. So why are there such problems in recruitment? Industry bodies estimate over the next decade we could be short of 70,000 air traffic controllers around the world. We hear what is luring some controllers out of Europe and why others are leaving the sector all together. And what could the financial and safety implications be for passengers and airlines?Presenter: Will Bain Producer: Josh Martin(Photo: NATS Swanwick ops room,. NATS is a UK-based air traffic control company. Credit: NATS)

Staff shortages and strikes are leaving passengers and airlines frustrated

What has happened to Europe's air traffic controllers?

We hear how a free online encyclopaedia, run by volunteers, became one of the internet's most popular sites.Co-founder Jimmy Wales tells about the ideals which helped him build the site, and the challenges its now facing, from AI to political criticism.Presenter: Chris Vallance Producers: Hannah Bewley and Niamh McDermott(Image: Jimmy Wales photographed at Web Summit 2022 at the Altice Arena in Lisbon, Portugal. Credit: Getty Images)

The free online encyclopaedia is one of the internet's most read sites

Business Daily meets: Wikipedia's Jimmy Wales

We look at the record-breaking sale of the Los Angeles Lakers which has just been approved by the board of the NBA - or National Basketball Association.The Buss family had owned the team since 1979.The new majority owner of the franchise is TWG Global CEO Mark Walter.Mr Walter also has a controlling stake in the Los Angeles Dodgers, the professional US baseball team that won the World Series last year, as well as investments in Chelsea FC.Produced and presented by Guy Kilty Edited by Helen Thomas(Image: Los Angeles Lakers star player LeBron James drives to the basket during the game against the Utah Jazz during the game on 23 November 2025. Credit: Adam Pantozzi/NBAE via Getty Images)

We look at the record-breaking sale of the LA Lakers

What makes a basketball team worth $10bn?

Can Europe be weaned off cheap chocolate? EU efforts to block cocoa linked to deforestation were due to come into force at the end of this year – but have faced multiple delays. Another vote is due to take place soon. Some parties are pushing for further delay and modifications, but others are keen to see the rules come into force as planned. They apply to a number of raw materials, including cocoa. There’s a big challenge facing the world’s biggest market for chocolate: balancing sustainability goals and the price consumers are willing to pay. If you'd like to get in touch with Business Daily, you can send us an email at businessdaily@bbc.co.uk Presented and produced by Hannah Bewley Additional reporting: Matthew Kenyon (Picture: Close up of three cocoa beans hanging from a cocoa tree. Credit: Getty Images)

Can chocolate be sustainable and affordable?

The cocoa conundrum

It’s one of the biggest human trafficking operations of modern times. Scam centres across South East Asia have been making hundreds of billions of dollars annually, it’s estimated, conning people into fake crypto-currency investment schemes. But now these centres could be coming under threat, with both military and legal moves by global enforcement challenging their apparent impunity.Presented and produced by Ed Butler(Picture: An aerial photo showing the KK Park complex in Myanmar, taken in September 2025. Credit: Getty Images)

Thousands of workers have run away or been released after legal and military action

Is this the end for South East Asia's scam centres?

Peru is home to Machu Picchu - the ancient Inca city in the Andes mountains. It's one of the seven wonders of the world, and a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The popular tourist destination attracts millions of visitors, making it very lucrative for the government, local and international businesses.But Machu Picchu is in trouble. Social conflicts, fights over who benefits from the money being made through ticket sales and transport are just some of the problems its facing. Jane Chambers visits Peru to find out what's going on and if there are other local sites for tourist to visit instead.Produced and presented by Jane Chambers Editor: Helen Thomas(Image: A group of tourists waves while leaving on foot due to a protest by residents in Machu Picchu on 16 September 2025 over which bus company should run the local route. Credit: Getty Images)

Peru's ancient site brings huge amounts of tourists - so who should benefit?

Monetising Machu Picchu

In the second of our two-part series on tightening aid budgets, Sam Fenwick explores what shrinking donor support means for global health — from the sudden halt to major US-funded projects, to the pressure on low-income countries to increase their own health spending.As G20 leaders gather in Johannesburg for the Global Fund’s Eighth Replenishment Summit, we hear from Zambia’s minister of commerce on how his country is trying to plug the aid gap through investment in critical minerals, and from Peter Sands, head of the Global Fund, on why he believes wealthy nations must keep funding global health even as more countries take on greater responsibility for their own systems.With global aid budgets under strain, we examine what’s at stake at today’s summit — and what the future of funding for essential health programmes might look like.Produced and presented by Sam Fenwick(Image: An anonymous woman looks out over her local fishing community near the Zambezi River in Zambia. Credit: Action Aid)

We look at the impact of cuts on global health - and ask what countries can do themselves

What happens when the aid money runs out?

We examine the fallout from the cuts to US foreign aid.We meet projects in Rwanda and Nepal that were close to shutting down - and hear the story of a mystery donor who stepped in to keep them going. But how long will the support last? Presented and produced by Sam Fenwick (Image: Beatha making soap in Rwanda as part of one of the projects funded by USAID. Credit: Village Enterprise)

We examine the fallout from the cuts to US foreign aid

What's next for USAID funded projects?

One of world sport's biggest rivalries gets underway this week, with England and Australia going head to head in the Ashes. Most matches will last around four or five days, but it's actually the short form of the game that is growing the fastest - and bringing in big audiences and revenues. The IPL or Indian Premier League, has recently been valued at $18.5bn - that's a T20 format played over a few hours. So has the sport now changed irreversibly? And does the longer form of the game have a future?Presenter: Will Bain Producer: Matt Lines(Royal Challengers Bengaluru's Virat Kohli, along with his former teammates AB de Villiers and Chris Gayle, celebrate with the trophy after winning the Indian Premier League T20 final in June 2025. Credit: Getty Images)

The IPL has been valued at $18.5bn but other forms of the game are struggling

Is cricket financially healthy?

We speak to the tech executive leading Google and its parent company Alphabet Inc. Sundar Pichai gives us his take on the 'AI bubble', saying no company is immune if the bubble bursts on the "irrational elements" of the boom. He says AI will cause "social disruption" for jobs, even replace CEOs, and says people will have to adapt. Is the world ready?If you'd like to get in touch with the programme, our email address is businessdaily@bbc.co.ukPresenter: Faisal Islam Producers: Priya Patel, Elisabeth Mahy, Hannah Bewley(Picture: Google CEO, Sundar Pichai. Credit: Getty Images)

In a BBC exclusive, we get his take on the disruptive impact of AI. Is the world ready?

A special interview with Google CEO Sundar Pichai

After the collapse of a landmark deal, with opposition from both the US and Saudi Arabia, we hear from those in the industry. What's next for a sector responsible for 3% of global emissions?We also find out what it means for shipping's path to net zero. And ask whether technology and innovation are the answer. Presenter: Will Bain Producer: David Cann(Image: A cargo ship loaded with foreign trade containers heads towards Qingdao Port in Qingdao City, Shandong Province, China, on 5 November 2025. Credit: Getty Images)

After the collapse of a landmark deal, we hear from those in the industry.

Can global shipping go green?

As war becomes more high tech than ever, artificial intelligence companies are making software which is increasingly being used on the battlefield. Will Blyth served in the British military as an army major and has used this experience to build his own company, connecting hardware systems from different manufacturers deployed by armed forces.Presented and produced by Rob Young(Picture: Will Blyth. Credit: Arondite)

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