大象传媒

New York is to become the first city in the US to mandate proof of vaccination to allow people to enter indoor venues such as theatres, restaurants and gyms. We hear from Andrew Rigie, executive director of the New York City Hospitality Alliance. A Panama-flagged ship has been hijacked by armed men in the Gulf of Oman and ordered to sail to Iran. We get the latest from Richard Meade is the editor of of Lloyd's List, the shipping intelligence service, who confirmed the incident. Also in the programme, as voters in Zambia prepare to head to the polls next week, we take stock of the country's economy. Musician Fumba Chamo discusses the challenges ordinary Zambians are facing as a consequence of high inflation. Zambian economist Twivwe Siwale explores the root causes of that inflation, following depreciation in the value of Zambia's currency, the kwacha. And we hear from Bupe Mulapesi, who runs a strawberry farm near Lusaka, how the pandemic has impacted business. Plus,after Chinese state media likened gaming to drugs, shares in the tech giants Tencent and NetEase fell. Josh Ye, technology and media journalist at the South China Morning Post explains the background.

All this and more discussed with our two guests on opposite sides of the world: Dante Disparte chief strategy officer at Circle, a leading digital financial services firm and Racheal Cartland from Cartland Consulting, in Hong Kong.

(Picture: a mobile pharmacy advertises the COVID-19 vaccine in New York City. Credit: Getty Images.)