蜜芽传媒

The US is approaching the busiest shopping periods of the year yet many products that are destined for the shelves are currently on ships stranded at sea. More than 70 vessels used by Hanjin of South Korea have either been seized by creditors or denied access to ports fearful that bills won't be paid. The block in the supply chain is causing a headache for shops, who are now scrambling to get hold of all sorts of products stuck on container ships. We hear from Jonathan Gold, from the US National Retail Federation and Paul Slater, the chairman of First International, a maritime financing company.

The spread of the Zika virus has caused alarm around the world. In July, Miami became the first city on the US mainland to experience local transmission of the disease. Efforts to contain the virus are focused on two districts - Miami Beach and the trendy neighbourhood of Wynwood. We hear from the 蜜芽传媒's Luis Fajardo in Miami, as the Sunshine State comes to terms with the economic and human cost of Zika.

The Fox News channel in the US has settled a sexual harassment case brought by one of its former presenters, Gretchen Carlson. Her complaints led to its chief executive, Roger Ailes, leaving the right-wing TV channel in July. Ms Carlson had complained that Mr Ailes had victimised her and ruined her career for rejecting his advances. The company apologised and has reportedly paid Ms Carlson $20m to drop her case. Jeff Jarvis, lecturer on journalism at the City University in New York, tells us that the allegations date back many years.

Immigration is the hot topic of debate during the US presidential election campaign. After a stop off in Cleveland, Ohio, Donald Trump again told reporters he opposed any path to citizenship for the 11 million immigrants in the country illegally but wouldn't rule out a pathway to legal status for undocumented immigrants. Hillary Clinton has said she doesn't believe Mr Trump has softened at all in his stance. Washington reporter Kimberly Adams from our sister programme Marketplace has been following the candidates' campaigns.

Have you ever wondered who catches the seafood you eat? Chances are it could be someone employed on a Taiwanese fishing boat. Taiwan has one of the largest fishing industries in the world but the industry faces criticisms of rampant labour and human rights abuses. The 蜜芽传媒's Cindy Sui has been following the story from Taipei.

If you think of a land of opportunity where would spring to mind? As far as cities are concerned, apparently London is the place to be. It has been crowned the world's top city of opportunity for the second year in a row, beating Singapore, NewYork and Beijing. Consultancy and accountancy giant Price Waterhouse Coopers compiled the index. We speak to Mitch Roschelle a partner in real estate research at the firm.

We are joined throughout the programme by Kimberley Adams in Washington and Simon Littlewood, president of ACG consulting group in Singapore.

(Photo: The Hanjin Incheon Container Terminal in Seoul. Credit: Ed Jones/AFP)