Oliver Carroll, Ukraine correspondent based in Kyiv, shares insights on Ukraine's strategic counter-offensive in Kherson, highlighting the careful planning behind military operations to reclaim this vital region. Alice Fulwood, Wall Street correspondent, delves into the dominance of Visa and Mastercard in the electronic payments space, discussing how high interchange fees impact retailers and consumers. The conversation also touches on the ethical concerns surrounding the harvesting of horseshoe crab blood in the biomedical industry and the quest for sustainable alternatives.
The long-trailed counter-offensive to retake the Russian-occupied regional powerhouse and symbolically powerful provincial capital has begun. But Ukraine’s forces are in no hurry. Visa and Mastercard are two of the world’s most profitable companies; we look at efforts to break their iron grip on the payments market. And the blue-blooded horseshoe crabs that are needlessly bled in their millions.