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Episode details

World Service,17 Aug 2017,26 mins

E-Commerce Giant Alibaba Doubles Quarterly Profits

World Business Report

Available for over a year

The Chinese online commerce company Alibaba has produced yet more sparkling results. Profits doubled from a year ago and in the past three months, Alibaba made nearly $2bn in profits. The company was started by a former English teacher, Jack Ma. Duncan Clark, the author of a book on Alibaba, tells us why it's doing so well. There's been a surge of illegal migrant crossings from Morocco into Spain. More than 9,000 people have arrived in Spain by sea since the start of the year, three times the level of last year. The BBC's Gavin Lee reports from southern Spain. And we take a look at the honey bee. Apart from making honey for us, the insect also pollinates fruit, vegetable and nut crops. But is the world growing a little too reliant on bees? Picture: Alibaba signage. Credit: Getty Images.

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