FT News

In a three-bedroomed flat in London’s commuter belt, a team of seven are toiling over the nation’s problems. Overseeing this is Deidre Sanders, AKA The Sun newspaper’s agony aunt of 34 years, Dear Deidre. She tells Emma Jacobs how her role has changed in the age of the internet.

Fracking has provided a boost to the US economy but fears about its impact on the environment have meant that it is not allowed in France, Germany or the state of New York. In the UK, a debate is raging over whether to allow the extraction of shale gas to go ahead. Andy Bounds visited Preston, one of the proposed fracking sites to talk to people on both sides of the argument.

Why do footballers in England get paid so much? Broadcasters pay billions of pounds to air the live matches from the Premier League. Henry Mance and Dan Thomas discuss the possible scenarios for Sky and BT in the upcoming high stakes broadcast rights auction.

Uber's Travis Kalanick clearly sees a utilitarian advantage in funding clever Carnegie Mellon scientists to help his company explore driverless technology, says Andrew Hill

The advent of a Greek government led by the far left Syriza party spooked investors, but the new finance minister Yanis Varoufakis has been in Europe on a post-election roadshow to win support for his plans to tackle the country's massive debt burden. Patrick Jenkins talks to Martin Arnold about the reception he received in London

Dominique Strauss-Kahn, former head of the IMF, goes on trial in France this week on charges of “aggravated pimping as part of a group”. The so-called Carlton Affair centres on allegations that businessmen and police officials in the town of Lille in northern France supplied women for sex parties in Lille, Paris and Washington. It is the latest twist in a steep fall from grace for the former global finance chief since 2011. Fiona Symon talks Michael Stothard about the case.

How do women build a career when they have pre-school children and their partners are in full time work? For well paid professionals a nanny is often the answer, but those on lower incomes often rely on relatives for affordable and flexible childcare. One relatively new solution, dubbed extreme childcare, is to find after hours and even overnight nurseries which allow parents to meet the growing need to work long hours and shifts. Emma Jacobs visits one of the few nurseries in the UK to offer such care.

Goodluck Jonathan is facing a challenge from former military ruler Muhammadu Buhari in next month’s presidential election in Nigeria, which comes at a time when the outlook for the country is bleak. The economy has been hit by the falling oil price and the Boko Haram insurgency in the northeast is becoming a serious security threat. Fiona Symon discusses the rival candidates with William Wallis.

Google is doubling the number of US cities that will receive its super fast broadband service and is calling for better co-operation from local authorities to help improve internet speeds in their areas. Ravi Mattu talks to Hannah Kuchler about why Google is so keen to spread its superfast network.

Zaid al-Ali, expert in the rule of law and constitutional affairs in the Arab world, talks to Borzou Daragahi, FT Middle East correspondent, about what went wrong with the pro-democracy revolutions of the Arab Spring four years ago and why so little real political progress has been made.

Greeks voted emphatically this weekend against the austerity policies of the last few years, electing into government a leftwing party which has vowed to renegotiate terms with Greece’s creditors. Fiona Symon discusses what happens next with the FT’s Europe Editor, Tony Barber

The Financial Times has published its global MBA rankings for 2015. Della Bradshaw, business education editor, and Laurent Ortmans, the statistician in charge of the rankings, discuss the key trends the data reveal with Jonathan Moules, business education correspondent.

Last year’s crash of rockets operated by Virgin Galactic and Orbital Sciences were a reminder of the risks inherent in space exploration. But those accidents haven’t put off investors. Space X, Planet Labs and OneWeb all announced new investment this week, in the latest round of the private space race. Ravi Mattu talks to Tim Bradshaw.

Libya has been locked in an escalating civil war since the toppling of Muammer Gaddafi in 2011. There is now a real risk of the country falling prey to terrorist groups like the Islamic State, but recent talks have brought the first glimmer of hope that agreement can be reached to end the fighting. Borzou Daragahi talks to Bernardino Leon, UN special envoy to Libya, who has been leading the efforts at reconciliation.

India is set to overtake China as the world's most populous country within about a decade despite years of efforts to bring down the birth rate. But right-wing religious leaders, worried about the erosion of the Hindu majority by Muslims, are urging Hindu women to produce more, not fewer babies. Fiona Symon talks to the Victor Mallet about India's battle of the babies.