As the dust settles on last week's local elections in Northern Ireland Mandy Johnston looks at the real figures and what they mean for the re=establishment of the Assembly and is joined by Tommie Gorman the former RTE Northern Ireland Editor who now writes on politics north and south for the Currency

In San Francisco's a crisis of homelessness, drug abuse and crime threaten the city’s future. Tabby Kinder leads the Financial Times’ coverage in Silicon Valley and across the US West Coast and she talks us through the latest developments in the city that seems at breaking point.

Plus as The European Central Bank turns 25 next week it is pushing ahead with the development of electronic currency despite political objection. Cliff Taylor of the Irish Tines is here to decipher what it means for consumers.