World Business Report

After more than a century of dominance, coal has been overtaken by renewable energy as the world’s biggest source of electricity – a historic moment, according to new data from the global energy think tank Ember. In the UK, police say they have dismantled an international gang suspected of smuggling up to 40,000 stolen mobile phones from the UK to China in the past year. The political crisis continues in France amid efforts to get a government together following the resignation of the third prime minister in a year. Presenter: Sarah Rogers Producers: Ahmed Adan and Niamh McDermott Editor: Justin Bones

France faces fresh political turmoil as PM Sébastien Lecornu resigns. Sam Fenwick hears from businesses and investors on shifting confidence in the country’s economic direction.We examine the worsening conditions for women in Afghanistan, where the UN reports that the Taliban have severely restricted women's rights to work, study, and dress freely. And Japan’s markets rally as Sanae Takaichi becomes the country’s first female prime minister, with the Nikkei jumping nearly 5% on expectations of increased government spending and monetary easing.

France's government has fallen apart again over how to handle it's public spending budget. We hear how the collapse will affect French businesses.In Japan, stocks have hit a record high after Sanae Takaichi won the party leadership making her the likely next Prime Minister. UK car marker Jaguar Land Rover and Japanese beer maker Asahi are showing signs of recovery after separate cyber attacks halted both businesses.And bitcoin has hit another new record high!Presenter: Sarah Rogers Producers: Ahmed Adan and Niamh Mc Dermott Editor: Justin Bones

President Trump and the First Lady Melania Trump have visited central Texas today to survey where flash floods killed 120 people last weekend. As search teams continue to search for more than 160 people still missing, Mr Trump and his wife met families affected by the floods and first responders.Dr Sam Brody, Director of the Institute for Disaster Resilient Texas and a Professor at Texas A&M University discusses how disasters like this might be avoided in the future.Also on the programme, what impact could the 35% tariffs for Canada announced by Trump yesterday have on businesses there and why the post-covid trend of converting office buildings to homes is gathering momentum in New York.

The big event of 2021 that will shape economies all over the world for decades to come was the COP 26 climate conference in Glasgow in November. The meeting saw a deluge of promises, but what was actually achieved? Martin Webber speaks to Tim Gould, chief energy economist at the International Energy Agency and economist Irwin Stelzer, from the Hudson Institute in the United States.It was another boom year for the pharmaceutical industry as it crafted the vaccines that have saved so many lives. Of the 8 billion coronavirus vaccinations worldwide, one billion have been delivered by the US logistics company, UPS. We hear from Wes Wealer, President of UPS healthcare.And small business owners have had a bleak time for much of the past year. But many of those that have survived now feel optimistic. We hear from the owner of the Aroma speciality coffee shop in Bologna in Italy, Cristina Caroli, about her year.

Covid-19 is set to prompt radical long term changes to how we live and work, so what lessons can be learnt when we eventually emerge from the pandemic? Could the changes in the way we work herald higher productivity and happier people in the future?We hear the stories of the people who managed to thrive during a very difficult year, including the milkman who saw a boom in deliveries and the dancer who found work in South Korea when the London stage went dark.Martin Webber is joined by Professor Devi Sridhar who holds the Chair of Global Public Health at the University of Edinburgh; economist Roger Bootle, of Capital Economics; Robert Reich, former Labour Secretary under President Clinton; Tomas Philipson, who was Chair of the Council of Economic Advisors under Mr Trump; and actor Thomas Inge who is currentl starring in the musical Cats in South Korea.