In February a devastating flash flood in India's northern state of Uttarakhand killed at least 70 people and trapped workers in underground tunnels. We'll hear from locals who witnessed the horrific events, as well as Uttarakhand journalist Kavita Upadhyay about how the news spread among the community. Indian geologist Dr Kalachand Sain explains exactly what happened that caused the flood, and Dave Petley, professor of geography at the University of Sheffield explains how climate change played a role. Now, in the wake of the disaster, India's strategy to bring more clean energy to the country through hydroelectric dams is coming into focus, with fears the projects are affecting the delicate balance of the Himalayan ecology. Himanshu Thakkar, coordinator of the South Asia Network on Dams, Rivers and People, explains why the dams should not have been near Himalayan glaciers to begin with,and what could have been done better to warn those near the disaster. Sunita Narain, director of the Centre of Science and Environment in Delhi argues, however, that development is needed in the Himalayas but it needs to be done responsibly. And we close with Amitabh Pande, who warns that the Himalayas are a precious resource to India, and should be treated with care.

(Picture: the entrance of Tapovan tunnel following a flash flood in Uttarakhand state, India. Picture credit: JALEES ANDRABI/AFP via Getty Images)

An EU ban on the vegetable oil's use in biofuel has upset Indonesia and Malaysia. Meanwhile critics say it will only worsen the problem of tropical deforestation by palm oil farmers.

Manuela Saragosa looks at this most divisive of commodities, and moves to ban it impact the smallholder farmers behind almost half of global production. Sustainability researcher Gernot Klepper of the Kiel Institute explains why he thinks the European position is irrational, while Indonesian palm trade journalist Bhimanto Suwastoyo says palm growers could simply switch to markets in India and China where buyers care much less about deforestation.

Meanwhile Greenpeace's Grant Rosoman explains why the environmentalist group is so sceptical about existing certification schemes, while Tiur Rumondang of the Roundtable for Sustainable Palm Oil - the biggest such scheme - defends their work.

Producers: Laurence Knight, Joshua Thorpe

(Picture: A farmer carries palm oil fruit at a plantation in Malaysia; Credit: STR/AFP/GettyImages)

As a giant container ship gets stuck in the Suez canal, we examine at the vital role the waterway plays in global shipping. We also hear from Chicago, where reparations are being made to black residents after years of segregation. African Americans have lost thousands in personal wealth due to the policy of redlining. Our chief environment correspondent investigates a leaked letter from China - suggesting it's preparing to embark on greener policies. And we’ll be talking space junk with astrophysicist Becky Smethurst.

Business Weekly is presented by Lucy Burton and produced by Szu Ping Chan.

Since December, more than 600 students have been abducted from schools in north-west Nigeria, highlighting a worrying development in the country's kidnap-for-ransom crisis. We'll hear from the father of a returned schoolgirl, about the agony of not knowing what's happened to them. But it's not just schoolgirls. Nigeria is subject to a full-blown kidnapping industry, as Ikemesit Effiong of SBM Intelligence explains. And as the government denies it is paying ransoms, and calls grow for the crisis to be brought under control, Bulama Bukarti of the Tony Blair Institute for Global Change explains just why it's so hard to combat the kidnappers.

Producer: Frey Lindsay

(Picture credit: A woman whose 2 daughters were kidnapped by gunmen cries at her home in Zamfara State, northwest of Nigeria, February, 2021. Image Credit: KOLA SULAIMON/AFP via Getty Images)

Josephine is a single mother of four in Kibera, the sprawling slum in Nairobi, Kenya. At the beginning of the pandemic she was working as a cook, but soon lost her job, and when the BBC's Ed Butler spoke to her a year ago her situation was dire.

In this episode, the third of a short series about Josephine and Kibera, we'll hear how Josephine's efforts to feed her family during the Coronavirus pandemic were further imperilled by a different virus, malaria. We'll also hear how the cost of her food stall, hospital bills and her children's needs sent Josephine further into debt. Local organiser Kennedy Odede describes how in fact consumer debt has rocketed in Kibera during the pandemic, and Judith Tyson of the ODI explains what impact that will have long-term. After all that, a final calamity befalls Josephine's small business.

Producer: Frey Lindsay.

(Picture: A local artists makes and sells face masks made from cloth in the Kibera slum, Nairobi, on April 14, 2020. Picture credit: TONY KARUMBA/AFP via Getty Images)

How the growth in food delivery apps could change the restaurant industry forever. Manuela Saragosa speaks to Moe Tkacik from the American Economic Liberties Project about threat posed to restaurants by the dominance of platforms like DoorDash, Uber Eats and Deliveroo. Collin Wallace, former head of innovation at GrubHub, explains why these platforms continue to expand despite never making a profit. Food writer Jonathan Nunn discusses the breakdown of the relationship between customers and restaurants, and what that could mean for the future of the industry. And restaurateur Charlie Mellor tells us why his experience with delivery apps led him to set up his own rival platform.

(Photo: an Uber Eats delivery rider, Credit: Getty Images)

A letter sent to the Bangladeshi government suggests that Beijing may be clamping down on the biggest source of carbon emissions.

Justin Rowlatt speaks to the journalist who got the scoop - Jagaran Chakma of the Daily Star newspaper in Bangladesh. His nation is one of dozens of developing countries that need to build up their power sector, and had been looking to China to finance new coal-fired power stations under the Belt and Road initiative - something the letter pointedly said that Beijing would no longer do.

So could China be preparing to take a much harder line against coal than advertised - at home as well as abroad? And what does it all mean for the big Cop 26 climate negotiations due later this year? Justin speaks to researcher Rebecca Ray of Boston University, former Australian Prime Minister Kevin Rudd, and former United Nations climate negotiator Christiana Figueres.

Producers: Szu Ping Chan; Laurence Knight

(Picture: Street vendors and customers gather at a local market outside a state owned coal fired power plant in Huainan, China; Credit: Kevin Frayer/Getty Images)

As rows continue in Europe over the safety and supply of the Oxford AstraZeneca Covid 19 Vaccine, on Business Weekly we ask how much of the argument is over genuine safety concerns and how much is political? We also take a look at the pandemic within a pandemic: obesity. It’s the second highest risk factor for Covid mortality. But, how much of the blame should lie at the door of the food industry? Will a renewed focus on health change what we eat and drink? Plus, governments around the world are trying to build back better and greener from the Coronavirus pandemic. We have a special report on the steel industry, which is being pressured to become more environmentally friendly. And the Oscars are #notsowhite this year – we take a look at the nominees. Business Weekly is presented by Lucy Burton and produced by Matthew Davies.

Why is it that the boss never seems to know what they’re doing? The famous “Dilbert principle” asserts that companies promote incompetent employees into middle management to get them out of the way. But Professor David Dunning, co-creator of the competing “Dunning–Kruger effect”, says there’s more to it than that, specifically that the more incompetent a person is, the more confident they can be. Meanwhile, Kelly Shue, Professor of Finance at Yale, says an even simpler idea, the “Peter Principle” helps to explain why people get promoted beyond their level of competence. And entrepreneur Heather McGregor explains why the incompetence of a former boss led her to buy her own company

Presented by Ed Butler, This is a repeat of a programme first broadcast in June 2020.

(Picture: A woman at her desk. Getty Images)

In the sprawling Nairobi slum of Kibera in Kenya, a single mother of four struggles to survive lockdown. At the beginning of the pandemic, Josephine was working as a cook, but soon lost her job, and when the BBC's Ed Butler spoke to her a year ago her situation was dire.

In this episode, the second of a short series, the small business Josephine started to help feed her family sees faltering success before life in a pandemic gets more complicated again. Also in the programme, we hear from Kibera radio journalist Henix Obuchunju, reacting at the time to the confusion and suspicion of early lockdown measures in Kenya. And Dr John Nkengasong, head of the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention, looks back and reflects on how those early measures played out.

Producer: Frey Lindsay

(Image: A woman with a face mask walks past graffiti that promotes social distancing, to curb the spread of the COVID-19 coronavirus, in Kibera, Nairobi, on July 15, 2020. Image credit: YASUYOSHI CHIBA/AFP via Getty Images)

The coronavirus pandemic has changed the way we behave on the internet. Online trolling is on the rise as people turn to social media to take out their lockdown frustrations.

Marie Keyworth hears from Lisa Forte, who used to work for the UK police's Cyber Crime Unit and has faced online abuse herself. Virginia Mantouvalou says that a social media platform shouldn’t be viewed as “safe space” to express whatever views we wish. But isn't one of the points of social media to connect with like-minded people freely? Marie puts that to Will Oremus, a senior writer for tech magazine OneZero.

Our posts and comments can incur the wrath of not just online mobs, but of our employers too. And, as journalist and author Jon Ronson explains, the collective online herd mentality leaves no room for forgiveness, or redemption.

Producer: Sarah Treanor

(Picture: a man holds his head in his hands and looks at his computer in despair. Credit: Getty Images.)

Obesity is a major factor in which countries have the worst Covid-19 death rates, a new report suggests. So could this be a moment of reckoning for food and beverage businesses?

Manuela Saragosa hears from John Wilding, president of the World Obesity Federation, which produced the report. She asks Kate Halliwell, chief scientific officer of the UK’s Food and Drink Federation, what responsibility the industry bears. Sophie Lawrence of fund managers Rathbone Greenbank explains how important obesity is to investors in food and drink companies. Plus, a Covid survivor who was morbidly obese when he went into hospital in March last year, and spent seven weeks in an induced coma, tells us how he has now dramatically changed his lifestyle.

Producers: Laurence Knight, Benjie Guy

(Photo: A tray of fast food - a burger, fries and a drink. Credit: Getty Images)