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BBC World Service


The daily drama of money and work from the BBC.


Business Daily

Can Europe be weaned off cheap chocolate? EU efforts to block cocoa linked to deforestation were due to come into force at the end of this year – but have faced multiple delays. Another vote is due to take place soon. Some parties are pushing for further delay and modifications, but others are keen to see the rules come into force as planned. They apply to a number of raw materials, including cocoa. 

There’s a big challenge facing the world’s biggest market for chocolate: balancing sustainability goals and the price consumers are willing to pay. 

If you'd like to get in touch with Business Daily, you can send us an email at businessdaily@bbc.co.uk 

Presented and produced by Hannah Bewley 
Additional reporting: Matthew Kenyon 

(Picture: Close up of three cocoa beans hanging from a cocoa tree. Credit: Getty Images)

The cocoa conundrum

It’s one of the biggest human trafficking operations of modern times. Scam centres across South East Asia have been making hundreds of billions of dollars annually, it’s estimated, conning people into fake crypto-currency investment schemes. 

But now these centres could be coming under threat, with both military and legal moves by global enforcement challenging their apparent impunity.

Presented and produced by Ed Butler

(Picture: An aerial photo showing the KK Park complex in Myanmar, taken in September 2025. Credit: Getty Images)

Is this the end for South East Asia's scam centres?

Peru is home to Machu Picchu - the ancient Inca city in the Andes mountains. 

It's one of the seven wonders of the world, and a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The popular tourist destination attracts millions of visitors, making it very lucrative for the government, local and international businesses.

But Machu Picchu is in trouble. 

Social conflicts, fights over who benefits from the money being made through ticket sales and transport are just some of the problems its facing. 

Jane Chambers visits Peru to find out what's going on and if there are other local sites for tourist to visit instead.

Produced and presented by Jane Chambers
Editor: Helen Thomas

(Image: A group of tourists waves while leaving on foot due to a protest by residents in Machu Picchu on 16 September 2025 over which bus company should run the local route. Credit: Getty Images)

Monetising Machu Picchu

In the second of our two-part series on tightening aid budgets, Sam Fenwick explores what shrinking donor support means for global health — from the sudden halt to major US-funded projects, to the pressure on low-income countries to increase their own health spending.

As G20 leaders gather in Johannesburg for the Global Fund’s Eighth Replenishment Summit, we hear from Zambia’s minister of commerce on how his country is trying to plug the aid gap through investment in critical minerals, and from Peter Sands, head of the Global Fund, on why he believes wealthy nations must keep funding global health even as more countries take on greater responsibility for their own systems.

With global aid budgets under strain, we examine what’s at stake at today’s summit — and what the future of funding for essential health programmes might look like.

Produced and presented by Sam Fenwick

(Image: An anonymous woman looks out over her local fishing community near the Zambezi River in Zambia. Credit: Action Aid)

What happens when the aid money runs out?

We examine the fallout from the cuts to US foreign aid.

We meet projects in Rwanda and Nepal that were close to shutting down - and hear the story of a mystery donor who stepped in to keep them going. 

But how long will the support last? 

Presented and produced by Sam Fenwick 

(Image: Beatha making soap in Rwanda as part of one of the projects funded by USAID. Credit: Village Enterprise)

What's next for USAID funded projects?

One of world sport's biggest rivalries gets underway this week, with England and Australia going head to head in the Ashes. Most matches will last around four or five days, but it's actually the short form of the game that is growing the fastest - and bringing in big audiences and revenues. 

The IPL or Indian Premier League, has recently been valued at $18.5bn - that's a T20 format played over a few hours. 

So has the sport now changed irreversibly? And does the longer form of the game have a future?

Presenter: Will Bain 
Producer: Matt Lines

(Royal Challengers Bengaluru's Virat Kohli, along with his former teammates AB de Villiers and Chris Gayle, celebrate with the trophy after winning the Indian Premier League T20 final in June 2025. Credit: Getty Images)

Is cricket financially healthy?

We speak to the tech executive leading Google and its parent company Alphabet Inc. 

Sundar Pichai gives us his take on the 'AI bubble', saying no company is immune if the bubble bursts on the "irrational elements" of the boom. 

He says AI will cause "social disruption" for jobs, even replace CEOs, and says people will have to adapt. Is the world ready?

If you'd like to get in touch with the programme, our email address is businessdaily@bbc.co.uk

Presenter: Faisal Islam 
Producers: Priya Patel, Elisabeth Mahy, Hannah Bewley

(Picture: Google CEO, Sundar Pichai. Credit: Getty Images)

A special interview with Google CEO Sundar Pichai

After the collapse of a landmark deal, with opposition from both the US and Saudi Arabia, we hear from those in the industry. 

What's next for a sector responsible for 3% of global emissions?

We also find out what it means for shipping's path to net zero. And ask whether technology and innovation are the answer. 

Presenter: Will Bain
Producer: David Cann

(Image: A cargo ship loaded with foreign trade containers heads towards Qingdao Port in Qingdao City, Shandong Province, China, on 5 November 2025. Credit: Getty Images)

Can global shipping go green?

As war becomes more high tech than ever, artificial intelligence companies are making software which is increasingly being used on the battlefield. 

Will Blyth served in the British military as an army major and has used this experience to build his own company, connecting hardware systems from different manufacturers deployed by armed forces.

Presented and produced by Rob Young

(Picture: Will Blyth. Credit: Arondite)

The ex-soldier building defence software

From Ukraine and Russia to Gaza and Sudan, drones have become a key weapon of war. Which companies are making them, and profiting from this rapidly expanding but controversial sector within the defence industry? 

We hear from a woman in Ukraine who used to own a flower shop in Kyiv, but who is now making drones to send to the front-line; and we hear from a Russian who left his homeland as a teenager and now, from Australia, is developing the technology that helps protect Ukraine from Russian attack. 

And a former Norwegian paratrooper tells us how he can help protect soldiers from drones. 

Produced/presenter: Gideon Long

(Photo: Participants in the 'Wild Drones' tournament, organised by the Ukrainian Armed Forces in the city of Kamianets, Ukraine, 5 October, 2025. Credit: Maria Senovilla/EPA/Shutterstock)

Drones: Who is making the new weapons of war?

The superfan culture involves doing everything you can to be closer to your idols - often through concerts, merchandise, and streaming support.

And now oshikatsu is being praised by some economists for helping pull Japanese retail sales out of a long slump. 

Figures suggest the role of fan purchasing power has boosted Japan’s annual retail turnover by 2%. 

But what is so different about the way of supporting our heroes that has created such growth?

Produced and presented by Rick Kelsey

(Image: Anime and game fans attend the 105th ComicMarket Show in Tokyo, Japan, December 2024. Credit CFOTO/Future Publishing via Getty Images)

What is oshikatsu and can it boost Japan's economy?

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