World Business Report

Leanna Byrne looks at the opening of India’s AI Impact Summit, where the withdrawal of Microsoft founder Bill Gates has cast a shadow after he cancelled his keynote appearance. His foundation says he stepped back to avoid distracting from the event.
France and Germany are at odds over their joint next-generation fighter jet project, raising doubts about its future.
And the IMF warns China is relying too heavily on industrial subsidies.

Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg appeared in a California court on Wednesday, defending his leadership in a landmark case over whether social media is addictive for children.
Banking giants JPMorganChase is to open more than 160 new branches in over 30 states. So why the move back into launching physical banks when a lot of the industry is moving away from them - and towards online banking?
And Researchers say the world's main coffee-growing regions are getting hotter every year because of climate change - and that means coffee bean prices have almost doubled. We go to Brazil and hear from one coffee producer.
(Picture: Mark Zuckerberg, Chief Executive Officer of Meta Platforms, arrives for a court appearance at the Los Angeles County Superior Court in downtown Los Angeles, California, USA, 18 February 2026. Credit: CHRIS TORRES/EPA/Shutterstock).

The Meta boss defended his leadership and answered questions about Instagram, with reports from the courtroom saying he was testy under questioning. Also, why is JPMorganChase opening more than 160 new bank branches in the United States in a world of online banking? And a coffee producer in Brazil explains how climate change has seen coffee bean prices almost double.
(Picture: Mark Zuckerberg, Chief Executive Officer of Meta Platforms, arrives for a court appearance at the Los Angeles County Superior Court in downtown Los Angeles, California, USA, 18 February 2026. Credit: CHRIS TORRES/EPA/Shutterstock).

We hear from a tour guide in Tokyo as the number of oversees visitors to Japan has fallen for the first time in four years partly because of a big drop in tourists from China after a diplomatic row between the two countries
Also a farmer tells us about the impact of a Foot and Mouth Disease outbreak in South Africa
and inflation falls in the UK
Presenter: Leanna Byrne
Producers: Amber Mehmood and Huma Shah
Editor: Justin Bones

With the European Union launching a formal investigation into fast fashion giant Shein over the Chinese business’ possible breaches of digital law, we hear from Thomas Regnier on what the EU Commission’s concerns are.
Andrew Peach speaks to Oscar-winning film and TV producer Tom Nunan on the latest in Netflix and Paramount’s tug-of-war over Warner Bros.
Elsewhere, German drugs giant Bayer proposes to pay more than US$7.25bn (£5.35bn) to settle claims that its weedkiller Roundup causes cancer.
And Iran closes the Strait of Hormuz for military drills... but will it affect global oil prices?
The latest business and finance news from around the world, on the BBC.
(Picture: People walk past a Shein pop-up store at immersive retail space Future Stores, ahead of its grand opening in London, Great Britain, on 24 September, 2025. Credit: Isabel Infantes / Reuters.)