In Chile, outgoing president Sebastian Pinera has sparked a firestorm by granting lithium mining concessions to two companies. Chilean economist Francisco Meneses tells us about the importance of lithium to the country’s economy, and how incoming head of state Gabriel Boric is walking a tightrope when it comes to building a political coalition. Plus, representatives of the Indian and British governments have held a first day of talks over a free trade deal, potentially worth billions of dollars. The UK’s Secretary of State for International Trade, Anne-Marie Trevelyan, told us that the proposed agreement will bring growth opportunities to British businesses. Following a shortage of French fries for Kentucky Fried Chicken restaurants in Kenya, the BBC's Tamasin Ford explores why multinational fast food chains don't simply turn to local suppliers to meet their needs.And the head of Google in the UK, Ronan Harris, tells the BBC that hybrid working will be “experimental” over the next two years, as companies and employees try to strike a balance between home and the office. Throughout the programme we’re joined by Jyoti Malhotra, Senior Consulting Editor at The Print, in New Delhi, and by the writer and journalist Paddy Hirsch – contributing editor at National Public Radio speaking to us from Los Angeles. (Picture: A protester holds a placard saying "let's defend lithium" at an anti-privatisation demonstration in Santiago, Chile. Credit: Getty Images) Programme produced by Nisha Patel and Tom Kavanagh

The US annual inflation rate rose to 7% in December, a figure not seen since 1982. Jayne Schaber lives in New York state and tells us about her experiences when out shopping, and we get a historical perspective on the latest figures from Professor Jason Furman of Harvard University, who was the top economic adviser to the White House during the eight years of the Obama presidency. And the BBC's Clare Williamson reports on a fierce political row that has broken out in the European Union over how to define what is green or sustainable in new guidelines for finance and investment. Plus, a new report from the app monitoring firm App Annie indicates that smartphone users are spending an average of 4 hours and 48 minutes each day on their devices; we hear from Lexy Sydow, Head of Insights at the app. And we're joined throughout the programme by Ralph Silva of Yorkville University -he's in Toronto. And Mehmal Safraz, Senior Producer for Neo TV and analyst on Geo TV's Report Card, who's in Lahore. (Picture: A supermarket shopper in the US. Picture credit: EPA.)

Millions are under lockdown in Chinese cities as the country attempts to control Covid 19 outbreaks just a few weeks before the Winter Olympics begin in Beijing. We hear from Kerry Allen, China Media Analyst at BBC Monitoring. Around the world, governments and companies are grappling with reconciling the provision of sick pay to workers who refuse to get vaccinated - Richard Fox, an employment partner at Kingsley Napley in the UK, explains the legal complications these decisions give rise to. Professor Richard Tedlow of the Harvard Business School argues that a CEO's charisma might be worth just as much as their business nous, and the British Museum gets in on the NFT trade; we speak to tech journalist and sometime crypto sceptic Matt Binder in New York. Throughout the programme we're joined by Alison Schrager, Senior Fellow at the Manhattan Institute and Peter Ryan, ABC's senior business correspondent in Sydney. Picture: People queue for covid testing in Tianjin, China. Credit: EPA

Talks between Russia and the US over tensions in Ukraine continue, with little progress in sight. Could diplomatic sanctions be the answer? We talk to Jeffrey J. Schott, a former advisor to the US government. In Belarus, no stranger itself to economic sanctions, the state-run potash manufacture is dealt a blow; Yara, one of the world's largest producers of fertilisers and biggest buyer of potash, says it will no longer purchase it from Belarus. We speak to Hanna Liubakova from the Atlantic Council. Peter Jankovskis describes a turbulent day's trading on the US markets, Sri Lanka seeks a debt restructuring programme with its biggest lender, China, and our regular workplace commentator Stephanie Hare looks at an experimental basic income payment for the country's artists. Throughout the programme we're joined by Jeanette Rodrigues, Managing Editor for Bloomberg News in Mumbai and Peter Morici, economist at the University of Maryland. Photo: US President Joe Biden holds talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin Credit: Reuters

It’s one year on from the day that supporters of former president Donald Trump stormed the US Capitol building in Washington DC. With the authorities still attempting to track down everybody involved, Anjana Susarla of Michigan State University tells us why facial recognition technology is an increasingly important tool in the search. Plus, India has approved the use of a patent-free Covid-19 vaccine, which was developed at Baylor College of Medicine in the US. We speak to Maria Elena Bottazzi, who tell us her team developed Corbevax with the aim of expanding access to essential healthcare for people in poorer countries. The United Nations says food prices increased by 28% in 2021. Abdolreza Abbassian from the UN’s Food and Agriculture Organization tells us those struggling financially will be hit the hardest by the rise. And at CES 2022, we catch up with Remane CEO Ariel Lee, who tells us about her company’s “data-driven haircare solutions”. (Photo: Supporters of former president Donald Trump inside the US Capitol; Credit: Getty Images)