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Episode details

World Service,22 Jan 2016,26 mins

France Fears Migrant Crisis Could Destroy EU

World Business Report

Available for over a year

The French prime minister has warned the EU could be destroyed by the influx of migrants. More than a million arrived last year, prompting some countries to close their borders. His warning follows confirmation that 42 refugees died in two separate shipwrecks in the Aegean Sea. We hear from William Lacy Swing, executive director of the International Organisation for Migration and also from the American billionaire Bill Gates, who believes the US should accept more refugees. It has been another busy week for the BBC's Business News Team reporting on developments like volatile stock markets, analysing the impact of the lifting of sanctions against Iran and talking to corporate and political leaders at the World Economic Forum in Switzerland. We take time out to reflect on the week with Simon Kennedy, chief international economist at Bloomberg News in London and Ben McLannahan, from the Wall Street Journal, who joins us from Davos. Fewer people going out to paint the town red is causing a problem for businesses focused on late night entertainment. We get a report from Joshua Thorpe, who reveals that the declining popularity of the nightclub scene has become a trend across Europe. 2016 has been designated the year of the pulse, or as many people know them lentils.It is an initiative by the United Nations to raise awareness of the important role of pulses in sustainable agriculture and healthy diets. The writer and food blogger Jenny Chandler tells us more about the global campaign.

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