Omicron and delta variants increase Covid case numbers - a podcast by BBC World Service

Record-breaking cases of Covid have been reported in the USA, the UK, France, Australia and elsewhere, as the World Health Organisation says rich countries must address global vaccine inequality – we speak to the WHO’s Margaret Harris. In Sweden, battery manufacturer North Volt has produced the first lithium ion battery – the power source of most electric vehicles – to be designed, developed and assembled in the country. North Volt’s Jesper Wegat tells us why the country stands to lead the way in manufacturing car batteries. It’s been a mixed year for Scotch whisky as US trade tariffs and Brexit throw up a cocktail of obstacles, but at the investment end of the market, things have never been better. The BBC’s Elizabeth Hotson reports from Edinburgh. And sales of vinyl records are on the up – in a digital age, do we want to be able to feel music, literally? Throughout the programme we’re joined by Zyma Islam, a journalist for the Daily Star in Dhaka, Bangladesh and by Kimberly Adams, a correspondent at our sister programme Marketplace in Washington, DC.

Picture: A public health campaign poster in London Credit: Reuters

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