File on 4 Investigates Folgen

In the last two months, three fathers have killed their partners, children and themselves. File on 4 investigates what drives these men to take such drastic action.The programme talks to relatives, expert forensic psychiatrists and academics to try to find out why they became so-called 'family annihilators'. It looks at new research into such cases which points to a link to unemployment rates and the levels of gun ownership. It will also ask whether authorities like the health service and police could do more to watch for signs that men are a risk to their families and asks whether new gun licence measures are working. Presenter: Jane Deith Producer: Paul Grant.

Their judgments send markets into freefall. It is alleged that their mistakes led to the Enron collapse and the 2008 financial crisis. They are the credit rating agencies. Who exactly are they and what exactly do they do?Is this exploration of the complex world of the "Big Three" rating agencies, BBC Chief Economics Correspondent Hugh Pym takes listeners behind the scenes of the world economy. Through revealing interviews with insiders and former analysts at Standard and Poor's (S&P), Moody's and Fitch, along with leading investors and bankers, Hugh tells the story of the world's ongoing financial woes from a new perspective and ask if anything has really changed. S&P managing director John Chambers explains why governments listen to what his company says.In Italy the agencies - rarely heard about until recently - have suddenly been subject to police raids and front page headlines. Italy, like many European nations, is unhappy about its recent downgrade and campaigner Elio Lannutti is on a mission to break the power of the rating agencies. But is there any truth in the idea that they're acting politically in their judgements on the Eurozone? Real concern about the "Big Three" began following the collapse, in 2001-2003, of several major multinationals, including Parmalat, dubbed Europe's Enron. Ordinary people who lost money know only too well what it means when the rating agencies get it wrong. When mortgage-backed securities began going bad in 2007, alarm bells rang again. Why had financial products riddled with bad debt been given Triple A ratings? So is there any way of breaking the "Big Three's" grip on power - or are they an inevitable fact of life in a global financial landscape? Producer: Lucy Proctor.

New NHS research has revealed the shocking toll of preventable deaths caused by just one medical condition. Diabetes - in which the body fails to control blood sugar levels safely - is causing 24,000 needless deaths a year in England alone. It's not just the old and middle-aged who are at risk. Young women with diabetes are 6 to 9 times more likely to die than their age group overall. And many more young people who don't die will develop life threatening diseases later due to failure to manage their blood sugar. Badly controlled diabetes can lead to kidney disease, heart conditions, or blindness. It's also the cause of 5,000 amputations a year, mainly of legs or feet. With around 3 million diagnosed sufferers known to the health service, diabetes is said to be costing the NHS £9 billion a year, about a tenth of the total health budget. Julian O'Halloran reveals why, despite Government pledges, it's so difficult to get to grips with the disease. And, with the incidence of diabetes rocketing, he asks whether the NHS can cope.Producer - Gail Champion.