we take a look at the fallout on businesses from the suez canal disruption. and the future of ai. predictions for how this game—changing technology might change our lives in the year ahead. hi there, welcome to asia business report, with me, mariko oi. we start the programme this morning in the suez canal as companies scramble to avoid shipping disruptions following recent attacks on vessels by the iran—backed to houthi rebels. about 12% of global trade passes through the canal, that's around 17,000 ships each year. now many companies, including oil giant bp as well as danish shipping firm maersk, are rerouting to take the much longerjourney around the southern tip of africa. appliance company electrolux

is also setting up a taskforce to find alternate routes, while ikea is warning of potential product shortages. ryan petersen from the supply chain management company flexport told me more about how the disruption is already impacting businesses. it's just getting started. over the weekend and through today we have had all ten of the top container shipping lines in the world, representing about 95% capacity, have begun to divert vessels to avoid sailing through the red sea and to go around the tip of africa, as you said. it takes about 25% longer to go that way from asia to europe and, well, 25% reduction in supply of shipping, we're going to see huge delays, obviously, but also big price increases because, well, it's a supply and demand and if the supply comes down 25%, one thing we have learned

in the last few years is a small destruction and supply can lead to a huge swing in price. indeed. we're seeing an impact on oil prices as well. the united states planning to form an international coalition to protect those ships. what is your reaction to that, is that going to help? this is the founding mission of the us navy was to protect freedom of navigation going back to 1798. it's sort of on some level going back to the roots of the navy, but this is a much harder problem even than piracy, these are missiles being fired from within civilian areas in yemen and there are terrorists moving around so it is not a simple thing for a military taskforce from the navy to simply stop it but obviously we need to have safety if civilians and ships, they don't deserve to have missiles fired at them. hopefully the navy can do something about it. the indian premier league has smashed its record for its most expensive player with a winning bid of almost $3 million for

the australian mitchell starc. the kolkata knight riders security fast bowler who will return to the ipl after an eight year absence. let's bring in our correspondence. the excitement aside, guess it does go to show how lucrative this port is becoming. absolutely. and i'm going _ port is becoming. absolutely. and i'm going to _ port is becoming. absolutely. and i'm going to get - port is becoming. absolutely. and i'm going to get you - port is becoming. absolutely. l and i'm going to get you some figures injust a bit. there were gusts in the room when the bidding war was going on for the players, just going for nearly $3 million. before that pat cummins, another australian player, going for $2.5 million. the aussie players this time around was certainly more in demand, especially after the recent welcome victory, that is why you are seeing this kind of figures. but yesterday's option saw nearly $27 million being spent onjust over 70 saw nearly $27 million being spent on just over 70 players. this is just to give you a sense of how this industry really has grown, it's notjust about scoring big runs but big bucks as well over the past two years since it began in 2008.

it is also an interesting source which brings together a lot of aspects in india which indians are passionate about. you have bolli biggies owning an ipl team, and the richest men in india owning a team, thatis men in india owning a team, that is why generates a lot of interest, there something for the players in the dense, broadcasters as well. to give figures about how it was and how it is now. in 2008, when it began, about $700 million was spent on buying eight teams. just two years ago the last tina malone went for $740 million, you can see the comparison. last year, broadcasting rights that were negotiated by the ipl saw the tournament become richer by $6 billion for the 2023— 2027 cycle. before that, the last cycle, it was less than half of that. that is the kind of industry that the ipl both that how it has grown over the past 15 years since it began. fascinating stuff. thank you for that update.

let's turn our attention to japan. today is the day toshiba gets delisted, ending its 74 year stock market history. it has been no for the rest of my very good year for the stock market, the nikkei to up almost 30%. 0ne driver behind this is the weak yen caused by japan's negative interest rates and yesterday the central bank chose to keep this ultra—loose monetary policy a little longer. kei 0kamura it is from neuberger berman and they asked him if the country's economy can handle higher rates. the short answer is yes. obviously this is a pivotal moment for the japanese economy as it tries to exit out of the last decades. i think what is important is what came out of yesterday's meeting by the central bank was that the boj governor was intent on taking a very cautious and measured approach to raising rates going forward, which we think makes sense. our view is that as we look into 2024 we're going

to continue see consumer prices edged up and stabilise, but i think for the time being the boj wants to see more data, to see whether consumer prices will sustain themselves and wage hikes, i think it be a very important point about that story. artificial intelligence became the most talked about technology theme this year, will become an even bigger part of our daily life in the new year? technology editor zoe kleinman has more. 2023 was the year the world woke up to ai. if you cut your mind back to january millions of us were using chatgpt for the very first time and a lot of us it was the very first time we had directly interacted with al and had ai reply to us. fast forward to the end of the year and we know that that tech is powerful enough to pass the trainee exam taken by lawyers. there's billions of dollars of investment pouring into this area and the tech is

evolving very rapidly. sam altman, the founder of open ai, the company behind chatgpt says what is coming in 2024 will make what is happening now look like a quaint relative. we seen some really impressive advances, particularly in healthcare where an ai tool was able to come up with a formula for a new antibiotic that beat a deli hospital super—bug. we also saw ai used in an amazing bit of kit to help a paralysed man to walk again. but, really, what has been in the limelight this year has been generative ai, that is al the mass content, depending on your taste. what we have seen as it is already massively disruptive, it is affecting jobs and education and, more worryingly, we are seeing it's about our misinformation. its creators call it hallucination and that is

when these tools start making stuff up. half the world will be voting in an election somewhere in 2024 and this is part of the reason why the world's regulators are scrambling to come up with legislation and rules to try and harness this powerful tech so that we can maximise the benefits of it to our society and minimise the risks. now, with the upcoming holidays, sales of caviar is booming. traditionally it used to come from russia or iran, but there is now a new player in town, that is china, which is taking a major market share, anders reports and tastes. as anton chekhov said, "ah, caviar, i keep on eating it but never get my fill." it all starts with a fish. sturgeon is one of oldest families of this has been around for more than 200 million years. a kind of living fossil. it's curse is the roe it carries, also known as caviar, but severe overfishing had led to a total ban on caviar from wild sturgeon.

it has chanced since 2008 and there was still wild caviar, now all caviar is protected so it must be farmed, there is no wild caviar left in the world and the biggest farm in the world is in china. china now produces a third of the world's caviar, followed by italy and france. the rest are taken up by smaller producers. and china's part of it in growing rapidly, it will produce 20—30% more caviar each year. but what about the but what about the quality? you can't ignore it, if we were in paris now out of 28 michelin star chefs, 23 would buy chinese caviar, it's very consistent, the taste is good. but now to the most important question, how do you eat it? i decided to consult an expert. the finest way and the cleanest way to eat it is actually from the back of the hand. and i'm just going to put it here on your hand.

and then by sitting this on here we are warming up the caviar gently and also we have the purest tasting, because there's nothing... we're not eating it of a potato or anything like that, we're just having the pure caviar. so then... brush it on the roof of the mouth. salt, quite saline in taste, and there is a tiny little bit of dryness from the warm up. that's about it. and creamy. this is a brioche, a breakfast brioche, it is filled with scrambled egg topped with a bit of creme fraiche and then completely filled with caviar. and it's on our breakfast menu and we sell a few, quite a few. right. that is the way to start the day. yes. what an awesome gig he has got. that is it for this edition of asia business report. i will be back next hour. but for now,

thanks for watching. bbc news, bringing you different stories from across the uk. an emotional day for homeowners who found themselves living on the edge, far earlier than they expected to. i am still in shock. i have been for the last week. i am not in tears or anything, i'm not that sort of person but, you know, i guess, if i was that sort of person i would be just sitting down with my head in my hands, not knowing what to do. land under houses on the marrams at hemsby has been badly affected over the past decade. storms last month saw 100 metre section of the road fall onto the beach. four full days is what's been given to try and remove the most dangerous houses from the side of the cliffs. of course, they are trying to work around the tides, the weather and restricted lighting. all this destruction you see around us right now is caused by one box or one spreadsheet, which is their cost base ratio

and that is what we're working with with local government and the environment agency to change, that is what we just are fighting for, is one box, one spreadsheet. the environment agency has spent almost £500 million on coastal defence in norfolk, suffolk and essex since 2013. but for those here, it is too little, too late. for more stories across the uk, head to the bbc news website. hey, i'm zof with the catch up. tonight: a west end nightclub is fined, a dog nativity, and a baby owl in a christmas tree. first, our top story. a volcano has erupted in the southwest of iceland after weeks of earthquakes there. i mean, just look at these scenes. about 4000 people were evacuated last month

from a town close to the eruption. a resident there described it as "crazy" and "scary". you can head to the bbc news website or app for the latest on this. some other stories now. a nightclub in london has been fined for accidentally serving caustic soda with tequila shots rather than salt. four women suffered burning in their mouths and had to go to hospital after taking the cleaning substance at tiger tiger in december 2021. the council said the owner has admitted to four health and safety breaches and they were fined £120,000. next, a nativity for dogs. yep, you did hear that right. a cast of dogs have taken to the stage on the isle of man in a special performance of the christmas story. they took on a variation of roles from mary and joseph to angel gabriel. more than 100 people were packed into thejurby parish hall to watch the show. i mean, look at it,

i am just obsessed! and time now for ten seconds of a baby owl found living in a christmas tree. it was discovered when the carpet cleaner noticed the branches were in fact actually moving. look at it, though, it is absolutely adorable. and, also, what a nice christmas surprise. you're all caught up now. see you later. hello and welcome to sportsday. i am katherine downes. coming up on the programme: farewell to forest. with the team sliding down the table, steve cooper has been sacked. england post their highest score in t20 internationals against the west indies.

under the hammer. australia's pace pair, starc and cummins, break records as they spark a bidding war in the ipl auction. hello there. thanks forjoining us. the nottingham forest manager, steve cooper, had been living on thin ice with just one win in the last three months. they had been difficult to beat at home this season, but not in recent weeks, and defeat to tottenham at the city ground last friday night proved to be cooper's last game in charge. the former wolves and spurs manager, nuno espirito santo, has been in talks with the club and his appointment is expected to be confirmed shortly. colin hazleden has more. yes, well, there are moments at football clubs, sporting institutions, when boards, when owners know exactly what needs to be done — whether a manager should stay and fight or whether they

should be asked to move