shipping rates rise and companies warn of delays. we take a look at the fallout on businesses from the suez canal disruption. and a whopping $3 million price for a bowler. we look at the rising prices in the indian premier league. 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. —— are small disruption in supply can lead to a huge swing in prices. 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, because 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. australian competition regulator has said airbnb will need to pay 20 million dollars

in fines and compensation after federal court found it misled consumers. the company said it has already received 2000 claims. let's get more on this from monica miller. talk us through what this find is about. �* , . . through what this find is about. �* , ., ., , about. australian officials say really the _ about. australian officials say really the question _ about. australian officials say really the question was - about. australian officials say really the question was they l really the question was they paid in dollars butjust which ones? between 2018 and 2021, officials say they have not made clear which currency customers by making those bookings in. it turned out they were us dollars which was not made clear. instead of the local currency. but regulators have argued is customers were not given the proper information to make a solid decision exactly on how much they were going to pay because us dollars are much more than australian dollars, especially today. we did hearfrom an airbnb spokesperson who sent us

the statement just about an hour ago and said that this matter related to the display of currency on the platform and was rectified properly once brought to our attention. they also went on to say that security and experience is at the heart of everything they do. 15 million australian dollars in penalties as well as 15 australian million dollars in compensation so again, we will probably see that number to come up with complaints coming up in the next few days. that would be a bit of a shock if you receive a bill in another currency. thank you so much for that update. 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 secured the fast bowler

who will return to the ipl after an eight year absence. let's bring in our correspondant. it does go to show how lucrative this sport is becoming. absolutely. it has become a bonanza. not just for teams, but broadcasters and advertisers as well. mitchell starc going from nearly $3 million, pat cummins going for $2.5 million. that is a kind of money that was spent. nearly $27 million at auction was spent yesterday over 70 players. there are several reasons for this. most importantly, a lot of marketability around the ipl. just the kind of names. we have

a bollywood star owning a team and others. those aspects increase the way in which people view the ipl. and i'm going to get you some figures injust a bit. in 2008, eight teams were purchased for $700 million. $740 million one team last year. in 2021 broadcasting rights were negotiated for the next season, 23—27 and just that may be the ipl richer by nearly $6 billion. that is double the amount spent on the previous season so that is just to give you the sense of our this industry has grown. fascinating stuff.

let's now turn to the united states, and a battle we are seeing in a number of industries between companies and unions demanding better pay for their workers. first it was hollywood, then the car industry, and now it's airlines. southwest has become latest carrier to reach an agreement for a new contract with its pilots. michelle fleury has the details. well, major us carriers, american, delta, and united airlines, all reached new contracts with their pilots' unions — one noticeable holdout was southwest airlines, where pilots were demanding higher pay and better work rules. negotiations have dragged on for more than three years, but now a preliminary deal has been struck. hailing the agreement, which does still need to be approved by rank—and—file members, captain casey murray, the president of the pilots' associations said, "we're finally at a place we think "the value of our pilots and the productivity is being realised." now, if approved the southwest airlines pilot deal is the latest success for america's labour unions after lengthy strikes, there were after all agreements between hollywood studios,

actors, and writers, as well as between carmakers and the united auto workers, with many labour economists predicting yet another big year for organised labour in america in 2024. now with the upcoming holidays sales of caviar is booming. there is now a new player in town, china, taking a major market share. as anton chekhov said, "ah, caviar, i keep on eating it but i can 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 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. that is it for this edition of asia business report. voiceover: bringing you different storiesl from across the uk. for 70% of the

world's population, this is what doing the laundry looks like — women and children spending hours each week scrubbing by hand. and this is the solution — a flatpack manual washing machine being built in corby. british engineer nav was inspired by a visit to southern india. and they wash with cold water in buckets on the floor, causing back pain, joint pain and skin irritation. with our machine, it saves 75% of time and 50% of water compared to hand—washing clothes. and here it is, from flatpack to fully assembled. so you open the lid, put your clothes inside, you put your water and your laundry detergent in here, close the lid — and of course, the most important bit is how you operate it, using a handle. and once your clothes are clean, the dirty water comes out here. over 100 staff

from this component supplier have volunteered their time to build the machines. so far, 180 machines have been sent to 15 countries, giving thousands of women and girls their time back. for more stories from 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,