and because you're worth it — we look at how l'oreal wants and the corrupt malaysian businessman who has been expedited to the us as part of a venezuela prisoner swab. —— prisoner swap. hello and welcome to asia business report. i'm suranjana tewari. prepare for 90 days of red sea disruptions. that's what shipping advisers are warning clients, following the recent attacks on ships by iran—backed houthi rebels. beyond supply chain disruptions and consumer goods, one sector that's been for him the heat is oil. the price of brent has climbed about 6% since the weekend, with many energy giants like bp having to stop transporting crude through the crucial waters. overnight, oil prices have dipped — a slight reprieve. but will it last? rebecca babin is a senior energy trader at cibc private wealth. she gave me her predictions.

i think the concern right now is really kind of concentrated on the longer shipping time. the market is not pricing in that we actually lose barrels from the market as a result of what is happening in the suez canal. what it is concerned with right now and the reason it has risen 6% is because the shipping costs associated with travelling around the southern tip of africa to reach its destination adds around 15 days of travel time. it increases freight costs. and it has increased insurance costs. so that is what the market is pricing and looking at this point. the market has not entered a panic mode, as we've seen in the past with other geopolitical events, where it starts to price in supply is lost from the market.

right now, it is a logistical re—routing, what we are seeing, and not kind of that panic and fear that we are going to lose barrels. that obviously can change very rapidly, and we have seen —— that obviously can change very rapidly. the venezuelan president nicolas maduro has welcomed back alex saab, a close ally who was being held in the united states facing money laundering charges. he's accused of siphoning off some $350 million venezuela he's accused of siphoning off some $350 million from venezuela that involved bribing venezuelan government officials. but as part of the prisoner swap, venezuela also returned to the fugitive malaysian businessmen leonard glenn francis to the us. known as fat leonard, he's accused of masterminding a massive corruption scandal here in asia. it's a remarkable story. let's get the details with tom wright, who made the podcast fat leonard. great to have you on the programme. first, if you can, give us a brief overview of

what fat leonard is accused of? fat leonard, leonard glenn francis, was accused of bilking the us navy for least $135 million over decades. he was a contractor, the people food, fuel and security into ships, and after september 11, he made huge amounts of money by overcharging the navy. he would put defensive rings around, stop al-qaeda attacks, steel drums and charge millions of dollars for it. the reason he got away with it is he was also helping out senior navy officers, he was giving them crystal champagne, rolex watches, he was hosting parties for them, watches, he was hosting parties forthem, involving for them, involving prostitutes, and forthem, involving prostitutes, and so this whole scheme went on for years and years because navy officers would sign off on these bills that leonard would pass through which were basically inflated. leonard was brought down in 2013 when a navy wife whose

husband had been corrupted talks to the navy investigative body and they investigated it and he was arrested and then pleaded guilty. he then did a podcast with me a couple of years ago, when we smuggled a microphone to him in home detention, san diego, because he was very angry with what he saw as a cover—up in the navy. he thought the us admirals involved with them were getting off and they were only going after lower—level people. he then a year ago, just over a year ago, then a year ago, just over a yearago, escaped then a year ago, just over a year ago, escaped detention coming to mexico and was arrested in venezuela, where he is being sent back from. it is is being sent back from. it is an extraordinary _ is being sent back from. it is an extraordinary story, - is being sent back from. it is an extraordinary story, and really looks bad for the us navy, doesn't it? when you interviewed fat leonard, what did he say about all of the whole situation? figs did he say about all of the whole situation?— did he say about all of the whole situation? as i said, leonard — whole situation? as i said, leonard was _ whole situation? as i said, leonard was furious, - whole situation? as i said, i leonard was furious, because what he thought was he had pleaded guilty to all of this that i've just described and then got cancer, he was allowed out of jail in

then got cancer, he was allowed out ofjail in san diego, into home detention, was wearing a bracelet, and ankle monitoring bracelet, and ankle monitoring bracelet, and ankle monitoring bracelet, and he watched, and i agree with him, as admiral after admiral who were involved with him were not taken to court criminally. if you look at who was taken to court in the us, it was more low—level officers. i think 30 or so people were charged, bunch did jail time, people were charged, bunch did jailtime, and the people were charged, bunch did jail time, and the recent court cases of a number of other officers have collapsed, and so leonard then escaped, he managed to get over the border into mexico, he got down to venezuela and he almost got to russia. he was trying to board a plane to russia when he was arrested by the venezuelan authorities and now is being brought back to the us for sentencing. he has already pleaded guilty so he has to be sentenced in san diego. find sentenced in san diego. and what is expected _ sentenced in san diego. and what is expected to - sentenced in san diego. and what is expected to happen? how long is he expected to be sentenced for? he long is he expected to be sentenced for?— long is he expected to be sentenced for? he could get decades in _ sentenced for? he could get decades in jail. _ sentenced for? he could get decades in jail. the - sentenced for? he could get decades in jail. the fakie - decades injail. the fakie broke out of home detention and

escaped is terrible for him. he was a cooperating witness for many, many years. as i said, the reason he did the podcast with us, the fat leonard podcast, was he wanted to get his story out, which was, it was notjust me corrupt, there was notjust me corrupt, there was the us navy. this is happening post 9/11, when there were gushes of military spending available, and still is today in the us military, and that is the moon money that leonard cleaned off and lots of contractors do cream off. the guy who replaced leonard, another contractor, also got arrested in the us, so this is arrested in the us, so this is a big problem in the us military industrial complex. tom wright on that us venezuela prisoner swap. thank you very much for your time. some other news 110w. a number of us news outlets are reporting the heads of entertainment giants warner brothers and paramount have met for several hours to discuss a potential buyout.

sources originally told axios a deal would likely involve warner brothers buying either paramount global or its parent company. neither company has commented yet. turning to china now and the beauty industry, which is the second largest market in the world. french giant l'oreal established itself in china back in 1997 and now has 26 brands in its portfolio. we caught up with fabrice megarbane, who oversees the china business, and asked about market outlook as well as the role of artificial intelligence in its future plans. so we've been in china for the past 26 years and have been witnessing the development of this market. today, the market in china is the second largest in the world, and our business here in china is also the second largest business in the world. so we've been growing in china and, i have to say, with china. we've seen the consumer also changing a lot in terms of behaviour. i have to say they're becoming

very, very educated. you know, they spend a lot of time reading about beauty, about ingredients, about products. they also develop certain knowledge in terms of choosing also the right product for them inside their more complex routines. and they are very connected and extremely savvy when it comes to beauty tips, beauty routines — and i have to say, particularly the young ones. we've seen — and that's probably very specific to china — we've seen the young consumers, the gen z, as we call them, extremely beauty addicts, in terms of choosing the best quality, the best innovation and connecting with brands all over china. looking at the generative ai that is coming in, we're obviously seeing the application in beauty, but we always have our ethical and value frames, you know, to have a transparent and authentic communication with our consumers.

in china, there is a lot of chatbots interacting with consumers when it comes to online sales, during big festivals, and i think the capacity today to train this chatbot to be even better, in terms of learning how to answer consumers, is also at the heart of bringing a better service to consumers and being able to address, you know, a very big number of demands in a very short period of time. we have to co—work with the ecosystem, contribute also to the ecosystem. and this is where i believe, in china, there is a very complex and developed innovation ecosystem from mainstream to downstream. so i'm speaking about, obviously, partners and retailers, but also some raw material partners, where we can really work together in order to develop further our business here in china.

the bangladeshi prime minister, sheikh hasina, has launched her campaign for a fifth term in office. she's told a rally that if re elected, she'll turn bangladesh into a developed nation. under her rule, bangladesh has witnessed unprecedented economic growth, but rights groups have accused her government of human rights abuses. thousands of people have taken to the streets of buenos aires in the first big protest against the new argentine government's economic shock policies. the march, led by groups that represent the unemployed, made its way to the plaza de mayo in the centre of the capital. argentina's new president, javier milei, has announced even more economic measures to revive the economy. something he called his first step to revive the economy. that's it for this edition of asia business report. thanks for watching. bringing you different stories from across the uk. i was fat for 20 years. i needed something more to break that relationship between overeating and overindulgence. liz says she's been overweight

for most of her life, and when she started hearing about a weight loss jab that suppresses your appetite, she instantly wanted it. one of my friends had lost, i think, 11 stone herself using saxenda, and she'd posted her before and after and it was just so radical. so i went online and you can buy it from many pharmacies. in undera year, she lost ten stone. when you hear about the shortage for diabetes patients, liz, does it make you want to stop using it? it would personally make me think twice of using it if i thought i was taking it away from a patient with diabetes. and it's that shortage of saxenda, also known as glp—1, that has local gps worried. we're still having some difficulty getting the glp—i medication for our diabetes patients. there are people who really need it for their health, either with significant obesity or with diabetes. they do have quite significant side effects. so they should really be used only with a proper consultation

with a doctor and not online or from somebody on the internet, where it really is dangerous. for more stories from across the uk, head to the bbc news website. hello, i'm levi with the catch up. first, two teenagers, a boy and a girl, have been found guilty of murdering 16—year—old brianna ghey in a park near warrington in february. brianna was stabbed 28 times after being lured to the park by someone she believed to be herfriend. the trial heard that the guilty teens, named only as x and y for legal reasons, had a fascination for murder, violence and torture and wrote a handwritten list of people they wanted to kill. if you've been affected by any of this, you can get help and support on bbc action line. some other stores now. a rimmel london advert has been banned for playing on young girls' insecurities.

it featured an ex—love islander putting on make—up and said, "get ready to slay the back—to—school season." the advertising standards authority said the ad implied that girls were more likely to succeed at school that they wore make—up. and a new covid variant is on the rise. thejn.1 variant has been found in the uk, the us and china, but the risk to the public is currently low. some good news now. an eight—year—old girl has been crowned best female player at the european blitz chess championships. bodhana, from harrow in north—west london, scored 8.5 out of 13 and even defeated an international master. she's been playing since she was five and said she felt proud of her new title. and time to leave you with ten seconds of christmas. look at this festive tractor parade making its way down a country road in east suffolk. it raised thousands of pounds for charity as well as bringing festive cheer to the community.

you're all caught up now. have a good night! hello, i'm olly foster. here's what's coming up for you on sportsday. klopp hails the kop as liverpool score five in the league cup

against west ham. nuno espirito santo is back in the premier league — can he stop forest's slide down the table? and we meet the brothers hoping to face each other at the olympics, competing for different countries. the liverpool manager jurgen klopp said it was "a top performance from start to finish" after reaching the league cup semifinals. they only led 1—0 at half—time but thrashed west ham 5—1 at anfield. curtis jones scored twice after the break. there were also goals from szoboszlai, gakpo and salah.

the draw for the semi—finals was made after the game