the corrupt malaysian businessman extradited to the us as part of a venezuela prisoner swap. hello and welcome to asia business report. i'm suranjana tewari. prepare for 90 days of red sea disruptions, that is what shipping advisors are warning clients following the recent attacks on ships by iran backed houthi rebels. beyond supply chain disruptions and delays to consumer groups, one sector that has been feeling the heat is oil. the price of brent has climbed about 6% since they began with many energy giants like bp having to stop exporting 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 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. that is what the markets are pricing in and looking at at this point. the market has not entered a panic mode, as we have seen in the past with other geopolitical events,

where it starts to pricing supply is lost from the market. right now it is a logistical rerouting, what we're seeing, and not kind of that panic and fear that we're going to lose barrels. that obviously can change very rapidly. sri lanka says it expects the economy to rise. the world bank just yesterday released an additional $250 million. let's get more with our business correspondent. good to see you. what are the details of sri lanka's economic situation right now? well, this

- the latest — situation right now? well, this - the latest information - situation right now? well, this - the latest information that i — the latest information that we just got regarding the foreign exchange reserves now being filled up is certainly an encouraging signalfor being filled up is certainly an encouraging signal for the sri lankan economy, battling the worst economic crisis. depleting foreign reserves was a major challenge. it was not able to pay for any kind of critical imports. at one point in time, it was importing way more than exporting, and its foreign reserves went to $250 million earlier this year. that was a critical aspect that the sri lankan economy really needed to correct. this is a result of a lot of restructuring of debt, which allowed the imf to review its $2.9 billion bailout package as well, it announced for sri lanka. this is the result of the first round of clearance the first round of clearance the imf has given. so, this is an ongoing process which needs

to carry on for sri lanka to get back on track.- to carry on for sri lanka to get back on track. you mention the imf, get back on track. you mention the m. a — get back on track. you mention the m. a big _ get back on track. you mention the imf, a big amount- get back on track. you mention the imf, a big amount of- get back on track. you mention l the imf, a big amount of money. what else does sri lanka need to get back on track? sri lanka owes countries _ to get back on track? sri lanka owes countries like _ to get back on track? sri lanka owes countries like china - owes countries like china billions of dollars. apart from getting international help, sri lanka is taking its own steps, it's taken measures like increasing taxes, especially for the rich, imposed more taxes on other items. it said in order to raise fresh funds they're looking to restructure some government assets as well. sri lanka was facing the worst economic crisis that led to massive protest, it led to the dismantling of the day's government at that time. the new government has been trying to take these measures to try and correct itself and get back on the path of recovery.

many thanks. now, a number of us news outlets are reporting the heads of warner brothers and paramount have met for several hours to discuss a potential buy—out. sources originally told axios a deal would likely involve warner brothers buying either paramount global or its parent company. neither company has commented yet. to venezuela and president nicolas maduro has welcomed back alex saab, a close ally who has been held in the united states on money laundering charges. he is accused of siphoning off some $350 million from venezuela, that involved bribing government officials. as part of the prisoner swap, venezuela also returned the fugitive malaysian businessman, leonard glenn francis, to the us. known as fat leonard, he is accused of masterminding a massive corruption

scandal here in asia. tom wright made a podcast about him. leonard was furious because he thought he had pleaded guilty to what i have just described. he got cancer and was allowed out ofjail in venezuela. he was wearing an 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. if you look at who was taken to court in the us it was more lower level officers. 30 or so people were charged. a bunch did jail time. the recent court cases of a number of other officers have collapsed. leonard escaped. he tried to board, he went into mexica and then venezuela and he almost got to russia. he was trying to board a plane

to russia when he was arrested by venezuelan authorities and now he has been brought back to the us for sentencing. he has already pleaded guilty. the electric scooter rental company has found for bankruptcy. three months after shares were suspended on the stock exchange. it became the fastest cycle unicorn to hit a company valuation of more than $1 billion. it enjoyed a meteoric rise before coming crashing back down to earth. in 2017 it launched in multiple city with a fair amount of hype. the promised electric scooters, they were good for the planet because they reduce car emissions. that narrative helped fuel its popularity, including with investors. bird was a fastest company to reach $1 billion valuation. that means unicorn status. now though it has

filed for bankruptcy. the company has been kept afloat thanks to a loan while it carries out a turnaround plan where it could sell off some assets. consumers may not notice the difference. bird says it will operate as usual. its operations in canada and europe are not part of the bankruptcy proceedings so they will not be affected. where did everything go wrong? for the e—scooter company, when cities shut down the pandemic, bird's fortunes suffered. as it began to reopen, business started to pick up although it never fully recovered. it capped a remarkable fall from grace for the miami company two years after going public. one year after warning bankruptcy proceedings could be on the horizon and three months after being delisted from the new york stock exchange. and with other electric scooter firms also struggling, it is a sign the buzz around this type of transportation has

evaporated. in the last year, cyber—attacks have closed australian ports, shut down las vegas casinos and prevented a bank from clearing trades. there has been a jump in attacks this year, compared to 2022. that's according to josh kennedy—white from division x global, a consultancy for start—ups. i would love to come on the show one day and say they're going down, but i can't see it happening. they're increasing happening. they�* re increasing in happening. they're increasing in frequency, sophistication and impact, by 25% a year, in all areas, and impact, by 25% a year, in allareas, ransomware, data all areas, ra nsomwa re, data breaches, allareas, ransomware, data breaches, fishing attacks, ddos. the gains are huge and the risk of getting caught are small. it will cost the economy $8 trillion and $10 trillion by 2025. it represents the great

transfer of economic wealth in history. for $10 trillion, you could fund the bbc for years, it's the equivalent of robbing fort knox for a year. we have lots of connected devices, we share information to make our lives easier, and we have prioritised convenience over safety. it's a huge amount of data. as fast as we can build a ten foot wall to protect ourselves, an attacker deploys a 12—foot ladder. ourselves, an attacker deploys a 12-foot ladder.— a 12-foot ladder. thousands of eo - le a 12-foot ladder. thousands of peeple have — a 12-foot ladder. thousands of people have taken _ a 12-foot ladder. thousands of people have taken to - a 12-foot ladder. thousands of people have taken to the - people have taken to the streets of buenos aires in the first big protest against the new argentine government's economic shock policies. 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 eating. that relationship between eatinu . that relationship between eatina. , that relationship between eatin., , that relationship between eatin. , eating. liz says she was overweight _ eating. liz says she was overweight for - eating. liz says she was overweight for most - eating. liz says she was overweight for most ofl eating. liz says she was i overweight for most of her life. when she heard of a weight loss jab that suppressed your appetite, she instantly wanted it. your appetite, she instantly wanted it— your appetite, she instantly wanted it. ., , , wanted it. one of my friends had lost 11 — wanted it. one of my friends had lost 11 stone _ wanted it. one of my friends had lost 11 stone herself. - wanted it. one of my friends had lost 11 stone herself. it | had lost 11 stone herself. it was just so radical. had lost 11 stone herself. it wasjust so radical. i went online and you can buy it from many pharmacies. in under a year, she lost ten stone. when you hear about the storage for diabetes patients, liz, does it make you want to stop using it would personally make me think twice _ would personally make me think twice if— would personally make me think twice if i— would personally make me think twice if i thought i was taking it away— twice if i thought i was taking it away from a person with diabetes. it away from a person with diabetes-_ it away from a person with diabetes. �*, ., , ., ., ., diabetes. it's that shortage of the dru: diabetes. it's that shortage of the drug that _ diabetes. it's that shortage of the drug that has _ diabetes. it's that shortage of the drug that has local- diabetes. it's that shortage of the drug that has local gps i the drug that has local gps worried. ~ �* , ., worried. we're still having some difficulty _ worried. we're still having some difficulty getting - worried. we're still havingj some difficulty getting the worried. we're still having i some difficulty getting the gl p1 medication for our diabetes patients. there's people who really need it for their health, either with significant obesity or diabetes. they have quite significant side effects.

they should only be used with proper consultation with a doctor. and not online where it's really dangerous. for more stories from _ it's really dangerous. for more stories from across _ it's really dangerous. for more stories from across the - it's really dangerous. for more stories from across the uk, i stories from across the uk, head to the bbc news website. hi, i'm levy 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. breanna 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 have been affected by any of this, you can get help and support on bbc actionline. some other stories now. a rimmel london advert has

been banned for playing on young girl's insecurities. it features an ex love islander putting on make—up and said, "get ready to slay the back—to—school season". the advertisers standards authority said the ad implied that girls were more likely to succeed at school if they wore make—up. and a new covid variant is on the rise. thejm.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 has been placing since she was five and said she was proud of her new title. and time now 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 for charity as well as bringing some festive cheer to the community. you are all caught up now. have a good night. hello, i'm 0lly 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 hailed a top performance from start to finish after reaching the league cup semi—finals. they only led 1—0 at halftime 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 and liverpool will face fulham and championship

side middlesbrough will play chelsea.