the devastating consequences from the politically—charged war in the gaza strip spills over into the business community. plus, travellers continue to spend big, undeterred by the high cost of living. we ask why, and where. hello and welcome to asia business report. i'm steve lai. we begin this programme with the war in middle east. in the months since hamas�* surprise attack on israel, which killed more than 1,000 people, the death toll on both sides have continued to rise. israeli bombardments have killed more than 21,000 people on the gaza strip, according to the hamas—run health ministry. now companies perceived to be supporting israel are facing boycotts in the middle east and elsewhere. as the bbc�*s michelle fleury explains. some major western brands have found themselves hit by a grassroots, often unplanned boycotts because

of their stance on the israel—palestine conflict. this includes mcdonald's. the burger chain became a target after photos and videos on social media showing franchise stores in israel giving away thousands of free meals to the members of the israeli military. this resulted in calls to boycott the brand, from those angered by israe�*ls military response in gaza. owners in muslim—majority countries such as kuwait, malaysia and pakistan put out statements distancing themselves. in a message on linkedin, mcdonald's ceo chris kempczinski wrote that the burger chain is "experiencing "a meaningful business impacted due to the war "and associated misinformation. "all of this in the middle east and beyond because of "the war in gaza." he added, "this is disheartening and "ill—founded," pointing that many of the restaurants are operated by local owners. he didn't elaborate on the scale of the impact, but mcdonald's has around 2,000 restaurants in the region.

it isn't the only global brand to face controversy over its response. 0thers include starbucks and unilever, showing how tough it is to navigate such a politically charged conflict. the consequences of that war have, as we've reporting, also spilt over into the red sea. the attacks on ships passing through the waterway by the iran—backed houthi militants have drawn condemnation by the head of the un's maritime 0rganisation. it's as secretary general arsenio dominguez said there would be negative repercussions from the situation. he was speaking to our transport correspondent, katy austin. it is concerning. of course, we all want an ideal war where we don't have this geopolitical situation or negative affects. notjust on shipping, but on everything in society. trading has a pattern. and the safety of the seafarers is paramount, as well as the ships and the goods we carry out.

as we have spoken on other incidents, like covid, we have seen immediately the negative repercussions that it has when shipping gets affected. we are indispensable when it comes to global trade and it is important to also recognise that in order to maintain stability in a war that is going through some challenges. and the longer it goes on, the more worrying? the more worrying it will become. we will continue to focus on the solutions, particularly with regions in the area, but of course, the sooner we can bring all the participants on the table, having those difficult but necessary conversations to de—escalate and bring this to a close, the better. the sooner we go back to the normal shipping trade, safeguards to seafarers of course, who provide a great service for the world. in other business news making headlines this morning, peloton has teamed up with tiktok as part of a strategy to shed its image as a bike company, turning itself into a sports company. the company, which sells stationary bikes and

treadmills, grew in popularity during the pandemic when people were in lockdown. that growth has now slowed, with peloton losing 30,000 members in thejuly to september quarter last year. it's now trying to leverage tiktok�*s younger audience. the new partnership will create a fitness hub on the chinese—owned social media platform, featuring fitness videos in collaboration with content creators. it is not the only one turning to tech to get people to spend more. retailers are experiencing a lull after a series of sales at the end of last year. there was the singles�* day sales, then cyber monday, black friday sales. for more on how they plan to do that, ruthjessie from advertising services firm miq. generative ar is a huge opportunity for marketers and advertisers.

personalisation, be it in terms of colours orfonts or even iterations of copies. it then allows for personalisation. so a mum versus a father might have different personas and responses creatives and to different types. having ai allows for that rapid creation iteration of different types of creatives that can draw in consumers. and it's notjust a promotion scheme. if it is just promotions, it cuts into bottom lines. i'm sure a lot of advertisers are pretty shy about that. to get your reaction to the red sea, the prospect that could increase inflation. and the impact on consumers and retailers? it is a rising concern for consumers the rising cost of living. data is showing asked consumers are not letting up on spending. there has been pressure and they're expecting the same thing for less. we're just a few days into the new year. give us your outlook. we still feel very

positive about this year. we've seen the economy recover in the last quarter in terms general consumer spend and in the region and speaking with different counterparts from specifically thailand and indonesia, these emerging markets are excited about the recovery. one of the things many people spend on despite the high inflation is travel. where is the growth in asia from? we got some answers from alan watts, asia pacific president at hilton. asia has become really interdependent on asia. thais into japan as an example, indonesians into singaporeans. malaysians into koreans. so there is an interconnectivity with a pan—asian traveller that is at the fundamental level driving what has been pent—up travel demand.

if we look at hotel occupancies, they're back to 2019, and that's without the mass travel of china. less time was on china, it was 125 million outbound trips. this year, it's less than 25% of that. if times are good at the moment, that business is still to come. we stay really close to it. china consumer confidence is something, if you're in the industry, something you watch like a hawk. we haven't seen any storm clouds on the horizon. year on year, china consumer demand domestically has been fantastic. it was the best golden week ever. we expected the best chinese new year ever. early inquiries for china outbound is really going to be the story of �*24 and �*25. that slow surge of the chinese market coming back again. whether you put that down to savings over the pandemic or the general transition of the chinese consumer

from products to services to experience certainly within travel and tourism, that market has a positive outlook. you think of the gdp rates and the growth rates of southeast asia as an example — vietnam, thailand, malaysia, indonesia. the rising wealth in those countries, the entry—level consumers, that will fuel the next travel boom. it's our hope and desire for them to join us and stay in our entry—level brands. as they are successful in their career, they can move up the brand chain, join our loyalty programmes and move up. gen z, or the younger generation, like customers, need to be attracted and communicated to in a way they prefer. what werejob as what were job as a newspapers have become tiktok videos.

what's really important about the new generation is they want to integrate work into their life. we've been pioneering gig working so people can work at different hotels in different cities — injapan, and china, and australia. it's been really helpful because that generation wants to work when they want to and they don't when they don't. after a hectic year in 2023, india's listings market could expect an even busier 202a. some of the country's most talked—about start—ups, including those valued at over $1 billion, are preparing for a share sale. 0ur india business correspondent, nikhil inamdar, has the details. food delivery giants and retailers, just some of the names that are likely to debut in india's booming stock market this year. some 60—odd companies raised more than $6 billion through ipos in 2023, and that figure is expected to significantly go up in 202a. india's market sentiment

is flashing green right now, with the benchmark sees record gains in recebt months. the expectations of the narendra modi government for the third term has excited primary markets as it means business continuity and political stability. the number of stock market investors in india has surged last year as well, growing 22—odd percent. that along with rich evaluations and a number of ipos being oversubscribed last year is pushing companies to strike while the iron is still hot. nikhil inamdar, bbc news, mumbai. he will be keeping an eye on that throughout the year. that's it from this edition of asia business report. have a great weekend.

voice-over: bbc news - i bringing you different stories from across the uk. grace loves drawing, it helps her relax. she has autism and there are key items that help her regulate her emotions at home in bradford and at school. her phone and tablet are both crucial. i can take my mind off stuff, i can watch videos, it keeps me distracted. but these devices get broken regularly when grace gets agitated. if my phone has got the slightest crack in it, i don't like how it looks. it stresses me out. it is too much for me to think about. and my clothes, it is the same. i like stuff like this and stuff like that i don't like because it itches my arms. the costs quickly mount up for mum charlotte. breaking her ipad, - broken phones, another one isjumping on the bed, shel doesn't know her own strength. we have certain i clothes she likes. we buy them in bulk.

she eats certain foods - and you have to make sure you get that certain . food at certain times. obviously at the moment with the cost of living, i everything is going up. it is a worry thinking - about where does the money comes from? where can i get the money from? what can i not spend - money on this week to get what we need to get? voice-over: for more - stories from across the uk, head to the bbc news website. hey, i'm steven with the catch up. tonight — arsenal's knife crime appeal. littler�*s big news. and will britney gimme more more music? but first, there has been so much talk about when the next general election will happen and when we get to decide who runs the country. well, the prime minister has given a pretty big hint today. rishi sunak says his assumption is that it will be in the second half of the year.

labour has accused him of dithering and delaying while the country wants change. next, a plan by arsenal to tackle knife crime in london. if you're watching their fa cup match against liverpool on sunday, you might notice their players wearing a white kit. a bit like this. it's part of the no more red campaign, and the aim is to keep young people safe from crime through safe spaces and job opportunities. a few other stories now — and we've all been a bit amazed by 16—year—old darts player luke littler, and now he's been chosen to play in this year's premier league. he might have lost last night's world championship final, but still earns 200 grand. not a bad start to the new year. new year, but no new music from britney any time soon. there have been reports she's working on an album, but in an insta post, she says the news is trash and that she'll never return to the music industry. and time to leave you with 10 seconds of elephant recycling. take a look at these guys at berlin zoo having a good old nibble on any

unwanted christmas trees. they are demolishing them. i was a bit like this with the selection boxes over christmas, to be fair. you're all caught up. have a great night.

hello, welcome to sportsday. i'm paul scott at the bbc sports centre. here's what's coming up. var controversy once again — dominic calvert—lewin sees red, as everton draw 0—0 at crystal palace in the fa cup. declan rice tells us of his pride in arsenal's attempts to tackle knife crime in london, ahead of their fa cup tie with liverpool. i am obviously in a fortunate position where i have become a footballer, and i was that young kid once that look up to people like myself. it's an honour. and a smashing return to action — rafael nadal is through to the quarterfinals of the brisbane international.