chris christie ends his bid for the 2024 republican us presidential nomination afterfailing to garner support for his campaign. identity crisis — as the presidential election approaches in taiwan, some are asking about the island's past and future. live from our studio in singapore... ..this is bbc news. it's newsday. hi there, thank you for being with us. we start in ecuador, where soldiers are deployed to the city streets as the president declares war on armed gangs running out of control. the unrest began on sunday when the boss of one of the main drug trafficking gangs escaped from a maximum—security prison. president daniel noboa has

authorised the armed forces to "neutralise" 22 gangs that are listed as terrorist organisations after masked gunmen stormed a tv studio during a live broadcast. a two—month state of emergency is now in force. will grant sent this from the city of guayaquil. viewers in ecuador watched in disbelief as masked and armed gang members entered a state tv channel and held staff hostage — all of it televised live. translation: they shot one of our cameramen in the leg. | broke the arm of another one. they were shooting bullets inside the studio. the police were called and came in minutes. the gang was soon arrested and the hostages released, but the tv station ambush was just part of the descent into chaos. panic as gunmen stormed guayaquil university, explosions around the country, schools and businesses shut down and widespread rioting

inside ecuador�*s prisons. in response, president daniel noboa called a state of emergency and imposed a curfew. by decree, he designated 22 gangs, terrorist organisations and ordered the military to, as he put it, neutralise them. translation: we are practically living in a state of— war against terrorism. these are not organised crime groups, they are terrorists who are financed by drug trafficking, trafficking in people, organs and arms. president noboa says that ecuador is now engaged in an internal armed conflict. but while this explosion of gang violence may have caught the nation off guard, in truth, the storm which has turned ecuadorfrom one of the safest nations in latin america to one of the most violent has been brewing for years. specifically this man.

adolfo macias villamar, alias fito, is part of the reason ecuador finds itself on the brink of an internal war. he's the leader of a gang called los choneros and escaped his prison cell shortly before his transfer to a higher security wing. two prison guards have been arrested for allegedly helping him flee. the gangs are largely controlled from the prisons. even behind bars, macias ran his organisation without interference from the authorities. translation: people - are scared, they are closing all the stores, there is no security. - they're afraid gangsters - will come and loot everything. an iron fist on crime has been used here before, but it did little to break the gangs stranglehold on the andean nation or slow its slide towards bloodshed. will grant, bbc news, guayaquil. with me now is domenica avila—luna, political analyst and researcher at king's college london.

she's currently in the city of cuenca just south—east of guayaquil. thank you forjoining us on the programme. hersleep, what thank you forjoining us on the programme. her sleep, what is the mood where you are after this —— firstly. fix, the mood where you are after this -- firstly.— this -- firstly. a pleasure to lea this -- firstly. a pleasure to plea here- _ this -- firstly. a pleasure to plea here. i'm _ this -- firstly. a pleasure to plea here. i'm happy- this -- firstly. a pleasure to plea here. i'm happy to - this -- firstly. a pleasure to plea here. i'm happy to see| plea here. i'm happy to see today after the declaration of the conflict. having the military in the street has helped a lot to increase the perception of home. this is not to say there are not several elements happening —— perception of calm. yesterday, i tunnel station was assaulted and there were a lot of explosions in different countries, a lot of police officers and security guards inside the prisons. they were

taken as hostages. this is the situation we're facing in the country. but it seems like having a military on the streets and because they have been empowered by the president and chief executive order to target these criminal organisations as military targets themselves, that has helped a lot. it's important to mention that in several parts of the country today, businesses have been shut down. there is very few movement and that's likely why we are also seeing a decrease in the number of incidents reported. but we will see if this is able to last longer.— last longer. crosstalk you mentioned - last longer. crosstalk | you mentioned president last longer. crosstalk - you mentioned president noboa, because he only took office less than two months ago. absolutely, and it's important to mention his mandate is for only a year and a half. he won an extraordinary elections.

he's been very clear that he wants to run for office again. people willjudge him with their votes on where he's able to manage or not. this has been certainly the biggest one that we face in the country, even though we have been facing a lot of security riots and problems with violence in the last three years.— problems with violence in the last three years. how has this came last three years. how has this game leader _ last three years. how has this game leader fito _ last three years. how has this game leader fito gained - last three years. how has this game leader fito gained such| game leader fito gained such power? he game leader fito gained such ower? , ., ., ., power? he is the leader of one ofthe power? he is the leader of one of the biggest _ power? he is the leader of one of the biggest gains, _ power? he is the leader of one of the biggest gains, los - of the biggest gains, los chomeros. it has led him to be, into the institutions, into the political elite, into the economics. that has got a lot of power, and it's also important to mention because of the pandemic and the bad

governance we've had, these institutions have been constantly weakening. he has taken advantage from that. but all the problems are not only because of this group, but also 21 other organisations that are fighting for the territory. ecuador is quite a strategic place because of its geographical location. it facilitates a lot, sending drugs to the us or to europe and other businesses in high demand. a lot of groups are fighting to control the regions on the different channels of distribution.— on the different channels of distribution. the gift of much forjoining — distribution. the gift of much forjoining us. _ distribution. the gift of much forjoining us, domenica. - to the uk, where a scandal involving the post office has dominated the headlines for the past week — thanks to a tv drama. the prime minister has promised new legislation to make sure that hundreds of post office branch managers convicted in one of the biggest miscarriages ofjustice the uk has ever seen are swiftly

exonerated and compensated. a total of 983 sub—postmasters were wrongly given criminal convictions for fraud and false accounting, over a period of around 16 years, after a faulty it system made it look like money was missing. 700 of them were prosecuted by the post office. some went to prison and many lives and livelihoods were ruined. our political editor chris mason has more on the day's developments. four nights of drama on the telly after two decades of injustice. and, just one week later... we come to questions for the prime minister. ..the most high—profile moment of the week at westminster, the start of prime minister's question time. and rishi sunak said... mr speaker, this is one of the greatest miscarriages ofjustice in our nation's history. today i can announce that we will introduce new primary legislation, to make sure that those

convicted as a result of the horizon scandal are swiftly exonerated and compensated. this is the story of westminster transfixed like never before about a scandal over 20 years in the making. it is a huge injustice. people lost their lives, their liberty, and their livelihood, and they have been waiting far too long for the truth, forjustice and for compensation. yes, compensation. yes, justice. itv�*s drama last week is what has provoked what you've just seen in the commons. how did you find that, have you been in there before? no, never been in the chamber before. watching westminster�*s drama today, the director of the series. tell me about this last week. i mean, wow, look at what you have done. it's extraordinary.

it is astonishing. we thought we would hopefully raise awareness and get the story out there and get the story of the victims to a wider audience, but no—one ever thought we would get this sort of reaction and response, and to be here today to see them announce the overturning of the criminal convictions is just mind—blowing. back inside parliament, the beginnings of the detail and scrutiny for the government. too many victims want nothing to do with the british justice system, nothing do with the post office, nothing do with government. they have had enough. we need to keep on the momentum that the itv series absolutely engendered, in press, here, everywhere. i think we also still need to listen to the victims. in terms of those that have their convictions| overturned, who have died, will their estates be able i to access the compensation? yes, the government says, their families will get the money. ministers acknowledge today's decision has big consequences, including the prospect some people who are actually guilty are now paid

more than £500,000. but they believe it's the right call. we will be faced with the dilemma, either the present problem of many people carrying the unjustified slur of conviction, or accept an unknown number of people who have genuinely stolen from their post office will be exonerated or perhaps even compensated. constitutionally, politically, practically, financially, this is a big moment. for the victims, the prospect after so, so long — justice, repayment, clarity. chris mason, bbc news, westminster. former newjersey governor chris christie has dropped out of the race for the 2024 us republican presidential nomination. he made the announcement during a town hall event in the us state of new hampshire.

this is the moment he pulled out of the race. it’s this is the moment he pulled out of the race.— out of the race. it's clear to me tonight _ out of the race. it's clear to me tonight that _ out of the race. it's clear to me tonight that there - out of the race. it's clear to me tonight that there isn'tl out of the race. it's clear to | me tonight that there isn't a path — me tonight that there isn't a path for— me tonight that there isn't a path for me to win the nomination, which is why i'm suspending my campaign tonight for president of the united states _ 0ur reporter will vernon has more from washington. chris christie was the anti—trump candidate, really the only anti—trump candidate. and ever since he launched his campaign last year, you kind of got the impression that perhaps he was running more out of a sense of duty, really, as opposed to any genuine chances of winning. and that's because the other republican candidates in that primary race have more or less refused completely to kind of robustly criticise trump on the campaign trail. now, chris christie hasn't been afraid to. he's criticised donald trump for trying to overturn the 2020 election results, for his more than 90 criminal charges that donald trump faces in four different cases,

for not taking part in the republican tv debates — i mean, the list goes on. and chris christie hasn't been shy, he hasn't been afraid of using that list. now, in his speech tonight in new hampshire, when he announced that he was suspending his campaign, chris christie said that he was pulling out to make sure that, "in no way i enable donald trump to ever be president again". and that is because by staying in the race, he's essentially splitting the anti—trump vote. and he also in that speech attacked the other speech attacked the other candidates for not attacking donald trump, saying that they were treating the former president like voldemort from the harry potter books, saying that they feared that even bringing up his name, he would appear.

and briefly, by him dropping out, which other candidate does this move benefit? well, this is the big question now, isn't it? to which candidate will chris christie's votes go to now? he wasn't very far in the polls. he was only on about three and one half percent nationally. but interestingly, in the state of new hampshire, chris christie was doing rather well. he was on about 13% there. now, you know, we'll all be expecting now some sort of announcement. will he endorse another candidate? the most likely contender for that is nikki haley, the former us ambassador to the united nations. she now is the only candidate who comes close to being an anti—trump voice. so one would assume that chris christie's votes might go to her. and that could be interesting in new hampshire, because donald trump only leads nikki haley by about 12 or 13 points. so, i think all eyes now will be on that state when they go

to the polls in that primary contest on the 23rd of january. there are just four days of campaigning left before the polls open in iowa. and in the next few hours, it could be a make or break moment for nikki haley and ron de santis. the two will face off in de moines for the final presidential republican debate. donald trump, still 30 points ahead, doesn't need to be there of course. and again, he is skipping the debate in favour a town hall with fox news. but right now, nikki haley is riding a wave of momentum. live now to our news reporter bernd debusmann. as we were just hearing from will, chris christie dropping out, but what of the polls showing? figs out, but what of the polls showing?— out, but what of the polls showinu? �* , ., , showing? as you mentioned, they showing? as you mentioned, they show that donald _ showing? as you mentioned, they show that donald trump _ showing? as you mentioned, they show that donald trump has - showing? as you mentioned, they show that donald trump has a - show that donald trump has a very, very commanding lead over mr desantis and mrs haley. that doesn't necessarily mean they can't get anything out of it going into new hampshire. a

strong second—place finish would breathe new life into their complaints after iowa —— in their camp campaign. what have the last few days look like? it's been quite hectic, all the candidates have had various events across the state. donald trump in particular this week and over the weekend. he has a lot of events that quite a lot of people are expected. the crowd is expected to be significantly larger than the ones that we've seen at the events for mr desantis or ms. haley. we've also seen a lot more barbs and insults treated on the airways. it's become a clock slightly more aggressive and you can tell they're grasping for those last caucus goers here in iowa. find grasping for those last caucus goers here in iowa. and we've

been talking _ goers here in iowa. and we've been talking about _ goers here in iowa. and we've been talking about legal - been talking about legal challenges that mr trump faces, but has that affected his popularity at all? it but has that affected his popularity at all? it certainly hasn't affected _ popularity at all? it certainly hasn't affected it _ popularity at all? it certainlyj hasn't affected it negatively. if anything, some of the polls suggest that it's been to his benefit at the polls. i've spoken to some voters who said they feel as if he was being persecuted and that gives them more reason to vote for him as an outsiderfrom what more reason to vote for him as an outsider from what some see as this system that is kind of leaning against the former president. but nothing in terms of his legal battles has had any sort of negative impact whatsoever.— any sort of negative impact whatsoever. �* ., ~ , ., whatsoever. bernd, thank you so much for that _ whatsoever. bernd, thank you so much for that update. _ whatsoever. bernd, thank you so much for that update. he'll - whatsoever. bernd, thank you so much for that update. he'll be i much for that update. he'll be across that debate as it happens. around the world and across the uk. this is bbc news. the london to birmingham stretch of the now—truncated hs2 railway could cost as much as £66 billion alone.

that's almost twice as much as the original estimate for the entire project. the hs2 ltd executive chair said reasons for the cost increase include original budgets being too low, changes to scope, poor delivery and inflation. the parents of a british tourist who died after a helicopter crash in the grand canyon are to receive a £79 million payout. 31—year—old jonathan 0dall was one of five britons, including his new wife, who died after the aircraft crashed and burst into flames in february 2018. a lawsuit brought by his parents said he could have survived had the helicopter been fitted with systems to help prevent the fire. the actor stephen fry has called for an end to the use of real fur in the bearskin caps worn by the king's guard on duties such as guarding buckingham palace.

you're live with bbc news. taiwan will choose a new president this coming weekend, in an election that china has called a choice between peace and war. china considers taiwan part of its own territory and it's been accused of interfering in the vote. but taiwan is a democracy, and its people are free to choose the government they want. 0ur asia correspondent rupert wingfield—hayes reports. there was a time when statues of chang kai shek greeted you wherever you went on this island. today, the generalissimo is a rare sight. hundreds of his statues have been stashed away here at this riverside park, south of taipei. 94—year—old fan shinjong isn't happy about what's being done to the legacy of his former leader. as a young soldier, fan fled china with chang in191l9, but he has never stopped feeling chinese. translation: taiwan is a province. - it is still a part of china.

slowly, the differences between us will narrow until we are the same. then we can achieve unification. chang kai shek tried to turn taiwan into a mini version of the china he left behind. people here were taught there was no such thing as being taiwanese. this enormous memorial to chang kai shek still dominates the centre of taipei, but his project to turn taiwanese people into citizens of china ultimately failed. today, around 70% of people here say they are taiwanese, not chinese. 86—year—old zhang chen is one of them. he spent ten years in this prison for supporting taiwan independence. in all, around 140,000 taiwanese were locked up for opposing chang kai shek�*s rule. zhang says he always felt taiwanese and his years in prison only strengthened that belief. translation: idon't. consider myself chinese. taiwan is already a great

country. _ but due to the influence of the chinese communist party, we can't declare independence. that's how i see it. it's election time and people here are again facing those questions — who are they and what relationship should they have with china? but today, no—one, not even chang kai shek�*s old nationalist party, is campaigning for unification taiwan. translation: yeah, | i'm taiwanese, but my ancestors come from china. we have the same blood. translation: and what about unification? i want us to be good friends. we can both make money together. i taiwan is very different from china. it has dozens of political parties and noisy, energetic elections. people are free to choose who they are and how to live, and the vast majority don't want that to change. rupert wingfield—hayes,

bbc news, in taipei. let's take a look at some other stories in the headlines. russian opposition politician alexei navalny cracked jokes on wednesday in his first court appearance since being transferred to an arctic penal colony, but a judge rejected his latest challenge against his treatment in prison. scientists say they've made a "quantum leap" in understanding how certain diseases like multiple sclerosis and alzheimers evolved and alzheimers evolved by analysing dna of ancient teeth and bones. they say it's linked to genes introduced thousands of years ago by ancient cattle herders and helps explain why ms is around twice as common in the uk and scandinavia compared to southern europe. spare a thought for the people of inuvik, right up in the northwest territories of canada. they live so far north

that, for weeks on end, they see no sunlight at all. until now, this spectaular sunrise was the first they've seen in 30 days. the people there have held a sunrise festival to celebrate. researchers say they've discovered that sperm whales live in human—like clans, with distinctive cultures, and even dialects. the scientists used underwater microphones and drones to examine the sounds and behaviour of the animals. jon donnison has that story. low-pitched clicking. the clicks and clacks of a sperm whale. and, as you might expect from the creature with the biggest brain on the planet, their chitchat has more to it than meets the ear. this latest research, published in the royal society 0pen science journal, found there are at least seven separate clans of sperm whales in the pacific ocean,

each with its own distinct culture and vocal dialect. while the sperm whales sound very simple, their patterns of clicks is a bit like morse code. the two clans we discovered this on, one sounds click—click—click—click and the other sounds click—click—click. . . click. the study also showed the whales use their distinct dialects to communicate and make democratic consensual decisions about where to go. one example saw them take an hour and a half to decide whether or not to make a 90—degree turn, and what the researchers called a slow and messy process. jon donnison, bbc news. an austrian heiress is setting up a group of citizens to decide how to give away much of herfortune. marlene engelhorn has sent out invitations to 10,000 members of the public. 50 will be chosen to

help work out how more than $21 million should be redistributed. she's a descendant of the founder of the german chemical company, basf. she inherited millions when her grandmother died. she has previously called for the wealthy to pay more tax. that is it for this edition of newsday. i'll be back with business news shortly. for now, thanks for watching. hello there. on wednesday, we were all in the same area of high pressure. we'll stay dry thanks to high pressure and there will be some sunshine around towards the southern and western areas. this is been feeding and quite

a few bit of cloud to eastern scotland and eastern parts of england. the odd patch of drizzle at times, too. the breeze is still a feature along north sea coast. where we have the clear skies, it's going to be a cold one. a little less cold. temperatures may be up a degree, but it certainly won't feel like that. as we move through thursday night, we see plenty of cloud feeding into england and wales. it's here where we will see the lowest of the temperatures.

lists cooled further south where they had the cloud. it does allow a lot of cloud around fort central southern and eastern parts of the country. best of the sunshine in scotland and northern ireland and parts of wales, but cold after a very cold start. as we head into the weekend, although southern areas will see some sunshine, we will start to open the floodgates to an are ignored lily. that will feed in plenty of snow showers. it will be largely dry with some sunshine across more central parts of the country. —— an area. stay tuned to the

forecast for some uncertainty on this.

the us makes the long awaited decision to allow bitcoin to be part of mainstream investing funds. plus.. how artificial intelligence and machine learning are fuelling a revolution that's transforming india's farms.

hello, and welcome to asia business report. i'm mariko 0i. we begin in the us, where the securities and exchange commission has approved the first exchange traded funds — tied directly to bitcoin. but the long—awaited decision was accompanied by a stern warning about risks associated with the asset. erin delmore has more from new york. this decision by the sec was years in the making and now it will allow people and institutions to invest in bitcoin almost as easily as they buy stocks. the move could increase demand for bitcoin and legitimacy for the cryptocurrency industry, which has weathered scandal and skepticism. sec chair gary gensler didn't shy away from that in his statement, saying "while we approved the listing and trading of certain spot bitcoin etp shares today, we did not approve or endorse bitcoin". he said that investors should remain cautious about the risks

associated with bitcoin and said the cryptocurrency