hello, and welcome to asia business report. i'm mariko oi. 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 is, quote, "primarily a speculative, volatile asset". while investors and crypto watchers awaited the sec�*s decision, a false tweet was posted on the sec�*s official account a day earlier, saying the etfs had been approved. the sec said its social media account was compromised and an investigation is ongoing. let's stay in the us and head over to las vegas where the consumer electronics show is under way, it's the biggest consumer tech show in the world — our north america technology reporterjames clayton has been trying some of the latest products. there's a lot of weird tech at ces. take this hyundai prototype car that, crab—like, moves sideways into parking spaces. or drone soccer, where the goal is to fly a drone through a doughnut—shaped goal, which is harder than it looks. now start using the left stick, and start moving. ooh!

engines whirr. as you can tell, it takes a little bit of practice to fly. ok, so how would you how would you rate that out of ten? that was about a two. but the big theme of ces this year is al. it's everywhere. this is samsung's section, and probably more than any other company i've seen, they have gone fully on board with al. they have ai fridges, ai vacuum cleaners, even an ai washing machine. now, when you turn it on, you're going to see the ai... oh, so there's like an ai function? exactly. right. and so here, once you go into a different type of flooring, give itjust a second and you'll see that it's going to change. so it's definitely got some more power. ah, right. so you've not pressed anything now? i've not pressed anything. samsung's ai fridge, can detect what food you have and suggest recipes.

elsewhere at the show, an ai mirror made by baracoda can analyse your face and tell you what skincare regime you need. this could be brutal. i'm quitejet—lagged. 0h, "eye bags noticeable." i'vejust got off a ten—hourflight. you don't need to explain to me. i think it's quite good. so imagine it's your personal mirror, all right? so how do i close that? close. and this you're going to see every day, just to make sure that you have all the steps. oh, so, wow.. so it's literally giving me an eye bag routine. exactly. i need cleanser, peptides in my eye cream, a serum and retinol cream ? yes. pretty harsh, but maybe ai is telling me what no—one else would dare to. there is one word of caution about all of these new ai products. two years ago, everyone here was talking about the metaverse. that is definitely not the case this year. it's notoriously difficult to know what's a fad and what's the next new tech trend.

james clayton, bbc news, las vegas. now as you heard there ai is all the rage at ces right now. marc einstein is a tech analyst who's at the fair in las vegas. earlier he told me 2024 is all about how ai will play a larger role in our lives. this year, i think is the year of ai, generative ai is everywhere, all the major announcements are based on al and it's clear that being at the show live and in person i'm a ai is about to play a bigger role in all of our lives. we've heard a lot — role in all of our lives. we've heard a lot about _ role in all of our lives. we've heard a lot about notes - role in all of our lives. we've heard a lot about notes of. heard a lot about notes of chatgpt what do you think ai would be personalized this year? would be personalized this ear? , . ~ year? yes and i think the important _ year? yes and i think the j important announcement year? yes and i think the - important announcement coming about al are about on— device ai, basically what is happening is that ships that process information in devices like smartphones and laptops and

even cars, they are bringing the ai even cars, they are bringing the al on the chip on the device, which means that your data will be processed with al in a more secure and efficient way. speaking of ai, farming in india is seeing a technological transformation. archana shukla reports. for generations, indian farms have been sown and tilled only with traditional know how one category should be with traditional know how. but some, like nitin patel, are trying out something different. with sensor devices on his vineyard that check whether in soil health and uses artificial intelligence to figure out when to water the crops, add fertilizer and tackle pests. he then receives a precise advisory on a mobile app. this vineyard where we are now, it has no ground water sources and we are growing these vines with the water that we purchase from outside tankers.

with the help of this ai data, we are now able to irrigate them only at the crucial stage, and that's helping us to save around 50% of the water that they actually use. we used to give before. bilton india's silicon valley, bangalore by startup fossil agritech. the service has led to a near 25% boost in productivity on crops like grapes and guavas. informed decision—making is only one part of the solution to improve productivity, but weeding out inefficiencies in the existing age old agricultural practices is also crucial. aerial powered robots offer a solution. this one is equipped with precision cameras that scan the ground in real time, programmed to avoid wasteful spraying. the way spraying is done in india is on an acre level and our mission is to boil that down into a plant level decision—making, just by spraying only on the plant.

we are seeing a 56% savings. improved rural digital connectivity and government support for agri—tech start ups has pushed farm innovations. but even now, just 2% cultivators use tech in farming. we really need to enable the digital public infrastructure. and second is going to be public private partnerships. india will always be resource constrained. we possibly are perhaps lowest in the yield level. we possibly are pretty much constrained on finance and insurance services for the farmers. and that's where the gap needs to be filled up with al. data driven agriculture promises profitability, but will need considerable time and investment to reach majority of india's farmers. archana shukla, bbc news, bangalore. now let's turn to the security crisis in the red sea which seems to be escalating. the us and uk have hinted they could take military action against yemen's houthi rebels, after they repelled the largest attack yet

against shipping in the area. the red sea is a strategic waterway for global trade and disruption there could spark inflationary pressures around the world. earlier i spoke to katrina ell from research firm moody's analytics.. i began by asking her how this would affect central banks' plans this year. our expectation is that while, as you say, why last year was about great heights, this year is about start to think about easing monetary policy, our expectation is that many central banks will start to look at delivering rate cuts about midyear. i think it's important to keep in mind that central banks aren't quite there yet because, for many, including korea, inflation is still not back to central target ranges. in korea, inflation has cooled to 3.2% but it really needs to be at 2%

central—bank band, so what they're hoping to do is over they're hoping to do is over the next few months, we will see that sustained but still bumping down trend in inflation that would be enough to deliver a gradual easing cycle. i that would be enough to deliver a gradual easing cycle.- a gradual easing cycle. i want to talk you — a gradual easing cycle. i want to talk you about _ a gradual easing cycle. i want to talk you about inflation - to talk you about inflation which has eased, the situation in the red sea, many economists says that could potentially affect inflation figures as well mount what are you expecting in terms of that geopolitics affecting commerce in asia? �* , . geopolitics affecting commerce in asia? �*, ., , ., in asia? it's a good question, the political _ in asia? it's a good question, the political risk _ in asia? it's a good question, the political risk needs - in asia? it's a good question, the political risk needs to - in asia? it's a good question, the political risk needs to be | the political risk needs to be front of mine, particularly when think and what monetary wallasey and inflationary impacts. but we can see is that russia's invasion of ukraine in early 2022, crystallized how important energy prices are when it comes to inflation and also setting monetary policy. given that we do have increased tensions in the middle east, it is something we need to keep in

mind, particularly given that while we haven't seen an oil price response to date, our exposures and is not we want, it's something to keep in mind because it will have inflationary impacts if we do see a meaning for the supply disruptions energy. turning to interest rates, south korea's central bank will make its latest decision on the cost of borrowing today. and that's it for this edition of asia business report. thanks for watching. bbc news bringing you different stories from across the uk. this agricultural land between wetherby road and the river wharfe could be the site of a new housing development in tadcaster. peter is one of around 300 campaigners against the plan. so this piece of land here covers 35 hectares and gladman developments are proposing to build over 400 houses on it. the water levels are gradually

seeping up onto this land, which would be a disaster to build on. i think it would definitely make the flooding issue worse because they are going to concrete over what is now wetland which can drain through, whereas houses it doesn't drain through, it willjust run off. you can see today it's . completely underwater. so i don't know how- they would propose to build pathways because presumably they would get washed - away on an annual basis. gladman developments declined an interview, but say the planning application for the ii arches development follows over a year of consultation and that there will be measures to manage surface water and increase flood resilience. and all built development is located in a flood zone, one identified by the environment agency as areas of low risk. for more stories from across the uk, head to the bbc news website.

hey, i'm dylan with the catchup. tonight, chaos in ecuador, a calvin klein ad gets banned, and robots making coffee. but first, the prime minister has announced a new law that will clear victims of the post office scandal. more than 700 workers were wrongly prosecuted after faulty software made it look like they'd stolen money. the new law will also compensate victims. many of them say their lives were ruined. next up, armed gunmen threatened a presenter on live tv in ecuador after days of violence. ecuador�*s president declared an emergency on monday after a notorious gangster vanished from prison. i only well has more. police in ecuador say that 13 people have been arrested since that particular attack and that a number of weapons, but also vehicles have been seized in relation to the attack. some other stories now and a calvin klein ad has been

banned after complaints it was overly sexualized. the poster showed a picture of the singer fka twigs. calvin klein said it had been similar to those it had been releasing for years. rapper skepta has apologised and taken down the artwork from his new single after some said it referenced the holocaust. the cover showed men with shaved heads with the title gassed me up, written across one of them. skepta said no offence was meant and the actor stephen fry has backed an animal rights campaign calling for the end of real fur being used in the skin caps worn by the guards at buckingham palace. and finally, it's ten seconds of your future barista. how about this for your morning caffeine fix? adam was unveiled at a tech show in las vegas, and he can take orders and make any drink whatsoever. is it cool or creepy? what do you think? that's it from me. you're all caught up.

hello and welcome to sportsday — i'm gavin ramjaun. liverpool's comeback in the league cup — cody gakpo helps them to victory over fulham at anfield. rory mcilroy says golf needs a world tour to take the game forward. and one of the nfl�*s longest serving coaches leaves his role at seattle,

pete carroll will miss it. that pursuits of the greatness of the moment that you celebrate with everybody, there isn't anything like it. hello and welcome along to the programme. liverpool are step closer to the league cup final — after beating fulham in their first leg semifinal encounter at anfield. it so easily could have been the visitors walking away with the advantage, but three crucial second half minutes sanurgen klopp's side turn the game. the bbc�*s football correspondentjohn murray was watching. liverpool will go to craven cottage as strong favourites, but for much of the first leg it was fulham who led after williams eye—catching, nimble footed opening goal in the 20th minute. liverpool looked like they were missing their absent big name stars, but fulham couldn't take chances to increase their lead.

liverpool upped it in the second half.