identity crisis, as the presidential election approaches in taiwan, some are asking about the island's past and future. mystery beneath the waves, scientists discover new details about the life and family habits of sperm whales. live from our studio in singapore, this is bbc news. it's news day. 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 2—month state of emergency is now in force. will grant sent this report from the city of guayaquil. he told me the mood on the ground. mixed emotions in this city, as you can imagine. obviously, relieved that a day of violence came to an end, that the police managed to restore order in that television station you mentioned in the city university, where gunmen stormed the building. but there were also bomb attacks across the city. schools were shut and businesses were closed. fear was spread, notjust through

the city but across ecuador. really, this was a moment that was completely unprecedented in terms of gang violence, not just for guayaquil but the entire country itself. viewers in ecuador watched in disbelief as masked and armed gang members entered a tv channel and took hostages. all was televised live. they shot whenever can man in the leg. broke the arm of another ones. 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 shutdown and widespread rioting inside ecuador�*s prison. in response,

president daniel noboa called a state of emergency and imposed a curfew. by decree, he designated 22 terrorist organisations and ordered the military to, as he put it, neutralised them. translation: we are practically living in a state of— war against terrorism. these are not organised crime groups. they are terrorists financed by drug trafficking, trafficking in people, organs and arms. president boa says ecuador is now engaged in an explosion... in truth, the storm which has turned ecuadorfrom one of in truth, the storm which has turned ecuador from one of the safest nations in latin america to one of the most violent, has been brewing for years. specifically, this man, guayaquil, alias peta, is part of the reason ecuadorfinds itself on the brink of an

eternal war. itself on the brink of an eternalwar. is itself on the brink of an eternal war. is the leader of a gang called los choneros and escaped his prison cell shortly before his transfer to a high security wing. two prison guards have been arrested for allegedly helping him please. the gangs are controlled from the prisons. even behind bars, guayaquil rang his organisation without interference from authority. without interference from authority-— without interference from authori . ~ authority. translation: people are scared- _ authority. translation: people are scared. that _ authority. translation: people are scared. that closing - authority. translation: people are scared. that closing store. i are scared. that closing store. there is no security. they are afraid gangs will come and boot everything. pm afraid gangs will come and boot everything-— everything. an iron fist has been used _ everything. an iron fist has been used on _ everything. an iron fist has been used on gangs - everything. an iron fist has| been used on gangs before. everything. an iron fist has i been used on gangs before. it did little to break the gangs�*s stronghold on the nation or halt its bloodshed. we saw hostages at the top of that piece were released unharmed, still the situation is unfolding in terms of prison officers. there are more than 120 prison officers and other

members of staff being held in a number of different facility. extremely frightening, extremely worrying for families of course. the prison has made comment on this and his basic position as their stash hostagetaking is that dirty part of or but he and his administration are not prepared to step back on a hard—line policy against ecuador�*s drug crimes. i guess this is a big test for president boa who only took office two months ago. it really is. he is ecuador's really is. he is ecuador�*s youngest is a president atjust 36 years old. it is a huge thing to unfold in the first weeks and months of his presidency. his argument is that what has happened, this waiver criminality and this wave of drug—related violence, is not an accident, rather it is not an accident, rather it is in response to the harder policies he taken within prisons, trying to break up

gangs and make conditions harsher. there are a lot of people who would say that there was some indication that something terrible was going to happen in ecuador because this violence has been building and building. nevertheless, they did not expected be quite so large or quite so a co—ordinated, apparently co—ordinated, apparently co—ordinated across the country. co-ordinated across the country-— co-ordinated across the count . . , ., country. that was will grant reporting — country. that was will grant reporting bear. _ here in the uk, 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. political addo—carr chris mason has more. —— political editor. 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've 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've 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 to 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. but i think we also still need to listen to the victims. in terms of those that have their convictionsj overturned, who have died,

will their estates be - able to access - the compensation? yes, the government says, theirfamilies 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.

the usn edge navies repelled what they say was the biggest houthi attack on the red sea. you, uk defence secretary says he has no doubt iran is heavily behind the attacks and says actions will come if they do not stop. several major shipping companies have started taking major detours to avoid the red sea which could lead to supply chain problem. it comes as us secretary of state antony blinken starts to wrap up his trip through the middle east, as there were concerns about the conflict spreading through the conflict spreading through the region. for more on this, here is our correspondent in beirut. antony blinken continues with his visit to the middle east someone of his messages this violence needs to be contained to prevent a wider regional conflict. and he had a warning to houthi rebels in yemen who have been attacking shipping vessels in the red sea. he said there will be consequences if those attacks

don't stop. he also said iran needs to stop the support that it has given to the houthis for those attacks. there was a similar message from the british. the defence secretary who said iran was not only providing weapons to the houthis but also intelligence and information for those attacks to be carried out, attacks to be carried out, attacks that have caused major disruption to commercial shipping in the red sea. antony blinken also had talks with the palestinian authority president in the occupied west bank. there were some familiar topics discussed. he reaffirmed the us position in support of the creation of a palestinian state, alongside israel. something that has been opposed by the current israeli administration and the israeli prime minister benjamin netanyahu. mr blink two also talked about the need for a

reformed palestinian authority, dr biden administration's scpo playing a role in gaza after the war is over. it is not clear how this would work and there have been concerns amongst palestinian authorities who don't want to be seen as being driven into gaza on the back of an israeli tank, as they put it. in gaza, the israeli military has continued to attack central and southern areas of the territory despite repeated pleas by american officials to move to a more targeted approach in its war against hamas in gaza and reduce the number of civilian casualties. around the world and across the uk, this is bbc news. bbc news. bring you different stories from across the uk. part of the 20 will have to be a giant lorry part for freight waiting to cross the channel

pretty much permanently. new checks are due to be introduced for people entering the eu outside the block including the uk, leading to this morning. the first step is that you will have your fingerprints taken and also a facial biometric. that happens the first time you register for the entry exit system. the big problem is how on earth do you get people to do that safely and in a fashion which is not going to come up can four weeks? eurotunnel reckons it will add an extra 5— seven minutes per car. it is increasing fivefold the number of lanes for passengers to be checked. but the port of dover has very little room for additional infrastructure and when things go slowly, the impact on the rest of cans can be huge. ——kent you alive with bbc news. taiwan will choose a new president this coming weekend in an

election that beijing 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. our asia correspondent rupert wingfield—hayes reports. there was a time when statues 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. this 94—year—old isn't happy about what's being done to the legacy of his former leader. as a young soldier, fan led china with chang in 19119. a young soldier, fan led china with chang in 1919. but he's 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.- are the same. then, we can achieve unification. the man tried to turn _ achieve unification. the man tried to turn taiwan - achieve unification. the man tried to turn taiwan into - achieve unification. the man tried to turn taiwan into a i tried to turn taiwan into a mini version of the china he'd left behind. people here were taught there was no such thing as being taiwanese. this enorm ous statue dominates. but the plan to turn it ultimately failed. today, around 70% of people here say they are taiwanese, not chinese. this 84—year—old is one of them. he spent ten years in this prison for supporting taiwan independence. in all, around 140,000 taiwanese were locked up 140,000 taiwanese were locked up for opposing the rule. john says he always felt taiwanese, and his years in prison only strengthened that belief. translation: i don'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. its that's howl see it. its election _ that's howl see it. its election time, - that's howl see it. its election time, and - that's how i see it. its election time, and people here are, again, facing those questions. who are they? what relationship should they have with china? but today, no—one, not even the old nationalist party is campaigning for unification. translation: yeah, i'm taiwanese. but my ancestors come from china. we have the same blood. come from china. we have the same blood-— same blood. and what about unification? _ unification? translation: i want us to be good friends. we can both make money together.— money together. taiwan is very different from _ money together. taiwan is very different from china. _ money together. taiwan is very different from china. it - money together. taiwan is very different from china. it has - 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 they are and how to live, and the vast majority don't want that to change.

now to the us with angry scenes in congress after president biden's son, hunter, unexpectedly turned up at a hearing that was deciding whether he should be charged with contempt. he's refused to comply with a subpoena to give testimony to a republican committee which is investigating whether his father corruptly profited from his father's business dealings. the evidence may be used as a future impeachment trial. do you plan on testifying today? do you plan on testifying toda ? , , , , do you plan on testifying toda? ,, ,, today? this surprise appearance was very much _ today? this surprise appearance was very much about _ today? this surprise appearance was very much about being - today? this surprise appearancel was very much about being seen, not heard. hunter biden insists he will testify, but only if the committee let him do it in public. the committee let him do it in ublic. �* �* , public. hunter biden's wilful refusal to — public. hunter biden's wilful refusal to comply _ public. hunter biden's wilful refusal to comply is - public. hunter biden's wilful refusal to comply is a - public. hunter biden's wilful. refusal to comply is a criminal act. it constitutes contempt of congress and warrants referral to the appropriate united states attorney's office for prosecution as prescribed by the law. deliberately sitting front and centre, hunter biden enraged the republicans who want to

hold him in contempt. mr; the republicans who want to hold him in contempt. my first auestion hold him in contempt. my first question is— hold him in contempt. my first question is - _ hold him in contempt. my first question is - who _ hold him in contempt. my first question is - who bribed - hold him in contempt. my first. question is - who bribed hunter question is — who bribed hunter biden to be here today? that's my first question. second question — you're the epitome of white privilege, coming into the oversight committee, spitting in ourface, ignoring a congressional subpoena to be deposed. a congressional subpoena to be de osed. ~ ., a congressional subpoena to be deosed. ~ ., . , ., a congressional subpoena to be deosed. ., . , ., . a congressional subpoena to be deosed. ., . . ., deposed. who wants to hear from hunter, deposed. who wants to hear from hunter. right _ deposed. who wants to hear from hunter, right now, _ deposed. who wants to hear from hunter, right now, today? - hunter, right now, today? anyone? _ hunter, right now, today? anyone? come on. who wants to hear— anyone? come on. who wants to hear from _ anyone? come on. who wants to hear from hunter?— hear from hunter? let's 'ust question fl hear from hunter? let's 'ust question him i hear from hunter? let's 'ust question him now, i hear from hunter? let'sjust question him now, argued . question him now, argued democrats, who enthusiastically joined the beligerent grand standing. joined the beligerent grand standinu. . , joined the beligerent grand standin. . , . , , standing. excuse me, apparently ou're standing. excuse me, apparently you're afraid _ standing. excuse me, apparently you're afraid of _ standing. excuse me, apparently you're afraid of my _ standing. excuse me, apparently you're afraid of my words. - you're afraid of my words. hunter leaving the hearing, infuriated some members, even more than his dramatic arrival. i think it's clear and obvious for everyone watching this hearing today that hunter biden is terrified of strong conservative republican women. his realfear, says the president's son, is that any testimony given behind closed doors would be selectively leaked by political opponents

of his father. the leaked by political opponents of his father.— of his father. the republican chairs today _ of his father. the republican chairs today then _ of his father. the republican chairs today then are - chairs today then are commandeering in an unprecedented resolution to hold someone in content who offered to publicly answer all offered to publicly answer all of their proper questions. the question there is — what are they afraid of? question there is - what are they afraid of?— question there is - what are they afraid of? leaving, hunter said as little _ they afraid of? leaving, hunter said as little as _ they afraid of? leaving, hunter said as little as possible, - said as little as possible, satisfied he had made his point just by turning up. now, in england and wales, police figures show that young people taking nude pictures are contributing to a rise in sexual offences committed by children. more than half of all reports of child abuse cases named someone under the age of 18 as a perpetrator. this website created by students in 2021 was a turning point, police say. 2021 was a turning point, police say-— 2021 was a turning point, police say. 2021 was a turning point, olice sa . , . . ~ ., police say. he blackmailed me into sending — police say. he blackmailed me into sending him _ police say. he blackmailed me into sending him nude - police say. he blackmailed me. into sending him nude pictures. school children began revealing the sexual pressure they face from other children. he

the sexual pressure they face from other children.— from other children. he kept sendin: from other children. he kept sending me _ from other children. he kept sending me photos- from other children. he kept sending me photos and - from other children. he kept i sending me photos and asking from other children. he kept - sending me photos and asking if i would have sex with him. including to appear nude. but these accounts are from two years ago. i these accounts are from two years ago-— these accounts are from two earsauo. , , , years ago. i said yes, because i didn't want _ years ago. i said yes, because i didn't want to _ years ago. i said yes, because i didn't want to lose _ years ago. i said yes, because i didn't want to lose him. - i didn't want to lose him. they're from the last few months, and the stories keep coming. months, and the stories keep cominu. , ., , coming. he sent them to my famil , coming. he sent them to my family, close _ coming. he sent them to my family, close friends - coming. he sent them to my family, close friends and - coming. he sent them to my family, close friends and my| family, close friends and my school. , , . school. the result is that reported _ school. the result is that reported abuse - school. the result is that reported abuse of- school. the result is that. reported abuse of children school. the result is that - reported abuse of children by children is growing and concerning. and it often involves phones and photos. it's a crime for somebody to take, to make, to share, or distribute an indecent image of a child that is under 18. whether that's in a consensual relationship or not. and it's really important that young people understand that and the consequences of that. because while they may be in that consenting relationship at that time, once that image is shared or uploaded to a platform, it's lost. it or uploaded to a platform, it's lost. .., , or uploaded to a platform, it's lost. , , ., or uploaded to a platform, it's lost. , , . . ., lost. it can be shared among children- _ lost. it can be shared among children. it _ lost. it can be shared among children. it can _ lost. it can be shared among children. it can be _ lost. it can be shared among children. it can be used - lost. it can be shared among children. it can be used to i children. it can be used to blackmail or embarrass. senior officers say the ideas behind this abusive behaviour, most of

it by boys, often come from violent and abusive online available with just, a few clicks. then want the government to back stricter controls. they know that they have to use their discretion when assessing low—level offences by children, because convictions can severely damage their future prospectsment and they know that they can't be parents. the message — we all need to have that uncomfortable conversation with our kids. let's take a look at some other stories in the headlines. one person has been killed and another injured at a ski resort in california. the sheriff's office said there were no further missing persons reported in the avalanche that took place at the avalanche northeast of san francisco. it was not immediately clear what triggered the but heavy snows have been pounding the mountainous area for.

and a spare thought for the people of inovig right up in the north—west territories. for weeks on end, they see no sun light at all. until now, the spectacular sun rise was the first they've seen in 30 days. the people there have held a sun rise festival to celebrate. the european union is falling for alleged irregularities to be investigated after elections went ahead without the lead opposition party there. it saw the prime minister handed a new term. . ., , term. the elections were held amid widespread _ term. the elections were held amid widespread protests - term. the elections were held amid widespread protests by i amid widespread protests by opposition groups and human rights campaigners. with a turnout of just rights campaigners. with a turnout ofjust some 40%. the prime minister is there. there was 15 years and in the first interview following the win,

she said that the election was free and fair. now, the main opposition group, the bangladesh nationalist party, also known as the bnp, who boycotted the polls for the election, called it a sham. they prior to the elections said that they wouldn't participate unless a mutual caretaker government was installed and this was with concerns over fairness and how the election would be conducted. now, the eu have joined the uk and the us with concern over the legitimacy of the elections over the weekend. the uk foreign office said that the lack of participation from all political parties meant that the people of bangladesh did not have a full range of voting options, with the us state department adding — they remain concerned by the arrests of thousands of political opposition members, and by reports of irregularities on election day.— reports of irregularities on election da . , election day. the eu were 'ust the tetest fl election day. the eu were 'ust the tetest te fl election day. the eu were 'ust the latest to add i election day. the eu were 'ust the latest to add to i election day. the eu were 'ust the latest to add to the h the latest to add to the concerns. we have, of course, heard from human rights groups in the run—up to the election. human rights watch mentioned

arbitrary arrest of opposition leaders and activists in their report, and they have, of course, expressed concerns over the last few years in a clamp down of opposition voices in bangladesh. 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 open 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, in what the researchers called a slow and messy process. jon donnison, bbc news. hello there. on wednesday, we were all in the same area of high pressure. but despite that, the amount of cloud we saw from place to place varied a lot. the cloud was at its thickest across eastern scotland and north—east england, where we saw drizzle move in from this sheet of cloud from the north sea. but there was some sunshine. western scotland did ok, and for east anglia

and southern england also there was quite a bit of sunshine around on wednesday, and what a difference the sunshine made to how the weather looked. for example, here in cornwall, barely a cloud in the sky. now, we're going to have the same kind of weather picture with us for thursday, with the cloud varying a lot from place to place. still got a bit of drizzle falling from it, mind you, east scotland around these eastern coastal counties of england, otherwise dry start to thursday, still some frost slowly melting away for southern england and western scotland initially. but it is across these colder parts of the country where we will have the best of the early morning sunshine. and the cloud across the north sea, i think it's going to thin through the day, so i would expect any drizzle to die away, the afternoon looking dry for all of us. cloud will tend to encroach across the midlands east anglia into parts of south—east england, leaving the best of the sunshine probably across central southern england, south west england, southern wales and probably western scotland. again, not doing too badly for some sunny spells. you might see a bit of sunshine as well in northern ireland.

on into friday's forecast, that cloud comes further south again. so east anglia, southern england, a lot cloudier this time, probably more in the way of breaks generally across scotland, northern ireland and probably north—west parts of both england and wales. temperatures give or take around about six degrees, so it is still on the cold side for the time of year. and the weekend has more of the same, really. high pressure stilljust about clinging on. so some cold and frosty mornings, largely dry weather picture with some of you seeing some sunshine, others staying a little on the cloudy side, but it will remain on the cold side. now, beyond that, next week, we get northerly winds diving southwards. they will bring some snow to scotland, i'm sure about that. we could see a weather system move into the cold air, which could bring some snowfall on its northern edge as well across parts of england and wales. but there's still a little bit more uncertainty about that. however, there is plenty of potential to see some disruptive weather with cold, icy and maybe snowy conditions next week.

the us makes along long—awaited decision to allow bitcoin to be part of mainstream investing funds. plus, how artificial intelligence and machine loading up fuelling and

revolution that is transforming india's farms. welcome to asia business report. we begin in the united states where securities and exchange commission has approved the first exchange traded funds that are directly tied to bitcoin. the long—awaited decision was accompanied by a stern warning about risks associated with the asset. ehren dylan moore has more from new york. this decision by the sec was years in the baking 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 crypto currency industry, which has weathered scandal and scepticism. sec chair did not shy away from that in a statement saying while we approve the listing and trading of certain spot bitcoin it pt shares today we did not improve

or endorse bitcoin.