shipping crisis in the red sea — we speak to the head of the un's maritime organisation about protecting the industry as attacks continue in the region. japan inflation — stays among central banks 2% target but slow for the second month in a row. hello and welcome to asia business report. i'm mariko oi. we've just learned in the last hour that yemen's houthi movement has targeted american ship in the gulf of aden with naval missiles, according to a spokesman for the group. this is the latest attack in the red sea, one of the the world's most important trade routes. the head of the un s international maritime organisation

has told the bbc that the attacks are one of the biggest challenges the body has ever faced. my colleague aaron heslehurst spoke to the head of the organisation and asked what can be done to stop the attacks. it is one of the biggest challenges.— it is one of the biggest challenges. it is one of the biggest challenues. . , , ., challenges. the reality is that as ou challenges. the reality is that as you mention, _ challenges. the reality is that as you mention, shipping - challenges. the reality is that as you mention, shipping is i challenges. the reality is that as you mention, shipping is a| as you mention, shipping is a global sector. we transport over 80% of global trade. so any actions that are happening out there that actually interrupt the trade will have a negative effect on you, me and on everybody on this planet. we need to work very closely with all the stakeholders with all the member states. we know the agencies, the united nations in particular in order to find practical solutions to a problem we don't want to escalate. problem we don't want to escalate-— escalate. this is not 'ust about their i escalate. this is not 'ust about their concerns]- escalate. this is notjust about their concerns of i escalate. this is not just i about their concerns of the

global economy. there is something like 2 million seafarers out there around the world bringing us all of our goods day in and day out. you're responsible for their well—being and their safety. you are absolutely right. i really want to thank you for raising that specific question. normally we tend to focus on what is happening to ourselves, what is happening to ourselves, what is happening to ourselves, what is affecting us directly. and of course and the trade in the financial aspects of this in the red sea for there is the unsung heroes, the seafarers who are out there day in and day out making all this possible. we need to remember that they are innocent victims of this particular case. and we have to remember that they are seers and we need to find solutions taking into account how all this is on the seafarers without their well—being is paramount. seafarers without their well-being is paramount. when it comes to _ well-being is paramount. when it comes to the _ well-being is paramount. when it comes to the red _ well-being is paramount. when it comes to the red sea - well-being is paramount. when it comes to the red sea how. it comes to the red sea how long is all of this going to last? is the world going to

have to learn to live without a shipping route that has been vital to globalisation and progress over the last 150 years? i progress over the last 150 ears? ~ . progress over the last 150 ears? ~' ., . ., years? i think we have come across crazies _ years? i think we have come across crazies in _ years? i think we have come across crazies in the - years? i think we have come across crazies in the past - years? i think we have come| across crazies in the past and we always find a solution and the way forward. shipping will be always be there. we will continue to supply all the necessary goods that we need around the world. we will not be without shipping. we will find a way for shipping to be resilient, adaptive move forward. turning to japan, where we ve just getting the latest inflation figures for the month of december which shows... it did slow for a second straight month but is reconsidering it will be in no hurry to phase out its monetary stimulus. the investment management company newberg says that something that the bank of japan will take into consideration when he meets next week.

it is lower then the bank of japan's forecast. we will have to ascertain how the governor and committee members will decide on the outlook for cbi going forward. there is some views that the bank will have to lower their forecast. we will have to wait and see. ultimately how that would affect the monetary policy decision, which in our view we think the bank ofjapan will normalise monetary policy going forward. it will be a measured approach. to forward. it will be a measured approach-— approach. to fuel inflation one-way _ approach. to fuel inflation one-way is _ approach. to fuel inflation one-way is to _ approach. to fuel inflation one-way is to increase - approach. to fuel inflation - one-way is to increase wages. i one—way is to increase wages. i guess becausejapan one—way is to increase wages. i guess because japan continues to face a shortage wages have been going out at the same time real wages haven't caught up with rising inflation, has it? that's right. there are large flaws in this market that have yet to see their wages gain

significantly. a lot of large companies are committed to that. of course we have the negotiations coming up in march where we have a number of companies that have signalled that perhaps we will see the same wage gain if not higher projected for this year. going forward i think what's going to be important from an investment angle is whether or not these companies will be able to pass on those costs and be able to secure margins. this is where we come in, we continue to look for those very strong fundamental companies to have that ability to do so. we think they will outperform over the mid to long term. whereas i think we will begin to see companies that will not be able to do that and hence this market will create winners and losers going forward. in just the past few hours, the us house of representatives approved a stopgap bill to fund the federal government through early march. this is a rare show of cross—party unity to keep federal agencies running for another six weeks and avert a

damaging government shutdown. the measure is now being sent to presidentjoe biden�*s desk for his signature. the latest job data the latestjob data shows job growth has relayed study as unemployment benefits fell to the lowest level in one and a half years last week. yet another round of lay—offs is hitting workers at amazon. the cuts come just a week after the company let hundreds of workers in its prime video and mgm studios. the bbc erin delmore reports. amazon prime is famous for offering its members to day shipping. but that two day shipping. but that two day shipping benefit is valid not only for goods sold by amazon but also for goods sold by other companies on amazon. that's called him sounds by with prime services. that is the division that is seeing the latest round of lay—offs altogether the tech giant has cut more than 27,000 jobs

company—wide since the end of 2022, including hundreds of lay—offs of its prime video, mgm studio, switch, audible and amazon pay last week. less than 5% of the staff in prime division will be cut according to amazon. but we don't know how many that is. in amazon books person said the cuts affected a small number of roles. the spokesperson said thatis roles. the spokesperson said that is still a top priority and the company plans to keep investing significant resources investing significant resources in that division. moving now to switzerland — this week the who s who of the global economy gathered in the swiss town of davos. the theme for this years summit was "rebuilding trust" and it was seen as a time to draw a line under the pandemic. but there were certainly some interesting flash points. alex capri joins me live — he's a senior lecturer at the national university of singapore business school. i think there's tensions at play very much on display

around geopolitics that is expected. i think with the sales pitch for charters open for business i think that raised some eyebrows in terms of some of the contradictions that were at play. there still a great deal of pessimism in the investment of china with national security laws. its treatment multinational companies and of course the sales pitch was that the market is big, the market is growing so calm. �* ~ �* ~ so calm. and mr blinken calling the taiwanese _ so calm. and mr blinken calling the taiwanese result _ so calm. and mr blinken calling the taiwanese result of- so calm. and mr blinken calling the taiwanese result of a - the taiwanese result of a powerful affirmation of democracy but beijing is not happy about that. find democracy but bei'ing is not happy about that._ happy about that. and that trajectory _ happy about that. and that trajectory will _ happy about that. and that trajectory will continue. . happy about that. and that trajectory will continue. i l trajectory will continue. i think china will respond to the us his position on taiwan by trying to continue to forge relationships, maybe even go around washington and try and

approach europe and try to entice multinationals to come back to china. that would be a measure of success for beijing. are there any business impacted, especially here in asia because of what happen? i don't think so. i think it's pretty clear to international businesses that supply chains must be risk from china and they are doing bad. i think there are opportunities in the reconfiguration or organisation of those supply chains throughout asia and with the us. they are near shoring efforts at play. i think it's a very careful response that i think companies will continue to mitigate risk while looking for opportunities at the same time. in other news making headlines — spotify has launched an outspoken attack on new transaction fees of up to 27% being levied

by apple in the us. on wednesday, the company that makes iphones announced it would permit app developers to sell products in places other than its own store — but only if they still paid commission. apple has been approached for comment. birkenstock has sent a warning to investors that its annual earnings would come under pressure. executives say the company plans to raise prices on its sandals and clogs this year after it had "underestimated the inflation effects" in fiscal 2023. the news has disappointed investors with its first results since its ipo — sending shares tumbling as much as 14%. it is flirting with its record high which it reached back in the 1990s. this morning it is still up by i.3%. were talking about 38,000 plus plus that

they hit record back in the day. we will continue to watch that. that is it for the show. thank you for watching. bbc news — bringing you different stories from across the uk. reunited once again this year. theodore and his dad meeting in lviv in the summer. theodore's school friends did a camping out fundraiser to pay for his trips back to ukraine. actually, it means all the world to us. it's so amazing when children of that age are thinking of the future or thinking what is happening in the world. what was the best bit about it? seeing a lot of my family and i slept with my dad all the time. it was a boys room at that time during our stay because. yeah, they both snore. during our stay because. no, i don't. during our stay because.

yes, they do. during our stay because. no, — during our stay because. theodore and his friend liam have started a new fundraiser, cycling the distance between manchester and the middle east to raise funds for children affected by the situation in gaza. ijust felt as if it's unfair. so we need to do another thing for other people as well. they've currently travelled more than 500 miles. we started there and we have to get all the way over to palestine. for more stories from across the uk, head to the bbc news website. hey, i'm steven with the catch up. we're starting in northern ireland, where schools and unis have been closed, trains and buses cancelled, and pretty much all hospital appointments postponed. it's because of strikes

by more than 100,000 public sector workers. the main reason is pay. unions say their members are paid less than in other parts of the uk. so how has it come to this? well, public sector workers in northern ireland haven't had a pay rise for the past two years because there's been no power sharing government at stormont. the uk government's offered a package of more than £3 billion to get them back. but the dup, which isn't happy with post—brexit trade rules, refused. some other stories now and a major blow for workers at the port talbot steelworks in wales. the owners, tata steel, are expected to push ahead with plans to cut nearly 3000 jobs. unions have called the plans a crushing blow. primark has launched a new range of adaptive underwear. the aim is to make its clothes more accessible for disabled people. the company says the products will be easier to close and use materials like velcro. and imagine you're at a football match and end up stepping in as an assistant referee. well, that's what wolves fan ross bennett did during their fa cup win

against brentford on tuesday. ross, who refs under 12 matches, replaced the injured fourth official. and time to leave you with 10 seconds of panda playtime. this is one of the giant pandas at a centre in southwest china having a good old play with its toys. and clearly, the rocking horse is his absolute favourite. that is so cute. you're all caught up. have a good night. here's what's coming up on the programme.

hello and welcome along to sports day. i'm sarah mulkearns. here's what's coming up on the programme — egypt twice come from behind to draw with ghana, but worries as captain mohamed salah is injured at afconjust six months after his move to saudi arabia. jordan henderson is officially confirmed as ajax's newest player. and britain's natasha jonas says she must beat mikaela meier to cement her legacy as one of the best pound for pound fighters. you're very welcome along the programme,