for his godfather at the last minute due to a "personal matter". and tiktok starts removing songs — after the world s biggest record label withdrew permission for them to be used. we start this hour in the us state of michigan where polls will soon close in the presidential primaries. there's no mystery about the winners — joe biden and donald trump will be the leading democrat and republican respectively. but the scale of mr biden�*s win is being closely watched. michigan has a high proportion of arab, americans who disapprove of the way he's handling the situation in gaza. and in a key swing state, that could be significant. our north america editor, sarah smith, is in detroit.

let me hear you say i'm voting uncommitted. all: i'm voting uncommitted. "voting uncommitted" is a protest against the president. you wouldn't know it from these signs, but these are normally joe biden supporters. furious, though, about his support for israel's war on gaza. they want him to call for a permanent ceasefire before he'll win their votes again. no matter how many people refuse to support him today, joe biden cannot lose this democratic primary contest. but if the same people don't vote for him in the presidential election, that could be decisive. michigan is a key state that he only won very narrowly last time, and he really needs to win again this year. many students and young voters are also distressed by what they see happening in gaza, notjust here at michigan's wayne state university, but on campuses right across the united states. america sees what's happening. it's heartbreaking. and to not see, at the very

least, a ceasefire being advocated for by our president, it's maddening and it's very sad. do you think president biden could use his influence, his leverage with israel more than he is doing to try and achieve a ceasefire? yes, because i mean, most of the bombs and everything we all know that if united states pulled funding, they would not be killing people at the rate that they are. so do you worry that the "uncommitted campaign" is going to put people off voting for biden who might not vote for him in november? it might let trump into the white house? that is a worry of mine and one of the most scariest things - i could possibly imagine. telljoe biden, we do not support him. we cannot support him. campaigners know energising voters againstjoe biden now could have consequences later this year. are you worried at all that you're actually helping donald trump into the white house? because anything that damages joe biden makes it easier for him to become president? if biden doesn't act now and listen to the 80% of democrats and the 66%

of americans that want a permanent ceasefire right now, it is going to be biden, his administration and the democratic party that are going to be accountable for handing the white house to trump in november. getting out the vote in key states like michigan will be one ofjoe biden�*s biggest challenges in november. anything that discourages people from supporting him, even if they just stay home, could cost him the election. sarah smith, bbc news, detroit, michigan. quinn klinefelter is senior news editor at wdet detroit public radio. i asked him if what's happening in gaza was dealbreaker for voters in michigan. it is being said quite a bit in this area how effective it is going to be in the general election still remains a good question and as we have just heard, there's been a lot of talk about whether or not a vote for uncommitted which is a

part of a ballad you can circle for can make a dent intojoe biden possible support they want about 10,000 people to support that incident message that they should not continue to support israel as they have been and you talk to some political experts and they will say that there is a sizeable arab and muslim population and they have been steering towards republicans to an extent of the last couple of election spills over social conservative issues, schools, lg bt over social conservative issues, schools, lgbt q over social conservative issues, schools, lgbt 0 issues. and they have to recapture that and number two as they get closer to the general election of the biden campaign is thing that people will remember trump and things like his muslim band and things like his muslim band and other things and my comes to push comes to shove and yet the pig will be in the white house, they think biden will be in a much stronger position. donald trump one and 2016 and

joe biden wanted to thousand 20. in swinging the vote in the gaza issue. 20. in swinging the vote in the gaza issue-— gaza issue. people vote in their pocketbooks - gaza issue. people vote in their pocketbooks and - gaza issue. people vote in their pocketbooks and is l gaza issue. people vote in - their pocketbooks and is been something that a lot of people have _ something that a lot of people have raised in this area in particular— have raised in this area in particular that even though thereg— particular that even though there's a lot of reading and economic images showing the economy— economic images showing the economy should be doing well with unemployment down and inflation — with unemployment down and inflation trying to drop, pe0ple _ inflation trying to drop, people do not feel that in their_ people do not feel that in their own homes in the prices are sky—high for many things and — are sky—high for many things and many— are sky—high for many things and many business owners feel as they— and many business owners feel as they did in 2016 in 2020 that— as they did in 2016 in 2020 that they would prefer someone who was— that they would prefer someone who was a businessman is donald trump _ who was a businessman is donald trump is — who was a businessman is donald trump is in — who was a businessman is donald trump is in they think they could — trump is in they think they could do— trump is in they think they could do a betterjob of running _ could do a betterjob of running the government, is far better— running the government, is far better four years ago according to some — better four years ago according to some of them. they have struggled that things are improving quite a bit and peoriie _ improving quite a bit and people are receptive to that and they think sometimes some of these — and they think sometimes some of these prices may have been artificially inflated just to

scare _ artificially inflated just to scare voters as they head towards _ scare voters as they head towards the polls today and in november when the general election would happen and they believe — election would happen and they believe that if biden was allowed to continue on his economic course that things will improve dramatically, not only— will improve dramatically, not only is— will improve dramatically, not only is this year goes on but also — only is this year goes on but also in — only is this year goes on but also in a _ only is this year goes on but also in a second term if you're reeleclell _ also in a second term if you're reelected-— also in a second term if you're reelected. ., , ., reelected. donald trump and the thins reelected. donald trump and the things your _ reelected. donald trump and the things your hearing _ reelected. donald trump and the things your hearing him - reelected. donald trump and the things your hearing him talk- things your hearing him talk about michigan. his things your hearing him talk about michigan.— things your hearing him talk about michigan. his base and su ort about michigan. his base and support remain _ about michigan. his base and support remain strong - about michigan. his base and support remain strong and i about michigan. his base and l support remain strong and they have _ support remain strong and they have dominated the republican party— have dominated the republican party in — have dominated the republican party in a — have dominated the republican party in a bit of disarray here in michigan and they were supporting him in droves and came — supporting him in droves and came out— supporting him in droves and came out and thousands for recent— came out and thousands for recent rally he wanted people to make — recent rally he wanted people to make a big showing at the polls— to make a big showing at the polls and _ to make a big showing at the polls and for this primary even though— polls and for this primary even though he is far ahead by all accounts _ though he is far ahead by all accounts and he said to send a message — accounts and he said to send a message to the democrats that a freight— message to the democrats that a freight train is coming in novemberand freight train is coming in november and they better get out of— november and they better get out of the way because the trump _ out of the way because the trump trend is heading towards

reelection. let's turn to the gaza conflict itself. and more than 20 weeks into the war, aid agencies are saying their work is becoming impossible. israeli forces are accused of blocking convoys and lawlessness within gaza is also affecting the distribution of supplies. as part of special coverage across the bbc of daily life for palestinians in gaza — fergal keane sent this report from jerusalem. 0n the 1a3rd night of the war... ..eight people were reported killed here. among them, a seven—year—old girl. in an area hosting five times its normal population, israel hunts for the hamas attackers who killed and kidnapped its citizens. and for civilians in rafah, grief follows... screaming ..pushed from place to place, always losing. today, amid talk of

a cease—fire for gaza, we followed the lives of three people — a doctor in the north, a grandmother in central gaza, and a 12—year—old girl in rafah in the south. malak al dabi heard the bomb that killed the seven—year—old girl in rafah. but this morning, as every day, she was up early to start work. her mum and brother have a lung disease. they use a little of their flour to make crisps, which malak sells to buy them medicine. there is a loud desperation...

..and the quiet kind. samira nurala is a 65—year—old grandmother, first filmed for us back in october. she was also taking care of her sick husband. with no medicine, her husband died, lying on the ground in the refugee camp. samira deals with her grief by caring for her frightened grandchildren. now, samira's days are spent hiding herfear. translation: we are constantly terrified, like in a movie. - every night, we sleep in fear, trying to assure our children, telling them not to be scared. i'm talking to you, and the drone is flying above us.

israel blames hamas for the suffering, saying civilians are being used as human shields, and it has vowed to destroy the organisation in gaza. in the process, thousands of civilians have been made casualties. in al shifa hospital, the suffering — the boy holding the saline drip above his father — and the healers. dr mohamed el—sheikh says he's only left the hospital twice since the war began four months ago. "we're working 21w. "we don't go to our homes," says dr mohamed. "we're disconnected from our families. "all the volunteers and medical staff stay in the same room. "as far as food goes, only a few items are available. "we provide whatever we can." in another ward under dr mohamed's care,

three—year—old jude, who lost his leg in an explosion. nine—year—old adam's leg was amputated after being infected with gangrene. another day of war. still only talk of a cease—fire. fergal keane, bbc news, jerusalem. in the uk, prince william has unexpectedly pulled out of a memorial service for his late godfather, king constantine of greece. the prince had been due to give a reading at the service, at windsor castle. kensington palace said his absence was because of what it called a "personal matter" but didn't elaborate. 0ur royal correspondent, daniela relph has this report, and we must warn you it contains flashing images. leading the royal family's walk to st george's chapel. the duke of york, no longer a working royal, and his former wife sarah the duchess of york. this is a royal family whose numbers are down. inside the chapel,

queen camilla led the royal party at the service to remember king constantine of greece. the prince of wales was due to be with her. king constantine was his godfather, and prince william had planned to give a reading at the service, but he unexpectedly pulled out around an hour before it was due to start because of an undisclosed personal matter. christmas day at sandringham — this was the last time we saw the princess of wales in public before she was admitted to hospitalfor surgery last month. kensington palace were keen to stress today that she is doing well. prince william has been focused on his wife's recovery, but he's beginning to resume royal engagements, including here at the baftas, where he hinted at family pressures. i've done the fewest i've ever done before. the absence of prince william here showed just how unstable a time it is for the royal family.

there is a nervousness and an unpredictability around every public event they currently do. it continues to be a turbulent few weeks. this evening, buckingham palace announced the death of thomas kingston, the son—in—law of prince and princess michael of kent. the husband of their daughter, lady gabriella. the kents were guests at the thanksgiving service in windsor today. in a statement, the king and queen sent their heartfelt thoughts and prayers to his family. his death is not thought to be suspicious. for queen camilla, this has been a period where she's had to step up. the public face of a royal family grappling with a number of challenges. daniela relph, bbc news, windsor. around the world and across the uk. this is bbc news. let's look at some other stories making the news in the uk. the post office has confirmed that its current boss, nick read, is under investigation, after it was

revealed by henry staunton its former chairman. mr staunton was at a hearing to discuss compensation payments to sub—postmasters at the centre of the horizon scandal. mp lee anderson has refused to rule out joining the reform uk party after he was suspended by the tories. the ashfield mp refused to apologise for suggesting london mayor sadiq khan is controlled by islamists. prime minister rishi sunak called the comments by the former tory deputy chairman wrong, but avoided saying if he thought they were islamophobic. the owners of a pub which was known as the wonkiest in britain, before it was gutted by fire, have been ordered to rebuild it in its originalform. the eighteenth—century crooked house pub in staffordshire was a popular attraction with visitors who came to see its distinctive lean. five people were arrested after it was damaged by suspected arson last year. you're live with bbc news.

lets turn to south korea where figures released later today are expected to show that the country has ? once again ? the lowest birth rate in the world. based on 2022 figures, the average south korean woman is expected to have 0.78 children in her lifetime, for a population to hold steady that number should be 2.1. comparing that to other countries, japan's birth rate was 1.26 children per woman in 2022 and decreased by 5.1 percent in the past year whereas in the uk, that average number currently sits at 1.49.we'll hear south korea's updated figures in a an hour earlier, i spoke with dylan motin, who 5 a researcher at the centre for international and strategic studies, based in seoul. i asked him why south korea's birth rate is particularly low. there is a lot of different issues in the making for the last forty years

butjust to give you a number of issues, first, the working days in korea are extremely long and people work very late at night and even during the weekends, and it is very hard to build a family or even to meet a new partner. and another issue is the very high costs of private education and people sometimes investing hundreds of dollars each month to pay for private academies and discussing economy, it can prevent you from wanting children. and south korea remains a relatively conservative country, it is expected that a woman or the child will take care of that child and a young woman who wants to pursue a career

and having a child can actually be a huge impediment in progressing your career and just to make the comparison, in france, 60% of children are born outside of marriage and south korea it's only 2%. and people are not getting married and the number of children is going to decrease dramatically. south korea 5 president has called the situation an emergency . does that mean the government is taking emergency measures? you've seen in the last 20 years, a lot of money has been added to each childbirth and the government putting in place longer parental leaves both for mothers and for fathers and also, they've talked

about the economic collapse and taking a lot of measures for health care and making life more convenient in particularly low in men and notjust putting money in will solve the problem. there's a lot of issues, including cultural issues which will need a big rethinking, notjust more money on the table. let's turn to australia now — detectives searching for two men believed to have been murdered by a police officer say they have found two bodies. police allege thatjesse baird and his partner luke davies were shot over a week ago at a house in sydney. in an update, authorities said they'd found remains on a remote property — roughly two hours south—west of sydney. the pair's families

have been told of the developments. the suspect — police officer beau lamar—condon — was charged late last week after handing himself in. one of russia's best known human rights campaigners has beenjailed by a moscow court for discrediting the russian army. 0leg 0rlov, who's 70, has been given a two and a half year sentence — he's previously written that president putin has led the country into fascism. 0ur russia editor, steve rosenberg, sent this report from moscow. he knew very well he could be about to go to prison. but 0leg 0rlov, one of russia's most prominent human rights campaigners, had no intention of staying silent. translation: my first trial, and now this retrial, - and all the other people on trialfor similar so—called crimes, they show that russia has become a totalitarian state. he'd been charged with repeatedly discrediting the russian army. that's one of several laws brought in to punish public criticism of the war in

ukraine. a show of support from foreign ambassadors in the gallery, and from his lawyer, as they sat waiting for the verdict. "guilty," said the judge. he was sent to prison for two and a half years. seconds later, on went the handcuffs. then 0leg 0rlov, the co—chair of a human rights group that once won the nobel peace prize, was taken away and locked in a cage. among supporters outside, the mood was sombre. they see this as another blow to civil society in russia. it's the first time when such a well—known figure in human rights community is sentenced to prison, just for his opinion. what does this say about what is happening in russia today? it's going worse. when 0leg 0rlov was convicted

on these charges last year, he was fined — too lenient, said prosecutors. hence the retrial and the tougher punishment today. in court this week, mr 0rlov said russia was sinking ever deeper into darkness, with the death in prison of alexei navalny and judicial reprisals against government critics. freedom, he said, was being suffocated. across town, russians were remembering boris nemtsov. a fierce critic of vladimir putin, he was shot dead near the kremlin nine years ago today. the authorities deny any connection to his murder, just like they deny any involvement in the death of alexei navalny. in court, 0leg 0rlov had quoted alexei navalny�*s slogan, "don't give up", and then sent his own message to russians — "don't lose heart." steve rosenberg, bbc news, moscow.

let's take a look at some other stories in the headlines. several nato countries have ruled out sending ground troops to ukraine. it comes after french president emmanuel macron said "nothing should be excluded" in support of kyiv. the white house insisted that the us would not deploy soldiers to fight the russian invasion. the leaders of germany, italy and britain made similar statements. police in germany have arrested a former member of the far—left red army faction who had been in hiding for thirty years. daniela klette was detained in berlin and taken to a region near bremen where she's awaiting trial for her suspected involvement in several robberies. the anti—capitalist group — also known as the baader—meinhof group — is accused of more than thirty murders. a dna test has confirmed that a terminally ill man who claimed to be one of japan's most wanted criminals was telling the truth. satoshi kirishima said he wanted to face his death

last month using his real name. he was a member of a radical, left—wing group behind a series of deadly bombings in the nineteen—seventies. kirishima had been on the run for nearly fifty years. two men have been convicted of the murder ofjam masterjay, from the american hip—hop trio run dmc, more than twenty years ago. ronald washington and karl jordanjunior were found guilty on all counts including drug trafficking. jam masterjay, whose real name was jason mizell, was shot dead in his queens studio in new york in october two—thousand and two. the men face at least twenty years in prison. the video—sharing app tiktok says it has started removing many songs from its platform. it comes after the world s biggest record label, universal music, withdrew permission for them to be used on tiktok, in a row over money. 0ur music correspondent, mark savage, has the details. music this is all about the business end

of the music business. if your company wants to use a song that's owned by a record label, you have to pay them. and universal music says tiktok isn't paying enough. as a result, earlier this month, songs by universal�*s biggest artists including taylor swift, the beatles and billie eilish were all muted on the app. some estimates say 80% of the songs on tiktok could vanish. the app argues that the figure is closer to 30%. in a statement, universal said it was taking this action because tiktok is building a business based on music without paying fair value. in response, tiktok accused the company of putting their own greed above the interests of their artists and songwriters. now, tiktok is also having to remove music by songwriters signed to universal, and that could affect artists on other labels, the likes of adele, beyonce and harry styles, who frequently work with universal�*s writers.

music mark savage, bbc news. that's all for now — stay with bbc news. the chip—maker is making moves with al _ the chip—maker is making moves with al in — the chip—maker is making moves with al in the retail space and how— with al in the retail space and how it — with al in the retail space and how it could affect your shopping habits.- how it could affect your shopping habits. that is all from us and _ shopping habits. that is all from us and we _ shopping habits. that is all from us and we will - shopping habits. that is all from us and we will see - shopping habits. that is all| from us and we will see you soon. hello. temperatures have been falling quite quickly over the past few hours. we've got some cold air in place and there's some mist and some fog patches around for some of us to start your wednesday morning. so some fog patches, particularly through parts

of southern and central england and east anglia, and then rain is going to be spreading its way gradually eastwards. that rain pushing in across northern ireland by the early hours of wednesday, during wednesday morning pushing into scotland, wales as well. fog for parts of central, eastern and southern england — that should clear away by the middle of the morning. and then these bursts of rain could be quite heavy as they push across wales, into central england as well. far south—east and east anglia, staying dry for a good part of the day. but a return to a few more showers from the north—west. temperatures, though, between about 9—13, so certainly milder than they have been. now, through wednesday evening and overnight, then, this next pulse of fairly heavy rain at times pushes its way eastwards. could be quite squally. thunderstorms possible on that line of rain as it crosses its way south—eastwards across many parts of the uk. clearer skies following on by thursday morning to northern ireland, scotland and the far north of england, where we could see some wintry showers over the higher ground of scotland. so wednesday's mild air will clear away towards the east, and into thursday, we've got these colder conditions, this cold air mass

following on behind. some heavy rain where those air masses meet that'll linger through parts of central and south—eastern england, i think, through thursday morning, only gradually easing away. but towards northern england, scotland, northern ireland, some clearer spells, a rash of heavy, blustery showers, though, moving in from the north—west. and i think north of the central belt, they could be a little bit wintry, above around about 200 metres or so. so we're back into single figures towards the nort—hwest of the uk on thursday. and then into friday, we've got low pressure very much in charge, moving in across that colder air mass. so we could see a little bit of snow on friday, mainly over the high ground north wales, perhaps the pennines, into the southern uplands as well. down at low levels, i think it's going to be falling as rain and we'll see brisk winds rotating around this area of low pressure, so blustery, particularly around the peripheries of the uk, less windy for central parts, but a little bit colder certainly compared to wednesday. so, we're looking at single figures for many of us. further ahead, as we end the weekend and into the weekend, then, we're going to stick with those slightly lower temperatures and it's looking fairly

unsettled and showery for many of us as we head into the start of meteorological spring. of us as we head into the start bye for now. of us as we head into the start

apple is reportedly winding down production of its electric cars, as plans of competing with tesla hit a speed bump. and artificial intelligence is changing the retail world —

we find out how us chip giant nvidia is leading that charge. hello and welcome to asia business report. i'm steve lai. to a big story in the us now. it seems like apple's electric ambitions have hit a major speed bump. the company has reportedly begun winding down its team dedicated to manufacturing electric cars. 0ur north america business correspondent michelle fleury has the latest from new york. apple started out with lofty ambitions. for years, it was rumoured that it wanted to build its own electric car, one without a steering wheel or any pedals, a true driverless experience. but after spending billions of dollars on the decade—long project, it now appears the iphone maker, well, it's abandoning it altogether. we reached out to apple for comment, but we haven't heard back from them yet.

the team working on the project were told the iphone giant