are playing a key role in that mammoth vote. hello and welcome to asia business report. i'm steve lai. america's central bank left its benchmark interest rate unchanged at 5.25 percent to 5.5 percent, as stubbornly high inflation continues to hold off the timing of the first rate cut. the decision, which was expected, comes days after new government data showed that the pace of us economic growth is slowing. bbc�*s north america business correspondent michelle fleury has the details. stubborn inflation pushes back the timing of the first cut, the timing of the first cut, the weather reserve funds to keep its benchmark in a 23 year high on wednesday. the more certainty that inflation is under control before the lower borrowing costs. they do not have that yet. here is powell

during his press conference stop build be made considerable progress towards our objectives.— progress towards our objectives. progress towards our ob'ectives. ., ., ~ objectives. the labour market has remained _ objectives. the labour market has remained strong. - objectives. the labour market has remained strong. and - objectives. the labour market| has remained strong. and that is very good news. but inflation is still too high and further progress in bringing it down is not assured and the path is uncertain. we are fully committed to returning inflation toward 2% goal. in committed to returning inflation toward 2% goal. in an increase inflation toward 296 goal. in an increase in _ inflation toward 296 goal. in an increase in housing _ inflation toward 296 goal. in an increase in housing have - increase in housing have contributed to a rising consumer inflation with progress on inflation taking longer than expected, hopes for lower rates have dimmed. and if they can change the calculation, and the labour market unexpectedly weekend, that could spur cuts and sweetening the mood on wall street, industrial average closed higher after the central banks next move was unlikely to

be a rate hike. as you've heard from the us federal reserve, interest rates in america will remain high for some time. this has affected countries that have kept borrowing costs low, like japan. investors tend to prefer markets with higher interest rates, because they get higher returns. one casualty from the strength of the us dollar — is the japanese currency. at the beginning of this year, one us dollar would get you 140 yen. more recently, one us dollar buys you nearly 160 yen. now, that weakness in the japanese currency is also starting to impact the economies of neighbouring asian countries. let's hear more from khoon goh from anz. first i want to get your reaction to the fed what the spill—over effect would be on some of the other asian currencies. it would be on some of the other asian currencies.— asian currencies. it is we can significantly _ asian currencies. it is we can significantly and _ asian currencies. it is we can significantly and caused - asian currencies. it is we can significantly and caused a - asian currencies. it is we can significantly and caused a lotj significantly and caused a lot of effects into a lot of currencies, the north asian economies of the taiwan dollar

and others. jan is a very important and good currency for the region— important and good currency for the region and the economies in asia are — the region and the economies in asia are dependent and if the yen weakens and helps the nature _ yen weakens and helps the nature of the other exports nations _ nature of the other exports nations as well and that is why a weakening yen can put pressure on them as well. do ou pressure on them as well. do you exnect — pressure on them as well. dir? you expect officials to step up support for their currencies? we have seen the south korean officials — we have seen the south korean officials coming up verbally expressing concerns about weakness in the korean currency. apart from some sporadic— currency. apart from some sporadic interventions, we have not seen — sporadic interventions, we have not seen the kind of large interventions from japan and taken — interventions from japan and taken earlier this week and there — taken earlier this week and there watching the situation

and not _ there watching the situation and not acting decisively at this— and not acting decisively at this point in similarly, the taiwanese officials, there hasn't _ taiwanese officials, there hasn't been a lot of strong communications from them expressing any concerns about taiwan — expressing any concerns about taiwan weakness in this area. wiii— taiwan weakness in this area. will wiii— taiwan weakness in this area. will will you be looking for in the days ahead for asian currencies? fix, the days ahead for asian currencies?— the days ahead for asian currencies? ~ , ., ., ., currencies? a short while ago, we susnected _ currencies? a short while ago, we suspected that _ currencies? a short while ago, we suspected that there - currencies? a short while ago, we suspected that there is - currencies? a short while ago, l we suspected that there is some in the _ we suspected that there is some in the bank ofjapan and some intervention behind and given that it — intervention behind and given that it was a bit more than expected, that could help the yen at — expected, that could help the yen at around 160. and it is still— yen at around 160. and it is still extremely wide and i do not think— still extremely wide and i do not think the yen can recoup too far— not think the yen can recoup too far because it is still very— too far because it is still very attractive in dollars as a shocking _ very attractive in dollars as a shocking funding. and further strength— shocking funding. and further strength from here as possible but i _ strength from here as possible but i think there's a limit to how— but i think there's a limit to how much— but i think there's a limit to how much more the yen can strengthen them as the bank of

japan _ strengthen them as the bank of japan starts to signal in the near— japan starts to signal in the near term. the beauty brand lowered its sates— the beauty brand lowered its sales and demanded china for its premium beauty products. johnson and johnson has outlined a new settlement to resolve nearly all of the lawsuits it faces over allegations that its baby powder and other talc products cause cancer. j&j will pay roughly 6.5 billion dollars to former customers with ovarian cancer claims, over the next 25 years. while the pharmaceutical giant still maintains its talc powder does not cause cancer, the company is looking to put an end to this costly legal battle. turning to india now, where politicians are recognizing women as a significant force in the ongoing elections. of the country's billion voters — nearly half are women.

as more women head to the polling booths political parties are courting them with various pro—women schemes and policies. archana shukla reports from the southern indian state of karnata ka. in exhausting weight but the daily commute is easy when she hops on women right for free and buses under state government scheme. for her, it is a ticket to financial freedom. i is a ticket to financial freedom.— is a ticket to financial freedom. ,. ., ., , ., freedom. i save at least ten to 1596 of my _ freedom. i save at least ten to 1596 of my salary _ freedom. i save at least ten to 1596 of my salary and _ freedom. i save at least ten to 1596 of my salary and it - freedom. i save at least ten to 1596 of my salary and it helps l 15% of my salary and it helps in managing household expenses. besides, we can now travel for work or pilgrimages without thinking of budget. free bus rides are quite popular in several indian states, especially among lower income groups. this way more women access job opportunities. 0pposition leader rahul gandhi, whose party governs the state

of karnataka, is hoping these voters will reward their efforts in this election. women now make up for nearly half of the country's voter base. and with a broader social change happening with better education awareness, most women now decide their vote independently, making them a highly sought after electorate for all political parties. and this is why all political parties are out to woo them with incentives from cash handouts to free rations, money to build toilets, cheap loans and even cooking gas, which is one of prime minister modi's style project. subsidies have now ended, but the gas connection has transformed sarga's life. and she says this will be a key factor when she decides her vote. look.

i save a lot of time and cooking the gas is very expensive now, so i refill once in two months, but it is still helpful. more women are out voting, but not as many are seen in the workforce. just a third of working age indian women are formally employed. i think there's a lot that can be done by employers - to reduce the barriers that women- face in accessing work| and also think of more ways of creating work. that's the real- reason why a labour force participation rate is low and therefore i an election promise i is not going to be able to solve that. cutting to the chase are those self—employed who want more than just the welfare schemes, bank loans and the government scheme bank loans and the government scheme need a lot of paperwork. can't it be made simpler? but politicians come during elections and then forget us. that's an ask women increasingly have, to be equal partners, notjust in the electorate, but also in the nation's economy.

in other news, the united states has unveiled another round of sanctions, targetting companies and individuals in russia, as well as those in other countries like china, which still conducts business with russia. russia has insisted that similar measures in the past have been ineffectual. but us treasury secretary, janet yellen said these new sanctions would further disrupt russia's war efforts, by targetting its industrial base and those who supplied it. microsoft's chief executive satya nadella is on the final stop of his trip to southeast asia. he is scheduled to be in malaysia where in the coming hours, he will meet its prime minister and speak at an artificial intelligence event in kuala lumpur. mr nadella was in indonesia and thailand earlier this week. announcing advancements in al and the technologyjohn will be making in the region. hong kong will release its growth figures

in the cities finance chief said he was expecting a moderate increase in its gross domestic product. the object of the economy grew between 2.5 and 3.5% in the first three months of the year. hong kong has been look for new ways to boost its growth which includes attracting more tourists. and that's it for this edition of asia business report. thanks for watching.

hiya. i'm betty with the catch up. tonight, an update on the hainault attack, a lamar diss track and fka twigs handmade deepfake. let's start in the us, where student protests against the war in gaza are sweeping the country. these are pictures from ucla where counter—protesters attacked a camp set up by pro—palestinian demonstrators. and columbia in new york, where police arrested hundreds of protesters. edgar gomez is a ucla student. there were fights going on, too, like they started hitting each other with sticks. and there were a lot of moments where there were just pepper sprays going on. an update now on last night's lead story. a11i—year—old boy killed in a sword attack in north—east london on tuesday has been named as daniel anjorin. two police officers are still in hospital. a 36—year—old man

has been arrested on suspicion of murder. some other stories. a 17—year—old boy has been arrested on suspicion of attempted murder after three people were injured at a high school in sheffield. the school was put into lockdown following the attack and students described having to hide under desks. next. kendrick lamar has escalated his feud with drake in his new diss track, euphoria. it's a six minute response to weeks of taunting by drake and isn't subtle when it comes to expressing lamar�*s feelings about the rapper. time now for ten seconds of fka twigs, making a deepfake so it can interact with herfans. it'll mimic her personality, tone of voice and be able to speak english, french, korean and japanese to chat with fans and journalists so she can focus on her music. can i get one to call the doctors for me? you're all caught up now. have a lovely night.

hello and welcome to sportsday — advantage dortmund as sancho outshines mbappe in the 1st leg of their champions league semi final clash sabalenka surges into the semi finals in madrid as she sees off teenager mirra andreeva — but the men's defending champion is out its a wednesday of shocks in the snooker as ronnie 0'sullivan suffers defeat to stuart bingham, whilejudd trump is also out hello and thanks for

joining us on sportsday. we're going to start in germany where borussia dortmund have