newsday, reporting live from singapore, i'm karishma vaswani, the headlines: after a difficult few months elon musk talks exclusively to the bbc about troubled times that twitter. ., , , twitter. the level has been extremely _ twitter. the level has been extremely high, _ twitter. the level has been extremely high, this - twitter. the level has been extremely high, this hasn'ti extremely high, this hasn't been some sort of party, so it has been really quite a stressful situation. president joe biden arrives _ stressful situation. president joe biden arrives in - stressful situation. president joe biden arrives in dublin i joe biden arrives in dublin after recommitting us support for the good friday agreement. and this year is expected to be the first ever year the planet has used less coal, oil and gas

for energy because of the rise of renewable energy. hello and welcome to the programme. it's eight o'clock in the morning here in singapore and 5pm in san francisco where the bbc�*s technology correspondence sat down in an unexpected interview with elon musk. the billionaire, tesla car boss and new owner of twitters in running the social media site has been painful and a rollercoaster. it's one of his first interviews since he ought twitter. it's not every day you get invited by one of the world's richest and most influential people to a sit—down interview. earlier on tuesday, i'd received a response to an e—mailfrom mr musk — "let's do an interview tonight," it read. just a few short hours later,

we were setting up in twitter�*s headquarters in san francisco. hello, how you doing? we're about to go live, very surprisingly, we onlyjust found this out, on twitter. but that is elon musk. we didn't know about that. but you never know with elon musk. when he sat down, he was in the mood to chat. so, how do you think it's gone? well, it's not been boring. it's been quite a roller—coaster. the pain level of twitter has been extremely high. this hasn't been some sort of party. so it's been really quite a stressful situation. were there many mistakes made along the way? of course. when you put that initial bid in, you then had a wobble. you kind of said, "i actually don't want to buy twitter any more." then you changed your mind again and decided to buy it. did you do that because... i kind of had to. right, did you do that

because you thought a court would make do that? yes. right! yes, that is the reason. so you were trying to get out of it, and you are advised by lawyers, look, you're going to have to buy this? yes. interesting. so you didn't actually want to purchase it even when you said you were going to? well, not at that price. almost immediately, you sacked a lot of twitter workers. and i spoke to them, it was very easy to speak to them when it happened, and the way pretty much everyone said is that it felt quite haphazard. it was. and it felt a little bit uncaring. i wouldn't say uncaring. the issue was, the company is either going to go bankrupt, if you do not cut costs immediately. this is not a caring or uncaring situation. if the whole ship sinks, then nobody has a job. i know the bbc

for example is not thrilled about being labelled a state—affiliated media. i was going to get to that later. let's got for it now. it's officially objected to that tag. do you want to respond to it? our goal is simply to be as truthful and accurate as possible, so i think we are adjusting the label to be "publicly funded," which i think is perhaps not too objectionable. we are trying to be accurate. tiktok has also been in the news. there is talk of perhaps the biden administration wanting to potentially ban it or force a sale. what is your view of the situation? ijust don't know enough of what's going on there. i can't say i have a strong opinion on tiktok. you don't have an opinion on if it should be banned or not? you know, i'm generally against banning things. so i probably would not be in favour.

it would help twitter, i suppose, if tiktok was banned, because then people would spend more time on twitter and less time on tiktok. but even if it would help twitter, i would be generally against the banning of things. you have said that you were going to stand down. i already have. as chief executive? 0k. i am not the ceo of twitter. my dog is the ceo of twitter. after almost an hour of questions, he hung around to answer more questions on twitter. it was an unconventional end to an extraordinary evening. that was the bbc�*s james clayton speaking with elon musk. lots more on the website on that story but now we're going to move onto another story where president biden has been welcomed to the irish republic at the start of a three—day visit. he is expected to address parliament and

explore his family links with the country. it follows a brief official visit to northern ireland to mark the 25th anniversary of the good friday agreement which brought peace to northern ireland. preparing for a president to pass by. every inch of the route accounted for. a sight worth getting up for. as the clock struck midday, the beast on belfast streets. president biden�*s heavily—armored limo, with no shortage of other cars in tow. here it is, quite a spectacle, the president's motorcade. always something of a rigmarole when a us president is on the move. yes, it's about security. it's also a projection of power. the president was heading for ulster university, to reflect on northern ireland now and northern ireland then — before the good friday agreement. every person killed in the troubles left an empty chair at their dining

room table, and a hole in the heart that was never filled for the ones they lost. peace was not inevitable. we can't ever forget that. listening outside, the good friday agreement generation — born in an era of relative peace. but people here have been without devolved government, a key part of the agreement, for over a year. president biden told us what he thought about this. but listen to how carefully he weighted his words. as a friend, i hope it's not too presumptuous for me to say that i believe democratic institutions established through the good friday agreement remain critical to the future of northern ireland. an effective devolved government, that reflects the people of northern ireland and is accountable to them. a government that works to find ways through hard problems together,

that's going to draw even greater opportunity in this region. so i hope the assembly and the executive will soon be restored. that's a judgment for you to make, not me, but i hope it happens. and so does the prime minister. but it hasn't happened — at least yet. the president and rishi sunak met for 45 minutes of talks and tea. we spoke in particular about the incredible economic opportunities that are there in store for northern ireland. and we talked about the investment potential that is there, the companies that want to invest in northern ireland. i think that's incredibly exciting, it'll bring growth, jobs and prosperity to northern ireland. and i know he shares my ambition to see the institutions here back up and running. that's what people and businesses in northern ireland deserve. the prospect of this visit has been talked about for months but lasted only hours. there's no such thing as a low—key trip by an american president anywhere, but this feels like it's come pretty close. but the message was

unmistakably clear — restoring devolved government here, absolutely essential to northern ireland's future. by mid—afternoon, president biden�*s much cherished irish heritage had lured him to the republic. he was in dundalk, in county louth this evening, near the border, in a pub and reflecting on his sense of belonging. coming here feels like coming home. it really does. every time i've come, the welcome, the people on the streets, so gracious to us. there was time too for a walkabout in the street. his tour continues for the next few days. chris mason, bbc news, in belfast. to asian now and an update on a developing story that we have been watching view over the last couple of hours. japan's government has lifted an evacuation alert for the northern hokkaido island. the alert was raised following a

suspected missile launch from north korea. report said the missile was flying towards the east sea known as the sea of japan. a few minutes ago japan's defence minister said the projectile may have been an intercontinental ballistic missile. japan's prime minister also said the missile did not fall within the pan�*s exclusive economic zone. as we get more details on the story we will be sure to bring it to you but another story we have also been following for you, and china has continued military activities near taiwan despite announcing the three days of drills had ended as scheduled on monday. taiwan's defence ministry said on monday that in the previous 2a hours it had detected chinese military aircraft and navy vessels around the island, adding that some of them had crossed the median line of the taiwan strait. that line normally serves as an unofficial boundary between the two sites. for more on this we can speak to former pla officer who joins me from beijing. it's great to

get you on the programme. in the first instance theyjust want to put to you, why is china continuing this military activities near taiwan?- activities near taiwan? well, we like to — activities near taiwan? well, we like to conduct _ activities near taiwan? well, we like to conduct exercises| activities near taiwan? well, i we like to conduct exercises on a regular basis, it is not a problem for us and it can also act as a warning to taiwan authorities right now we are vowing to speed up military modernisation, now because over the changing and worsening international environment, we are working to make ourselves stronger. so these exercises would serve as a reminder. it's not a reminder to the taiwanese authority but also a reminder to the pla that we have to make ourselves stronger. but

to the pla that we have to make ourselves stronger.— ourselves stronger. but you say that this is — ourselves stronger. but you say that this is because _ ourselves stronger. but you say that this is because taiwan - ourselves stronger. but you say that this is because taiwan is i that this is because taiwan is a part of china, that is basing's perspectives not be able to put you taiwanese people think and this data coming in from a long—running poll done by the national university which says that 60% of taiwanese people see themselves as taiwanese only, not chinese, a quarter of those who were surveyed want to move towards independent somewhere down the line and only 1.2% want what has been described by china as unification. so is this about unification or is it about invasion?— this about unification or is it about invasion? well, you are not totally _ about invasion? well, you are not totally right _ about invasion? well, you are not totally right in _ about invasion? well, you are not totally right in saying - not totally right in saying that only basing things like that. actually most government in the world including the united states, and the figures could be misleading, what if a tell you there are actually about 1.5 million taiwanese

living now in china? so this kind of integration has already started and this 1.5 million taiwanese people are definitely above middle class, so this person has studied, and china's political system remains the same. if the taiwanese can't live here, for example, most of them live in shanghai, why can't we have a peaceful reunification one day? you have talked about _ reunification one day? you have talked about peace _ reunification one day? you have talked about peace and - reunification one day? you have talked about peace and i'm - reunification one day? you have talked about peace and i'm glad that you brought that up because consistently on the international stage china calls it health a global, peaceful, responsible power but these military activities are continuing even after the visit has ended. it didn't take place in taiwan, it took place in the united states. is this responsible, in your view? united states. is this responsible, in yourview? is it a peaceful expression of power? it a peaceful expression of ower? w , it a peaceful expression of ower? ., . , ., it a peaceful expression of ower? , ., ., power? peace is that we have two try very — power? peace is that we have two try very hard _ power? peace is that we have two try very hard to _ power? peace is that we have two try very hard to achieve, l two try very hard to achieve, evenin two try very hard to achieve, even in the taiwan strait and

just to compare, we give a very warm welcome because there was no timetable for peaceful reunification but he believed in china and that peaceful reunification is still possible. so we don't have timetable, we give him a lot of good preferential treatment, like his successor who is a diehard separatist and so this is the difference. we of course would have the utmost sincerity and would make utmost for reunification but we have two have our own reservation for the worst scenario.— the worst scenario. what is that worst _ the worst scenario. what is that worst scenario? - the worst scenario. what is that worst scenario? it - the worst scenario. what is i that worst scenario? it sounds like you are about more force in the future?— in the future? well worst scenario _ in the future? well worst scenario is _ in the future? well worst scenario is indeed - in the future? well worst scenario is indeed a i in the future? well worst i scenario is indeed a situation that we have two resort to non—peaceful means, but this of course has to be done in the

most careful situation which actually is not secret because we have anti—secession law which laid out three condition for us to resort to non—peaceful means. one is taiwan declaring independence which a believer is not possible. the second thing is making an advance leading to taiwan separation. i believe the nancy pelosi visit would have fallen in this category. china leaves possibilities for peaceful reunification exhausted.— peaceful reunification exhausted. , , ., , exhausted. just to “ump in there because i exhausted. just to “ump in there because you i exhausted. just to jump in there because you have i exhausted. just to jump in i there because you have talked about the red the united states has also talked about redlines. we have seen that alliance getting closer between the united states and taiwan. aren't you concerned about the fact that you are heading towards an escalation between china and the us over taiwan? ido i do believe that there is a

redline with the states, talking about diplomatic ambiguity, they are becoming more clear about defending taiwan, they are talking about how the united states might come to taiwan's defence, we don't know whether he was really guarding, or referring seriously to it, but that is why we & you have to be well—prepared, we have to be repaired for external intervention from a country which recognises taiwan to be part of china. which recognises taiwan to be part of china-— part of china. the percentage chance in _ part of china. the percentage chance in your _ part of china. the percentage chance in your view _ part of china. the percentage chance in your view of - part of china. the percentage chance in your view of a i part of china. the percentage chance in your view of a clash between the us and china in the next few years over taiwan, briefly, if you don't mind? we have always — briefly, if you don't mind? - have always maintained that non— peaceful means is the last resort, so we have never published a timetable. for those people who would just link the ukraine issue and the taiwan issue, that is ridiculous, because it doesn't

make any sense. the situation in asia is totally different. it doesn't tell you why mainland china has confidence in peaceful unary —— reunification still because after the war in ukraine, our defence budget is still lower than 2%, and this year's budget is still lower than 2%, so we are not doing something, we're just doing more training and joint activities, the defence budget tells you that. thank ou so budget tells you that. thank you so much. _ budget tells you that. thank you so much. the _ budget tells you that. thank you so much. the former. budget tells you that. thankl you so much. the former pla officer and fellow at a university, joining us from beijing's. around the world and across the uk, you are watching bbc news.

iaman i am an artist and designer, installing a metre long mosaic. this is super long mosaic that we are putting together a london bridge station and it's made up of tens of thousands of beautiful, handmade glass test awry, which are spread over the length of this wall, which hundreds of thousands of commuters walk past every single day. commuters walk past every single day-— commuters walk past every sinale da . �* ., single day. hi, i'm joe, i have been working _ single day. hi, i'm joe, i have been working with _ single day. hi, i'm joe, i have been working with volunteers| single day. hi, i'm joe, i have l been working with volunteers at the london school mosaic to fabricate it, bring insight and have a moment of today. it special, because you get a real sense — special, because you get a real sense of— special, because you get a real sense of depth of expression, a nice mix — sense of depth of expression, a nice mix of— sense of depth of expression, a nice mix of people coming together. a nice mix of people coming together-— nice mix of people coming touether. �* ., ., , ., together. a lot of things are very grey — together. a lot of things are very grey now- _ together. a lot of things are very grey now. we - together. a lot of things are very grey now. we can i together. a lot of things are very grey now. we can go i together. a lot of things are i very grey now. we can go back to what we used to do a0 years ago and create really uplifting public spaces with beautiful art.

you are watching bbc news. an investigation has discovered that a0% of current premier league clubs have been sponsored by financialfirms sponsored by financial firms that sponsored by financialfirms that have subsequently been banned by the british financial conduct authority, find, or under investigation. most of the companies were offering complex financial tools ordinary people but as the world service investigation unit discovered many were not playing by the rules. a glossy promo, for a company called athletics vc. it was an endorsement that gay people like bill and joyce the confidence to hand over tens of thousands of pounds. the confidence to hand over tens of thousands of pounds.— thousands of pounds. the fact that they sponsored _ thousands of pounds. the fact that they sponsored leeds i that they sponsored leeds football club, i took them as being a proper investment platform. being a proper investment platform-—

being a proper investment latform. , .,, .,, being a proper investment latform. , ., platform. the problem was that fx vc was _ platform. the problem was that fx vc was running _ platform. the problem was that fx vc was running a _ platform. the problem was that fx vc was running a scam, i platform. the problem was that| fx vc was running a scam, using pressure tactics and false promises to make clients to make trades there were always likely to lose a. phil and joyce were soon told them money was frozen and it is important in more to unlock it. i was frozen and it is important in more to unlock it.- in more to unlock it. i was 'ust in more to unlock it. i was just watching _ in more to unlock it. i was just watching it _ in more to unlock it. i was just watching it go - in more to unlock it. i was just watching it go down, | in more to unlock it. i was i just watching it go down, down, down, we had lost £3a1,000 within seven days. fit. down, we had lost £341,000 within seven days.— within seven days. fx vc, as far as i within seven days. fx vc, as far as i am — within seven days. fx vc, as far as i am concerned, i within seven days. fx vc, as far as i am concerned, were | far as i am concerned, were just— far as i am concerned, were just a — far as i am concerned, were just a platform to con people into investment. there was no real_ into investment. there was no real investment there.- real investment there. within weeks, fx — real investment there. within weeks, fx vc _ real investment there. within weeks, fx vc had _ real investment there. within weeks, fx vc had been i real investment there. within i weeks, fx vc had been banned by the british financial conduct authority, but the money was gone, and this isjust one example of a wider problem. abvc investigation has found that a0% of premier league clubs have taken sponsorship money from firms like this that has subsequently been banned, find, orare being find, or are being investigated. find, or are being investiuated. . ~ , ., investigated. thank you, i really appreciate - investigated. thank you, i really appreciate this. i

investigated. thank you, i l really appreciate this. clark l le is a really appreciate this. clark lyle is a former _ really appreciate this. clark lyle is a former premier. really appreciate this. clark- lyle is a former premier league football and chair of the footballer�*s union. he now campaigns on issues around mental health following his own well—publicised troubles. mental health following his own well-publicised troubles.- well-publicised troubles. there is an unavoidable _ well-publicised troubles. there is an unavoidable link— well-publicised troubles. there is an unavoidable link between | is an unavoidable link between the supporter in the club and the supporter in the club and the companies that are affiliated with them, so for organisations to take advantage of that with mistruths, they have to be stopped. in of that with mistruths, they have to be stopped.- have to be stopped. in a statement _ have to be stopped. in a statement fx _ have to be stopped. in a statement fx vc - have to be stopped. in a statement fx vc denied | have to be stopped. in a i statement fx vc denied any wrongdoing. statement fx vc denied any wrongdoing-— statement fx vc denied any wrongdoing. in wrongdoing. come on leeds! in fairness to _ wrongdoing. come on leeds! in fairness to leeds _ wrongdoing. come on leeds! in fairness to leeds united, i wrongdoing. come on leeds! in fairness to leeds united, when | fairness to leeds united, when they had a relationship with fx vc they were a regulated company, but in cyprus. leeds told us that as soon as they were banned by the fca, they cut all ties, which is the same thing that all the premier league clubs said. the truth is this is bigger than leeds united, bigger even than football. it's about dodgy companies ripping off customers for millions, maybe even billions of pounds, and using the beautiful game to legitimise an ugly industry. joe inwood, bbc news, leads.

buckingham palace has prince harry will attend his father's coronation next month but megan will not be travelling from california. the prince will join within 2000 gas that westminster abby. harry is coming to the coronation but megan is not, it means the planners can come down complete the seating plan, they are overdue on their answer, but this was just released, buckingham palace is pleased to announce that demo carrier will attend, pleased to announce that demo carrierwill attend, but pleased to announce that demo carrier will attend, but the duchess of sussex will remain in california with prince rt and princess lily matt. prince harry will becoming their to witness the coronation of his father charles, he has not seen his father or elder brother william since the state funeral of the late queen elizabeth last september — archie and lillibet. an lot has happened since then, not least the publication of his books and

the bad feeling that has undoubtedly caused within the royal family towards undoubtedly caused within the royalfamily towards him, a strong sense of betrayal within the family towards harry. but for this, at this moment, a moment perhaps of some reconciliation, he will be there to see his father drowned in westminster abbey on may the sixth as charles iii. researchers say fewer fossil fuels will be used this year to produce electricity, in what has been described as a turning point against the battle against climate change. last year there was more carbon emitted than ever to generate electricity but this year, those emissions are expected to fall slightly and the reason is down to the boom in renewable energy, led predominantly by china. from lighting to heating, cooling and transport, electricity has become the world's most important energy source. but the benefits of global electrification have come at a cost to the planet. making power is the single biggest contributor to global

warming, responsible for over a third of energy—related carbon emissions in 2021. even with the cost of living crisis, demand for electricity is growing rapidly all over the world. most of that growth to date has been met by burning fossilfuels. but cleaner sources, including wind, solar, nuclear and hydro, are rapidly catching up, producing almost a0% in 2022. and this year will likely see the first fall in emissions from the use of coal, oil and gas to make electricity outside of pandemic or global recession. we're doing all the right things. we just need to be doing them quicker. so we know that our route to decarbonising, notjust the power sector but the whole of the energy economy, is through clean power. what's making a big difference is china. despite being the world's biggest users of coal, china is also responsible for half the extra wind power. one in five solar panels added last year were on chinese rooftops.

while britain has lagged behind the rest of the world when it even countries with little signs such as the netherlands produce 50% of their energy from solar. while britain has lagged behind the rest of the world when it comes to solar. where the uk has really made strides is in wind energy like here in the blowy south wales valleys, once famed for their production of coal. last year, electricity production from wind across the uk was up by 23%, thanks in part to turbines like these. extreme weather events are increasingly being linked to rising temperatures. climate change is becoming more visible all over the world. heatwaves like the one that the uk suffered last summer will likely become more common. to avoid the worst climate impacts, scientists say fossil fuel use must peak now and drop rapidly over the next seven years. today's news is a critical first step on that path. matt mcgrath, bbc news.

what a fascinating report. about it from us from the team at newsday in singapore, thank you forjoining me, do stay with bbc news for the latest global headlines. hello there. storm noa has been bringing problems to transport, with road, rail, ferries and airports affected. meanwhile, out to sea, some wild weather in cornwall, with these large, mountainous waves pummeling the coastline. some of the waves were thought to be about eight metres high. that's the same height as two double decker buses stacked on top of each other. storm noa, then, has certainly been making its impact felt. it's this swirl of cloud you can see here on the satellite picture. and the top wind speed was recorded, as it often is in such storms, at the needles on the isle of wight , a very exposed site — at 96 miles an hour. elsewhere, well into the 70s. even across inland parts of southern england, we had gusts into the 60s of miles an hour and that was strong enough to blow over a few trees. now, over the next few hours, those very strong winds are starting to calm down.

it's still quite windy, though, for wales and south—west england. temperatures coming down to between 3 and 6 celsius, very similar to what we've seen over recent nights. now, heading into thursday, it should be a fine start to the day for many for england and wales. there'll be showers across northern england, showers for scotland and northern ireland. and i think through the day, there is a chance that some of these showers, particularly for southern and eastern scotland, into eastern areas of england, well, they could merge together to give some longer spells of rain. and some of the rain heavy with some hail and thunder mixed in and temperatures still below par. but when the sunshine comes out, out of the breeze, probably not feeling too bad. probably not feeling too good on friday across southern parts of england and wales, with another area of low pressure moving in, bringing outbreaks of rain widely. some of that's going to be quite heavy as well, whereas the further north you are, you will see showers and thunderstorms, some of them, again, merging together to give some longer spells of rain, so staying very unsettled and pretty cool again for april. highs only reaching around 12 or 13 degrees at best. however, as we get into the weekend, things start to cheer up.

the south—westerly winds start to blow away some of that cooler air and the high pressure starts to flex its muscles. now, on saturday, there'll still be a few showers around, maybe a few morning mist and fog patches to clear, but there'll be some bright or sunny spells and, overall, it's a better kind of day weather—wise. temperatures climbing. we're looking at highs of 15 in glasgow, 15 in norwich and for london as well. and that's just the start of things, because through sunday and into next week, it gets even warmer. indeed, next week, for the first time this year, we should see highs hit 20.

towards an escalation between china and the us over taiwan? signs of inflation slowing in the will�*s largest economy but fears of a recession in the us are growing. plus the world bank is set for a leadership change at a time when it's under pressure from world leaders. analysis on what is next for the institution. hello and welcome to asia business report, i'm karishma vaswani. we start this morning and the will�*s largest economy, the united states, where inflation has dropped to its lowest level for nearly two yea rs. lowest level for nearly two years. consumer prices rose by 5% in the year to march, that's

a far cry from the 9%