announces last year and announces policies for the year ahead. let's have a listen in. translation: let's have a listen in. tuna/mom- let's have a listen in. translation: �* , translation: all the chinese should be released _ translation: all the chinese should be released and - translation: all the chinese should be released and all - should be released and all actions that harm civilians should be stopped. the calamity in gaza is another wake—up call for the world that the long occupation of the palestinian territories is a fact that should not be ignored. the long aspiration of the palestinians are independence day should not be evaded anymore. more importantly, the historical injustice to the palestinians must not be allowed to continue uncorrected from generation to generation. restoring justice to the palestinian people and fully implementing the two state solution... fully implementing the two state solution. . ._ fully implementing the two state solution... talking on the sidelines _ state solution... talking on the sidelines of _ state solution... talking on the sidelines of the - state solution... talking on the sidelines of the two - the sidelines of the two sessions meeting, addressing theissues sessions meeting, addressing the issues in the middle east and gaza. our reporter katie

silva has been watching him in the newsroom, keeping tabs since he started addressing the press. what has he been saying? the biggest theme is presenting china as an international statesman when it comes to global peace and security. he said it is about a winner when a corporation, that china's development help the rest of the world and that china is interested in creating a shared prosperity with a community for shared future of mankind. he spoke about the progress for the global south. this was in opposition to the way they characterised, what ideals are later on between the relationship of us—china, characterising instead that the us has been after — for themselves. they say china is willing to improve the dialogue and they talk about hopes after the summit last year in san francisco of mutual respect and peaceful cooperation. they said the hazard some improvements but the us was targeting china

and with bewildering levels of ungovernable uncertainty. he also said if the us is pressing china, it will harm himself. he says he is hopeful the true size able to find the right path and they can work together. it path and they can work together-— together. it is a media briefing _ together. it is a media briefing so _ together. it is a media briefing so he - together. it is a media briefing so he is - together. it is a media. briefing so he is getting together. it is a media i briefing so he is getting a together. it is a media - briefing so he is getting a lot of questions in a variety of topics. we heard him talking about issues in the middle east with gaza and israel. i understand he also spoke about russia. ~ . _ understand he also spoke about russia. ~ . ., russia. what did he say about that? it was _ russia. what did he say about that? it was quite _ russia. what did he say about that? it was quite fascinating. j that? it was quite fascinating. these are orchestrated press conferences, and the first question was a fluent chinese speaking russianjournalist speaking russian journalist asking about speaking russianjournalist asking about the relationship, and, of course, they signed a pact back in 2022 for mutual cooperation. this was very much reiterated during this conference, he said that political mutual trust is deepening and cooperation is continuing, they have a record bilateral trade. continuing, they have a record bilateraltrade. he continuing, they have a record bilateral trade. he talked about the russian and natural gas being used in china as well as chinese cars being sold and

used in the three to russia. they said this is not about trying to target any third party but there was a sense that the relationship between russia and china is at an all—time high. russia and china is at an all-time high.— russia and china is at an all-time high. thank you for that update _ all-time high. thank you for that update from _ all-time high. thank you for that update from that - all-time high. thank you for that update from that live i that update from that live press conference taking place on the sidelines of the two sessions meeting. there are several headwinds in china, including higher unemployment rate among the youth population. many are graduates. if you are graduating from university in china right now, you are entering a tough economic environment. employers are feeling cautious as they are holding off from hiring. also, don't forget the government in beijing has been cracking down in recent years on certain industries such as private education and the tech sector,

not to mention the property sector, which is in crisis right now. all of which have been popular destinations for fresh graduates in the past. there is also the question of what kind ofjobs are available. young graduates want to become young professionals, they don'tjust want to work in a factory or work as a delivery driver and even many white—collared jobs aren't that appealing to china's very well—educated middle class who have come to expect more thanjust a humdrum average officejob, especially seeing as they have studied so hard to get their degree in the first place. for these young people, there is a safety net. many of them are an only child and they can simply live at home with their parents. in china, people talk about �*lying flat�*. this is what people describe it as. people also talk about doing sit—ups, taking turns between lying flat and then jumping into the super

intense job hunt rat race and then going back to lying flat again. what will beijing do about this problem? well, like many issues with china's economy, there is no such thing as a quick fix. we are talking about a society that is getting wealthier, better educated, and more urbanised. the old ways of generating jobs and prosperity, building things, making things for export, that is just not going to be enough any more. there are new developing industries such as ai super powerful computing, that's not going to do anything in the short term, really. for now, the president has told china's young people they need to "eat bitterness," which in chinese means to just grit your teeth and bear it.

jerome powell began two days of testimony on capitol hill. he is presenting the semiannual monetary policy with a central bank with lawmakers eagle—eyed for clues about interest rates. fed chairjerome powell sat firmly in the spotlight on capitol hill on wednesday previewing what is to come in the year ahead as fed officials contemplate when to cut interest rates and by how much. we believe that our policy rate is likely at its peak for this cycle. if the economy evolves broadly as expected, it will likely be appropriate to begin dialling back policy restraint at some point this year. powell appeared before the house financial services committee, the first stop on his two—day tour of capitol hill, and he pointed to considerable progress on the economy and said that while inflation remains above the fed's 2% target, it has been easing without significantly increasing unemployment. but while rate cuts are likely this year, he said that the fed is looking for more evidence

that inflation is falling sustainably back down to the fed's target and he reiterated that members are being careful not to mistep in either direction, whether that is cutting interest rates too soon or too little too late. he will have more to say in front of the senate banking committee on thursday. taylor swift is in the middle of a series of six concerts here in singapore and this morning we are looking at the pop icon's ripple effect on the economy, especially on smaller businesses. beyond travel and tourism, there's the beads, the buses and the beverages which are getting a swift lift. # look what you made me do, look what you made me do, look what you just made me do... these are some of our favourite songs or song lyrics that mean a lot to us. in one of her songs, i she has a line that says make your friendship bracelet, alluding to our teen or younger days. i our teenage fan days!

i thought it's a small business, it's good. initially when i started a couple of week backs, it wasn't as fast moving but recently it is a lot more popular, a lot of supply shops as well, the run off of alphabet beads and things like that. people start to panic and pick up a lot more. stuff like this is in every once in awhile sort of situation so i wouldn't mind spending a bit more to be quite honest. unless they are top i 1% in my heart, then i will go. these friendship bracelets are super fun and dressing up for concerts and things are really fun. each flavour corresponds to each of her iconic songs from different eras.

for this special collection, we actually tape her lyrics and incorporate our own wording inside. yes, we see an influx of orders and a lot of questions. we also see the search of our cafe partners ordering as well. we have seen a rise and increase of about 20, 30% of our sales compared to the previous concert. definitely attributed to the taylor swift fans and community being so supportive and trying out new things. i will say that with the name taylor swift is helping grow our business by quite a lot. # look what you just made me do. and before we go, barbie turns 65 this saturday! to celebrate that milestone, toymaker mattel has chosen eight entertainment and cultural stars, and created one—of—a—kind barbie dolls made in their likeness. one of the celebrities is oscar—award winner dame helen mirren, whose barbie is a version of herself holding her oscar.

others include actress viola davis and singers shania twian and kylie minogue. and that's it for this edition of asia business report. thanks for watching. voice-over: bbc news, - bringing you different stories from across the uk. potholes. they can be costly and potentially dangerous. over the last year, west sussex has seen a spike — something that hasn't gone unnoticed by these people in burgess hill. so many potholes, you end up sliding down the road trying to miss them. there's going to be a point where it's going to be a danger to life. some of the holes are really dangerous. and with the heavy rain, it's filling them in so you don't actually see them. you can't drive i in a straight line. you literally have to swerve potholes on every road. - one of the methods of fixing or preventing potholes is using a jet patcher like this one. west sussex county council says that some of the additional funding will be used to continue to pay for

a third jet patcher this coming financial year. just on this road there's five or six potholes. yeah. however, opposition councillors believe that more money could be spent on road maintenance. well, it's really important that we make our roads kind of easierfor people to get around on. so absolutely, we support more money going into potholes. we found some extra money that could have gone in. now, we understand why they might not have chosen to do that, but we found extra money from some back office funding that would have put a little bit more into fixing our potholes. for more stories from across the uk, head to the bbc news website. hey, i'm dylan with the catch up. tonight, the government budget and nikki haley drops out, and lego! first up, it is budget day and the government has announced both its spending and tax plans for the next year.

it is likely the last budget announcement before the general election. here are a couple of the main points. national insurance will be cut by 2p, which the government says will mean an extra £450 per year for the average worker. the chancellor also announced new taxes on vapes and a commitment to build more new houses for young people across the country. a lot of people, like journalist ruby, said more could be done to help them afford housing. i am currently being evicted from my house, looking for a new place. rents are incredibly expensive. we saw in the pandemic how the government was able to introduce protections for people with mortgages, why can't we do the same for renters? you can read much more about what today's announcements mean for you on the bbc news app and website. a couple of other stories now, and over in the us, nikki haley has dropped out of the presidential race, meaning a rematch between donald trump and joe biden looks all but certain. a k—pop star has apologised to fans who

accused her of betrayal for having a boyfriend. one fan apparently crossed a truck into the star's agency. it is time to leave you with ten seconds of lego. check this out. overi million bricks have been used to recreate some of the world's most famous artworks at the art of the brick exhibition in london. check out that handsome guy! that is it from me, you are all caught up.

hello and welcome to sportsday. i'm paul scott at the bbc sport centre. here's what's coming up: six of the best: defending champions manchester city ease in to the last 8 of the champions league after thrashing fc copenhagen. england hope to be in peakform as they prepare for the fifth and final test with india in dharamsala. and anthonyjoshua says he knows what he's up against as he prepares to take on ex—ufc champion francis ngannou in riyadh.

hello and welcome along to the programme. defending champions manchester city have cruised in to the quarterfinals of the champions league after a 6—2 win on aggregate over fc copenhagen. they beat the danish side 3—1 in the second leg at the etihad, watched by the bbc�*s football correspondentjohn murray. it was, as widely expected, a formality for the holders as they confirmed their place in the last eight. they knocked out the danish champions with a scoreline that matched the first leg in copenhagen. the contest, such as it was, was certainly over inside the first ten minutes as they volleyed in from a corner and then another shot slipped through the gloves of the goalkeeper. the danes rallied with a well—taken goal but manchester city restored the two—goal lead. shooting at his 29th just before half time.

he joined two other strikers as the leading goal—scorers