but why the flare up now? all of these things are interconnected, and that s why it s really dangerous right now. so the big question now is, could this red sea conflict become the next war in the middle east? first of all, let s start by looking at what has actually been happening in the red sea. in mid november, 2023, the houthis, an iranian backed rebel group in yemen, began targeting commercial shipping off their coast. so, who exactly are the houthis and what is it motivating them? the houthis, who are a so called rebel group in yemen, they hail from the north west of yemen. they have been very active in this area for about a decade. it s only now that we re noticing because our global trade is being impacted. they hijacked this ship called the galaxy leader and they fired missiles and drones at others. us and british warships went to their defence. the houthis vowed revenge. the world economy, every economy will suffer if ships keep coming under attack in this illegal
both with one another, and also with our many allies and partners. and could one of britain s richest men become the new owner of manchester united football team? live from our studio in singapore. this is bbc news. it s newsday. hello, and welcome to the programme. we begin in china where an unwelcome milestone has been reached. the country s population fell for the first time since the 1960s, and the national birth rate also fell to the lowest it s been since data collection began, in 1949. the announcement on tuesday comes alongside one of china s worst economic performances in almost half a century the labour force is shrinking, as the country s retired population keeps growing. this also means india is expected to overtake china as the world s most populous nation later this year. let s take a look at some of the numbers. china s population last year was over 1.4 billion people, according to official data that s a decrease of 850,000 people from 2021. as for the na
well, my guest today is the director general of the wto, ngozi okonjo iweala. will rising geopolitical tensions lead to the weaponisation of trade? ngozi okonjo iweala, welcome to hardtalk. thank you, stephen. now, you are one of the world s key advocates of ever freer trade, more globalisation. what s it like to be doing your job when the political tide across the world is running against you? the wto s purpose, the world trade organization, is. its purpose is to enhance living standards, to help create employment and to support sustainable development. there could be nothing more worthy than that. so, it s supposed to deliver for people. and that s what i want people to know about it, therefore. nobody could quarrel with those objectives and that sentiment, but the truth is you are a membership organisation with 160 plus members. you have clearly key members like the united states and china, and you can only work if there is an element of trust, of co operation, of a desire
and could one of britain s richest men become the new owner of manchester united football team 7 live from our studio in singapore, this is bbc news. it s newsday. hello and welcome to the program. we begin in china where an unwelcome milestone has been reached. the country s population fell for the first time since the 1960s, and the national birthrate also fell to the lowest it s been since data collection began, in 1949. the announcement on tuesday comes alongside one of china s worst economic performances in almost half a century. the labour force is shrinking, as the country s retired population keeps growing. this also means india is expected to overtake china as the world s most populous nation later this year. let s take a look at some of the numbers. china s population last year was more than 1.4 billion people, according to official data. that s a decrease of 850,000 people from 2021. as for the national birth rate, it sank to just 6.77 births per 1,000 people. comp
has agreed to help prosecutors in brussels in return for a reduced prison sentence. qatar denies claims it bribed officials to win influence in parliament. the rmt and aslef unions have announced a fresh wave of rail strikes over pay and conditions on februaryi and 3. teachers and civil servants will also take action over pay and on wednesday, nurses in england and wales will stage a two day strike. our health correspondent dominic hughes has been talking to nurses about pay and the cost of living. who s looking after our mums and dads and kids? it s nurses, but you can t do that when you re running on empty. ifirst met carmel, an experienced nurse in liverpool, back in june. they take care of the nursing family but we can t take care of anyone. then we talked about the impact of the cost of living crisis on health workers. now, on the eve of two days of strike action, carmel says things have got even worse. we ve got people leaving because they can t afford to be a nurse. nu