hello. i'm sumi somaskanda. we begin with primary voting in the 2024 us presidential election, tuesday, including in some states that will be vital to victory in november. both former president donald trump and current presidentjoe biden have alreaday wrapped up their parties�* presumptive nominations, and according to our media partner, cbs news, both are projected to rack up more states, winning illiinois, kansas and ohio. mr trump is also projected to win florida. earlier in the day, he voted in his home state of florida. former first lady, melania trump, was by his side. she's been largely absent from his campaign so far. voters are also choosing their parties nominees for congressional races — control of the house and senate are also on the ballot in november. one key contest is in ohio, where democrats are hoping to hold onto their sole senate seat in the state. republican voters chose the trump—backed candidate, bernie moreno, to square off against the democratic incumbent senator, sherrod brown.

a top issue in this year's presidential election — immigration. on tuesday, president biden accused donald trump of "despising latinos". mrtrump, meanwhile, released a campaign video, slamming mr biden�*s handling of the migration crisis. the us supreme court is allowing texas to enforce one of the toughest immigration laws in the country. the law lets state officials arrest and deport people suspected of illegally crossing into the us from mexico. the court rejected a bid by the biden white house to block the controversial immigration policy, while a legal battle over the measure plays out in a lowerfederal appeals court. crossing the us border illegally is already a federal crime, but violations are usually handled as civil cases by the immigration court system. patrick svitek covers texas for the washington post. i spoke with him earlier. patrick, i want to start with the supreme court saying that texas can arrest and jail migrants at the border. what

impact is that going to have there? ., , there? for the time being it allows taxes _ there? for the time being it allows taxes to _ there? for the time being it allows taxes to move - there? for the time being it | allows taxes to move forward with implementing this very aggressive law that really asserts almost unprecedented state role in enforcement of border and immigration enforcement, which is a federal responsibility. i should enforcement, which is a federal responsibility. ishould note that this issue, the merits of it, are still pending before a lower court, so this legal battle is far from over. you said this — battle is far from over. you said this unprecedented challenge, we have seen a stand—off between the federal government, the biden administration and texas's governor greg abbott over this issue, immigration. where do you see this heading next? i think it is an issue that will continue winding up at the highest court because these legal issues we are talking about are profound and they get at the fundamental delineation between the state and federal governments and their unique role in the constitutions. it

will continue to be a political issue but it will also continue to be a legal issue that continues to work its way back up continues to work its way back up to the highest court in the land, the us supreme court, whether it is related to this law or other laws that texas lawmakers have passed in recent years. figs lawmakers have passed in recent ears. �* , lawmakers have passed in recent ears. m . lawmakers have passed in recent ears. a ., years. as you said, a political issue, immigration _ years. as you said, a political issue, immigration seems - years. as you said, a political| issue, immigration seems like it will be front and centre affair both candidates this year. i'm not asking about what we're seeing on the campaign trail. president biden is on the road in nevada and arizona this week, talking about housing, the economy, also speaking to latino voters, tell us about the strategy you think we're seeing from the biden administration this week? the wa i administration this week? the way i look _ administration this week? the way i look at _ administration this week? the way i look at it, _ administration this week? iie: way i look at it, going administration this week? tie: way i look at it, going to these two nevada and arizona, they both have significant groupings of latino voters, which president biden is going to need to maintain if not grow his support in that community if he wants to win this upcoming presidential election, so you also saw some moves by

the president this week to reach out to latino community in other ways, with launching a latino voter coalition for his campaign, doing interviews and spanish—language radio, so that seems to be the focus of the travel this week.— seems to be the focus of the travel this week. indeed, there is a two crucial _ travel this week. indeed, there is a two crucial states, - travel this week. indeed, there is a two crucial states, aren't i is a two crucial states, aren't they? what about the trump team? we saw a reporting and the associated press that the trump team seems to have placed the capital six riots in january, —— with the january six capitol riots front and centre. what do you make of the strategy? if centre. what do you make of the strate: ? , ., centre. what do you make of the strate: ? , i, i, , strategy? if you have been following _ strategy? if you have been following his _ strategy? if you have been following his offence, - strategy? if you have been following his offence, this| strategy? if you have been. following his offence, this is not anything new, it is getting a lot more scrutiny and attention now he has secured the republican presidential nomination battle over a year if you go to his rallies he often talks about january six, if not pays homage to the people who have been charged in connection with what happened on january the 6th. so connection with what happened onjanuary the 6th. so it has been a central part of his campaign events, it isjust

getting heightened scrutiny now we are in the general election fully. we are in the general election full . ~ i, we are in the general election full . . i, i, , we are in the general election full. ~ i, , i, fully. what about his legal roles? we _ fully. what about his legal roles? we are _ fully. what about his legal roles? we are of - fully. what about his legal roles? we are of course i fully. what about his legal - roles? we are of course looking at the fact that president trump is having difficulty raising the money he needs to pay bon for his new york civil fraud trial. what do you think the impact will be on him? this is a lot of— the impact will be on him? this is a lot of money, _ the impact will be on him? this is a lot of money, it _ the impact will be on him? this is a lot of money, it is - is a lot of money, it is potentially a financial disaster for him, potentially a financial disasterfor him, nearly potentially a financial disaster for him, nearly half $1 billion he is on the hook to pay for and we learned in court filings this year he is really struggling to find ways to pay for it. he faces a monday deadline to do so all the new york attorney—general could take some pretty drastic action is, in terms of potentially freezing bank accounts, seizing assets, and so this is of course embarrassing to him and politically damaging, especially for someone who has built their political image partly based on their status as a very wealthy individual and business men, but it is also just fundamentally a dire situation to be in financially

to have to face down and be liable for thisjudgment and liable for this judgment and not liable for thisjudgment and not have the money to pay for it. , i, not have the money to pay for it. i i, i, i, , i, not have the money to pay for it. great to have you on bbc news, patrick, _ it. great to have you on bbc news, patrick, thank- it. great to have you on bbc news, patrick, thank you i it. great to have you on bbc| news, patrick, thank you for your analysis. now to the war in ukraine. germany said on tuesday it will send an aid package to the couuntry, worth 500 million euro — that's about $500 million us. germany's defence minister, boris pistorius, announced the package, which includes 10,000 rounds of ammunition and 200 military vehicles. pistorius�* announcement comes as the us — ukraine's main supporter in staving off a russian invasion — struggles to pass a $60 billion aid package of its own. however, germany's defence minister said he has no doubt about the reliability of the americans, and speaking in germany, us defense secretary lloyd austin reaffirmed that message, as he met with us allies and ukrainian officials. today, ukraine's survival is in danger and america's security is at risk, and they don't have a data waste and we don't have

a data waste and we don't have a day to spare either. so i leave here today fully determined to keep us security assistance and ammunition flowing, and that's a matter of survival and sovereignty for ukraine, and it's a matter of honour and security for america. and, make no mistake, putin is watching, the world is watching and history is watching. our berlin correspondent jessica parker had this analysis of mr austin's comments. i think lloyd austin trying to reassure kyiv, trying to reassure kyiv, trying to reassure other allies as well who send weapon support to ukraine. i think he also seemed to have a message for domestic audiences. he was making the argument that what happens in ukraine really matters to america's security as well. but here in europe, people are talking more and more about how europe might need to become more self—sufficient, in terms of defence and deterrence, not just because of the $60 billion

aid package being stuck in congress, but also because of the uncertainty surrounding us election cycles. there are officials i have spoken to who fear that a donald trump presidency, should the republican hope will be re—elected, could undermine the nato military alliance, given remarks mr trump has previously made. but nations in europe, some of them here in germany for example, they've got a long way to go or much ground to make up. here in germany, yes they are set to meet the 2% nato defence spending target this year but that will be for the first time since the early 90s. turning now to the war in gaza — and israel says that it is doing "everything it can to flood gaza with aid". that's after the us secretary of state, antony blinken, warned that the entire population was experiencing "severe levels of acute food insecurity" — meaning that their lives are in danger because they can't consume an adequate level of food. mr blinken called on israel to prioritise providing help for those in need, and issued this warning —

during a trip to the philippines. according to the most respected measure of these things, 100% of the population in gaza is at severe levels of acute food insecurity. that's the first time an entire population has been so classified. we also see again, according to in this case the united nations, 100%, the totality of the population, is in need of humanitarian assistance. all of this comes as the un human rights office says israel's continued restrictions on getting aid in �*may amount to use of starvation as method of war which is a war crime'. earlier today, white house spokesperson karinejean pierre said that the biden administration is "deeply "concerned" by a report indicating an imminent famine in gaza. she also said there would be a meeting between the us and israel on the situation in rafah next week. meanwhile, benjamin netyanyahu

said there's no way to destroy hamas in rafah, other than by a ground incursion. and efforts to secure a ceasefire are expected to continue on wednesday. that's despite the political leader of hamas accusing israel of sabotaging talks — with its assault on monday at al—shifa hospital. for more on the humanitarian situation in gaza, i spoke to shaza moghraby, a spokesperson for the world food programme, based in new york. of the us secretary of state antony blinken said today cards are's 2 million people are experiencing" severe levels of acute food insecurity". how do you characterise what we are seeing across gaza?- you characterise what we are seeing across gaza? thank you so much for — seeing across gaza? thank you so much for having _ seeing across gaza? thank you so much for having me. - seeing across gaza? thank you so much for having me. i- seeing across gaza? thank you so much for having me. i think| so much for having me. i think the results that we seen yesterday of the report really speak to the horrific images we have been seeing coming out of gaza on a daily basis. whether it is people resorting to extreme measures to feed themselves, such as making bread out of animal feed and animalfodder, to children

bread out of animal feed and animal fodder, to children who are acutely malnourished. their rib cages are literally poking out of their bodies. to people risking their lives and putting themselves in the line of fire to reach aid convoys because they want to spare their children the excruciatingly painful fate of death by starvation. no one can claim that they didn't see this coming. we have been warming —— warning, sounding the alarm bell since november, and 1.1 million people suffering the severest level of acute food insecurity, hunger, this is double the number that we had in december in a matter of months. a stain on our collective humanity. we need to act now to stop it. we collective humanity. we need to act now to stop it.— act now to stop it. we have heard the _ act now to stop it. we have heard the word _ act now to stop it. we have heard the word famine - act now to stop it. we have heard the word famine be l act now to stop it. we have - heard the word famine be used, especially for the north of gaza. can a famine still be presented in gaza at this point? presented in gaza at this oint? i, , , presented in gaza at this oint? ii i i i i �* i

point? the answer is yes. as catastrophic— point? the answer is yes. as catastrophic as _ point? the answer is yes. as catastrophic as this - point? the answer is yes. as catastrophic as this is, - point? the answer is yes. as catastrophic as this is, whatl catastrophic as this is, what we have learned in the last couple of months is that it could actually get much more darker than it is today, and we do have a very small window of opportunity to act. what we need is an immediate ceasefire. we need unfettered access into gaza and also within gaza, and we need that access to the road access because there is no competition to road access, given the epic level of needs on the ground.— given the epic level of needs on the ground. given the epic level of needs on the round. ~ i i ii «i i, on the ground. when we speak to spokespeople _ on the ground. when we speak to spokespeople for _ on the ground. when we speak to spokespeople for the _ on the ground. when we speak to spokespeople for the israeli - spokespeople for the israeli government, they have accused hamas of stealing aid that is meant to go to innocent people in gaza who need it most direly. has your organisation seen any proof of that? we haven't seen _ seen any proof of that? we haven't seen any _ seen any proof of that? - haven't seen any credible evidence of that. we know that the suffering in gaza is very severe, and we need to get in there. we need our suppliers to flow in as soon as possible, and for that to happen, we need all entry points to be open, we

need crossings such as the carny crossings to open, and also we need israel to allow us the use of the ashton airport to facilitate aid through that. if we can do that we can avert famine, which can happen anytime between now and in the northern parts of gaza. shat anytime between now and in the northern parts of gaza.— northern parts of gaza. at this oint, northern parts of gaza. at this point. looking _ northern parts of gaza. at this point, looking at _ northern parts of gaza. at this point, looking at the - northern parts of gaza. at this point, looking at the situation| point, looking at the situation as you have described it, what is your message to the international community, both nonprofit organisations working of course to alleviate the situation, but also governments? situation, but also covernments? i i i governments? this is entirely on the international _ governments? this is entirely i on the international community. if famine is allowed to happen, this is a shared responsibility, so we are calling on the international community to do whatever it takes to stop the situation from deteriorating any further. let us do ourjobs. we in wfp are experts at averting famine. we have averted famine in yemen, we can do a u—turn on this but in order to do this we

need a ceasefire. we need unfettered humanitarian access, so let us do ourjob, what are we waiting for, time is running out, we don't have much time, and we need a solution so that we can have the access that we need to prevent this humanitarian catastrophe from getting much worse. iiiiui’iilii humanitarian catastrophe from getting much worse.— getting much worse. will have to leave it _ getting much worse. will have to leave it there _ getting much worse. will have to leave it there but _ getting much worse. will have to leave it there but thank - getting much worse. will have to leave it there but thank you so much forjoining us on bbc news tonight. around the world and across the uk. this is bbc news. let's look at some stories in the uk. a convicted paedophile has become the first person to be found guilty of the new offence of �*cyber flashing' in england and wales. nicholas hawkes from essex was sentenced to more than a year in prison after pleading guilty to sending unsolicited, explicit photos to a 15—year—old girl and a woman. the offence came into effect on january 31st. the outgoing first minister of wales, mark drakeford, fought back tears as he made a farewell speech on his last day in office. the 69—year—old had to pause briefly, as he mentioned the death of his wife

of 46 years, clare. he thanked the welsh people and his colleagues for their support, during what he called the "hardest and saddest" year of his life. at the end of his speech, drakeford received a standing ovation. tesco has been told to stop using its clubcard prices logo, after losing a long legal battle with rival, lidl. the german discounter had argued the tesco version took "unfair advantage" of its "reputation for great value". last year, the high court found in favour of lidl and today the court of appeal agreed. tesco said it was "disappointed" with the ruling but lidl said it was "delighted". you're live with bbc news. here in washington, two retired us generals who led the chaotic withdrawal from afghanistan in 2021, testified in front of congress. they placed blame on both the trump and biden administrations for the pull—out that led to the rapid collapse of the afghan government, and allowed the taliban, characterised as a terrorist organization by the us and the uk, to seize control of the country. mark milley,

formerjoint chiefs of staff chairman, and kenneth mckenzie, who led the us central command, were speaking to a house foreign affairs committee hearing on the withdrawal from afghanistan on tuesday. it was their first testimony since each of them retired, allowing them to be more candid then in previous testimonies. having a plan is one thing. preparing the plan, vetting the plan, coordinating the plan with the people that are going to actually carry you out, the department of defense, that's another set and that was too little, too late. it was my judgment that it was far too little, far too late. was that your assessment, general milley? it was. and i would broaden it a little bit by saying it was a pretty. consistent assessment - by me and other members of the uniform military, up - to and including the secretary, that the withdrawal.

of the military forces, and the contractors in the nato forces that went with it - would ultimately lead, j as i said in my opening statement, to a general collapse of the nsf - and the government. in the chaotic final days of the exit, 13 us service members and dozens of afghan civilians were killed in a bombing at the aiport in kabul, afghanstan�*s capital. family members of the american soldiers who died attended the hearing in washington earlier. and as you heard in that soundbite a moment ago — the generals agree the biden administration is to blame for the poor timing of the evacuation. however, general milley said that the doha agreement, which former president trump negotiated with the taliban if to set the terms for the us departure "pulled "the rug out, morale—wise" of the afghan security forces and government. but despite the finger—pointing, they agreed that no single factor alone led to american failures in afghanistan. they said the the us should take a deeper look at entire 20—year conflict, not just the exit. the conflict in sudan is approaching its one—year anniversary. more people have been displaced because of the fighting than in any other conflict on earth and as many as five million face starvation as the coutnry teeters on the brink of famine. yet, it's often described as the war the world forgot. how the situation came

to what it is today is a complicated story that begins in 2019, with the head of the sudanese army, and the leader of the rapid support forces, a powerful rebel group, leading sudan in a power—sharing agreement. but the deal fell apart after the men battled for total control for almost a year. the war has sparked widespread death, displacement, and deprivation. the bbc hasn't been able to report from inside sudan since the fighting broke out. but now, feras killani has gained rare access to the front lines with the sudanese army in the city of omdurman, close to the capital khartoum. and a warning, you may find some of the details in his report upsetting. children in sudan are facing a living nightmare. aid agencies warn an entire generation is at risk. 300 families are crammed into this school here in port sudan. zubaida, a mother of eight, has leukaemia. she hasn't been able to get her medication since the war erupted last april.

translation: my last pills finished _ three days before the war. from that moment on, i'm suffering. i'm in constant pain. i'm so tired. these classrooms should be full of children learning. instead, desperate people from across sudan are sheltering here for safety. but there are horror stories hidden here. five people have died of cholera and others are suffering from severe diseases. this clinic feels like a front line of a humanitarian disaster the world doesn't know is happening. starving children getting what little help they can. we need this woman, who has lost all hope, struggling to keep her three—year—old daughter alive. she could barely tell us the rsf stole her home, stole her life.

and this is where her life was, in the city of omdurman, the front line of this war. sudanese army troops have been in a battle with the rapid support forces for nearly a year. a war that has devastated this country. the un says both sides face accusations of horrific abuses, even war crimes. claims both deny. the army was keen to show us the damage they say was inflicted to the city and its people by the rcf. by the rsf. they tightly controlled what we saw and where we went. raised voices. millions across the country have had to leave their lives behind. few have stayed.

64—year—old mukhtar took us to see what used to be a town square — now a makeshift graveyard. translation: there are 150 people here. | i knew many of them. mohammed, abdullah, jalal. there's just me left. a moment to remember their names. for many, a grave is only a number. the world has been distracted with other wars, other suffering, but the appeal from here is clear: the world is being urged not to forget sudan. feras killani, bbc news, sudan. human rights groups in hong kong say a sweeping security law passed on tuesday will create a "new authoritarian era". the measures — known as article

23 — expand on security laws already imposed by china and establish harsher penalities such as life imprisonment for offences such as treason. they also allow for closed—door trials, and give the police rights to detain suspects for up to 16 days without charge. the territory's chief executive, john lee, said the law would help stop "plots "and traps set up by foreign intelligence units", and prevent "black—clad violence and colour "revolution". the territory's largely pro—beijing legislative council passed the law unanimously. past attempts to enact article 23 met with stiff resistance from pro—democracy activists and lawmakers. this time, though, a month—long public consultation showed 99% support for the bill. the us state department, condemned the law, and said the united states is considering its response. but regina ip, one of the pro—beijing lawmakers, said hong kong's leaders wouldn't be deterred by threats from the west — including a possible further downgrade from credit rating agencies.

the safeguarding national security bill, which was just enacted, will make hong kong safer and more secure, so i don't see why any country would want to downgrade a travel advisory. as the president pointed out, hong kong is a very appealing city. i think people who take actions against us, who downgrades us or threaten sanctions against us, they will regret it, and we are not daunted by these threats. let's turn to some important news around the world. a court in mississippi has sentenced two former police officers to a total of 37 years in prison for torturing two black men in their own home. hunter elward and jeffrey middleton are the first of six officers being sentenced this week. michaeljenkins and eddie parker were beaten, shocked with stun guns and sexually assaulted by the officers. the former officers pleaded guilty to federal civil rights offences in august. police in brazil have accused former president jair bolsonaro of fraud relating to his covid vaccination records. the move opens the door

to possible criminal charges in the supreme court. mr bolsonaro's health records say he received the vaccine in sao paulo in 2021. but an investigation later found he was not in the city at the time. mr bolsonaro has denied any knowledge of wrong—doing. authorities declared a �*state of emergency�* for a town in slovakia, after a bear attack there. local media report five people were injured in the city centre of liptovsky mikulas on sunday, when a bear attacked them, before retreating to the woods. it came two days after a 31—year—old woman fell to her death trying to escape a similar bear attack nearby, according to local media. before we go, wednesday marks the un's international day of happiness, and to commemorate, the world happiness report released its 2024 review on the state of happiness. topping the list of happiest countries: finland. second happiest was denmark — followed by iceland, sweden and israel.

the united states landed at 23rd happiest — eight spots lower than last year. the uk was ranked three spots ahead at 20th happiest. the happiness report is a result of people in 143 countries evaluating their life on a scale of one to ten — with ten representing the best possible life. and for the eighth year in a row — it's finland who is living their very best life. we are marking the spring equinox and for some parts of the uk wednesday will bring some spring warmth, just as tuesday dead in parts of lincolnshire, 17 degrees with some hazy sunshine in some relatively mild air. now, as we head through the next few days, we are going to start to see a change. the wind direction will change. the wind direction will change. we will get into north or north westerly winds and that will bring a much colder feel in time for the weekend,

but notjust feel in time for the weekend, but not just yet. feel in time for the weekend, but notjust yet. a mild start to wednesday with extensive cloud cover, some mist and murk and some health, and is outbreaks of rain. now, in many locations, the rain will turn increasingly late and patchy through the day, and for some it will brighten up. in fact, if we see some hazy sunshine in the south—east of england, temperatures could climb to 18 degrees, but parts of south—west england, wales, the midlands, eastern england, are likely to stay grey with some bits and pieces of rain. it may brighten up a little bit across northern england and for northern ireland and for scotland, actually the afternoon should bring a decent amount of sunshine, feeling quite pleasant in light winds, 11 or 12 degrees, just a small chance of a shower in the north—east of scotland, and then through wednesday night, while this window of clear skies move southwards and eastwards, that will be replaced by the end of the night across northern ireland and the western side of scotland by more cloud cover more outbreaks of rain. this is our next frontal system. the wins will be strengthening, as well. it is going to be a windy

day, particularly in the north—west of scotland on thursday, with outbreaks of rain pushing south—eastwards. that reign particularly heavy and persistent obileye grand in the west of scotland. further south and east, quite a lot of cloud, but where we see some sunny spells, again, it may we all feel warmer. 70 degrees likely in the london area. but through thursday night and into friday, this cold front slips southwards and eastwards and that will bring a change colder to conditions. a deep low passing to the north of scotland, that will bring some really strong winds, gail is likely in the final. the northern half of the uk, there will be showers, some heavy, some thundery and some wintry october high ground, and for some places temperatures will actually be dropping as the day wears on. the afternoon, for example, in glasgow, around eight celsius. we stay in that cold airfor the weekend. eight celsius. we stay in that cold air for the weekend. there will be showers, some of which will be showers, some of which will be showers, some of which will be wintry over high ground, and when we factor in the strength of the wins, it will feel decidedly chilly. ——

winds.

hopes for a thaw in relations as a top chinese official makes a long—awaited visit to australia. we'll have the details. and a focus on interest rates as the us federal reserve begins a two—day policy meeting. hello and welcome to asia business report. i'm steve lai.

chinese foreign minister wang yi has met with his australian counterpart penny wong, during his first official visit to the country in seven years. he says china—australia relations are, "on the right track and that we must not hesitate, deviate or turnback". relations have been tense between the two nations, after a series of trade tiffs over agricultural products and wine. but last week, beijing proposed lifting all tariffs on australian wine, which could end a three—year long dispute. australia's foreign minister says the move will benefit both countries. i welcome the progress of the removal of trade impediments on barley, wine and other exports and we reiterated our desire on the removal of remaining appended to. we discuss recent volatility in nickel core markets and made the point of predictability is in all our interests. steven ciobo, australia's

former trade and tourism minister, expects to see a stabilisation