the weapons handler who loaded the gun which killed a cinematographer has been found guilty of involuntary manslaughter. a jury in new mexico tookjust over two hours to find hannah gutierrez—reed guilty over the death of halyna hutchins, the film's cinematographer. the case was centered on how a live round made it on to set and into the prop gun used by actor alec baldwin. during a rehearsal the gun fired and killed hutchins, and injured the directorjoel souza. hannah gutierrez—reed was an armourer working on the film set of rust, and meaning she was in charge

of all the weapons, the reproductions used as props. prosecutors say she brought a live round on set, put it into that weapon, which went on to kill halyna hutchins and injure another crew member. she was convicted on manslaughter charges on the basis that she floated basic gun safety procedures, guidelines that basically entail rudimentary checks to ensure the rounds you have just put into a weapon are blanks, not live rounds, and that is basically the basis of the charge. it was noted in court that hannah gutierrez—reed was an inexperienced armourer, it was only the second film is that she had worked on.

the prosecutor in that case in closing arguments described constant never—ending safety failures on the set of rust and gutierrez—reed's astonishing lack of diligence with gun safety. her defence lawyers tried to pin the blame on actor alec baldwin. he was of course holding the weapon pointing the gun at halyna hutchins when she was killed. basically, the defence said that he went off script, reed could not possibly have known he was going to do that. the jury quickly found her guilty and she was remanded in custody pending sentencing which may be up to 18 months in prison. as for alec baldwin, he was, as i say, holding the weapon, pointing it at halyna hutchins when this incident happened. he denies pulling the trigger of the weapon, and last year

was indicted on the same charges as hannah gutierrez—reed reed involuntary manslaughter, and he is now awaiting trial. us officials say at least three crew members of a cargo ship have been killed and at least four injured in a houthi strike — the first deaths to be caused by the group's attacks on merchant vessels. the greek—owned — but barbados flagged — ship was hit off the southern coast of yemen. the us central command, which oversees operations in the middle east, released this image of the vessel. a houthi military spokesman has confirmed the attack. the us says it will hold the houthis to account. earlier i spoke to firas maksad, senior fellow at the middle east institute. i asked him how these deaths have changed things. there is a clear escalatory cycle here. this is yet another data point. we did have the first ship being sunk earlier this week, with a potential catastrophic environmental situation in the red sea.

we also had, a couple of days ago, data cables vital for the globe�*s internet connection, that path through the red sea, damaged, possibly also an act of sabotage by the houthis. and the us efforts to deter the houthis is clearly not succeeding. what should we expect from the us led group in the region? air strikes targeting houthi sites already. not every problem has a solution and this is one of those where the us has had to really deal with the houthis�* sponsor, iran. that is part of a regional tussle between, on the one hand the united states, which is the security guarantor in the region and for these vital maritime shipping lanes

that are essential for the global economy. and, on the other hand, iran, which is flexing its muscles to its various proxies in the region as long as the war in gaza takes place. the americans have been successful in deterring iranian proxies in iraq and syria after the american soldiers were killed at a base. there were retaliatory attacks. iran pulled back, so washington needs to be able to deliver a message to iran that this is no longer acceptable. what would that look like to your mind? it has to be both carrots and sticks, so there ought to be an effort at diplomacy, and that there is diplomacy that has been going on through various channels, but then also the united states needs to be able to flex its muscles. the problem here is that the iranians know very well this is an election year in washington, the last thing that president biden wants is yet further escalation and to entangle united states in head—on competition with iran.

to the us next, where nikki haley, the last remaining rival to donald trump for the republican presidential nomination, has pulled out of the race for the white house. it comes after mr trump and joe biden, pretty much cleaned up in super tuesday's state primaries and caucuses. donald trump was taking a victory lap before he had quite secured his party's nomination, but he knew it was now in the bag. they call it super tuesday for a reason. this is a big one. and they tell me, the pundits and otherwise, that there's never been one like this. there's never been anything so conclusive. when he launched this campaign in the same room 16 months ago, he was not the favourite to win. in order to make america great and glorious again, i am tonight announcing my candidacy for president of the united states. four criminal indictments and his claims of politically—motivated

persecution turbo—charged that campaign, his mugshot becoming an electoral asset. last night's results confirmed he is unstoppable, with only one exception — in leafy vermont. the biggest primary night of the year and some - fascinating results. let's take a look at vermont, because it looks like - nikki haley is squeaking ahead. one surprise victory was not enough to keep nikki haley in a race that she could not win. pulling out, she quoted margaret thatcher, and did not quite endorse donald trump. it is now up to donald trump to earn the votes of those in our party and beyond it who did not support him, and i hope he does that. her departure is a disappointment for all those republicans who would rather not vote for donald trump. what he could learn from her is that there's a portion - of the republican party that - right now would prefer someone otherthan him, and he probably needs to do something - to earn their vote. i usually vote democrat but,

you know, i see something different in her, and i was, like, i might change. they never give a woman a chance, i don't think. they ever will give a woman a chance to get _ into the white house. most voters say they don't want a rematch with the same old candidates as the last election, but that's the choice they're going to be stuck with. in this contest that nobody wanted, we have got two elderly gentlemen who each think the other is uniquely flawed and therefore beatable. joe biden is convinced when voters see and hear more of donald trump, they will reject him. mr trump thinks that joe biden�*s age and his record in office make him unelectable. of course, only one of them will prove correct. sarah smith, bbc news, washington. and ukraine's southern port city of odesa, has been hit in a missile strike, during a visit by president zelensky and the greek prime minister.

local media say five people are dead. zelensky had been showing kyriakos mytsotakis tributes to 12 victims who had been killed by a russian drone attack there four days earlier. according to greek media, a missile landed about 150 metres from the two leaders, but fortunately neither were injured. our ukraine correspondentjames waterhouse has more from kyiv. kyriakos mitsotakis and volodymyr zelensky were hosting a joint press conference in the port of odesa when tonight the kremlin said it carried out a precision strike, in its words, on a hangar containing drones, on the same site. now, this is an area that is routinely hit by russia. we just don't know whether both world leaders were deliberately targeted. but what we do know is that this was a near miss. when you look at what witnesses were saying, when you look at verified footage of the explosion, we're likely talking about the missile landing hundreds of metres away. now, volodymyr zelensky

is no stranger to risk. he travelled to the front lines frequently in the past, where near misses might not necessarily be reported. but what is clear here is that we know for the first time that a missile has landed precariously close. it could have been catastrophic for greece — an nato member — and ukraine, a country still at war and still being invaded. around the world and across the uk, this is bbc news. let's look at some other stories making news in the uk. uk taxpayers have had to cover the cost of damages to the sum of £15,000 paid to an academic who the science secretary michelle donelan falsely accused of supporting hamas, her department has said. the sum was paid "without admitting any liability", the department for science, innovation and technology added. the government has lost all the votes in the house of lords�* debate on its bill to stop legal challenges to its rwanda deportation scheme. the legislation would deem

rwanda a safe country to send asylum seekers in a bid to stop removals being derailed by appeals. mps will have the chance to overturn changes when their bill returns to the commons. a huge fire near southampton�*s football stadium has forced them to cancel their championship match against preston north end this evening. the blaze broke out on an industrial estate nearby. a smoke plume coming from industrial units could be seen from miles away. you're live with bbc news. the uk has seen an important date in the political year, with the conservative government setting out its tax and spending plans in what may be the last budget before the next general election. chancellorjeremy hunt told mps his new policies would lead to "long—term growth" and "permanent tax cuts". let's look at some of the key announcements — a cut in national insurance, by 2p in the pound, for employees and

the self—employed. full child benefits will be paid to households where the highest—earning parent is getting up to £60,000. the current limit is £50,000. and the non—dom tax regime for uk residents whose permanent home is overseas is to be replaced with new rules from april next year. 0ur political editor chris mason has more. budget day from every angle. is this an election—winning budget? tradition, choreography, and noisy musical protest out in whitehall. # we're on a road to nowhere #. jeremy hunt and his team in focus. mr chancellor of the exchequer. this is a budget during a recession, albeit a mild one, and interest rates remain high, the chancellor acknowledged, but he wanted to signal his instinct is to cut tax

when he believes it's responsible. we can now help families not just with temporary cost of living support but with permanent cuts in taxation. and here was the headline measure on that — another cut in national insurance, a tax paid by most workers. from april 6th, employee national insurance will be cut by another 2p, from 10% to 8%. and self—employed national insurance will be cut from 8% to 6%. national insurance was cut by 2p in the pound a few months back, too. when combined with the autumn reductions, it means 27 million employees will get an average tax cut of £900 per year. two million self—employed will get a tax cut averaging £650.

changes that make our system simpler and fairer. and there was this change on child benefit. from next month, a parent will be able to earn more before losing it. that means no—one earning under £60,000 will pay the charge, taking 170,000 families out of paying it altogether. and because of the higher taper and threshold, nearly half a million families with children will save an average of £1,300 next year. to pay for the tax cuts, tax rises on business class flights, holiday home owners, smoking, and vaping. duty on alcohol will be frozen until next february. fuel duty has also been frozen. then came the moment of political theft. the government will abolish the current tax system for non—doms. the chancellor nicking a labour idea to remove a tax perk from often wealthy folk who live here but pay tax abroad.

i aim to please all sides of the house in all of my budgets. sir keirstarmer. what from labour, who hope to deliver their own budget within a matter of months? there we have it — the last desperate act from a party that has failed. britain in recession. the national credit cards maxed out. and despite the measures today, the highest tax burden for 70 years. and he added... an economy smaller than when the prime minister entered downing street. the textbook definition of decline. that is their record. i mean, after14 years, who do they actually think feels better off? other parties were pretty scathing too. this is, let's face it, a last ditch, tone deaf approach to desperately try to recover in the polls. it's the embodiment of the tory

party before the people. a bottom of the barrel budget. nothing to make families truly better off after the catastrophic fall in living standards we have seen under the conservatives. this afternoon, i had the chance to put questions to the chancellor on your behalf. i pointed out to him he is taking £20 billion more in tax in five years�* time, even with today's cuts in national insurance. so people are being clobbered, aren't they? for all of this talk about cuts, that's baloney, people are paying more. one of the reasions tax receipts are higher is because the economy is set to get back to growth. if you look at the thresholds, they are frozen as peoples incomes are rising, they are paying more. even if you take account of the thresholds what you will see next year is a big cut in taxation forfamilies earning the average income — it's a significant cut.

tonight, jackets off, the battle lines for the general election are becoming clearer. the economy, centre stage. chris mason, bbc news, westminster. a un representative has described seeing dead bodies on the streets of haiti and hearing accounts of sexual violence. ulrika richardson, the un's humanitarian co—ordinator in haiti, says tension remains high. while one of the most powerful gang leaders has warned there will be civil war unless the prime minister gives up power. violence in haiti has spiralled over the past few days. on tuesday, armed gangs who control most of the haitian capital, attacked the airport, just 48 hours after storming a jail and freeing thousands of prisoners. the un's human rights chief has called for the international community to do more. i urge the international community to act swiftly and decisively to prevent haiti's further descent into chaos. this situation is beyond untenable for

the people of haiti. the gang leader behind much of the violence — jimmy "barbecue" cherizier — has demanded that prime minister ariel henry step down. translation: if ariel henry doesn't resign, | if the international community continues to support him, we will be heading straight for a civil war that will lead to genocide. a senior expert expert gave us his analysis. a senior expert expert gave us his analysis-— his analysis. what we are seeini his analysis. what we are seeing this _ his analysis. what we are seeing this week - his analysis. what we are seeing this week is - his analysis. what we are seeing this week is the i seeing this week is the continuing of a very worrying situation that started three to five years ago, which as you said led to a very high social, economic, territorial and violent control of the gangs, imposed on 85% of the territory of the capital. that allowed them to launch this kind of

attack six days ago. i think there has been, they have been able to transform territorial control into economic and political power. controlling strategic areas, including a large part of the capital, which gives them access to the port, for example, which is the main asset in the hands of barbecue, the gang leader you were mentioning. not a single drop of oil or goods actually enter the country without his gangs and other gangs, actually, receiving a tax. this has been the case for almost 18 months now. so they have been able to control legal markets, illicit markets, run checkpoints and extortion, kidnapping to an industrial level, drug trafficking, arms trafficking in the hands of the gangs today. so i think this is

part of them having strong territorial control and their ability to make it political, and it's part of what's happening right now. let's take a look at some other stories in the headlines. south africa has petitioned the international court ofjustice to impose new emergency measures on israel — citing what it describes as �*widespread starvation�* in gaza. south africa asked the court to order all parties to cease hostilities and release all hostages, and compel israel to take action to ensure the provision of aid to gaza. it�*s the second time south africa requested the court for additional measures. a medical school has suspended a lecturer after he shot a student during a classroom argument. the young man is recovering in hospital in the city of sirajganj. six people have been arrested for attempting to smuggle 87 live animals — including an endangered red panda — across the thai border. the suspects were arrested at bangkok�*s international airport as they tried to fly home to india. lizards, birds and snakes were among the wildlife seized.

a k—pop star has felt the need to issue an apology to her fans after they discovered she had a boyfriend. karina, whose real name is yu ji—min, is the frontwoman of the group aespa. grace harbage reports. this is k—pop singer karina, one part of the south korean girl group aespa, whose found out the reality of trying to have a relationship when you�*re a k—pop superstar. the reaction from fans has been extreme. trucks have appeared outside karina�*s management with electronic billboards that displayed these words — "is the love given to you by your fans not enough?" and "you must apologise, otherwise you�*ll see a decrease in album sales and empty concert seats". this is the man in the spotlight, actor lee jae—wook. the two met last year and his agency have asked for warm respect regarding the relationship. karina�*s posted to her almost 13 million instagram followers apologising for surprising fans

with the new relationship. in a post, she�*s vowed to heal the wounds she�*s inflicted. this isn�*t uncommon for pop stars in south korea and japan, where the industry makes personal revelations tricky to navigate. injapan, some stars are even bound by no dating clauses in their contracts. last year, blackpink�*s lead singerjisoo�*s relationship with actor ahn bo—hyun rocked the k—pop world, until the relationship broke up just a few months later. not every fan is unhappy about karina�*s new relationship. 0ne wrote, "you don�*t need to apologise for feeling. i will always root for your happiness. you deserve all the love and all good things". jeff benjamin, a k—pop columnist for billboard magazine, told me earlier about the reaction. what is really at play here is definitely a cultural difference.

i think, whether it�*s the uk or america, here over on this side, you know, we kind of think about celebrity relationships a bit differently. sometimes even used as marketing tools, you know, girl group member dates boy band member, whatever it may be. but in south korea and in the k—pop idol world, it�*s not exactly the same case. and i use that word "idol" because this is what they refer to their artists as — this sort of ideal celebrity that is supposed to be very focused on their work, very focused on their fans. it�*s not really about having the chance to explore personal relationships or do things that go beyond the scope of their career. it�*s a high pressure situation, and i really feel for the situation in general, but also am very much comforted by some of those fan messages that did support her in that way. yeah, it does put an awful lot of pressure on these artists and when it comes to trying to have a personal life beyond the sort of k—pop scene. will this impact her career?

what about aespa, the group as a whole? yeah, it�*s tricky to say because aespa is definitely a big international name. just on friday they released a new collaboration track where they�*re featured alongside chris martin from coldplay. they have a really strong international fan base — two top 10 albums on the billboard 200, for example. and the international fans in particular are the ones that are really supportive and kind of changing this tide and narrative around idol relationships being so controversial or so difficult and heart—wrenching for an idol�*s career. it�*s a little difficult to say because we�*ll have to see what the future holds. i think karina�*s message was amazing and just the fact that she handled it very maturely. she said she wants to keep working hard. she�*ll show a better side of herself, meet fans in a brighter way.

that�*s all for now — stay with bbc news. hello there. over the next few days, the wind�*s going to be picking up from the east or south—east. it�*s going to be particularly windy on friday. we�*ll have more of the cloud affecting eastern parts of the country. i think western areas will see most of the sunshine. that�*s because high pressure over scandinavia will be pushing westwards against this low pressure system, so we�*ll start to see the isobars squeezing together. so for thursday, it�*s a bright start across northern and western areas. quite a chilly start, mind you — early mist and fog will clear as the wind begins to pick up. eastern areas seeing thicker cloud at times. it will stay rather grey here, maybe some spots of drizzle. a few showers into the afternoon across the midlands, into east wales. 0therwise, many places should stay dry and we should see sunny spells. top temperatures 11 degrees but cooler along north sea coasts with that

increasing onshore breeze. the winds continue to pick up through thursday night, pushing more cloud into the midlands, northern england, large parts of scotland. but there will still be some clearer skies, particularly through southern and central areas. so where the skies are clear, it�*s going to be cold. where we have the cloud, the breeze, then less cold — generally, i think two to five degrees. now, more isobars on the charts for friday. a strong east, south—easterly wind picking up as this low pressure system starts to push back against the area of high pressure, so a blustery day for all. there will be quite a bit of sunshine around, we think for, england and wales. more clouds for northern england, certainly central and eastern scotland, and some good spells of sunshine for western scotland, northern ireland. but the winds a feature for all areas, particularly so along north sea coast. so that will peg the temperatures back. although we�*re looking at single digits on the north sea, it could feel even colder than that. further west in the sunshine, ten or 11 celsius. into saturday, this area of low pressure sideswipes the south and south—west of the country. again, it stays quite blustery, quite a few isobars

on the charts for saturday. and we�*ll see showers or longer spells of rain affecting parts of the west and the south—west. some sunshine around too. it�*s not going to be a wash—out. a lot of cloud, though, for northern england and large parts of central and eastern scotland. a bit of drizzle on the hills there. feeling quite chilly in the north, but 11 to 13 in the south, some milder air being pulled into this area of low pressure which will — by sunday into monday — pull out into the near continent. you�*ll see the isobars opening out. so we should start to see some drier weather, lighter winds as we head through sunday, certainly into monday and tuesday. but east—facing coasts will always see more in the way of cloud, perhaps still with a little bit of drizzle over the higher ground.

us federal reserve chairman jerome powell says he�*s in no rush to cut interest rates until the data signals a meaningfulfall in inflation. and we take a look at how small businesses in singapore are getting a �*swift lift�*. hello and welcome to asia business report. i�*m steve lai. we begin in the us, where federal reserve chairman jerome powell began two days of testimony on capitol hill. he�*s presenting the central bank�*s semiannual monetary policy report, with lawmakers eagle—eyed for clues about interest rates.

0ur north america business correspondent erin delmore has the details from new york. 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