oj simpson, the american footballer—turned—actor who was controversially cleared of double murder, has died of cancer at the age of 76. one of the greatest players in history, he'll forever be remembered for his televised trial for the double murder, and this notorious car chase. also in the programme — a former post office boss apologises for celebrating the conviction of this wrongly jailed pregnant sub—mistress seema misra, who was eventuallyjailed. japan's prime minister tells the us congress that american leadership remains indispensable to the world. and a big night for key players in the gaming industry, who are gathered in london for the bafta games awards. live from our studio in singapore... ..this is bbc news.

it's newsday. welcome to bbc news — broadcasting to viewers in the uk and around the world. we begin in the united states, where oj simpson has died of cancer at the age of 76. his career as an american football star and actor were spectacularly overshadowed by events surrounding a brutal double murder. in 1995, he was controversially acquitted of the murder of his ex—wife nicole brown and herfriend ron goldman — the acquittal came after a slow speed car chase by police when simpson fled on the day he was due to turn himself in. both the car chase and the murder trial were watched by millions around the world at a time when rolling news was in its infancy. our los angeles correspondent emma vardy reports. this is one of those scenes that would only happen honestly here in southern california. tonight, oj simpson is a fugitive. watched by millions, oj simpson famously led police on a car chase

through los angeles, after becoming the main suspect in the murder of his ex—wife and herfriend. around the world, viewers watched the unfolding drama as people came onto the street cheering him on. we see oj. police attempted to apprehend him live on tv. he was eventually taken into custody at his california home. he was clearly the best running back of the 705. oj simpson had had a remarkable life. from an impoverished childhood, he had gone on to become one of the greatest american football players in history, setting records in the sport still unbroken today. a boat? that's right, a boat. his celebrity status didn't end on the football field. he later became

a hollywood actor. drugs. hey, nurse, give this man some drugs, quick. but oj simpson will be forever remembered for this nine—month televised trial, for the double murder that transfixed america. he was accused of killing his former wife and a friend in a jealous rage. nicole brown simpson had been murdered in a brutal knife attack outside her home in a fashionable los angeles neighbourhood. known as the trial of the century, people tuned in from all over the world. at one point, oj simpson was shown struggling to try on a pair of gloves found at the crime scene, leading to his attorney's famous line. if it doesn't fit, i you must acquit. we the jury in the above entitled action find the defendant, orenthaljames simpson, not guilty of the crime of murder... the jury took just three hours to deliver their verdict. the oj simpson trial sparked deep public emotion in america, seen by some as a case of a white police force trying to frame the star, he was acquitted by a mainly blackjury. but to this day, many people believe he simply got away with domestic

violence and murder. oj simpson later did go to jail, having been charged with armed robbery after a confrontation with two sports memorabilia dealers in las vegas. he was released in 2017 after nine years behind bars. in a seemingly twisted take on reality, he published a book called if i did it: confessions of the killer. hey, let me take a moment to say thank you to all the people who reached out to me... seen little in public life in recent years, he'll be remembered for his rags to riches story and fall from grace, which left the unresolved question in popular culture ever since about whether justice was ever truly served. emma vardy, bbc news, los angeles. our correspondent david willis in los angeles reflected on the reactions to simpson's death.

we'll see perhaps the most pointed reaction being that of ron goldman's father, fred, who in an interview with nbc news today was asked about the death of oj simpson, and he replied simply, "it's no great loss to the world, just a further reminder of ron being gone". and the goldman family, of course, has fought for more than a quarter of a century, in fact, to collect on that $33.5 million civil court award, now, that is thought with interest to amount to around $100 million in today's money. and there are reports that the goldman family intends now to go after the estate of oj simpson in an attempt to get much of that unpaid civil court award, if you like. as far as other reaction is concerned, caitlynjenner, who was previously married to the american entrepreneur, krisjenner, whose ex—husband

was robert kardashian, he was part of the oj dream team of lawyers on the social media platform x today saying simply, "good riddance". and david, it seems like there's no love lost from certain members of the community in los angeles. tell us a bit more about why oj simpson is such a significant figure in america. well, this is a man, steve, who embodied, if you like, the american dream. he was raised in poverty in san francisco. he became a legendary american football player and then a hollywood star featuring in more than 20 films, including towering inferno and the naked gun series. but it was a dramatic fall from grace, of course, that trial of the century, which basically kept viewers here agog for the best part of a year. he was acquitted.

he was acquitted, of course, from that on those counts of double murder, but later convicted in a civil case — the award of, as i mentioned, $33.5 million. and there was further legal jeopardy to confront him. i covered the trial in las vegas when he was accused of going into an armed into a situation of brandishing a gun to retrieve artefacts that he believed belonged to him. so, it was a really extraordinary fall from grace for a former american hero, steve. the la times columnist patt morisson told us about her time covering the oj case. the case was a spectacle for the rest of the world, but for los angeles, it was very intimate. this was our family. we know these places, we know these characters. in fact, the night of the murders, about five or six hours before the murders, i was across the street from oj simpson's house

at a charity event. we know these roads and freeways. and just a couple of years before the simpson—goldman murders, the los angeles riots had happened. and you may remember, steve, that these were were acquitted of beating the black motorist, rodney king, in a video tape that also was seen around the world. and to some extent, this quick verdict, this acquittal of oj simpson, this famous black man by a majority black verdict, was seen in some parts as as a bit of a payback for what had happened to rodney king. we had had all sorts of upsets with the los angeles police department, and in the years since, there's been a lot of healing to address some of these problems. but the oj case riveted everybody. i could see the courthouse just from my desk at the la times and was there for the civil trial that you mentioned. if you walked a block up the street from my desk, there were crowds of people outside the courthouse every day selling t—shirts,

proclaiming his innocence, proclaiming his guilt. it was notjust a three—ring circus, but i think a 30—ring circus magnified the world over. and if you could take us back to that car chase then with the white ford bronco that is so infamous, and how did that moment and the subsequent trial change sort of the coverage of news. the car chase is a staple of los angeles news. we were once the great bank robbery capital of the world because all people had to do was snatch the money and drive onto the freeways. these are as familiar... i apologise for the commentary there. these are as familiar to us as any of our neighbourhoods. so i was live on television the night of that chase, and we were conducting our programming and someone said, "oh, my goodness, oj simpson is running away and a white bronco down the freeway". and we just gave up our regular programming. nobody wanted to see anything else. and for months thereafter, people didn't talk about anything else except the chase

and simpson and the trial and how it cut across race and celebrity and domestic violence and all those considerations. japan's prime minister has urged the united states to continue to play its leading role in international affairs. mr speaker, the prime minister ofjapan. fumio kishida was addressing a joint meeting of the us congress in washington — the first by a japanese leader in nine years. he called on america to overcome what he called its self—doubt and warned that without american leadership — ukraine could collapse under the current russian invasion. the world needs the united states to continue playing this pivotal role in the affairs of nations. today, i detect an undercurrent of self—doubt amongst some americans about what your role in the world should be. this self—doubt is arising

at a time when our world is at history's turning point. after his address before congress, the japanese pm attended a lunch hosted by vice president kamala harris and the us secretary of state, antony blinken. the event was meant to celebrate the us—japanese alliance. the vice president also paid tribute to japanese prime ministers past and present. prime minister abe was the author, of course, of a free and open indo—pacific, and he invested in the us—japan alliance and set japan on a course of global leadership. mr prime minister, under your leadership, japan's global role has grown immensely and even further, the united states and the japan alliance is now stronger than ever. the most important meeting for mr kishida is of course the one

with the us president. joe biden has been holding talks with japan's prime minister and the philippine president, ferdinand marcos junior. this trilateral summit is designed to strengthen ties and ensure security and prosperity. when we stand as one, - we're able to forge a better future role, and that's what this new trilat i is all about in my view — building a better future i for people across - the indo—pacific and, quite frankly, beyond, around the world. - so thank you both for being. here and i look forward to this first summit an many more in the years ahead. - let's speak to jeffrey ordaniel, director of maritime programs at the pacific forum and associate professor of international security thank you for your time today. with the main thing to understand about why these three countries are looking to cooperate and why now? thank ou for cooperate and why now? thank you for having _ cooperate and why now? thank you for having me. _

cooperate and why now? thank you for having me. i _ cooperate and why now? thank you for having me. i think- cooperate and why now? thank you for having me. i think the l you for having me. i think the us—japan, philippines bilateral was waiting to happen. the three countries shared really common security interests. the philippines is currently under the same coercion from china and not for the first time. from 1995, from 2012, there was an attempt from china to dislodge the phyllis philippines. since 2001. he has been trying to remove philippine presence. so, manila's point of view is that treaty of alliance is important. in dealing with china, but also japan is playing an important role. in terms of capacity building, note that japan is the reason why the philippine coastguard is now one of the largest, if not the largest in southeast asia. this is from the

philippine protected down my perspective. from japan's point of view, the economic security so depend on a stable rules—based order —— philippine's perspective. japan is also viewing this alliance is also viewing this alliance is critical to dealing with china. but also sees the philippines as an important partner in ensuring that the south china sea remains free and open. from the us perspective, japan and the philippines are the front—line allies in the quest for americans to commit stability in asia and ensuring is able to respond effectively in any scenario in the future. jeffrey, just quickly, this meeting between the three countries is intended to send a message. how will that message be received and is there a danger it could increase tensions?—

danger it could increase tensions? ~ 3 tensions? well, i think it's important _ tensions? well, i think it's important to _ tensions? well, i think it's important to look- tensions? well, i think it's important to look at - tensions? well, i think it's important to look at the i tensions? well, i think it's. important to look at the full context of the philippine and china tensions. obviously, there are a lot of dates information out there about how these partnerships or these exercises of cooperation happen between and among us allies. could result in more tension with china. i think what has become clear over the past several years is that the bilateral fact is the preferred track of china has not work. the philippine is now looking for ways to stop china's course of activities, and one way is by strengthening its alliance with washington and deepening its paradigm cooperation. —— maritime washbasin. —— cooperation. the united states alliance obviously is hope to provide the terms and the partnership with japan is being

seen as an important element in increasing manila's capacity, increasing manila's capacity, in particular coastguard capacity. in particular coastguard capacity-— in particular coastguard caaci ., ' , ., capacity. jeffrey ordaniel, thank you _ capacity. jeffrey ordaniel, thank you for _ capacity. jeffrey ordaniel, thank you for your - capacity. jeffrey ordaniel, thank you for your time. l around the world and across the uk. this is bbc news.

the us secretary of state has called on his counterparts in countries from europe to china to help dissuade iran from launching a retaliatory strike against israel. antony blinken has asked them to make it clear to tehran that an escalation of the conflict in gaza is in no—one's interest. fears are growing that iran could strike following the killing of senior iranians in syria last week. from jerusalem, here's lucy williamson. the target was precise — a carefully calibrated strike. but the fallout from

this attack may be much harder to control. iran's supreme leader has said israel must be punished for the strike on its damascus consulate that killed a top military general and six other people. israel has promised direct retaliation for any attack on its soil. it's worried enough to cancel leave for all combat units and call up its air—force reserves. translation: we have - established a simple principle. whoever harms us, we will harm them. we are prepared to meet all the security needs of the state of israel, both defensively and offensively. a warning for iran that's also being heard at home. we're always aware about something in the corner that maybe would come and surprise us, like in october. we've prepared a shelter, we've put some water - inside and a transistor. and a tv, so we can see what's the condition - outside, what's happening. and we wish everything

would be ok. _ israel has been fighting iran—backed groups like hezbollah for years, but a direct confrontation with tehran could bring the conflict right into the centre of israel. leaders both here and in the united states are watching to see what iran does next — and what iran does next will determine whether this becomes a much bigger war. neither side is seen as wanting all—out war right now, but the stakes of any miscalculation are high. when israel will be attacked, if it is attacked by iran, and depending on where that attack comes from and how and what the target is, that will dictate for israel how it responds and retaliates, so a miscalculation, even when both sides want to keep this contained, can very quickly and easily lead to a larger and wider regional war.

tonight, iran's foreign minister said his country did not seek to expand the conflict but that, without international condemnation of the attack on its consulate, it was necessary to contain israel's aggression. israel, fighting on two of its borders and under attack from groups in syria, yemen and iraq, faces a dangerous moment in what is already a regional war. lucy williamson, bbc news, tel aviv. let's head to the uk now. at the ongoing post office inquiry, the former managing director, david smith, has apologised for an email he sent, saying a pregnant sub—postmistress�*s prison sentence was "brilliant news." seema misra, was jailed for 15—months in november 2010 — the conviction was quashed 11 years later in 2021. our business editor simonjack reports.

david smith only ran the post office from april to october in 2010, but he was in charge when seema misra was convicted of false accounting and sent to prison based on records from the post office's horizon computer system. at the time, this is the e—mail he sent to post office lawyers. today, he had this to say. looking at it through their eyes rather than through mine, you can see that it may have caused substantial... ..upset, and i really do apologise for that. seema was a mother and pregnant when jailed. she didn't accept today's apology. they need to apologise to my ten—year—old. you know, they took his mum away on his birthday. i was eight weeks pregnant. so, you know, they need to apologise to my younger son. it's terrible. i haven't accepted the apologies. you had to go to jail. should other people responsible for the scandal have to go to jail? post office, royal mail, each and every single person responsible for the scandal, you need to put them behind the bars. i was sent to prison without any facts and evidence. now there is a whole list of

people with lots of evidence. what are we waiting for? david smith insists his brilliant news e—mail was because it was evidence that horizon was not the problem, but lawyers for the postmasters say it was evidence that there was a circular and cynical logic that court convictions prove that horizon could be trusted even when they knew it could not. you were deliberately closing your eyes to problems with the integrity of horizon data, weren't you? no. and you were encouraging your staff to pursue a trial as another method of shoring up a problem system which you knew had serious question marks over it. mr smith, what do you say to the misra family? - david smith exited the stage today. up tomorrow, adam crozier, former chairman of the royal mail, which owned the post office

at the time of the scandal. simonjack, bbc news, at the post office inquiry. sumo legend taro akebono has died of heart failure at the age of 5a. the hawaiian—born wrestler passed away in a tokyo hospital earlier this month his family said in a statement. he won eleven championships and was the first foreigner to obtain the sports highest rank. obtain the sport's highest rank. it's been a big night for key players in the gaming industry, who are gathered in london for the bafta games awards. super mario brothers wonder won best family game, but it was baldur�*s gate 3 ? based on dungeons and dragons — that triumphed, with five wins including best game. marc cieslak was there. this is what it's all about — a bafta golden mask. tonight's winners will be taking home a slightly smaller version of one of these, but these are water proof that the industry is more than an economic force, and the uk has always played a giant role in games development. —— these awards. in a recent bafta poll, lara croft, made famous by the tomb raider games, was voted most iconic video game character of all time.

i caught up with the co—founder of the company behind lara, sir ian livingston, to talk about her legacy in the state of the industry. of course, it was developed in derby in the mid 1990s and it became a phenomenon, and it has survived the test of time, and lara croft is significant today as she ever was, and long may she continue. i think a lot of people think games are developed in the uk, not as much as in the united states orjapan or china, but the uk is at the forefront of all great game development. sticking with the uk theme, winner of the best british game was indie puzzler viewfinder from sleepy owl studios. they also took on the award for new intellectual property. very happy and very grateful and chuffed, emotional! we really appreciate - being validated by our peers, by the people in the industry.

baldur�*s gate 3... but the big prize of the night, best game, went to baldur�*s gate 3. based on the dungeons & dragons table—top role—playing games, it cleaned up, racking up five awards in total. the games industry has been rocked by recentjob losses, but tonight the developers and performers in this room are focused on celebrating an industry that is far from meeting its end of level boss. it's game over for us here on newsday. from this hour at least. i'll be back. hello there. we still had the same south—westerly breeze on thursday, but more sunshine led to a warmer day.

the highest temperature in the sunshine was measured in norfolk, with temperatures reaching 20 degrees in northern ireland whilst it did cloud over later on and we got some rain as well. temperatures here reached 18 celsius, the warmest it's been in northern ireland so far this year. in northern ireland now, this is the temperature anomaly map. the red colour is showing that it's warmer than average across the whole of the uk. we'll get similar temperatures again on friday but then over the weekend it gets cooler from the northwest. that cooler weather arrives in the southeast by sunday. now, heading into early friday, we've got some sunshine to begin with in scotland. we've got these showery bursts of rain coming back into northern ireland, into cumbria and showers we'll get more sunshine more widely, although some western coasts could stay a bit grey and cloudy. but in the sunshine, it's going to feel warm. temperatures in the southeast and east anglia reaching 20 or 21 degrees and again, in the northeast of scotland, 18 degrees where we're missing those showers.

but the weather starts to change into the weekend because we've got a few weather fronts coming down from the northwest, bringing more cloud, some rain and some cooler air, too. first weather front here is bringing this cloud and patchy rain across northern england and wales, pushing into the midlands and southwest england later. and then, following on behind, a lot of showers for scotland and northern ireland, some of them heavy and thundery with some hail. the last of the warmth and some sunshine still across east anglia in the southeast — temperatures 20 degrees here. but elsewhere, those temperatures are going to be several degrees lower on saturday. now, we're replacing that warmer south—westerly wind with something much cooler — a westerly wind which will bring in more showers on sunday — and we'll see showers, particularly in scotland and northern ireland. and just for a while, there could be a bit of winter illness over the mountain tops. there'll be a few showers coming in over the irish sea to northwest england and north wales, but further south and east, it may well be dry, but it's certainly going to be cooler. we've got temperatures back down to 15 degrees, which is near normalfor this time of the year, but struggling to 10 or 11 across much of scotland and northern ireland. and here we're going

to find a lot of showers overnight and into monday. low pressure moving down across the uk. that's going to bring a stronger northwesterly wind and make it feel chilly on monday. but after that, the weather should improvejust a little with fewer showers and it won't be quite as windy.

a decade of weak growth — the international monetary fund sounds the alarm, as central banks consider when to start cutting rates. plus... vietnam's corruption crackdown why a property tycoon has been sentenced to death. hello and welcome to asia business report. i'm steve lai. our top story today... the head of the international monetary fund has warned the global economy is set for a "sluggish and disappointing" decade, as many countries remain challenged by inflation and debt. but, kristalina georgieva also said central banks should resist the pressure to cut rates too early. the bbc�*s north america business correspondent michelle fleury has more. with interest rates in many richer countries now at their highest levels in years, the head of the imf, kristalina georgieva, urged caution when it comes to cutting interest rates.

where necessary, policymakers must resist calls for premature