us lawmakers prepare to vote on a bill that could force the app's removal from its biggest market. plus, how tech firms in denmark are using gaming to bridge a gap with their workforce. hello. welcome to asia business report. i'm steve lai. let's begin with tiktok, which is facing the most serious threat yet to its existence in america. on wednesday, lawmakers in the house of representatives are set to vote on a new bill, which could result in a ban on the popular app in the us where it has more than 170 million users. the bbc�*s michelle fleury has more from new york. time may be running out for tiktok in its largest market — the united states. if successful, new legislation would force tiktok�*s chinese owner, bytedance, to find a new non—chinese owner

orface removal from us app stores. ahead of a house vote on the bill on wednesday, lawmakers received a classified briefing from intelligence officials on the administration's worries about the video app and how it could potentially use data it collects from americans. democrats said the stakes couldn't be higher. my concerns are they will try to influence the election and elect donald �*tiktok�* trump. presidential hopeful donald trump. —— among those opposing the ban, presidential hopeful donald trump. still, republicans backing the bill largely dismissed concerns about trump's backlash weighing the party from getting the legislation done. trump's comments actually, you can square them with what the bill does, to put differently, to put a finer point on it, the bill doesn't shut down tiktok and force all of tiktok�*s users onto facebook. what we are after is a separation from tiktok from its parent company, bytedance, and by extension, the ccp, and in that world,

tiktok users can continue to use the platform. there are reports of those inside tiktok were caught off guard by the level of support for the proposed law. the bill is expected to pass by huge margins in the house, but could have problems in the senate. mr barnett retired in 2017 after working more than 30 years at boeing stop he was giving evidence at a lawsuit against the company before his death. staying with tech and googl has restricted its ai chat on gemini from answering questions about elections google has restricted its ai chat on gemini from answering questions about elections around the world.

the tech giant says the move was made, quote, out of abundance of caution on such an important topic. when asked about upcoming elections in india, the uk or the us, gemini says it is still learning to answer the question and directs users to google search. tech companies like google are preparing for a huge year of elections that have sparked concerns of misinformation. china's xiaomi is typically associated with mobile phones, but the company has announced is making inroads with electric cars. on tuesday, it said it will start deliveries of its first electric vehicle model, the su7, this month, sending shares are soaring. our business reporter katie silver takes this story for a spin. if you are getting into the electric vehicle space, now is not the time you'd choose. apple's reportedly just pulled out of it after spending billions. tesla has dropped prices to try and recoup market share, and there's chinese giant byd, which has accelerated into the fast lane with sales last quarter overtaking tesla,

showing how competitive the market has become. that is the traffic that xiaomi has entered into, but china is a place with a big market. the country's electric vehicle sales jumped 18% january to february. that's not far off the entire growth it had for all of last year. the tech giant has big ambitions. it's pledged to invest $10 billion in autos over a decade, trying to diversify away from its smartphone business, a market or a sector that's been stagnating. it was to become one of the world's top five auto—makers. now, in xiaomi's favour, it's one of the few lucky ones that has beijing's backing. the cars are going to be produced by the state—owned auto—maker baic and users might be able to pairtheir cars with their phones and other electronic devices — another sales point. for its first model, the chief executive says the speed ultra 7 has electric motor technology that is capable of accelerating faster than a tesla or a porsche electric vehicle. buyers will be able to order it

from the company's 59 stores across the country. but as for the price tag, well, you'll have to wait until the end of the month to find out. something you won't have to wait for is how the parent company of famous fashion brands like zara, massimo dutti and bershka fared in the final three months of last year. �*fast fashion�*, as it's known, is a fiercely competitive market, especially because of online retailers like shein and temu offering bargain prices and growing rapidly as a result. but some of their business practices are under scrutiny. france is considering charging brands at tax for the environmental impact of their manufacturing. meanwhile, a us lawmaker has questioned shein�*s business model, saying its practice of importing smaller packages allows the company to avoid customs duties. a contributing editor for tax notes gave us a sense of what's at stake for the fast fashion industry. i think that there are concerns about competition from china but there are also revenue concerns that are playing out within governments

around the world. so, i will start off by saying this — consumers around the world are obsessed with fast fashion and we are seeing that companies like shien and temu have made it so easy to go online and browse literally hundreds and dozens of options that cost just a few dollars. and when shoppers around the world buy from a company like shein, they normally received their packages directly from the company. now, that may seem like a small point, but it's actually an important one. because around the world, countries typically don't apply tariffs to low—value international shipments and these fast—fashion packages can fall right into this sweet spot, potentially depriving governments of revenue. so when they place a closer emphasis on fast fashion companies, this is one of the issues that they are looking at. from a us perspective, lawmakers are also concerned about competition.

they are concerned that their own clothing manufacturers are paying these tariff amounts on their international shipments and they think that is unfair that companies like shiena and temu aren't doing likewise. in the us market. when it comes to the fields of science, technology, engineering and maths, there is a gender gap from education right through to the workforce. in response to this inequality, tech firms in denmark have come together to develop and roll out a new computer game to engage 7— to 12—year—olds in science and technology outside of the classroom. the bbc�*s adrian murray has more. there's a problem. after going through their teens, girls are less likely than boys to study subjects like science, technology and maths. to tackle this issue, tech bosses here in denmark are now turning to gaming. we've been talking about the lack of women in stem for so many years, and the numbers are just not moving.

instead of trying to reach the girls when they are in high school or university, which is too late, we want to try to find them on the platforms they choose to be on in this age before they lose the confidence in math and science subjects in school. secrets await on a campus full of glam. called glampus high, a new game has been launched on roblox, an online gaming platform where just under half of its 70 million daily users are female. the idea here is to tap into girls�* love of gaming and to introduce fun activities that keep up their interest in areas like technology and science. so, this is the campus area... players run around a virtual campus, taking part in so—called mini games to win rewards for their avatar. we tried to make the games really fun and hard to do. but still have some

teaching part in it, but without making it a school game. so tell me about some of the activities that the girls can do. here, you can start a mini game. so, you have tojump on this ice and feed the animals before the ice is melting. but what do the girls playing it think? i�*ve been playing the mini games and it�*s been really fun, actually. playing with friends and stuff. it was really fun. i like finding food for animals and taking pictures of animals. research shows that girls embrace stem subjects around the age of 11, but towards 15, that interest tapers off. roughly a third or less of higher education places in stem go to women and that leads to a wide gender gap when it comes to jobs. worldwide, only a quarter of those employed in stem related careers are female. and for computer science, it�*s just 20%. it�*s a huge issue in the

technology industry in general. we want that diverse workforce, it�*s super important so that we actually create products that are user—friendly for everybody in society, so we absolutely need more girls and women in tech. it�*s too soon to know if this new approach can help bridge the inequality, but its backers are hoping it will be game on. well, i guess it�*s time for me to try it myself. 0oh! adrian murray, bbc news. some breaking news. former president donald trump has clinched the republican party�*s nomination. secured the support of delegates required to win the republican presidential nomination as forsyth held a contest including georgia, the battleground where he faces criminal charges. joe biden secure the nomination of the democratic party. that is it for today asia business report. see you tomorrow.

vmcsovsk: bbc news - - bringing you different stories from across the uk. this is kathleen�*s last virtual ward check—up. she�*s been recuperating and getting care at home after a hospital admission. they are polite, they're efficient, they listen. if they say it will be a visit, it's a visit. if they say "no visit tomorrow, but it will be a phone call," a phone call. portia's going to do the assessment... i the idea is simple enough — patients can leave hospital and go home sooner, and their care continues using a mix of technology and home visits, it frees up hospital beds and patients prefer it. what we don't often talk about is the side—effects of being in hospital, the implications of that. it's hugely disruptive for people, it's noisy, and there's also problems

with hospital—acquired infections, falls in unfamiliar environments. so this is a good initiative from the nhs. voiceover: for more stories, | head to the bbc news website. hey. i�*m zoff with the catch—up. tonight, the tate brothers to be sent back to the uk, a big push for the mmr vaccine and loo roll on the loose. we start in romania where a court has agreed to hand over the influencer andrew tate and his brother tristan to the uk where they face charges of sexual aggression. the british—american brothers were detained and appeared in a romanian court on tuesday after arrest warrants with issued. the brothers are also on trial in romania on separate charges of human trafficking, rape and forming a criminalgroup to sexually exploit women. they have both denied all these allegations.

the tate brothers will be sent to the uk after their romanian trial has ended. some other stories now: a 22—year—old tiktok star, who used the platform to document her rare diagnosis, has sadly passed away. leah smith was loved by her fans and had more than 500,000 followers. next, there is a push to get your measles, mumps and rubella vaccine, also known as the mmr jab, as cases are increasing. the nhs is urging more than 900,000 young people aged 19 to 25 who have not yet had the jab to sign up. measles is highly infectious and can lead to serious health complications. and time now to leave you with ten seconds of toilet rolls clogging up, not a toilet, but a motorway in california after loads of rolls fell out of a truck. no—one was injured — just a small trafficjam, but can we appreciate, though,

it does look a proper sight. absolutely hilarious. you�*re all caught up now. see you later. hello and welcome to sportsday. i�*m gavin ramjaun. plenty on the way. arsenal go all the way to penalties, but scrape past porto to make the quarters of the champions league.

how close is a deal between liv golf and the pga tour? we�*ll be asking that, ahead of one of the pga�*s flagship events, the players, this week. and jimmy anderson shares his reflections on england�*s tour of india, and how he�*ll have to fight to stay in the side this summer. this series in particular, ifeel like i was bowling really well, just didn�*t quite get the wickets that maybe on another day or another series, i would�*ve got. hello there, and welcome along to the programme. it�*s been a long time coming, but arsenal are into the quarterfinals of the champions league. the gunners were taken all the way to a penalty shoot—out by porto, after the score on aggregate was level after extra time in a scrappy match at the emirates. the last time the gunners

reached the last eight of the competition was back in 2010.