| | | | | | | Hello. The Iowa caucuses taking place on Monday evening kick off a new phase of the 2024 US election season - the one where party members pick their candidate for the White House. North America correspondent Anthony Zurcher shares the five results to watch for. In recent weeks, the Myanmar military has suffered a string of defeats against armed rebels. South East Asia correspondent Jonathan Head looks at how a rebel group's capture of a city near the Indian border adds to the army's problems. Finally, we look at the demise of the self-checkout till, and at the lavish wedding of a prince in one of the world's wealthiest monarchies. |
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| | | | | | AT THE SCENE | Des Moines, Iowa | | First vote of 2024 US election season | | | | The caucuses are set to start at 19:00 local time (20.00 ET/01.00 GMT). Credit: BBC | | A spell of extremely cold weather has gripped much of North America, including Iowa, in the past couple of days. The suburb of Ames, north of Iowa capital Des Moines, woke up to -24C (-11F) on Monday. The question facing locals on the day of the state's Republican caucuses, the first major test for White House hopefuls, is not so much who they may vote for, but whether they'll bother leaving the house at all. | | | | Bernd Debusmann Jr, BBC News |
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| I’ve been in Iowa for seven days now - and it’s been cold. Very cold. Late last week, the conditions prompted the local office of the National Weather Service and local authorities to warn of life-threatening conditions that could lead to frostbite in just 10 minutes, and cause whiteout conditions on roads.
This prompted some analysts and Iowans to speculate that turnout for the events may be lower than anticipated. But Iowans we’ve spoken to have, for the most part, been stoic about the weather. Bruce Jarvis put it simply: "People think it’s a responsibility,” he said. “If they care about politics, they’ll be going.” |
| | | | • | What to watch for: Winning isn't the only thing that matters at the Iowa caucuses. North America correspondent Anthony Zurcher looks at the five storylines that will develop as the results come in. And for those not familiar with how Republicans pick their presidential nominee, here's an explainer. | | • | Evangelical touch: In 2016, Donald Trump trailed behind Ted Cruz among this influential community in Iowa. His time in the White House has won him crucial support, Mike Wendling finds out. | | • | The 2024 presidential election: Despite this being a US vote,other countries are deeply invested in the result. US special correspondent Katty Kay explains what's at stake. |
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| Questions Answered | | Myanmar army struggles against rebels | | | | At the time of the 2021 military coup, the AA was observing a ceasefire. It joined the rebel alliance in October. Credit: Reuters |
| | Myanmar's military has been struggling to contain an offensive by an alliance of rebel groups that, in the past 11 weeks, has delivered a series of humiliating defeats along the Chinese border. Now, one of those groups, known as the Arakan Army (AA), claims to have taken control of Paletwa, in Chin State, near the border with India. | | | | Jonathan Head, South East Asia correspondent and Oliver Slow |
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| | Who are the Arakan Army? | | The AA is one of the newest but best-equipped of Myanmar's many ethnic armed groups, and has been battling the military - and gaining ground - in Rakhine State, and parts of neighbouring Chin State, for several years. | | Why is the capture of Paletwa significant? | | With the port of Paletwa on the Kaladan River under its control, the AA now controls road and water transport to the Indian border, and has a logistics base from which it can plan further attacks in Rakhine State. | | What does the AA want? | | The group's avowed goal is some form of independence or autonomy within a federal state, which its leadership now appears to have decided is best achieved under a new, elected government rather than under military rule. | | | | | | |
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| | The big picture | | Filling the gap | | | | Potholes are usually caused by rainwater infiltrating cracks in the road. Credit: PA Media |
| | Potholes are plaguing road users in the UK and beyond. With climate change set to make matters worse globally, scientists are looking for ways to fix these pits of despair. From AI-powered road-fixing robots to self-healing concrete, climate and science reporters Harriet Bradshaw and Greg Brosnan look at the solutions for a smoother future. | | | | |
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| | | For your downtime | | Unexpected item | | Self-checkout tills aren’t working for customers and retailers alike. | | |
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| | And finally... in Brunei | | A 10-day royal wedding in Brunei has come to an end. Prince Abdul Mateen is the 10th child of the Sultan, the world's longest-reigning monarch and one of the richest. He has married his commoner fiancée Yang Mulia Anisha Rosnah in an Islamic marriage ritual that started on 7 January and ended on a large ceremony on Sunday. Watch the happy couple at the glittering event. |
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