HONG KONG (AP) — China moved Thursday to curb a fierce price war among automakers that has caused massive losses for the industry, after passenger car sales dropped nearly 20% in January from the year before, the fastest pace in almost two years.

The State Administration for Market Regulation released guidelines for manufacturers, dealers and parts suppliers aimed at preventing a race-to-the-bottom price war.

They forbid automakers from setting prices below the cost of production to “squeeze out competitors or monopolize the market.” Violators may face “significant legal risks,” the regulator warned.

The rules also target deceptive pricing strategies and price fixing between parts suppliers and auto manufacturers.

Passenger car sales in China fell 19.5% in January from a year earlier, according to the China Association of Automobile Manufacturers. That was the biggest percentage drop since February 2024.

The 1.4 million passenger cars sold in January compared with 2.2 million units sold in December, CAAM said.

Weakening demand reflects a reluctance of cash-strapped buyers to splash out on big purchases. Sales also have suffered from a cut in tax exemptions for EV purchases, coupled with uncertainties over whether trade-in subsidies for EV purchases will continue after some regions phased them out, auto analysts said.

The aggressive price war in China’s auto sector has caused an estimated loss of 471 billion yuan ($68 billion) in output value across the whole industry in the past three years, Li Yanwei, a member of the China Automobile Dealers Association, wrote recently.

Analysts expect domestic demand to dip this year. S&P has forecast sales of light vehicles, including passenger cars, in China will fall up to 3% in 2026.

However, Chinese automakers are gaining ground in global markets. China’s exports of passenger cars jumped 49% year-on-year to 589,000 in January.

“We don’t foresee a loss in momentum for the Chinese auto industry this year,” said Claire Yuan, director of corporate ratings for China autos at S&P Global Ratings.

Chinese automakers like BYD — which overtook Tesla as the world’s top electric vehicle maker — are targeting markets in Europe and Latin America as they confront intense competition in both prices and lineups at home due to oversupply.

Analysts at Citi expect China’s car exports could jump 19% this year driven by exports of electric vehicles and plug-in hybrids.

Last month, Canada agreed to cut its hefty 100% tariff on China-made EV imports in a move welcomed by Chinese carmakers. China also recently reached a deal with the European Union that could allow more of its EVs to enter the European market.

BYD, China’s largest carmaker, targets around 1.3 million of overseas car sales in 2026, up from the 1.05 million last year. Other major Chinese automakers have also set ambitious sales targets with a focus on exports.

Bangladesh will go to the polls for the first time since its government collapsed in 2024 during a bloody crackdown on protesters.

More than 127 million people are eligible to vote in the country’s first general election since Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina was toppled after weeks of protests.

The unrest, sometimes dubbed the Gen Z uprising because of its young supporters, caused Hasina to flee the country for India, clearing the way for an interim government led by Muhammad Yunus.

Bangladeshi courts have since sentenced Hasina to death for alleged crimes against humanity during the uprising. Her Awami League party is banned from running in the election.

Hasina’s niece, Labour MP Tulip Siddiq, has also been sentenced to jail – by a Bangladesh court in her absence – over corruption allegations, in a controversial judgement not recognised by the UK government.

Siddiq has condemned the conviction, saying she is “absolutely baffled by the whole thing”.

Tarique Rahman, son of former prime minister Khaleda Zia and leader of the Bangladesh Nationalist Party, is favourite to become his country’s next PM.

He returned to Bangladesh in December after 17 years of exile in London, and has pledged to rebuild democratic institutions, restore the rule of law, and revive the nation’s ailing economy.

Opposing him is an 11-party alliance led by the country’s largest Islamist party, Jamaat-e-Islami.

Jamaat-e-Islami was banned under Hasina’s rule, but Bangladesh is more than 90% Muslim, and the group has regained prominence since her removal.

However, the party’s conservative religious views have sparked concerns, especially among women and minority communities, that social freedoms could be eroded.

The interim government of Yunus, a Nobel Peace Prize laureate, says it is committed to delivering a credible and transparent election.

Some 500 international observers and foreign journalists will therefore be present, including delegations from the Commonwealth, to which Bangladesh belongs, and the EU.

Outside a polling booth in Dhaka, mounted police were seen with saddle blankets proclaiming: “Police are here, vote without fear”.

Major reform proposals are also on the ballot in a referendum, including plans to add a second house to the Bangladeshi parliament or Jatiya Sangsad.

Presently it comprises one chamber of 350 seats, with members elected to five-year terms. 300 seats represent constituencies, while 50 are reserved for women.

Read more:
Bangladesh’s first female prime minister dies
India walks tightrope harbouring deposed Bangladeshi PM

“I think it is a very crucial election because this is the first time we can show our opinion with freedom,” said 28-year-old voter Ikram ul Haque.

“We are celebrating the election. It is like a festival here. I hope Bangladesh will have exponential change.”

Mohammed Jobair Hossain, 39, said he hadn’t voted since 2008.

“I am feeling ‌excited because we are voting in a free manner after 17 years,” he said as he waited in line.

“Our votes will matter and have meaning,” he added.

Thomas Kean, a senior consultant with the International Crisis Group, described what was at stake.

He said: “The crucial test for Bangladesh now will be to ensure the election is conducted fairly and impartially, and for all parties to then accept ⁠the result.

“If that happens, it will be the strongest evidence yet that Bangladesh has indeed embarked on a period of democratic renewal.”

The results are expected on Friday.

A Ukrainian skeleton racer has been banned from competing at the Winter Olympics after he insisted on wearing a helmet depicting athletes killed since Russia’s invasion.

Vladyslav Heraskevych, 27, told reporters he would appeal to the Court of Arbitration for Sport.

“It’s hard to say or put into words. It’s emptiness,” he said in response to the ban.

The International Olympic Committee (IOC) had pleaded with Heraskevych ‌to adhere to guidelines and avoid potential disqualification.

It argued the helmet violated rules which prevent political statements while athletes are competing.

The IOC had allowed him to ‌wear a black armband while competing and display his “helmet of remembrance” depicting 24 images of dead compatriots before and ​after the men’s skeleton race on Thursday.

But the athlete remained defiant after a ​meeting between the two sides on Wednesday afternoon failed to break the impasse.

President Kirsty Coventry was unable to change his mind after speaking to Heraskevych on Thursday morning before the race. She said she did not disagree with his “powerful message”.

“I really ‌wanted to see him race. It’s been an emotional morning,” Coventry said.

“It’s literally about the rules and the regulations and that in this case… we have to be able to keep a safe environment for everyone and sadly, that just means no messaging is ‌allowed.”

Separately, the IOC said in a statement on Thursday that it was “very keen for Mr Heraskevych to compete”.

“This is why the IOC sat down with him to look for the most respectful way to address his desire to remember his fellow athletes who have lost their lives following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.”

Ukraine’s Olympic Committee had backed their athlete, who ⁠is also the team’s flagbearer for the Games and also displayed ⁠a “No War in Ukraine” sign at the Beijing 2022 Olympics, days before Russia’s invasion.

Heraskevych said even if he wanted to change a helmet he would ​have no time to prepare one that would fit him.

“For us and ​the athletes the field of play is sacrosanct. These people have dedicated their whole lives for this moment,” IOC spokesperson Mark ⁠Adams said at a news conference on Wednesday.

Staff will be redeployed and the footprint will be taken up by more produce.

Bosses at Marks and Spencer have this morning announced that the cafe offering within their foodhall store at Heathfield Retail Park in Ayr is to close.

Ayrshire Live can reveal that the cafe will close in early April with staff redeployed to other roles within the store.

The news has been met with dismay – with the retail giants admitting it’s “disappointing news” for customers.

One source said: “Marks and Spencer at Heathfield intend to close their cafe at the beginning of April. And it is to the dismay of so many customers, especially elderly ones, who go there and enjoy a coffee while doing their shopping. This is the wrong move from Marks and Spencer.

“It’s a similar story in Dunblane. The people there are devastated because their cafe is to be closed. It looks as though Marks and Spencer are only considering profit over customers, it’s not a good look.”

Ayrshire Live can further reveal that the cafe space will be re-purposed from early April and the store team will share an exact date with customers closer to the time. And cafe colleagues will transfer across to other roles in the foodhall.

David Anderson, Regional Manager for Scotland Central at M&S, said: “We know many of our customers want to be able to shop a wider range of M&S Food. That’s why, after reviewing our Ayr Heathfield Road store, we are re‑purposing the café space to provide more products, including more produce from our Select Farm partners.”

He added: “We understand this will be disappointing news for some of our customers; however, our team will continue working hard to serve them in store.”

Ukraine skeleton pilot Vladyslav Heraskevych reacts to being banned from competing at the Winter Olympics for continuing to wear a helmet which features images of athletes killed during Russia’s invasion of his home country.

WATCH MORE: Winter Olympics Video

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The number of patients waiting more than 12 hours in A&E has soared to a record high.

The latest NHS England data shows the figure shot up from 50,775 in December to 71,517 in January. This is the highest number since monthly records began in August 2010.

The number waiting at least four hours from the decision to admit to admission stood at 161,141 last month, up from 137,763 in December and the second highest figure on record.

Some 72.5 per cent of patients in England were seen within four hours in A&Es last month, down from 73.8 per cent in December.

One in four people (137,763) in December waited for more than four hours between admission and staff finding them a bed, while one in 10 (50,775) waited more than 12 hours. That’s almost 50,000 more patients than the NHS target.

The Government and NHS England have set a target of March 2026 for 78 per cent of patients attending A&E to be admitted, discharged or transferred within four hours.

This is a breaking news story, more follows…

The 44-year-old professional dancer was found dead in a hotel room

Robin Windsor had lost his “glow” after being dropped from Strictly Come Dancing, actress Lisa Riley told an inquest on Wednesday, February 11.

The 44-year-old professional dancer was found dead in a hotel room in Shepherd’s Bush, west London, in February 2024. Giving evidence at West London Coroner’s Court, Riley reflected on the changes she saw in her former dance partner in the years after he left the BBC show.

Riley was paired with Windsor during the penultimate series he competed in, in 2012. She described how quickly they formed a close bond once they began working together.

“To say we hit it off was an understatement,” a written witness statement from Riley read to West London Coroner’s Court on Wednesday.

“We were literally joined at the hip. I had only just lost my mum in the July. I, myself, was in a very difficult place. Robin was my rock,” it said.

Windsor joined Strictly Come Dancing in 2010 as a Latin and ballroom professional. Over four series, until 2013, he partnered actresses Patsy Kensit, Anita Dobson and Lisa Riley, as well as Dragon’s Den star Deborah Meaden.

A back injury prevented him from performing in 2014. He was subsequently dropped from the main line-up in 2015, although he later returned for a Christmas special alongside TV presenter Alison Hammond.

“It was from this moment, on to the time of his death, he kept slipping deeper and deeper into depression,” Riley said. His glow had gone.”

Riley told the court that she and Windsor developed a deep friendship built on openness and honesty, and that they stayed in touch after their time on the programme.

“He literally told me everything,” she said.

“I trusted him and he trusted me. There were many, many happy times to begin with and together we did have so much fun.”

She said Windsor had spoken to her about struggles with self-doubt, including feelings of “never feeling good enough” and experiencing “imposter syndrome”.

“Robin was and always has been very influenced by other men. It became a standing joke that he fell in love after three days.”

According to Riley, Windsor had concerns about his body image, which led him to take steroids. She said this, alongside alcohol, negatively affected his wellbeing. She also described financial pressures, telling the court he had accumulated significant debts and would spend heavily on designer goods.

“Money problems also played a part of his darker days. He was drowning in debts which led to weekends I wouldn’t hear from him.”

Riley said the last time she contacted Windsor was around Christmas 2023 after noticing what she described as a troubling post on Facebook. She sent him a text message to check in.

Jurors heard Riley said: “I of course text him straight away and he replied saying he was ‘fine, just usual ups and downs of life’.”

The inquest is ongoing.