Automatically qualify, while the third and fourth placed nations will go into the play . Offs. The 12 best ranked teams in league b will face eachother for a place in the final play off round. Scotland are in a group with serbia, slovakia and israel; Northern Ireland were drawn with portugal, Bosnia And Herzegovina and malta; while wales will play croatia, ukrane and kosovo. Qualifying begins in april. Former world number one simona halep has had herfour year ban for doping reduced to nine months by the court of arbitration for sport. The two time grand slam winner tested positive for an anti anaemia drug after the us open in 2022. Cas have since ruled halep did not take it intentionally. Having feared her career was over,s the 32 old can now return to tennis immediately. And thats all the sport for now. Heres the eastern time and gmt time, east coast west coast. Weve got a Night Of Special Coverage Tonight on the bbc, Super Tuesday will be coming from washington, dc, looked across to our chief presenter Caitriona Perry who is over there waiting on standby, busy night for you katrina, what you have in store for us tonight . It sure is, christian. Weve got lots of delights ahead. Super tuesday is the day every four years that political analysts await with baited breath. Its far from superfluous tuesday and theres lots and lots to watch out for. Well be keeping it kenai on donald trump in that delicate count and see how close he gets to the magic 1215 he needs to establish the magic 1215 he needs to establish the delegation for himself. Well keep an eye on the Nikki Haley Campaign as well, shell wait and see how tonight goes before she makes any decisions about her future, where live on air tonight, vermont and virginia are key for nikki haley, both of those states you dont need to be republican to vote in the republican primaries so i hope shell be a very strong showing their thatll be a good indicator of how the night goes. Virginia and caroline are purple states. They are all worried about voter apathy and boredom, i dont know how you can say boring about us politics, and the potential of biden versus trump rerun. Weve got a top bench of democratic and Republican Congress people who will be parsing all of the results as they come in, we have reporters around the country, in california, colorado, and in virginia so we will keep track of all of that, we are live from midnight british time, 7pm eastern. So letsjoin from midnight british time, 7pm eastern. So lets join us here as america decides. I eastern. So lets oin us here as america decides. Eastern. So lets oin us here as america decides. I might watch you for an hour. America decides. I might watch you for an hour, and america decides. I might watch you for an hour, and only america decides. I might watch you for an hour, and only an america decides. I might watch you for an hour, and only an hour for an hour, and only an hour though, i need to get to sleep. We are going to focus on some of the issues that are going to feature in the selection over the next course of the next eight months. Lets focus on ukraine for a second. The french president Emmanuel Macron issued a rallying cry to the europeans today. The french president has faced a backlash from some western allies after he had suggested one day it may be necessary to send troops to ukraine. The elysee insisted the president was merely indulging, in some strategic ambiguity. But today, perhaps stung by the criticism that came from berlin, the president insisted that a Strategic Leap will be required and he urged courage among european leaders. Translation we are entering i a moment in the history of europe in which it will be required that we are not cowardly. We never want to see the truck tojesus to come, the tragedies to come, we never want to see what is at stake. I think both our countries are aware of what is unfolding in europe. The fact that a war is being waged on our territory, that powers that have become unstoppable pose bigger threats each day of attacking us. We will have to be up to this historic challenge and the courage it calls for. Its three weeks since the Senate Passed a Spending Bill for ukraine, also money and that for israel and taiwan, seemingly no urgency and ukraine and the situation in ukraine is getting progressively worse. Well, listen, the Biden Administration, to be totally candid, has not done the bestjob selling the aid package to the ukraine, and this could be one of theissues ukraine, and this could be one of the issues that President Biden himself is facing, because he. A cognizant 65 year old biden would be on the airwaves every day explaining to the American People the danger of the russian army, the danger of Vladimir Putin, if your member two years ago they did an amazing job of leaking relevant intelligence information about what putin was doing and what he was planning, i think we need to tell the American People that this is a continued reattachment narrative. In 2014, he took crimea, he told the 0bama administration he was done with crime era, that was a chamberlain like moment. Neville chamberlain like moment. Neville chamberlain like moment. Neville chamberlain like moment for barack 0bama, they thought he was going to stop there, he obviously didnt stop there. There were members of the polish Entrepreneurial Community here in my office today, i think poland is a pretty good Halfway Point between the east and west, they understand the east and west, they understand the russian culture quite well in poland. Mr putin is not stopping unless he is rejected by the west and the west is fortified in the strategic alliance. You know this, i know this, democracies are sloppy and mr trump know this, democracies are sloppy and mrtrump is know this, democracies are sloppy and mr trump is holding up that aid package through his lackey mike johnson. So if President Biden was stronger and more articulate on this issue, you could explain to the American People that a 7 expenditure of our defence budget, which is decimating the russian army and making europe and the western world and the western democracies safe from tyranny, if he did a betterjob of safe from tyranny, if he did a better job of that the republicans would be revoked at the ballot box and this aid package would have already been put through. The frustrating already been put through. The frustrating thing for President Biden is the fact there is a republican majority that could pass this ukraine spending, the only way theyre going to be able to get past johnson is put this Discharge Petition on the floor and both sides are working on this at the moment, but what sort of timescales are we talking about . Talking about . Well, if they do that, obviously talking about . Well, if they do that, obviously mike talking about . Well, if they do that, obviously mike johnson | talking about . Well, if they do that, obviously mike johnson doesnt that, obviously mikejohnson doesnt want to do that. Itll weaken and embarrass him, it will get the aid package through hell probably be ejected and then of course we have to figure out how many scary mood she will last as a speaker, a scary mood she is Scar Scaramucci is an 11 day timeframe. At a time when America Needs people who have Profiles In Courage as opposed to profiles in cowardice. I courage as opposed to profiles in cowardice. ,. , , cowardice. I love how selfeffacing ou are cowardice. I love how selfeffacing you are about cowardice. I love how selfeffacing you are about your cowardice. I love how selfeffacing you are about your time cowardice. I love how selfeffacing you are about your time in cowardice. I love how selfeffacing you are about your time in the you are about your time in the white house. ~ ,. , house. Prime minister trust lasted 4. 1scaramuccis. House. Prime minister trust lasted 4. 1 scaramuccis. What house. Prime minister trust lasted 4. 1 scaramuccis. What youre house. Prime minister trust lasted l 4. 1 scaramuccis. What youre doing 4. 1scaramuccis. What youre doing what right and wrong in life, dont you think . Imilli what right and wrong in life, dont ou think . ~. , ~ what right and wrong in life, dont ou think . ~. ~. , you think . Will talk about something else. The price of bitcoin, the Worlds Largest cryptocurrency, has hit an all time high today. Good news for anthony who spends a lot time looking at that. But sadly for him we are going to talk about the chinese economy. Which is not performing as well. In fact the Chinese Premier Li Qiang acknowledged on tuesday their Economic Performance is facing real difficulties, many of them yet to be resolved. He has Just Announced a series of far reaching measures which they hopes will boost growth, to levels we saw in china pre pandemic. What the chinese wont want to hear is that while they cut the duties on tech imports, europe is turning away. The biggest voting block in the European Parliament is now urging strategic independence from china. They have just published a Draught Manifesto, ahead of european elections, and it spells trouble for beijing. I have been speaking to politicos stuart lau who has just had sight of that manifesto. Von der leyen has been talking about de risking for the last few years, especially since the russian war against ukraine. But what we are seeing this week is that the epp, the european peoples party, what they are saying in the Policy Platform is this general trend of de risking from china and realising that china is a big challenge, systemic challenge for the European Union as a whole. So even though a lot of people in beijing used to think that Von Der Leyen was personally responsible for this hardening tone, more hawkish turn for the eu towards china, what were seeing this week is that its a much broader political trend undergoing in the european capitals. This manifesto that youve seen, this Draught Manifesto from the epp. The buzzwords in it are strategic autonomy. What does that mean in practice . So it has been the french president s framework for a long time. So it means that were having china as the systemic challenge facing the eu, but also transatlanticlly, trump is possibly coming back. Europe has to do its fair share in terms of what were also seeing today, the Defence Spending in the European Union. But in terms of geoeconomics, it also means that Lessening Dependency is a big topic for the eu. Be it the microchips that you need from everyday kitchenware to defense products, or from the critical Raw Materials that you need to build all sorts of things to, also, in the epp manifesto, the kind of chinese investments youre seeing in Critical Infrastructure like ports and telecommunications. So, all these things considered, europe is trying to think about how to lessen the dependency. Easier said than done, of course, but thats what they are working on. And if theyre thinking that if the epp is thinking that, then clearly the commission will go in that direction. So what does it mean for National Governments . Well, National Governments is a more complicated picture. Of course, the commission has a lot of competence when it comes to trade deals, when it comes to setting the digital standards. But at the end of the day, the general political direction, or rather Foreign Policy is still firmly in the hands of National Governments or the 27 Member States were talking about here. And of course, each member state, as you can imagine, they have their various very different considerations. Germany talks a lot about Trading Relationship. Chancellor 0laf scholz from another political grouping, the socialists, hes planning a trip to beijing in the next few weeks. So obviously theres still a lot of Trade Considerations and not again, bringing back to the trump, bringing back the trump theme. I mean, a lot of european capitals are also wondering what the transatlantic relationship is going to look like. And in that context, theyre also a little bit wary about being too far away from the chinese Trading Relations or being too hostile in that regard. Because at the end of the day, if the us is not focusing too much on transatlantic relationship, europe still needs china to a certain extent. How does the war in ukraine play into all this . Its an interesting one because china is also dispatching a Special Envoy for ukraine to tour different european capitals. So just yesterday, he was actually here in brussels and meeting European Union diplomats. So the tone is about showing to europe that china is also engaging with different stakeholders. Moscow, of course, dont forget the no limit partnership between china and russia. But the Special Envoy is also going to kyiv to meet with the ukrainian officials, and then hell also be around different european capitals. So i think theres a lot of diplomatic efforts going on, you know, for china to prove to these european capitals that china is notjust totally siding with the russian position. And in that context, they are trying to make sure that, you know, the kind of european sanctions, for example, on Chinese Companies that we saw in the last few weeks are not going to continue. And in a nutshell, i think china doesnt want to be seen in the same light as russia in european eyes. Thanks to stuart for that. Its a remarkable change of direction, anthony, at the heart of europe. But the point he makes that there is one side of the parliament that wants to keep a door opened to china because of the isolationism over where you are, at the United States, that if trump would turn against europe and the way he did over steel tariffs or other sectors of the economy, they might well need china. Might well need china. Listen, i think the president might well need china. Listen, i think the president of might well need china. Listen, i think the president of france i might well need china. Listen, i think the president of france is | think the president of france is indicating that. I, im worried about a number of Different Things so let mejust about a number of Different Things so let me just state the top three. If trump wins, its very bad for the middle east because hes beholden to Vladimir Putin and putin is beholden to iran, and iran wants to export its revolution, its right there in the constitution. Its very bad for sunny, for israel. I do not want to see an isolated china. The United States needs to figure out a way to work with china, not to be overly critical of china, but mistakes were made in terms of the way they went out of stirred the Business Leaders and entrepreneurs, it put a deathknell on the stock market and it made it more difficult with them to deal with the United States. The actions in china have led to the Biden Administration to act very similarly to the trump administration. And the third thing, and i think this goes without saying but its worth repeating on air, trump wants to pull out of nato. And people in europe, the united kingdom, elsewhere in europe, the western liberal democracies should play very close attention to the selection because people that love america and love europe like myself, will be working very hard against mr trump. But hes made it very very clear, this alliance thats worked so successfully for 80 years is something he no longer wants to be a part of and he could do a lot of damage to that alliance as president. Damage to that alliance as president damage to that alliance as resident. ,. ,. , president. You made reference to our time president. You made reference to your time in president. You made reference to your time in the president. You made reference to your time in the oval president. You made reference to your time in the oval office. President. You made reference to your time in the oval office. A. President. You made reference to your time in the oval office. A lot of voters who worked there at the time say the guard rail has held. But the guardrails are being removed this time around and so decisions on nato, vis a vis china, he will make those decisions with loyalists around him. Does it concern you that maybe the inside the institutions wont stand up to him . Ill maybe the inside the institutions wont stand up to him . Wont stand up to him . Ill Say Something wont stand up to him . Ill Say Something contrary wont stand up to