china's factory activity shrinks for the first time in a row underscoring their slow economic recovery. the un climate conference kicks off today with a host of questions remaining about what the talks can achieve. hello and welcome to asia business report with me, arunoday mukharji. we begin in china where government data shows factory activity shrinking for the month of november. it is the second month in traction for the second biggest economy in the second biggest economy in the world. the purchasing managers indices are closely watched for signals of current

as well as future business conditions, the country is facing an economic slump as we have been reporting and unemployment has a consumer spending as well. to understand more let's speak to a chinese economist at oxford economics. thank you forjoining us on asia business report. what is your reaction to the readings we are seeing?— your reaction to the readings we are seeing? generally we are disappointed. — we are seeing? generally we are disappointed, we _ we are seeing? generally we are disappointed, we had _ we are seeing? generally we are disappointed, we had expected i we are seeing? generally we are| disappointed, we had expected a contraction in this activity but not to the extent but we have to recognise these are diffusion industries more helpful in telling us the direction in which things are going stop i would say that on the manufacturing side what jumps out at us as this is effectively driven by if you look at the subcomponents this is driven by to a large extent external demand, the external demand for chinese goods continues to be quite weak. on the services side we are still

in expansionary territory but still quite a week one, all in all, we are looking at perhaps quite a week set of data going to the end of the year. you say it hels to the end of the year. you say it helps us _ to the end of the year. you say it helps us understand - to the end of the year. you say it helps us understand what. it helps us understand what direction china is going on, what does this tell us about the broader chinese economy? what it affirms to us is that we are firmly on a bottoming out process. in this bottoming out process. in this bottoming out is always going to be volatile so there will be slight ups and downs, but the chinese policymakers will look at the data today and think, this is the second month of contraction, we therefore need more stimulus and that is what i would think would be the direction that policy will go which will hopefully lift activity somewhat in coming months. i5 activity somewhat in coming months. . . activity somewhat in coming months. , ., ., ., months. is that what you are likel to months. is that what you are likely to see _ months. is that what you are likely to see in _ months. is that what you are likely to see in terms - months. is that what you are likely to see in terms of- likely to see in terms of policy—making as we enter 2024 in terms of stimulus, any more on what you might expect? much ofthe on what you might expect? much of the weakness _ on what you might expect? much of the weakness simply - on what you might expect? much of the weakness simply comes i of the weakness simply comes from obviously the government

can't do much about external demand falling but if you look at perhaps putting in more direct stimulus to support consumers, we know consumer spending has been a little bit volatile this year, that could perhaps get more support especially since the reopening boost has faded away, there are segments of the industry that need further support, if you look at pmi data today split into different enterprises, it is clear the medium and small sized enterprises are still in contractionary territory as well largest have continued to expand. more targeted measures focusing on is me measures and other sectors such as electronics and technology will be benny bear beneficial. well be benny bear beneficial. well be very beneficial. to be benny bear beneficial. well be very beneficial.— be very beneficial. to india while in — be very beneficial. to india while in contrast _ be very beneficial. to india while in contrast to - be very beneficial. to india while in contrast to china'sj while in contrast to china's economic growth is expected to remain strong, the third biggest asian economy will report its third—quarter gdp figures today many and lost

estimating a number to be bolstered by strong urban and government spending. several factors are _ government spending. several factors are likely _ government spending. several factors are likely to _ factors are likely to contribute to the slight moderation and growth in india. this includes lower rural demand and erratic mom so hitting farm activity and high food inflation keeping spending and check. but expected growth here will still be enviable for most other countries. solid construction activity and government spending on big infrastructure projects like roadbuilding are likely to contribute to positive to the gdp figures. consumer demand for goods and services also remain strong for india and is likely to improve further as food inflation has begun moderating stop the rate cuts by the central bank are unlikely to come through before the end of the financial year as prices are elevated. the year india is expected to clot growth of 6.5%, which will make

it fastest—growing major economy in the world. the cop28 kicks off today in the united arab emirates. the latest round of climate talks aims to strike a deal in the next steps to tackle rising global temperatures. two years ago countries agreed to cut the amount of coal they burned but a commitment on oil and gas use remains elusive. against that backdrop i have been speaking to david schlossberg, director of the sydney environment institute who remains sceptical about the impact of this year's climate talks. i think there are two clear problems. the first is the capture of the process by the fossil fuel industry and the second is the process itself. that is just the way it works. the need for the consensus from all countries. it means that petro states or countries that would captured by the fossil fuel industry can object to language and undermine real and strong changes. on the power of the fossil fuel industry, for this meeting we may be disappointed.

we have the head of an oil state company setting the agenda and to me, that isjust an illustration of capture. he says it will be good to have the fossil fuel industry at the table but the reality is that they have always been there. some, including some of the ngo community want to be cautiously optimistic and i am just cautious. i would be thrilled to be proven wrong with an agreement that limits fossil fuel development but i am doubtful. i just don't think cop28 will address the power of the fossil fuel industry or address the injustice of the impact. this is the other political background, the ongoing human and ecological damage from extraction, the health impact�*s, the vast inequity of the impact of climate change on the most vulnerable and ijust do not think we will see much in the way of discussion there. lastly the other political issue or political theatre that we often see here and i think we will see this again

is the contradiction, call it contradiction, or hypocrisy of nations at the us and australia who will do everything they can to highlight their internal electrification and renewal able energy transitions and investment that they have but at the same time they hide or not talk about all the new fossil fuel projects they develop. the us pumps more oil than ever, australia exports coal than ever and that needs to be addressed. one of the most visible impacts of climate change is more frequent in severe natural disasters. one of the worst ones to get australia happened four years ago in what was called a black summer bushfire. in one fire hit region, the community is recovering from blazes of 2019 — 2020 but is also preparing for dangerous conditions in the years to come. phil mercer reports from bilpin in new south wales. the size of the united kingdom was destroyed in the fires. in bilpin,

north—west of sydney, much of simon's orchard was ruined. i never seen anything like it. he has rebuilt and replanted but believes the fires will return. we have been here 40 years and had four or five different major fire events. and it will happen again. regardless what people say what happened, we will get major fires here. an enquiry found that climate change had made the blazes of 2019—20 more extreme. modern australia had never seen such ferocity. this really scared me. it gave australia a huge wake—up call on just how susceptible we are and how dangerous things can be. the memories of the fires are still fresh in this part of the blue mountains. people remember the fear and the panic they felt during that terrible time. here in bilpin there

is an unmistakable sense of renewal and determination to rebuild. the flames that tore bilpin came from a strategic back burn that went badly wrong. it was lit deliberately by emergency crews to try and stop the advance of another major outbreak. these bucket holiday cabins and his fireproof home were involved but survived. we put in new water systems and massive water storage with big heavy mains lines that can turn sprinklers on everything. they work. if you have the water you can save yourself from the fire. climate change means it happens more often. it used to happen every 10—20 years now it is may be more likely to be every six or seven years. for years, conservationists have said that warming temperatures were making australia more vulnerable to natural

disasters. black summer was a landmark in australian's understanding that climate change is notjust a future problem it is here and now and harming our communities. australia plans to reach net zero emissions by 2050. in fire prone communities there is a determination to be better prepared for the next onslaught, whenever it may come. henry kissinger one of the leading american diplomats has died at the age of 100. he was an eventualfigure in died at the age of 100. he was an eventual figure in the international relations community, he served as state secretary under the us president nixon and bought and played a key role in shaping american foreign policy including the rebuilding of washington ties with beijing. that is all for the moment, you

can find more on the website, thanks for watching. bbc news — bringing you different stories from across the uk. at the central methodist hall, in coventry, volunteers have come together to put on the £1 panto. it's called cinderballer, and it's a take on cinderella — but the twist here is she wants to play football, rather than go to the ball. # like a diamond in the sky... cinderballer actually is poor, and she has an evil stepmum, and she has dreams of being a massive football player. and the dream is tojust show young kids and everyone else that anyone can follow their dreams. gareth southgate and sarina wiegman, the national team coaches, are in the cast. european champions and world cup finalists this year! cheering. and i manage the men's

and we've won... - anyway! there is support from local semiprofessional players. putting out you should believe in yourself whatever people say to you, block out the haters and listen to yourself and good people around you. we and listen to yourself and good people around you.— and listen to yourself and good people around you. we are still t in: to people around you. we are still trying to hit _ people around you. we are still trying to hit in _ people around you. we are still trying to hit in the _ people around you. we are still trying to hit in the direction - trying to hit in the direction the men _ trying to hit in the direction the men rn and that is we want to he _ cinderballer runs from 4—9 december, and the details on how to go are on fridays' social media accounts. hello there. i am ellis with the catch up. tonight, beyonce and a skin lightening debate, albums turning 40 and a volcano erupts. gymnastic coaches are no longer able to weigh gymnasts under the age of ten because of new rules designed to stop harmful practices which british gymnastics say

are on the fringes of abuse. those aged between ten and 18 can only be weighed with consent and also there are new rules about kids missing school for gymnastics training. something which eloise jotischky, the only gymnast to bring a civil case against gymnastics uk, has been highlighting on radio 5 live. those years are crucial, there are a lot of gymnasts training between, being taken out of school from the ages of 12—16 who are not going to make it to european championship or world championship level. other stories now. beyonce's mother has called out fans who suggested the singer lightened her skin for the premiere of her renaissance film. tina knowles defended her daughter and said the comments were racist in a long instagram post. the world's best compilation album — like a mix tape of popular songs — now that's what i call music, is celebrating its 40th birthday. in the days before playlist

and streaming services it gave fans instant access to the biggest hits in one place. ask your mum and dad. time to leave you now with ten seconds of an explosive eruption, because this volcano injapan is spewing loads of ash and sent rocks into the sea, and to a height of 200 metres. you are all caught up. bye for now.

hello. i'm olly foster. this is what's coming up for you on sportsday. manchester united throw it away in istanbul — reaching the last 16 in the champions league is out of their hands. taking a breakfrom england — owen farrell says he has to prioritise his and his family's mental well—being. and british gymnastics introduces new safeguarding rules to protect young athletes. hello.

welcome along.