apple makes a comeback in china, as sales of its iphones rebound in april. sri lanka is set to hike wages of workers in the tea industry next month — but not everyone is happy about that. hello, and welcome to business today. i'm steve lai. to our top story today — as the world's biggest smartphone makers are battling it out for market share in china, apple has cause to celebrate. the bbc�*s north america business correspondent erin delmore tells us why. china is the world's smartphone market, and apple is one of the role�*s biggest smartphone makers. but apple hasn't been doing so well in china. iphone sales fell by 37% during the first two months this year. see, competition is heating up in the region. home—grown rival hallway is increasing its market share, opening more

stores and selling more phones. it overtook apple as the second most popular smartphone maker in china during the first quarter of the year —— the company's iphone sales rose 52% compared to a year ago. it's according to data from a research company affiliated with the chinese government. that entity, the titan democrat doesn't track apple specifically. instead it measures the increase in foreign branded shipments. but in the foreign branded game, apple is the main player. and apple is the main player. and apple could see more gains from may — it's been discounting select models which could lead to more sales. openai has formed a new safety committee responsible for evaluating its artificial intelligence models. the oversight teams first task will be to assess openai's current safety practices over the next 90 days, before giving their recommendations to the board. once the board has reviewed the findings, openai will share them publicly. all this comes as the company

begins training of its next ai model, and after it disbanded a previous team that was focused on the long—term risks of ai, in may. in other news — shareholders of american oil company hess have approved its $53 billion merger with rival chevron. the deal still has to gain regulatory approval from the us federal trade commission, which could come next month. but a more serious stumbling block is hess�* dispute with exxon mobil over its lucrative guyana assets, which both companies have a stake in. under a joint operating agreement, exxon has a right to refuse the sale of hess�* guyana assets — which is one of the world's fastest—growing oil reserves. chevron has said they would pull out of the deal if hess�* guyana stake was not included. so far both companies have failed to make progress on

terms failed to make progress on term ., ”a: failed to make progress on term ., ”x; , ., ., terms for the $37 billion deal. the clock _ terms for the $37 billion deal. the clock is _ terms for the $37 billion deal. the clock is ticking _ terms for the $37 billion deal. the clock is ticking as - terms for the $37 billion deal. the clock is ticking as the - the clock is ticking as the deadline for negotiations will expire at 5pm london time on wednesday — that�*s midnight for us here in singapore. let�*s turn to sri lanka now — the government has ordered the nation�*s tea industry to raise workers�* wages by next month. companies that refuse to do so could be taken over by the government. tea producers are warning that the 70% increase in pay for tea workers to around $5.50 a day, would hurt their business. sri lankan tea is one of the country�*s biggest exports. the industry is worth at least $1.3 billion and brings in much—needed foreign currency into the country. ganeshan wignaraja, a visiting seniorfellow at think tank odi, explained why the government was mandating such a move now. the demonstration in sri lanka announced this wage hike for plantation workers in response to the political cycle the

president is facing elections in september to october period, and the wage hike to about $1.70 a month is seen support among 600,000 plantation workers, and this is of course got a reaction from the plantation owners and companies saying that the economy may become uncompetitive. it�*s saying that the economy may become uncompetitive.- become uncompetitive. it's a 70% increase _ become uncompetitive. it's a 70% increase that _ become uncompetitive. it's a 70% increase that they - become uncompetitive. it's a 70% increase that they are i 70% increase that they are looking for — but the bottom line is it�*s $550 a day for the workers. give us some circumstances they are working under —— $5.50. circumstances they are working under -- $5.50.— under -- $5.50. plantation workers _ under -- $5.50. plantation workers are _ under -- $5.50. plantation workers are mostly - under -- $5.50. plantation workers are mostly female | under -- $5.50. plantation - workers are mostly female and from the toe meal minority community —— toe meal. -- tamil. this wage hike makes my micro social sense, this wage hike makes my micro socialsense, but this wage hike makes my micro social sense, but it could

create a cycle from an economy that�*s recovering from a crippling debt crisis, and could also put at risk some of the economy that the t industry has also produced a significant explore earning of $1.3 billion. so it�*s a bit of a dilemma. what sri lanka really needsis dilemma. what sri lanka really needs is a strategy for this industry to make it much more competitive, going from mass—market exports to more niche products, especially organic tea — and for that, it needs proper branding and marketing as well as raises. sound like you see opportunity for growth in sri lanka�*s tea industry. tell us how it stacks up industry. tell us how it stacks up to sri lanka�*s overall economy. it up to sri lanka's overall economy-— economy. it is terribly important _ economy. it is terribly important in - economy. it is terribly important in the - economy. it is terribly l important in the context economy. it is terribly - important in the context of this economy that�*s trying to recover from a crippling economic crisis. this year, sri lanka�*s economy may grow at 6.5% a year, and it needs all

the exports it can, especially from to you, which is the second most important export industry, to not only be able to import but also pay off eventually crippling foreign debt, some $50 billion that sri has accumulated. and employment and working conditions are also important, so sri lanka has this dilemma of trying to deal with all these things at once — the strategy is needed after the strategy is needed after the presidential elections of september and october this year, including raising productivity, improving conditions, and updating the market from mass—market tea to a niche tea. market from mass-market tea to a niche tea-— a niche tea. other concerns of this wage _ a niche tea. other concerns of this wage hike, _ a niche tea. other concerns of this wage hike, could - a niche tea. other concerns of this wage hike, could it - a niche tea. other concerns of this wage hike, could it affect| this wage hike, could it affect the economy? in this wage hike, could it affect the economy?— this wage hike, could it affect the economy? in the short term at least, the economy? in the short term at least. and — the economy? in the short term at least, and i _ the economy? in the short term at least, and i think— the economy? in the short term at least, and i think we - the economy? in the short term at least, and i think we need - at least, and i think we need to look at us across the country because it could translate into other industries also wanting wage price hikes.

people have suffered through the crisis, there�*s some 5 million sri lankans who have been pushed into poverty to the crippling debt and economic crisis we face since 2022. so there�*s a real sense of people hurting in sri lanka, and this is one of the moves the government is trying to do to get political support amongst the tamil minority community, to hopefully get the president reelected, and this is part of that kind of move.— reelected, and this is part of that kind of move. over in china — authorities in shanghai are making it easier for home—buyers to purchase property. they are reducing the down payments that buyers need to make to a minimum of 20% forfirst—time buyers, and 30% for those purchasing a second—home. the minimum level for mortgage rates was also lowered. analysts say other top—tier chinese cities are likely to follow shanghai�*s lead. these measures come after the central government announced a massive rescue package earlier this month to help end the property crisis. chinese officials are hoping to restore confidence among home—buyers, which has been rattled by falling prices, unfinished apartments, and job insecurity.

let�*s get you the latest on the heatwave in india. capital city, delhi, recorded an all—time maximum temperature of 49.9 celsius. several cities in the north are also grappling with severe heat. the bbc�*s arunoday mukharji has the latest on what it means for business operations across the country. in fact, infact, in in fact, in one city in northern india, temperatures touched 50 celsius. so it�*s been a harsh few weeks, and it�*s likely to remain that way for a while. just imagine, india has been conducting an entire election in this heat. experts say increased concrete is asian of cities and the lack of green colour is to blame for soaring temperatures every year. apart from obvious health implications, and extended heat wave has the potential to have a huge economic impact, as well. there are risks of decreased workforce productivity, especially for construction workers, delivering agents, and farmers most importantly. they are

particularly prone to heat related illnesses because they are outdoors most of the time. there are worries that an intense heat wave could impact agriculture, and also in turn affect inflation. nearly half of india�*s population is involved or employed in agriculture, and about 90% of india�*s workforce works in the unorganised sector — so most of the jobs are outdoors, and it�*s this segment that�*s to be impacted the most in the event of any extended heat wave. whether officials say these conditions are likely to prevail for the next few days at least. former wework boss adam neumann is moving on after trying to buy the bankrupt company that specialises in shared office spaces. mr neumann had revealed his interest in buying the firm earlier this year, reportedly making an offer of about $500 million. wework recently submitted a plan to emerge from bankruptcy, which it said would help reduce its rent burden by billions of dollars. in a statement on tuesday mr neumann, criticised his former company�*s plans, saying... "for several months, we tried to work constructively

with wework to create a strategy that would allow it to thrive. instead, the company looks to be emerging from bankruptcy with a plan that appears unrealistic and unlikely to succeed." wework has so far declined to comment on the issue. the ftx president has been sentenced to prison. he pleaded uuil in sentenced to prison. he pleaded guilty in 2023 — sentenced to prison. he pleaded guilty in 2023 to _ sentenced to prison. he pleaded guilty in 2023 to money - guilty in 2023 to money laundering charges. he will serve a seven and a half year sentence, followed by three years of supervised release. he is the first of sam bateman freed�*s team to be sentenced since the exchange filed for bankruptcy in 2022 —— sam bateman freed. and that�*s it for this edition of business today. thanks for watching.

hello, i�*m marc edwards, welcome to sportsday. here�*s what we�*ve got coming up on the show. djok and roll — the world number one opens his french open title defense with a solid win over home hope pierre—hugues herbert. a date with destiny as dortmund dare to dream ahead of the champions league final. we hearfrom their manager edin terzic. time to say goodbye for lexi thompson. with multiple lpga tour event wins and a major under her belt, she�*ll call time on her career at the end of the season. hello, and thanks for joining us on sportsday. we start in paris — where novak djokovic has