l%wnc sharma. our top story: australia lrw sharma. our top story: australia has triggered a disaster response plan after cyclone debbie pummelled the north—east coast. the storm has caused major damage, torrential rain and power cuts to tens of thousands of homes in queensland. the prime minister has ordered military helicopters and the be sent over to deliver aid. britain's prime minister theresa may has signed an historic letter triggering the uk departure from the eu. it will be delivered to brussels later today setting up two years of intense negotiations with the eu. this story is trending@bbc.com, a ref at piece of footage has been captured using hidden track, cameras. it is the indochinese tiger. —— this story is trending at bbc.com, a rare piece of footage. our top story: the uk: the

scottish parliament has voted in favour of making a formal request to the uk government of making a independence referendum. —— our top story in the uk: britain formally begins the process to exit the european union, what should asian companies be looking for? are we set to the higher oil prices? we will hear from the international energy agency. hello. later today prime minister theresa may will be triggering article 50 and that will officially start the process of brexit. japanese businesses were some of the most vocal against brexit ahead of the referendum last year. their comments are not surprising considering japan is the biggest

asian investor in the uk. and its companies account for about 140,000 permanentjobs. companies account for about 140,000 permanent jobs. carmakers such companies account for about 140,000 permanentjobs. carmakers such as nissan, toyota and honda are major employers. theirfactories nissan, toyota and honda are major employers. their factories make almost half of the 1.7 million cars built in britain in 2016. earlier i spoke to simon black, a lawyer who advises japanese businesses, i asked him which companies face the biggest challenges. the car companies in particular will be looking at three key areas on how the negotiations play out. firstly it's how the tariffs, if they are reimposed, they could be up to 10%, a major issue in exporting in the major competitive market in car manufacturing. and customs, if there are delays at the border, that could be damaging for

the companies. the third area they will look at is can britain attract a car parts supply chain into britain and create more companies that supply the parts for car manufacturers. that's important if there are going to be tariffs on cross—border trade. there are going to be tariffs on cross-border trade. simon, apart from the automotive sector injapan, you have the financial institutions most worried about financial passporting. you're right, the banks have perhaps the next biggest headache after the car companies. financial passporting, that need you to have a subsidiary company in the eu. most of the japanese banks at the moment don't actually have that. so there's a race to establish subsidiaries somewhere in the eu companies... in the eu countries, and then the big question is actually what do they have to do with those subsidiaries and how much of their london business, their main centre, can they actually keep. and that's really down to what activities they can continue to do in london and what activities they have to move to the continent. these

are two major industries, so broadly speaking, simon, whatare are two major industries, so broadly speaking, simon, what are the upsides of brexit for asian companies? it's interesting, the japanese investment in the uk has actually dramatically increased since brexit. i think that shows there are good businesses that companies can acquire, but also we've had the effect of the currency thatis we've had the effect of the currency that is devalued by about 15%. while there are quite a lot of challenges, there are quite a lot of challenges, there are quite a lot of challenges, there are significant upsides for asian companies, japanese and elsewhere, investing in the uk at the moment. and the government will be trying to promote that in everywhere it possible. brexit will have a major impact elsewhere. you have a major impact elsewhere. you have london, that's been the financial hub for many american banks, but britain seems to be heading for a clean break with the well‘s largest training block, which would leave the uk without a trade arrangement to maintain access or the financial services industry.

what does this mean for american financial institutions that operate in london? samira hussain reports from new york. the uk is about 3000 miles that way, and some of america's biggest banks are less than a america's biggest banks are less thana mile america's biggest banks are less than a mile over that weight. so how has the decision to trigger article 50, something happening way over there, having an impact way over their —— that way. there, having an impact way over their -- that way. this is a decision based on hassles, because they are expensive. the banks aren't saying much, but some, like goldman sachs behind me, have indicated jobs will be leaving london. the number of people leaving london are probably going to be measured in the low tens of thousands, and that's in a city with millions and millions of people, many of them already employed in the finance sector. there's a lot of noise being driven by the finance sector and the lobbying groups trying again to bend

rolls to their advantage, but the reality is this is not as nearly a big threat as they make it sound like. that takes care of the short—term but what about the long—term —— rules. short—term but what about the long-term -- rules. brexit doesn't necessarily tricks it a big exit of employees from london but it may cause banks to look at where they have their business in the future. the big question is, in a post—brexit iraq, will london remain a globalfinancial post—brexit iraq, will london remain a global financial centre? that post—brexit iraq, will london remain a globalfinancial centre? that will ultimately determine whether or not the american banks stay put —— post—brexit iraq. samira hussain from new york. the us government has launched an anti—dumping investigation against imports of chinese aluminium foil. —— post—brexit iraq. it's a series of cases that could result in the imposition of punitive duties. us companies filed a report earlier this month saying chinese imports

are dumped into the market at prices lower than the cost of production. chinese technology giant tensent is best known for its messaging app, 110w best known for its messaging app, now it is investing in electric cars. the company has bought a 5% sta ke cars. the company has bought a 5% stake in tesla. it comes as tesla prepares to launch a mass—market model three. some analysts believe tensent could help test the cell or even build cars in china. uber‘s first report on employee diversity shows low numbers for women, especially in technical positions. the report comes as pressure increases on the company in light of sexual harassment claims by a former employee, the antics of its embattled chief executive, and ongoing criticisms of a sexist culture. energy giant exxon mobil has asked president donald trump not

to scrap us participation in the landmark paris climate agreement, running counter to white house moves on carbon emissions. the news comes as the president unveiled a new executive order that could roll back some of the previous democratic administration policies aimed at curbing greenhouse gas emissions and climate change. well, the wells is set to face an oil shortage and higher prices if consumption rates aren't kept up —— the world. that is due to an international agency forecast. i spoke to the director of energy markets and security at the iea and he said asia is driving much of the demand. asia, including china, india, and the asean countries, they will be the global leader in demand for growth and we almost china was the dominant leader in the global demand growth, but in our forecast india will be the leader, especially

in the second half of this projection period. why will india be leading in the oil demand area going forward ? leading in the oil demand area going forward? because of their population growth and in terms, for instance, in terms of the vehicle per catheter ownership. the indian level is very low. —— capita. so the rate of increase in india will be very rapid. while in the case of china, they have achieved a certain level of car ownership. of course they will continue to grow. so we expect the growth in india will be larger, especially in the second half of the projection period. with this increased demand from india and china, two of the largest countries in the world, will this mean that we will continue to import oil from the middle east, or will we look for

other sources of oil? yes, that's a very good question. you pointed out that growth in demand in asia, but also at the same time supply from asia will decline substantially in the coming five or six years. that means the import requirement for asia will grow quite robust league. and even if all of the middle east and exports come to asia, that's not enough to fill the gap and therefore asia will need to import from other parts of the world, central asia, latin america or africa. will this mean higher prices for oil as china and india continue to expand with their demand and their —— then import less from the middle east? that's what we've been warning to the world. of course it depends on

the world. of course it depends on the level of investment. if investment picks up rapidly then it may be able to take care of the demand growth in the 2020s. a quick look now at the markets and as you can see, asia continues to rebound for a second day in early trading after wall street stocks scored some solid gains overnight. japan and australia are in positive territory. thank you so much for investing your time with us on asia business report. i'm rico hizon, sport today is coming up next. you're watching bbc news. i'm babita sharma. the headlines this hour: australian officials are beginning to assess the damage after cyclone debbie pummelled the north—east coast. at least one person has been killed and tens of thousands of homes are without power. there's a warning more floods and heavy rains are on the way. the crown prosecution service is

reviewing its options in the case of a man who walked free from court after admitting hitting his wife with a bat. mr bashir was given a suspended sentence by a judge at manchester crown court last week. thejudge has been criticised by campaigners for questioning the vulnerable of basheer‘s victim. 0ur correspondentjudith morris reports. mustapha ashley claimed he was a promising cricketer on the verge of a professional career, in fact he was an abusive husband who hit his wife with a bat and forced her to drink bleach. he was given an 18 month suspended sentence. judge richard mansell said he wasn't convinced the victim was particularly vulnerable and that she was plainly an intelligent woman who managed to hold down a job as a receptionist, had friends and went to university. those remarks and the sentence have distracted strong criticism. we've got to see if this can be reviewed. i'm writing to the

attorney general and thejustice secretary. in a case like this were the comments are so wide of what society expects, the judge the comments are so wide of what society expects, thejudge really has to question himself about what kind of retraining he needs. i've spoken to mustafa bashir‘s ex—wife at... she feels she is a strong and confident woman because of what she has been through. bashir told the court he would lose a professional contract with leicestershire county cricket club if he was jailed, the clu b cricket club if he was jailed, the club denies all knowledge of him. thejudge had club denies all knowledge of him. the judge had taken club denies all knowledge of him. thejudge had taken his career into consideration, as well as following guidelines which cover the victim's vulnerability. it's difficult for judges when seeking to determine whether a particular victim is more vulnerable than other victims. i think that's where perhaps the guidelines could do better. this situation sadly isn't particularly unusual. the cps is considering its

options. mustafa bashir could yet find himself back before the court if his sentence is reviewed. judith morris, bbc news, manchester. tesco, britain's largest retailer, has agreed to pay a fine of £129 million plus costs following a two—year investigation into false accounting. that's it from me. lebo diseko is here next and sport today is on hello, this is sport today, live from the bbc sport centre. coming up on this programme: lionel messi is banned forfour world cup qualifiers before argentina lose to bolivia. china's hopes are dealt a major blow after a 1—0 defeat to iran. and roger federer beats

roberto bautista agut to make the quarter—finals of the miami masters. hello and welcome to the programme. lots to get through. we start with the news that argentina have been beaten 2—0 away to bolivia in their south american world cup qualifier, dropping them into the play off position. it all comes on the back of what was a bad day when their star player and captain lionel messi was banned for four international matches for abusing an assistant referee. the incident took place during argentina's1—0 win over chile on friday, when the barcelona forward was caught on camera swearing at the official after flagging him for a fou, but the ban was put in place just hours before the match which was played in la paz. messi has also been fined just over $10,000 and will miss the next three matches after this one, although both messi and the argentine football federation can appeal