to explain her surprise move to seek an election onjune the 8th. theresa may says it's the only way to guarantee stability as the country negotiates its withdrawalfrom the european union. the us vice president, mike pence, is due to visit an american aircraft carrier at its base injapan. it's the latest leg of his tour of asia at a time of increased tension with north korea. and this video is being well watched on bbc.com. and why wouldn't you want to look at this rare giant ‘shipworm' that's been found in the philippines? scientists say it's a hugely important discovery because it's the first time the animal has been studied alive. shipworms can grow to be 1.5 metres long. that's all from me now. stay with bbc world news. and one other story from the uk — police have named a man they want to speak to about an acid attack at a london nightclub.

arthur collins is wanted for questioning after a corrosive liquid was sprayed during an argument. now on bbc news all the latest business news live from singapore america first. the us president unveils his plans to change the rules for the controversial hate one big fees. american workers have long called for reforms to end these visa abuses and for the first time their calls are being entered for the first time. and a snap election for the uk. how much nervousness does is add to the market? good morning, asia and hello world. this is wednesday. thank you for joining us. i am rico hizon. by

america, higheramerica, joining us. i am rico hizon. by america, higher america, that is the aim of us president donald trump's latest executive order. as we reported just hours ago he signed the order to review a temporary visa programme used to place foreign workers in highly skilled usjobs. mrjohn says he wants to stop abuse of the immigration system. right now, widespread abuse in our immigration system is allowing american workers of all backgrounds to be replaced by workers brought in from other countries to feel the samejob for some from other countries to feel the same job for some time less pay. this.. american workers have long called for reforms to end these visa abuses and today their calls are being entered for the first time. that includes taking the first steps to set in motion a long overdue reform of h one b visas. the order falls way short of mrjohn‘s

campaign pledge to end the controversial programme, technology companies say the visas help them feel vital skill shortages. data from the us citizenship and immigration services reveal that more h one b visa holders come from india than any other country. as for the white house, well, they say eight out of ten workers on the visa are paid less than the median wage for their industry. earlier we spoke to our north american business correspondent about what the order will actually achieve. what donald trump is doing is directing the administration, the people who work for him, to reassess how this programme is working, to enforce it where it is not being enforced. the rules that exist. and to see whether or not it is doing what it was designed to do. so you are not talking about ripping up the visa programme as some fear based on

remarks he had made, i think what we are seeing is sort of the pragmatism, the businessman who regularly meets with other ceos, other business leaders and he remembers the value of this programme. this is not targeting, it does not sound like it at any rate, highly skilled workers, but those who perhaps may be seen to be taking away from american jobs. this who perhaps may be seen to be taking away from americanjobs. this idea of higher american, by american, it is the higher american portion that we are seeing being put into practice here. he has basically flagged this policy in throughout his presidential campaign that the executive order seems to not go that very far. what will this mean for technology companies? it does not go that far and at this point it is really just a sort that far and at this point it is reallyjust a sort of that far and at this point it is really just a sort of stuff that far and at this point it is reallyjust a sort of stuff being ordered to collect recommendations

about what they would like to see. the reports need to be submitted and the commerce secretary will review them. there will be more consultation and at this point the changes are yet to be fully determined. i think technology companies are not worried yet. what we are seeing, however, is that there are polls coming out here in there are polls coming out here in the united states showing that perhaps donald trump is losing support amongst some of his core supporters and this is one way, certainly, to try and get back to that populist message that proved so successful for him that populist message that proved so successfulfor him on that populist message that proved so successful for him on the campaign trail, which was to try and help those in america who feel that they are losing theirjobs to other countries in the world. as we mentioned, india has been the single biggest source of workers migrating to america to work in tech companies. the order could lead to changes in how these visas are worded and would likely affect the 150 billion dollar industry in

india. any changes to the visa process in the us will mean bad news for the 150 billion dollar it service industry in india. every year 65,000 visas are issued in a lottery system and most of them are taken by indian consultancy firms. the order in itself will not change the visa process but it asks for suggestions from federal agencies. analysts say that the trump administration wants to get rid of the lottery system. the congress is also debating a piece of legislation which once companies to more than double the minimum wage paid to foreign workers who are working on a hib visa. last year, it india's it services industry generated $65 billion of revenues from the us

market. so if they have to pay foreign workers more, or hire people from the us market, then that will hit their revenues and profitability in the long—term. the us is not the only large democracy to announce an overhaul to its immigration policy. the australian government has announced it will scrap its a57 skilled guest worker visa although it has a replacement in mind. as our correspondent tells us how many people that is likely to affect. at the moment there are some 95,000 workers who have these coveted a57 visas for highly skilled workers. they are meant to apply to jobs where you have at least a university standard education but they range massively, everything from actors and airline pilots to firefighters, police officers, even zookeepers. now all of thosejobs

police officers, even zookeepers. now all of those jobs are mentioned are on a list that the government has set out saying that in the future none of those professions would be considered for the replacement visas. however, similar situation to what you heard there in america, the majority of a57 visa holders come from india, about one quarter, followed by the uk and china. most of the jobs and most of the visas are given to the it sectors and the hospitality industry. both of those business sectors bringing forward complaints at the moment saying they are uncertain about what this will meet their industry. why is the government changing the visa well, i guess government changing the visa well, i gu ess a57s government changing the visa well, i guess a57s a re government changing the visa well, i guess a57s are no longer vote winners, a bit like in america, they have become unpopular domestic league because of this idea that they may be taking jobs from domestic workers. the prime minister, malcolm turnbull, yesterday said they should not be a passport forforeign yesterday said they should not be a passport for foreign workers to take australian jobs. but australian jobs should be for australia and workers

and only then filled by foreign workers. the focus now will be on what comes next. what exactly this replacement system will mean and in the budget in may, what businesses are looking at is whether there will be an increased tax for businesses to pay to help find the training of australian workers so that in the future there are are not these big skill gaps in australia that mean they have to import workers to come here. in other business news, a well—known indian business tycoon has been granted bail after his arrest in the united kingdom. he faces extradition to india over accusations of fraud. the flamboyant businessman, who are denied any wrongdoing, made his fortune selling beer under the iconic kingfisher brand before branching out into fi racing, ipl and aviation. prime minister may have called for a snap election in june. a

minister may have called for a snap election injune. a stronger mandate for a party will allow them to negotiate a better brexit deal. the british pound strengthened on the news and i asked whether investors should expect more volatility? that strengthening pound had an immediate impact on sharemarket trading with the sharemarket dropping by 2.5% in trading overnight. it is a bit of a surprising move to see a currency strengthen on a weak economic development that it reflects on the market. the market is concerned about the outlook for the pound and is very short at any news and it's the social position scrambling for cover. although the pound has strengthened i would see that reverse over the next one or two days. that was our correspondent in sydney. as a look now at how market action is shaping up in early asian trading. the two to five down by a5 points. the all 0rdinaries giving back 2a points. most of them in

negative territory. asia, the investor sentiment has dropped on us markets after the prime minister of the uk called for a snap election. 0n the uk called for a snap election. on wall street, let's have a look at a quick numbers there. also in the red. us stocks are retreating admit disappointing early results after disappointing early results after disappointing results from goldman sachs. china's growth targets for 2017 and 2018. thank you so much investing your time with us. sport todayis investing your time with us. sport today is up next. more now on the story that's been dominating the headlines — theresa may's decision to call a snap general election. the vote will no doubt have a dramatic impact across the uk. let's get some analysis now on what it means for northern ireland, wales and scotland. nicola sturgeon thinks that this

decision could back fire on the prime minister in scotland because she believes the snp are in a position to do well in this election. if they do, then that will make it much harderfor a westminster government to refuse to allow a referendum on scottish independence. privately, however, the snp will admit it will be incredibly difficult for them to repeat the astonishing success they had in 2015. you could have a situation where the snp win most of the seats in scotland but it still looks like the support is slipping. the tories are convinced they can make significant gains in scotland now that they have successfully positioned themselves at the party most dedicated to keeping the uk united. there are many here in northern ireland to feel this vote could add to a sense of political instability. remember, people here have already been to the polls twice in the last of months, but assembly elections and the first one was itself a snap election after the com plete colla pse

itself a snap election after the complete collapse of power—sharing at stormont. but as the crisis that has not gone away. the parties about a month with a deal to restore the government there. despite two deadlines and the reality is calling this vote will only leave it to be more difficult. the negotiations have looked at the success now. that is because election cam teens here tend to be bitter and divisive. some political commentators called the last one nakedly sectarian. is no suggestion that this one will be any different. it is ready being called as an opportunity to show support for the as an opportunity to show support forthe uk, on as an opportunity to show support for the uk, on the other hand raising the potential dangers of brexit and even pushing for a referendum on the united ireland. here in wales it is a lot more straightforward than in northern ireland that there will be intensity, nevertheless. plenty of enthusiasm today, obviously, from the conservatives and also the leader, leanne woods, said it was game on. the leader of welsh labour,

the first minister here in cardiff questioned the timing, questioned whether it was in the national interest. he will be acutely aware of the potential vulnerability of the numberof labour of the potential vulnerability of the number of labour constituencies ina general the number of labour constituencies in a general election. two years ago the conservatives put labour and a considerable pressure in parts of wales. the tory calculation will be that wales voted to leave and as such and because of that there will be large numbers of people in wales prepared to give to reason made a mandate to do exactly that. one final thought. the eu referendum campaign in wales was hugely divisive and bruising. i think the question tonight is whether the debate has moved on and whether it will be a rerun of that referendum campaign and the old wounds are reopened. the view from across the uk. that's got the sports now. hello.

this is sport today, live from the bbc sport centre. coming up on this programme: cristiano ronaldo passes the 100—goal mark in the champions league, as real madrid beat bayern munich in extra—time to progress to the semi—finals. not to be outdone, their city rivals, atletico, are also into the last four after beating english champions, leicester city. and novak djokovic survives a scare to move through to the third round of the monte carlo masters. hello, and welcome to the programme, where we start with the news that cristiano ronaldo passed the 100—goal mark in the champions league. his side won 6—3 on aggregate against bayern munich