of the fbi. he said he'd been intending to fire mr comey even before receiving advice from the justice department. but the acting fbi director said staff had not lost confidence in mr comey. he told senators the investigation into claims of russian collusion in president trump's election would continue with vigour. the party of french president—elect emmanuel macron has unveiled a list of candidates for next month's parliamentary elections. more than half have never held elected office and half are women. and the arctic climate change summit is trending on bbc.com. foreign ministers of the eight arctic council nations are meeting in alaska to discuss climate change. and the top story here in the uk. senior labour figures have unanimously approved the party's general election manifesto. it contains a pledge to renationalise the rail network and parts of the energy industry,

now on bbc news all the latest business news live from singapore. one belt, one road. china gears up for its first new silk road summit in beijing. what will it mean for investors. skyhigh prices for homes in asia. which property market gives you the best bang for your buck? it is friday, everyone. thank you for joining us. i am rico hizon. 28 world leaders will gather in beijing over the weekend to discuss china's grand plan to invest billions of dollars to improve its global trade links. what is known as the one belt

one road initiatives is crucialfor the chinese president. there are concerns that it is masking other ambitions. our correspondent has the details. by sea and by land china's president has a big idea to bring his country closer to some of you. it is called one belt, one road. an awkward and confusing name but it is about trade links. the belt refers to this, road and rail that heads west through outer china. but look at this. this is the road. maritime that heads south and then west. china wants to take ancient silk road trading routes and update them by ploughing hundreds of billions of dollars into infrastructure in various countries along the way. new ports, pipelines and railways. the president has made it his signature

policy. china's president talks about it a lot and the figures bandied around are huge. dozens of projects planned, ambitions to spend maybe half a trillion dollars. but, still, they need this. what appears to bea still, they need this. what appears to be a government propaganda video. this is the reality of the belt and road grand plan. as growth in the economy slows, china wants to find new markets. one of the big worries abroad is 1—way traffic. the government makes it difficult for many foreign firms to operate here, selling spanish wine to the growing rich middle class should not be difficult but... last, but not least, there is the suspicion that

china is spending big to increase its influence, plain and simple. china trading with the rest of the world is nothing new but it is the scale that is so different. one belt one road is hugely ambitious but there is much rhetoric around it. now it is up to this president to make sure it all comes together if it is to be more than just his pet project. so what will this huge infrastructure project means for investors 7 infrastructure project means for investors? we speak to the canadian chamber of commerce in china. i asked him what canadian businesses thought of this initiative. asked him what canadian businesses thought of this initiativelj asked him what canadian businesses thought of this initiative. i think canadians another international business people are excited about the expansion of infrastructure. however we always like to see the devil in the detail and howard is executed over time. if we see the devil and the detail, how do you think this will benefit the canadian business? from a basic point of

view, the expansion of infrastructure, it will definitely increase trade between second—tier markets in china and second—tier markets in china and second—tier markets in china and second—tier markets in canada. likewise, around the world. however, i think the issue remains what is going back and forth between the two countries. is that trade balance? what are you expecting and what are you looking forward to in this one belt one road summit taking place in beijing?” think what comes out will be interesting. much of it will be details that a prearranged in that, we all know that infrastructure is going to expand very greatly, um, we know that this will connect china to any countries in central asia, western europe. however, aside from just a building a lot of infrastructure, what services come out? i think it is a mystery to everybody. a mystery and an

ambitious plan from the beijing government. if the us policy for america first pushing its allies to look to china for better global and regional leadership? on behalf of canada, definitely. they have, the us have slapped a tariff on canadian lumber, china is our second biggest market for our lumber. canada has spent decades selling wood into china. the policies of the trump administration are certainly making china far more important a trade partner than they were before. in other business news making headlines the value of that coin has set a new all—time high rising above 1800 dollars on wednesday. industry data shows it has settled back to 1789.

it is the second time this week that new highs have been set. market value of bitcoin has increased significantly in four days. owners of snack shack are still struggling. they are still down in new york trade. this comes after snap posted a big loss of over $2 billion in its first quarter since it listed on wall street in march. new sun have warned that profits could fall. it expects profits to fall nearly 20%. the profit warning comes one day after toyota predicted tough times ahead due to slowing stay sales in the united states and the strong japanese yen. the downturn in the us retail sector shows no sign of letting up. macy's reporting a ninth consecutive quarter of falling

southward profitability down by 39%. fears of the prospects for retail spread to rival department store chains with others falling between five to 8%. for most people, a home is the most expensive thing they will ever own. real estate is a major investment for many people here in asia but you should you put money into an expensive market like hong kong or bet on a rapidly rising real estate market like india ? hong kong or bet on a rapidly rising real estate market like india? we spoke to the chief executive of the property firm jl l. talk to anyone who owns property or who wants to get on the property ladder, the value of homes preoccupies the minds of most. where to live and what to buy here in asia is a bit of an obsession and who better to make sense of it all than the chief executive ofjl? we have two minutes

with you starting now so i will start by asking what the property market is like here in singapore and the region? singapore or at the bottom of the market at the end of last year but we saw a u—turn of 1% in the luxury sector. we feel with the easing of the measures in the residential sector, improving sentiment in the economy it is a good time to buy residential and hong kong. prices are already high so hong kong. prices are already high so there is an expectation they may ease away. japan is a surprise, they are worth chasing and australia has a lwa ys are worth chasing and australia has always been a favourite given the quality of life there. looking at china, we know that there are capital controls in place right now and the chinese were huge buyers in the region. how has that impacted the region. how has that impacted the property market? in the middle point of last year, chinese investors were very focused on europe and the americas, obviously what has happened with trump and brexit the money has come away from those markets and combined with the anti— curbing measures with the

chinese currency much more focused on investing in asia—pacific despite some cost—cutting measures. if china can support a wonder one road, government approvals will come through. you are the chief executive ofjll through. you are the chief executive ofjl l here in the asia—pacific region. what are some of your chief duties? it is fantastic to be here in the asia—pacific. the growth driver of the world at the moment and, therefore, globally there is a lot of pressure on us to grow our business. we have been here for 50 yea rs business. we have been here for 50 years and there is absolutely no shortage whatsoever of opportunity here. our greatest challenge still remains a talent. we are service sector and talent is critical. as a brand we must remain relevant and we must retain the best talent in the real estate sector. as a property investor, we should i invest? you know singapore, you feel comfortable here and i think singapore is a safe bet. a little bit of a wild card, i

would start looking at india and japan as future will potential residential opportunities. let's have a look now at the markets and asian stocks are flat to negative right now after us securities fell overnight. and worse than expected sales dropped from us department stores. fears are that consumers are not spending enough. this impacts asian markets because many of the products being sold in the us are being purchased from asian markets. the japanese market is down by a0 and the all ords down by 11. have a productive friday, everyone. goodbye for now. this is bbc news. i'm greg dawson. the top stories this hour. president trump has changed his explanation about why he fired the director of the fbi, james comey. he said he'd already decided to sack him before receiving advice from thejustice department. after the controversial jailing of the governor of jakarta — a christian — indonesia'sjustice minister has said he may review the country's blasphemy laws. hospital waiting times in england

are the worst level for five years according to a study of the latest nhs data. the health foundation, a charity which conducts specialist research into health policy, said that key targets were being missed and there were longer waits for accident and emergency, cancer treatment and routine operations. our health editor has examined the issue. jim has prostate cancer, he faced long delays between seeing his gp, going for tests and then having surgery. he's one of a growing number of patients in england facing long waits for cancer treatment. it affected every part of my life. it affected my personal life, my work life because you're waiting around and it becomes more and more clear that you've got something wrong with you. so i went for so long without any treatment at all. at least 85% of patients should start cancer treatment within 62 days of being referred,

but that target hasn't been met in england since late 2015. in a civilised country, the nhs has to do better for cancer patients. people shouldn't be waiting more than 62 days for treatment, they deserve much, much better. according to the health foundation think tank, waiting times for key services in england were the worst in five years. 26,000 patients had to wait longer than the two month target to start cancer treatment. that compares with 1a,300 in 2011-12. the number waiting more than the four—hour target for being treated or assessed in a&e was 2.5 million, a sharp increase on the 725,000 with long waits five years before. against a backdrop of rising patient numbers and stretched resources, it's getting harderfor the nhs in england to hit its key performance targets, which are supposed to provide reassurance of high quality care for patients. more and more people are needing to use the nhs. that's not new and

it's not unexpected. as a population we're getting older, there are more of us and our health needs are more complicated. but demand on the nhs has historically risen by around a% per year whereas, from 2009—10, funding has only risen by around 1% per year. nhs england said the march figures were better than proceeding months, but over recent years there's been a steady decline. whoever forms the next government will have to face up to that. hugh pym, bbc news. three women have appeared in court in london charged with terrorism offences and conspiracy to murder. it is believed to be the first alleged all—female jihadist plot in britain. time now for the sports news. hi, everyone.

you're watching sport today live from the bbc sport centre. i'm nick marshall—mccormack. coming up: the europa league final line—up is complete. manchester untied will face ajax in stockholm. the world number one is wobbling. andy murray is knocked out early in madrid. and the swiss speedster.. —— why is sergio garcia high—fiving? hi, there, wherever you are around the world. welcome to sport today. jose mourinho says he won't hesitate to rest his plays in the final threepenny elite games as he now focuses on winning the rope league final. -- focuses on winning the rope league final. —— premier league games. they set upa final. —— premier league games. they set up a showdown with ajax. the manchester united fans at old trafford will be breathing a huge sigh of relief. they are through to