votes in germany's federal election, but with a sharp fall in support. the alternative for germany party has made big gains, entering parliament for the first time. dozens of american football players have protested against racism during the playing of the us national anthem before games, as the row between sportsmen and president trump escalates. and we have had a special visitor into the newsday studio. elmo from sesame street joined rico in the studio. it is part of a global campaign to spread kindness. it is called share the laughter. that's all from me for now. stay with bbc news. and the top story here in the uk: a decision by the labour party leadership not to have any separate motions debated on the party's position on the european union's single market has prompted anger among some of its members. now on bbc news, all the latest

business news live from singapore. new zealand's largest company has unveiled its yearly numbers. is it milking it for all it's worth? and the business of song and dance. can live bollywood musical transform india's theatre scene? it is monday, good morning, asia. hello and thank you forjoining us for this edition of asia business report. i'm rico hizon. new zealand's dairy giant fo nterra hizon. new zealand's dairy giant fonterra has reported a slump in profitability. new zealand's largest company reported a net profit of

$546 million for the year ending 31 july, $516 million for the year ending 31 july, down from $612 million the previous year. earlier i spoke to fonterra's chief executive live from auckland and i started by asking him why profits were down. we have a difficult and to the season, so less volume, you can difficult and to the season, so less volume, you can see difficult and to the season, so less volume, you can see that in the figures and during the year at 57% increase in milk prices, and also normal milk price product, another 200 million in price to deal with. when we spoke to the federated farmers dairy group, they described the result that you came out with very positively, because it is putting more cash into farmers' hands. yes, that is correct. it is a long time ago that we have seen such uplift in dairy prices, and what you normally see, it gives a lot of pressure on the input costs, so that

we could pay a0 cents dividend, the same as last year, which is almost 7% yield share. that is a big outcome for ourfarms, a 7% yield share. that is a big outcome for our farms, a strong pay—out and strong yields, so that is why they are extremely positive. what about fonterra's arrangement with the chinese company that your food company in china. it is back in the black, but you took a hit and a lot of people are saying that you are not as transparent as you should be. we have a great china strategy, we have a very important business of 3.7 billion litres of milk. we do have a partnership in infant formula, which is extremely important. beingmate is the best pa rt important. beingmate is the best part of us, it is the right choice. not everybody in china, in infant

formula, went through turbulent times, with regulations and new registration last year. so there was a whole lot of competitive turmoil, there was price erosion, which had a competitive impact, and we took a downturn based on valuations but the partnership was crucial, and the partnership was crucial, and the partnership is crucial in the greater china context and strategy. that was theo spierings, the chief executive officer of fonterra, joining us earlierfrom auckland. looking ahead to this week, we will be keeping an eye on tensions between the united states and north korea, after the us president wrapped up his bellicose rhetoric over kim jong—un‘s nuclear programme, and we will also be watching the global economy and how it reacts to the re— election of german chancellor angela merkel, who won a fourth term at the helm. later this week, japan is expected to set a price on its shares —— higher

price of its shares, following the success of similar companies like dhl, but so far it has been struggling. earlier i spoke to andrew staples, and asked him if there will be any market reaction to increasing tensions over pyongyang. it is certainly there in the background, ramp up of political risk the region, which we have had for some time now. interesting to see if it will have any impact on the markets, properly not. people have already factored this issue into their investment strategies, and so on. at what about the elections in germany? angela merkel, fourth term as chancellor, but her majority in parliament has dwindled. could this impact investor sentiment as well? well, i think one thing it will be seen as is a vote for stability in germany, and there will

bea stability in germany, and there will be a lot of relief around europe. europe is doing a lot better than it was even a year ago, when we saw the rising populist sentiment, so even though we have seen support leaking away from main parties in germany, this is a vote for stability, and i think the actors will respond accordingly. what is the deeper story injapan? accordingly. what is the deeper story in japan? there are many aspects to this, political, economic, business and so on. you mentioned japan searching for a new future, trying to turn itself into a global logistics giant. can really turn itself into a global logistics giant to compete with the likes of dhl and fedex? well, first and foremost there is massive growth in online commerce and logistics needed to deliver that. secondly, japan post's logistics company was largely seen as a failure, so the second offering was postponed earlier in the year. and thirdly, and more deeply and more importantly, does japan post have it within itself to

reform itself, and its mindset and so on? and of course, reforms are the key agenda of shinzo abe, and we could possibly have an election soon? yes, quite possibly, when shinzo abe return from the states, there has been speculation he could call an election, which would be unpopular, although he would take advantage in an upturn in his popularity. and he could they in power. and he will also look to north korea for support for his policies around national security. more than 1500 movies are made every yearin more than 1500 movies are made every year in india, and most of them are full of song and dance, but it is rare to see audiences flocking to live musical and to spend more than $100 on it. a musical version of an iconic hindi film has just $100 on it. a musical version of an iconic hindi film hasjust had a successful run in mumbai and is heading to the capital, new delhi. 0ur correspondent has more. dressed

in traditional costumes, these dancers and singers are recreating the 16th century period on the stage in delhi. the story of a young prince falling in love with a quarter son was first made into a major bollywood motion picture in 1960. almost 60 years later, india's very own bollywood broadway is a runaway hit, and is prompting others to get back into the business. you have cinema, your television, but i think theatre has... it is very powerful, and i have done theatre in these small productions and so on and so forth. so i think that this one will open up more of the imagination, and perhaps more of the purses of the people who felt that theatre is not the place to be. in theatre is not the place to be. in the west, broadway musicals in new york such as the lion king and hamilton have the budgets to work

with, but in india, theatre companies are often struggling for funds. this is one of the rare productions which has received financial backing of more than $1 million from india's oldest real estate player. just to give you a benchmark, when it was originally made, in 1960, one could make ten films for the same budget, and if you talk about the musical, you could make 20 players. so as the show opens to packed houses, it is also providing employment opportunities to many. a00 people are involved in this production alone, and that is not all. local vendor is creating these beautiful costu mes vendor is creating these beautiful costumes and props to recreate the mughal era on the stage. in this small shop in india's financial capital, mumbai, this man is busy

constructing a stage for another play. he says business is booming, and his salary has doubled. translation: after mughal—e—azam, we have more work, and we are getting paid more. the country's entertainment industry is projected to grow by 10% each year, with a value surpassing $a5 billion by 2021. and as india's classic love story is getting a new lease of life, performers, reduces and prop artists are realising the stage could be there as once again. —— could be there as once again. —— could be there as once again. —— could be theirs. the us right hayley &co could be theirs. the us right hayley & co uber started an online petition to protest the decision by london's transport authorities —— ride hailing company. it hopes that the

outpouring of public support will pressure the city's government to change their minds. london is one of uber‘s most lucrative markets. before we go, let's have a quick look at the asian markets. it is currently a mixed bag, a lacklustre day to asian equities to start the week after us stocks finished a choppy friday session. investors are weighing how seriously to take rhetoric between us president donald trump and north korea's kimjong—un, and of course the german elections over the weekend. thank you for investing your time with us, i am rico hizon. sport today is coming up next. the top stories this hour: after the german election, angela merkel is set to serve a fourth term in office, but her party has lost support to the right—wing nationalist afd. many american football stars have again kneeled during their national anthem, protesting against racism in the us. president trump has called them unpatriotic. prince harry has opened this

yea r‘s invictus games, for disabled and wounded servicemen and women, in toronto. the competitors will take part in 12 sports over eight days. his girlfriend, the actress meghan markle, was at the opening ceremony, making her first appearance at an official engagement attended by the prince. 0ur royal correspondent sarah campbell reports. the competition is already as hot as the sweltering temperatures toronto is currently enjoying. this morning, prince harry took his seat to watch the athletics. and it was a successful start for team uk, taking gold, and bronze. paralysed ten years ago in a road traffic accident, lindsey chapman today took the gold in the women's 100 metre final. it's given me a goal and a purpose again. and i feel better about myself, i've got fitter, met loads of people, brilliant people. all the other team—mates

arejust wonderful. some very special friends already, that hopefully, you know, i keep for life. prince harry has spent the last couple of hours here at the athletic centre, talking to competitors, handing out some medals in some of the first medal ceremonies. his focus today is purely and simply on those taking part in these games. so, has toronto put on a good games? fantastic games. last night, the games got off to a spectacular start, all 550 competitors have gone through so much to get this far. they were cheered on by the prince, america's first lady, and canada's prime minister, and seated a few metres away from harry, meghan markle, his girlfriend. toronto is her adopted home, and this was her first appearance at an official royal appearance involving the prince. these games where harry's idea, and there is a deep mutual respect between him and the competitors. some of you have overcome emotional challenges, that until very recent years, would have seen you written

off and ignored. and now you are here, on the world stage, flags on your chest, representing your countries again. over the next week, these men and women, cheered on by theirfriends and family, will all be winners, no matter who crosses the line first. sarah campbell, bbc news, toronto. football's governing body, fifa, is set to lift a ban preventing players from displaying poppies. last year, fifa fined england, scotland, wales and northern ireland for displaying poppy symbols during world cup qualifiers close to armistice day. fifa had ruled that poppies are a political symbol, and therefore not allowed. the ban will be lifted before international games in november. lots more on all our stories on a website and you can get in touch with me on social media. time now for all the sports news, in sport today. hello, this is sport today,

live from the bbc sport centre. coming up on this programme. the nfl stars defying the american president. justin thomas wins the fedex cup — and a ten million dollar bonus. and roger federer helps europe beat the world team to win the inaugural laver cup. first we start with american football, and a number of protests have taken place at nfl games on sunday following donald trump's controversial comments. the us president has called for players demonstrating against racial inequality during the national anthem to be fired. it's provoked an angry response. this was the scene earlier on sunday, at wembley stadium in london where the jacksonville jaguars and the baltimore ravens played.