i'm ceila hatton with bbc news. our top story: president trump pushes ahead with his metal tariff‘s plan. there are fears the plans could spark a trade war. mrtrump wants china to reduce its trade imbalance with the united states by $1 billion. a private message is on its way from north korea to the us. the undisclosed communication from kim jong—un was given to diplomatic envoys from south korea on monday. and this video is trending on bbc.com. an amazing escape from an avalanche captured on a helmet camera worn by thomas kray while he was on the alpine slopes at tignes. thomas was saved activating an avalanche airbag. it allowed him to escape being buried. that's all from me for now. stay with bbc news. and the top story here in the uk: british police say a nerve agent was used in a deliberate attempt to kill a former russian spy and his daughter.

sergei and yulia skripal remain in a critical condition in hospital. now on bbc news, all the latest business news live from singapore. president trump is expected to go ahead with new controversial tariffs within the next day, but could canada and mexico be exempt? and on international women's day, we ask if gender equality and pay are a distant dream or something achievable. good morning, and welcome to asia business report, live from singapore. it is still all about trade this morning. and donald trump's trade war could start today. that is if you believed in reports the president will sign off on controversial tariffs on steel and aluminium. other industries are not

sure this is a good idea. we have more from new york. brooklyn very is used to focusing on its craft but the company is increasingly worried about it brewing trade war, especially because it makes more than 50% of its profits by exporting a certain type of liquor. it will increase costs tremendously. if a trade war begins, that is very dangerous for companies like ours. in this company isn't alone. across the united states, businesses are struggling to figure out the potential impact president trump's ta riffs potential impact president trump's tariffs could have on their bottom line. the uncertainty stems not so

much from steel and aluminium imports, but rather what could happen ina imports, but rather what could happen in a trade war. already, the european union has threatened to slap tariffs on everything from american bourbon to motorcycles. some say that is a small price to pgy- some say that is a small price to pay. you will talk to some people in export sectors and they will be worried. i do not doubt it will happen. but at an economy wide level, this will not have meaningful impact. the us trade deficit hit a nine—year high this week, offering further motivation for president trump in his american first trade policy. when we are down by 100 billion, the trade war hurts them, it does not hurt us. that is the problem with trade wars, there is a lwa ys problem with trade wars, there is always someone who gets hurt. and it is not easy to guess who that is

going to be. bbc news, brooklyn. as you just heard in that report, president trump seems rather fixated on the trade deficit and how he wa nts to on the trade deficit and how he wants to reduce it. new figures show the gap rose to the highest level in more than nine years injanuary, coming in at over 55 billion us dollars. he will not be happy about that, and will probably use it to justify the move to impose those ta riffs justify the move to impose those tariffs despite backlash. we told you yesterday the eu was having a meeting about these tariffs and how to respond. the trade chief has set up to respond. the trade chief has set up plans to retaliate, including higher import duties on bourbon, peanut butter, cranberries, orange juice, steel, and industrial products. you cannot get more american than that. the commission says a trade war has no winners and if it can be avoided, they will work with the americans and other allies

on the issue of overcapacity. remember, president trump abandoned a huge trade deal colebee trans—pacific a huge trade deal colebee tra ns—pacific partnership shortly after taking office. —— called the. the remaining members will formally signa the remaining members will formally sign a deal in chile. in other business news making headlines, china is moving a step closer to putting measures in place to curb runaway home prices. it is a potential game—changer for the real estate industry, which some analysts have called, quotes, too bit to fail. washington has been leading the charge to ramp up international pressure on north korea. now, india is cutting back on trade with pyongyang, but it is maintaining diplomatic ties. for more on this, i am joined by diplomatic ties. for more on this, i amjoined bya diplomatic ties. for more on this, i am joined by a business reporter from mumbai. how much do india and north korea trade to begin with?

well, surprisingly, a lot. in 2015 and 2016, according to indian government data, india was north korea's third—largest trading partner after russia and china. india exported around $111 million of goods and important $88 million worth of goods from pyongyang. that has reduced slightly because last april, india aligned itself with un sanctions and said that it would not trade with north korea any more besides food and medicine. is latest sanctions, trade barriers, are related to some equipment, electrical equipment, wood, and farm products. —— these. it is interesting because the relationship has been growing over the last few

yea rs, has been growing over the last few years, but finally india has listened and is clamping down on trade with north korea. why now? we are now hearing reports the tensions between north korea and the rest of the world seemed to be coming down. yeah, well, there is a lot in it for india. by doing this, it improves its relationship with south korea and the united states. that opens up its diplomatic standing internationally. and also, it a tt ra cts internationally. and also, it attracts investment into india. and we saw that with south korea agreeing to build a $1.1 billion factory in andhra pradesh in india last year. there is a lot in it in india as faras last year. there is a lot in it in india as far as investment and military and diplomatic relations go as well. thank you so much for the update. it is international women's day. in the business world, we are starting to see some women at the

top of big companies. but it is still a very small percentage, making it a super niche club. so, what does it take to be the next female leader? we caught up with several female bosses in asia to ask about their journey. several female bosses in asia to ask about theirjourney. the most irreleva nt about theirjourney. the most irrelevant question... the most irrelevant question... the most irrelevant questions i got... what irrelevant questions i got... what irrelevant question? hmm. .. hard work, integrity, and, umm, perseverance. you hard work, integrity, and, umm, perseverance. you just have to keep on trying. followed your passion. take every opportunity. —— follow. and try not to get into situations where you feel compromise.“ and try not to get into situations where you feel compromise. if you are not sure you want to rise to the

top, there is no one to help you, just remember you have to motivate yourself. there is no doubt my career path would have been different if i were a man. women face all sorts of challenges, big and small, throughout their career. looking after children, managing sexist attitudes, filling a need to prove ourselves constantly. —— feeling. the good old boys' club is in the co—ordinated. —— old—fashioned. now we share a vision. the most irrelevant question would he, you know, you reach a stage being a woman, and it has no correlation. how do i manage time between family and business? as a

single parent, that is. it is irrelevant because it puts emphasis on me being a single mother when, irrelevant because it puts emphasis on me being a single motherwhen, in fa ct, on me being a single motherwhen, in fact, it actually applies to men as well. there is a greater tendency for people to question your commitment to the job as a result of being a woman, and that is something that really sticks in our craw. we tend to be incredibly efficient and focused because we need to go off and do other things. and an interesting development from the biggest hotel chain in india. they have announced new plans to pay for female staff to undergo fertility treatment if they need or want it. they said they would reimburse expenses forfamily they said they would reimburse expenses for family action as part ofa expenses for family action as part of a policy to keep female employees in their company of a policy to keep female employees in theircompany and of a policy to keep female employees in their company and promote equal opportunities. a look at the markets before we go. and other volatile

session on wall street. we are seeing mixed reaction in asia. japan is up and australia is down. one stock is nikko. they are cutting 4000 jobs in europe. the economy expanded more than expected. that could be helping japan's nikkei today. that is it for this edition of asia business report. thank you for watching. and now it is time to look at the top stories this hour. duties on peanut butter, bourbon, and orange juice, just some of the items the eu says it will hit with import duties if president trump's metal tariffs go ahead. a nerve agent was used to try to murder a former russian spy and his daughter, police have said. sergei and yulia skripal remain critically ill in a uk hospital. a teenager has gone on trial

at the old bailey accused of planting a bomb on a london underground train last september. 30 people were hurt in the incident during the morning rush—hour at parson's green station. 18—year—old, ahmed hassan, from sunbury, in surrey, denies attempted murder and causing an explosion likely to endanger life, as our home affairs correspondent, june kelly, reports. sirens. an autumn morning in the rush—hour and a major security operation on the london underground system. today, the old bailey heard how an improvised explosive device partially detonated on a train just after it pulled into parsons green station. it created a large fireball in a carriage with around 93 passengers. some were caught by the flames and suffered serious burns. this is the teenager on trial for the attack, 18—year—old, ahmed hassan,

captured on cctv in the weeks before when his plans were said to be well under way. on this bus ride, in his plastic bag, he was allegedly carry one of the components, hydrogen peroxide, he needed for his homemade bomb. today, the jury was told hassan left his device in a bucket on the train. described as loaded with shrapnel to cause maximum harm and damagem and containing the volatile explosive tatp. prosecutor alison morgan said of the passengers... "many ran in fear and panic. "they were fortunate. "had the device fully detonated, it is inevitable that serious injury and significant damage would have been caused within the carriage. "those in close—proximity to the device may well have been killed." hassan came to britain as an asylum seeker from iraq and was living with foster parents.

ahmed hassan arrived in this country three years ago on a lorry. he told immigration officials that he'd been forcibly taken by the islamic state group and trained to kill by them. but he said he was opposed to is and was in fear of them. it was said to be a matter of luck that the device here did not fully go off, it had been fitted with a timer. ahmed hassan had got off the train at the station before. he was arrested 24—hours later. june kelly, bbc news, at the old bailey. time now for all the sports news in sport today. hello, i'm holly hamilton and this is sport today live from the bbc sport centre. coming up on this programme: juventus are through to the quarter finals of the champions league — after coming from behind to beat tottenham. and tiger woods is ready to play this week as he warms up

for a potential fifth masters title in april. hello and welcome to the programme wherever you're watching. it was a winner takes all showdown — the prize? a place in the quarterfinal of the champions league. for tottenham, they came tantalisingly close... for tottenham, they came tantalisingly close before two—time european champions juventus scored twice in the second half of their last 16 tie at wembley to book their place in the last eight. our football reporter john bennett has more. juventus know how to get the job done, their experience counted. this isa done, their experience counted. this is a site that has been into the last three champions league finals. they were up against it. top number against it. juventus had a penalty turned down but tottenham took the lead. slightly