about north korea at the white house. president trump has agreed to meet the north korean leader, kim jong—un. the white house confirmed the meeting would happen at a time and place yet to be determined. the head of a south korean delegation that held talks with both leaders this week said the meeting would happen by may. the south korean envoy praised mr trump's uncompromising stance for adding to the pressure on north korea. north korea has agreed also agreed to halt nuclear and missile tests. the white house said the trump administration looked forward to the denuclearisation of north korea — but in the meantime, all sanctions and maximum pressure must remain on pyongyang. the president said he agreed to the meeting because he is the ultimate decision—makers in his country. and the top story here in the uk: a jury at the old bailey has been shown a video, of the moment a bomb partially exploded on a tube train

in south west london last september. now on bbc news all the latest business news live from singapore. president donald trump accepts north korea's offered to talk about denuclearisation. ourtough sanctions responsible for the change of heart? and looking for the next big flavour. for those with a sweet tooth in asia. good morning, asia. hello, world. glad you could join us on this friday edition of asia business report. as you have been hearing on bbc world news over the past 90 minutes, donald trump has agreed to meet with north korean

leader kim jong—un in agreed to meet with north korean leader kimjong—un in order to defuse the nuclear. let's get more on this with leisha santorelli. the potential meeting that might take place. but still, no venue. donald trump tweeted that currently in the midst of coming up with a date and time and place but initially, what has been the reaction of the financial markets in asia? as this news was coming through, japan and south korea in stock markets were opening and they are soaring. japan up opening and they are soaring. japan up by opening and they are soaring. japan up by 2%, south korea 1.5% and its currency is doing well and this is because of such a dramatic breakthrough in the tensions on the korean peninsula and obviously investors are overjoyed. at the prospect we could see a de— nuclearised north korea. we have to

treat this planned meeting with caution. previous attempts to negotiate with north korea on a bilateral and multilateral level have all failed. a lot of credit must be given to donald trump and his administration for putting a lot of pressure on north korea but that we still need to be sceptical as to whether we will see any deal delivered. what about giving credit to china who is a major political and economic ally for north korea? we know that north korea has been hit by its toughest ever sanctions on an international level —— level. from the eu, japan and south korea. crucial to all is china. it accounts the 90% of trade with north korea. us china the 90% of trade with north korea. us - china have the 90% of trade with north korea. us- china have been having tfie'ijs and ana eve‘hee'h‘hevthq’” f ‘ own intense tfie'ijs and ana eve‘hee'h‘hevthq’” f ‘own intense relationship.

their own intense relationship. china has been in a position where they need to be more accommodating for north korea. we are seeing a crackdown on smuggling of goods into north korea. i think china must be given some credit. a knee-jerk on the upside for markets in asia. thank you for the update. my business colleague leisha santorelli. president trump has followed through on his campaign promise and signed an order putting steel and aluminium tariffs in place. we want a lot of steel coming into our country but we wanted to be fairand we want into our country but we wanted to be fair and we want our workers to be protected and we want frankly our companies to be protected. by contrast, we will not place any new tax on product made in the usa. so there is no tax if a product is made in the usa. you don't want to pay

tax? bring it to the usa, there is no tax. some argue that these ta riffs no tax. some argue that these tariffs are moving the us closer to a trade war but there are exemptions for mexico and canada, according to experts. their 2596 for mexico and canada, according to experts. their 25% import for mexico and canada, according to experts. their 2596 import tariffs on steel, 10% import tariffs on aluminium. steel imports to the us are not gigantic. 1.6% of imports. 0.2% of gdp. these are not huge numbers when it comes to the overall us economy but the key thing is whether or not these tariffs set up a trade war. we have seen threats of retaliation by the european union who has threatened to tax everything from american bourbon which is manufactured in mitch mcconnell‘s home state of kentucky to american motorcycles in paul ryan's state of wisconsin. we will see the european union is successful at getting rid

of these extensions. this is a white house which likes to put on a show so house which likes to put on a show so inviting nations to apply for exemptions, give us your best offer and we are more than willing to give what we've given to mexico and canada. the republican party, some of president trump's major allies, and the democrats are against these trade tariffs. is there a likelihood they will even get into effect? we have 15 days for the tariffs to take effect. we have seen strong opposition from president trump's own party. there are over 100 members who said they were deeply concerned, in the republican party, and other republicans who came out and other republicans who came out and say they wanted to introduce new legislation which could strip president trump of his powers to institute tariffs such as these. more to be seen. more than a year ago, mrtrump more to be seen. more than a year ago, mr trump through a wrench into

ago, mr trump through a wrench into a free—trade arrangement once ranked as the world's largest and now the remaining 11 countries are going ahead without america and signing a revamped version. it's been rebranded as comprehension —— copperhead seven progress of agreement for the trans—pacific partnership or cp tpp. we sat down with the australian trade minister. we know already there is interest from other economies who would like tojoin. the more that from other economies who would like to join. the more that do, from other economies who would like tojoin. the more that do, the stronger the value of the trans—pacific partnership. stronger the value of the trans-pacific partnership. seeing this become a reality, there are some huge hurdles in each of the countries to deal with congress. ultimately that will be determined by the domestic processors each country must pursue but the consensus view, the agreement coming into effect by the end of this year 01’ into effect by the end of this year

or early next year. we need six countries to give effect to it. if we do that, the agreement should come into effect in the not too distant future. today has been a day of mixed feelings with the us going one day and australia, and others going the other way in terms of trade. is this the new way for global trade now? there is nothing particularly new about the fact that different countries adopt different positions on trade. history has taught us that has been the case since time immemorial. we have seen over the last a0 or 50 years in particular the liberalised trade has driven economic growth and jobs. countries that engage in trade a more prosperous. countries engaged in trade have higher levels of employment in the country is because you can grow businesses, they are

more stable if they are engaged in international trade is that is what drives our approach. the australian trade minister there. 0pening drives our approach. the australian trade minister there. opening a chewing gum lab in singapore makes as much sense as setting up a bar at as much sense as setting up a bar at a meeting of teetotallers. the government sees gum as a sticking nuisance but global snack company mondelez saw an opportunity to sink its teeth into a project. chewing gum and singapore are an unusual pairing but global snacks company mondelez says singapore was just the place rich new research centre for gum and candy. singapore isa centre for gum and candy. singapore is a wonderful place because of its diversity. course the high quality of talent and good r&d. mondelez was spun off from us food giant craft in 2012 and makes everything from

cadbury chocolates and 0reo cookies to denting chewing gum. it may seem like child's play but developing suites is supplied singly complicated. creating a jelly can ta ke complicated. creating a jelly can take months or even years in research and development and make sure it's just right and this is the place where scientists are working on new types of gum candy. i could try one. i can't tell you what it tastes like because still top secret. consistency and flavours are a big part of the work here and that can vary from market to market. take china, for example. there is a cultural heritage which is using lower sweetness and less sugar and our products see we will customise this product is the china to have a lower level of sweetness. suites and snacks are $a1 billion is this in asia—pacific and with an expanding middle—class, the region is set to become the fastest—growing market.

so localising flavours helps to win over more palates. how are you doing? every little detail right down to the packaging is important as mr kelaher and his team are hoping to win over hearts and satisfy asia's sweet tooth. it has been a sweet day so far operation stock markets. they are surging.japan, hong operation stock markets. they are surging. japan, hong kong and australia due to the breakthrough between north korea and the united states. thank you for investing your time with us. goodbye for now. south korea brokers a historic meeting between president trump and the north korean leader kim jong—un. the white house confirmed the talks would happen at a time and place yet to be determined.

and that mr kim had agreed to refrain from any further nuclear or missile tests. nottingham trent university has said it's shocked and appalled after a video posted on social media, appearing to show a group of people chanting racist abuse, outside the room of a black female student. two men were arrested on suspicion of racially aggravated public order offences, but have now been released. here's elaine dunkley. shouting recorded on a mobile phone by student rufaro chisango... chanting what appears to be racist chanting outside of her door in halls of residence at nottingham trent university. i just heard shouting from outside my door, and i was just shocked. my initial response was i was really shocked. i felt really isolated and uncomfortable. the incident took place on monday evening. her friends say it has left her traumatised and tarnished their experience of university life. i know these things do happen, but to think

it was so close to home, so close, being in my university. yeah, i was, i was appalled. we know some people might not like the way we are, might not like where we come from, our race, our religion, our creed, but it's something that we kind ofjust power through, just knowing that maybe they don't like us but we do our best. rufaro chisango has now been offered new accommodation. the university says it accepted an act quickly enough. there was a delay, a significant delay, and we acknowledge that. it's vile behaviour, it's absolutely abhorrent. we are really, really shocked. this is not the ntu positive culture for students and staff that we all recognise. tonight, nottingham trent university are reassuring students that this was an isolated incident. but the national union of students say when you look at the wider picture, they receive phone calls every week from students who have been racially abused, and the only way to end it is with zero tolerance on campuses. elaine dunkley, bbc news.

prince harry and meghan markle have been visiting birmingham, to launch a project to mark international women's day, aimed at inspiring female students to take up careers in science, technology and engineering industries. the royal couple spoke to crowds outside the event, some of whom had waited for several hours to see them on the latest leg of their tour of the country, in advance of their wedding in may. don't forget you can get in touch with me and some of the team on twitter — i'm bbckasiamadera. 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: arsenal stun ac milan to seal a comfortable europa league first leg win at the san siro. a final farewell to davide astori, as thousands gather to pay

their respects at his funeral in florence. and ferrari are in flying form, as sebastian vettel sets an unofficial track record in barcelona. hello and welcome to the programme. plenty of europa league action this evening, and we begin in italy, where arsenal ended milan's13—game unbeaten streak with a much—needed victory at the san siro. arsene wenger‘s side got off to a perfect start, when henrikh mkhitaryan opened the scoring after 15 minutes with his first goal for the club. just before half—time, aaron ramsey made to 2—0, and that sealed arsenal's first win in five games in all competitions. milan had just one shot on target in the whole game, from giacomo bonaventura early in the second half, and the seven—time european champions face an uphill battle to reach the last eight.