hello. this is business briefing. i'm maryam moshiri. our top stories: sweet teeth, beware. the uk's sugar tax hits soft drinks near you from today, in an effort to fight obesity. but critics say taxation is not the right way to change behaviour. and it's a whale of a tale. we take a closer look at the beluga. a super aircraft made to transport huge airplane parts, and now it's getting even bigger. who said size doesn't matter? and on the markets. asian stocks were choppy on friday morning as president trump warned of further tariffs on china. investors taking their cue, in some ways, from wall street, where banks and retail stocks helped keep up the rally. hello and welcome.

from today, shoppers buying sugary drinks here in the uk face a hefty new tax. it's all in a bid to cut obesity rates and encourage healthier choices. the higher the sugar content, the greater the tax, with consumers paying up to 33 cents per litre to satisfy their sweet tooth. many countries have either brought in a sugar tax, or are thinking about it. but does it actually change consumer's habits? well, mexico was one of first countries to introduce a sugar tax in 2014. a study in the british medical journal found it cut consumption of sugary drinks by 6% in the first year. it was been heralded as a success story, and an example for others to follow. but soda drink makers say while it may have initially reduced consumption, government receipts for the new tax rose in 2016 — suggesting a rise in sales. they argue there's been no impact on mexico's obesity rates. with me now is ian wright, chief executive of the food and drink federation.

unsurprisingly, i would unsurprisingly, iwould imagine unsurprisingly, i would imagine that you think the sugar tax is a waste of money. well, we think it is not evidence —based and we think it is right to reduce the amount of sugar in people's diets but the ways that we can do it at with what is proven to work. what is proven to work? of the research, there was a study done in the last 13 years that showed that sugar was 13th on the list. in the last 13 years that showed that sugar was 13th on the listm is also about children, the main drinkers of soft drinks with no alcohol in them, it is about dental decay and eating habits in the future, eating and drinking habits and setting those while children are still young, surely? yes, and i think it is perfectly right to set the way that people eat and drink but we are in favour of a whole diet approach, it would involve

education, and it also involves pa rents education, and it also involves parents exercising some responsibility. however, despite the responsibility. however, despite the responsibility aspect, on which you are correct, obviously, this is a good step, it is a step in the right direction because people are going to buy a sugary drinks anyway, whether or not you tell them about. so why not give them less sugar? well, it is a gesture, i think, rather than a measure that will actually work. the consumption sugary drinks was already going down in the uk, is all this does is reflect the changing consumer demands. we are the only country in the world, i think, where the sale of no sugar or low sugar drinks exceeds the sale of sugary drinks, so exceeds the sale of sugary drinks, so the move follows consumer demands, not perceive that. in mexico, evidence showed that consumption sugary drinks fell 6% in the first year. but the consumption

went up, and the overall consumption of calories went up in the mexican diet. so it did not work on any variable that the mexican government might be looking out. should be concentrate on carbohydrate content, energy content, instead of focusing just on sugar? no, no, taxes like this do not work. they do not work on sugar, they did not work on alcohol or tobacco. that is not necessarily true. tobacco consumption and smoking has been falling over the last decade. but thatis falling over the last decade. but that is to be with other that is, there has been more education. that is to be with other that is, there has been more educationlj have there has been more education.” have quit smoking. good for you, i do not think price has a big impact on most families on low does have an impact is on low income families and hitting them is probably not what the government wished to do. 0k, very interesting to talk to you. thank you very much for giving us your view.

tech giant samsung has announced its profit forecasts. let's go to our asia business hub, where shara njit leyl is following the story. what is the main driver of samsung's earnings? well, it is a number of things but mainly their chip business. essentially, another record profit being projected there, there is a demand for memory chips, it started in the second half of 2016 and what the technology giant has estimated as its operating profit for the first three months of this year at nearly $15 billion, that is up nearly $15 billion, that is up nearly 15% in the previous year, which in fact was much better than forecast an analyst saying that memory chips, of course, remain the main driver of samsung's earnings. they account for some 75% of its operating profit, they are incredibly reliant on it, even though there are some warnings within the industry that cycle for chip may have peaked and they will not be able to sustain this level of demand for much longer. samsung, of

course, also has a mobile business. it is believed to have fared much better than expected in that period and that is thanks to the warmer reception for its new smartphone, which of course goes to show the very short memories of most consumers, willing to put the exploding batteries scandal involving the worldwide scandal of the galaxy note 72 years ago. in fa ct, the galaxy note 72 years ago. in fact, there was almost 10 million units of this new smartphone shipped in the first quarter and then, they have also got their display unit is this, it is called the 0led business. that was actually hit by slow sales of apple's new iphone, which actually uses those panels. analysts a re which actually uses those panels. analysts are saying that they are watching samsung, even though for now, they have actually still got his record of that. thank you very much, sir ranjit lal business hub. —— sharanjit

much, sir ranjit lal business hub. —— shara njit leyl. now let's brief you on some other business stories. donald trump has proposed an additional $100 billion in tariffs on china. the us president is proposing to triple the import duties, in response to what he's labelled as china's unfair retaliation against initial us tariffs. meanwhile, beijing has launched a world trade organisation challenge against washington's earlier tariffs. the us trade deficit, interestingly, increased to a record high in february. that's according to figures from the us commerce department. the deficit was $57.6 billion — the largest monthly gap between exports and imports of goods and services since 2008. the gap was larger than analysts predicted, as imports of services rose. india's central bank is banning financial firms from dealing in cryptocurrencies, like bitcoin and etherium. the move comes as many governments around the world crack down on the digital currencies because they are unregulated. the aerospace giant airbus has factories all across europe. so how does it get huge parts, like wings and sections of fuselage, to where they need to be?

0ur reporter theo leggett has been to the south of france, to find out where the company is building a new beluga super transporter. this is the airbus beluga, as the name suggests it looks a bit like a whale, but it has an importantjob. it carries other airline parts to assembly lines in europe. but there isa assembly lines in europe. but there is a problem, it isjust assembly lines in europe. but there is a problem, it is just not assembly lines in europe. but there is a problem, it isjust not big enough, so airbus is building a bigger one. here it is, the beluga. it is longer, taller and wider than the current model. it will be able to carry two wings at the same time, the current model can only take one. so how do you go about building something like this? well, what airbus has done is take a perfectly normal aircraft design, they had

shot the roof of another in the process of putting new structures in place to create that cavernous cargo area. this is an animal, it is a massive bubble on the front. airbus needs a bigger transport plan because it is increasing production, particularly of the new a350. it is a vital link in the production chain. we can transport airline that parts from bremen and then from bremen to the loose, we doubled productivity. it will not be the biggest beast in the skies. bowling, for example, has its own transporter. it is a 7117 on steroids and it is even larger than european giant. that's it for business briefing this hour. but before we go, let's take a quick

look at how the markets have been faring. asi look at how the markets have been faring. as i said to you, wall street and dow jones faring. as i said to you, wall street and dowjones had a generally better day, continuation of the rally that we saw start on wednesday. despite this, all the —— despite all the tensions between china and the us. the hang seng, asian stocks very much taking their lead from wall street. the nikkei once again taking its lead from wall street. the market in china is closed for a national holiday. up next, newsbriefing. we'll take you through the stories making headlines in the global media today. said do stay with us him the briefing. —— so. six more people were stabbed in london on thursday — adding to a recent spike in violent crime in the capital. so far this year, the metropolitan police has launched a total of 55

investigations into suspected murders. alison freeman reports. some of those who have lost their lives this week. all teenagers, all victims of ongoing violence in the capital. tanesha's brother well aware of the growing problems.” have just come up university. i don't have a clue, man... i get she is growing up, she wants to be with friends and things, but the streets nowadays, it is cold. every other day, if it is not a stabbing, it is a shooting or something is happening. and it is alwaysjust

this, bass, tit—for—tat. happening. and it is alwaysjust this, bass, tit-for-tat. just this year, there have been more than 50 violent deaths in london. more than half of those killed were under 30 and 11 were teenagers. last night in hackney, when 18—year—old was stabbed to death, people gathered to call an end to the violence. everyone talks about sadiq khan, they talk about police, but it is down to us as a community, otherwise it is not going to stop. we just need to guide these kids in the right direction so that our communities do not have the bobbins that we have at the moment. but with five more teenagers injured with stabbings in london yesterday, this new spate of crime shows no sign of easing. coming up at six o'clock on breakfast — naga munchetty and jon kay will have all the latest news, business and sport, including live updates from the commonwealth games. and the swimming from there.

this is the briefing from bbc news. the latest headlines: the russian ambassador to the un has warned britain it is "playing with fire" in accusing moscow of poisoning the former double agent sergei skripal and his daughter. a court in south korea is expected to deliver its verdict later on the former president, park geun—hye, who was forced from office in a corruption scandal last year. hungary holds a parliamentary election on sunday, with the governing fidesz party, led by larger—than—life prime minister viktor 0rban, hoping for re—election. now it is time for a look at the stories that are making the headlines in media across the world. we begin with the huff post, wrapping up the latest in the russian spy story. it highlights what it calls

the seven bizarre twists that taken place in just the last few hours. moving on to the financial times now and a warning from wall street —jpmorgan chase boss jamie dimon's telling investors that the fed could take drastic action to stop the us economy from "overheating". the guardian here in the uk with research that's found we carry on producing brain cells throughout our lives — it says it offers hope to those hunting for treatments for degenerative conditions like alzheimers. data from visual capitalist‘s been picked up in some of the papers. it's a complex graphic and answers the question — does money make us happy? it looks at results from around the world. and the conversation certainly has us talking with this research. how do those of you who sufferfrom back pain feel about lifting heavy objects? that's apparently what many people need to help the condition. it's about using tissue for it to get stronger. so let's begin. back with me isjeremy cook, the chief economist of the payments company ‘world first‘. iam not i am not sure if you are a back pain

sufferer. talking about the huffington post, an interesting article because it gives you a synopsis of the weirdest twists in the whole scandal over the poisoning of the skripals. first of all it says that russia used a twitter poll as evidence. the russian ambassador, when giving a press conference yesterday in response to the accusations of russia, that they are complacent,