after indonesia's earthquake and tsunammi. at least m00 people are known to have been killed. authorities have set a tentative deadline of friday to find anyone still trapped under rubble. aid organisations are expressing frustration with the slow pace of the response. large areas hit by the disaster have not been properly reached. survivors are battling thirst and hunger, with food and clean water in short supply. and this story is trending on bbc.com: there's been strong criticism from democrats and republicans after donald trump has mocked the woman who accused his supreme court nominee of sexually assaulting her. he said christine blasey ford's memory of events was totally incomplete. that's all. stay with bbc news. and the top story in the uk: prime minister theresa may has closed the conservative conference in birmingham with an appeal to the party to support her strategy

for leaving the european union. now on bbc news, live to singapore for asia business report. what will move the financial markets in the last quarter of the year? we look at the themes that will dominate the final three months of 2018. and it at the paris motor show, a glimpse of what manufacturers are working on for the next wave of electric vehicles. good morning, asia. hello, world. it is thursday and we are glad we could join us an exciting of asia business report that it we are in the final stretch of 2018. major geopolitical events such as the mid—term elections and trade war with china

have dominated headlines and influenced business decisions. but how will stock markets forms and what are the major risks this quarter? here is a view from a chief investment strategist. the risks are quite reasonable for the rest of this quarter with the exception, as you mentioned, of the mid—term elections which will be quite interesting to watch, whether the democrats take control of the house. into 2019, the big thing to look for is whether or not the us puts ta riffs is whether or not the us puts tariffs on auto imports. that is key. said it had already possible that many investors have discounted these issues? i don't think so too didi these issues? i don't think so too did i think there is so much uncertainty regarding the automotive tariffs, still lurking in the market. al baseline view is that it will not happen in the end so that thatis will not happen in the end so that that is something we feel we can be co mforta ble that is something we feel we can be comfortable about. in the short term, it is up for grabs in terms of what happens. there are

opportunities in emerging markets here in asia. where are they? right 110w here in asia. where are they? right now the issue we have is that this isa now the issue we have is that this is a strong dollar environment that puts pressure on local emerging market currencies with capital outflows from emerging markets back into developed economies. it is a difficult environment for everybody. so where is china headed this year. china is most likely headed, it will certainly not catch up with the underperformance we have seen so far this year but we are hoping that it can stabilise at the current level. the market is focused on that a lot this year. a lot of downward pressure on the chinese currency seems to be stabilising it at a reasonable level. china's ambitions to be a global technology leader have put it on a direct collision course with the us and other western companies. growing western aware ness and other western companies. growing western awareness of a more assertive china has put many chinese

tech investments on ice. john simpson sat down with the president of buyer and baidu, a chinese internet country which is now one of the —— company which is now one of the —— company which is now one of the largest in the world. we want to focus on building great products and inventing new algorithms and then to do what we do the best, innovation. there are always statements here and there and we intend to ignore those statements. do think it will go away if you ignore it? i think it will eventually. companies work with each other to make sure they have great products. i think that this is just a temporary short—term statement or noise. do you understand when people

are worried about china and start to think it may be not our friend at owl enemy? china will continue to do well with openness. for people who live in china do business in china, people appreciate the openness and local collaboration. but sometimes, when i travel around the world, i do see some misunderstanding of policy and initiatives. ithink see some misunderstanding of policy and initiatives. i think china needs to do and initiatives. i think china needs todoa and initiatives. i think china needs to do a betterjob of messaging that. that is in in china's interest and in the us interest and in the global interest to see global partnerships. in fact i am disappointed to see an increasing level of anti— globalisation and

protectionism. i hope this is short—term but we had to step back over the last few years in this global climate. in a word, china is not the enemy of the west? china is a positive force of the world. i think the us needs to understand that in the world needs to understand that. for companies like baidu, with the rise in china but also we like to be a global player in technology and in economy. and that was the president of baidu .com in conversation with our world affairs editor. this week, australia voted to scrap the 10% goods and services tax on feminine hygiene products, also known as the tampon tax. opponents argue that these

products should be classed as necessities and be tax—exempt. canada was the first country in the world to abolish this tax in 200a. canada removed it in 2015 after a massive online petition. this year india removed its 12% tax on feminine hygiene products. australia is the latest country to join the list after an 18 year campaign. wobbler cost the government? here is a breakdown from a market strategist. —— what will it cost the government. it will cost around $30 million in state revenue that would have risked being received on these items. the shortfall will be made up by an increase in gst over what was forecast in the budget is doing —— is due to taxes on online good. australian women could save around 40, $60 every year and that will

kick in from january next year. a positive outcome here for australian women and also for gender equality, i think, moving forward. it is possible that the debate will not stop here as, unfortunately, there area stop here as, unfortunately, there are a lot of women who still live in poverty and cannot actually afford sanitary items if they are tax free or not. we see in countries such as scotla nd or not. we see in countries such as scotland where they are handing out free sanitary items and that is something that will possibly be up for debate in the future. to the paris motor show now where the great and the good of the car industry have been gathered all of this week to show off their shiny machines and quite a few have been launching new electric models. so if you decided it was time to take the plunge and buy an electric vehicle, what could you get for your money. we sent our roving reporter to find out. why not start here at tesla?

electric cars is what they do and this is the new model free, making its european debut. if you come inside, it is quite clearly a tesla. it is clean, tidy and high—tech but also minimalist. there is no dashboard, only a tablet computer here with everything you need to know one. the idea of the car is that it know one. the idea of the car is thatitis know one. the idea of the car is that it is affordable. so even though it is high performance it is built to a price. if it is luxury you are looking for, how about something a little more like this? this is the mercedes e qc. something a little more like this? this is the mercedes e oc. the something a little more like this? this is the mercedes e qc. the first new car from mercedes electric eq that the matt brann. 300 kilowatts, all wheel drive and could be on the market next year. the outside is beautiful, the inside is much the same. but it does come at a price. if you want understated engineering,

how about taking one big rear electric motor, another electric motorfor the front, electric motor, another electric motor for the front, that is four—wheel drive— and a really big high—powered battery pack that can ta ke high—powered battery pack that can take you for 250 miles on a single charge. and you have this audi. is a direct competitive to the must —— competitor to the mercedes. but like the mercedes it does not come cheap. and that was ceo at the paris motor show. staying with automobiles, shares in aston martin rose below their issue price on market debut in london. they are trading on a conditional basis for a limited period as applied to newly listed shares. full trading will start next week on monday. despite the glamorous association with james bond themes, the company has gone

bust seven times in 105 years. before we go, we leave you with pictures from indonesia. the president made a second visit to disaster struck areas to help ramp up disaster struck areas to help ramp up efforts five days after a 7.5 magnitude earthquake and tsunami hit the island. the death toll has risen to over 1400. many were killed by a tsunami as high as six metres triggered by the earthquake. most of the dead come from palu, a small city north—east of jakarta. this is bbc news. the top stories this hour. rescuers say time is running out for hopes of finding more survivors after indonesia's earthquake and tsunammi. president trump mocks the woman who accuses his supreme court nominee brett kava naugh of sexual abuse. pret a manger is to label all of its products with a full list

of ingredients, following the death of a 15—year—old girl who suffered a fatal allergic reaction to one of its sandwiches. natasha ednan—laperouse collapsed on board a flight injuly 2016 after eating a product that did not have sesame listed as an ingredient. at the inquest last week, a coroner called for better labelling rules. one of the last survivors to escape the grenfell tower fire has given evidence to the public inquiry into the disaster — he's one of the first residents of the block to do so. antonio roncolato said he only realised how serious the fire was when his son sent him a photograph of the burning building from outside. the duke and duchess of sussex have made their first official visit to the county that bears their name. visiting some of its most well—known sites, the couple saw a rare sussex copy of the american declaration of independence, and spoke to a charity that supports survivors of rape and sexual assault. our royal correspondent sarah campbell was there. chichester.

the first sussex city to fly the flag for the new duke and duchess. there were handshakes with as many people as possible. even those with four legs didn't miss out. in a nod to meghan's country of birth, the couple were shown the rare sussex copy of the american declaration of independence. wow! to bognor regis and a musical interlude at a new university technology park. with the obligatory... ..and fairly low—tech plaque unveil. in brighton, a change of pace. knitting with a charity which works with survivors of sexual abuse. before today, meghan hadn't set foot inside this county, and now she's here as the first ever duchess of sussex. it continues to be quite a year for the former actress from los angeles.

she's good at the job, she's really nice and everything. meghan is beautiful. i like it because they're not so royalty. they will give people high fives and everything. a hit in sussex. later this month, the couple will be taking their high fives down under as they embark on their first majorforeign tour. sarah campbell, bbc news, brighton. zoe ball has been announced as the new presenter of bbc radio 2's breakfast show. she'll be taking over from chris evans injanuary, and becomes the first female breakfast show host on radio 2 — something she achieved on radio 1. the bbc has not revealed her new salary yet, but say it will be made public in the annual bbc pay disclosures next year. don't forget you can get in touch with me and some of the team on twitter. i'm @benmbland. now on bbc news, sport today. hello, i'm tulsen tollett, and this is sport today, live from the bbc sport centre.

coming up on this programme: barcelona put four past tottenham at wembley to leave spurs pointless after two group matches in the champions league. kashima antlers strike late to win the first leg of their asian champions league semi—final against suwon blue wings. and caroline wozniacki is through to the last 16 of the china open. we'll wrap up all wednesday's action shortly. hello and welcome to the programme, where we start with the footballing news that barcelona have made it successive champions league wins in group b thanks to a 4—2 win over tottenham at wembley stadium. the visitors got away to a fast start when phillipe coutinho put the catalans ahead in the second minute, and the game looked to be beyond reach of spurs when croatia midfielder ivan rakitic doubled the lead by firing home an acrobatic half—volley. the home side fought back when harry kane grabbed a goal