temperatures, as a polar vortex takes hold. in america's third largest city, chicago, temperatures of —32 celsius are being forecast. people are being warned about the dangers of frostbite. president trump has welcomed progress after two days of trade talks with china. american negotiators will travel to beijing for further talks soon. and this video is trending on bbc.com: a canadian woman who'd ordered a pet food dish from the online giant amazon was perplexed to find she'd been sent pepper spray and a stun gun instead. amazon says it's working to correct the mistake, which was the result of a bar—code error. the customer has handed the items into her local police station, as they're both illegal in canada. you're up to date. and the top story in the uk: heavy snowfall has hit much of southern england and wales, leaving hundreds of people trapped in their cars. around 100 cars got stuck on the a30 in cornwall. now on bbc news, live to singapore

for asia business report. trump — xi face—to—face. the leaders of the biggest economies looks set to meet over the ongoing trade war. and modhi's election budget. what to expect from dehli today as the world's biggest democracy prepares to head to the ballot box. hello, welcome to this friday edition of asia business report. i am sharanjit leyl asia business report. i am sharanjit leyl. us president donald trump has met with the chinese vice premier in the oval office as the world's two biggest economies wrapped up a

second day of trade talks in washington. both sides express optimism about a wide ranging trade pa ct before optimism about a wide ranging trade pact before the march deadline but said a final deal will only be made during a face—to—face meeting between president trump and his chinese counterpart xi jinping, although no date or location has yet been set. our north america business correspondent michelle fleury told us correspondent michelle fleury told us what has been discussed between the us and china. throughout the day we we re the us and china. throughout the day we were hearing from president donald trump about these talks, starting in an early—morning tweet, saying that he referred to xi jinping as his friend, that he hoped a comprehensive deal could be reached, but that no deal would go forward unless there was greater access for us manufacturing and farming as well as the access of the financial services sector already. then remarked later in the day in the oval office. you referenced the meeting between the vice premier and

donald trump, in which there was a sense of optimism that a deal could be done, but not at any cost. and if you look at the communique issued either white house at the end of the talks, one of the things they enforce is the fact that there will be no postponement to the march two deadline if the deal isn't reached, in which tariffs would go up on chinese goods. but we know of course this comes as tensions continue between the two over telecoms firms huawei in china, so a resolution does seem rather tough. well, there is pressure, though, you have to remember, to try to come to a deal. china's economy is slowing. the us, there are concerns it could face deceleration in the face of global growth beginning to slow down. i think as part of that that is why you see the sides keen to reach a deal. it is clear that donald trump would like to see something done on this and the chinese in a sign of goodwill have also come to the table

not empty—handed but offering to buy 5 million tons a day of soya beans from american farmers. so trying to ease some of the pain and to show that they are working together. the question is on the big issue about sort of structural changes to the chinese economy, which is what the americans are demanding, it is hard to see how much progress can be achieved on this and what the americans will be prepared to accept. india is in election year mode and ahead of that the finance minister will present his interim budget today. there could be big—ticket announcements to appeal to farmers and the middle class. devina gupta is outside parliament in delhi where it happens later today. devina, what's expected? well, injust four today. devina, what's expected? well, in just four hours from now, all of the act and will shift here in india's parliament where we will have the finance minister who has

been given a temporary charge because the finance minister is u nwell because the finance minister is unwell and is in the us. he will be presenting what is called a voter account or the interim budget, now, that's just expenses of the government offices until the elections, which is in april, and it will also have a round—up of the com plete will also have a round—up of the complete yea r‘s financial statement, we are looking at the growth numbers, if india is able to achieve a 7% plus growth at a time when china's economy is slowing down. we will also be looking at fiscal deficit, which is if the government exceeds its spending more than its revenues. and that is where the warriors, because it is a election year and the government is expected to make some big—ticket announcements are specially for popular schemes for the farming sector and giving some tax breaks to the middle class. now, devina, you mentioned the money there. because presumably a people pleasing budget

before the elections like this will cost money. can india afforded? -- afford it? absolutely. now, we have had the global ratings agency, moody's, which said there is fiscal risk if the government goes the election route of pleasing all at the cost of the economy. already, india is looking at targeting fiscal deficit of of gdp which is unlikely, according to moody's, if he goes on this spending spree tried to give farmers income support, tax breaks for businesses and evil the middle —— and even the middle class. and this comes at a higher cost. but, at the end of the day, the ruling hindu nationalist it has seen pressure building before the elections, especially from the farming and business community, they haven't been happy, that's where the government could look at releasing

some from the already tight purse. all right, you will be watching all of that for us, devina, in front of parliament, where that budget is unveiled. staying with india, from today the government will impose a strict rules on foreign e—commerce companies operating in the country. amazon and walmart owned flipcart, and currently dominate the market. these rules are expected to upend the winners and losers in india's e—commerce market. the bbc‘s samir hashmi has more. here in this warehouse we can see the rapid growth of india's online shopping industry. every day this facility collect nearly 100,000 parcels from different online retailers and then ships them to customers across the country. but new and strict rules for e—commerce companies will change the way they do business. most of these parcels belong to customers who have either

placed their orders on amazon or flipcart, which is owned by walmart. both companies together control 60% of the market share when it comes to india's e—commerce industry —— flipkart. with strict rules set to kick in these companies are now at expected to face tough condition from indian firms. according to the rules online websites can't sell products and companies in which they owned a stake and they are barred from doing deals with companies to sell their products exclusively on their platforms in a big blow for amazon and flipkart who have relied on the business model to offer huge discounts to customers. the changes area discounts to customers. the changes are a result of intense lobbying by indian owned shopping websites and millions of small businesses who are also an important voting block for prime minister narendra modi's party. if the enforcement is right, then we will be on a level playing field where i think we will have a

fairfight. it field where i think we will have a fair fight. it will be a fight where our technology will matter, our products will matter, all of these things were not mattering because you could just hand this packet of cocaine in front of the consumer, here is the discount and they would ta ke here is the discount and they would take it. the regulations could benefit larger traditional stores that have been hit severely in the last few years. the growth rates for brick and mortar retailers could ca ptu re brick and mortar retailers could capture about 1 billion brick and mortar retailers could capture about1 billion to one another half billion dollars of sales. before these rules of the indian e—commerce market was set to touch $150 billion in 2022, fuelled by rising incomes and a surge in internet users, but with foreign owned players now on the back foot the target might suffer a temporary setback. how quickly they adapt will determine how fast the e—commerce industry grows. now, i was telling you all about the us and china being locked in a trade

war at the start of the programme, but meanwhile one of the biggest trade deals betweenjapan and the european union actually comes into effect today. and our business reporter mariko oi is all across it. that's right, we keep talking about the trade war between the us and china, but this deal is massive as well, it covers nearly one third of the world's gdp and 600 million people. so, what do they trade? as you can imagine, one of the biggest eu exports to japan is dairy products, while cars are one of japan's biggest exports, and when they signed the deal back injuly, they signed the deal back injuly, the eu commission had jean—claude juncker said the deal is a win—win. he said... of course he is referring to the us and president trump's america first policy. but of course the biggest headline i have seen is how european wines will be cheaper

injapan by some 15%, so what a great way to end the week. indeed, iam indeed, i am sure they will be toasting it injapan. and let's take a lot at those markets now before we go because we know that asian markets are ticking higher. there is a lot obviously relief after the wrapup of the us— china trade talks, which seemed to end on a fairly friendly note, and we are seeing markets as a result head up as you can see on your screen. of markets as a result head up as you can see on your screen. of course, can see on your screen. of course, this was helped by wall street because the s&p 500 had the best january since 1987. thanks for watching. this is bbc news. the top stories this hour: millions of people in the american midwest have been trapped in their homes by an extreme polar vortex, with temperatures below —30 celsius. president trump has said us—china trade talks made tremendous progress, but there is still no agreement on ending the two sides' dispute. around 100 drivers in cornwall have had to abandon their cars

in whiteout conditions as heavy snow has fallen across the region. there was an amber weather warning in place across the south west and south wales, with wider yellow warnings for snow and ice in place for much of the country. our correspondentjon kay reports from devon. when it came down, it really came down. a treacherous rush hour in devon tonight. main roads blocked. back lanes impassible. vehicles abandoned across dartmoor. i can't move my car, i came off the a30 and was just slipping and ijust couldn't move my car from about here. so i thought it was safer to not try and drive it. in cornwall, 100 drivers have been stuck on bodmin moor. police say they have been making intensive efforts to reach them. with traffic, that stands as far as the eye can see up the hill and as far as the eye can

see in the distance. if these vehicles don't get moved, this could be a major incident, depending on how long we are stuck here, really. parts of mid—wales have had a pasting and, with more heavy snow due tonight, some rural communities are at risk of being cut off. on snowdonia, a warning for climbers and walkers. the wind chill factor at the top, you're talking about —20 degrees. so we are trying to emphasise the importance of preparing well before going out. in devon and cornwall, those who can are turning out to help. they are expecting to work right through the night. this is nothing like as bad as the beast from the east last year. this is just the wet stuff from the west. but, after a relatively mild few months, the snow seems to have taken many of us by surprise. i'm waiting for my husband, in his 4x4. so, hopefully he'll be able to get through. he's got snow tyres also because we ski so we are fairly used to it. and he's got snow chains, i don't know if he'll throw them in the boot as well.

he will be able to ski here tomorrow! i know, yes! looking forward to it! see you on the slopes! it's horrible, isn't it? no! it's lovely weather! says he, rubbing his hands, freezing! freezing cold. i'm getting in before we get snowed in. have a nice time. good luck. bye bye, mate. sliding! if you want to keep up—to—date of course on what is happening where you are, please visit the bbc news website. there is a live page there following all of the latest weather warnings and developments. that is it from me. you can reach me on twitter. i'm @babitabbc. mike embley‘s here in 15 minutes with the headlines. it's time now for sport today. hello, this is sport today, from the bbc sport centre. coming up on this programme:

asian cup controversy — a challenge to qatar's place in the final from the political rival they beat to get there. kemar roach takes four wickets as england suffer another batting collapse in the west indies. and it's not all about brady — the deep rooted friendship that's providing a fascinating subplot to super bowl 53 in atlanta. hello and welcome to the programme. we start with football and controversy ahead of the asian cup final, which takes place in abu dhabi on friday. japan will be bidding for a record 5th title and they're facing qatar who are playing in the final for the first time. but their place was thrown in doubt following a complaint from the host nation, the uae, who claim two of qatar's players aren't eligible and the team should be disqualified. more now from the bbc‘s mani djazmi in abu dhabi.