an investigation into president trump for possible obstruction of justice. documents will be requested from more than 60 people and organisations close to president trump, including his son donald jr. the inquiry is examining allegations of obstruction ofjustice, corruption and abuse of power. after registering as a candidate for next month's presidential election, algeria's president abdelaziz bouteflika has promised to call an early vote. he said he would not stand again if he is re—elected in april. there have been days of nationwide protests against his decision to seek a fifth term. and this story is trending on bbc.com: the cubs, three male and three female, were born to two mothers in january. that's all, stay

with bbc world news. and the top story in the uk: a severe yellow weather warning for strong winds is in place across most of england and wales, as storm freya continues to batter parts of the uk. now on bbc news, live to singapore for asia business report. china's national people's congress delegates start to gather in beijing for the country's annual parliament, with tax cut and economic growth on the agenda. australia's property slump. new numbers out today are expected to show the country's real estate downturn is continuing. good morning, asia. hello, world. it is a monday. glad you could join us for this as action packed edition of asia business report. i'm rico hizon.. delegates are gathering in beijing ahead of china's annual

national people's congress, which gets under way tomorrow, tuesday. moving on to thursday, and the european central bank is due to make its latest announcement on monetary policy or interest rates. and the geneva motor show opens its doors to the public on that same day on thursday. and the following day it is international women's day, the annual celebration a focal point for gender equality. well, catherine jung from fidelity investments in hong kong told me what to expect from the national people's congress in beijing. 50 all eyes are focusing on in beijing. so all eyes are focusing on what the government can target from a growth perspective. china is one of the only economies that forecast gdp growth and many saying it will go down from 6.5% to 6%. there is also a focus on any tax cuts we could see announced by the government. everyone is looking forward indeed to these announcements from china's national people's congress, but of course all

eyes as well in the us— china trade deal, the trade truce has passed and the wall streetjournal today reports that china has made some major concessions and a deal is imminent. yes, so there is speculation that trump and president xijinping will actually speculation that trump and president xi jinping will actually met speculation that trump and president xijinping will actually met in mid—march. and really, this has been hanging over the markets for over a year, so hanging over the markets for over a year, so some hanging over the markets for over a year, so some kind of resolution should bode well and should see the market further extend the rally we have seen. having said that, it has been fairly momentum driven so investors should expect some volatility. last week there was talk that two site have had no agreement on an enforcement activism —— two sides. could this be a problem? -- enforcement mechanism. when it comes to the tariff themselves there will still be some to—ing and fro—ing when it comes to other issues, for example china opening up further when it comes to foreign owned entities. so we are not out of the woods yet although this short—term resolution is likely to be near

term. and it is international women's day on friday, and still focusing on china, are they now more mainland women in china's or dreams? well, you know, we still have a lot of progress globally, but we are seeing some interesting data coming out of china. for example, 55% of internet company is founded by women. one quarter of entrepreneurs are females, as well, in china. so there is some progress being made againa lot there is some progress being made again a lot more in terms of further progress needed. australia will see the world's biggest house price declines this year, according to leading credit rating agency fitch. oversupply and the withdrawal of foreign buyers including many from china have sent prices tumbling, with consequences for the broader economy. phil mercer reports from syd ney economy. phil mercer reports from sydney on one of the worst affected cities. desperation is creeping into australia's copy market. it suffered its steepest fall in prices since the global financial crisis in 2008

—— property market. sydney is suffering the most. melbourne has felt the pain as well. everywhere you look, it is doom and gloom. i am really worried, i think it could be facing a 30% fall. they talk about the difficulty getting money, but i think it is more the chinese buyers pulling out of the market which has really brought the market back down to earth. the housing market, which normally makes our economy buoyant and move forward, that is shrinking. you will find our economy will shrink as well. there is now an abundance of supply, including new housing development like this one in sydney. they were built to satisfy demand that is now faded. the building boom and the absence of chinese buyers tell only part of the story. credit is also tight. it has become a lot harder to get a home loa n become a lot harder to get a home loan in australia because of tough new regulations designed to encourage more wreck doormat responsible lending by the banks. the credit squeeze is hurting the

market is —— more responsible lending. even though interest rates are ata lending. even though interest rates are at a record low. the concern is that tumbling house prices are affecting the broader economy. as they fall, fear sets in and australians spend less on other goods and services. as households start to become worried about the future price of what really is your largest asset, for most households, the home that you live in, you start to become worried about paying off your mortgage and you start to spend less, and that is where we really start to see that we can as start to filter into the australian economy. no—one knows when the slump will end. it is, though, good news for prospective buyers. many are waiting to see how much further prices will fall. the last few years, it has been really frustrating watching prices continue to rise at a rate, but much relief now that they have started to come down, and we are certainly going to hang on in and see how much further they drop. there is a feeling that falling

unemployment and new migrants will prevent a sharp crash. falling prices are also good for first—time buyers, if they can get a loan. phil mercerjoins us now buyers, if they can get a loan. phil mercer joins us now from buyers, if they can get a loan. phil mercerjoins us now from sydney. so what is the latest on the numbers? well, we are expecting to see new data about new house sales in australia. they were down sharply in december, the expectation is the january will have fared no better. overall, we are seeing a slump in prices right across the board. we have seen quite sharp falls in recent times, not only here in sydney, prices down 10% in the past year, and 9% in melbourne, but also falls in brisbane and in darwin as well. so the only capital city, the only major city in australia, that is defying the slump is hobart. but generally across the board there is,

as we heard in the piece, plenty of doom and gloom. indeed, plenty of doom and gloom. indeed, plenty of doom and gloom. indeed, plenty of doom and this credit squeeze is adding to that doom and gloom. when you speak to people in the market, they say that the credit squeeze is having an almighty effect on the market. and the reason for that is that it market. and the reason for that is thatitis market. and the reason for that is that it is making it a lot harder for people to get a home loan, and the reason for that is that we have had a royal commission here in australia in recent times the investigating misconduct in the banking and financial sectors, and one thing to come out of that royal commission was scathing criticism of predatory and reckless practices by some lenders. so in response to that, regulators and the watchdog have clamped down on that sort of lending, and that is filtering through now into the broader housing markets. and what our property a nalysts markets. and what our property analysts telling you ? markets. and what our property analysts telling you? when are we likely to see the bottom of this market? with all things to do with the economy, it is impossible to

say. some real estate agents believe we could see falls well above that 10% drop we have seen in sydney in the past 12 months, perhaps another 10% drop this year. and with all things to do with the economy, where there are losers, there are also winners. if you are looking to buy a house here in sydney, for example, many prospective buyers simply sitting on their hands waiting to see how far the market will drop to try to snare a bargain. but in a nswer to try to snare a bargain. but in answer to your question, i think in the next few months, possibly the next year, the only way we are going to see prices going is further falls. thank you so much forjoining us on the australian property sector. in other business news making headlines, the head of brazilian mining giant vale has stepped down following the collapse ofa dam. stepped down following the collapse of a dam. he and several other executives asked to be removed after

prosecutors called for their dismissal. at least 122 people are still missing and brumadinho, more than a month after the accident. indonesia and australia are set to sign the long—awaited trade deal today after months of diplomatic tension over canberra's plan to move its embassy to jerusalem. it will include improved access to cattle and sheep farmers to indonesia's 260 million people of australian health providers and miners will also benefit from easier entry into southeast asia's biggest economy. canada has said it will allow the us extradition case against huawei's financial chief to move forward. the us wants her to stand trial on charges including fraud linked to the alleged violation of sanctions on iran. she was arrested in vancouver last december at the request of the united states. let's have a quick look now at the markets, and as you can see, across—the—board to start the new

trading week, this monday, the nikkei 225 up by 0.75%, the all ordinaries gaining and the hang seng index has just opened for trading and is gaining 43 points. this is after a positive close on wall street friday. you have decreasing trade tensions between china and the united states. the main catalyst for these gains in the asia—pacific market. thank you for investing your time with us. i'm rico hizon. sport todayis time with us. i'm rico hizon. sport today is coming up next. this is bbc news. the top stories this hour: donald trump is under pressure from a senior us congressman who is investigating whether the president and his aides obstructed justice. five years after the disappearance of flight mh370, malaysia's government says it is open to restarting the search for the missing plane.

police investigating the murder of a 17—year—old girl in east london say she was stabbed once in the back by a teenager, who ran off without speaking. jodie chesney had been in the park in romford with five friends when two teenagers approached them on friday night. charlotte gallagher reports. jodie's mum, supported by her family, came here today to lay flowers. many came here today, including lucy, one of her closest friends, devastated by the loss. what was she like as a person? we a lwa ys what was she like as a person? we always had a lot of good times together. inside and out, she was beautiful and kind, and she wouldn't hurt anyone. she would do anything

to make anyone happy. she was just the most beautiful person i've ever met in my life. jodie was a keen scout, visiting downing street. and here she is at the royal albert hall, taking part in the festival of remembrance last year. forensic officers searched the park and children's playground, looking for any clues. people living here tell me they are scared, shocked and horrified by what has happened in this quiet residential area. jodie's grandmother has pleaded for anyone with information to come forward, saying too many young lives are being cut short by needless violence. jodie is the 15th person to be stabbed to death in london this year. another community in shock at the murder of a young teenager, another pile of flowers marking a tragic death.

another teenager was taken to hospital after a stabbing but died a short time later. two voice also aged 17 have been arrested on suspicion of murder. 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: juventus win a controversial top of the table clash with napoli to move 16 points clear in serie a. we do not play playstation. do you

think we did not take enough risks? is that what you want to ask? isjurgen klopp feeling the pressure as liverpool play out a goalless draw in the merseyside derby at everton? and home favourite laura muir makes it a double at the european indoor athletics championships in glasgow, adding the 1500m title to her 3000m gold. hello and welcome to the programme where we start with the footballing news that juventus have moved 16 points clear at the top of serie a with 12 matches remaining, after a controversial 2—1win over napoli. cristiano ronaldo had initially been a doubt for the match with an ankle injury but he started as two red cards and a late penalty miss made for an interesting contest in naples and paul frostick was watching. cristiano ronaldo returning to help juventus at this time he did not get himself on the scoresheet. it