our top story: parliament in the uk gets ready to vote on alternatives to the prime minister's brexit deal which has been defeated three times. they will consider a range of alternatives, including a closer tie to the european union and whether to allow a referendum on the final deal. president erdogan‘s governing party in turkey has lost control of several big cities in local elections, including the capital ankara. the opposition is also claiming victory in izmir. and this story is trending on bbc.com. a comedian who plays a fictional president on tv is on course to win the first round of ukraine's election. exit polls give the satirist volodymyr zelenskiy a clear lead over the incumbent petro poroshenko, by 30%—17%. that's all. stay with bbc world news. and the top story in the uk: police are to be given more freedom

to use stop and search powers in an attempt to reduce knife crime in england and wales. now on bbc news, live to singapore for asia business report china rebalance. asia's biggest economy unexpectedly grows in a sign that asia's efforts might be working. xijinping meets that asia's efforts might be working. xi jinping meets jacinda ardern. new zealand and china hold their first talks over the storm in huawei. it is a significant visit for the prime minister. good morning, asia. hello, world. it is a monday. start of a brand—new trading week. i am glad you could join for another edition of asia business

report. i i'm rico hizon. we start off with china and the crucial manufacturing sector. it unexpectedly rebounded sharply. it grew for the first time in four months. china's economy typically im proves months. china's economy typically improves after the unit judgement lunar new year holidays. some say the strong and broader pickup suggest raising's acid to boost lending, tap —— taxes —— efforts, are taking effect. the fears are it could slip into a sharper downturn. while, markets had a first—quarter, oi’ while, markets had a first—quarter, or street‘s s&p 500 so it's best quarterly game in a decade. let's ta ke quarterly game in a decade. let's take a look at the region. japan's agree three rising and the hang seng index doubled.

in australia, the all ordinaries indexis in australia, the all ordinaries index is gaining nearly io%. earlier, we found out whether the upturn in chinese manufacturing was just a blip. i think it's too soon to say that china has turned a corner. although, we need to be fair. the amount of fiscal stimulus coming through the pipeline since the end of last year is significant. we are expecting to see better chinese data by the middle of 2019. is it sustainable in your view? chinese data by the middle of 2019. is it sustainable in your view7|j think so. but what it all boils down to is whether or not the us and china can reach a comprehensive and high—quality trade deal soon. that is really what everything hinges upon. despite the us - china conflict, mixed reports over the last quarter, they were still stellar performances from key asian forces. will it continue from april

tojune. forces. will it continue from april to june. i think it well and it's about anticipation. anticipation that the us and china will reach a deal that goes beyond buying products and so on. we need to get a deal that also involves the protection of international property rights in china. if that really happens than the mood and also the growth rebound for the rest of asia can continue into the middle of this year. what if the us- china dispute is not resolved and brexit becomes a longer turn issue? what other themes on horizon that can impact markets —— what are the themes. on horizon that can impact markets -- what are the themes. we can get a low quality trade deal which is about buying agricultural products. and i think the situation is certainly very negative, notjust for asia but globally. in terms of brexit, longer term, whether we have

a soft brexit or hard brexit, it is fairly negative for the long—term look of the uk. which underperforming asian markets in the first quarter could catch up this second—quarter? first quarter could catch up this second-quarter? we need to look at the region broadly and take into account essentially that what everybody is looking for is the end of these supply chain disruptions. we may have some countries, like vietnam, that could in the short term be beneficiaries and so on but really in terms of an investor, what you want to see is good news on trade which should lift the whole region. if you want to be defensive. hong kong equity is a a good place to be. jacinda ardern is visiting

china and meeting with xijinping. reports that relations have soured around the huawei situation. earlier, we found out about the importance of this meeting. earlier, we found out about the importance of this meetinglj earlier, we found out about the importance of this meeting. i think it isa importance of this meeting. i think it is a significant meeting for the prime minister. it's the first time a new zealand prime minister has been to china in three years. it comes at a time when there is a number of issues in the relationship. i don't think it's on the rocks or anything like that but it's certainly a good time to go and get some face time and open up the largest embassy that new zealand will have overseas. two major issues that will be discussed and are at the top of the agenda. we have free trade discussions and of course huawei's five g technology. let's tackle the free trade agreement. what will happen here? the free—trade agreement has been

successful for new zealand's relationship with china. it is from 2008 so some of it is out of date. the agenda will be keeping the impetus from both beijing and wellington to keep that aside and a clearer schedule for when that will happen. the trade gap is not a big problem for new zealand and china. we have a complimentary economy stop the products we sell are not products that china generally sells so products that china generally sells so that's not such a serious issue. what about huawei's 5g technology? they have had problems and how do you think it will be resolved? huawei is an issue that a lot of economies around the world are facing. spark which is a local telecommunications here put out a bid to roll out the 5g technology

and that was rejected on the basis of national security. it doesn't mean it is over. there is a long and lengthy process new zealand will go through to see if those issues can be mitigated. i imagine it will be top of the agenda in their discussions. us- trade talks - make us- discussions. us- trade talks - make us— china trade talks involving tesla a re us— china trade talks involving tesla are on the agenda. let's talk to monica miller. it looks like a busy week ahead. we are starting with british lawmakers that are due to vote again on alternative exit proposals. 0n to vote again on alternative exit proposals. on tuesday, we get a rate decision in australia. the government is also presenting its budget for the year. on that same day in taiwan, taxi drivers are expected to hold a major protest against uber. 0n expected to hold a major protest against uber. on wednesday, china's vice premier is had —— heading to washington, dc for more trade talks and the government's contempt

against elon musk is scheduled for thursday. ending the week, australian finance ministers will meet in thailand and it will be about opening up the banking system —— taiwan. about opening up the banking system -- taiwan. a lot of developments today just for investors. -- taiwan. a lot of developments todayjust for investors. thank -- taiwan. a lot of developments today just for investors. thank you for the update. james dawson had the idea of a healthy tea which they thought would sell well with millennials. they never warmed up to it and realised it was a hit with middle—aged people. he decided to start his business again from scratch. making big scary decisions is critical and it is something as a small business owner is really important to do.

we have taken the growth areas in tea around green, herbal and fruit tea around green, herbal and fruit tea and added a vitamin d supplement so tea and added a vitamin d supplement so for the first time we have done something that has been in water and bringing it into drink. we thought that was what was needed to approach this millennial market. the busy working mums and busy professionals are our core working mums and busy professionals are oui’ core customer base. working mums and busy professionals are our core customer base. they understand that health is important and it resonates with our product. we adapted the name. we completely change the packaging to move away from something playful and informal to something more serious and

authoritative. i and the company have spent the best part of three yea rs have spent the best part of three years building up a strong company and to change it overnight and scrap everything we had done and move in a com pletely everything we had done and move in a completely new direction was huge and something i struggled with for quite some time but it was the right decision. 0ur revenues are up 250% since we made that change about a year ago now. every company needs to adapt and you need to be prepared to make big risks in order to make it happen. jason dawson. let's look at the markets before we go. starting off the week on the right foot in positive territory, the nikkei up by 8% positive territory, the nikkei up by 896 -- positive territory, the nikkei up by 8% —— one .8%. the all 0rdinaries up as well. this is bbc news. the top stories this hour: the house of commons is getting ready to vote on a range of alternatives to the prime minister's brexit deal. losses for turkey's governing party in local elections. the opposition wins in the capital ankara for the first time in 25 years. police are to be given more freedom

to use stop and search powers in an attempt to reduce knife crime in england and wales. but campaigners have questioned the effectiveness of stop—and—search and describe the move as "disappointing and regressive". dominic casciani has the details. another knife off the streets, found in a stop—and—search in north london. some a0 fatal stabbings so far this year. now police in the seven most affected areas are being given a search power banned when theresa may was home secretary. the whole government agree that stop—and—search is a vital power. we still, of course, want it to be targeted and focused and intelligence led, which it will be, but with these new powers is increased powers — we all agree, including the prime minister, this is exactly what's needed to help fight the rise in serious violence. knife crime fell after 2011, but it has been rising for almost five years. the police's use of stop—and—search plunged over the last decade

from 1.4 million times a year to less than 300,000. that fall after concerns the tactic was failing by unfairly targeting young black men. now, an enhanced power returns for a year—long pilot in london, greater manchester, the west midlands, south and west yorkshire, south wales and merseyside. the main stop—and—search power requires police to have a reasonable suspicion someone is carrying a weapon. they could use it if this knife detector raised an alert. today's changes mean police in the key areas can search anyone in the neighbourhood where they believe violence may, rather than will, occur. while there is no proof of a direct link between the rate of knife crime and the use of stop—and—search, many police officers believe it deters people from carrying blades — they think twice about being stopped and the risk of prison. but critics say it is still intrusive and any increased use will be highly controversial. too many of my experiences and stories i've heard

have been very unpleasant, which leads to building a lot of tension between police and young people, to the point where you have young innocent civilians running away from police just to avoid being stopped and searched. police chiefs say they are listening to concerns about how they use their powers. tomorrow the prime minister hosts a summit to hearfrom officers themselves about how to reverse the deadly violence. dominic casciani, bbc news. now on bbc news, sport today. hello, i'm mark edwards, this is sport today, and we're live from the bbc sport centre. coming up on this programme... last gasp liverpool — a 90th minute goal against tottenham takes them back to the top of the english premier league.

ageing like a fine wine. title 101 for the fed, as he emphatically dispatches john isner to win the miami 0pen. and lewis hamilton is handed victory at the bahrain grand prix. hello and thanks for joining us on sport today. drama, controversy, and last gasp winners aplenty in the english premier league on sunday. starting at anfield, where liverpool are back on top of the table after a dramatic win against tottenham hotspur. jurgen klopp's side lea pfrogging manchester city, and it was roberto firmino who'd given liverpool the lead after a quarter of an hour. spurs came roaring back in the second half, lucas drawing them level with 20 minutes to go. but as the match headed into injury time, hugo lloris fumbled a routine save and it was the unfortunate toby alderweireld who put the ball into his own net to give liverpool a 2—1win and condemn spurs to their fourth defeat in five league games. jurgen klopp a happy man, liverpool two points clear at the top.