this is the business briefing. i'm sally bundock. with the brexit process in chaos, how has it affected the investment climate in the uk? and just when everybody expected a downturn, chinese manufacturing unexpectedly this is the briefing. i'm sally bundock. jumps back in march. our top story: british mps are to vote again on alternative brexit options after they failed to find a majority for any of the plans put that has given financial markets a to them last week. big losses for president erdogan‘s boost. as you can see, a brand—new governing party in local week in asia. it is looking fairly elections across turkey. the opposition wins in the capital good for share markets. ankara for the first time in 25 years. a vietnamese woman charged with killing kim jong—nam, the half—brother of the north korean leader, kim jong—un, is sentenced to three years and four months in prison, but could be released next month. and just when everybody expected a downturn, chinese manufacturing unexpectedly jumps back in march.

a warm welcome to the programme, briefing you on all you need to know in global news, business and sport. also in the programme: this spring marks the first year that electric scooters will be fully operational in europe. the uk has not yet given them the green light. what do you think? is this the future of transport in busy cities or an accident waiting to happen? tell us what you think, just use #bbcthebriefing. it's the start of another crucial week for the british government and parliament over its plans for leaving the european union.

you will remember, on friday, theresa may lost a vote on the withdrawal agreement, the third time she's brought the deal before parliament. after the vote, this is how she reacted to the decision, and the thoughts of the opposition leader, jeremy corbyn. the implications of the house's this are grave, but the united kingdom is due to leave the eu on the 12th of april in 1a days‘ time that is not enough time to agree legislate for and ratify the deal. this deal now has to change. there has to be an alternative found. and if the prime minister can't accept that then she must go not at an indeterminate date in the future, but now, so that we can decide the future of this country through a general election. that gives you a taste. so this weekend there's been more debate behind closed doors about what happenes next. will theresa may try and bring her deal back for a fourth

time? will she be forced to go back to the european union to ask for a longer extension, or will she call another general election? what we do know is that, this monday, parliament will stage a second round of indicative votes on a series of rival proposals. several different options could be discussed by mps. some would see the uk retain close links to the eu, such as a customs union, making trade easier, and more difficult to strike trade deals with other countries. and single—market membership — again, easier trade but less control over immigration. but some mps are still pressing for no deal, and others say that any deal should be put to a new referendum. thejustice secretary, david gauke, has warned the prime minister not to ignore the will of parliament if it does swing behind a softer deal.

if parliament is voting overwhelmingly against leaving the european union without a deal, but is voting in favour of a softer brexit, then i don't think it is sustainable to say, well we will ignore pa rliament‘s sustainable to say, well we will ignore parliament's position and therefore leave without a deal i don't think that is a sustainable position for the government to take. so that is david gaukejustice secretary. with me is tony travers, professor at the london school of economics, specialising in government. good morning, nice to see you again. so you were listening to all of those various options and ideas give us those various options and ideas give us your take on what might happen in parliament today if it is possible for you to predict many people now say predict the way these things turn out is hard. remember last week when a similar series of so—called indicative votes came forward, none of them managed to get a majority the point theresa may made on friday when her deal had not won again so

what we will see is a series of votes i on the same kind of voting arrangement as as last week. it is possible a more complex method might be found to ensure that one goes through anyway we will vote them through anyway we will vote them through this afternoon, we will get the result of eight o'clock and we will find if one has managed to get a majority and then the question is would the government to pick it up and see it as its policy. you mentioned that question, we don't know the answer to that yet, but david gauke, who we saw a moment ago, said the government can't ignore it. he was appealing to the government and the conservative party specifically because the question is if parliament were to vote in favour of being in a customs union, this would be very unpalatable for many in the conservative party and many would argue as well for those who voted

for brexit. absolutely. behind all of this is that the uk government's cabinet is split and members of the cabinet is split and members of the cabinet it is said would walk away, resign, if mrs may went for a softer brexit, customs union, even possibly with a single market, very likely, equally david gauke made it clear that he would resign, presumably there would be others like him, if there would be others like him, if there was no deal. so theresa may's cabinet is close to splitting now. that represents a split inside the conservative party more generally between those who are happy with no deal, who can live with it at least, and those who definitely want to be as close as possible to the eu. and, as close as possible to the eu. and, as you said earlier, that would restrict, the closer we are, the uk it is, it would restrict the uk's freedom to have trade rules with the other nations thereafter. thank you. we will have more on this later in

the programme. there is more to unpack. we will revisit the story in the business briefing. let's now turn to what's going on elsewhere. president recep tayyip erdogan‘s governing party has lost control of several big cities in local elections, including the capital ankara. it's a poll that's being seen as a referendum on president erdogan‘s leadership. in istanbul, both the opposition and ak party have declared victory with the tally still very close. mark lowen reports from istanbul. there is a saying in turkish — whoever wins istanbul wins turkey. today, the biggest prize in the local elections is too close to call, with fewer than 3,000 votes between the governing ak party and the opposition chp, in a city of 18 million people. while both sides have declared victory, the official tally by the state news agency has stopped, with over 1% of votes still to count, which the chp have claimed is the government's way of stealing the result. in the capital, ankara,

the opposition has won back control after a quarter of a century. if it takes istanbul too, it would be an astonishing result, in a country where 90% of the media is pro—government, and president erdogan has branded his opponents terrorists. speaking to supporters in ankara, there was none of the usual triumphalism from the president, but instead a call to wait for official results to be published, and remarks that seemed to be an acceptance of defeat in several parts of the country. translation: i believe the only reason we couldn't get the results we wanted in some cities is that we couldn't express ourselves enough to our nation, and we failed to win their hearts. his usually loyal conservative voters have indeed punished him for a deepening recession, with inflation at 20% and the currency plunging in value. for years, mr erdogan appeared unbeatable, with a moribund opposition. tonight, that image

is beginning to change. let's brief you on some of the other stories making the news. several thousand protesters chanting, "dictatorship never again" took to the streets of brazil's biggest cities on sunday, on the 55th anniversary of the coup that established more than two decades of military rule. 2,000 people rallied in rio de janeiro, while in sao paulo a few hundred converged to demonstrate against the 19611—1985 dictatorship. japan has declared the name of a new era to symbolise the reign of the country's next emperor. it will be called reiwa and will begin when crown prince naruhito succeeds his father, emperor akihito, when he abdicates this month. a new era is a matter of huge public interest in japan, as the name is widely used in official documents. a 44—year—old man will appear in court later following an incident

near st pancras station on friday. terry maher is accused of obstructing the railway and causing a public nuisance. eurostar services were disrupted for several hours after reports of a person sat on top of the station roof. in business today we are looking at the situation in the uk, the economy and leaving the eu. what does the investment picture look like in the uk since it decided to leave the european union? 0liver cornock, editor—in—chief at oxford business group, joins me now. good morning. there is lots of different statistics out there to say how the uk economy is doing, but when it comes to foreign direct investment into the uk it has dropped quite significantly, hasn't it? absolutely, and as someone who travels around the world speaking to people who are looking to invest

elsewhere in the world, the uk is sort of on hold. people don't understand. there is a huge level of baffle m e nt understand. there is a huge level of bafflement whether you're in latin america, asia or america, people are confused at the moment. what do we know about investors? it is all about sentiment. markets are reacting in predictable ways. 0n friday the pound was down, which for uk domestic exporters is not such bad news. the stock market remarkably resilient. it depends what will happen today. a lot rests on the first of april and all of us are resisting april fools joke. on the first of april and all of us are resisting aprilfoolsjoke. but really there is a huge amount of uncertainty and investors don't like uncertainty. when you say it is on hold that is possibly the point, it is on hold, it is not, we won't invest in the uk, it is more, we are

waiting to see, and many argue there could be the deal dividend where this is all sorted out, there is a conclusion, there is an idea where we are headed. that foreign direct investment, will that come in there is an argument for that and personally i think it is a strong one. one of the great problems with the debate at the moment and something the ruling tory party in the uk have to grapple with is the battle between sovereignty and big business, that is really what this comes down to. big business would like the certainty of trade agreements. that is what big business tends to like. not all. they tend to like it all over the world. so what is decided about that in the uk and all of the thorny issues of the common market, customs union, which i am sure we will come back to, are really important. thank you for now. 0liver will be back for the news briefing. we have stories to discuss a little later. a new government has been formed in algeria after six weeks of mass protests, but the head of the military and the prime minister remain in office. demonstrators have been demanding that president abdelaziz bouteflika and his inner circle be removed. let's get the thoughts of lina benabdallah, professor of politics

at wake forest university in north carolina. thank you so much forjoining us. you are an expert in this area. this has been an ongoing saga for many, many years, with people feeling that president bouteflika should have stepped down some time ago. are you able to hear us? hello? u nfortu nately able to hear us? hello? unfortunately it would seem that lina could not hear us. i have been told that we do have lina now. let's see if we can regain communication. can you hear me? i can hear you. did you hear my question, lina. tell us about the change in algeria and how

significant this is and to what extent there will be change in the future? as you mentioned, the protests have been going on for about six weeks now. to be honest, you can look at the situation as an ongoing negotiation between the protest movement and the government. things have been slowly moving forward. the reading on this new cabinet is that it was actually expected to have been nominated a few weeks ago when the former head of government was asked to resign and bedoui was put in place. we expected this new government to be nominated since then. but it also seems, according to some news media, that the rulers, that the president might resign, the end of the article

102 of the constitution, sometimes this week. if that is the case, it would make sense to have a government in place which would make sure some form of transition or some form of interim government until we know for sure what's going to happen next. so do you think that this is where we are headed then, now? that actually this big cabinet reshuffle that has been announced could lead toa that has been announced could lead to a wholesale change of government, which many have been calling for for many years? i mean, it definitely seems like we are stepping into the post president bouteflika era, especially if rumours of him resigning materialise this coming week, but regardless, this by itself is not enough. this is why a lot of people were protesting in the streets last night immediately after this new government was announced. the reason is, unless there is a change in terms of not only

president bouteflika but his immediate entourage, including his brother, including a lot of members of the current clan, then it would not be enough. so if things happen according to what these rumours, i would suppose, go, then we would actually see some significant demand from the streets be met. and we already know that there are lots of changes going on to the business elites. haddad, for example, was interpreted at the border, he was arrested. there are things that are changing as we go, so i don't think that the demands of the street have fully been met yet, but i think that this is a step forward, especially if this is, i guess, followed by

resignation from the president and a way forward for an interim government and followed by a clear sense of a date for when the elections are. and a transparent way of including as many people in the process as asked by protesters. thank you so much. we appreciate your time. stay with us on bbc news. still to come: we meet the indonesian rickshaw driver who turned his vehicle into a mobile library for children. the accident that happened here was of the sort that can at worst produce a meltdown. in this case the precautions worked, but they didn't work quite well enough to prevent some old fears about the safety features of these stations from resurfacing.

the republic of ireland has become the first country in the world to ban smoking in the workplace. from today, anyone lighting up in offices, businesses, pubs and restaurants will face a heavy fine. the president was on his way out of the washington hilton hotel, where he had been addressing a trade union conference. the small crowd outside included his assailant. it has become a symbol of paris. 100 years ago, many parisians wished it had never been built. the eiffel tower's birthday is being marked by a re—enactment of the first ascent by gustave eiffel. you are watching the briefing. 0ur headlines: british mps are to vote again on alternative brexit options, after they failed to find a majority

for any of the plans put to them last week. big losses for president erdogan‘s governing party in local elections across turkey. the opposition wins in the capital, ankara, for the first time in 25 years. the trial of the vietnamese defendant doan thi huong, one of two women charged with the death of the half—brother of north korea's leader, kim jong—un, has now ended. her lawyer says she could be freed as early as next month. murder charges against her were dropped, though she was found guilty of causing harm using deadly means, after killing kimjong—nam by smearing his face with a nerve agent at kuala lumpur airport in february 2017. let's get more from our south—east asia correspondent jonathan head. jonathan, tell us a bit more, although she could be released

within a month, she has been sentenced to over three years, or something, in prison? yes, thejudge gave her a sentence of three years and four months, allowing for time already served. that means if you've served the full sentence you would be released in the middle of next year. but she did agree, when authorities offered a lesser charge of causing her by criminal means, it brings to an end a trial that was awkward for malaysia because although these two women were involved in the death of kim jong—nam, and certainly doan thi huong is seen on video cameras placing her hands over his face and he said a liquid was smeared on his face before he died, which was found out to be the lethal nerve agent vx, no—one believed they were assassins. they were recruited for what they said they thought were televised pranks, but they were the only

people who were apprehended. north korean agents thought to have recruited them left malaysia shortly after mr kim's death. she was the last remaining defendant, and now she has been sentenced on a much lesser charge, the entire trial is over. in effect we have lost two opportunities in this trial. we have not heard testimony from either of the defendants which could have given very interesting details of how they were recruited, but also potentially embarrassing details from malaysia about how freely north korean agents were operating there. it also means no—one has been held to account for a really shocking assassination. the lesser charge suggest the court believes that ms doan was a less involved participant. does this mean that this extraordinary story might eventually go away, or what are the implications in terms of the relationship between malaysia, north korea, indonesia, et cetera? well, i'm sure the malaysian authorities

wish it would go away, because u nfortu nately wish it would go away, because unfortunately being unable to put any north korean agents on trial, and they had to release people held in the embassy here just after mr kim's death because north korea held malaysia in diplomat in effect hostage in north korea. it was embarrassing in a way to have these two women on trial, i think they we re two women on trial, i think they were ina two women on trial, i think they were in a dilemma, the malaysians. if they just let them go then were in a dilemma, the malaysians. if theyjust let them go then no—one was held accountable. thejudge did say that the evidence against ms doan meant that there had to be a trial and some kind of charge. he couldn't just let her trial and some kind of charge. he couldn'tjust let her go. trial and some kind of charge. he couldn't just let her go. but trial and some kind of charge. he couldn'tjust let her go. but we are left with this appalling assassination in an international airport using an absolutely will agent, and in effect north korea getting away with it. i think in the end malaysia will gradually restore relations with north korea, as have most southeast asian countries, because they believe it is in their interest to have some kind of ties

with north korea rather than a dangerously combative relationship. thank you very much, jonathan head in bangkok. extraordinary story. here's our briefing on some of key events happening later. former georgian president mikheil saakashvili is expected to return to ukraine, more than a year after being stripped of his citizenship. it comes as the country votes in the first round of presidential elections. a bit later at 3:00pm bst time. the trial of a former police officer who shot australian woman justine damond is due to begin in the us. mohamed noor shot the unarmed woman after responding to her 911 call in 2017. staying in the us, at about 7:00pm bst, former lawyer of adult film star stormy daniels, michael avenatti, will appear in court on charges he embezzled money from another client.

jakarta is one of the world's busiest and most crowded cities. getting around isn't always easy. once upon a time, you might have used a small, motor—powered rickshaw, but two years ago they were banned by the indonesian government. now, one former driver has come up with a new way to use his old vehicle. the bbc‘s tim allman explains. sutino hadi, known as ‘kinong', is a man on a mission. he used to drive passengers around jakarta. now, he is trying to broaden minds. he has turned his old bemo into a mobile library, and it is the minds of the young he really wants to broaden. translation: when i first started, i never imagined i could inspire that many children, but after a few years of driving around, i began to see the positive benefits. ithought, i'm nearing retirement anyway. it's my responsibility

to be a good human being, and help others. bemos used to be a regular sight injakarta. for decades, they buzzed round the streets, weaving through traffic. but they weren't always safe, and they weren't exactly good for the environment, so eventually they were banned. kinong's novel use of his vehicle is just one example of a larger movement, aiming to make indonesians learn to love books. translation: our challenge is how to instill an interest in reading in children, during the age of technology. we believe it is important that our volunteers teach children to understand the importance of learning. from what we have seen, indonesia's education system is moving in a positive direction, and we are grateful for that. kinong hopes he can help transform these children's lives, and he says this journey has taken him to places he never thought possible. tim allman, bbc news.

alternative vehicles is our twitter conversation today. we will be discussing electric vehicles in a moment. stay with us. hello. we're going to see some big changes in our weather this week. there's not too much snow on the scottish mountains at the moment. you can see that in this weather watch picture. you get the sense that the amount of snow is going to increase significantly on the scottish mountains over the next few days. for the time being, if you are heading outside over the next few hours, we have some clear spells across eastern parts of the country, patchy frost for northern england and for scotland. the cloud for

northern ireland, you could see a bit of rain here first thing in the morning, but it will be quite late and patchy in nature. through monday we have this cold front approaching the north—west of the uk. that's going to be bringing a spell of more significant rain later in the day. but for most it is a decent start. eastern areas of scotland, england and wales it should stay dry for most throughout, the best of the sunshine across southern parts of the uk. it might be april the first, but don't be fooled by the rising temperatures, up to 16 in cardiff. there is one of travel for the uk this week, and that is for things to get colder. this area of rain is a cold front, it will push the wet weather in across northern ireland and scotland, heading and across parts of england and wales as we had through the 19 and into the first pa rt through the 19 and into the first part of tuesday. the sign of things getting colder, seven degrees ahead of the front but the cold air moving in behind the front across the north—west of the uk. so the cold weather really arrives from tuesday on. we will see things turning much colder, rain and showers around, colder, rain and showers around, cold enough for some hill snow and there will be some sharp overnight frost around as well. here are the charts for tuesday, our cold front pushing eastwards across the country. the wind following that front coming down across the arctic. as the rain clears away the colder air moves in. sunshine and showers follow, the showers heavy with hail and thunder, some of them having

some snow over the higher ground, and it will feel cold. temperatures at best seven degrees in belfast. factor in those northerly winds, there will be more than just a nip in the air. it will feel chilly. the u nsettled in the air. it will feel chilly. the unsettled theme continues into wednesday, low pressure taking up residence in the north sea. this will push a band of rain and some mountain snow. could be significant across high parts of scotland, maybe also across parts of the northern pennines as well. elsewhere, sunshine and heavy showers and when those showers come along they will drop the temperatures by three or four celsius or so in a short space of time. it will feel pretty cold.