our top story. the two contenders to be the next british prime minister clash in a head—to—head debate. brexit and the diplomatic row with the us were the hottest topics in the debate between borisjohnson and jeremy hunt. anti—government protesters in hong kong threaten more mass rallies over the controversial extradition bill. chief executive carrie lam has said the legislation is now ‘dead', though she stopped short of saying it would be withdrawn. the findings of a study here in the uk into the earnings of different ethnic groups is proving popular on our website. it shows that on average, workers of chinese and indian heritage make more money, than their white british counterparts. all other ethnic groups had lower wages than white british workers. that's all. stay with bbc world news.

there is more analysis on our website now, time to cross over for the business news with asia business report. grilled on the hill. investors brace as the fed chairman faces questions. deli's metro initiative. while women are welcoming the free travel scheme. why women. good morning asia, hello world. it is wednesday thank you forjoining us for this edition of asia business report. we kick off the programme with america because the chairman of the us central bank is said to start two days of testimony in front of

lawmakers. investors will be scrutinising his comments or signals of when and by how much interest rates will be cut in the coming months. as our reporter tells us from new york, the central bank has faced repeated tanks from president trump. jerome power will be keen to talk about monetary policy during his two days of testimony. ——jerome —— jerome powell. ——jerome powell. but —— jerome powell. but he ——jerome powell. but he may —— jerome powell. but he may not be able to steer clear of washington politics. wall street will listen closely to see if the head of the us central bank offers any clarity on interest rates. jerome powell and his committee meet at the end of the month, deciding whether or not to cut interest rates. after a strong junejobs report cut interest rates. after a strong june jobs report that prospect is dimming by the day. a rate cut is typically used to stimulate a faltering economy. and equally important message may have little to do with monetary policy and everything to do with it to make‘s commitment to keeping the reserve as

an independent body in the face of complaints and threats from the white house. as recently as sunday, the president has asserted that the dowjones industrial average would be 10,000 points higher if the fed cut rates while on tuesday, white house economic adviser larry kudlow said thatjerome house economic adviser larry kudlow said that jerome powell's house economic adviser larry kudlow said thatjerome powell's job was safe at the moment. the trump administration's trade disputes with several asian countries, not the least china, have been a major focus for investors. earlier, the charge d'affaires of the us affairs in singapore, tommy washington intent on developing economic cooperation in the region. —— told me that washington was intent. we have a long-standing commitment to this part of the world. the us is the largest

investor in asean, more than we do . —— in the .—— in the rest of . —— in the rest of asia. we have been here for over two centuries and we are committed to this region. with the free and open indo pacific strategy that this administration has developed it has an economic and business component. but many investors are confused about the economic pivot of president trump. he talks about trade imbalance and 110w he talks about trade imbalance and now you continue to have this trade dispute with china and japan and india. what is really the focus of president trump? the purpose of this is that we want to work with our allies, our partners, and even our competitors to ensure that we have a free, fair, open and reciprocal

trading system, global trade system around the world. that is what this administration works towards. level playing field. absolutely. we have to speak to all our partners to ensure that we see a future with a similar view, that we have free, fair, open and reciprocal trade. because in this ongoing trade dispute, we now see a reshaping of supply chains from china being the factory of the world, we see a shift to other manufacturing hubs in the region. diversification in any business is good but the ultimate goal is to have an agreement with china on a way forward so that their factories can continue to be productive as well. but once these trade disputes with china, japan and

india are resolved, what will the economic and trade landscape look like between the us and asia?m will grow stronger because we will have rule of law, transparent systems, transparent ways of doing business, strong intellectual property rights and all of the things that help companies, give companies the confidence to invest and grow and contribute to the countries in which they live. that was the charge d'affaires of the us embassy in singapore. if the trade war was not enough of a disruption to global trade, tensions between south korea and japan are also on the rise. earlier i asked how much ofan impact the rise. earlier i asked how much of an impact it will have on the technology trade supply? japan has not stop supplies and so far samsung

and other chipmakers still have someone reserved. and other chipmakers still have someone reserved. right now we see a downward in the chip inventory cycle. is a so—called mini trade wall had an impact? things may start to bottom out at the end of the year. before then we will not see a significant impact, even ifjapan could fast track approval process. could also be prolonged? could it escalate beyond technology? yes. that is why we fear this mini trade war developing into a larger one. how could this mini trade will become a larger one? how could it escalate? it could move from technology sector to others. for example tourism sectors, south korea is the second—largest inbound

tourist source country forjapan. so if they cancel flights to osaka it made perfect japan as well. getting around delhi can be difficult at the best of times before women in the simple journeys best of times before women in the simplejourneys are best of times before women in the simple journeys are often dangerous. the capital of india is infamous for rape and violence and they are considering a radical remedy. free public transport for all women. critics say it is a costly and patronising election ploy. but the experiment is being welcomed by working—class women. hutch iron biscuits for breakfast, fried okra for lunch. each morning sandra prepares food for her son and teenage daughter before setting off ina two teenage daughter before setting off in a two kilometre walk in the searing heat to the household in which she works as domestic help. translation: at most i can and 6000 rupees a month. and i have to choose between using that money to feed my children or pay for travel. it is a

long way to work and i walk there and back and i am always fearful of what may happen on the street. she has good reason to be concerned. back when mac is notorious for gender violence and fear of assault leads many to forgo work altogether. just over one tenth of women are informal employment and those who are faced unpredictable, uncomfortable and unsafe commutes. now the government is proposing a radical solution, free public transport for all women, subsidised by taxpayer money. the experiment will not be cheap. estimates suggest it could cost $230 million a year. but the government says the city's smooth and efficient metro is not running at full capacity and predicts a rise in female passengers if there is a wave. activists say the policy will have a positive effect in women today are not equal citizens of our cities and the fact we bring more women into the public makes the public space more equal

and equitable. there are other issues that need to be looked at such a safety, having more women will make a difference to the city. delhi has money to spend. it runs a budget surplus yet critics say the extra cash could be put to better use. you want to help women, absolutely. analysis after analysis shows that the major reason women are shows that the major reason women a re less shows that the major reason women are less in the workforce is because of taking care of children. get them day care centres or creatures and watch, that is the best policy possible. the free travel policy has been endorsed by the opposition. the implication cannot come fast enough for sam to. after a day spent toiling for her family, no for sam to. after a day spent toiling for herfamily, no prices too high for help to get back home

too high for help to get back home to herfamily. too high for help to get back home to her family. levi too high for help to get back home to herfamily. levi strauss has reported a 17% fall in quarterly profits. the iconic jeans manufacturer was hit by a stronger dollar and costs related to its recent stock market listing. shares slumped in extended trading on this latest development. a quick looking out the markets. lacklustre trade for the two major asia—pacific markets open for trade. thank you so much for investing time with us. wimbledon action is coming right up sport today. —— with sport today. this is bbc news the top stories this hour. the two contenders to be the uk's next prime minister clashed in a face—to—face televisied leadership debate — brexit and the diplomatic row with president trump drew the most heat. protest leaders in hong kong threaten new mass rallies,

saying a concession on the controversial extradition bill doesn't go far enough. jeremy corbyn has said that labour would support remaining in the european union if there's another referendum on any tory brexit deal. he said he'd press the new prime minister to put their final proposal to the people, whether its a new deal, or a no—deal brexit. but he did't explain labour's position, if there was a general election. —— didn't explain. he looked relaxed, but smile or no smile, jeremy corbyn‘s bowed to pressure inside his party. labour's new pledge, to fight the next prime minister's brexit — deal, or no deal, to demand a new referendum and campaign to stay in. is labour now a party of remain or leave? labour is a party which says we will take no—deal off the table. the people will have a choice in the future as to whether to remain in the european union or accept what will be very, very damaging no deal exit from the eu with consequences forfood prices, medicine supplies and industrial investment. what about at the next election, if there is no brexit by then? we are a big democratic organisation. i've just spent some time consulting with all the parts

of the labour party and the labour movement. we've come to this position. we have a democratic process. we'll decide our election position when the election comes. have you not backed away under pressure from the mass membership and from your colleagues for fear of losing much more support? not a bit of it. i've been listening. but the pressure to support another referendum had grown too loud to ignore. next, labour's anti—brexiteers will demand the party backs remain before the election, and if it wins. today, they celebrated. our members have been telling us for some time now that they want us to be a remain party, that they want us to put the new deal to the people. we're now going to campaign for that. i'm very proud that the shadow cabinet have listened to their concerns. there's further discussions to be had about what we do during an election and after. others say labour must back a brexit deal. labour's brexit plan is still a work in progress, more pro—remain today but labour

could still go into the next election promising to get a better deal in europe and call a referendum on that, and if it does would it be pro—remain or pro—leave? jeremy corbyn has put that off until later, kicking the can down the road. both the major parties are feeling the squeeze of brexit. neither one really knows how to handle it. john piennar, bbc news, westminster. 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: serena williams stays on course to win a record equalling 24th grand slam title as she reaches the wimbledon semi finals. rain hits manchester mid match meaning the world cup semi—final between india

and new zealand moves into a reserve day on wednesday. and elia viviani wins stage four of the tour de france as his team matejulian alaphillipe retains the race leader's yellow jersey. hello and welcome to the programme where we start with the tennis news that the four women's semi—finalists are now in place at the wimbledon championships. serena williams is chasing a record equalling 24th grand slam singles title and she progresses. with news of that and the rest of tuesday's action here's holly hamilton. with half of this is quarter—finalist ‘s unseeded there was always a chance of upset and that came in the form of the woman who knocked outjohanna konta in straight sense. your konta started well but she was her own worst enemy. opponent qualified for