i'm nuala mcgovern with bbc world news. our top story: china has announced 4,000 new cases of patients with the new coronavirus and 116 new deaths in hubei province. the authorities have introduced a new method of diagnosis. beijing has sacked two of the most senior communist party officials dealing with the crisis. there's been a shock resignation from british prime minister boris johnson's government, with the chancellor of the exchequer — sajid javid — unexpectedly quitting his job. he'd been due to deliver his first budget in four weeks‘ time. and this video is trending on bbc.com. researchers in the antarctic have registered a temperature of nearly 21 celsius for the first time in history. the scientists who collect the data every three days from monitoring stations have described the new record as "incredible and abnormal". those are your headlines. that's all. stay with bbc world news.

more on our web site, bbc.co.uk/news and also on the news app. now on bbc news, live to singapore for asia business report. the us and china cut tariffs to ease the trade war tensions, but does this mean their relationship is on the mend? viral marketing — find out how one australian start—up uses humourand how one australian start—up uses humour and the internet to gain traction with consumers. good morning and welcome to this friday edition of asia business report, live from singapore with me, mariko oi. live from singapore with me, mariko 0i. let's begin with the us—china trade war. it has taken a backseat because of the coronavirus outbreak,

but later today some of the tariffs will be reduced. 0n the chinese side, beijing will cut tariffs on $75 billion worth of american products, primarily fierce, seafood and auto parts ——. but the big parts of the economy affected, pork and soybeans, they will see a reduction of just soybeans, they will see a reduction ofjust 2.5%. soybeans, they will see a reduction of just 2.5%. meanwhile, soybeans, they will see a reduction ofjust 2.5%. meanwhile, washington is cutting tariffs on $120 billion worth of chinese goods by half from 15- worth of chinese goods by half from 15 - 7.5%. a worth of chinese goods by half from 15 — 7.5%. a chinese economist from ing told us this is a good step forward —— china economist. ing told us this is a good step forward -- china economist. having the tariffs on the september one list is representing that there is a truce in not putting more tariffs on

each other. this is a good thing. during the coronavirus, i don't think that china can import a lot from the us and also from the rest of the world. so, how is that going to be viewed by washington? is that going to be considered as an extraordinary circumstance, as phrased in the phase one agreement? in the phase one agreement there is a clause that allows china to delay buying us products within a calendar year, but not deferring more than a calendar year because they have some kind of quotas for each year. so we will see how china reacts. but definitely china will defer the imports within this year. and just when you might expect tensions between the two economic giants to between the two economic giants to be easing, washington has actually added more charges against a chinese

telecoms giant huawei, accusing it of stealing trade secrets for years. samir hussein has more and this was that the us services department says highway and its subsidiaries used inappropriate means to get confidential property from six american technology companies and using that information for its own gain. the justice department says this went on for years and resulted in the company getting details on products, robotics and internet codes. the justice products, robotics and internet codes. thejustice department also charges why wait with further sanctions against the run —— iran and north korea. this is in addition to charges filed last year including fraud and violating us sanctions against iran was that the us currently bans companies from selling to iran, citing security

concerns. the uk and germany have agreed to use some of huawei's technology, angering the us administration. huawei has released administration. huawei has released a statement, saying thejustice department is attempting to damage its reputation and business because of reasons related to competition rather than law enforcement. the company said they will prove these charges to be both unfounded and unfair. now, we also saw some impact by the coronavirus on china's e—commerce giant alibaba, it is often seen as a proxy for the consumer market. while it reported impressive results, the company also warns of a fall in revenues this quarter because of the epidemic. we are seeing so quarter because of the epidemic. we are seeing so many more quarter because of the epidemic. we are seeing so many more people choose delivery because of what is happening with the coronavirus. they wa nt to happening with the coronavirus. they want to be at home, they don't want to be in crowded spaces. that is

opening spaces for e—commerce companies. ali barber in a lot of ways could benefit from this. it wa nts to ways could benefit from this. it wants to do my grocery delivery, it wa nts to wants to do my grocery delivery, it wants to see people working from home, that is good for its business model. but it worries about the long—term impact of this on china's economy and ali barber as a company. a lot to look out for there. alibaba has had good results in the recent past, so when it warned about that recent slowdown, that could be a massive hit in the economy. let's catch up with our team in india. vodafone has reported very disappointing latest results. the industry is facing is from the government to pay $13 billion in overdue taxes. 0ur correspondent joins us from delhi. it seems like all of these telecom giants are really struggling. what are their

options? the only option is some sort of hope or relief from the supreme court once again. that matter comes up, and vodafone along with other telephone companies in the past in its petition told the court there needs to be some leniency or relief from the government or a staggered structure system in which the pay—out can happen. if it doesn't happen, and this is something vodafone's she did say on record, they would have no option but to shut shop, affecting over 300 million subscribers and hundreds of thousands ofjobs. what is making matters worse for vodafone india are the repeated losses. they have had over six straight quarters, $900 million, as opposed to last yea r‘s $900 million, as opposed to last year's performance. $900 million, as opposed to last yea r‘s performance. this $900 million, as opposed to last year's performance. this is what the telecom companies are struggling with an it does make and it has ——

and it has competitors offering cheap data and free voice calls. the market has been disrupted by this gigantic player. with these repeated losses, mounting debts and $13 billion that they have two cough up to the government, it is just making matters worse. thank you for that update. a very challenging time for india's telecom market. how does a start—up stand out in a crowded market it selling mattresses? koala.com has made viral content on social media. we see how one company uses humour and data to grow its businesses in asia. we really hope we can stop the family going to ikea and big furniture chains. we are a

brand born on facebook. what we did extremely well was generate reviews and a lot of 5—star reviews. that grew advocacy and word—of—mouth and trust. it's not just grew advocacy and word—of—mouth and trust. it's notjust an australian problem, people are paralysed by choice, customers are paying too much below quality goods. —— for low quality goods. it comes down to data. as we are designing our products, we test to see if those customer needs are being met live while we are developing it, rather than putting it to market an understanding after—the—fact. —— and understanding after—the—fact. —— and understanding after—the—fact. —— and understanding after the fact.

0ur our model works best in high—density cities. we learned a good lesson by going into new zealand and leaving new zealand. we thought let's put oui’ new zealand. we thought let's put our focus into markets where there isa our focus into markets where there is a lot of upside. japan has been a really easy transition for us. if a graveyard for a lot of brands. japan, very similarto graveyard for a lot of brands. japan, very similar to australia in terms of the retail environment for mattresses and furniture and we could use the existing marketing channels, facebook and google. in asia, you know, the big market that everybody talks about is of course china. but for us, not having access to the traditional marketing channels being facebook and google that we rely on and have built the brand on, it would be hard to grow the brand there. we've done a lot of user surveys about how much our

customers value the origin of their product. in australia, we are not aligned to australian made anymore because our aligned to australian made anymore because oui’ customers aligned to australian made anymore because our customers didn't care. similarly, injapan, we sell an australian mattress, japanese consumers value made in china higher than made in australia. let's say the markets before we go. japan's nikkei, just up, the hang seng flat. they are taking their cues from wild street, backing away from record highs. a lot of concerns about the coronavirus. thanks for watching. —— the nikkei opening down. this is bbc news. the top stories this hour: a shake—up in british politics with a cabinet reshuffle. the chancellor — sajid javid — resigns after he's ordered by borisjohnson to sack his advisors.

china has confirmed 4,000 new cases of patients with the new coronavirus and 116 more deaths in hubei province. there were scuffles outside a court in londonderry today as a man appeared charged with the murder ofjournalist lyra mckee. paul mcintyre, who's 52 and comes from derry, has been charged with murder, possession of a firearm and membership of a proscribed organisation, the ira. lyra mckee was shot dead during riots in derry last april. 0ur ireland correspondent, emma vardy, reports. lyra mckee's death has led to heightened tensions in derry. members of the group police say are the political voice of the new ira clashed with officers outside court. paul mcintyre, a 52—year—old man from the city, has been charged with murder, possession of a firearm and membership of the ira. it gets better for those of us who live long enough to see it get better. lyra mckee, a writer and gay rights activist, was stood next to a police

land rover the night she was killed during rioting in the city in april last year. a gunman was seen on mobile phone footage, stepping out and firing towards police. the dissident republican group, known as the new ira, later claimed it was behind the shooting. the violence was widely condemned, bringing back memories of northern ireland's troubled past. today, the vast majority of those who live in derry do not support dissident republican groups. paul mcintyre, a man well—known locally, was greeted at court by a group of his supporters, who held a protest through the hearing. inside court, paul mcintyre spoke only to confirm his name and address. his defence solicitor said he was accused of standing behind the man who'd fired the weapon, and was later seen picking up casings that had come out of the gun. lyra mckee's partner, her family and friends attended court wearing t—shirts saying,

"speak out for lyra." police say the search for evidence to try to bring the gunman tojustice will go on. emma vardy, bbc news, derry. now on bbc news, it's sport today. borisjohnson has boris johnson has been borisjohnson has been asked to clarify who will pay —— paid for his caribbean holiday last year and whether it was taxpayer funded. now on bbc news, it's sport today. hello, i'm gavin ramjaun and this is sport today, live from the bbc sport centre. coming up on this programme: israel folau is set make his debut for catalans dragons, but is super league ready for the controversial australian? it's all square, in the coppa italia semi—final,

after ronaldo rescues juventus, against milan. and a shock defeat for second seed stefanos tsitsipas in rotterdam against aljaz bedene. but defending champion gael monfils marches on. welcome along to the programme. three—time australian rugby union player of the year, israel folau, is set to return to action this weekend, for the first time in 10 months. the former wallaby was sacked last year by rugby australia and his state side, over homophobic comments he posted social media. folau's now back in the spotlight, after being the given the chance to return to rugby league, signing for the french based super league team, catalans dragons. and the man who's played for his country in both codes of rugby, set to make his debut on saturday against castleford tigers. 0ur sports correspondent natalie pirks reports from perpignan. his athletic ability is not up for

debate but his personal