as fighting intensifies in the middle east, the international monetary fund's chief economist tells us whether geopolitical tensions could weigh on economic growth. and china's largest property developer faces a key test next week. we look at the implications for the world's second largest economy. hello and welcome to asia business report, with me. we are going to begin the programme with the world bank and the international monetary fund, which are holding their annual meetings in morocco. the imf's annual meetings in morocco. the imf�*s chief economist says the global economy is limping along

but not sprinting. he is also concerned about economic uncertainty triggered from the conflict between israel and hamas as the death toll continues to rise. the bbc�*s economics editor faisal islam sat down with him and asked if the global economy was heading in the right direction.— in the right direction. well, thins in the right direction. well, things are _ in the right direction. well, things are going _ in the right direction. well, things are going in - in the right direction. well, things are going in the - in the right direction. well, | things are going in the right direction. what we are seeing is despite these large shocks that you describe, the world economy is still standing. no global recession, you know, no massive slowdown that would put us into huge unemployment rates. we haven't seen that. we have seen a surge in inflation, but inflation is sort of coming down now, both headline inflation and core inflation, so that's the good news, things are improving, the global economy has been resilient. at the same time, the growth numbers we have, around 3% this year, 2.9% for next year, this is way below historical

average. so the global economy is limping along, its not sprinting but it's been resilient.— sprinting but it's been resilient. , ., ., resilient. right. do you from this point — resilient. right. do you from this point see _ resilient. right. do you from this point see there - resilient. right. do you from this point see there are - resilient. right. do you from| this point see there are areas where you have been disappointed, i know china for example been a disappointment this year. 50 example been a disappointment this ear. ., , ., , this year. so the other story which is really _ this year. so the other story which is really important - this year. so the other story which is really important is. which is really important is divergence. we are saying the number hasn't changed very much for my previous round forecast backin for my previous round forecast back in july, for my previous round forecast back injuly, or even april, we were around 3% 2023 injuly as well but there has been quite a lot of reshuffling, and the reshuffling, we see some countries doing better than expected, the us among those, japan has been doing better than expected among advanced economies. among emerging market economies a number of them have been doing better than expected, india, brazil, russia, and then there are a bunch of countries that have bed doing worse. among them, the euro area has been revised down about 0.2%. in china, 0.2 percentage points. so we have this reconfiguration, countries

are in a different space. mil are in a different space. all this week _ are in a different space. all this week we have been keeping a very close watch on oil as well as gas prices, in line with our coverage, rush energy week begins in moscow today. president vladimir putin and the prime minister of iraq will take part in the plenary session. 4000 guests from over 60 countries are expected to participate according to the organisers. earlier this week, oil prices initiallyjumped on concerns that the conflict in israel and gaza could disrupt output from the middle east. morgan stanley said the near—term risk to oil supply was low, but that could change if the conflict spread to other countries. staying with that, securing direct flights to israel is becoming increasingly difficult, with more airlines cancelling flights after the hamas attacks. virgin is now operating one flight to and from tel aviv a day instead of two, british airways is flying one round—trip, air france, lufthansa and emirates have suspended flights from israel

into the uk. the only chinese airlines to fly between the mainland and israel has also cancelled flights to tel aviv. so have asian counterparts cathay pacific as well as korean air. let's turn out to china's property sector because next week country garden could be joining next week country garden could bejoining a growing list of chinese developers that have failed to honour their debts. country garden is due to make a $15 million payment to bondholders on the 17th of october, and if it misses that deadline all its international bonds could be considered in default. the property giant has already warned it expects it will not be able to meet all of its international debt obligations within the relevant grace periods. 0ur obligations within the relevant grace periods. our business reporter has more on china's deepening property crisis. they were once two of china's biggest and most successful companies, building houses for ordinary people who invested their life savings in a place they could call home. now the writings on the wall with

country garden admitting it can't pay back its debt. the company, china's largest property developer, has roughly $187 billion in liabilities. country garden has been selling off assets to try and raise cash. it has also been negotiating with creditors to restructure its debt and delay payments. the problem is it's apartments aren't selling. 0ne apartments aren't selling. one of the few ways it can raise funds. pre—sales on unfinished apartments, an important indicator for future revenue are down 81% from the same time last year. evergrande is another giant property developer. it has even more debt than country garden, $300 billion worth of liabilities in china alone. authorities have launched a criminal investigation into its billionaire founder. it has been trying to restructure its debt for two years, but those

discussions haven't gone well, and now investors say the company is so big and so indebted, it is at risk of what they call a messy collapse. the struggles of both these companies have put more pressure on china's economy, which is already facing a widespread property slump, a decline in exports and weak consumer spending after covid—19. even though both country garden and evergrande were thought of as too big to fail, there is no sign beijing will step in to save them. for now, beijing has asked both companies to prioritise completing and delivering the homes they have promised to build. now we were just told that country garden has not defaulted so far. i have been speaking to someone from moody's analytics, who explained what a default could mean for the greater economy. the concern also from your reporting is that notjust

country garden but also evergrande and other current property developers, if they continue to default on their international obligations, and their offshore bonds payments, that leads to essentially a lack of liquidity, because the burden of financing will turn to the onshore lenders, such as domestic banks and more so the property buyers that have to continue to find and repay their loans at this time. so their loans at this time. so the longer the uncertainty goes, the debt burden could actually lead to a problem within the domestic market, and thatis within the domestic market, and that is where we are really concerned, as i have mentioned, the crisis of confidence that could really occur in the western market is something that we are watching very closely at moody's analytics.

now to new york where sam bankman—fried's fraud trial has been taking place. he has pleaded not guilty to fraud and conspiracy charges related to the collapse of ftx, the now bankrupt crypto currency exchange she was running. the jury exchange she was running. the jury has been hearing testimony from his former colleagues, including his one—time girlfriend caroline alison. 0ur north american business correspondent erin delmore was on the court when she testified and explains the significance in this case.— and explains the significance in this case. the government has at least _ in this case. the government has at least three _ in this case. the government has at least three key - has at least three key witnesses that it wants to showcase in this trial, but make no mistake, caroline alison is their star. that's because she is the former ceo of alameda research, the crypto hedge fund that sam bankman—fried founded, also the former romantic partner of sam bankman—fried and she spoke about both roles today. she talked about having a personal closeness with mr bankman—fried but also saying at times she felt awkward around him because she was dating her boss and felt neglected in their personal relationship and she

said that in the business he was in the driver seat, but she took direction from him and reported up to him. at one point today she talked about alameda research using $14 billion of ftx customer funds to pay back lenders and to make investments. she said it also had the benefit of improving the look of alameda research �*s balance sheet making it look less risky to investors. she said she did that at the direction of mr bankman—fried. that was a through line today. what can we expect next in the trial? ., ., ,., , what can we expect next in the trial? . ., ,., , , trial? caroline ellison is 'ust one we expect i trial? caroline ellison is 'ust one we expect her i trial? caroline ellison is 'ust one we expect her to h trial? caroline ellison isjustl one we expect her to continue her statement tomorrow. beyond that, we expect her to bring people who have lost money using the ftx crypto exchange. a really big question though is whether mr bankman—fried will choose to testify himself. we don't know. it is his right and it would be highly unusual in a case like this but it would

also give them a chance to make his own case in front of the jury. his own case in front of the 'u . ~ , his own case in front of the jury. we will be tracking more u dates jury. we will be tracking more updates from _ jury. we will be tracking more updates from the _ jury. we will be tracking more updates from the trial. - jury. we will be tracking more updates from the trial. in - updates from the trial. in other news making headlines before we go, birkenstock is set to make its debut on the new york stock exchange later today. the german orthopaedic footwear is expected to price its ipo at $46 per share. some people have described them as the world's ugliest shoe. nevertheless, it has become a global mega brand, and this year received a further boost when they were featured in the hit film, barbie. us food and drinks giant pepsico says it plans to make a modest price hikes next year. the owner of brands including pepsi and gatorade also reported a better—than—expected profit for the third quarter on tuesday, sending its shares 2% higher in new york. pepsico's chief financial officer said in an interview that the firm was not seeing any impact from the popularity of weight loss drugs, which could alter consumption patterns. that's all we have for you on this

edition of asia business report. do stay on with bbc news. bbc news, bringing you different stories from across the uk. i suppose, getting towards the end of my pr and london career, i thought where shall i go, what shall i do to earn my living, and one of the things i really enjoyed was gardening, so i went to college. the carden so i went to college. the garden money _ so i went to college. the garden money because l so i went to college. the garden money because created here has just been accredited by the organisation which sets the global standard for botanic gardens end. it is among just ten in the uk. it gardens end. it is among 'ust ten in the mi ten in the uk. it gives you that recognition _ ten in the uk. it gives you that recognition that - ten in the uk. it gives you that recognition that you i ten in the uk. it gives you - that recognition that you have achieved a level that means that you... it's hard to describe, that you are as best as you can be. botanic gardens

end, or whether you are a national collection holder, you are merely guardians, and you are merely guardians, and you are here to preserve what nature has provided for future generations.— generations. trees are the focus of — generations. trees are the focus of a _ generations. trees are the focus of a series _ generations. trees are the focus of a series of - generations. trees are the focus of a series of events | generations. trees are the i focus of a series of events at the garden this month, called arbour. �* �* , ., , the garden this month, called arbour. �* �*, ., , ., arbour. and it's really a celebration _ arbour. and it's really a celebration of - arbour. and it's really a celebration of trees - arbour. and it's really a j celebration of trees and arbour. and it's really a - celebration of trees and what trees give us, and how trees inspire us, how they shelter us, how they feed us. laughter am i a us, how they feed us. laughter am i a crazy _ us, how they feed us. laughter am i a crazy tree _ us, how they feed us. laughter am i a crazy tree person? - us, how they feed us. laughter am i a crazy tree person? yes! i iam zof i am zof with the catch up. tonight, holly willoughby quits this morning, labor comes to livable and something strange falling from these guy —— the sky. an update on the ongoing war in the middle east, has been massive air strikes

overnight in the southern israeli city of ashkelon, after hamas militants want people to lead by 5pm local time. israel says it is continuing to bomb the gaza strip, after hitting 200 targets overnight, and hamas has taken dozens of hostages, saying it won't negotiate until the end of the battle. lots of people have been killed in gaza and israel by the strike so far. next, the labor conference is under way in liverpool, and keir starmer has set a labour government would reform the nhs, put more police officers on the streets, build more towns and 1.5 million new homes. the day wasn't all smooth sailing veil, as he was interrupted by a glittery protester, who was later arrested. glittery protester, who was laterarrested. it glittery protester, who was later arrested. it didn't deter him from his main message, though. some other stories now. holly willoughby has announced she will be quitting their skipp morning after 14 years. she told fans on her instagram she feels she had to make this

decision for our and her family. last week, a man was charged over an alleged plot to kidnap her. and time now for ten seconds of spiders, brace yourself, that's right, they've been falling from the sky in some parts of california. people there have been spotting clumps of web school as you can see, on people's cars. that would be absolutely terrifying. i would be no good in california. if i see a spider in my room, i literally run a mile. you are all caught up now. see you later.

hello and welcome to sportsday with me, sarah mulkerrins. uefa confirm the uk and ireland will host the 2028 euros, with a new stadium in prospect for northern ireland. england bounce back at the cricket world cup. dawid malan stars with the bat in their victory over bangladesh. we speak to former f1 champion nigel mansell on his memories of success, ahead of selling some of his famous possessions. ——most famous