this is robin brant in beijing. china'si jinping and the 30 something brother. kim jong—un was given a substantial ceremonial welcome. we usually see pictures of others taking notes as kim speaks but this time it was different. china is north korea's only big benefactor but the relationship has soured significantly over kim's nuclear weapons programme. this was about telling the world including donald trump that they are friends again. in recent years the divide has got wider and wider. because china appears to have lost patience with its neighbour. that's mainly because of the kind of reckless language it thinks north korea has been using in those public spats with donald trump. but now there's a real chance of talks on the table and china wants to reassert its influence. kim reiterated that he is committed to denuclearisation. although that's an ambiguous statement and it's not new. one thing is very clear, china wants to be front and centre as those nuclear talks get closer. from robin in beijing to laura bicker in seoul

heather: history made in beijing. china confirming a top-secret sitdown with north korean dictator kim jong un. what this means for the talks between the leader of the rogue regime and donald trump. >> i started yesterday posting names and dates of release of all our inmates, if you are going to arrest me you better have some good charges. heather: sanctuary showdown. at california county battling back against laws helping illegal immigrants, sheriff just made inmates, threatening to put her in jail. rob: the georgia mom teaching a valuable life lesson that you are going to love. "fox and friends first" continues right now. ♪ mary mack are you here for a good time? we are. going to be a fun morning. a great time every morning at 5 am. rob: i love getting up at 3:00 in the morning. mary mack thanks for waking up early with us. a mystery meeting confirmed. we know kim jong un and chinese president xi jinping met face-to-face in beijing. >> what does this mean for denuclearization talks, a big development. >> the first trip ou

let's move on to beijing. china's national people's congress has kicked off in beijing. by setting 2018 gdp growth at 6 and a half percent, the same as last year and increase military spending by more than 8 percent. let's go to beijing now where stephen mcdonell is following the story. a lot of in terms of the second biggest economy about how much it is going to grow. it is very important. absolutely. the way it starts is the premier makes a speech. it is essentially a big report on how the government is going and in this he has a various targets. 6.5% is the gdp target, the same as last year. the interesting thing is that is despite the fact that last year china's economy came in according to official statistics above that at this .9%. all indicating that the government wants to further will down the economy to guarantee this longer term, my growth you can rely on rather than the sporadic growth that they have that in the past. it is true that the chinese government has deep pockets but it has two find more money for an 8% increase in defence spending and down 3% in en

president kimjong—un did meet xijinping this week in beijing. chinaays kim told xi that his regime is "committed to denuclearisation" and that the confrontation on the korean peninsula can be resolved south korea and the united states respond to with goodwill. the russian government has reacted angrily to nato's expulsion of seven russian diplomats based at its brussels headquarters. it's the latest response to the nerve agent attack in britain. and this video is trending on bbc.com. it's a wedding which didn't exactly go to plan. a barn owl was the ring—bearer and while it made it down the aisle after its first landing on the best man, things go wrong. you can see the entire video at bbc.com. that's all from me for now. stay with bbc news. and the top story here in the uk: the head of manchester's fire service has apologised for its response to the suicide bombing in the city last year. an independent report found firefighters were kept away from the scene for two hours. now on bbc news, all the latest business news live from singapore. mark zuckerbe

on his first foreign trip since assuming power north korean leader kim jong un met china's president xi jinping in beijing we will go live to our correspondent to hear more about this historic visit and. also coming up the needle joins twenty five other nations in a standoff with the kremlin the military alliance picks out seven russian diplomats in response to the souls very nerve agents attack and russia prepares for a national day of mourning after sunday's fatal fire at a mall in siberia dozens died in the blaze most of them children locals demand answers to the tragedy. plus germany have suffered a blow in their world cup preparations for years after famously defeating brazil seventy one you walk the low side live to a friendly defeat against their south american opponent. i'm sara kelly welcome to the program russia is holding a national day of mourning for dozens of people killed in a shopping mall fire in siberia over the weekend most of the sixty four people who died were children but families of the victims believed that that number could be much higher anger is spreading across the country many

that actually china continued to have sway over north korea the question is this who what motivates thing to invite president clinton here or did president kim did kill him off to come to beijing if so what is china but it wasn't a threat of more sanctions or have they given him new incentives either way it demonstrates to the united states i think that once you know because once you know peace talks begin about the house the result the crisis on the korean peninsula china will have to play a pivotal role will we be expecting the chinese to release any more information on this trip at all or does it just end here. look i don't know i think that inevitably more details are going to speak out during the day i think what would be significant is whether the chinese release a picture of president xi jinping shaking hands we can younger than that of course would would demonstrate as i say that you know it's in a sense business as usual mobile services being reviewed in the relationship between china and north korea remember the relations between these two lives have been strained over the north's refusal. and nuclear program this is cool real anger in beijing and of course it could

but first, let's start with this report from john sudworth, our correspondent in beijing. china'st was preparing to hand unlimited power to its president, and there could be no doubting the outcome. should xijinping be president for life? "yes," they answer. and then she adds. please don't say that it is president for life. it is just that there is not a limit for the number of terms. but, whatever you call it, the change means mr xi can rule china for as long as he wants. he was the first to cast his ballot, the applause further proof of the inevitability of the result. out of almost 3,000 delegates, only two voted against. " passed , " the announcer says, and this man's hold on power now becomes both complete and indefinite. the cost of opposition to mr xi's rule can be high. i am shown papers left behind by xu yan's husband, a lawyer, who recently wrote an open letter calling for democratic elections. he is now being detained for subversion. translation: he did everything within the boundaries of the law, yet it's not allowed here. now, many people are afraid of speaking up. wh

beijing. the wto is warning for the first time about a trade were between the u.s., china saying it could derailhe cult -- the global economy. the director general told the bbc that they have the first indication of a commercial stand off between washington and beijing and could have much wider implications. china said it does not want a trade but will protect its interest. slumping in tokyo after confirming it may make a bid for shire appeared to cater said the -- takata is at exporter he stage. it also says that it is by no means certain that any move would be to a deal. inre leaped on the news london closing 4% higher. takeda has until april 25 to make a move or walk away. -- has been hit. the seattle time initially reported the attack phrasing concerns of production might be hit. has detected a limited intrusion, but adds that the malware has on the affected a small percent of systems. extended trade. global news, 24 hours a day powered by more than 2700 journalists and analysts in more than 120 countries. this is bloomberg. haidi: still ahead this hour, he would not be raising rates. go int

abc bob woodruff in beijing. >> china is a player again. this could have a big impact on many negotiations. the question is will this help the u.s. or north korea? >> the visit only confirmed overnight and the white house said they see it as evidence that campaign of maximum pressure is working. a sentiment echoed by the south korean unification minister. but just as the word of the meeting spread, "the new york times" had these satellite images showing a new nuclear reactor in use. north korea insists it's intended to produce electricity, but it could be used to make one of the main fuels for nuclear weapons. >>> kim is expected to meet the south korean president next month and in talks to meet with president trump in may. if that happens, it will be the first-ever face to face between a u.s. president and north korean leader. serena marshall. >>> orange county breaking ranks with the state to join the trump administration and challenge california's sanctuary law. cheers erupted from the county's board f supervisors joined the law against

china correspondent adrian brown reports from beijing. in the ceremonial heart of beijing china's political season is about to start but it will be different this year delegates to the national people's congress are being asked to do something they've never had to before approve a change to the constitution that restricts presidents to two terms dissenting voices are rare in today's china yet in the run up to this n.p.c. there's been token criticism over the proposed amendment. most of the modern countries in the world adopt this two term presidency that's why people find it unbelievable that if she is going to stay in power more than two terms president she is likely to get his way the n.p.c. is viewed as a largely rubber stamp body controlled by the ruling communist party and has never voted down a proposal from party leaders. the change will further consolidate she's power as he is also party chief and head of the military and in october his name was in shrines in the constitution elevating him to the status of chairman mao like presid

john sudworth reports from beijing. parliament wa hand china's parliament was preparing to handits president. and there could be no doubting the outcome. should xijinping rule for life, i ask. of course, they answer. rule for life, i ask. please rule for life, i ask. don't say that it is for life, please don't say that it is for life, it isjust that please don't say that it is for life, it is just that there life, it isjust that there is not a limit for the life, it isjust that there is not a limit forthe numberof life, it isjust that there is not a limit for the number of terms. but whatever you call it, the change means that he can rule china for as long as he wants. he was the first to cast his ballot. the applause further proof of the inevitability of the result. at almost 3000 delegates, only two voted against. past, the announcer says, and this man's hold on power now becomes both com plete man's hold on power now becomes both complete and indefinite. —— passed. the cost of opposition to the rule of xijinping can be high. i am shown papers left behind by a husband, a lawye

abc's bob woodruff in beijing. >> china is a player again and this could have a big impact on many negotiationsthe question is, will this help the u.s. or north korea? >> reporter: the visit only confirmed overnight, and the white house said they see it as evidence the campaign of maximum pressure is working, a sentiment echoed by the south korean unification minister. but just as the word of the meeting spread, "the new york times" out with these satellite images that show a new nuclear reactor in use. north korea insists it's intended to produce electricity but the technology could also be used to make one of the main fuels for nuclear weapons. kim is expected to meet with the south korean president next month and in discussions to hold talks with president trump in may. if that meeting happens, it will be the first ever face-to-face between a sitting u.s. president and a north korean leader. live in washington, serena marshall, abc news. kenneth, diane. >> many will be looking to see what comes out of that meeting if it does, in fact, happen. serena marshall for us. thanks, serena. >>> presi

can make that happen there are no opinion polls in china so it's not possible to gauge what the public thinks about all of this a few people in beijing though were willing to share their views and surprisingly they weren't all positive so what they want to know why it will be honest. this hasn't happened in china or other countries before if you change the constitution it is that is back to the old days when i living backwards. he should be president for more than two terms even he serves seeks i would support him. china today is a one party state dominated now by one man adrian brown al jazeera beijing now a story shows it's never too late to get started on social media when seventy five year old. living in brazil he started using instagram to keep in touch with his grandsons in south korea states it started as a small family project but after less than three years and now has more than three hundred thousand followers around the world. each. my name is lieutenant i draw pictures from my grandchildren and post them on instagram every day. when we lived in brazil i used to drive my grand kids to and from school then move to south kor

state media have confirmed north korean president kimjong—un did meet xijinping this week in beijing. chinan be resolved south korea and the united states respond to with goodwill. the russian government has reacted angrily to nato's expulsion of seven russian diplomats based at its brussels headquarters. it's the latest response to the nerve agent attack in britain. and this video is trending on bbc.com. it's a wedding which didn't exactly go to plan. a barn owl was the ring—bearer and while it made it down the aisle after its first landing on the best man, things go wrong. you can see the entire video at bbc.com. that's all from me for now. stay with bbc news. and the top story here in the uk:

made the comment after north korean leader kim jong un met with chinese president xi jinping in beijing china's foreign ministry said kim had pledged his commitment to denuclearize ation. british police a russian act spicy and his daughter will likely poisoned at the home investigators find a high concentration of not.

made the comment after north korea and the kim jong un met with chinese president xi jinping in beijing china's foreign ministry said kim had pledged his commitment to denuclearize asian.

made the comment after north korean leader kim jong un met with chinese president xi jinping in beijing china's foreign ministry said kim had pledged his commitment to denuclearize asian.

made the comments after north korea and the kim jong un met with chinese president xi jinping in beijing china's foreign ministry said kim had pledged his commitment to denuclearize ation. british police say a russian expert. and his daughter. home investigators find a high concentration of nerve agent.

can make that happen there are no opinion polls in china so it's not possible to gauge what the public thinks about all of this a few people in beijing though were willing to share their views and surprisingly they weren't all positive. when they were out of miami or dallas. this hasn't happened in china or other countries before if you change the constitution itis that is back to the old days when i living back when. he should be president for more than two terms even he serves seeks i would support him. china today is a one party state dominated now by one man adrian brown al-jazeera beijing protesters have taken to the streets of london calling for gender equality ahead of international women's day on thursday dubbed march for women the aim is to highlight the inequality women and girls face around the world the cities their city can with atlee event he's vowing to make london the best city in the world to be a woman. and the oscars will be getting underway in a few hours time an event that's usually filled with skill and the celebration of the year's big screen successes but this year's ceremony has been overshadowed by sexual ha

can make that happen there are no opinion polls in china so it's not possible to gauge what the public thinks about all of this a few people in beijing though were willing to share their views and surprisingly they weren't all positive. when they were out of miami or janice. this hasn't happened in china or other countries before if you change the constitution itis that it's back to the old days when i living back when. he should be president for more than two terms even he serves seeks i would support him. china today is a one party state dominated now by one man adrian brown al jazeera beijing germans are awaiting the final result of a referendum that could end months of political deadlock votes cast by hundreds of thousands of members of the social democratic party are being counted and the result is expected within the next hour or so to decide whether the party joins a government coalition led by chancellor angela merkel dominic kane reports. thursday night in leipzig and for the social democrats the hot topic is coalition across germany the party members are deciding if they want to work with anger merkel's christian democrats

made the comments after north korea and the kim jong un met with chinese president xi jinping in beijing china's foreign ministry said kim had pledged his commitment to denuclearize ation. british police a russian expert i say his daughter likely poisoned at the home investigators found a high concentration of another.

can make that happen there are no opinion polls in china so it's not possible to gauge what the public thinks about all of this a few people in beijing though were willing to share their views and surprisingly they weren't all positive. when they were out of miami or janice. this has happened in china or other countries before if you change the constitution itis that it's back to the old days when i living back when. he should be president for more than two terms even he serves seeks i would support him. china today is a one party state dominated now by one man adrian brown al-jazeera beijing south korea has announced plans for a special envoy to go to north korea on monday the invitation was this year by the sister of north korea's leader when she attended the winter olympics mcbride has more from seoul. the delegation is being led by two ministry level intelligence officials one of them an expert in u.s. korean relations the other an expert in into korean relations so it seems this delegation has a jewel purpose first of all of exploring the possibility of dialogue between pyongyang and washington but also looking at what is the ne

can make that happen there are no opinion polls in china so it's not possible to gauge what the public thinks about all of this a few people in beijing though were willing to share their views and surprisingly they weren't all positive. when they were out of miami or janice. this hasn't happened in china or other countries before if you change the constitution itis that it's back to the old days you know living back when. he should be president for more than two terms even he serves seeks i would support him. china today is a one party state dominated now by one man adrian brown al jazeera beijing. the red carpet has been rolled out for hollywood's biggest night of the year and nine tear through our new york cademy awards are due to begin shortly in los angeles this year's awards have been overshadowed by claims of sexual harassment and call see more women represented in the industry meanwhile the shape of water leaves the oscars race with thirteen nominations and all eyes will be on best director regret a go and it's the only female nominee for her film. o'connell's has more on the red carpet. well there's a lot of excitement here o

our china correspondent, john sudworth, reports from beijing. china'sg to hand unlimited power to its president. and there could be no doubting the outcome. "should xijinping rule for life," i ask. "of course," they answer. please don't say that it is for life, it is just that there is not a limit for the number of terms. but whatever you call it, the change means that he can rule china for as long as he wants. he was the first to cast his ballot. the applause, further proof of the inevitability of the result. out of almost 3000 delegates, only two voted against. " passed , " the announcer says, and this man's hold on power now becomes both complete and indefinite. the cost of opposition to the rule of xijinping can be high. i am shown papers left behind by her husband, a lawyer, who recently wrote an open letter calling for democratic elections. he is now being detained for subversion. translation: he did everything within the boundaries of the law, yet it's not allowed here. now, many people are afraid of speaking up. what's been the effect on you and

spending is going to the rest of regions of tibet and gen scott heil has more on this now from beijing. china has more people than any other nation in the world and the government is now spending billions of dollars more for internal security and to keep a close eye on that one point four billion people according to a report out by the u.s. based jamestown foundation nearly two hundred billion dollars was spent on domestic security and surveillance last year that's about twenty percent more than china spends on its defense that's more on technology cameras and face recognition but it's also the hiring of many more police domestic security spending has been increasing the last several years outpacing the economy it rose more than twelve percent last year and in two thousand and sixteen it increased nearly eighteen percent in the st john region there's been an increase between two thousand and sixteen and two thousand and seventeen nearly ninety three percent of that's a region that's critical to president xi jinping silk road ambitions while the exact number of the billions spent on domestic s

made the comment after north korean leader kim jong un met with chinese president xi jinping in beijing china's foreign ministry said kim had pledged his commitment to denuclearize asian.

officials that's according to china which has just hosted the reclusive leader kim jong un was in beijing from sunday to wednesday in what china called an unofficial visit but he received almost all the trappings of a state visit including an honor guard and a banquet in the capitals the great hall of the people from beijing are china correspondent adrian brown reports for xi jinping this was a diplomatic triumph and he not u.s. president donald trump now the first world leader to meet kim jong il. chinese state controlled media waited until kim was back home before confirming what officials had tried so hard to deny just a day earlier. in the great hall of the people kim and his wife were welcomed like old friends appearance is important at times like this she opted for a business suit whereas kim stuck to the look favored by his father and grandfather the wives of both men were present during most of the photo opportunities. visits like this are all about symbolism for she it served as a reminder that china still holds sway over its neighbor and intends to be at the center of diplomatic

can make that happen there are no opinion polls in china so it's not possible to gauge what the public thinks about all of this a few people in beijing though were willing to share their views and surprisingly they weren't all positive is that what they wanted of my old honest. this hasn't happened in china or other countries before if you change the constitution itis that it's back to the old days when i living back when. he should be president for more than two terms even he serves seeks i would support him. china today is a one party state dominated now by one man adrian brown al-jazeera beijing an indian navy sailboat with an all female crew is approaching the end of its journey round the world the seventy me to vessel set out from india in september and sailed into cape town on friday with its six crew members on board the team will finish their epic journey at the indian quarter. just the fact russian olympic athletes dogs running in the world's most famous sled race have tested positive for a banned painkiller the iditarod race started in the anchorage in alaska shelob ellis has more on the controversy. the. sled dogs and thei

ending of the annual people's congress in beijing china's government has pledged six and a half percent growth for this year as it continues its conversion from low cost mass production to advanced technology china's leaders also had a clear message for the u.s. at the start of the people's congress the company plans to open itself even further to world trade siamese prime minister leaking kyung said that import tariffs on cars and other consumer goods will be reduced despite the prospect of higher u.s. imports tariffs. and that's all for me it's back to late i was some rob sad sports news was very sad indeed keratin italian soccer also matches were stoned on sunday after italian international the obvious story was found dead in a hotel including that the captain if you can see now died of a sudden illness believed to be a cardiac arrest stories death has shocked the nation. poignant messages for a local hero this one simply reads good bye captain gates to fear and tina's stadium and now a makeshift shrine of stories death at the age of thirty one has united italian football and grief t

new spending is going to the rest of regions of tibet and shin jang scott hyla has more from beijing. china has more people than any other nation in the world and the government is now spending billions of dollars more for internal security and to keep a close eye on that one point four billion people according to a report out by the u.s. based jamestown foundation nearly two hundred billion dollars was spent on domestic security and surveillance last year that's about twenty percent more than china spends on its defense that's more on technology cameras and face recognition but it's also the hiring of many more police domestic security spending has been increasing the last several years outpacing the economy it rose more than twelve percent last year and in two thousand and sixteen it increased nearly eighteen percent in the st john region there's been an increase between two thousand and sixteen and two thousand and seventeen nearly ninety three percent now that's a region that's critical to president xi jinping silk road ambitions while the exact number of the billions spent on domestic

heather: history made in beijing. chinaa top-secret sitdown with north korean dictator kim jong un. what this means for the talks between the leader of the rogue regime and donald trump. >> i started yesterday posting names and dates of release of all our inmates, if you are going to arrest me you better have some good charges. heather: sanctuary

reminder that china still holds sway over its neighbor and intends to be at the center of diplomatic efforts to achieve a nuclear free korean peninsula. it's not clear what made him come to beijing or indeed what incentives he may have been offered to do so but china remains north korea's only real friend and ally so it's fair to assume the president xi jinping might want to know what kim's negotiating strategy will be during his upcoming summit with president trump. and kim's visit made it possible for china to know what north korea will be talking about to south korea and the united states in his discussions on the nuclearization china has also learned what north korea's demands will be which will help china. india it's a visit that would have seemed unimaginable just a few months ago where north korea was ignoring chinese appeals for restraint at an exhibition showcasing some of china's technological achievements the message appeared to be we can help you with all of this if you behave. china's leaders are fond of metaphors that a lavish banquet she told his guest that in the beautiful season of spring everything comes to life kim replied i believe our meeting will yield abun

job for life he said i'm only on national people's congress is holding its annual conference in beijing china correspondent adrian brown reports. tiananmen square has been the setting for some of the most of fining moments in recent chinese history not all of them peaceful now a new political drama is unfolding this carefully choreographed gathering involves almost three thousand delegates and almost as many journalists like parliament the media in china is controlled by the party offering uniform coverage of the national people's congress normally last for ten days but this year it's being extended by five days possibly to give delegates more time to discuss proposed changes to china's constitution which could mean she jingping being president for life the issue is overshadowing this congress but most delegates we spoke to didn't want to talk about it i don't want to discuss it i asked them he said. and no comment from him either. party discipline though would ensure the amendment is passed that. those capable people should stay in their posts as long as possible. to their decision is made b

with the chinese government and one extreme example. 2013, joe biden flys oaf in air force two to/beijing chinas no background in priecht equity and joe biden negotiates with the chinese and he's socht on/beijing and ten days later, hunter scores a 1.5 billion with a b private equity deal from the chinese government. this is american princeling and are multiple examples in the book. >> lou: the south china sea. china is building out the artificial islands and continue uninterrupted by the obama administration and not until president trump takes office. destroyers to do overflight and tripe to stop the further construction. islands, it is appalling and selling out the national. and that's what they are doing. >> specifically to that point, lou. there is rosemont realty that involves john kerry's step down and hunter biden and devon archer. rosemont realty does a major deal with a chinese company that is control would by the fifth arm. chinese navy. and stou you have a military related company buying in to a company that is owned by the decision makers in washington d.c. it is it outrageous. >> a

offset to be imposed on friday what does that mean for china's open door policy but china's national people's congress beijing still insisted it will treat chinese and international companies just the say. life can be tough full foreign companies in china this little security for intellectual property and technology transfers are regularly demanded of all who want to do business there those are the main complaints but beijing is having none of it at the end of the annual parliament session and during the current trade conflict china's premier spoke of his country's welcoming economic culture the war china will continue to safeguard free trade and the reform and open up policy which is our basic state policy if there were any change a tool to china's open door policy it would just be to open it wider china's economy has been so integrated with the worlds that closing our door would block our own development. furthermore all companies in china should receive a fair chance and everyone foreign businesses included should work to the same rules china sees itself as a pioneer of free open trade but is that just tal

invitation to visit north korea and told kim he was welcome to visit china again the visitors left happy adrian brown al-jazeera beijing. well china and north korea have a mutual defense treaty signed decades ago but chinese leaders have tried to convince their neighbors to stop developing nuclear bombs the chinese government led seven years of negotiations alone a six party talks to dismantle off korea's nuclear program after kim jong un took power in two thousand and eleven the chinese were surprised by the purge of several more koreans with close links to china including kim's uncle jang song taek or come and get his chinese allies with missile and nuclear bomb tests and china suspended coal and iron imports from the north last year china's overall trade with north korea declined by more than ten percent in two thousand and seventeen and that appears to be a major economic blow considering china accounts for almost ninety percent of total trade. well let's bring in our panel now from saul carroll the director of n.k. news a new site focused on north korea from beijing on a tank and an investment banker and advisor t

catholic church it's been that way for centuries never more so than now adrian brown al-jazeera beijing. china has claimed fears the space station could pose a danger to humans when it crashes back to earth the tangoing one orbiting laboratory is expected to reenter the atmosphere in the next forty eight hours the beijing can't say exactly when or where no one has heavenly palace one it's been drifting as of controls of two years the ten have me so long launched in two thousand and eleven to carry out docking orbit experience. can we go to the crisis. china is taking the tiangong ones re entry into the atmosphere seriously dealing with the situation in accordance with the related international conventions and in the spirit of responsibility we continually been informing the united nations space agency with the latest information about the tiangong and we have been open and transparent if there is a need we will probably be in touch with the relevant country virtually as a factories and autonomy parts are amongst the innovations on the spray and industrial exhibition in seoul south korean gover

the north korean leader, kim jong—un, did travel in a special train for talks with china's president xijingping in beijinggo. china's state news agency reports mr kim said his government is committed to denuclearisation, of the entire peninsular, notjust the north. in the latest diplomatic response to the nerve agent attack on a former russian spy living in the uk, nato has expelled seven russian diplomats from its headquarters in brussels. 25 countries have now taken similar action. russia's foreign minister sergei lavrov has said moscow will respond in kind. russia's president, vladimir putin, has declared a national day of mourning for the 64 people killed in a fire at a shopping centre in siberia on sunday. people in kemerovo have been protesting over what mr putin called "criminal negligence". now on bbc news, stephen sackur is in geneva for the latest episode of hardtalk.

china has repeatedly vowed to retaliate if the u.s. puts up trade barriers. has more on this now from beijing from shanghai china on thursday reiterated that they will defend their interests at all costs and they have said in the past that it's unrealistic that the trade between the two nations being a requirement that it's even that's something that donald trump is trying to do now in the past they have said if there is any tariffs coming from the united states they will retaliate it's been reported that the retaliation is probably going to be kind of slow and steady and overarching but we really won't know exactly what that kind of retaliation is based on what was announced in washington until friday at the very earliest. donald trump's tyrus is one of the issues topping the agenda in brussels a european union leaders have gathered for a summit leaders are also discussing trade jobs competitiveness breaks it and the nerve agent attack on a russian film a spine person the u.k. prime minister to resign may's leaders to unite and condemn russia after accusing the kremlin of targeting sergei sc

socialism chinese characteristics into the law more now from our correspondent adrian brown in beijing. china's national people's congress doesn't do surprises so the outcome of this vote was never really in doubt two thousand nine hundred fifty eight delegates voted to amend the constitution there were three abstentions and two opposed to these changes now that is probably token opposition that's often orchestrated the times like this to give a veneer of transparency but certainly president xi jinping has got his way back in october of course president she's name was in shrine in the constitution making him the most powerful leader since chairman mao president xi jinping has one priority right now and that is to overhaul china's communist party to make it that the purpose of what we're also seeing is not so much a one party state as one man rule president xi jinping is not just president he's also head of the military as well as party chief but a lot of people are asking why the president is doing this now because he's only just into the second term of his presidency he perhaps wants to send a

it is not just for steel and aluminum, pork imports as well bid is with response from beijing. chinag legal action against the u.s. under the wto framework, so we are hearing plenty of action from the china response this morning. betty: we are. it is swift right now and we what or howe to see many more will be added on. in washington, the senate executive -- is expected to vote on a $1.3 trillion spending bill that would avert a government shutdown, increase funding for the military, border security and other domestic programs. the budget director hasn't said that president trump will sign the bill. joining us now is dan college or nd teacher of public policy at georgetown university, working for many years as a budget aide. lawmakers have a lot on their plate, everything from the ta riffs, facebook and now the budget deal. before we get to the budget, i need to ask about the tariffs and how you think congress is going to react to what the president announced today. stan: we've already seen on the republican side, which is where it counts, we have seen negative or people whogs should

-china trade tensions were top of the agenda at a gathering of business leaders, policy makers, and academics in beijing . we are covering the chinese development forum, which wraps up later today. what interesting times. what is the mood there? : certainly interesting times for these western executives to be in china. this is a forum where they get to meet policymakers and to try to get a feel for the direction of travel and how china's lawmakers are making their decisions on a whole range of issues. of course, the trade tensions are dominating the discussions, as you said. it is very much of the view that we have been getting from executives and academics that we are speaking to, that there is a growing sense of concern about the trajectory of the u.s.-china ties, but also a need for the corporates here to understand the implications of the tariffs being imposed by the trump administration, exactly what sectors and products they are going to target so they can better position themselves for the potential acceleration in response from china. that's something else people have been commenting on, the fac