the grand scheme of things but it's a drop that could become a waterfall singapore's singapore's not for its waterfall singapore's singapore's not or so there are people looking to put assets here in singapore so there are people looking to put assets here in singapore some people worry that if something happens in china it could negatively affect on time people worry that if something happens in china it could negatively affect hong kong people don't have that fear of singapore singapore doesn't have an income people don't have that fear of singapore singapore doesn't have a neighbor they could to they could ruin it singapore doesn't have anybody who can tell it what to do a birth they could to they could ruin it singapore doesn't have anybody who can tell it what to do singapore doesn't have a neighbor who can take guesses away it's not just talking kong's finance sector singapore doesn't have a neighbor who can take gases away it's not just hong kong's finance sector that's taken a blow either tourism to singapore has jumped significantly since the outer that's taken a blow either tourism to singapore has jump

singapore singapore doesn't have a neighbor good to singapore doesn't have anybody who can tell it what to do singapore doesn't have a neighbor who can in singapore doesn't have anybody who can tell it what to do singapore doesn't have a neighbor who can take guesses away it's not just talking kong's finance sector that's taken a blow either today gases away it's not just talking kong's finance sector that's taken a blow either tourism to singapore has jumped significantly since the outbreak of violence and many more ism to singapore has jumped significantly since the outbreak of violence and many members of hong kong's elite are even considering packing up and moving out to this embers of hong kong's elite are even considering packing up and moving out to the cities competitor why well perhaps they value security more than cities competitor why well perhaps they value security more than they do their own freedom in the future or anybody considering when they do their own freedom in the future or anybody consider. moving assets to a show or having a presence in asia i doubt if they will

great grand scheme of things but it's a drop that could become a waterfall singapore's singapore's not become a waterfall singapore's singapore is not for or r.p. so there are people going to look assets and say assets here in singapore some people worry that if starting some happens it will china or it negative that if something happens in china it could negatively affect hong kong people don't have that fear of singapore they were saying avoid effect hong kong people don't have that fear of singapore singapore doesn't have unearthed a birth to the. point so this thing and put it back into the until it but you can tell it what to do singapore doesn't have a neighbor who can take guesses away it's not just hong kong what to do singapore doesn't have a neighbor who can take guesses away it's not just talking kong's finance i know. that he can stay but you can always go either tours or ism to support or has has jumped significantly since the out since violence and mentor any member of. any members of hong kong's elite are even considering. and moving and moving opting out of this of the cities he's competitor why. wel

to affect hong kong people don't have that fear of singapore singapore doesn't have a neighbor it could to they could ruin it singapore doesn't have anybody who can tell it what doesn't have a neighbor it could to they could ruin it singapore doesn't have anybody who can tell it what to do singapore doesn't have a neighbor who can take gases away it's not just hong kong's food do singapore doesn't have a neighbor who can take gases away it's not just hong kong's finance sector that's taken a blow either tourism to singapore has jumped significantly finance sector that's taken a blow either tourism to singapore has jumped significantly since we see some doubts the violence has met i mean many many members of the hong kong hong kong elite are even. even considering packed up packing and up moving and now to the cities competing add up to their cities to wonder why well perhaps they value security more than they do their own freedom in the future perhaps they value security more than they do their own freedom in the future anybody considering moving assets to asia or having a president or anybody considering moving asset

singapore singapore registered many times more so something doesn't add up but the government has never commented on this. and that sound used to be something that never ran out but now it's become a sought after resource and the foundation of the wealth of cities. now is the. taxi the future of public transport the germans. think so tested one of its flying taxis in singapore. to test flight in singapore involved a pilot but the final version will be able to fly without one of all a coptic can travel up to 110 kilometers an hour carrying 2 passengers and their luggage bill to cover short distances it can stay in the air for 30 minutes the company believes its biggest market will be cities like jakarta and bangkok which suffer from intense traffic congestion. many of the world's largest biggest cities are in asia so obviously this is an aftermarket price and we see great progress on the side of the authorities off you know making new modes of transportation available so asia is a natural fit for proper. fall a cop who says the service will likely appeal to business travelers eager to save time but is hoping that the general public will one day. be able to afford it to. the follow up there is an electric power drone which runs on 18 brochures as a result it's much quieter than helicopters which require fuel. to german startup is backed by car maker di miller

reason to start looking to the cities southern competitor singapore hong kong's recent i'm dressed i have seen singapore starbright souter singapore hong kong's recent undressed i have seen singapore starbright furtive the tourists investors and xpect the 4000000000 as an egg interesting for tourists investors and xpect the 4000000000 as an egg interesting number especially in the hong kong monetary authority earlier this week already said that the out in number especially in the hong kong monetary authority earlier this week already said that the outflows have been more than the most in more than a year both cities have a lot in common as have been more than the most in more than a year both cities have a lot in common on the surface they're both financial centers people speak english . and on the surface they're both financial centers people speak english. when it comes. when it comes to attracting foreign investment though the 2 cities are like night and day hong kong as it is to attracting foreign investment though the 2 cities are like night and day hong kong's advantage was always its democratic system that protected the pro

singapore state. singapore singapore is not or. so there are p.r. people. looking to put a sad sets it here and there and singapore for some time people worry that if some something thing happens it should china and it could. take it to really affect on come calm the people that i don't have that that fear of singapore or singapore or doesn't have a neighbor it could to ruin its own singapore to have been in a if you can tell it could to they could ruin it singapore doesn't have anybody who can tell it what to do singapore doesn't have a neighbor who can take guesses away it's not just hong kong what to do singapore doesn't have a neighbor who can take guesses away it's not just hong kong's finance sector that's taken a blow either tourism to singapore has jumped significance finance sector that's taken a blow either tourism to singapore has jumped significantly since the outbreak of violence and many members of hong kong's elite are even consistently since the outbreak of violence and many members of hong kong's elite are even considering packing up and mov

scheme of things but it's a drop that could become a waterfall singapore's singapore's not or so there are people saying of course singapore is not or so there are people. going to. ask there in that 6 year it will be some people worry that if free happened something has shined up and because it it could negatively really of the effect on . you but i don't have that fear of singapore or sinking aboard a boat as it when they when they could it could that they could they couldn't singapore doesn't have it singapore but it doesn't have anybody that you can contain tell it what to do you know billboards or doesn't have a neighbor who can take gases away in a. line and they get there that's a can way it's not just hong kong's finance sector that's taken a blow either. singapore has something singapore or jumps a significant. break in the violence and many members of hong kong's elite are receiving and commencing measuring. thing up and was elite are even considering packing up and moving out to move to the scouting paddock to the weis and well water ops i think values security well perhaps they value security more the more than

singapore possible are the first pastors ranger come on board? monica miller takes fight. from a dream to reality. this fight went on for a little over two minutes. it is a test run for singapore's regulators. for volocopter, a test run for singapore'sr to selling their invention in cities like los angeles, dubai, and singapore. it is not going to replace a car in general but it is going to be your transportation mode of choice for particular routes we have extreme time savings. of choice for particular routes we have extreme time savingsm of choice for particular routes we have extreme time savings. it used to be something you would only see m, to be something you would only see in, books or we hope it is not going to be exciting at all. we hope it will be a centre from transferjust likejumping ina will be a centre from transferjust like jumping in a cab sub at every volocopter needs a helipad. in this case, its partners skype ports built a prototype. the porch as a side of singapore is business district. kind ofa singapore is business district. kind of a hybrid between airport and going for a taxi. the first thing you're going to do check in. and even before you get to the porch, they already have your information in place. and on

were the likes of vietnam in thailand have tax rates of for a 20 percent singapore singapore 15 percent 1570 percent 15 percent tax rate in is really going to boost the business competitiveness with regards to other economies in terms of attracting investment to the country but the tax cuts actually benefit the wider economy is that trickle down effect to all the cuts really cost on the shareholders. well i mean if you look at where the main focus of those tax cuts are and it's in terms of attracting manufacturing investments. the hope is that we would if these companies start to invest generally manufacturing the manufacturing sector is much more labor intensive than any services industries can can provide in terms of jobs so i think there will be some trickle down to eventually to to the labor force once these investments come in it's not going to be this move this process but i mean there's a lot of scope there for for the labor for in this labor market to shift from still primarily a heavily agricultural sector centric workforce if you look at the latest it just takes 44 percent of

singapore airlines singapore to new york both more than 9000 miles and more than 18 hours qantas is another long haul flight comes in 3rd that is the london to perth which is over 17 hours so we've got aviation analyst jeffrey thomas with us now in perth actually editor in chief of airline ratings dot com nice to have you with us jeffrey we have had some trouble convincing some of our colleagues here that this is actually a really interesting infallible story but i'll take the point that if we're talking about 17 and 18 hour flights them 1920 is is it that big of a step up. well look it's not next a very good point and to the point of how popular this is the perth to london service which is nonstop of course as we know the large sector of the quantas is achieving on that slide is 92 percent and in premium class is 94 percent so it's extremely popular and people are there's enough people eyeing a bit more of a premium. and people an economy premium economy also is the best way to go they really like it because there are people who just want to go nonstop and there are people who want to stop so you know this there's enough market there for both products and services the certainly more and more nonstop xeroxing up the boeing 787 which is just the perfect size which qatar airways has about 60 yards it's a perfect size airplane so these norms these new nonstop routes and since it was introduced into service the 787 has opened up almost 200 new routes that were never served before so you know the economics of the airplane. and the fact that it can do these nonstop flights is really ticking boxes but then for example singapore stopped their long flight their singapore to newark in new jersey or that the new york area effect of late and then restarted it i mean is there enough demand for these long haul flights particularly as andrew thomas a reporter pointed out in economy class. i look at your very good point again and the reason that singapore airlines stuck that service was because they were using the wrong sort of a crocodile using 834508 foreign generic line the economics didn't stack up now started it with the i 35900 again that airplane that kataria why it was the 1st week juice. pioneering in that space that airplane is perfect for the routes far far more economical bring about 40 percent less you makes the route work so but yes to go to the economy equation they do need more room in economy and that's what quantised plans to do with either the ice free $51000.00 or the triple 7 x. which every airplane they decide for this project sunrise this is the sydney to london and new york to sydney route ser

singapore, how might qe look if you need a cutie of some form? ravi: we have a fair amount of policy space without having to think about qe. haslinda: in may, the u.s. treasury put singapore for the first time on the watchlist for monetary practices, currency practices and by rule, in its upcoming report, it will list singaporeur take on whether that has been a misunderstanding on how singapore carries out its currency practices? we've been in close touch with the u.s. treasury on this, very good conversations, exchange of views, keeping close touch. the understand how our monetary policy works and in the report, i think there is an that in a small open economy, the exchange rate matters more than the interest rate and we have chosen to target the exchange rate. that means sometimes you have to intervene in both directions. haslinda: given the uncertainty or unpredictability of the trump administration, is there concern that can be used in a trade war, for instance? ravi: we actually run a trade deficit with the united states, so they ought not to be a complaint on that front. i don't see this becoming an issue and we know where they are coming from. the understand what their concerns are. they understand where we are operating from, so i am pretty hopeful that being named in the report is one thing, but whe

sour bloomberg markets asia, we discussed asian infrastructure and economy with the singapore miniature -- singaporeinister. this is bloomberg. everyone uses their phone differently. that's why xfinity mobile lets you design your own data. you can share 1, 3, or 10 gigs of data between lines, mix in lines of unlimited, and switch it up at any time. all with millions of secure wifi hotspots and the best lte everywhere else. it's a different kind of wireless network, designed to save you money. switch and save up to $400 a year on your wireless bill. plus, get $250 back when you buy an eligible phone. that's simple. easy. awesome. call, click, or visit a store today. ♪ ♪ i am taylor riggs in san francisco. this is "bloomberg technology." in the next hour, a new high for tesla deliveries but not meeting elon musk's lofty predictions. we break down the numbers. and the meatless burger craze looks here to stay. we have a exclusive conversation with the ceo

singapore: from a dream to reality. this flight went on for a little over two minutes. it's a test run for singapore's regulators. for volocopter, it gets the company one step closer to selling their invention in cities like los angeles, dubai and singaporeeral way, but it's going to be your transformation mode of choice for particular routes where you have extreme time savings. it used to be something you would only see in comic books or sci—fi movies. every volocopter needs a helipad. in this case, its partner, skyports, built a prototype, the voloport, just outside singapore's central business district. but even with the right technology in place, how tough could it be to win the public‘s trust and confidence? i'd like to try anything once, but i don't know how safe it would be. at first, i thought there's not a chance i would get in that. it didn't look safe, but i suppose it'll get better in time. volocopter plans to launch its air taxi service by 2022. it's competing with more than 100 companies already developing similar aircraft. it's all down to various regulators to decide not if, but when this new mode of transportation becomes part of everyday life. no, iam no, i am not getting no, iam not getting in no, i am not getting in o

singapore. in london and singapore. this is bbc world news. you are watching newsday. it's 8am in singapore in the morning here in britain, where investigations are continuing into the deaths of 39 people whose bodies were found in the trailer of a lorry, about 30 kilometres outside of london. it's not known who they are or where they came from, one was a teenager. the lorry driver who's from northern ireland, has been arrested on suspicion of murder. our special correspondent ed thomas has this report. just before 1.40am, paramedics call police. the doors of the lorry container had been opened. inside, 39 bodies. 39 lives. people with hopes and ambitions. the youngest was a teenager. that's tragic. absolutely terrible. yeah, such a shame. obviously trying to get over here for a better life. it is heartbreaking for me. feels very sorry for them. it's horrible. it's quite difficult to believe that's happening quite close to the place where you are working every day for many years. we've obtained this cctv from 1.13am this morning. close to where it was found, the lorry passes at speed. the f

we had gdp data out of singapore showing singapore missed a recession.see a bit of movement in the sing dollar on the back of the fact the central bank eased for the first time since 2016 and suggested further easing. i want to look at this chart which is showing what we are seeing in car sales. i mentioned the trade data, looking ahead to gdp friday but this is showing how the consumer is faring in china and auto sales were down in september, the 15th month of declines out of 16. the only time we have seen an carease since mid-2018 sales was in june. we saw discounts offered to consumers. this despite of course the fact the government is trying to boost consumption. asian stocks higher after the u.s. and china agreed on the outline of a partial trade deal. purchaseset to double and agreed to certain ip measures. washington pledged to delay a tariff increase. president trump said the phase one of the deal will be signed soon touting the possibility of a broader agreement. that is the latest data out of china showing a bigger than expected in the exports.

take a look here are some of the longest flight say you are already in operation so singapore airlines will go from singapore to new york city nonstop about 18 and a half hours not that far behind really you see a few of the other ones here emirates for example will go between dubai and auckland in about 17 hours and 20 minutes i mean the point here is this better planes better technology are helping airlines to go even farther nonstop better aerodynamics better efficiency mean the key is fuel i mean that's what's limits seeing these planes and. why we heard less than 50 passengers could be on a plane just because of the sheer weight it uses more fuel in fact the earliest that quantas says this new flights could maybe go full capacity would be there 2022 say obviously it's fantastic technology it was but of course people have to be willing to do it oh well i was born in australia i've lived that several years i've done those long haul flights and want to do that for $19.00 oh this is this is like i know you'll from california you've done it as well do we do we want to be stuck in an airplane for that long i

you other flights that are that are already going now singapore airlines can go from singapore to new york city nonstop you know 1818 and a half hours so really not that far behind couldn't more airways phys all kinda doha in just under 18 hours another quantas fly do my nose one perth to london takes 17 hours and 20 minutes and emirates will go dubai in auckland about the same time the thing is you're miss all about the technologies of planes are getting more and more efficient more aerodynamic but they're still not quite there yet quanta says for this newest flight to really be operational and carry a full load it won't be available to the year 2022 right so maybe in time for my next trip home or not in time for mine that i might go to europe from australia and california were used to this kind of long flight but 19 hours and would you do that when you sit on the flight 1000 hours nonstop i don't know when that one from london to was announced i have to say what in 17 hours and i thought 70 miles and fight you must be joking but now having no time to make that stop i mean i wonder i

documentation and found that come bode you claim to be sending only small amounts of sand to singapore but according to singapore it imported many times that quantity it doesn't add up but the government has never commented on it that in cambodia since used to be something that never ran out now it's a valuable resource of vital material in the construction of booming asian cities. and cities are where it sat for many seeking a more prosperous life big urban centers around the world a bursting of the scenes for car suggested by 2050 up to 2 thirds of the global population will live in large cities and that has a knock on effect in the countryside villages the dying out many places are seeing a rural exodus of unprecedented proportions how can village life be made appealing again one russian entrepreneur is trying to help. welcome to my lead to dish a small village deep in the ural mountains only 20 houses are inhabited there used to be 500 people living here now there are only 50 it's one of the many thousands of villages in russia that was dying out. but then they came to the rescue i may be small and look like

singapore. also in the programme: singing. vigils in vietnam, for some of the 39 people found dead in a refrigerated lorry on the outskirts of london. and looking differently at stamford raffles, founder of modern singapore — an artist takes a more critical view of his place in history. announcer: live from our studios in singaporeondon. this is bbc world news, it's newsday. it's midnight here in london, 8:00 in the morning in singapore and 8:00 in the evening in washington, where president trump says the leader of the islamic state group has died after a military operation conducted by us special forces. abu bakr al—baghdadi had been described as the world's most wanted man, and mr trump said capturing or killing him had been the top national security priority of his administration. al—baghdadi is said to have detonated an explosive vest, as his compound came under attack. here's our middle east editorjeremy bowen. the sound and flame of battle lasted around four hours, witnesses in the village told the bbc. in the morning, boys on their way to school checked out the rubble. they're from a new generation violentjihadists might try to recruit. nothing was left of the house where baghdadi and his family had been staying. translation: the heli went down and fired. soldiers rode down on the helis, on two sides, we

singapore goldman sachs reported that up to $4000000000.00 have moved out of the city over to singapore over the last 3 months local currency deposits fell to 1.6 percent the biggest drop of 2019 now the monetary authority has singapore reported that foreign currency deposits in singapore have risen to $9300000000.00 as of august it is the known as a reserve of the east as they are drawn to its low taxes as well as the rate highly rated schools and hospitals singapore is not only welcoming hong kong is but also their assets and also india is looking at it as well over $7000.00 indian millionaires left the country over the last 12 months over fears about wealth drain and capital controls recently capital controls have gone worse in india as the reserve bank of india has restricted withdrawal access to $137.00 branches amid fraud allegations major bank punjab and maha has been put under regulatory restrictions last week which includes limiting withdrawals 210000 rupees for 6 months and this has sparked protests and outrage among depositors who question if any bank is safe at all the r.b.i. now attempted to calm the situation with a statement saying that the indian banking system is safe and stable but no one is buying

singapore, the straits times says that all of western singapore is going to become a testing ground for self—driving vehicles as the country moves towards autonomous cars. to trending now and rats are sparking discussions online? yes, let's looks at what is trending right now. you've heard of the "rat—run" but how about the "rat—drive"? yes — these rats are driving tony cars. the researchers were investigating stress levels, and found the rats that drove themselves were less stressed than the "back seat" drivers being controlled by the scientists. on friday the climb to the top of uluru, the famous red rock in central australia, will close. indigenous people have long asked tourists not to scale the ancient sandstone monolith because of its spiritual significance. but the closure of the climb isn't universally popular. the bbc‘s phil mercer reports from uluru. rising from the desert, uluru is breathtaking. indigenous australians say it has a power and a spirituality like nowhere else. but these visitors are here to do more thanjust look. thousands have poured in for the chance to reach the summit for one last time before the climb closes for good. i pushed a trip back that i wanted to do down the track in life but pushed it forward to get up here now. i know it was closing down so i wanted to be the last one up there. i want to have a look. local community leaders have long requested that tourists do not climb. right now, there are hundreds and hundreds of people climbing to the top of uluru. they have been queueing here since the early morning and indigenous elders say they would prefer us not to show any pictures of those tourists climbing on the steep track to my right. the reason for that is they believe those images would be culturally insensitive. and many of the visitors who ignore pleas from community leaders to stay off the rocks are also accused of disregarding indigenous culture. all they do is just come, ignore the tradition and go straight to the climb and then go. in 1985, control of the rock was handed back to aboriginal people by the australian government. out of respect for indigenous culture, most visitors keep their feet firmly on the red desert floor. because of the fact that it is a sacred place and i don't feel like being sacrilegious! i would rather walk around. 0ver many years, the number of people wanting to climb has actually declined and before the climb closure was announced, it was less than 10% who actually climbed uluru. the closure has been divisive. some believe the choice to climb should remain. i understand it is a sensitive topic, my view is that should be for all australians and i've got no problem with people climbing it. it was a spiritual at the top and incredible and my boyfriend proposed, so it was pretty good experience! closing the climb will bring to an end years of distress for aboriginal groups. as one elder said, it is time the rock had a rest. phil mercer, bbc news. and phil mercerjoins us now. todayis today is the day the ban takes effect. telus from our huge crowds scrambling up the sacred red rock? not at the moment. it is too windy. they had a safety assessment a few hours ago and rangers deemed that it would be too dangerous to let several hundred climbers try to scale uluru. we have these assessments throughout the day and another one is doing about ten minutes' time. at the moment, you might be able to tell it is pretty windy out here in central australia, pretty warm as well. they close the climb yesterday and thursday because it was nudging a0 celsius. so there are still a few hundred people at the base of uluru who are hoping to do the climb for one last time before it closes in a few hours' time. you will be able to see uluru behind me and that is a distance of about 15 km, so even from this distance, you get the sense of how imposing this giant red rock is. amazing view behind you. thank you, phil. it's semifinal weekend at the rugby world cup with new zeland, england, south africa and wales still vying for the trophy. mariko 0i has been speakingt to brett gosper — the ceo of world rugby. she began by asking him aboutjapan hosting the tournament for the first time. it's been a fabulous tournament, fantastic atmosphere, and all the stadia really being embraced by the japanese people. the japanese teams played its role in hosting the tournament and playing so brilliantly and the brilliant brand of rugby they have been playing. it has been very exciting. as you said, japan's brave blossoms played incredibly well. but this is a country where baseball and football are more popular. were you at all concerned about having the rugby world cup injapan in asia for the first time? i think it's been a long time coming. it's been planned for ten years. it was a bold decision, taken ten years ago, to come here. although it turned out amazingly, at the time, there were some questions. it has truly exceeded our expectations for a world cup. indeed, none of my friends knew anything about rugby and now they are all experts. i've also noticed "fickle fans" trending online on social media. new and fickle fans of rugby. you said it is up tojapan to sustain these or its popularity, to sustain the popularity, but do you think the country has the infrastructure to sustain not just the popularity of the sport, but also its development? i think that is what they have to work towards. we've had a lot of meetings with them prior the world cup and through the world cup and will continue to support them beyond this world cup. to ensure they put in place that infrastructure that captures this passion and interest in a way that transforms into participation. but maintaining that fan engagement is important. it's important for the world rugby too. this really has become the third biggest commercial market for rugby behind the united kingdom and france. it is very important we retain and increase that momentum as we go forward and we have to provide opportunities for the japanese rugby to play against top teams and to keep massaging that audience that is so keen now in rugby that were not really in existence before. what is your plan to take the world cup to other countries? can they make the same impact? i think it gives us the courage to make decisions like the one that was me ten years ago. that was made ten years ago. there is no question the resilience, the size, the scale and globalness of a world cup means that the number of markets you can take it to now have increased. and of course this being a strong commercial market, the windfall is great for sport, and for us to invest back in the sport. there are other markets like the united states which have shown some interest which could be, now given this experience, very viable propositions in the future. and who knows? eventually one day back in asia with china or another market in asia, but certainlyjapan is the third—biggest rugby commercial market that would be lining up in the future to re—host the world cup. this having been such a successful and positive experience for everyone. you have been watching newsday. i'm ben bland in london. looking forward to the we matches. but i would say the big winner here has been to japan. the blossoms really took the rugby world by storm. and i'm rico hizon in singapore first air taxis take their maiden flights. going back to rico, who are you rooting for? who do you think will win? ithink rooting for? who do you think will win? i think all teams, new zealand, england, wales, and south africa all have an even chance to win. very diplomatic answer. i would say who i am supporting, but i'm hedging my bets because i have a friend from new zealand, and south africa and new zealand, and south africa and new england. whoever wins, i have a party to go to. see how i do it? and before we go, take a look at these pictures of the us gymnast, simone biles, bringing a touch of acrobatic magic ahead of game two of the mlb world series. the four—time olympic gold medallist performed a backflip before she threw out the first pitch in the second game of the world series contest between the houston astros and the washington nationals at minute maid park, in houston, texas. i hope to see you do a back flip in those jeans. maybe next i hope to see you do a back flip in

singapore, the straits times says that all of western singapore is going to become a testing ground for self—driving vehicles as the country moves towards autonomous cars. to trending now and rats are sparking discussions online? yes, let's looks at what is trending right now. you've heard of the "rat—run" but how about the "rat—drive"? yes — these rats are driving cars. well, tiny cars anyway. the researchers were investigating stress levels, and found the rats that drove themselves were less stressed than the "back seat" drivers being controlled by the scientists. on friday the climb to the top of uluru, the famous red rock in central australia, will close. indigenous people have long asked tourists not to scale the ancient sandstone monolith because of its spiritual significance. but the closure of the climb isn't universally popular. the bbc‘s phil mercer reports from uluru. rising from the desert, uluru is breathtaking. indigenous australians say it has a power and a spirituality like nowhere else. but these visitors are here to do more thanjust look. thousands have poured in for the chance to reach the summit for one last time before the climb closes for good. i pushed a trip back that i wanted to do down the track in life but pushed it forward to get up here now. i know it was closing down so i wanted to be the last one up there. i want to have a look. local community leaders have long requested that tourists do not climb. right now, there are hundreds and hundreds of people climbing to the top of uluru. they have been queueing here since the early morning pond here since the early morning and indigenous elders say they would prefer us not to show any pictures of those tourists climbing on the steep track to my right. the reason for that is they believe those images would be culturally insensitive. and many of the visitors who ignore pleas from community leaders to stay off the rocks are also accused of disregarding indigenous culture. all they do is just come, ignore the tradition and go straight to the climb and then go. in 1985, control of the rock was handed back to aboriginal people by the australian government. out of respect for indigenous culture, most visitors keep their feet firmly on the red desert floor. because of the fact that it is a sacred place and i don't feel like being sacrilegious! i would rather walk around. 0ver many years, the number of people wanting to climb has actually declined and before the climb closure was announced, it was less than 10% who actually climbed uluru. the closure has been divisive. some believe the choice to climb should remain. i understand it is a sensitive topic, my view is that should be for all australians and i've got no problem with people climbing it. it was a spiritual at the top and incredible and my and my boyfriend proposed, so it was pretty good experience! closing the climb will bring to an end years of distress for aboriginal groups. as one elder said, it is time the rock had a rest. and phil mercerjoins us now live. amazing view behind you. of the sacred red rock. 0ur huge crowd still scrambling up liberal before the ban takes effect? —— scrambling up the ban takes effect? —— scrambling up uluru. they will be a bit disappointed today so far. because of the wind. you might be able to hear it rustling over my shoulder, the rangers make an assessment on safety grounds come at seven o'clock in the morning, and again throughout the day. to determine if it is safe for climbers to ascend to the 348 metres to the top of uluru, we were there an hour or so ago, just before nine o'clock in the morning by the way here. it is too windy for climbers to go up so far today. that may well change if the wind abates throughout the day, but in the next few hours, the climb will close for good. the hundreds of people at the bays hoping to take this last opportunity to get to the top. but at the moment, the weather is preventing that. basically, telus what is the spiritual significance of uluru? indigenous people believe that the land is the mother of creation. they believe the earth is a mass of breathing secrets and wisdom in the rock you can see behind me is of great spiritual and cultural significance. the indigenous groups here have always asked climbers not to ascend to the top for cultural reasons, and indigenous leader was saying that every time someone treads on uluru, it was causing the rock of pain. so it was causing the rock of pain. so it is extremely important in terms of the ancestral beings of indigenous people, they passed up indigenous people, they passed up indigenous groups here, but this is a living breathing cultural mass for indigenous people and by the end of today, they will be celebrating because no longer will visitors be allowed to climb and clamber all over this sacred site. thank you, for joining over this sacred site. thank you, forjoining this. it's semifinal weekend at the rugby world cup with new zeland, england, south africa and wales still vying for the trophy. but as the tournament reaches its conclusion there's a great deal of satisfaction with how the event has gone with japan embracing the event and hosting it for the first time. mariko 0i sat down with brett gosper — the ceo of world rugby and started by asking him about the japanese hosting. it's been a fabulous tournament, fantastic atmosphere, stadium, really being embraced by the japanese people. the japanese teams played its role in hosting the tournament and playing so brilliantly and the brilliant brand of rugby they had been playing. it has been exciting. as you said, japan's brave blossoms played incredibly well. but this is a country where baseball and football are more popular. were you at all concerned about having the rugby injapan in asia for the first time? i think it's been a long time coming. it's been planned for ten years. it was a bold decision, taken ten years ago, to come here. although it turned out amazingly, at the time, there were some questions. it is truly exceeded our expectations for a world cup. indeed, none of my friends knew anything about rugby and now they are all experts. i've also noticed "fickle" trending online on social media. new and fickle fan of rugby. you said it is up tojapan to sustain these or its popularity, but do you think the country has the infrastructure to sustain not just the popularity of the sport, but also its development? i think that is what they have to work towards. we've had a lot of meetings with them prior the world cup and thorugh the world cup and will continue to support them beyond this world cup. to ensure they put in place that infrastructure that captures this passion and interest in a way that transforms into participation. but maintaining that fan engagement is important. it's important for the world rugby too. this really has become the third biggest commercial market for rugby behind the united kingdom and france. it is very important we retain and increase that momentum as we go forward and we have to provide opportunities for the japanese rugby to play against top teams and to keep massaging that audience that is so keen now in rugby that were not really in existence before. that's the ceo of world rugby brett gosper, talking to mariko 0i. you have been watching newsday. i'm ben bland in london. and i'm rico hizon in singaporehere could be help from above as singapore's first air taxis take their maiden flights. who are you supporting for the rugby semifinals? just like you, the previous hour i'm sure all teams really have a chance at that rugby world cup trophy. it will be exciting i'm sure between new zealand and england. what match i will be going to watch. we will see. and before we go, we'd like to leave you with these pictures of the us gymnast sensation and olympic champion simone biles bringing a touch of acrobatic magic ahead of game two of the mlb world series. four—time olympic gold medallist biles performed a memorable backflip before she threw out the first pitch in the second game of the world series contest, between the houston astros and the washington nationals at minute maid park, in houston, texas. and in skinnyjeans. you can do that, ben. see you soon. goodbye. hello. a battle between cold and mild air taking place across the uk at the moment. to see which winds out for the weekend. spoi

singapore which has east monetary policy for the 1st time in more than 3 years the export aligned economy narrowly avoided recession and the 3rd quarter the monetary authority of singapore will allow the local dollars to weaken slightly singapore uses its currency to manage monetary policy rather than interest rates central banks around the world are loosening policy is fierce amount of for global economic slowdown. the british pound slumped slightly on monday against the us dollar and the euro following its gains on friday the decline came after the european union demanded walk concessions on the government's brics its proposals leading to less certainty that a deal will be done or is johnson and your leaders face a tumultuous week of reckoning that could decide whether divorce is orderly acrimonious or delayed yet again on friday the pound surged to a 5 month high against the euro on hopes of a breakfast break through but as e.u. ministers met in luxembourg uncertainty again dragged the british currency down one percent against the dollar and an even bigger slump against the euro i think after taking a risk last week that any sign of progress or talk and breakdown and acrimony really caused that big bounce the pound has real

singapore. united states and singapore. >> there are questions about regardless where it's stored can it >> there are questions about regardless where it's stored can it be monitored and eastmaned by tick-tock personnel within the countries? >> fears those sharing 15 seconds of video could be coult more. blane alexander, nbc news, a sharing a lot more blane alexander, nbc news, atlanta. >>> an important new development in the recall of johnson & johnson baby powder. wal-mart, cvs and right aide an right aide pulling 22 ounce bottles pulling 22 ounce bottles from stores as a precautionary measure. johnson & johnson recalled by f asbestos were found in a test sample. >>> a dramatic move to ge 33,000 bottles last week after trace amounts of asbestos were found in a test sample >>> a dramatic move to get rid of crippling student loan debt tonight from none other than the official in charge of federal student loans until he resigned today. nbc's katie beckwith that story. >> reporter: working mom paige m today. nbc's katie beckwith that story. >> reporter: working mom paige mcdaniel owes more than 300