-- the all weather partnership. —— the prime minister viktor orban. kishore mahbubani was singapore's former ambassador to the united nations. he gave me a sense of what lies ahead for eu—china relations. trade differences are normal. the important thing is notjust the trade in balance but the trade volume. at the end of the day, as you know, europe is looking for new sources of growth for itself and europe is acutely aware that china is going to become a very, very important market for eu product too, and let me give you some very important statistics consider listeners understand how things have changed. in the year 2000 the european economy combined, eu economy combined will, was six times bigger than china's economy full tub now they are the same size. in it forfive they are the same size. in it for five years�* they are the same size. in it forfive years�* time they are the same size. in it for five years�* time china will be bigger than the european union. europe is aware of this. while they will have difficulties over trade they also rely china is it going to

become the big market for them also, so that�*s also part of the european calculations. d0 the european calculations. do ou the european calculations. do you seeing that the balance of power shifting, then, and they have to adjust accordingly? i think the europeans are acutely aware of the change in the balance of power. and remember, for europe today, one nightmare that they really worry about is the reelection of donald trump coming in for the reelection of donald trump coming infora the reelection of donald trump coming in for a second time as president of the united states, and they know that donald trump has absolutely no emotional connection to europe. he does not quite see the value of his european allies, and europe may have to get a much more difficult geopolitical environment. in that difficult geopolitical environment, when europe is looking for ways and means to possibly restrain russia at that point in time, maybe they can talk with china. and as you know china played an important role in making sure that russia did not even

consider using nuclear weapons in the ukraine war. the europeans also have to look over the horizon and think about what kind of world you have to deal with if donald trump gets elected. the number of americans filing new claims for unemployment benefits rose last week to the highest level in more than eight months. the latest report by the labor department suggested that the us jobs market is cooling. this has raised hopes of interest rate cuts by the federal reserve. a boeing 737 300 plane has skidded off a runway in senegal, injuring at least ten people. this happened as the flight, operated by air senegal, was taking off from the capital of mali in the early hours of thursday. investigations are under way. boeing, which has not commented on the incident, is facing a deepening crisis over its safety record. meanwhile in india, an operational crisis at air india express continued for a second day. more than 80 domestic and internationalflights have been cancelled after thousands of crew members reported sick.

disgruntled employees of the tata group—owned budget airline have since been assured that their concerns will be addressed. turning to the automobile industry now, where we�*ve been getting report cards from some ofjapan�*s top car—makers. toyota�*s earnings in the first quarter exceeded expectations, with operating profit surging by 78%. but the firm, which faces competition from china, that was helped in part by the weakness of the japanese yen. but the firm, which faces competition from china, cut its forecast for the current financial year. meanwhile, rival nissan also reported a surge in its quarterly profits. jesper koll from monex group said the future of japanese product makers is bright.

these have been blockbuster results. they�*ve got the right product mix, they�*ve got the tailwind from the currency depreciation, and when you look at the financials — whether it�*s toyota, whether it�*s nissan, whether it�*s honda — across the board, very, very good. the issue is going forward, where particularly toyota is guiding earnings down, to drop by about 20% after this year�*s record, but that�*s because there�*s a lot of investment into tvs and into ai technologies that�*s going to come through. jesper, i want to get your thoughts on the fluctuations we�*re seeing in the yen. how has that impacted auto—makers and corporate japan? look, for corporate japan, a yen depreciation... a weaker yen for corporate japan is a good thing. for every ten yen of yen weakness against the dollar, corporate japan gets windfall profits of around eight percentage points. so corporate japan is a winner, the loser is mr and mrs watanabe, because with weaker currency, energy prices, food prices go up, and that hurts the purchasing power, particularly of japanese pensioners. an advert promoting apple�*s new range of ipads has received widespread criticism.

the video shows a giant hydraulic press crushing books and musical instruments. for more on why it has sparked such a backlash, here�*s the bbc�*s michelle fleury. the ad has only been out a couple of days, butjudging by the reaction online, it hit a nerve. in the spot, objects ranging from a trumpet, a piano to a turntable, a sculpted bust and lots and lots of paint are all shown being squashed by an enormous metal rubbish compactor into the size of apple�*s thinnest product ever, the 13 inch ipad pro. now, critics say the ad celebrates the stifling of creativity rather than encouraging it. even british actor hugh grant weighed in on the social media platform x, labelling it the destruction of the human experience, courtesy of silicon valley. actor and film—maker justine bateman, a vocal critic of the use of ai in the film industry, said apple�*s ad was crushing the arts, while songwriter crispin hunt

called the act of destroying musical instruments evocative of burning books. the criticism is particularly pointed because of concerns, especially in creative industries, about artificial intelligence taking peoplesjobs. now, it�*s a rare misstep by the company, which was behind the famous super bowl advert for its macintosh computers that was directed by ridley scott. it featured a dystopian world where conformity dominated and a single individual — representing the apple brand and, at the time, its new macintosh computers — was seen as resisting. the ad today, well, that conveys the opposite message, according to its critics, which is why it�*s getting crushed by creativeness and consumers. apple has apologised for the video, according to ad age, an advertising trade publication. it said it received a statement from apple spokesperson tor myhren, who said the technology giant�*s advertisement "missed the mark". the bbc has reached out

to apple for comment. turning to china now, with the second largest, he faced many challenges, there�*s much is missing regarding its overall growth potential. at least in the immediate future. the key exception is emerging in the form of domestic tourism. stephen mcdonell reports from the chinese scenic town. china�*s engine towns and villages have for centuries been attracting visitors. from emperors with their trailing cohorts to adventurous travellers from overseas. now the country�*s policymakers are banking on this kicking in once more. in the picturesque rivertown, it certainly looks like the tourists are back. for chinese account data has not rebounded from the coronavirus crisis, as everyone had expected, it�*s a welcome sight. i asked a man selling ice creams if there is been a noticeable increase in

tourists. he says, not only an increase, but now back to pre—pandemic levels. 0ther shopkeepers echoed the sentiment. translation: , ,, sentiment. translation: �* , ,, , sentiment. translation: , ,, , ., translation: business is going well. it translation: business is going well- it will— translation: business is going well. it will only _ translation: business is going well. it will only get _ translation: business is going well. it will only get better. - well. it will only get better. tourists here like to dress up in traditional clothing. they tell us their friends and family tell us theirfriends and family are all tell us their friends and family are all travelling post covid. translation: , ., , translation: yes, of course. after the pandemic _ translation: yes, of course. after the pandemic we - translation: yes, of course. after the pandemic we are - translation: yes, of course. after the pandemic we are all. after the pandemic we are all visiting — after the pandemic we are all visiting other places.- after the pandemic we are all visiting other places. what you notice these _ visiting other places. what you notice these days _ visiting other places. what you notice these days at _ visiting other places. what you notice these days at china's i notice these days at china�*s historic sites is there plenty of travellers, but not many foreign faces. we�*ve been here all day and see hardly anyone. in years gone by there would have been a lot of international travellers at a place like this, but not any more. a student based in china says she loves it, but it�*s becoming more closed in its attitudes towards foreigners. my attitudes towards foreigners. my friends and all the staff, they actually live in china,

because it�*s inconvenient, because it�*s inconvenient, because the chinese not so open to you. because the chinese not so open to ou. ., ., , , to you. some foreign tourists say chaya's — to you. some foreign tourists say chaya's electra _ to you. some foreign tourists say chaya's electra and - to you. some foreign tourists i say chaya's electra and payment say chaya�*s electra and payment apps and the like can be challenging but not insurmountable dash may china�*s. foreigners thinking they might want to travel to china but they get is a hassle, because i don�*t know how to do these payments and tickets and stuff, what do you say to that? find a chinese friend, like we did! _ find a chinese friend, like we did! ~ , did! laughter it did! laughter it mix - did! laughter it mix it - did! laughter it mix it easier| did! laughter | it mix it easier to did! laughter - it mix it easier to have a chinese friend?- it mix it easier to have a chinese friend? much easier much easier. _ chinese friend? much easier much easier. china - chinese friend? much easier much easier. china is - chinese friend? much easier| much easier. china is offering visa free travel _ much easier. china is offering visa free travel to _ much easier. china is offering visa free travel to more - visa free travel to more countries in an attempt to attract visitors, but global politics is also tarnished his reputation as a place to see. yet tourism companies hope that because there are such incredible sites here, foreign travellers will still return. stephen mcdonell, bbc news. and that�*s it for this edition of business today. thanks as

always for watching. i will have more business news for you in the next hour. hey, i�*mjulia with the catch up. tonight, a medical breakthrough, the killers make history and a pr boss makes a pr mess. but first, while some uni students have been campaigning against israel�*s war in gaza, the boss of universities uk has said they may need to take action if the protests get in the way of student life. the prime minister met uni leaders about anti—semitism on campus and worries some students have for their safety. edward from the union ofjewish students was at the meeting. the prime minister made it very clear that campuses must be places where jewish students are welcome, included and able to study in safety.

some other stories now. international students in wales have been sleeping rough because they�*re struggling to afford accommodation nearby. the students union at bangor said some people sleep in the 24—hour study space to save on commuting costs. the head of public relations at chinese search engine baidu has apologised after peddling a work—til—you—drop culture on tiktok. she said staff should keep their phones on 21! hours a day and that she has no responsibility for their wellbeing as, quote, "i am not your mother." and a little girl who was born deaf has had her hearing restored after a ground—breaking new treatment which replaces faulty dna. 0pal sandy can now hear whispers and she�*s starting to talk. and it started out with a kiss, how did it end up like this? #jealousy, turning saints into the sea... # yes, mr brightside by the killers is now

officially the biggest song to never reach number one in the uk. that�*s you all caught up now. see you. jesper kolljesper

hello and welcome to sportsday. i�*m gavin ramjaun. a sensational comeback for leverkusen sees them

into the europa final and preserve their long unbeaten run in all competitions. 0lympiacos make no mistake. they seal their spot in the conference league final against fiorentina after a comfortable win over aston villa. and nadal�*s preparations for the french open are helpful, he says, after the spaniard is tested again in his first round victory in rome. hello there and welcome along to the programme. and we were treated to another round of late drama in european football again on thursday. bayer leverkusen came back against roma to not only extend their incredible unbeaten run this season but secure their place in the final of the europa league. it looked as though xabi alonso�*s side were going to be defeated on the night — they were 2—1 down until the dying moments. leandro paredes had roma two up

and level on aggregate. an own goal gave leverkusen the advantage again. and deep into stoppage time, josip stanisic scored with the last kick of the game to send the new german champions into the final and extend their unbeaten run in all competitions this season to 49 successive games. and they will meet atalanta, who went through in their semifinal second leg against marseille in emphatic style. they won 3—0 in bergamo to cruise into the final. ademola lookman got them ahead on aggregate, with the score level coming into the match. matteo ruggeri put further distance between the sides, and the finishing touch to the night was provided by el bilal toure, the subsitute scoring the third. by el bilal toure, the substitute scoring the third. atalanta winning 4—1 on aggregate — and they�*ll take on leverkusen in dublin in their europa league final, their first ever european final, later this month. british hopes fell with aston villa in the europa conference league. but they were soundly beaten again by 0lympiacos in greece, in the second leg of their europa conference league semifinal.

ian dennis was watching.