05/07/2017 Asia Business Report

The US Secretary of State has called North Korea's

missile test a new escalation of the threat to America

US defence officials are now acknowledging that North Korea's

latest missile test WAS an intercontinental ballistic missile.

A meeting of the UN Security Council will take place later on Wednesday.

On the first ever visit to Israel by an Indian Prime Minister,

Narendra Modi has said he hopes to transform their economic ties

and build what he called a robust security partnership.

And this video is trending on bbc.com.

Italian police say four teenagers accused of 12 robberies in Milan

resembled the violence of a notorious gang in the film

Families affected by the Grenfell Tower disaster have

been attending a private meeting with the police

Some are reported to have left part-way through.

Now on BBC News all the latest business news live from Singapore.

And historic visit by Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi as he seeks

defence deals with Israel -- an. An 8 billion cans later, we wish a

happy 80th birthday to attend luncheon meat spam -- and. -- to

tinned. It's Wednesday, good morning, Asia, hello, world, glad

you could join us for this edition of Asia Business Report, I'm Rico

Hizon. Narendra Modi is on an historic three-day trip to Israel,

he is the first Indian Prime Minister to visit and it signals

warming relations between the two sides. Defence deals are expected to

top the agenda. India but has become Israel's biggest export market for

arms as it seeks to counter China and Pakistan. It gets an estimated

$1 billion per years in weapons -- per year.

The fact Netanyahu received Modi on Tuesday at the airport signals the

strength. India has been historically supportive of the

Palestinian cause but quietly it's been working on its relationship

with Israel and until now Mr Modi has given credit to Israel. The main

focus of the trip will be economic and strategic. India is already

Israel's largest arms market, buying weapons worth $1 billion every year.

On this trip Mr Modi is expected to push for joint development and sale

of drones, missiles and radar systems and the signature make in

India campaign. Bilateral trade between the two countries is around

$5 billion per year. Both countries want to expand economic ties and are

expected to announce deals in sectors like agriculture, water and

space technology. The European Union senior officials

are also busy discussing free-trade deals with the Southeast Asia

nations, a UNKNOWN SPEAKER: As ASEAN in Bangkok, Thailand this week

-- a bloc known as. The region created $280 billion in

2016 and that is 13% of trade in the region and when it comes to foreign

direct investment, the EU is the largest source of investment inflow

to the Association of Southeast Asia nations. Earlier I spoke with Kris

Humphries, the executive director of the EU ASEAN business council and I

asked him if we were likely to see any progress in this meeting.

There's time for them to go in this deal -- Chris Humphrey. They need to

put in a framework, that's the important first step, scope out the

range of issues they want in that deal. But, Chris, talks started in

2009 and we are now on the eighth year, how soon before a deal is

finalised? Talks did start in 2009 and they were suspended because the

feeling from Europe at least was the ten countries of Southeast Asia

weren't ready to work together. That mood has changed, there's a sense in

Europe now and certainly in the business community that Southeast

Asia is ready to move quicker but it won't be a quick process, we're

probably talking another 12 months before formal discussions can start

and it could be three to complete those talks. You have the ASEAN six

and the remaining frontier markets like Cambodia and Laos and Myanmar,

do you think ASEAN countries will be willing to include labour rights in

the arrangement? I think if ASEAN want to deal with Europe it has to

include a whole range of things, it can't just be tariffs but services

and RP rights and access to services and also Labour and environmental

issues, that's the standard template these days for a deal from the

European Commission and I can't see the EU moving on those. Why is

labour rights a major sticking point between the EU and ASEAN? It's about

the competition to make sure the playing field is as level as

possible. -- fair competition. We're talking about the rights of people

in their workplace, to avoid slave labour essentially. On the other

hand could this extend negotiations between the two sides and there

would be any agreement? I'm sensing a greater willingness on both sides

to progress. With the near death of TPP, Europe is now seeing an

opportunity in Southeast Asia to step up to the plate more, there's

more urgency from them and seeing the Southeast Asia nations wanting

to do more as a group as well, a region to region deal is possible

but it won't be a quick process, but it is now more possible than

previously. Any concerns about the future of the EU with Brexit? None

at all and the EU is getting stronger, we seen it in recent

elections, the EU will come out of this looking very good. There are

lots of free trade talks taking place taking place this week, Shinzo

Abe is visiting Brussels to finalise a trade arrangement with the EU, a

deal that would remove all customs duties and give greater market

assets to Japanese car manufacturers and European food exporters. Several

airlines in the Middle East will soon allow laptops in cabin is again

after the US reversed its ban for US bound flights, however the

Department of Homeland Security will require additional security

initiatives -- cabins. Turkish airlines and the Saudi airlines have

said they will implement the new roles. Formula 1 racing team

Williams has revealed the baby carrier... The carbon fibre baby pod

has been developed to transport critically ill newborn infants

safely and securely in an ambulance or helicopter. The BBC's Theo

Leggett reports. Williams is one of the great names

of Formula 1. Every year it spends millions on exotic new technology

and all to make one of these go round a track as fast as possible.

But the expertise developed on the racetrack doesn't go to waste.

Williams advanced engineering is a sister business to the F1 team and

it's finding new uses for Formula 1 technology. These little boxes,

little pots, are built alongside the Formula 1 cars and they're very

high-tech Andrew Talansky why we have Paul McNamara, the technical

director of Williams advanced engineering -- and to tell us why.

Paul, what is this? A baby pod, a product designed at Williams but its

purpose is for moving infants. The idea is it will go into an

ambulance, it will go into a helicopter or something like that.

The objective that we had with it was to make it very accessible, so

as you can see we can take the lid off and we can get everywhere inside

this structure. Its carbon fibre because it needs to be light and

crashproof. In the event of an accident and we had to simulate and

calculate all of that we had to pull on the tabs and the structure had to

stay put and the padding which the child is in keeps them OK. One of

the most technologically advanced race cars that's ever been made has

been made by us... The team said the baby pod is one example of how

research carried out in racing can have real social benefits...

Lightweight materials, composite, aerodynamics, all these technologies

can be so easily applied to other industries, sectors and products in

order to invariably make them better but most importantly safe are

sometimes and that's the case with the baby pod. The engineering

business also allows Williams to make money. -- safer. The profits

are ploughed back into the racing team, helping it to fund more

research and development and make its Formula 1 cars even faster. Theo

Leggett, BBC News. Spam, the low-priced long-lasting

and tinned meat is now 80 years old, happy birthday! Did you know it kept

troops and civilians alive in the Second World War and it was then fed

to unwilling is schoolchildren in the post-war years. It's the food

summit in the western love to hate but 8 billion cans have so far been

sold. Now eight! Now in some countries it's a delicacy. -- now

8,000,000,001. Let's take a wow, I'm really ready for my

breakfast! Spam with eggs and rice! To all American viewers, happy

fourth of July and of course because of the holiday in the US, we are

seeing thin trading in Asia today. Thank you so much for investing your

time with us, I'm Rico Hizon, goodbye for now.