:00:00. > :00:08.European anti`smoking rules. Those are the latest headlines from
:00:09. > :00:21.BBC World News. Now for the latest financial news with World Business
:00:22. > :00:24.Report. Peace talks in the gas war ` Europe tries to strike a deal to
:00:25. > :00:27.keep Russian gas flowing this winter. Plus, the greenhouse effect
:00:28. > :00:39.` how builders are rethinking housing design to cut carbon
:00:40. > :00:42.emissions. Welcome to World Business Report.
:00:43. > :00:44.I'm Ben Thompson. In a moment, China's phantom trade deals `
:00:45. > :00:49.regulators uncover a multibillion`dollar fraud by
:00:50. > :00:54.mainland companies. But first, can Europe avoid a gas
:00:55. > :00:57.crisis this winter? A tense day of negotiations lie
:00:58. > :01:01.ahead in Berlin today for the European Union, Ukraine and Russia,
:01:02. > :01:03.as they try to resolve a row that has threatened to leave millions
:01:04. > :01:06.without heating as colder weather approaches. Russia is Europe's
:01:07. > :01:10.biggest energy supplier and half of the gas it supplies comes via
:01:11. > :01:14.Ukraine. Russia halted gas supplies to Ukraine in June over what it said
:01:15. > :01:17.was unpaid debt. Europe has been supplying the country through the
:01:18. > :01:29.back door by rerouting gas that comes in via Slovakia. That's
:01:30. > :01:32.angered Russia. The state`controlled gas company Gazprom said last
:01:33. > :01:35.Wednesday that it was unable to meet rising gas demand from Europe while
:01:36. > :01:38.it built up stockpiles ahead of winter. On Thursday, Ukraine's Prime
:01:39. > :01:41.Minister called for a reform of the energy market so gas supplies can no
:01:42. > :01:50.longer be used as a political weapon.
:01:51. > :01:57.There is a huge challenge for Ukraine. Not only Ukraine but EU
:01:58. > :02:05.member states. This challenge is energy dependence. We understand
:02:06. > :02:17.that Russia is still one of the key suppliers of natural gas to Europe,
:02:18. > :02:26.the EU and Ukraine. We understand as well that if we act in concert, if
:02:27. > :02:32.we stayed united, and if we craft transparent and market`based rules,
:02:33. > :02:41.no one, including Russia, will use natural gas as a weapon against our
:02:42. > :02:48.economies and against our country. What good all of this mean? ``
:02:49. > :02:52.could? Richard Tooby is a Russia analyst at Oxford Analytica. In such
:02:53. > :02:57.a climate of political tension and military tension in the region, can
:02:58. > :03:02.a deal be done? I think that it will be very
:03:03. > :03:06.difficult, these negotiations. The military situation on the ground has
:03:07. > :03:13.improved to some extent. The other day, Nato said they had seen
:03:14. > :03:21.significant movement of Russian forces out of the Donbass region.
:03:22. > :03:25.There is now a peace plan that has been implemented and violence has
:03:26. > :03:30.reduced. There is still sporadic violence. There is a feeling from
:03:31. > :03:34.both sides that there has to be a deal and even if we don't see one
:03:35. > :03:39.today, I believe this will be the beginning of the process that makes
:03:40. > :03:45.sure we do get to a deal. Is it fair to expect a deal, given the
:03:46. > :03:52.sanctions being imposed on Russia? One might say it is within their
:03:53. > :03:57.rights to refuse to sell gas. It is very much in Russia's interest to
:03:58. > :04:03.co`operate on this. It is so important for them to maintain the
:04:04. > :04:10.confidence of the European market. For all the talk about Russia
:04:11. > :04:13.diversifying in China, this $400 billion gas deal with China this
:04:14. > :04:22.year, Europe remains a very important market for them. And the
:04:23. > :04:28.fragility of the Russian economy at the moment makes them feel like they
:04:29. > :04:34.will have to make a deal. Time is short. Winter is coming and gas is
:04:35. > :04:43.in demand. There is not much time to get this done. What timescale are we
:04:44. > :04:50.looking at? In some Western European countries, the risk is less because
:04:51. > :04:54.European countries have been pumping record amounts into gas storage.
:04:55. > :05:00.Some countries will be able to cope for maybe six months if it is a
:05:01. > :05:07.normal winter. The big problem will be for Ukraine itself. Gas is at 51%
:05:08. > :05:20.of normal levels at the moment. That would be the issue. If it were to be
:05:21. > :05:23.a really tough winter. Thank you. Now to the last in our week`long
:05:24. > :05:26.series on climate change and its economic impact. In the UK and
:05:27. > :05:29.throughout much of Europe, housing alone generates more than
:05:30. > :05:31.one`quarter of all CO2 emissions, so builders and architects are
:05:32. > :05:34.embracing new technology to make houses both greener and more
:05:35. > :05:44.attractive to buyers. Nigel Cassidy reports from Chichester on the south
:05:45. > :05:49.coast of England. These sustainable homes may not look
:05:50. > :05:53.so different but the carefully selected systems and appliances
:05:54. > :05:58.combine to minimise emissions. Over 800 will be built in and around the
:05:59. > :06:03.solid redbrick buildings and abandoned hospital. The developers
:06:04. > :06:09.worked with a social housing provider and the UK Homes and
:06:10. > :06:14.Communities Agency. The carbon dioxide savings mean that every home
:06:15. > :06:19.gets hot water fed from a landmark tower in the middle. Emissions have
:06:20. > :06:23.been minimised around each home and have been offset around the
:06:24. > :06:27.development. We try to make sure that the technology we use is of
:06:28. > :06:31.direct benefit and is not some then which is surely giving us that zero
:06:32. > :06:39.carbon emission credential while not being something the customer would
:06:40. > :06:43.notice. This site was originally a hospital, so this is the original
:06:44. > :06:47.water tower that supplied the water to the hospital. We have utilised it
:06:48. > :06:54.as the chimneys for the energy Centre. This is the energy Centre.
:06:55. > :06:58.This is the old idea of district heating brought up`to`date and this
:06:59. > :07:02.is what all people will have in their homes. It runs on hot water.
:07:03. > :07:08.You can control your central hearing `` central heating and hot water
:07:09. > :07:15.from your barbs and taps. It has boilers. The hot water runs through
:07:16. > :07:27.these pipes and pumps to this Jimmy tank. And there `` this will
:07:28. > :07:32.eventually generate electricity that can be sent to the grid. Homeowners
:07:33. > :07:37.get lower monthly bills. The house holds its heat extremely well so
:07:38. > :07:45.there is not much concern to have the central heating on. And the hot
:07:46. > :07:51.water supply is consistent at a safe temperature and at a good pressure
:07:52. > :07:54.as well. Until now, it has been a regulation that has forced climate
:07:55. > :08:05.saving measures. But ideologically friendly homes can be cost`effective
:08:06. > :08:11.as well. `` ecologically friendly homes. On Thursday, financial
:08:12. > :08:13.regulators in China revealed they have found more than $10 billion
:08:14. > :08:17.worth of fake trade transactions, import and export deals that never
:08:18. > :08:20.actually happened. They were used by Chinese companies to avoid capital
:08:21. > :08:23.controls and sneak money in and out of China. Regulators say there has
:08:24. > :08:31.been a crackdown to stamp out the practice but how widespread is it?
:08:32. > :08:40.This all revolves around fake invoices. Yes. Partially. $10
:08:41. > :08:45.billion double sound like much but this could be the tip of the
:08:46. > :08:51.iceberg. `` does not sound like much. Companies use iron ore or
:08:52. > :08:56.copper as collateral against bank loans that they then put into
:08:57. > :09:04.unrelated sectors like property. This means that global figures may
:09:05. > :09:09.be inflated. If that is so, that means actual demand for commodities
:09:10. > :09:13.is much lower than thought. This is a serious problem in China, where
:09:14. > :09:18.the currency regulator said 50 cases had been handed over to the police
:09:19. > :09:22.for prosecution. This emerged after an investigation lasting longer than
:09:23. > :09:27.one year. The investigation said that companies forged and a legally
:09:28. > :09:36.documents for exports and imports across the country. `` illegally
:09:37. > :09:44.used documents. This is a very worrying development. One we will be
:09:45. > :09:50.watching. Thank you. And looking at the market numbers. This has
:09:51. > :10:07.translated into a weak start for Asia. In the US, there was a
:10:08. > :10:21.sell`off on Apple shares. See you soon. Thank you. Detectives
:10:22. > :10:24.investigating the disappearance of 14`year`old Alice Gross have
:10:25. > :10:27.cordoned off part of a park in West London, close to the canal towpath
:10:28. > :10:30.where she was last seen. Scotland Yard say they will search the area
:10:31. > :10:32.to decide whether it is relevant to their