Where there were questions over how unified opec could be are particularly after angola left the cartel. Now were seeing that there and it also a sign that 0pec are really showing a strong defence of 80 a barrel floor in pricing. What theyve done here is really built a fence, surplus will keep the market in deficit with a view for demand and return more strongly in the second half, allowing cuts to be unwound and actually deficits to be sustained through the course of the year, keeping that curve, keeping prices elevated. So is this cut priced in then, or are we likely to see a bit of impact on brent prices . We have obviously seen thejump in the immediate aftermath of this. There is already uncertainty as to how demand plans out but were seeing a structurally bullish outlook for the rest of year where, if demand does recover, particularly injet fuel and some emerging economies in the second half, sustained deficits on top of what was on already precarious with stocks and on geopolitics. But, if the market does end up being weaker on the demand side, what we are seeing is opec could very well extend the cuts and keep the market in deficit anyway. A lot of this also feeds into the geopolitical solution, particularly with the conservation of tensions in the middle east, where opec keeps expanding capacity on hold, to be able to release a little bit more if needed because all of this, all of the deficits that are now happening, despite the fact not actually seeing a supply disrupted from the middle east conflict but that is something an eventuality which still could play out and then tighten things up to much stronger degree. The philippines has said it hopes to launch formal free trade negotiations with the European Union very soon. The country has been in preliminary talks with a 27 nation bloc four months after a previous attempt almost a decade ago fell apart. The Southeast Asian nation depends heavily on its trade with china, but has been having tensions over the south china sea. It has said it wants to expand its economic relations to have greater resiliency. Thousands of delegates are preparing to meet in beijing as china kicks off its annual parliamentary meeting on tuesday. It is a time where the government outlines its economic plan for the year but the country is facing a number of challenges with many hoping they will unveil some bold policies to help give the economy a much needed use. Our Business Reporter katie silva explains. When it comes to the economy, chinas officials are in a difficult position. The countrys post pandemic economic recovery has been disappointing. Youth unemployment is high, governments are saddled with debt and oh, people arent having babies, raising questions about the future workforce. Lets not forget that is all before that downturn in the real estate sector which accounts for about a quarter of the economy. That has been going on for almost three years, and falling Property Prices are hurting consumer confidence. People are less willing to spend and also, unlike in much of the rest of the world, prices in china are falling. Although that may feel welcome in the short term, it also signals that things are not well with the economy. Thats just whats happening inside china. From the outside, restrictions on ship exports are the countrys tech ambitions. All in all, its a very tricky situation to make policies for. But beijing has been trying. The countrys central bank has been cutting key Interest Rates to boost the economy. State owned banks have promised theyll keep lending to those struggling property developers. But beijing hasnt been willing to spend any money to turn the economic fortunes around and experts say there are limited tools and their arsenal to fix things. Premier li keqiang speech will be closely watched. He is expected to announce the growth and many are hoping a roadmap to get the country back to boom times again. For what lies ahead in the chinese economy, i spoke to the form of resident of chinese Bank Subsidiary and he says he is not expecting big spending from the government. I see this basically is rallying the troops to double down on xi jinpings goalfor a new technocratic, sort of Software Hardware driven economy that is going to conquer the world. And i think he is kind of dreaming. Overcoming the difficult problems within china requires a different path and he is not going in that direction. We heard just then from katie about the Chinese Government having limited options and trying to stimulate the economy. Is that something you agree with . Yes, i do. They have the highest debt to gdp in the world. They have the Property Market that was up to 30 of gdp and has basically fallen by 70 in the last couple of years. Huge debt levels. They had a debt fuelled boom over the past decade and instead of letting the markets try to grow and get, like, the amazon of china, alibaba to move forward, they are putting 1 trillion or more into semiconductors which is a great idea except it is going to take a decade for that to bear fruit. Other areas like the electronic Vehicle Industry which has been a Success Story for china are really too small to help the economy very much and given the pushback from the eu and the us, is unlikely to result in large exports. They dont have a choice at this point. What is your opinion . It sounds like you think they have a difficult road ahead. A lot think the numbers are fabricated so the idea of 5. 2 or 5. 5 growth is unlikely to be true, it is more like 1 or 2 . You have a situation where instead of letting individuals form businesses and the efficient use of capital, the state sector is doubling down. So i think china is in for a very difficult road which might potentially influence their globalforeign policy because they desperately need the us dollar, they need exports, and, at some point, not yet, it may soften their tone internationally. Dubai airport is the Busiest International airport in the world outside of the united states. The boss says he considers the Pandemic Recovery to be over, and that the airport will see the Passenger Numbers above levels never seen before. The bbc� s caught up with Paul Griffiths and asked how soon the experts to see that record growth. We are more than 100 of where we were pre pandemic, so recovery, for us, has already happened. And our growth, actually, is already looking very, very strong. Ourjanuary numbers were very strong indeed. So in month one of 2024, we have already revised up what our projection for the year it was 88. 8 million, it is now over 90 million. So expectations are pretty strong, and we do think we will exceed our record Passenger Numbers that we recorded pre pandemic during the course of this year. There are a lot of global headwinds at the moment. High Interest Rates, staff shortages, and plane groundings. How are you dealing with all those headwinds . We are in a very fortunate position, and an incredibly globally spread business. With 240 destinations within four hours. Having a business which serves all four corners of the earth makes us incredibly resilient and despite what happens across the geopolitical scene and to the world economy, we find that there is some sort of counterbalance that normally happens. One region may suffer a little bit, but others rebound very quickly. Big growth markets, at the moment, are india, saudi, the uk traditionally very large markets for us have been our top three for some considerable time. And i think the thing is, because we are slightly challenged with space, this is why the impetus to invest in technology is so strong, and that enables us to continue to grow our Customer Base and allow more slots and more capacity for our airlines. Next, lets see how the japanese stock market is performing. The benchmark index, the nikkei 225, is trading at the highest of all time its the First Time Ever it has breached now of the 40,000 mark. Tech stocks are driving the gains today. Japanese stocks are soaring, and has hit levels not seen since the economy was in a bubble three decades ago. It is being held by a weak yen but also the ongoing Artificial Intelligence rally in us stocks. We can also look at how the s p 500 and the nasdaq finished the day on friday and also hitting record highs as injapan. Injapan, the in japan, the world injapan, the World Trade Organization couldnt reach agreement, blaming international tensions. There was no consensus on new rules for agriculture and fisheries. We will have more on the week ahead in the next Asia Business report. Voiceover bbc news, j not bringing you different stories from across the uk. With civic and ecclesiastical pageantry, a new bishop is welcomed. This ancient church is in the middle of a very modern row. The cathedral wants to build a new £8 million annex, but 11 trees will have to be cut down. Campaigners are fighting to save them. This is a conservation area. Some of these trees are over 150 years old. Our view is our grandparents saw these trees and we want our grandchildren to see these trees, and see the benefits of and gain the benefits of trees in the open city. It isnt the only objection. The new annex would be home to a bigger shop and a new cafe, rehearsal rooms, toilets, and storage. Some think it could attract tourists away from existing businesses. The dean disagrees. We expect a 35 increase in the number of visitors alone, apart from the growing number coming to worship and the people coming for concerts. And they bring extra business into the city. The row has been rumbling for months. A Planning Application has been submitted but not yet considered. Voiceover for more stories across the uk, | head to the bbc website. Voiceover bbc news, j not bringing you different stories from across the uk. With civic and ecclesiastical pageantry, the church enthrones a new bishop. This Ancient Church In Rippon is in the middle of a very modern row. The cathedral wants to build a new £8 million annex, but 11 trees will have to be cut down. Campaigners are fighting to save them. This is a conservation area. And some of these trees behind us are over 150 years old. We take the view that our grandparents saw these trees and we want our grandchildren to see these trees, and see the benefits of and gain the benefits of trees in the open city. That isnt the only objection. The new annex would be home to a bigger shop and a new cafe, rehearsal rooms, toilets, and storage. Some think it could attract tourists away from existing businesses. But the dean disagrees. We expect a 35 increase in the number of visitors alone, quite apart from the growing number coming to worship and the people who are coming for concerts. And they bring extra business into the city. The row has been rumbling on for months. A Planning Application has been submitted, but not yet considered. Voiceover for more stories across the uk, | head to the bbc website. Hello and welcome to sportsday. Im chetan pathak. Coming up on the programme Fantastic Phil Foden scores twice in the manchester derby, as city edge closer to the top of the premier league. And derby day delight, too, for Bayer Leverkusen as xabi alonsos side go ten points clear at the top of the german bundesliga. And Armand Duplantis survives a scare, as he retains his World Athletics Indoor Championships title in glasgow. Welcome along, thank you forjoining us. It remains tight at the top of the english premier league. Manchester city are back to within a point of the leaders liverpool, after coming from behind to win the manchester derby. Phil foden scoring twice. Hes now up to 18 goals this season. He turned the game around after Marcus Rashford had given united the lead. Erling haaland wrapped up a 3 1 victory in stoppage time. The result means if city beat liverpool when both sides play at anfield next sunday, theyd go top. City manager Pep Guardiola wasnt eager to talk about the title race afterwards but very happy to heap praise on his star striker foden. He is the best player, right now, in the premier league. So for the amount of things he does, he is unbelievable. There was a moment just towards the end when he raced down back towards the left and made a tackle, does that give you as much pleasure as the other stuff . I will be honest the guy who doesnt do that, he is not allowed to stay in this team, so you have this physicality because i think he loves to play football, he lives for football. He Weight Training Sessions and play games. He is a joy, and, of course, his work ethic is unbelievable. Good performance, our side. We wenti o up, according plan, and we