into ambulances lifeless and barefoot. the chilling sign of people who have tried to run but not been able to. the crush started in a small alleyway it was so packed, people were stuck, elbow to elbow. they had barely an inch to move when the crowd surged forward. translation: the incident happened as large numbers of people fell down during the halloween festival, which caused serious injuries. this area of seoul is one of the most popular places for a night out, for locals and tourists. it s the place to celebrate halloween and it s estimated 100,000 had come tonight. there were so many people to the point we were being crushed on the pavement, to the point where we had to spill onto the road where there were cars. no one really understood what was going on. but there were already several police cars at the scene in front of itaewon station, and police standing on top of their police cars, desperately trying to tell people to leave the area as soon as possible. sirens w
Business and government voting is under way in south korea, but will new leadership make a difference this time . And, the wasteland. American Shopping Mauls are deserted and retailers are suffering, so what is President Trump planning to do about it . Welcome to World Business report. Im sally bundock. Also in the programme, Rico Willjoin us from singapore hes seen the latest International Monetary fund report on asian economies. But first, today, the people of south korea are voting for a new president. The election comes after the former head of state Park Geun Hye was removed from office as part of an Ongoing Investigation into corruption. The south korean economy bounced back strongly following the 2008 financial crisis, but in recent years, quarterly growth has struggled to break above 1 . The current frontrunner, moonjae in, has vowed to boost Government Spending and create over 800,000 newjobs in the public sector. His main rival Ahn Cheol Soo feels the government should be mor
Of the handover of hong kong from britain to china. Its his first visit to the city as chinese leader and protests are expected. 26 pro democracy activists were arrested on wednesday, after occupying the forever blooming golden bauhinia, a monument to the reunification. Chris patten, the last governor of hong kong, spoke with Bbc World Service radio before the anniversary. The campaign to protect the rule of law, to protect due process, to stop people being abducted on the streets of hong kong with the Chief Executive looking the other way, all Thatis Executive looking the other way, all that is really, really important and i dont think the rest of the world should ignore it. The way that china keeps its commitments and pledges in hong kong will tell people an awful lot about whether china can be trusted in this century. 0ur correspondent in hong kong isjuliana liu. Shejoins me now. Thank you forjoining us. It will be a very busy day in hong kong. Thats right, rico. The chinese preside
And london. This is bbc world news. Its newsday. Glad you could joining us at 8am here in singapore, it is 1am in london and 9am in seoul, where a court has approved an Arrest Warrant for the countrys ousted president on corruption charges. Miss park was removed from office when the Constitutional Court endorsed the decision to impeach her. Steve evans has what is next. Well, she enjoys, if that is the right word, that prison cell, and she probably faces trial on very serious allegations, so the prospect is that prison cell for the foreseeable future. Maybe if shes found guilty eventually some months on for some years. Youre absolutely right, rico, it is a very rude awakening. Three weeks ago she was in the president ial palace. She has had a rough night. The decision of the court was at 3am in the morning and she had to wait in a room adjoining the court before learning at 3am, presumably not with much sleep, that she would be taken not to her own home but to a Detention Centre. This
Swallowing up five smaller rivals. Will the new mega bank be able to compete globally . And it is the final countdown, singapore turns of its two G Wireless Network this weekend, rendering old phones useless. 2g. Its a friday, everyone, good morning, asia, hello, world, thanks for watching the Asia Business report, im rico hizon. Does bigger mean better when it comes to Financial Institutions . This weekend five indian banks will begin the process of merging with the state bank of india. Its already the countrys largest bank but after the merger it will be one of the largest in the world. The government hopes the move will clean up the system and get banks performing again. We ta ke and get banks performing again. We take a look. Hsbc, bank of china, bnp paribas, Jp Morgan Chase they are some of the largest banks in the world and now an indian bank will bejoining their ranks. The state bank of india, indias largest Public Sector bank, is merging with five subsidiaries. It will create a