Leanna Byrne

I'm Leanna Byrne, back for the next three days.

Good morning.

The German Chancellor, Friedrich Merz, says there is a great opportunity to develop ties with China following a meeting with its leader, Xi Jinping.

Merz is currently on his first visit to China, which is Germany's biggest trading partner, since becoming leader 10 months ago.

Before the trip, he said there needs to be a fair competition between

and jointly agreed rules between the two countries.

The price of gold is on the rise again.

It's been trading at over $5,200 an ounce in markets in Europe this morning.

UK carmaker Aston Martin says it's cutting 20% of its staff.

The firm has been badly hit by US tariffs on overseas auto imports.

And drinks giant Diageo has ruled out selling its share of brands Guinness and Moet Hennessy as it caught its outlook after a 2.8% drop in sales for the first half.

Now, British retailers say the theft of chocolate from grocery stores is out of control in parts of the country.

Some retailers now lock candy bars in transparent plastic boxes to make stealing them more difficult.

They say stolen confectionery is resold to raise money for organised crime.

One grocery group in the English Midlands says chocolate theft cost it nearly $340,000 last year, making it their most stolen product apart from alcohol.

From today, almost all visitors to the UK will need to apply for an ETA, that's an electronic travel authorisation, before they enter the country.

It costs £16 or $21 and follows similar schemes already in place in the US and Australia.

The EU will also bring in its own compulsory entry visa later on in the year.

The UK government says it prevents those who are a threat from getting into the country, but some travel groups say it's an unnecessary burden on tourists.

The BBC's Rick Kelsey reports.