Alibaba's Singles' Day shopping frenzy kicks off bbc.com

The world's biggest online shopping day delivered sales of around $14bn in the first hour of trading.
Chinese e-commerce giant Alibaba delivered strong early sales as its annual Singles' Day shopping frenzy kicked off.

The world's biggest online shopping event raked in 100bn yuan ($14bn; £11bn) in sales in just over an hour of trading.

A gala featuring pop star Taylor Swift launched the 24-hour shopping blitz.

It marked Alibaba's first Singles' Day since the exit of its colorful founder Jack Ma.

He was replaced as executive chairman by Daniel Zhang earlier this yearChinese e-commerce after Mr Ma stepped down to focus on philanthropy and education.