voters here to make the right choice to avoid war and decline, ahead of saturday's key presidential elections. the island has become a flashpoint in the battle for regional supremacy. we will find out what people living on the taiwan strait think. live from our studio in singapore, this is bbc world news. it's newsday. welcome to a special edition of newsday from taipei and of newsday from taipei we have plenty of coverage of and we have plenty of coverage of the upcoming election ahead on the programme. but before we get to that we have an update on the breaking news story happening over the last hour. we can bring you this report. the united states and written have gun strikes against

targets linked to houthis in yemen. president biden has issued the following statement" today at my direction us military forces together with the uk and support from australia, bahrain, canada and the netherlands successfully conducted strikes against a number of targets in yemen used by houthi rebels to endanger freedom of navigation on one of the worlds most vital waterways did it" let's get some immediate reaction to this development in the statement from the us president. let's quash now to washington and our correspondent there. what can you tell us? figs correspondent there. what can you tell us?— correspondent there. what can you tell us? as you said we had a statement — you tell us? as you said we had a statement from _ you tell us? as you said we had a statement from the _ you tell us? as you said we had a statement from the white - a statement from the white house confirming that the strikes have begun, saying it was the us, uk and lists a number of nations including bahrain, one of the nations in the region. i think it is

interesting that we got this statement now. earlier we heard that there would be no date and then we got in late a short time ago. of course, the question now will be how far will the strikes go? and what is the risk of escalation? as we know, these strikes have not come out of nowhere, they did not start in a vacuum. western officials have been warning rebels for many weeks now that unless these attacks on international shipping stopped, and there have been 27 of them according to the us military since mid—november, unless they stop there will be serious consequences. the houthis did not heed the warnings and attacks continued. attacks on a vital waterway, a critical route for global trade, around 15% of all global trade by sea passes through that area. and in december the first step in

this journey was taken when the united states and several other nations formed a multinational naval task force to protect shipping in that area. that was followed in the beginning of january by a strongly worded joint statement, again from the united states and uk and 13 other nations warning, again that unless the houthis stop these attacks, these drone attacks, seizing tankers and firing missiles and endangering the lives of us and other military personnel in the area, then there will be serious consequences. the us secretary of state, antony blinken, has returned today from a tour around the middle east, he met several leaders during the visit including the crown prince of saudi arabia and the prime minister of israel and other key regional players. for this precise reason, the us wanted to discuss ways to

ensure that the war in israel, the israel hamas more did not spread into a wider regional conflict. and as secretary blink and made his way back to the us from that visit he said there would be consequences if there would be consequences if the houthis did not stop there attacks. ., ~ , ., the houthis did not stop there attacks. ., ~' , ., , . attacks. thank you very much for that- _ attacks. thank you very much for that. for _ attacks. thank you very much for that. for the _ attacks. thank you very much for that. for the latest - attacks. thank you very much for that. for the latest from l for that. for the latest from the us perspective. there is a statement released at the same time as the us presidentjoe biden made a statement, a statement from rishi sunak that says the royal air force participated in the attacks on facilities used by houthi rebels in yemen. the united kingdom will always stand up forfreedom of kingdom will always stand up for freedom of navigation on the free flow of trade, he says. there for we have taken limited necessary and proportionate action in self—defence alongside the united states with nonoperational support from the netherlands, canada and bahrain against targets tied to these attacks to degreed appointment

military capability and protect level shipping. those words from the uk prime minister rishi sunak echoing and complementing the words that we brought to you earlier from the us presidentjoe biden as laid out with the context of our washington correspondent. we need to stay with the breaking news for more information. the us says there have been 27 attacks in the red sea since mid—november by houthis and as he recalled they say they support hamas and they are targeting ships headed to israel. let's get more now from our security correspondent frank gardner on who the houthis are and what the effect of their attacks has been. armed, angry and defiant. yemen's houthi rebels. a tribal mountain militia that controls much of yemen and its red sea coast. they've declared their support for hamas in gaza and, since november, they've been attacking

ships in the red sea. britain, the us and the un have all demanded a stop to the attacks. we cannot have a situation where a major sea route, a major ability to move goods around the world, is being cut off by terrorists and thugs, and we therefore must act. this was a heli—borne raid they did on a container ship in november, seizing the vessel and its crew and steering it back to yemen. the houthis have defied all warnings to stop targeting shipping. translation: we are more determined - to continue to target ships linked to israel and we will not back down from that. our position stems from ourfaith. the americans should know what that means. the houthi attacks are having a global effect. around 15% of world trade passes through the nearby bab—el—mandeb strait, but now major shipping companies like bp

and maersk are having to avoid the red sea altogether. as this computer tracking shows, they're re—routing round the far side of africa, adding days to the journey, driving up costs in europe and elsewhere. a us—led task force, including the royal navy's hms diamond, has been in action. they shot down 21 houthi drones and missiles on tuesday. but the houthis, helped by iran, have got plenty more missiles and have vowed to use them, which is why the us and britain say they must now bear the consequences. frank gardner, bbc news. we are live in taipei as we continue our coverage of the election taking place tomorrow with the taiwanese heading two poles. with the taiwanese heading two oles. ~ ., , . poles. whoever is elected president _ poles. whoever is elected president on _ poles. whoever is elected president on saturday - poles. whoever is elected president on saturday will shape the relationship with both beijing and washington because taiwan is a key

flashpoint in the tussle for power across the region. the stakes are high and on wednesday china told the taiwanese not to vote for this man, the leader of the democratic is —— progressive party. china's leaders dislike mr lai because he favours more independence. let's have a closer look at the other candidates and parties involved in the election tomorrow. wejust involved in the election tomorrow. we just told you about the centre—left us friendly democratic progressive party, the dpp that is ruled taiwan for eight years. it's candidate is the current vice president known as william lai. the more conservative beijing friendly party, the kmt, their candidate has promised to boost island defences while restarting talks with beijing. and also these smaller taiwan's

people party which lies somewhere between both parties on the political spectrum. and if we focus now on taiwan's relationship with china, our correspondent has been speaking to people in the province closes to the self—governing island. bracing themselves against briskjanuary wins. in reality, see fog clouds their view. undeterred, they make the most of their visit. this is as close as they can get to taiwan. they are banned from travelling to the self governed island which beijing claims as its territory, and has vowed to take one day.

translation: my biggest wish after visiting here is that i hope the island of taiwan can return to our motherland soon. even if taiwan is taken back, i hope it's done via peaceful negotiations. in this way, there is no harm inflicted. if there is a war, the casualties will be huge. we want peace. but worries about a war barely register with these seafood workers. even though they live here on the taiwan strait, they have bigger concerns. translation: | don't care | whether it's reunified or not, it's up to the officials. we just want enough to eat. we want a better life. we don't care about other things. president xi's policies on taiwan involve two things — carrot and stick. for the carrot, this city, the main one in the province, is offering incentives for taiwanese people to come and live and work here, including much cheaper rent. and here is the stick — china's latest aircraft carrier, named after

the fujian province closest to taiwan, was unveiled on state media last week. the sound of militaryjets and warships likely drown out beijing's attempts at wooing the island's people. li haoyu came here from taiwan for work. he tries to entice chinese customers with simpler taipei flavours and is aware the relationship between his past and current homes is fractious. translation: i think the feelings _ are good between the people, but i don't know how the two governments feel about each other. i hope ties can be normalised. i hope the two sides can be like two brothers, like a family. many taiwanese are thought to be descendants of immigrants from this province. beijing plays on these familial ties to outline a vision of a future china unified with taiwan. but those likely

to listen to this view are its own people, not those living across the street. laura bicker, bbc news, fujian. for more analysis on the taiwan elections that are being held tomorrow let's speak with the assistant professor of political science at a local university. political science at a local university-— university. how will the election _ university. how will the election outcome - university. how will thej election outcome affect taiwan's relations with china and the united states? there will be a u-turn _ and the united states? there will be a u-turn of— and the united states? there will be a u-turn of taiwan's l will be a u—turn of taiwan's policy because most of the opposition parties including kmt are more friendly towards beijing and they want to keep a closer relationship with china but not too close with the united states. so there will be a u—turn. but if the dpp wins than everything will remain similar to the situation right

now. �* , ., , ., now. and tensions will remain hiuh? i now. and tensions will remain high? ithink— now. and tensions will remain high? i think so. _ now. and tensions will remain high? i think so. in _ now. and tensions will remain high? i think so. in the - now. and tensions will remain high? i think so. in the short. high? i think so. in the short term china — high? i think so. in the short term china will _ high? i think so. in the short term china will punish - high? i think so. in the short| term china will punish taiwan more if lai wins. and in order to cover up... ._ to cover up... . and what you make to cover up. .. . and what you make of— to cover up... . and what you make of china's _ to cover up... . and what you make of china's reaction - to cover up... . and what you make of china's reaction to i to cover up... . and what you | make of china's reaction to the election so far?— election so far? china has ioecome _ election so far? china has become smarter - election so far? china has become smarter because | election so far? china has - become smarter because they are using hidden ways to interfere with the taiwan elections such as more deep fake accounts to hide themselves in local communities or nonpolitical groups. i think they are revolving their approach in interfering with the taiwan election. ~ ., interfering with the taiwan election. ~ . , election. we have been covering this information _ election. we have been covering this information previous - this information previous lessons without colleague, to someone. you mention xijinping woodland to mesh taiwan. what woodland to mesh taiwan. what would that _ woodland to mesh taiwan. what would that look _ woodland to mesh taiwan. what would that look like? _ woodland to mesh taiwan. “lariat would that look like? military or blockades like two years ago

after nancy pelosi's visit. i also think they will cut preferential ties to taiwan. and then they will ban economic products from taiwan. common tools that they have used so far. ~ ., ., ., far. we will have to leave it there, thank _ far. we will have to leave it there, thank you _ far. we will have to leave it there, thank you for - far. we will have to leave it | there, thank you for sharing your thoughts with us. talking about the economy there and the impact it could have on the selection. we do know that taiwan makes more than half of the semiconductor chip that power most modern technology, its biggest manufacture in that spaceis its biggest manufacture in that space is tsmc which is the ninth most valuable business in the world which makes taiwan valuable but it puts it in a very vulnerable position if anything were to happen in that industry. the chip rivalry has been heating up across the world and across the strait. rupert wingfield—hayes has more on this and he has been to hsinchu and failed this report.

this place has been described as taiwan's silicon shield. this is hsinchu, about an hour and a half's drive south of the capital, taipei, and this is now the global centre of semiconductor production. behind me here in this very bland—looking building, this is taiwan semiconductors fab plant, or one of many of them in this city. and inside here are some of the most advanced manufacturing processes anywhere in the world. this is where they make the really cutting—edge chips, the five nanometres, or recently, they started production of three—nanometre chips. these are the things that go into all of our high—tech devices — our mobile phones, our laptops, our cars, and increasingly the smart devices in our homes. taiwan now produces more than 50% of all the semiconductors in the world, but here they produce over 80% of the really, really cutting—edge chips. and that is why, if you like, the outside world needs to be interested and concerned

about what happens to taiwan. it's why countries are saying some of this manufacturing needs to move elsewhere to america, to europe or to japan — because taiwan is under threat from china, and that makes this place very vulnerable. if there were ever a conflict between taiwan and china, if the island was blockaded by china or if there was an invasion, if these places became damaged or in the worst case scenario destroyed, then experts say the impact on the world's economy would be vastly greater than anything we have seen so far from russia's invasion of ukraine. around the world and across the uk. this is bbc news. bringing you different stories from across the uk. dawn on the ashdown forest and immediately we spotted a herd of fallow deer. stalker charlie

harwood has a hugejob on his hands, trying to reduce the numbers of the animals which he says has now reached unprecedented levels. we are estimated _ unprecedented levels. we are estimated to _ unprecedented levels. we are estimated to have _ unprecedented levels. we are estimated to have around - unprecedented levels. we are estimated to have around 14 l estimated to have around 1a point two deer per square kilometre around the ashdown forest. in comparison to where we want to end up, scotland have suggested that five is a healthy number to be around. but shooting the animals is very controversial and some seek —— summits the culling is a cruel and ineffective way of controlling numbers. the ashdown forest's own countryside manager agrees a dramatic increase in the deer population is affecting native wildlife and says numbers need to be sustainably managed. for more stories, _ to be sustainably managed. for more stories, head to the bbc news — more stories, head to the bbc news website. you're live with bbc news. you're watching newsday. this is a special edition of

the programme as we are in taipei live with me steve lai. we'll hear more about saturday election shortly, but first reminding you of our breaking news this hour. the us and britain and other allies have begun strikes links —— linked to the hoof is in the yemen. —— houthis. louisa, what are we hearing from minister rishi sunak? we have had a statement from the british prime minister rishi sunak in the last half—an—hour or so so i think the best thing to do is if i take that statement, he has said the royal air force has launched targeted attacks against military facilities used by who the —— houthi rebels in yemen. he says the uk will always stand up for the free flow of navigation and if we've shake free flow of trade. it is a strongly worded statement and he uses phrases

like the uk are standing up and standing with the us and you will hear phrases like this from president biden, two. the uk prime minister has gone into the background of this and said in recent months the houthi militia has carried out what he calls dangerous and destabilising attacks against this shipping in the red sea which he says have threatened uk and international ships and he said this is caused major disruption to vital trade routes and has driven up commodity prices so talking about the effect it could have on the british economy here stop it seems to be that he is saying that he has been —— we have been forced into this action and we don't have any information about what exactly this action looks like or when exactly it took place so this statement, while strongly worded, is vague about what exactly has happened. he does say that these who the militia

were repeatedly warned and said despite the repeated warnings from the international community, the houthis have continued to carry out attacks on the red sea. rishi sunak said this cannot stand and the uk will always stand up for free flow of navigation and trade. ., ., , . trade. louisa, thanks very much for getting _ trade. louisa, thanks very much for getting us — trade. louisa, thanks very much for getting us up _ trade. louisa, thanks very much for getting us up to _ trade. louisa, thanks very much for getting us up to speed - trade. louisa, thanks very much for getting us up to speed with i for getting us up to speed with those developments out of the uk and that statement from the uk and that statement from the uk prime minister rishi sunak. now to another story which has been dominating headlines. israel's prime minister has described accusations of genocide against his government as being based on hypocrisy and lies. benjamin netanyahu was speaking after south africa began a case at the international court ofjustice, alleging that israel was attempting to destroy gaza. as pa rt of as part of its case in south africa is calling to an immediate halt to israel's military operations.

for three months the world has looked on in horror. scenes of death and destruction which south africa says is evidence the last few months have been grim. 300 palestinians have been killed including entire families. around 300,000 homes have been destroyed or damaged and 85% of gaza's population has been displaced. that's almost two million people. all of this, in an area no bigger than the isle of wight. for three hours, the court listened to south africa's case. each day, yet more desperate people will be forced to relocate from where they are sheltering or will be bombed in places where they have been told to evacuate to. entire multi—generational

families will be obliterated. and yet more palestinian children will become wcnsf — wounded child, no surviving family. but what is genocide? according to a 19118 convention, it is a crime committed with the intent to destroy a national, ethnic, racial or religious group in whole or in part. israel says it was acting in self defence, following the murderous hamas assault of october the 7th, the worst attack on jews since the holocaust. translation: we are fighting terrorists, - we are fighting lies. today, we saw an upside down world. israel is accused of genocide, while it is fighting against genocide. outside the court, emotions were running high. israel will make its case tomorrow, but its supporters say the charge of genocide is outrageous.

people are talking about what israel is doing. but hamas is committing crimes against humanity every day my brother, and the rest of the hostages are there. and no—one is talking about it. the court will take years to reach its verdict, but it could, within weeks, rule that israel should, in the meantime, halt its military operation. it has no power to make that happen, but it would add to the pressure mounting on israel to act differently in gaza. paul adams, bbc news. back to saturday's crucial poll in taiwan. there's a new party involved this year, the taiwan people's party, ortpp. i caught up with cynthia wu, the tpp's vice presidential candidate and asked her how they plan to differentiate themselves from taiwan's two biggest parties. we favour stronger economic development for taiwan and we

are open to having ties with china economically but on the other hand we are unlike the dpp because we are not seeking to provoke china and proclaiming independence. if we can talk about _ proclaiming independence. if we can talk about defence - proclaiming independence. if we can talk about defence for a moment. dpp has plans to increase the budget for defence from 2.5 to 3% of gpjust gdp. -- gdp. from 2.5 to 3% of gpjust gdp. —— gdp. why is that necessary if you are also close —— pushing to have close relationships with china? two the policy is that dialogue and deterrence are equally important so why we need to be able to maintain dialogue and open discussions with china, we also believe that we should be better armed to be prepared in case something happens but we do not want to be the one provoking war and we do not want to seek war as the ultimate solution but we need to make china understand that our desire to preserve our way of life. that was cynthia wu, the tpp's vice presidential candidate.

we'll be speaking to representatives of the dpp and kmt later today on bbc news. before we go i want to remind you of that developing story out from the uk and the us along with their allies. they have conducted military strikes against targets linked to the houthis in yemen. us president joe biden has released a statement on that and we will have more of that on our website bbc .com. goodbye for now. hello there. it was another day where some of us had sunshine, some of us had cloudy skies on thursday. the cloud, again, was coming in from the north sea, bringing with it some patches of drizzle for east scotland, eastern areas of england. but as the cloud came around the area of high pressure that's dominating to

the northwest, it actually mixed in some slightly drier airjust above the cloud layer as those winds went across the mountains and that drier air evaporated the cloud. and so, what a glorious day it was across parts of the highlands, with not a cloud in the sky. we're going to have a similar kind of weather prospects, really, over the next day or so. with these clear skies in place in scotland, it's a very cold night in places, temperatures getting down into minus double figures, —10, —12 degrees, something like that. whereas where we keep the cloud, that is across large parts of england, wales and northern ireland, it'll stay largely frost—free. and so, for friday morning, it's another day where cloud will vary quite a lot. the cloud thick enough across eastern areas of england to bring us a few patches of drizzle at times, particularly during the morning, the afternoon tending to become a little bit drier. the best of the sunshine — well, scotland, cloud might break in northern ireland, and the northwest of both england and wales could also see some breaks in the cloud. now, temperatures give or take around about six degrees, bit colder than that, though, in the sunshine in scotland. 0n into the weekend's weather prospects — we start to get a northwesterly

wind moving in. thicker cloud brings the threat of a few showers for northern scotland, maybe an odd spit of rain for northern ireland, too. still quite cloudy across englandand wales, but probably a better chance of seeing a few cloud breaks, little bit of sunshine coming through, and it continues to be cold for the time of year. but then, as we get into the second half of the weekend and into monday, across northern areas of scotland, northerly winds start to blow harder and we start to get showers turning to snow. some accumulations are quite likely, so we could start to see some disruption across one and two routes. elsewhere, though, through sunday and monday, little overall change in the weather picture. some sharp frosts, a lot of dry weather, some spells of sunshine. beyond that, though, into next week, we could see some areas of snow affecting northern areas of the uk early in the week and maybe a system coming up from the south later in the week. there is still quite a bit of uncertainty about those kind of features, but the potential for seeing some disruption is certainly there. the highest risk initially across parts of northern scotland. bye for now.

it is friday, january 12, one day before voters go to the polls here and taiwan to elect their new leaders and parliament. we will have analysis and a preview

ahead. hello and welcome to this, especially asia business report live from taipei. we have plenty to talk about in the lead up to the election tomorrow but before we get to that in the last few ours they have been reports in the uk and us that they have launched air strikes against houthis, houthi rebels in yemen in response to their attacks on the red sea. let's cross to a singapore bureau for the market reaction. little market reaction so far but futures are up by more than 1% for crude oil in early asian trade. they surely will be reaction with such a significant move. presidentjoe biden saying the united states will not allow houthi attacks to imperilfreedom of to imperil freedom of navigation to imperilfreedom of navigation and rishi sunak saying the united kingdom will always stand up for freedom of navigation. and free flow of trade. the question is will

these strikes work? britain's