hello. i'm sumi somaskanda. a multilateral coalition led by the us and uk launched strikes on houthi targets in yemen just hours ago. they come in retaliation to the group's attacks on commercial vessels in the red sea. the houthis are an iran—backed rebel group that control a large part of yemen. dozens of strikes have been reported on houthi positions, including in the capital, sanaa, and on hodeidah, the houthi red sea port stronghold. houthi positions in saada and dhamar have also been hit. both the us and uk have released statements confirming the strikes. president biden said in a statement:

in the last few hours, uk prime minister rishi sunak also released a statement, saying: the houthi's leadership has already responded, warning that the us and uk will "pay a heavy price" for this "blatant aggression". live now to barbara starr, long—time pentagon correspondent here in washington, previously for cnn. very good to see you. we have seen a flurry of statements coming out tonight but what is the latest that you are seeing from the white house and the pentagon? i from the white house and the pentagon?— from the white house and the pentaaon? ~ . , ., pentagon? i think what they are t in: to pentagon? i think what they are trying to do _ pentagon? i think what they are trying to do here _ pentagon? i think what they are trying to do here in _ pentagon? i think what they are trying to do here in washington | trying to do here in washington is to keep it narrowly focused, these were a series of strikes

planned with coalition partners to degrade and disrupt the hootie attacks. i know stretch this will destroy the movement, they will go on but they have hit a number of key missile sites. those things that the hootie have been utilising to carry out their attacks against shipping in the red sea. —— houthi. in the next 48 hours we will have to see what the actual assessment is of how much damage was caused to these houthi facilities. administration abilities —— saying they tried to avoid areas where there might be civilians. we will have to learn if there are any reports of civilian casualties and just how much they were able to destroy. it goes without saying that what rishi sunak was talking about is the bottom line here, the disruption to international shipping through the red sea where so much comes through in the way of shipping

that they simply could tolerate no longer and felt they had to make these attacks against the houthis attic that attacks have been happening for a few weeks, any indication whether strikes are happening now? because it went on for so long. there have been a number of statements from various capitals warning the houthis to back off and they did not. there had been a lot of concern about the fact that they are supported by iran and are using iranians supplied weapons, iranians training. and they are clear on how much the iranians were involved in helping the houthis target ships in the red sea. there was a sense it was getting to be too much and they could not let it go on. and they were beginning to attack vessels and assets in the red sea that were tied to western shipping. and there was a growing sense that

they had to do something about it. again, we're talking about disruption of the houthi attacks. we're not about wiping the houthi movement out of yemen. that is not going to happen anytime soon and there is a good deal of concern about what could come next, no indication of whether the iranians backed response or any iranians backed response or any iranians response at all but it is something that they are watching carefully.- is something that they are watching carefully. that is the question- _ watching carefully. that is the question. we _ watching carefully. that is the question. we have _ watching carefully. that is the question. we have seen - watching carefully. that is the question. we have seen the i question. we have seen the white house, the pentagon repeating for several weeks now that they do not want to see the conflict between israel and hamas spread. you think this is confirmation that it has? i think that washington would tell you, and i suspect london the same, these two capitals, that that decision is in the court of iran. and the houthis and hamas in gaza are. us, london, they do not want that

to happen to whether they will be able to keep it all in check i think remains to be seen. there is a sense, i think, in us intelligence that the iranian —— iranians are not looking for a full on all out fight, that is not something they want to do. but it is always the case that the iranians do not necessarily control all the militias that they support. there is the houthi militia in yemen, there are iranians backed militias in syria and iraq so there will be concern about any kind of smaller response that still could be launched against us and western interests in the region. i and western interests in the re . ion. . and western interests in the reuion. ., ., ., ., region. i want to ask a question _ region. i want to ask a question as _ region. i want to ask a question as well - region. i want to ask a question as well about region. i want to ask a - question as well about some of the reactions we have seen here is the news came out of the strikes. members of congress reacted on social media and democratic lawn maker ro khanna said the following, the president needs to come to congress before launching a strike against the houthis in

yemen and involving us in another middle east conflict. why do you think that president biden and his administration decided to go ahead with the strikes, the pentagon as well, while informing congress, not getting permission? i while informing congress, not getting permission?— getting permission? i think it is fair to say _ getting permission? i think it is fair to say that _ getting permission? i think it is fair to say that congress i is fair to say that congress had been well aware for many weeks that this was a potentially likely scenario. all the signs were there. what happened today was not a surprise to anybody and that was the proforma notification to congress earlier in the day. the president of the united states always retains the right to use the military in defence of us security and i think that is the case that they will continue to make here, that the houthi attacks were a risk to us security in the region and that they had to do something about it. in fact, they were watching through satellites, houthi operations, houthi movements on the ground in

yemen for some weeks. they had a very good idea of where they were and whether us wanted strike where it felt it could get the most value, if you will, not a good word that the most value for the strikes it would launch. so been gathering intelligence for some time and they took great pains to bring they took great pains to bring the other coalition partners in some it would be a coalition so in the middle east they could not say this was another us attack. it was a coalition attack. it was a coalition attack. �* ., attack. an important point there. always _ attack. an important point there. always good - attack. an important point there. always good to - attack. an important point there. always good to talk attack. an important point i there. always good to talk to you, barbara. thank you for your insights. for more on this story, i'm joined by adam clements, former us army attache to yemen. also a pentagon official. wait to have you in the studio to help us understand the story. firstly, we do not know that much yet about the targets that have been hit but from what you have been hit but from what you have heard and seen so far, what has been targeted? thank ou ve

what has been targeted? thank you very much _ what has been targeted? thank you very much for _ what has been targeted? thank you very much for having - what has been targeted? thank you very much for having me i what has been targeted? thank. you very much for having me and i think as barbara said there were some limited strikes and what the uk prime minister has signalled that this is some type of way to signal protection of these international shipping points that we do not yet know the effects. we do not yet know the effects. we do not yet know the effect and i am fairly pessimistic, actually, have the effect that this will have four houthi capability to strike targets. you contextually the houthi has been fighting a year long conflict and they have a lot of experience in trying to hide equipment and supplies from saudi letter tax. so on top of this as well the houthis will play differently to their domestic constituencies, they will play a victimisation card,

yemenis, yemen hazard deep standing narrative sincerely 2000 when the united states also conducted their attacks against al qaeda. so i think the houthis will definitely seize on this narrative. what are their _ seize on this narrative. what are their capabilities - seize on this narrative. what are their capabilities in? - seize on this narrative. what are their capabilities in? ourj are their capabilities in? our understanding is that the us and uk led coalition have been trying to hit these targets take out some houthi infrastructure. you say they will still have the capability to respond as they have threatened to do? i to respond as they have threatened to do? i think, yes. i have a pessimistic— threatened to do? i think, yes. i have a pessimistic view - threatened to do? i think, yes. i have a pessimistic view that l i have a pessimistic view that the strikes did, maybe they mitigated or at least limited similar risk to shipping in the red sea. i'm sure there was some targeting, i'm not saying there was no targeting of industry, i say that strategically, strategic use that the houthi is have, i have a pessimistic view of negating some of those capabilities. you mention saudi _ some of those capabilities. you mention saudi arabia and that the houthi have been fighting a

saudi—led coalition in this conflict since 2014. we saw saudi arabia say after the news came out that they are voicing great concern about the strikes according to the foreign ministry. what you make of that? , , , ., that? this is very important messaging- _ that? this is very important messaging. i've _ that? this is very important messaging. i've also - that? this is very important messaging. i've also been l messaging. i've also been concerned in the past as well about the saudis and other regional states because as mentioned earlier this is escalatory relative to the conflict in gaza and what has been happening in last few days between lebanon and israel. so as we look regionally, regional states like saudi arabia do not want this to escalate. it is not good for business nor development goals and saudis and others have been trying to end the conflict in yemen for years. so this would be expected, honestly, from the saudl expected, honestly, from the saudi. ~ ~ . expected, honestly, from the saudi. ~. ~. ., saudi. we saw mitch mcconnell seen a statement _ saudi. we saw mitch mcconnell seen a statement that - saudi. we saw mitch mcconnell seen a statement that he - saudi. we saw mitch mcconnell seen a statement that he is - seen a statement that he is hopeful these operations marketing during shift in biden administration's approach to iran and the houthi and also to

restore deterrence and change the calculus of iran. do you think it will do that? unfortunately i have a pessimistic view of that as mentioned earlier i think the houthis still maintain capability. houthis still maintain capability-— houthis still maintain capability. what about deterring _ capability. what about deterring iran? - capability. what about deterring iran? i - capability. what about deterring iran? i don'tj capability. what about - deterring iran? i don't feel there has been a deterrence from iran, necessarily. naturally of course we have also struck against houthi or iranians based attack in iraq and syria and so there is a back—and—forth but i think iran acts as a spoiler. it tries to spoil, it thrives on areas in the middle east with weak governments and thrives in trying to spoil efforts of the united states and in this case the saudis but also, intentionally, is hoped that the diplomatic channel are still leveraged.— the diplomatic channel are still leveraged. what sort of retaliation _ still leveraged. what sort of retaliation can _ still leveraged. what sort of retaliation can we _ still leveraged. what sort of retaliation can we expect i still leveraged. what sort of retaliation can we expect to |

retaliation can we expect to see from the houthis? i think the will see from the houthis? i think they will retaliate. _ see from the houthis? i think they will retaliate. it - see from the houthis? i think they will retaliate. it is - they will retaliate. it is absolutely important that there is some sort of face saving measure and i think that would be retaliatory. i do not necessarily, i think there is an element, rather, overthe past few days, on tuesday wendy houthis attacked and i think there is an lament of retaliation to maintain some of the face to their domestic audience. so i think the houthis will respond similarly in this attack and we see that in this attack and we see that in houthi social media and their messaging.— in houthi social media and their messaging. last question, if we are to _ their messaging. last question, if we are to see _ their messaging. last question, if we are to see a _ their messaging. last question, if we are to see a retaliation, i if we are to see a retaliation, if we are to see a retaliation, if that is likely, do you think we will then see the united states and the uk led coalition doing more to protect the red sea and this shipping route? that is the most important question. what are the objectives, one of the military objectives, one of the military objectives coming out of the

strikes? strategically, also, i think what we are discussing takes resources from intelligence and so when you take sources away from iraq and syria that is significant. when you have what is going on in gaza, strategically for the united states taking resources away that could be used back in ukraine against russia. that is a significant concern from policy standpoint. 0n using military resources. policy standpoint. on using military resources.- policy standpoint. on using military resources. great to have your _ military resources. great to have your insight _ military resources. great to have your insight on - military resources. great to have your insight on this i have your insight on this story. thank you so much for joining us. around the world and across the uk. this is bbc news. let's look at a major story making news in the uk now. a post office fraud investigator who was involved in criminal inquiries into sub—postmasters has come face—to—face with some of the subpostmasters he investigated. at the public inquiry — stephen bradshaw denied claims that he and others "behaved like mafia gangsters" when looking into losses at branches. our business correspondent, emma simpson, was listening

to his evidence. stephen bradshaw admitted to signing a court statement that horizon was robust but he never wrote it. this from a man who said he was not technically minded. the enquiry also heard he was sent a memo about a court case held guilty plea to a lesser charge of fraud may be acceptable as long as the defendant said it was nothing to do with horizon. hundreds of sub postmasters were wrongly prosecuted between 1999 and 2015 after being falsely accused of stealing money. some of them were at the inquiry today to witness his testimony, including janet skinner. she said it was disappointing not to receive an apology from mr bradshaw for the damage he caused. the inquiry continues on friday. you're live with bbc news. taiwan will hold presidential and parliamentary elections on saturday. the results are expected to have major implications for the island's relationship with china.

under president xi jinping, china has vowed to bring taiwan under its rule, and has not ruled out the use of force to active this goal. taiwan has accused china of intimidating its citizens in an attempt to influence saturday's elections. the us, top ally to taiwan, says it opposes any outside influence. joining me now is steve lai in taipei. very good to see you. what is at stake in this election? thanks. quite a bit in fact because depending on who wins the selection that takes these tomorrow, it will decide or determine the trajectory of taiwan's relationships with both china and the us. you will have to bear in mind, taiwan relies heavily on china and it makes up 20% of its exports but the thing to also realise is that all the parties involved in this election that is taking place tomorrow all want the same thing. they want taiwan to

continue having control of its destiny and that makes its relationship with the us also important because it feels more aligned with the us when it comes to its democratic values so where the party is different is how they walk that line between the relationship between the relationship between china and the us. tell us more about the parties facing off against each other. if we start with the ruling party, the party that is in power at the moment, the democratic progressive party, they have been in powerfor two election cycles, eight years. since they have come into power they have had a more antagonistic relationship with china. they have seen a lot more confrontation and a strong language coming out of china as they have been leaning towards a more self—determined future away from china's influence. you may recall nancy pelosi's visit, the former house speaker, coming over and they welcomed her with open arms and that triggered a lot of reaction from china and in the

taiwan strait with military exercises and the like, so they are not liked by china at all. president tsai ing—wen of the leader of the democratic progressive party, she cannot run anymore, she has had her 2—term limit already. william lai, hervice 2—term limit already. william lai, her vice president at the moment, he is running for the top ticket and has vowed to continue the policies that tsai ing—wen has championed. china does not like that and china say that a vote for the dbp is akin to a vote for war, a clear indication that the dislike of the dpp and its continued push for more separation from china. if we turn to the other two parties that are in condition, the kmp, they have a long tradition of being popular in taiwan and they are pushing with more friendly relations with more friendly relations with china —— china and so they —— and also the tpp, the taiwan people's party, they see themselves more in the centre. they want to both work on deterrence with china when it comes to china military

strength when its relationship with the us but they also want dialogue and diplomacy with china as well so they position themselves in the middle. sum themselves in the middle. an election that is being watched closely around the world, what about people in taiwan? what issues are they most concerned about? i issues are they most concerned about? ., , issues are they most concerned about? . , ., ., about? i have been here for a few days _ about? i have been here for a few days now _ about? i have been here for a few days now and _ about? i have been here for a few days now and we - about? i have been here for a few days now and we have i about? i have been here for a i few days now and we have been walking the streets and putting together stories and speaking together stories and speaking to taiwanese people, particularly young people and you get the sense that really what they are concerned about is the bread and butter issues, the domestic issues. of course at spectre and the cloud of china hangs over all of their thinking that where they feel it the most is in their stagnant salaries, wage growth that they haven't seen materialise over the last two years —— two decades with regards to both the dpp being in power and before them the kmp so there is a little bit of anxiety perhaps you could say or a little bit of wanting to see something different. housing is also a big issue.

taiwanese people find it very hard to get into the housing market in part because the housing market has continued to climb while wages have stayed stagnant so there is a big push ijy stagnant so there is a big push by the people of taiwan to try and find a party that will look out for the domestic interest as well as having to deal with the larger geopolitical issues at stake. mil the larger geopolitical issues at stake. �* ,, at stake. all right, steve, very good _ at stake. all right, steve, very good to _ at stake. all right, steve, very good to talk - at stake. all right, steve, very good to talk to - at stake. all right, steve, very good to talk to you. | very good to talk to you. thanks for the update. let's turn to some important news around the world. the us federal aviation administration formally notified boeing of an investigation, after an alaska airlines 737 max nine depressurised during flight. the door plug on that boeing 737 max nine plane fell out after take off, forcing an emergency landing. the faa will investigate if boeing failed to make sure its completed products conformed to its approved design and were faa compliant. those planes have been grounded since the incident. ajudge is now deciding what punishment donald trump will face in a civil fraud case after ruling that the former president fraudulently manipulated property values. new york attorney general letitia james is seeking a penalty of nearly $370—million and a lifetime ban

on business dealings in new york. as lawyers wrapped their closing arguments, donald trump, the frontunner for the republican nomination for president, told thejudge he did nothing wrong. hunter biden pled not guilty to nine federal tax charges during a court appearance in los angeles. the son of us presidentjoe biden is being accused of not paying taxes. it comes one day after hunter biden made a surprise appearance on the hill, where republicans formally recommended to hold him in contempt of congress for defying a subpoena for testimony. lawyers for the south african government outlined a case in the hague thursday, accusing israel's military of carrying out genocide in gaza. it was the first of two days of hearings before the united nations top court. lawyers from south africa demanded that the international court ofjustice order an emergency suspension of israel's military campaign in palestinian territory. speaking to the court — tembeka ngcukaitobi, advocate of the high court of south africa, said

"the intent to destroy gaza has been nurtured at the highest level of state". he went to to directly call israeli prime minister benjamin netanyahu, among other israeli leaders a, "genocidal inciter" and said genocide was "evident from the way in which israel's military attack is being conducted." israel will present its case tomorrow, rejecting the accusations of genocide as false and baseless. israel argues it's acting in self—defence against hamas after the attacks in southern israel on october 7th. in response, prime minsiter netanyahu said, "it is precisely the idf, the most moral army in the world, which does everything possible to avoid harming... "non—involved civilians, that is accused by representatives of the monsters of "genocide." he accused south africa of hypocrisy, and said, "where was south africa when millions of people were murdered and displaced in syria and yemen, and by whom? by hamas' partners. " meanwhile, the us is standing by israel, saying they see no basis for south africa's allegations of genocide

by israel — that's according to white house spokesman john kirby. here's the bbc�*s anna holligan with the latest from the hague. this is the peace palace, home to the international court of justice. the un's highest judicial body based in the hague. today we have you been hearing from south africa accusing israel of having genocidal intent, committing genocide against palestinians in gaza. evidence presented in court, they referred to the military bombardment which has led to the deaths of approximately 23,000 people according to the hamas run health ministry but also the forced displacement of much of the population, the deliberate attempt to impede medical supplies a slow death due to starvation and dehydration and lack of access to medical supplies but also statements from senior israeli officials which south africa says are

evidence of genocidal intent. in terms of what happens next, israel will have a chance to present its defence on friday for three hours and then the judges could issue an issue on these interim measures and it is important to be clear that this court does not have the power to stop the war itself but any decision against israel could have a considerable political impact. earlier we spoke to alanna 0'malley, a professor of united nations studies in peace and justice at leiden university. alanna was at the international court ofjustice earlier to hear south africa's case and explained why a ruling against israel could could put pressure on israel and its key ally, the united states. the icj is the highest legal court of the land so and icj

ruling is the highest condemnation. the second president setting up part of this case is that south africans have taken the case under the genocide convention and the genocide convention of course came from the persecution of the jewish people after the second world war, was agreed in 1948, so the scale of the accusations and the gravity of this case it really couldn't be higher. the kind of level at which the stakes of which we are talking about and that is reflected very much in the arguments before —— by south africa today, really couldn't be higher and they have talked about how the sanctity and the procedure of —— rest each of the un as a whole and the ability to respond to violations, grave violation of international law, is really what is at stake here. so we hope that an order by the icj would have the gravity to effect change.

and finally — a huge ancient city has been found in the amazon, hidden for thousands of years by lush vegetation. the houses and plazas in the upano area in eastern ecuador are believed to be the oldest ever discovered in the amazon — built around 2,500 years ago. archeologists say the discovery changes everything known about the history of people living in the amazon. it was previously thought that such large settlements were only in highland areas of south america like machu picchu in peru. stay with us here on bbc news. 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.

all all it is friday, january 12, one day before voters go go to the polls here in taiwan to elect their new leader and parliament. we will have analysis and a preview ahead. hello and welcome to this

special 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 hours there 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 singapore for more on this story and the reaction of the market. little market reaction so far but crude oil futures are up more than 1% in early asian trade. there has been so much disruption to shipping routes in that region over the last few months that markets may have priced this type of military action in. that it does seem significant that the us and uk have all ready military action in order to protect commercial interest. presidentjoe biden saying the us will not allow houthi attacks to imperil freedom

us will not allow houthi attacks to imperilfreedom of