live from london, this is bbc news. first, to taiwan, where it is election day. polls have now closed on the island as as you can see, it is all hands on deck for the ballot count. the votes are being counted by representatives at individual polling stations, there are now no more votes being taken. the official results will be known by the end of the day but we could have some

unofficial results in the next few hours. around 19 million voters were called to elect a new president and parliament, the elections are seen as a core test of taiwan's relationship with china. the economy and education are key issue for voters but globally, one issue looms large, that is how taiwan should address the threat from china. my colleague steve lai is in taipei and hejoins me now. hello to you, steve. the polls closed just about an hour ago but it looks like an incredibly efficient system, and we might not have long to wait to find out the results, or at least guidance as to what the end result might be? guidance as to what the end result miaht be? , ., , guidance as to what the end result miuhtbe? , . , , might be? yes, that is right, it is an incredibly _ might be? yes, that is right, it is an incredibly quick— might be? yes, that is right, it is an incredibly quick process, - might be? yes, that is right, it is an incredibly quick process, the l an incredibly quick process, the polls closed at 4pm local time, that is when the ballot boxes get opened and the counting begins straightaway

at the polling stations and those results get fed in essentially, and due to the transparency of taiwan elections, all the counting is updated, live stream as we speak, so i have a live stream in front of me and i can tell you at the moment when it comes to the presidential race, the incumbent parties candidate from the dpp p is currently in the lead with 3.2 million votes. behind him is the kmt candidate hou yu—ih with 2.8 million and in third place ko wen—je from the youngest party contesting the presidential elections, he has 2.6 million votes. we are still quite some way away, 19 and a half million voters eligible for voting in a selection so we don't have confirmation just yet but we had some indication of how the numbers are sort of moving at the moment. when we cross now to shaimaa khalil, she is our correspondent down on the ground a that polling station in a temple and she has been watching the

counting process happen since the polling close at apm. tell us what is going on there, it is all moving very quickly? 50. is going on there, it is all moving very quickly?— is going on there, it is all moving very quickly? so, it is moving very cuickl , it very quickly? so, it is moving very quickly. it is _ very quickly? so, it is moving very quickly, it is moving _ very quickly? so, it is moving very quickly, it is moving very - quickly, it is moving very efficiently, steve, but those numbers you have been talking about, those _ numbers you have been talking about, those tallies, this is the breakdown. if i can take you closer to what _ breakdown. if i can take you closer to what is — breakdown. if i can take you closer to what is happening in this polling station, _ to what is happening in this polling station, the ballot boxes have been opened. _ station, the ballot boxes have been opened, the counting has started, this is_ opened, the counting has started, this is actually another ballot box that is_ this is actually another ballot box that is about to be opened, and what happens _ that is about to be opened, and what happens is _ that is about to be opened, and what happens is representatives then take the ballot _ happens is representatives then take the ballot papers, read them out, the ballot papers, read them out, the yellow— the ballot papers, read them out, the yellow ones, i can tell you, are the yellow ones, i can tell you, are the parliamentary ones, the pink ones _ the parliamentary ones, the pink ones in _ the parliamentary ones, the pink ones in the — the parliamentary ones, the pink ones in the background are the presidential ones, and for the last hour or— presidential ones, and for the last hour or so, — presidential ones, and for the last hour or so, representatives have been _ hour or so, representatives have been taking them out, reading the names— been taking them out, reading the names of— been taking them out, reading the names of the candidates, reading their— names of the candidates, reading their number, and then it is tallied on a board — their number, and then it is tallied on a board. this is going to go on until— on a board. this is going to go on until all— on a board. this is going to go on until all the — on a board. this is going to go on until all the boxes in the counting has finished in the next few hours on this— has finished in the next few hours on this total number will go to the

centrai— on this total number will go to the central election can and then we are going _ central election can and then we are going to _ central election can and then we are going to get that official results but as— going to get that official results but as you have been seeing, these constant _ but as you have been seeing, these constant updates that you are getting — constant updates that you are getting on your screen from local media _ getting on your screen from local media are — getting on your screen from local media are putting william lai in the front, _ media are putting william lai in the front, att— media are putting william lai in the front, all three presidential candidates now have passed the 1 million _ candidates now have passed the 1 million vote, it has been a steady stream _ million vote, it has been a steady stream of— million vote, it has been a steady stream of voters, and what is interesting, just before the polls closed, — interesting, just before the polls closed, people had been making their way in _ closed, people had been making their way in for— closed, people had been making their way in for a _ closed, people had been making their way in for a last—minute casting of their— way in for a last—minute casting of their vote — way in for a last—minute casting of their vote. this is a very, obviously. _ their vote. this is a very, obviously, so many things are at stake. _ obviously, so many things are at stake. in — obviously, so many things are at stake, in terms of domestic politics. _ stake, in terms of domestic politics, but who is go to take power. — politics, but who is go to take power, but of course, that all—important, fraught and tense relationship with china. yes, all-important, fraught and tense relationship with china. yes, that is riaht, relationship with china. yes, that is right. thank— relationship with china. yes, that is right, thank you _ relationship with china. yes, that is right, thank you very _ relationship with china. yes, that is right, thank you very much - is right, thank you very much shaimaa khalil speaking to us there from a temple, as the ballots continue to roll in. and the results continue to roll in. and the results continue to roll in. and the results continue to roll in and be counted as well. i have got with me here on

the rooftop guest to give us a bit more analysis on this story as well, as it evolves here in taiwan. thank you forjoining me here. let me get your quick reaction to what we are seeing on the screen in front of us, the numbers that are rolling in, william lai seems to be in a light —— in the lead. william lai seems to be in a light -- in the lead-— -- in the lead. that seems to be re -- in the lead. that seems to be pretty much _ -- in the lead. that seems to be pretty much in — -- in the lead. that seems to be pretty much in line _ -- in the lead. that seems to be pretty much in line with - pretty much in line with expectation. judging from the poll before _ expectation. judging from the poll before the poll closed about ten days ago, we are looking at william lai shooting for 40% of the votes here _ lai shooting for 40% of the votes here and — lai shooting for 40% of the votes here and at— lai shooting for 40% of the votes here and at the moment it looks like it is getting — here and at the moment it looks like it is getting a little bit more than one third — it is getting a little bit more than one third as well, so i think that is largely— one third as well, so i think that is largely in _ one third as well, so i think that is largely in line with expectation. of course, — is largely in line with expectation. of course, there is another factor to consider, — of course, there is another factor to consider, that is such counting, early— to consider, that is such counting, early vote — to consider, that is such counting, early vote counts tend to happen in cities _ early vote counts tend to happen in cities and _ early vote counts tend to happen in cities and his party tends to have a lot of— cities and his party tends to have a lot of strength in the more rural and southern part of taiwan's so those _ and southern part of taiwan's so those votes have yet to really come in just _ those votes have yet to really come in just yet. — those votes have yet to really come injust yet, so those votes have yet to really come in just yet, so when those do come in, in just yet, so when those do come in. i_ in just yet, so when those do come in. ithink— in just yet, so when those do come in, i think there is a good chance

that his — in, i think there is a good chance that his vote share may go up a bit more _ that his vote share may go up a bit more than — that his vote share may go up a bit more than what we are experiencing as welt _ more than what we are experiencing as welt so — more than what we are experiencing as well. ,, ., , more than what we are experiencing as well. , ., as well. so we might see a loading u . as well. so we might see a loading u- of as well. so we might see a loading up of numbers _ as well. so we might see a loading up of numbers for— as well. so we might see a loading up of numbers for him _ as well. so we might see a loading up of numbers for him when - as well. so we might see a loading up of numbers for him when those | up of numbers for him when those numbers come in. to get your thoughts on something shaimaa khalil was talking about, she talked about the dual narratives on the selection when it comes to domestic issues but also the shadow cast by china over taiwan, iwant also the shadow cast by china over taiwan, i want to get your thoughts on how you think those two factors are weighing on voters minds. bath are weighing on voters minds. both factors are of _ are weighing on voters minds. both factors are of course _ are weighing on voters minds. both factors are of course important. one thing _ factors are of course important. one thing that— factors are of course important. one thing that makes the selection different is that rather than a traditional two candidate election, this time — traditional two candidate election, this time we really had three viable candidates in the race. when you have _ candidates in the race. when you have two — candidates in the race. when you have two candidates in the past, often _ have two candidates in the past, often times it is very easy to rain it as _ often times it is very easy to rain it as a _ often times it is very easy to rain it as a de — often times it is very easy to rain it as a de facto china policy referendum, if you well. this time around _ referendum, if you well. this time around because you have an additional third party entering the race, _ additional third party entering the race, that — additional third party entering the race, that means there is more room for other— race, that means there is more room for other missions to come to the fore, _ for other missions to come to the fore, domestic issues like housing crisis, _ fore, domestic issues like housing crisis. like — fore, domestic issues like housing crisis, like perhaps creating more

good _ crisis, like perhaps creating more good jobs — crisis, like perhaps creating more good jobs for younger people, more social— good jobs for younger people, more social upper mobility, if you well, for the _ social upper mobility, if you well, for the next generation, those things— for the next generation, those things tend to make the election more _ things tend to make the election more different than before and that is not _ more different than before and that is notiust_ more different than before and that is notjust the policies but also the issues _ is notjust the policies but also the issues have been more spotlighted on the agenda. a the issues have been more spotlighted on the agenda. its bit spotlighted on the agenda. a bit more nuance — spotlighted on the agenda. a bit more nuance of _ spotlighted on the agenda. a bit more nuance of our _ spotlighted on the agenda. 3 t more nuance of our understanding of what is at stake and on the mind of voters here in taiwan. in the last election, voter turnout was 75%, indications are that we had seen so far that it could be less than that this time around, around 70%, what is your reaction?— is your reaction? again, that is re is your reaction? again, that is pretty much — is your reaction? again, that is pretty much an _ is your reaction? again, that is pretty much an in _ is your reaction? again, that is pretty much an in line - is your reaction? again, that is pretty much an in line with - pretty much an in line with expectation. i think the taiwan huge turnout _ expectation. i think the taiwan huge turnout in _ expectation. i think the taiwan huge turnout in normal years is roughly somewhere — turnout in normal years is roughly somewhere in the high 60% comet 67p, 68% or— somewhere in the high 60% comet 67p, 68% or so, _ somewhere in the high 60% comet 67p, 68% or so, the last time around in 2020. _ 68% or so, the last time around in 2020, the — 68% or so, the last time around in 2020, the election had an elect —— extra _ 2020, the election had an elect —— extra high— 2020, the election had an elect —— extra high turnout partly because of the prominence that china policy played _ the prominence that china policy played in — the prominence that china policy played in that year's election

because _ played in that year's election because there was a lot of media attention— because there was a lot of media attention focusing on the development is in hong kong, for e>

correspondents on the ground. in the meantime, back to you. has correspondents on the ground. in the meantime, back to you.— correspondents on the ground. in the meantime, back to you. as steve was sa in: meantime, back to you. as steve was saying there. — meantime, back to you. as steve was saying there. you _ meantime, back to you. as steve was saying there, you can _ meantime, back to you. as steve was saying there, you can get _ meantime, back to you. as steve was saying there, you can get the - meantime, back to you. as steve was saying there, you can get the latest i saying there, you can get the latest of elements on the bbc news website and of course all of the other news stories of the day, we are running this life page, you can see there, thatis this life page, you can see there, that is where you will find updates from our reporters, plus any background and reaction from the island and the wider region. just log onto bbc news dot—com or download the bbc news app. and of course, we will be back to steve in taipei as soon as we have any more information from there, that vote counting clearly happening at pace. now, to the middle east. the us has launched a new strike against the houthis in yemen. military officials say they hit a radar site with missiles fired from the uss carney, based in the red sea. they've described the fresh strike as a follow—on action to there joint attacks yesterday, which authorities say are designed to degrade the houthis ability to attack maritime vessels.

earlier, president biden had warned the us would respond if the iran—backed group continued what he called outrageous behaviour in attacking shipping in the red sea. on friday, the us and uk hit around 30 sites across yemen, including the capital city of sana'a. houthi leaders said five people were killed and have warned of more retaliation. our correspondent, graham satchell has more. before and after — satellite images show the impact of the american and british bombing raids. the americans say airfields and weapons storage depots were destroyed. the raf didn't take part in the attack overnight, but both the british and americans say the raids are vital to keep shipping routes open in the red sea. houthi militia have been targeting container ships off the yemeni coast for weeks. sometimes, like this, they have boarded vessels.

in other attacks, they used drones and missiles. they say they are disrupting this key shipping route to show their support for palestinians in gaza. yemen sits at a key strategic position in the middle east, especially for global shipping. the normal route from the far east goes around the coast of yemen, through the red sea and the suez canal. it has been significantly disrupted. most vessels are now taking the longer route around southern africa. it means delay and extra cost to global commerce. a huge rally in the yemeni capital, sana'a. protesters burned the american and israeli flags. millions in yemen and across the arab world are appalled by israel's conduct of the war in gaza, and they see the current air strikes by the west as an escalation. a houthi military spokesman said british and american criminal aggression would not go

unanswered or unpunished. the americans maintain air strikes are a proportionate response, and they're talking down a wider conflict. we absolutely do not want to see an extension of the conflict in gaza broader into the region and will continue to work hard on that. but at the same time, we can't allow the houthis to continue to conduct these attacks, putting innocent mariners' lives at risk and affecting the global economy. the houthis are backed but not controlled by iran. the clear worry now is that what's happening in gaza and the red sea spreads and escalates to the wider region. graham satchell, bbc news. live now to our middle east correspondent, hugo bachega.

hi, hugo, good to talk to you. the us, the uk are seemingly trying to draw a distinction about these air strikes, trying to separate it from what is going on in gaza and israel, ijust wonder how what is going on in gaza and israel, i just wonder how they are being viewed, these air strikes, across the rest of the middle east, the middle east leaders, what are they saying about this?— middle east leaders, what are they saying about this? yes, the houthis are sa in: saying about this? yes, the houthis are saying these — saying about this? yes, the houthis are saying these attacks _ saying about this? yes, the houthis are saying these attacks they - saying about this? yes, the houthis are saying these attacks they have i are saying these attacks they have carried out targeting shipping vessels in the red sea are in response to israel's offensive against hamas in gaza, so they are linking those attacks to what is happening in gaza. i think yesterday we heard from his brother here in lebanon, another group —— hezbollah here 11 on, and there is a fear this could lead to an escalation of this violence here in the middle east,

the houthis have also to retaliate after the first wave of attacks and i think what happened overnight was that the us said these attacks were a follow up action following the first wave of attacks, they said these recent strikes targeted the radar facility is being these recent strikes targeted the radarfacility is being used by the houthis in yemen, we haven't had any confirmation about the location that has been hit, there are reports from yemen suggesting the capital sanaa was hit. this was a much more targeted operation but again it shows the american —— the americans are still going ahead with the strikes and we heard from a houthi official yesterday who promised a very harsh and painful response and said american and british citizens will be feeling that response. so far, the actions that we have seen from the houthis have been muted, a missile that was fired yesterday by

the houthis didn't hit anything, according to the pentagon, but i think the expectation of american officials is that the houthis are going to respond to these attacks. hugo, thank you very much for the moment, hugo bachega in beirut. i'm joined now by dr david wearing. he is a lecturer in international relations at the university of sussex. thank you forjoining us on bbc news. can you give us a bit of history? houthis are now the focus of global attention, butjust take us through who they are? they are a paramilitary group with origins in the northern part of yemen, they were at odds with the former central government in yemen but the central government in yemen at that time fought a series of small wars with them and then during the uprisings at around 2010, 2011,

the uprisings at around 2010, 2011, the central government was toppled and a new interim government came into position. now, the houthis moved down and troubled that central government in 2014 and at that point, the saudis and the uae led a military coalition intervening to push the houthis back and that military action was supported by the west. it went on for about seven years, the saudis absolutely pulverised yemen at that time, in this covenant bombing and a blockade, which contributed significantly to the creation of what the un called the world's worst humanitarian disaster. at the end of that process, the houthis were stronger than ever, the saudis fought the houthis could be defeated within a few weeks or months, it dragged on for seven years another houthis, farfrom being a small paramilitary force, they are the de facto government in western and

northern yemen.— facto government in western and northern yemen. that is interesting, leadinu northern yemen. that is interesting, leadin: us northern yemen. that is interesting, leading us on — northern yemen. that is interesting, leading us on to _ northern yemen. that is interesting, leading us on to how— northern yemen. that is interesting, leading us on to how powerful- northern yemen. that is interesting, leading us on to how powerful a - leading us on to how powerful a military force are they?- leading us on to how powerful a military force are they? yes, they are certainly _ military force are they? yes, they are certainly more _ military force are they? yes, they are certainly more powerful- military force are they? yes, they are certainly more powerful thanl are certainly more powerful than they were at the beginning of that whole process of conflict. they are not quite a state but they are battle hardened after seven years. as i say, they have held off an enormous onslaught from one of the regional literary powers backed by the world leading superpower and they are feeling emboldened and they clearly have the capacity to continue to strike western ships and i very much doubt the action taken in the last couple of days is going to either deter them or remove the capability that they have my so i am struggling to see how this is a positive development, in terms of the disruption to the red sea shipping, it seems to me this is escalating the —— escalating it further.

escalating the -- escalating it further. ~ ., , ., ., escalating the -- escalating it further. ., , ., ., ., further. what is the ultimate aim of the houthis? _ further. what is the ultimate aim of the houthis? they _ further. what is the ultimate aim of the houthis? they have _ further. what is the ultimate aim of the houthis? they have a _ further. what is the ultimate aim of the houthis? they have a series - further. what is the ultimate aim of the houthis? they have a series of| the houthis? they have a series of aims. we the houthis? they have a series of aims- we have _ the houthis? they have a series of aims. we have to _ the houthis? they have a series of aims. we have to take _ the houthis? they have a series of aims. we have to take searcy - the houthis? they have a series of aims. we have to take searcy the l aims. we have to take searcy the fact that these series of attacks on the red sea have come in response to the red sea have come in response to the war in gaza. on top of any sincere wish that they may or may not have to support the palestinians or, remember it also suits them, politically, to be seen to support the palestinians, it gives support to their cause to mystically and regionally wear a great many people in yemen and the wider region are horrified by what is happening in gaza. the houthis are emboldened by the recent conflict, they have got, it suits them politically to be seen to be standing up for the palestinians so they will welcome this fight, they will relish the opportunity to take on the americans and the british who apart from anything else were behind the saudi onslaught that went on for seven

years from 2015 to 2022. dr david warinu , years from 2015 to 2022. dr david waring. we _ years from 2015 to 2022. dr david waring. we will — years from 2015 to 2022. dr david waring, we will have _ years from 2015 to 2022. dr david waring, we will have to _ years from 2015 to 2022. dr david waring, we will have to live - years from 2015 to 2022. dr david waring, we will have to live it - waring, we will have to live it there, thank you so much for your time. here in the uk, the post office has been accused of failing to hand over evidence to the public inquiry, as well as several court cases. yesterday, a lawyer acting for the post office apologised for delays in the disclosure of documents. hundreds of sub—postmasters were convicted after the faulty software made it look as if money had gone missing. zoe conway has the details. i swear by god evidence i should give the evidence i shall give. the latest inquiry hearing might have been technical, but it mattered. chris jackson is a lawyer acting for the post office. it's accused of repeatedly delaying the work of the inquiry by failing to produce evidence on time. the inquiry was told thatjust last week more than 900 documents were suddenly produced by the post office, even though they related to a witness

who appeared only a few days later. if i can say it with a degree of understatement, he's not the only witness in respect of whom it has happened. and for a period, it was every witness, every day of the week, twice on sundays. chris jackson said he agreed that the ongoing delays were suboptimal. he was also asked why the whatsapp messages of post office staff, such as the former chief executive paula vennells, hadn't been collected when they could reveal conversations about horizon. chris jackson said it was his understanding staff only used whatsapp for administrative purposes. it may be a surprise to a member of the public that nobody

in the post office used whatsapp to discuss issues of substance relating to the horizon system. that is our understanding, but we are keeping it under test. the post office says getting hold of all the documents is a huge exercise as there are 70 million of them. next week the inquiry will hear from fujitsu, the company which runs the horizon it system. they're likely to be asked why they continue to deny there were problems with the software. even as evidence mounted that there were bugs and faults with the horizon system. zoe conway, bbc news. there are plenty of lines on this story coming in all the time. another one now. the post office may have underpaid more than £100 million in tax while overpaying its senior executives. that's according to experts — the tax policy associates — who say the post office paid less tax by deducting payments to victims of the horizon it scandalfrom its profits. they say this could be

a possible breach of tax law. here's our business editor simonjack to explain. what they have been doing is deducting compensation due to victims of the scandal from their reported profits, thereby lowering — in some cases wiping out — their tax bill. now, tax experts have told us that may be a breach of tax law, that you are not normally allowed to deduct fines or compensation for unlawful acts from your profits, they're non—tax—deductible, and as a result the post office may owe over £100 million in unpaid tax. now, in effect the government willjust have to step in and support it as it has in the past. but there is another dimension to this, whereas they have included those payments out when it comes to reporting profits, they've stripped them out when it comes to executive pay and bonuses, ignoring those payments, which means they �*ve been boosting the salary and the bonuses of those executives. now, leading tax lawyer dan neidle, said to me, he's from tax policy associates, if a public company had done this, or a private plc had done this,

then the shareholders would be asking for the heads of their senior executives on a platter. simon jack reporting there. with more on this let's speak to our political correspondent peter saull. peter, goodness me, this story gets more and more complex and extensive, bring us right up to date with the latest lines today.— latest lines today. yes, that i waterina latest lines today. yes, that i watering tax _ latest lines today. yes, that i watering tax bill _ latest lines today. yes, that i watering tax bill will - latest lines today. yes, that i watering tax bill will no - latest lines today. yes, that i | watering tax bill will no doubt latest lines today. yes, that i - watering tax bill will no doubt get a lot of attention this morning, you can read more about it on the bbc news website. but more law —— lots more to talk about. last night, the minister responsible for postal affairs, kevin hollinrake, he was asked about the prospect of criminal prosecutions against those responsible for the scandal, he said ultimately he would like those to be held to account and that might includejail time for senior held to account and that might include jail time for senior post office managers, i think that is the furthest that any minister has gone

in that regard, and i think there is any prospect of any criminal prosecutions until after the public inquiry into the scandal has concluded, it is due to carry on causing —— holding hearings till the summer and will report back by the end of the year. the other thing kevin hollinrake was talk about last night was the prospect of the post office being stripped of its power to carry out private prosecutions, as it did, with the vast majority of people who have been wrongly convicted in a scandal, he was given a pretty clear hint that the justice secretary is minded to change things, although it is quite a convex issue because there are lots of companies and organisations that have that fundamental right to bring about private prosecutions, but it seems that to change is coming. lots of talk is well about lessons learned. the trade union congress has put out a statement talking about a piece of legislation that went through the houses of parliament last year called the procurement act which is all about improving accountability,

transparency, in terms of public and private contracts, they are saying the government didn't go far enough on that and it needs to go much further, and had they included with the tuc had recommended, the horizon scandal that had come to light much, much sooner, they have meant saying it has improved accountability with that legislation but there is much more potentially to come.- more potentially to come. peter, thank ou more potentially to come. peter, thank you for— more potentially to come. peter, thank you for that, _ more potentially to come. peter, thank you for that, stay - more potentially to come. peter, thank you for that, stay with - more potentially to come. peter, thank you for that, stay with us l more potentially to come. peter, | thank you for that, stay with us on bbc news, we will bring you all the latest from the elections in taiwan. hello, there. most of us have seen plenty of this today, a lot of cloud around, but it is predominantly dry. the weather story, though, is on the change from tomorrow and into next week. it's going to turn noticeably colder with a risk of snow, even at lower levels in the north. and, yes, we will see some severe night—time frost. for the here and now, though, for the start of this weekend, we've got this cold front sinking its way steadily southwards. the real cold air not quite arriving yet, but it means some brighter skies behind that cold front, a scattering of showers to the north west of the great glen and some sunshine to the east

of the pennines. our weather front moving out of northern ireland into central and southern england. here we will continue to see a fair amount of cloud through the day, but it will stay relatively warmer than it has been. we're looking at highs of around 4 to 8 degrees. as we move through the night, that blanket of cloud will continue to linger across england and wales. so that will prevent temperatures from falling too far. some clearer skies further north, the breeze picking up and changing more to a northerly. so some of those showers in the far north of scotland will be of snow. here it will be a chilly start to sunday morning. so, the cold air starting to push into scotland. some of those showers at lower levels now starting to turn to snow. there will be some sunshine across the scottish borders into the north of england, along with northern ireland. few scattered showers from that weak weather front sinking south across england and wales. here we keep temperatures 5 to 7 degrees, but a colder story starting to develop into scotland. that cold air will continue to dominate into monday.

further snow into scotland, wintry showers into northern ireland, dry but cold elsewhere, predominantly sunny. however, as we move out of monday into tuesday, this little weather front could enhance the risk of snow into northern ireland and potentially northern england. so, anywhere north of this could see further snow and we'll start to see accumulations gathering. some disruption is likely. to the south of that, it still stays cold, but it should be quite sunny with it. so temperatures here around three or four degrees, but struggling in scotland — below freezing in rural parts. then there were some thoughts that this area of low pressure could bring some snow for a time across southern england. but, at the moment, computer models want to take it over to france. so here it looks slightly quieter.

this is bbc news, the headlines... votes are being counted in taiwan's presidential and parliamentary elections — under the shadow of threats from china that it might seek to gain control of the island. the to gain control of the island. outcome could to find ties the outcome could to find future ties with china. the us military launches a fresh strike against yemeni houthis. they

have vowed to retaliate further, raising the prospect of a wider conflict in the region. welcome back to bbc news. thank you forjoining us on bbc news. let's go through the situation in the middle east. we will be aware there has been an update overnight. the us has launched a new strike against the houthis in yemen. military officials say they hit a radar site with missiles fired from the uss carney, based in the red sea. the houthis have been fighting a civil war against the yemeni government since 2014. when the war in gaza began. they declared their support for hamas and said they would target any ship travelling to israel.

our security correspondent, frank gardner, looks at whether this military action will deter them. proudly independent, wary of outsiders and also staunchly anti—western and anti—israel. the houthis are a tough mountain tribe who seized power in yemen ten years ago. today, the us led air strikes seem only to have emboldened them and their supporters. translation: we condemn the criminal terrorist strikes | on the yemeni people by israel, america, and britain. we have been at war for eight years. these strikes do not frighten us and do not worry a hair on our head. we will support our brothers in palestine and gaza and we are with them. the houthis have already endured nearly eight years of air strikes as saudi arabia, armed with western weapons, sought to reverse their takeover and restore the legitimate government. it failed. the houthis are in firm control of most of the populated parts of yemen. that's the purple bits here, including the capital sana'a, and crucially, most

of the red sea coast. and they're backed by iran, which trains them, arms them, and provides them with intelligence, which it denies. this has enabled the houthis to build up a powerful arsenal of drones and missiles. now, the houthis have effectively entered the gaza war on the side of hamas. they've demanded a ceasefire and they say they're targeting any ship linked to israel, but they've also attacked plenty of vessels that aren't. the capabilities the iranians have provided the houthis have included cruise missiles, ballistic missiles and also the capability to manufacture home—grown uavs, drones, which can be used as a cheap way to attack both shipping at sea and targets on the land. houthi patience may outlast america's and britain's in this crisis. their drones cost a fraction of what it cost to shoot them down. they've vowed to keep attacking shipping and to exact revenge.

frank gardner, bbc news. there's been a huge rise in the amount of money stolen by scammers advertising fake jobs here in the uk. according to action fraud, con artists send out text and whatsapp messages to people, offering them roles with a high wage and then trick them into handing over banking and card details. dan whitworth from radio 4's money box has more. like many frauds, this is a numbers game, millions of scam messages get sent out and most are ignored. but itjust takes one to hit the right person at the right time — someone looking for a job or wanting to earn more money — for criminals to seize their opportunity. bella was caught out after she lost herjob and had posted her cv online, and after dozens of follow—up messages and phone calls over several days, she had £3,000 stolen.

i didn't know if i could stop them, if there was a way of sorting out, i didn't know if i could stop them, if there was a way of sorting it out. i had no idea how they'd left my account, really. just couldn't draw the two together. it was, yeah, three months�* worth of work, two and a half months, the whole summer, 50—55 hour weeks, so i was pretty distraught and upset. last year, 126 people contacted action fraud to report being caught by this scam. nearly £1 million was stolen, 50 times as much as the year before. city of london police, the national lead for fraud, says these numbers are likely to be the tip of the iceberg as most victims don't report fraud because of feelings of embarrassment and shame. people on the outside that aren't looking forjobs, that aren't motivated to respond, sometimes they don't understand how people become victim of this type of crime, but, really, when we think about it, if you are concerned about a message

or you think that there are alarm bells going off, that fraud is not going to get you. the fraud that gets you is the fraud that makes sense, and that's what these criminals do so well. if you get one of these messages, the advice is to ignore it, report it, you can forward scam texts to 7726 and then delete it. dan whitworth, bbc news. texts to 7726 and then delete it. live now to dan whitworth, bbc�*s money box reporter. always good to talk to you. dan, talk us through the numbers first of all. how many people is this affecting? it's worth repeating. in 2022, there was about £20,000 stolen from just 15 people in the uk through this particular type of scam. last year, that jumped particular type of scam. last year, thatjumped by 50 times. the amount stolen was nearly £1 million. again, as you just heard in the report, it is worth remembering that those numbers are just actually be reported once. the actual number is

likely to be much higher because we know, in general, fraud is a hugely underreported crime because people feel embarrassed, they feel ashamed, they feel guilty. they don't report it. the numbers are pretty stark. it highlights an explosion in this type of fraud. a ,, highlights an explosion in this type offraud. ,, , ., , ., ., of fraud. massive explosion year on ear. an of fraud. massive explosion year on year- any sense _ of fraud. massive explosion year on year. any sense of— of fraud. massive explosion year on year. any sense of what _ of fraud. massive explosion year on year. any sense of what is - of fraud. massive explosion year on year. any sense of what is behind l year. any sense of what is behind this huge rise?— this huge rise? yes, there is. auain, this huge rise? yes, there is. again. we — this huge rise? yes, there is. again, we know— this huge rise? yes, there is. again, we know fraudsters, l again, we know fraudsters, criminals, scammers, will look to exploit any type of potential weaknesses from victims. many people in the uk and around the world are living through a cost—of—living crisis. if you get the opportunity to try to earn more money, to try to generate extra income, that is something that a lot of people will be interested in. as with all fraud, it is a numbers game. they will send millions of these text messages or whatsapp messages advertising these fake jobs. whatsapp messages advertising these fakejobs. most of whatsapp messages advertising these fake jobs. most of them will get deleted and ignored. but if you are

looking for a job and if you just happen to have lost yourjob, if they hit the right person at the right time, thieves will seize on this opportunity and that is exactly what happened to an 18—year—old woman called bella from devon. she is hoping to start university in october. she has been working all summer to try to save up money and all autumn. summer to try to save up money and allautumn. in summer to try to save up money and all autumn. in october, what happened to her, she lost herjob she had for three years, she posted her cv online and she got one of these whatsapp messages advertising a fake job. these whatsapp messages advertising a fakejob. she replied because she was the right person at the right time. it followed up with a couple of days of dozens of messages and phone calls. they elicited lots of personal, private information from her, as you would give over to any potential employer, your bank details, potentially your card details. long story short, what happened to her, she had £3000 stolen.

i'd say a lot of youth at the moment, including me, that we're trying to start our life in a very expensive world. everything is good up, car insurance goes up, the cost of cars, moving out, everything is ridiculously expensive. and you're looking at jobs that pay you between £10, £13 an hour. and you've got limited hours, which means you're very likely to fall into this trap. i mean, i had a friend that did it about eight months ago and i was like, i never thought i talked about it to her but i never and i was like, i neverthought... i talked about it to her but i never thought i would do it. and then six months later, i've done the exact same thing. dan, it is really targeting people when they are in such a sort of desperate place, aren't they? and you get something and you can see why people would absolutelyjump on it. you have given some advice, what can people do to try to avoid being defrauded? , , defrauded? firstly, genuine recruitment _ defrauded? firstly, genuine recruitment companies - defrauded? firstly, genuine recruitment companies will| defrauded? firstly, genuine - recruitment companies will never try to approach you through a whatsapp or text message that comes out of the blue. be aware. if you are

looking for a job, don't seize on an opportunity that might be true good —— too good to be true because it probably is. if the text message doesn't apply to you, there are three things, firstly, ignore it, secondly, report it because it is useful intelligence for the authorities. in the uk you could do that by forwarding your text messages to 7726, which spells out spam on your keyboard and then delete it. ., ~ spam on your keyboard and then delete it. ., ,, , ., ~ spam on your keyboard and then delete it. ., ~' , ., ~ . �* delete it. thank you. 7726, hadn't worked out _ delete it. thank you. 7726, hadn't worked out that _ delete it. thank you. 7726, hadn't worked out that that _ delete it. thank you. 7726, hadn't worked out that that is _ delete it. thank you. 7726, hadn't worked out that that is exactly - delete it. thank you. 7726, hadn't i worked out that that is exactly what it spelt out. thank you, dan, really useful advice. it spelt out. thank you, dan, really usefuladvice. ihla it spelt out. thank you, dan, really useful advice.— donald trump has appeared in court twice this week— in court twice this week but this does not appear to be doing him much harm in the polls. three days out from the opening primary in iowa and he is still thirty points ahead. 30 points ahead. meanwhile, president biden is casting this year's likely rematch for the white house, as a battle to save us democracy. ros atkins has been taking a look.

the us election is in november and president biden has this warning. donald trump's campaign is obsessed with the past, not the future. he's willing to sacrifice our democracy, put himself in power. donald trump is favourite to be the republican presidential nominee and he's firing joe biden's accusation back at him. now we have a president who's a great danger to democracy. he really is. he is a danger to democracy at a level like few people have seen. trump's not provided convincing evidence to support this claim, but his own actions raise questions about his impact on us democracy, not least is false claim that the 2020 presidential election not least his false claim that the 2020 presidential election was stolen from him, a claim we heard the day after voting finished. this is a case where they're trying to steal an election, they're trying to rig an election, and we can't let that happen. the election wasn't rigged. 9but again and again, donald trump falsely claimed

us democracy had failed to function. shouting. weeks later, onjanuary 6th, just as lawmakers prepared to certinyoe biden's victory, trump held a rally in washington, dc and again said the election was rigged. shouting. less than two hours later, his supporters stormed congress. three years on, donald trump faces criminal charges that allege a wide—ranging conspiracy to overturn the results of the election. but despite this, despite his election claims being rejected byjudges and election officials, still trump continues his attack on the credibility of america's democratic institutions. but if you go to his campaign website, you'll find this pitch to voters. here's my plan to dismantle the deep state and reclaim our democracy from washington corruption once and for all. to trump, the deep states, a network of government bureaucrats working to obstruct him and his policies.

and trump's plan to deal with this involves trump having more power. the new york times has reported that the former president and his backers aim to strengthen the power of the white house and limit the independence of federal agencies. this comes in various forms. here's one. first, i will immediately reissue my 2020 executive order restoring the president's authority to remove rogue bureaucrats. and i will wield that power very aggressively. this would allow the president to remove thousands of career civil servants and replace them with loyalists. donald trump and his people i want to be much more effective in enacting policies _ than they were the last time around. they don't want their policies to be undermined by non—political- or non—appointed government workers. a process to find potential replacements is already under way. it's part of what's called project 2025. dozens of conservative organisations have produced a plan for a new republican presidency. what we're doing is systematically preparing to march into office and bring a new army of aligned, trained and essentially weaponised

conservatives ready to do battle against the deep state. the idea is that this marching, weaponising, and battling will be done at huge scale. axios reports project 2025 aims to install a pre vetted pro—trump army of up to 54,000 loyalists across government. that figure has not been confirmed, but it's worth putting it in context. in the united states, we already have 4,000 political appointees, and if you compare that to any other democracy in the world, it's a large, large, large number. in other words, to go from 4,000 to potentially tens of thousands of political appointees would take the us well beyond other western democracies. it would not be merit that would define employment, but rather your loyalty to the winner of the presidency. that would not only threaten our democracy but truly undermine the ability of our government to meet the pressing needs that it has to deal with very real problems. in response to media

reports about project 2025, the trump campaign team released a statement saying, "the efforts by various nonprofit groups "are certainly appreciated and can be enormously helpful. "however, none of these groups or individuals speak "for president trump or his campaign." that may be, but having the ability to replace civil servants is what trump wants, as is his ambition to expand presidential powers elsewhere. as is his ambition to expand take federal departments and agencies — already the president appoints the heads of many of these, but some government agencies are independent, and trump wants to change that. i will bring the independent regulatory agencies, such as the fcc and the fdc, back under presidential authority as the constitution demands. such a move would be unusual. these are agencies normally apart from politics, but this push for more presidential power isn't a surprise because trump has a long—held belief that the us constitution gives the president full power over all parts of government. he talked about this while in office.

then i have an article 2 where i have the right to do whatever i want as president, but i don't even talk about that. this interpretation of the constitution is strongly contested, as is another claim made in 2022 — after again saying the last election was stolen, donald trump posted, "a massive fraud of this type "and magnitude allows for the termination of all rules, "regulations and articles, even those found in the constitution." the termination of all articles of the constitution justified by a false claim of a stolen election that feels relevant as we assess trump's impact on us democracy. so does his desire to use the presidency to settle scores. i will appoint a real special prosecutor to go after the most corrupt president in the history of the united states of america, joe biden and the entire biden crime family. this description's not based on evidence and this pattern

of trump threatening opponents with the law has become familiar, but that doesn't make it normal in american democracy. donald trump has come forward and said that he wants to use his ownjustice department to prosecute his political enemies in the way that he feels he has been prosecuted politically byjoe biden and joe biden's justice department. but that would be a significant break from american democratic traditions and judicial traditions going back more than a century. this week, trump was asked about retribution. he said he won't have time for it if he's re—elected. trump's also been sharing his view of american law and justice when referencing january 6th. he's called the violent attack on the seat of the us democracy "a beautiful day." he's called the hundreds who've been jailed for what happened "hostages." none of this has affected trump's viability as a potential republican presidential nominee, nor has the torrent of falsehoods that he continues to pour into america's political discourse. and so, as republican candidates gather in iowa and the formal process of selecting the nominee

begins, trump remains the man to beat. and at one recent event, there was a question for the crowd. and you've been seeing what's going on. in the past few weeks, the radical left democrats and their fake news allies, have unveiled their newest hoax that donaldj trump and the republican party are a threat to democracy. would you believe that? "would you believe that?" donald trump asks, as his supporters laugh. for some who've watched trump in recent years, the answer is yes, they would believe that. and they're not laughing. you are watching bbc news. i want to bring you some lines coming through from the middle east. he will be aware that we have been taught it at the us military reported they had a radar site with missiles fired from the uss carny based in the what

radzi overnight. we had a response this morning from the houthis via the reuters news agency. they had described the recent us and uk strikes including that attack last night and said" ineffective". a little bit more from the houthis at the political bureau has told al jazeera reported through reuters that there were no injuries in the latest us strike on yemen. that official also emphasised again the line they had been giving that they will provide a strong and effective response to the overnight attack. you can see the bbc news website and all of the latest lines will be on there if you want to keep right up to date with that story. and let's return to the post office here in the uk. for the past few weeks, we've been hearing the stories of former sub—postmasters, whose lives were upended by the post office it scandal

that left many bankrupt and with criminal convictions. one former sub—postmaster, gail ward, has spoken for the first time on camera about what happened to her. fiona lamdin went to wells in somerset to hear gail's story. this is where it happened 17 years ago, onjanuary the 11th, 2007, at 8.30 in the morning. that's when the auditors arrived. gail ward had run a post office for eight years, but in 2005, faulty software on a computer system called horizon meant she had shortfalls every week. stressful, very stressful. you had to press that button to say that you accepted the figures knowing they were wrong. what did the investigators say to you? "where's the money? what have you done with the money? "where is it? what have you bought?" i did nothing. i haven't done anything. she was told the post office

would drop the charge of theft if she pleaded guilty to false accounting. the solicitor phoned and they're saying, you know, was i ready for court the following week? she said, "and don't forget to bring a bag with you with some "personal items in it." and i said, "why?" she said, "well, just in case you're not coming home." you had a 13—year—old son. yes. what was that like, saying goodbye to him that monday morning? horrendous. he went to school. he went to school that morning not knowing if both his parents would be there when he came home. gail was spared prison, but given community service for a year cleaning trains. i was avoided in the street. people would cross over or they'd be coming towards you, you know, there might be two or three of them. and you could see them whispering, and one of them pointing, saying,

"that's the one." finally, in 2021, gail had her conviction overturned, but she's never received proper compensation. locals are now beginning to understand what gail went through. thank you. and i know you mean it, thank you. thank you. i wouldn't have got through it without my family. i'm so lucky. compared to some. i'm lucky. i've still got a wonderful husband and here i am still fighting, but i'm not on my own because there's a lot of us. fiona lamdin, bbc news. extraordinary story. later on bbc news, we will be speaking to janet skinner. you may be familiar with her, she has been talking this week about her experience, she was a former sub—postmaster who was

wrongly jailed back former sub—postmaster who was wronglyjailed back in 2007. she will be with us on bbc news later. two brothers say time is ticking to find an heir to take over their cuckoo clock museum, which features hundreds of quirky timepieces from all around the world. roman and maz piekarski have devoted their lives to the collection in cheshire, but now they want to find someone who's as passionate as they are to take up the mantle for when they retire, as ian haslam's been finding out. with more than 700 cuckoo clocks, this is the largest collection of its kind anywhere, and represents decades of collecting. we eat, sleep, and live cuckoo clocks. we absolutely love them. roman and his brother, maz, grew up around cuckoo clocks and served clockmaker apprenticeships, but they are

worried about cuckooland's future when the time runs out. when their time runs out. we never got married and we have nobody to leave it to. we're getting to the age now where we think we better find someone to follow it on, keep it going. but their passion for cuckoo clocks is undiminished. my brother and i like to call it "the hunt". when we get the sniff of a cuckoo clock, no matter where it is in the world, the hunt is the best part of it. everything you see was made within a 25—mile radius of the black forest in southern germany. you can't beat that. this is what i would call a statement cuckoo clock, given the size of the birds. that's more like a pigeon clock, in bygone centuries, these timepieces even provided entertainment. apparently, in victorian times, if they were

having dinner parties and one of these popped out, one of the cuckoos, it would ignite the chat if it had gone stale, because it would be like, "you have a cuckoo clock, how about that?" and the bants would flow. they would often ask "where did that come from?" they very soon became very popular. people have come to us from america, even australia. people come to us and leave their clocks for restoration. one woman the other week said to me "goodbye, cedric." and i said "no, my name is roman," and she said "no, my clock is named cedric." the work here will continue, but the long—term is unclear. for the collection to stay together and be looked after for all time, that is our dream. that was our dream. that is our dream. ian haslam, bbc news. thank you for watching bbc news. we

will be back at the top of the our in taiwan to see how the accounting is going in the election. very important election. our reporter reporting in the last few minutes that it reporting in the last few minutes thatitis reporting in the last few minutes that it is close, he says, on almost exactly as the polls have been saying for the last month. the vice president holding a 4.5% lead. all the latest news out of the top of the latest news out of the top of the hour, stay with us on bbc news. hello, there. most of us have seen plenty of this today, a lot of cloud around, but it is predominantly dry. the weather story, though, is on the change from tomorrow and into next week. it's going to turn noticeably colder with a risk of snow, even at lower levels in the north. and, yes, we will see some severe night—time frost. for the here and now, though, for the start of this weekend, we've got this cold front sinking its way

steadily southwards. the real cold air not quite arriving yet, but it means some brighter skies behind that cold front, a scattering of showers to the north west of the great glen and some sunshine to the east of the pennines. our weather front moving out of northern ireland into central and southern england. here we will continue to see a fair amount of cloud through the day, but it will stay relatively warmer than it has been. we're looking at highs of around 4 to 8 degrees. as we move through the night, that blanket of cloud will continue to linger across england and wales. so that will prevent temperatures from falling too far. some clearer skies further north, the breeze picking up and changing more to a northerly. so some of those showers in the far north of scotland will be of snow. here it will be a chilly start to sunday morning. so, the cold air starting to push into scotland. some of those showers at lower levels now starting to turn to snow. there will be some sunshine across the scottish borders into the north of england, along with northern ireland. few scattered showers from that weak weather front sinking south across england and wales. here we keep temperatures 5 to 7 degrees, but a colder story starting to develop into scotland. that cold air will continue to dominate into monday.

further snow into scotland, wintry showers into northern ireland, dry but cold elsewhere, predominantly sunny. however, as we move out of monday into tuesday, this little weather front could enhance the risk of snow into northern ireland and potentially northern england. so, anywhere north of this could see further snow and we'll start to see accumulations gathering. some disruption is likely. to the south of that, it still stays cold, but it should be quite sunny with it. so temperatures here around three or four degrees, but struggling in scotland — below freezing in rural parts. then there were some thoughts that this area of low pressure could bring some snow for a time across southern england. but, at the moment, computer models want to take it over to france. so here it looks slightly quieter.

now live from london, now this is bbc news. votes are being counted in taiwan's presidential and parliamentary elections. the outcome could define the island's future ties with china. i'm steve lai in taipei. two hours into the count, local media are keeping a running tally of the votes. i'll have the latest numbers for you and we'll look at what they mean for taiwan and the rest of the world. the us military launches a fresh strike against a houthi target in yemen, a day afterjoint us—british airstrikes across the country.

in response the houthis vow to retaliate, further raising the prospect of a wider conflict in the region. and in the uk, the minister responsible for the post office has called forjail time for those responsible for an it scandal, in which hundreds of workers were falsely accused of theft. hello, i'm sarah campbell. it is a busy news day around the world. we will be looking in more detail at the airstrike by the us military against the houthis in yemen. but first to taiwan where votes are being counted after the presidential and legislative elections, seen as a core test of the island's relationship with china. around 19 million voters were called to elect a new president and parliament. ballots are being counted by hand and individual polling stations complete their respective counts, a picture of the outcome

could emerge in the next few hours.