and in the uk, the minister responsible for the post office has called for jail time for those responsible for an it scandal — in which hundreds of workers were falsely accused of theft. welcome to the programme. let's start in taiwan, where william lai has won the elections and is set to become taiwan's president. lai is representing the governing dpp — and is set to succeed to the current president tsai ing—wen. lai has been labelled a troublemaker by china, as beijing warned people against voting for him. in his acceptance speech, he said he is "determined to safeguard taiwan from continuing threat and intimidation from china" and will maintain the cross—strait status quo. around 19 million voters were called to elect a new president. my colleague steve lai

is in taipei and joins me now. it has been quite a day here in taiwan. you have to understand polling began at eight o'clock this morning and close for pm, and we have a winner. it has been a fascinating thing to watch and be apart let's cross now to the dpp headquarters, and she's been listening to william lai make his victory speech. tell us more about what he said. victory speech. tell us more about what he said-— what he said. william lai, the now president-elect, _ what he said. william lai, the now president-elect, has _ what he said. william lai, the now president-elect, has thanked - what he said. william lai, the now i president-elect, has thanked people president—elect, has thanked people for turning _ president—elect, has thanked people forturning up, president—elect, has thanked people for turning up, thank the supporters for turning up, thank the supporters for voting _ for turning up, thank the supporters for voting for the dpp and giving them _ for voting for the dpp and giving them that record third term in poweh — them that record third term in poweh he _ them that record third term in power. he was very robust on the stands _ power. he was very robust on the stands with— power. he was very robust on the stands with china. he said it his responsibility to maintain safety

across _ responsibility to maintain safety across the taiwan strait, but he vowed _ across the taiwan strait, but he vowed to — across the taiwan strait, but he vowed to maintain the status quo. he said he _ vowed to maintain the status quo. he said he will_ vowed to maintain the status quo. he said he will maintain he will safeguard taiwan against any intimidation and aggression from china _ intimidation and aggression from china of— intimidation and aggression from china. of course, this is at the heart — china. of course, this is at the heart of— china. of course, this is at the heart of the selection for the jubilation from supporters, their candidate — jubilation from supporters, their candidate won. you can see on the flags— candidate won. you can see on the flags and _ candidate won. you can see on the flags and confetti, it is happening against _ flags and confetti, it is happening against a — flags and confetti, it is happening against a tense geopolitical backdrop. china sees it as a partner encountering taiwan's influence and assertiveness in the region. with that, _ assertiveness in the region. with that, the — assertiveness in the region. with that, the dpp comes to power for a third time _ that, the dpp comes to power for a third time with liam tied the leader. _ third time with liam tied the leader, maintaining the policy, something beijing would be happy with -- _ something beijing would be happy with —— william lai. many of the voters _ with —— william lai. many of the voters have _ with —— william lai. many of the voters have said they have to

deliver. — voters have said they have to deliver, notjust on safeguarding and maintaining the peace and making sure the _ and maintaining the peace and making sure the defence capabilities are in place. _ sure the defence capabilities are in place. but — sure the defence capabilities are in place, but also on domestic issues. at the _ place, but also on domestic issues. at the heart— place, but also on domestic issues. at the heart of it is economy. the employment and housing. for people here in— employment and housing. for people here in taiwan, they want a lot from their government when it comes to issues _ their government when it comes to issues of— their government when it comes to issues of their daily lives, but in the hack— issues of their daily lives, but in the back of— issues of their daily lives, but in the back of their minds they are thinking — the back of their minds they are thinking how beijing will react the boat _ thinking how bei'ing will react the boat. ., ~ thinking how bei'ing will react the boat. . ,, , ., thinking how bei'ing will react the boat. ., ~' , ., , thinking how bei'ing will react the boat. . ,, i. , . thinking how bei'ing will react the boat. ., ~ , . ., boat. thank you very much for caettin boat. thank you very much for getting us _ boat. thank you very much for getting us across. _ boat. thank you very much for getting us across. it's - boat. thank you very much for getting us across. it's been i boat. thank you very much for. getting us across. it's been quite boat. thank you very much for- getting us across. it's been quite a day. william lai reiterating he will look to keep the status quo in taiwan. thank you, speaking to is from the dpp headquarters, whether speech was made a short time ago for we have heard what the ruling party under president elect plan to do. let others get the view from the opposition. i spoke to a former taiwan legislator and mp. have a

listen to his take on the two opposition parties. he says what it comes to the election, they missed an opportunity. opposition camp, split into two parties, and the two parties votes combined over 60% of total votes. so you can see that this is a very unfortunate situation. 60% of voters actually wanted a change of the government, but yet we now have a rather weakened president. and i think it will be important to see how he will deal with a rather divided legislative agenda as well, when dpp is also likely to lose the majority and with a tpp and a kmt combined with majority seats. lets get more analysis on the results we've seen today in taiwan. let's speak to a former chief opinion editor and as professorfor financial studies. thank you for

your time today. what do you think china's reaction will be to this victory by william lai? actually, i think it's local— victory by william lai? actually, i think it's local elections - victory by william lai? actually, i think it's local elections of- victory by william lai? actually, i think it's local elections of china. | think it's local elections of china. so that— think it's local elections of china. so that is— think it's local elections of china. so that is why i think china is very calm, _ so that is why i think china is very cainr. and — so that is why i think china is very cainr. and in — so that is why i think china is very calm, and in fact i think taiwan policy— calm, and in fact i think taiwan policy in — calm, and in fact i think taiwan policy in china mainland will not change. — policy in china mainland will not change. at _ policy in china mainland will not change, at least for three points. china _ change, at least for three points. china must— change, at least for three points. china must be unified, and it is bound — china must be unified, and it is bound to — china must be unified, and it is bound to be unified. second, we want to unified _ bound to be unified. second, we want to unified peace, but do not promise to unified peace, but do not promise to keep _ to unified peace, but do not promise to keep that. it is to curb taiwan independence, to be fair to certain extent _ independence, to be fair to certain extent. there will be no use of force — extent. there will be no use of force. taiwan independence in the coming _ force. taiwan independence in the coming four years, so i think the

process— coming four years, so i think the process of— coming four years, so i think the process of using military to promote unification _ process of using military to promote unification will be faster. no force can make — unification will be faster. no force can make taiwan independence. just to come can make taiwan independence. to come back can make taiwan independence. jut to come back on you on that, we've seen democracy in action here in taiwan. free and fair elections, transparent election. does china have a claim over taiwan? j transparent election. does china have a claim over taiwan? i think ou have a claim over taiwan? i think you called _ have a claim over taiwan? i think you called a _ have a claim over taiwan? i think you called a democracy, - have a claim over taiwan? i think you called a democracy, but - have a claim over taiwan? i think you called a democracy, but in i you called a democracy, but in china, — you called a democracy, but in china, it — you called a democracy, but in china, it is _ you called a democracy, but in china, it is very typical local election _ china, it is very typical local election. forthe result china, it is very typical local election. for the result i think everything is expected. in fact, i would _ everything is expected. in fact, i would not — everything is expected. in fact, i would not be surprised by any revolt, — would not be surprised by any revolt, because we all know the dpp continues— revolt, because we all know the dpp continues to be in power, but the political— continues to be in power, but the political structure on the island will not — political structure on the island will not have a significant impact on stability across trade relations.

mavhe _ on stability across trade relations. maybe in — on stability across trade relations. maybe in the future, there may be a storm _ maybe in the future, there may be a storm or— maybe in the future, there may be a storm or cooperation, but as i said, they are _ storm or cooperation, but as i said, they are just— storm or cooperation, but as i said, they are just processes. the final result— they are just processes. the final result cannot be changed, that is a final unification. i think let me look— final unification. i think let me look in — final unification. i think let me look in the _ final unification. i think let me look in the future, if the dpp provokes _ look in the future, if the dpp provokes on taiwan independence, there _ provokes on taiwan independence, there are _ provokes on taiwan independence, there are many ways to fight back in china _ there are many ways to fight back in china it— there are many ways to fight back in china. if dpp dared to announce taiwan— china. if dpp dared to announce taiwan independence, i think the result— taiwan independence, i think the result can — taiwan independence, i think the result can only be unified by force and the _ result can only be unified by force and the dpp leaders... they will face _ and the dpp leaders... they will face iegal— and the dpp leaders... they will face legal trial. and the dpp leaders. .. they will face legal trial.— face legal trial. you called them local elections, _ face legal trial. you called them local elections, but _ face legal trial. you called them local elections, but that - face legal trial. you called them local elections, but that is - face legal trial. you called them local elections, but that is not l face legal trial. you called them i local elections, but that is not how it is seen in taiwan. the taiwanese identity, as we've seen here, only seems to be growing. the more china friendly party seems to be doing

worse. there seems to be a stronger rising sentiment in taiwan to be more independent, even if they are not pushing verbally for independence in the short—term. well, i think independence in the short—term. well, ithink if independence in the short—term. well, i think if you ask chinese ordinary— well, i think if you ask chinese ordinary people. i think most ordinary— ordinary people. i think most ordinary people. i think most ordinary people in china mainland, we have _ ordinary people in china mainland, we have low attention to taiwan elections — we have low attention to taiwan elections because we really think it is locai— elections because we really think it is local elections. if you ask those, _ is local elections. if you ask those, i_ is local elections. if you ask those, i think many of the chinese in the _ those, i think many of the chinese in the mainland, they want to use force _ in the mainland, they want to use force most— in the mainland, they want to use force. most of chinese people, they believe _ force. most of chinese people, they believe they are the central governments of a piece for unification. i think the problem governments of a piece for unification. ithink the problem is, you called — unification. ithink the problem is, you called a — unification. ithink the problem is, you called a democracy, but it is

difference — you called a democracy, but it is difference of the ideology. i think in the _ difference of the ideology. i think in the future, we must take a long time, _ in the future, we must take a long time, we — in the future, we must take a long time, we need to prevent and ideological external factors from independence. for example, so—called democracy _ independence. for example, so—called democracy. all the states are in the balance _ democracy. all the states are in the balance i_ democracy. all the states are in the balance. i think another thing we all know. — balance. i think another thing we all know, china's relations have remained — all know, china's relations have remained stable. they have repeatedly announced to oppose taiwan _ repeatedly announced to oppose taiwan independence, the us. ithink also china _ taiwan independence, the us. ithink also china first proposed united states _ also china first proposed united states a — also china first proposed united states a supporting piece for unification. at present, they stand on china's— unification. at present, they stand on china's mainland. most chinese people _ on china's mainland. most chinese people believe in the future, it will he — people believe in the future, it will be unified. we trust it. the

definition of _ will be unified. we trust it. tue: definition of taiwan has a different interpretation from china that it has here. thank you for your time. he is a former chief opinion editor at global times and currently at the university of china. as we have seen from the elections today, taiwan's democracy alive and vibrant. three parties contesting for the presidency and parliamentary seas. we have a clear winner in the presidential election with william lai the president elect, said to be inaugurated on may the 20th. we have to wait and see more of china's reaction on what we've seen in taiwan. a live page of taiwan's coverage has all the information if you want to keep up to speed of what has happened in taiwan. in the meantime, back to you in london. tote

meantime, back to you in london. we will be with stephen through the day. our other main story... the us has carried out a fresh military air strike in yemen overnight — against a radar site it says is being used by the iran—backed houthi force. it comes a day after dozens of similar us and uk strikes against targets in yemen. the action is in response to houthi rebels attacking vessels in the red sea, causing huge international shipping delays. hugo bachega reports. before and after. these satellite images show the impact of the american and british attacks on houthi targets in yemen. the us says airfields and weapons storage depots were destroyed. overnight, the us carried out more strikes, targeting a radarfacility in the capital sanaa. british forces were not involved. american officials say the strikes are designed to reduce the ability of the houthis to attack ships in the red sea and called them "legitimate and proportionate".

the houthis, who captured a ship in december, say they are acting to support palestinians in gaza and to hit israel's allies. iran gives them weapons and training and the houthis say the attacks will continue unless there is a ceasefire in gaza. the attacks have disrupted the key red sea trade route — commercial vessels are now travelling around africa. it means delays and extra costs. the houthis accuse the us and its allies of an escalation on israel's behalf. they say the attacks have had no significant impact on its forces and threaten with what they describe as a very harsh and painful response. so far, their reaction has been muted. they fired a missile yesterday which didn't hit its target.

also yesterday, a huge protest against the strikes was held in sanaa. the americans say they don't want a major confrontation but are warning the houthis they are ready to respond. hugo bachega, bbc news, beirut. the israeli bombardment of gaza has continued overnight, with the crowded southern cities of khan younis and rafah bearing the brunt. rockets were also fired from gaza into southern israel. the israeli military says overnight, its forces killed three palestinians armed with knives, a rifle and axes, who were trying to break into a settlement in the occupied west bank. official palestinian media say two were aged 16, and one 19. meanwhile, the hamas—run health ministry in gaza says a total the israeli bombardment of gaza has continued overnight, meanwhile, the hamas—run health ministry in gaza says a total

of 23,815 palestinians have been killed and over 60,000 have been wounded in israeli strikes on gaza since october 7th. live now tojerusalem and lets speak bbc arabic correspondanet reda el mawy. thank you forjoining us on the bbc. bring us up—to—date on the latest. j bring us up—to—date on the latest. i just spoke to the ministry of health, who receive an update on the number of casualties inside gaza every 2a—hours. they said 60% of the palestinians killed during the war were women and children. he said 10,300 palestinian children were killed so far, and around 8000 bodies are now under the rubble and they believe also a great proportion of them are children. this is a total of dated everyday, and the number of children killed is always

very prominent, as we can notice from what has been sent to us every day. one of the reasons why children are among the highest is they stay with the mothers and the houses, the houses are targeted. many houses receive a warning or sometimes a very short time and they don't have time to vacate or leave or flee the houses, this is one of the many reasons children and mothers are among those killed on a daily basis in gaza. ., ~ among those killed on a daily basis in gaza. ., ,, among those killed on a daily basis in gaza. . ~' , among those killed on a daily basis in gaza. ., ,, i. , . among those killed on a daily basis in gaza. ., ~' ,, , . ., in gaza. 0k, thank you very much for that undate- — now it's time for a look at today's sport. let's start in the premier league — and just the two games on saturday — as teams play this round of fixtures over the next two weeks. the game at stamford bridge is into the second half. chelsea at home to fulham in a west london derby. 1—0 from there at the moment. the blues looking to win three

league games on the bounce for the first time under mauricio pochettino. into the latter stages, just over five minutes go until the 90 minutes. both sides were in league cup action midweek — both endured losses. later, manchester city will still be without striker erling haaland for their trip to newcastle united. city haven't lost while haaland has been out but their boss, pep guardiola, says they didn't expect him to miss so many games. he was a little bit more than we expect in the beginning. in his bone. and the bone needs time. so every injury, you can do whatever you want, it is a question of time. and at the end of this month, maybe he will be ready to come back. staying with football, and two major international tournaments to tell you about. the start of the africa cup of nations, when hosts ivory coast face guinea—bissau, later. in the asian cup, australia beat india 2—0 india,

in group b. goals from jackson irvine and jordan bos. later, uzbekistan play syria in the other game in group b, but up next, china take on tajikistan in group a. it's the eve of the australian open, tennis�* first grand slam of the year, which gets under way on sunday, instead of the traditional monday start to welcome more fans. and they have flocked to the event, in their thousands already. organisers say that almost 90,000 fans came during qualifying. novak djokovic is the top seed and defending champion, and has his sights on this tournament as the first step in his goals for the year. it's no secret that i verbalise my goals and i say clearly that i want to win every slam that i participate and play in. it is no different this year. i'm just hoping that i can start the season in a way that i have been starting my season is, most of my seasons, throughout my career. with a win here in australia in melbourne.

amongst those standing in djokovic's way of making that dream a reality will be carlos alcaraz. the spainard beat djokovic at wimbledon last year, also losing to him at the french open. he starts his campaign against frenchman richard gasquet later in the week. staying with tennis, american emma navarro upset two—time champion elise mertens to secure her first wta title on saturday with a battling win at the hobart international. while jiri lehecka won his first atp title at the adelaide international, beating britain's jack draper in the men's singles final. draper did take the first set, but the czech levelled it up and then won the decider. england's tommy fleetwood leads at the dubai invitational — he goes into the final round of a 72 dp world tour event in the lead for the first time since 2014. fleetwood leads rory mcilroy by one shot after firing an eight—under—par 63 in the third round of the dubai invitational on saturday. the world number 15 carded eight birdies in a bogey—free round to move top of the leaderboard

on 15 under. in the nba, klay thompson scored 30 points as the golden state warriors produced a big second—half turnaround to beat the chicago bulls 140—131. the warriors had a slow start, but they only needed five minutes in the third quarter, to erase a i3—point half—time deficit. steph curry made nine assists here, and scored 15 of his 27 points, in the fourth and final quarter. and that's all the sport for now. we will be back with more later on. thousands have gathered in london in protest against the war in gaza as the conflict widens to yemen. live now to nicky schiller, who's at the march. you can see behind me some of the tens of thousands of people taking part in this protest march in the

centre of london. it began around two hours ago in the centre and it is currently we are, it will move up the strand towards trafalgar square and then later in parliament square with some speeches. the organisers say today was chosen because it is part of a global day of protest that is taking place in around 30 countries. you will remember there's been a number of these protest march in london towards the end of last. this is the seventh of these national marshes, the organisers say todayis national marshes, the organisers say today is about calling for a ceasefire, an immediate ceasefire in gaza, and a number of the placards we have seen say ceasefire now, add a number of the chance have been ceasefire now, and stop the bombing. we've seen a cross—section of the community marching today, families with young children included in it, and also unusually for these

marchers a 3.5 metre puppet. it is of a syrian refugee child. originally, it was wealth from the turkish syrian border, around 8000 kilometres back injuly 2021 to manchester. the reason the puppet has joined the walk and protest todayis has joined the walk and protest today is to highlight the issue of child refugees, and indeed a number of palestinian children have been marching with that public today. as i say, the march will end at parliament square. there are some restrictions on what the protesters are allowed to do. they have to follow the specific route, and those speeches have to end by a specific time later this evening. they are also not allowed near the israeli embassy in london. as you can imagine, there is a large police presence on this march. indeed, the

met police tape 1700 officers have been brought in to police this march, and they are keeping on eye on it. they have given people these posters which they keep on the right side of the law. we are keeping an eye on what placards are there, in case they breach any of the laws. here in the uk, there's fresh anger over the post office scandal after it was revealed executives might have been overpaid thousands of pounds in bonuses. it comes as the tax office is investigating whether the company underpaid as much as £100 million in corporation tax by deducting compensation payments to victims of the horizon it scandal from its profits. our business correspondent, marc ashdown, has more. more questions for the post office, this time over who benefited from the mistreatment of hundreds of subpostmasters. it seems compensation payments made to victims of the horizon it scandal

were deducted from the company's profit before it paid tax, but seem to have been ignored when setting bonuses for executives. tax experts are questioning whether the company could have underpaid its tax bill, while possibly overpaying top bosses. companies pay corporation tax on their profits — without a tax deduction for legitimate expenses. persecuting postmasters for 15 years and paying them compensation is not a legitimate expense. that means that their real tax bill is a lot higher. that means that bonuses paid to executives who are running a supposedly profitable business should be looked at again. it has stoked yet more anger and there are calls now for some of that money to be paid back. i think our big concern is that the public has basically been double—crossed. it looks on first blush as if the post office has been underpaying its taxes and overplaying its bosses, and frankly that's what we've got to get to the bottom of this week. the post office said its financial information was appropriate and accurate but its latest accounts

state that it is engaged in discussions with the tax office regarding potential tax liabilities. an adverse outcome, it says, could be material. that could mean the post office is liable for up to £100 million in unpaid tax. now, if enforced that could render the business technically insolvent, although the government is the ultimate owner and could step in. for those like janet skinner, who have had their lives ruined, it's yet another insult. do you know what — anything they do doesn't surprise me in the slightest. undercutting their taxes but still able to pay themselves bonuses? i think it's absolutely disgraceful. they should never have been allowed to pay themselves bonuses because of everything that's going on. as more and more details of the horizon it scandal are laid bare at the ongoing public inquiry, fresh questions and fresh anger over how the post office has been run. marc ashdown, bbc news.

new zealand's former prime ministerjacinda ardern has married her longterm partner clarke gayford in a small private ceremony in the north island. the wedding was originaly scheduled for early 2022 but was postponed due to the strict restrictions she's imposed during the covid pandemic. the couple have been dating for a decade and have a five—year—old daughter. stay with those on bbc news. hello. most of those have seen cloud and its but only dry. the story is on the change next week. it will turn noticeably colder with the risk of snow at lower levels in the north and we will see some severe night—time frost. forthe will see some severe night—time frost. for the start of this weekend, we've got this cold front sinking southwards. the real colder not quite arriving, but it means

some brighter skies behind it scattering around, and some sunshine to the use of the pennines. the weather front moving out of northern ireland to central england. we will see a fairamount ireland to central england. we will see a fair amount of cloud through the day. it will stay relatively warm up than it has been, highs of around 4—8 . through the night, the blanket of cloud continues to linger across england and wales. that will prevent temperatures falling to far. some clearer skies further north, the breeze picking up and changing more to a northerly, so some of the showers in the four noble scotland will be of snow. it will be a chilly start to sunday. because they are starting to push into scotland, some of the showers at lower levels starting to turn to snow. some sunshine across the scottish borders into the north of england, a few scattered showers from that week rubber front sinking across england and wales. temperatures of 5—7 , but

recall the story in scotland. the colder dominates into monday. further snow into scotland, dried but cold elsewhere, predominantly sunny. however, into tuesday, this weather front could enhance the risk of snow into northern ireland and potentially northern england. anywhere north of this could see further snow, and we will see accumulations gathering. some disruption lightly. to the south, still cold but quite sunny. temperatures here around three or 4 degrees, but struggling in scotland, below freezing. some thought this area could bring snow across southern england. but computer models want to take it over france, so it looks slightly quieter here.

this is bbc news. the headlines... in taiwan, william lai from the ruling party wins the presidential election after the main opposition party concedes defeat. the us military says they have carried out a fresh new strike on a houthi target in yemen, a day after dozens of similar us—uk airstrikes across the country. houthis say the us strikes had no significant impact

on their ability to continue attacks on vessels in the red sea. which is of course a key shipping route. and here 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. now here on bbc news, influential with katty kay — michael lewis. michael lewis is a bestselling american author, famous for his books moneyball, the blind side and the big short. he has a new book out and we met him here in washington. where else but in a book shop?

well, look who it is. what a surprise! as if!