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. on their end, china says reunification with taiwan still inevitable despite the vote, and opposes separatist activities. my colleague steve lai has followed the days procedings in taipei.

polling began at eight o'clock and close for the clock, eight hours a turk and four hours of counting and we have a winner. it's been a fascinating thing to watch. let's cross to the dpp headquarters, and william lai has made his victory speech. tell us more about what he said. ~ . ., ., said. william lai, the now president-elect _ said. william lai, the now president-elect has - said. william lai, the now. president-elect has thanked said. william lai, the now- president-elect has thanked people president—elect has thanked people for turning out, thank the supporters for voting for the dpp and giving them that a record third term in power. he was very robust on the stands were china. he said it his responsibility to maintain safety across the taiwan strait but he vowed to maintain the status quo. he will maintain, safeguard taiwan against any intimidation and aggression from china. this is really at the heart of the selection. remember, thejubilation

selection. remember, the jubilation from selection. remember, thejubilation from supporters that their candidate finally won, a due concealed from the flags and confetti flying around. it is happening against a tense geopolitical backdrop. beijing watching because taiwan is their own, they claim. the us is a strong ally to taiwan, added sees it as a partner encountering taiwan's influence and assertiveness in the region. the dpp comes to powerfor a third time with william lai as the leader, maintaining the policy, something beijing would be happy about. many of the voters i've spoken to have said we have voted, they are in power and how to deliver, notjust on safeguarding and maintaining the peace and making sure the defence capabilities are in place, but also on domestic issues. at the heart of it is economy. the employment and housing. for people

here in taiwan, they want a lot from their government when it comes to issues of daily life, but in the back of their minds they are thinking how beijing will react to this boat. thinking how bei'ing will react to this boat. �* , ., thinking how bei'ing will react to this boat. �*, ., ., ., i, , this boat. let's get more analysis on the vote _ this boat. let's get more analysis on the vote we _ this boat. let's get more analysis on the vote we have _ this boat. let's get more analysis on the vote we have seen. - this boat. let's get more analysis on the vote we have seen. let's l on the vote we have seen. let's speak to former chief opinion editor. what do you think china's reaction will be? actually, i think it's a local elections of china. so that's why i think the china mainland is very, very calm. and, in fact, ithink the taiwan policy in china mainland will not change — at least the three points. first, china must be reunified, and it is bound to be reunified. no situation can split china. second, we want to reunify peacefully but do not promise to give up force.

forces are to curb taiwan independence, not for the people of taiwan. it can be said to a certain extent that without taiwan independence, there can be no reunification by force. there will be no use of force. taiwan independence in the coming four years, so i think the process of using military to promote unification will be faster. no force can make taiwan independence. just 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? i think you called a democracy, but in china, it is very typical local election. for the result i think

everything is expected. in fact, i would not be surprised by any revolt, because we all know the dpp continues to be in power, but the _ political structure on the island will not have a significant impact on stability across trade relations. maybe in the future, there may be a storm or cooperation, but as i said, they are just processes. the final result cannot be changed, that is a final unification. i think let me look in the future, if the dpp provokes on taiwan independence, there are many ways to fight back in china. if dpp dared to announce taiwan independence, i think the result can only be unified by force and the dpp leaders... they will face legal trial.

you called them 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 if you ask chinese ordinary people... i think most ordinary people in china mainland, we have low attention to taiwan elections because we really think it is local elections. if you ask those, i think many of the chinese in the mainland, they want to use force.

most of chinese people, they believe they are the central governments of a piece for unification. i think the problem is, you called a democracy, but it is difference of the ideology. i think in the future, we must take a long time, we need to prevent and ideological external factors from independence. for example, so—called democracy. all the states are in the balance. i think another thing we all know, china's relations have remained stable. they have repeatedly announced to oppose taiwan independence, the us. i think also china

first proposed united states a supporting piece for unification. at present, they stand on china's mainland. most chinese people believe in the future, it will be unified. we trust it. the 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 parliamentary seats. 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. the newly elected president of taiwan, william lai, has said he is "determined to safeguard" the island from, as he put it, "continuing threat and intimidation from china." he was speaking after two other candidates admitted defeat in the vote held earlier today. china lays claim to taiwan and had urged people not to vote for mr lai. his victory marks an unprecedented third consecutive term for the dpp, which advocates more independence for taiwan. let's here some of what the president elect said during his victory speech. translation: thank you to - the taiwanese people for writing a new chapter in our democracy.

we have shown the world how much we cherish our democracy. this is our unwavering commitment. as one of the first and most highly anticipated elections of 2024, taiwan has achieved a victory for the community of democracies. i am joined now by prof steve tsang, who is the director of the china institute at the school of oriental and african studies in london. thank you forjoining us here on bbc news. what difference do you think william lai will make when it comes to governing taiwan, first of all? in terms of governing taiwan, he will not be able to do what his predecessor, the current president, is doing, for the simple reason that his party has failed to win a majority of seats in the legislature, and therefore even

though he will appoint a new premier, the premier will meet a minority government, and will not be able to have parliament supporting all government policies. find able to have parliament supporting all government policies.— all government policies. and in terms of the — all government policies. and in terms of the relationship - all government policies. and in terms of the relationship that l terms of the relationship that taiwan has with the international community, let us start with its relations with china, if you can even use that term. china lays came to taiwan. mr lai is advocating for more independence. mr to taiwan. mr lai is advocating for more independence.— to taiwan. mr lai is advocating for more independence. mr lai has been careful of what _ more independence. mr lai has been careful of what said _ more independence. mr lai has been careful of what said he _ more independence. mr lai has been careful of what said he is _ more independence. mr lai has been careful of what said he is going - more independence. mr lai has been careful of what said he is going to . careful of what said he is going to adhere to the predecessor, who says effectively taiwan does not need to assert formal independence, because taiwan is already existing independently as the republic of

china taiwan, therefore it doesn't need to change its name. i believe he will continue to do so, which means he will not give beijing a reason to use force in the short—term. reason to use force in the short-term.— reason to use force in the short-term. ~ . ., , , short-term. we have had response from beijing. _ short-term. we have had response from beijing, saying _ short-term. we have had response from beijing, saying reunification i from beijing, saying reunification with taiwan was still inevitable. how does this new election change any of china's position, if at all? not much. china's position on taiwan is now defined by a supreme leader shooting pain, who says taking taiwan into china is part of the requirements to fulfil the china dream of national reunification, and he set a date for this to be completed, which is the end of 2049. therefore, we have about 25 years before the time runs out. fine therefore, we have about 25 years before the time runs out. one more cuestion. before the time runs out. one more question- for— before the time runs out. one more question. for people _ before the time runs out. one more

question. for people watching - before the time runs out. one more question. for people watching this i question. for people watching this around the world who don't follow china, taiwan relations as closely as you, why does this matter in the broader geopolitics of the world? well, it matters because beijing makes it into something very important. having threatening people if they choose the wrong candidate, william lai, there will be serious consequences. the other reason is the world changed after the russian invasion of ukraine, western countries in europe in particular are now much more concerned about the risk of a war, and the taiwan strait... ., ,,., . ., the risk of a war, and the taiwan strait... ., , . ., ., strait... professor, director of the chinese institute, _ strait. .. professor, director of the chinese institute, thank— strait... professor, director of the chinese institute, thank you - strait... professor, director of the chinese institute, thank you for i chinese institute, thank you for putting all that into context. our china correspondent laura bicker, in beijing, gave us china's reaction to the dpp's victory. we've just had a statement from the taiwan affairs office

which says that the results of these elections in the taiwan region show that the democratic progressive party cannot represent the mainstream public opinion on the island. that's obviously a nod to the result that william lai, the new president of taiwan and president elect of taiwan, got 40% of the vote. so they're saying he cannot represent the mainstream public opinion on the island. taiwan is part of china, obviously reiterating china's belief on that, these elections cannot change the basic framework and direction of cross—strait relations. now, the statement is very much what we would expect from beijing at this time. they reiterate the point that taiwan is part of china, that these results are local elections and that unification will happen. but there is no mention of force in this statement. it says that the taiwan issue and achieving national

reunification remains consistent and unwavering, their position on that, and they firmly opposed separatist activities. remember, they say the winner of taiwan's presidential election as a separatist, they see him pushing for independence and that's something that they will not tolerate. now, i've actually been to the province that's closest to taiwan here on mainland china. we spoke to a number of people there, and they say that they feel that taiwan is part of their family. they feel part of one family. and that's something certainly a message that china propagates, that beijing is continually pushing this message of familial ties, that they are one family and that one day they will be unified. but i think the message that the world has heard increasingly over the last few years is certainly beijing's intent, that if peaceful unification cannot be achieved, it will do so by force.

and i think having seen china's... certainly they've been building up its military. they've seen militaryjets, warships heading to the taiwan strait, increasing their presence around taiwan. and that has involved us coming to the aid of taiwan and saying it will defend it if necessary. and i think when it comes to china's actions towards taiwan, what the world has seen is an increase in aggression. i think what we're seeing in recent weeks is an increase in outreach. and certainly the chinese diplomats have been to the united states in the last week. and their tone there has been very much about peaceful unification. and as long as the one—china policy is adhered to, china will continue to push for peaceful reunification with taiwan. now it's time for a look at today's sport. hello from the bbc sport centre.

just two matches in the english premier league today — as this round of fixtures is spread across this weekend, and next. chelsea are flying at the moment — a third league win in a row for them. cole palmer's goal proving the difference in their 1—0 victory over fulham. palmer's late penalty in the first half helped his side bounce back from midweek defeat at second tier middlesbrough in the first leg of their league cup semifinal. the win for chelsea moves them up to 8th — fulham's poor away run continues, having lost their past five league games on the road. we deserve the victory, we were the better side. very pleased with the performance, and with the team. happy for the three points, we needed them. i think our victory here, third in a row at stamford bridge, in the premier league, is important. it should have been a red card for gusto _ it should have been a red card for gusto 50— it should have been a red card for gusto. so far this season, in moments _ gusto. so far this season, in moments like that, it has been a red

card, _ moments like that, it has been a red card, this _ moments like that, it has been a red card, this afternoon it was yellow card~ _ card, this afternoon it was yellow card~ my— card, this afternoon it was yellow card. my opinion, it was difficult for him — card. my opinion, it was difficult for him to— card. my opinion, it was difficult for him to see. it should have been overturned — for him to see. it should have been overturned and should be read card. manchester city kick off against newcastle, in just over an hour's time. they're still be without striker erling haaland for their trip to stjames park. 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. it 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. goals from jackson irvine and jordan bos. later, uzbekistan play syria in the other game in group b.

china are in action against tajikistan in group a. it is currently 0—0, but not long to go. the first tennis grand slam of the year, the australian open, gets under way in less than 2a hours' time. it's taking place on sunday, rather than the traditional monday, to welcome more fans. and they've headed to melbourne park in their thousands already. organisers say that almost 90,000 supporters came during qualifying. novak djokovic is the top seed and defending champion and has his sights on winning 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 seasons, most of my seasons, throughout my career. with a win here in australia in melbourne. 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. whilejiri 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. ronnie o'sullivan is on course for an 8th masters title — after beating shaun murphy in the first of the semi—finals at alexandra palace in london. o'sullivan raced out in front, to lead two frames to nil... but fellow englishman murphy pulled it back. it was 3—2 at one point before o'sullivan showed his class to take the remaining frames untroubled, winning 6—2, as he looks to become the oldest champion in the tournament's history. and that's all the sport for now. we will be back later on. the un special envoy for yemen has urged maxiumum restraint by all parties involved in the country — after the us and uk

launched dozens of strikes against houthi targets in yemen. the us carried out a fresh military air strike in yemen overnight — against a radar site it says is being used by the iran—backed houthi movement. the action is in response to houthis 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 of the attack. the hamas—run health ministry says 23,815 palestinians have now been killed in israeli strikes on gaza since october 7th — most of them women and children. more than 60,000 have been wounded. rockets were also fired from gaza into southern israel. and 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 says two were aged 16, and one 19. let's turn to the war in ukraine,

and regions across the country were targeted with another overnight barrage of russian missiles and drones. ukraine's air force counted a0 attacks and said it had shot down eight missiles. the full impact of the attack is not clear, but buildings have been damaged in both the sumy and chernihiv regions in the north. russia's defence ministry said the assault focused on ukraine's military—industrial complex, adding without providing evidence that all targets had been hit. officials in colombia say a landslide has killed 33 people in the northwest of the country. it was caused by heavy rains, and covered a busy road connecting the cities of medellin and quibdo. another 20 people were injured and it is feared that many more may be buried under the mud, which engulfed several cars on the road. new zealand's former prime ministerjacinda ardern has

married her long—term partner clarke gayford in a small private ceremony in the country's north island. the wedding was originaly scheduled for early twenty—twenty—two the wedding was originaly scheduled for early 2022 but was postponed due to the strict restrictions she herself imposed during the covid pandemic. the couple have been togetherfor a decade and have a five—year—old daughter. that is it for the moment, i am back after a short break. stay with us. hello there. things are set to turn even colder as we move towards the second part this weekend and into the start of next week as we open the floodgates to arctic northerlies. and that will drive plenty of snow showers into northern scotland starting on sunday. and the blue colours, the dark blue colours will be reaching pretty much all areas by the time we reach sunday night into the first part of monday. for the rest of today, though, it's not looking too bad across the northern half of the country, bright with some sunshine, some rain showers across northern areas, some snow to the hills. variable cloud, though, for large parts of england and wales.

the odd spots of light rain here too. but there will be a bit of sunshine around. but those temperatures again range from around 5 to 8 degrees. so not quite as cold as what we're expecting by the second half of the weekend. through tonight, under clear skies, it will turn cold and frosty where we hold on to the cloud. and temperatures holding just above freezing, but it will be turning colder and windy across the far north of scotland. increasing snow showers here and a risk of ice sunday. then we see those snow showers become heavy and frequent across northern areas. risk of ice here, the winds picking up elsewhere. plenty of sunshine around, just one or two showers dotted around, particularly wales, south west england, mainly of rain as temperatures here 6 to 8 celsius, but turning colder across the north. then we're all into that very cold arctic air on monday. frequent snow showers affecting coastal areas in particular across northern scotland into the northern hours with an ice risk accumulations gathering, some snow showers down north sea coast, a few down on the irish sea coast

in towards pembrokeshire, perhaps even as far south as south west england, over the higher ground. but for most, it's going to be a sunny day, a very cold day. when you factor in the northerly wind, it's going to feel more like these values suggest, perhaps down to —6 to —8 celsius for northern scotland. so bitterly cold tuesday, some further snow showers across northern scotland. then we could see this area of cloud rain which could turn wintry with some snow for northern ireland, the rest of scotland, northern england, perhaps north wales as we move through the day. but will stay dry with some sunshine across southern areas again, it's going to be another very cold one. that feature runs across the country into the north. further snow showers across the north. i don't think we'll see any problems across southern britain with that low pressure system to bring some snow there. so it looks like it's going to stay dry, but for this upcoming week stays cold. the risk of snow in the north and severe overnight frost.

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—british 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. 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 on bbc news, newscast. have you seen the traitors? i haven't, no. it's a long—running thing on newscast that when adam is sitting in the seat that you're in, i'm asked about a tv show, and i say no. i've actually heard that a number of times! but you have? i haven't seen tonight's, cos i've promised to wait and watch the next one with my family. but, yeah, it's good, you should give it a go. there's lots of twists, it's quite like politics, chris. but anyway, never mind,

we've got our own show to make,