the us military launches afresh strike on a houthi target in yemen, a day after joint us—uk air strikes across the country. the houthis say the strikes have had no significant impact on their ability to keep attacking vessels in the red sea. hello, i'm rajini vaidyanathan. welcome to the programme. let's start in taiwan, where william lai has won the election and is set to become taiwan's president. he is from the governing dpp, and is set to succeed the the current president, tsai ing—wen. mr lai has been labelled a troublemaker by china, and beijing had warned people against voting for him. in his victory speech, he pledged to use dialogue instead of confrontation in exchanges with china and said he hoped that beijing understood that peace

will benefit both sides. china says reunification with taiwan is still inevitable despite the vote, and mr lai's victory will not change the basic landscape of cross—strait relations. my colleague, steve lai, has been following the day's events in taipei. polling began at 8am and it closed at lipm. eight hours is all it took, and four hours of counting, and we have a winner already. it's been quite a fascinating thing to watch and to be a part of, i have to say. let's cross now, though, to shaimaa khalil, because she is at the dpp headquarters and she's been listening to william lai make his victory speech. shaimaa, tell us more about what he said. william lai, the now president—elect, has thanked people for turning out, thanked the supporters for voting for the dpp and giving them that record third term in power. but he was also very robust on the stance with china. he said it's his responsibility to maintain safety across the taiwan strait, but also he vowed

to maintain the status quo. he said that he will maintain, that he will safeguard taiwan against any intimidation and aggression from china. and of course, this is really at the heart of this election. remember, the jubilation from supporters that their candidate finally won, and you can see it from the flags and the confetti flying around, is happening against a very tense geopolitical backdrop. beijing is watching this very carefully because china claims taiwan as its own. the united states is a very strong ally to taiwan and it sees it as a partner in countering taiwan's influence and assertiveness in the region. and with that, the dpp comes to power for a third time with william lai. with william lai now as the leader maintaining that policy, something that beijing is not going to be happy about. many of the voters that i've spoken

to have said "we have voted, "they're now in power, "they have to deliver", not just on safeguarding and maintaining the peace and making sure that the defense capabilities are in place. but also on domestic issues. at the heart of it is economy, the employment and the housing. so for people here in taiwan, they want a lot from their government when it comes to issues of their daily lives. but in the back of their minds, they're also thinking how beijing is going to react to this vote. well, let's get more analysis on the results that we've seen today here in taiwan. and let's speak with wang wenwen. he's a former chief opinion editor at global times and is now professor and executive dean at chongyang institute for financial studies at renmin university of china. wang wenwen, thanks for your time today. what do you think china's reaction will be to this victory by william lai? so actually, i think it's local elections of china. so that's why i think the china mainland is very, very calm.

and in fact, i think the taiwan policy in china mainland, we are not changing, at least the three points. first, china must be reunified and it is bound to be reunified. second, we want to reunify peacefully, but do not promise to give up force. for this are to curb taiwan independence, not for the people of taiwan. it can be said to a certain extent that without taiwan independence there will be no reunification by force. third, i think taiwan independence more rapid in the coming four years. so i think the process of using military forces to promote reunification will be faster. so i think no one or any force can make taiwan independent. just to come back on you on that, we've seen today sort of democracy in action here in taiwan, free and fair elections, a transparent

process of democracy. does china really have a claim over taiwan? i think you call it democracy, but in china's eyes it's a very typical local election. in fact, i would not be surprised by any without because nowadays we all know the dpp continues to be in power, but the political structure on the island will not form significant impact on the stability of cross—strait relations. maybe in the future there may be a storm or there may be cooperation. but as i said, they are just processes and the final result cannot be changed. that is a final cross—strait reunification. so i think let me look the future. if the dpp provokes on taiwan

independence, there are many ways to fight back in china mainland, and if dpp dare to announce taiwan independence, then i think the result can only be reunified by force and the dpp leaders are eventually arrested and face a legal trial. all this. well, you call them local elections. but that's not how it's seen here in taiwan. in fact, the taiwanese identity, as we've seen and we've spoken to our guests here throughout the day here, only seems to be growing. the more china—friendly kmt party seems to be doing worse. there seems to be a stronger rise in sentiment here in taiwan to be more independent, even if they are not pushing verbally for independence in the short term.

well, i think that if you ask chinese ordinary people, so i think most of ordinary people in china mainland nowadays we have very low attention to taiwan elections because we really think it's local elections. so if you ask those netizens, i think many of the chinese netizen in mainland, they want to solve a problem with force, but most of chinese mainland people, they believe that the central government is capable of better realising a peaceful unification. but the problem is that you call it a democracy, but it's a differences of the ideology. so i think in the future, we must take a long time. we need to prevent such ideological external factors in the variance.

in the values. for example, as you said, so—called democracy. so all the united states values. so i think another thing that we all know that the san francisco meeting in november, china—us relations have remained stable and the us has repeatedly announced to oppose taiwan independence. so i think also china nowadays first proposed to the united states supporting peaceful unification. so at present time, stands on china's mainland. most chinese people believe that in the future, cross—strait will be reunified. we trust it. well, the definition of taiwan has a different interpretation from china than it has here on the island, from what i've seen. but thank you very much for your time today, wang wen.

wang wen is a former chief opinion editor at global times and currently at the university of china. now, as we've seen from the elections here today, taiwan's democracy very much alive and vibrant. three parties contesting for the presidency and four parliamentary seats. and we do have a clear winner in the presidential election with william lai. with william lai now the president elect, said to be inaugurated on may the 20th, and we'll have to wait and see more of china's reaction to what we have seen here in taiwan. on bbc news, our live page of taiwan's coverage has all the information throughout the day. if you want to get up to speed with everything that has been happening here in taiwan. in the meantime, back to you in london. william lai says he is "determined to safeguard" the island from, as he put it, "continuing threats and intimidation from china." he gave a victory speech soon after two other candidates admitted defeat earlier today. let's hear some of what

the president—elect said. 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. let's turn now to the middle east, because president biden says the us has delivered a private message to iran about the houthi movement in yemen, which iran backs. he said that the us and its allies are well prepared for any further attacks in the red sea. the us and the uk launched dozens of strikes against houthi targets in yemen on thursday night, and there was a fresh air strike last night on a radar site which it says was being used by the group. 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. we've just got some latest pictures of houthis holding military

exercises after a new us strike in yemen. these pictures show targets marked with israeli and us flags, bombed from houthi drones. a large number of houthi officials were gathered at the yemeni—saudi border outpost of al buqa for these exercises. the houthis warned of a "strong and effective response" to earlier strikes by the us. the un special envoy for yemen has called for maximum restraint from all sides. fatima abo alasrar is a nonresident scholar at the middle east institute and a former adviser to the yemeni embassy in washington. shejoins me now. thank you for joining us here on bbc news, fatima. first of all, what you make of the latest developments in this and the last 2a hours or so? 50. latest developments in this and the last 24 hours or so?— last 24 hours or so? so, the us air strikes, coordinated _ last 24 hours or so? so, the us air strikes, coordinated air _ last 24 hours or so? so, the us air strikes, coordinated air strikes - strikes, coordinated air strikes with the uk and other coalition members in the region on houthi

sites are a tactical response to the houthi escalation in the red sea, but they also send a strong message to iran, that their influence over the houthis is not unnoticed, it is a strategic move urging iran to de—escalate the situation, and containing its threats to regional stability and safeguarding the vital international maritime routes. so it is a new move. it has been unexpected, but it also signals that the united states is isn't a strong alliance in support of israel. —— united states is in a strong alliance. they do not want to escalate on that front. there is so much confusion on this and why the us is acting now, and it is acting now precisely because of the iran

backed houthi provocation in the red sea. we backed houthi provocation in the red sea. ~ . ., ., , sea. we have heard from president biden warning _ sea. we have heard from president biden warning the _ sea. we have heard from president biden warning the us _ sea. we have heard from president biden warning the us will— sea. we have heard from president biden warning the us will take - biden warning the us will take further action if the attacks do not stop and we have been reporting that he says that a private message about the houthis has been delivered to iran, without giving further specifics on that. do you think that will make a difference? in specifics on that. do you think that will make a difference?— specifics on that. do you think that will make a difference? in terms of im act, will make a difference? in terms of impact. there _ will make a difference? in terms of impact, there are _ will make a difference? in terms of impact, there are a _ will make a difference? in terms of impact, there are a lot _ will make a difference? in terms of impact, there are a lot of— will make a difference? in terms of impact, there are a lot of things i impact, there are a lot of things that go into this calculation, so if it is going to make a difference in deterring the houthis or deterring iran, it is very unlikely, but at the same time, iran is watching closely and it does not want to escalate. essentially, iran did lay a sort of geopolitical trap and many analysts are seeing the situation unfolding at the moment is desire for the houthis to actually engage the united states in war in yemen

and that the united states and its allies are taking this trap, but there is also another dimension of this that in action, towards these provocations is also, it sends another dangerous message with the united states and coalition taking action, they will be a new calculus at the moment and we are yet to see how events are to unfold but it would be quite reckless to continue escalating, knowing that the us and its allies are prepared for another response. its allies are prepared for another resonse. . ., ., , . response. fatima, how significance for many of — response. fatima, how significance for many of our _ response. fatima, how significance for many of our viewers _ response. fatima, how significance for many of our viewers who - response. fatima, how significance for many of our viewers who aren't| for many of our viewers who aren't necessarily across the politics of young men, how much power and significance to the houthis have? it is unfortunate but the houthis have managed to rise and become more resilient since they are take over of yemeni government in 2014, 2015,

and through the bore in saudi arabia, so they have managed to take strong control over the northern highlands of yemen, over the former capital of yemen. —— through the war. i did the same time, they don't have much popularity and yes, you can see the rallies and people coming in support of the houthis and against the air strikes in sanaa, in the capital, large amounts of people who are concerned but at the same time, many of them are opposed to the houthis' control over northern yemen and there is of course a conflict at multiple levels in the country, so this group does not necessarily have the legitimacy that it needs but it is seeking legitimacy through engagement with the united states which is a very awkward being, but really perception of a foreign invader a foreign

force, and them standing up to that foreign invader, they inadvertently are given the legitimacy that they long craved. are given the legitimacy that they long craved-— long craved. fatima abo alasrar, thank ou long craved. fatima abo alasrar, thank you for— long craved. fatima abo alasrar, thank you for taking _ long craved. fatima abo alasrar, thank you for taking us _ long craved. fatima abo alasrar, thank you for taking us through l long craved. fatima abo alasrar, - thank you for taking us through what is an often complicated story to navigate. is an often complicated story to naviuate. . ~ i. 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 sub—postmasters. 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. you're allowed 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's 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's 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 that 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. and we can now speak to janet skinner, who you saw in that report.

she's a former sub—postmistress who was jailed for nine months in 2007, over an alleged shortfall of £59,000 from her post office in hull. it isa it is a pleasure to talk to you. thank you forjoining us here on bbc news. a month ago, you would not have been on bbc news if it wasn't for that itv drama that has really propelled the plight of you and so many other sub—postmasters around the country. it has been a big week for you, and if you look back on the way, how do you feel? it for you, and if you look back on the way, how do you feel?— for you, and if you look back on the way, how do you feel? it has been a whirlwind of— way, how do you feel? it has been a whirlwind of will _ way, how do you feel? it has been a whirlwind of will be, _ way, how do you feel? it has been a whirlwind of will be, if _ way, how do you feel? it has been a whirlwind of will be, if i'm _ way, how do you feel? it has been a whirlwind of will be, if i'm honest. l whirlwind of will be, if i'm honest. i think of the back of the drama and the fact that social media is just put it in every single house on every single possible way. —— a whirlwind of a week. but it has actually been a whirlwind. find whirlwind of a week. but it has actually been a whirlwind. and the news today _ actually been a whirlwind. and the news today that _ actually been a whirlwind. and the news today that executives - actually been a whirlwind. and the news today that executives might | news today that executives might have been over paid thousands of

pounds in bonuses. i mean, it is just another element of a story that has made so many people angry, not just the people impacted like yourself. just the people impacted like ourself. ., , , yourself. there has been investigating _ yourself. there has been investigating the - yourself. there has been | investigating the bonuses yourself. there has been - investigating the bonuses for quite some time, and because they were overpaid in bonuses, and how can you be overpaid in a bonus when a company is actually acting how it is, to be rewarded for helping to destroy thousands of people's livelihoods and lives?- destroy thousands of people's livelihoods and lives? now, you send livelihoods and lives? now, you spend time _ livelihoods and lives? now, you spend time in — livelihoods and lives? now, you spend time in prison _ livelihoods and lives? now, you spend time in prison because i livelihoods and lives? now, you spend time in prison because of livelihoods and lives? now, you - spend time in prison because of what happened to you. yes. how has it been to relive _ happened to you. jazz how has it been to relive what happened happened to you. 123 how has it been to relive what happened to you backin been to relive what happened to you back in 2007, given that everyone is now pointing to talk to you and discuss what happened? it is now pointing to talk to you and discuss what happened? it is not a case of reliving _ discuss what happened? it is not a case of reliving it _ discuss what happened? it is not a case of reliving it because - discuss what happened? it is not a case of reliving it because you - case of reliving it because you relive it every day anyway. it never goes away, so i have been carrying

this since when it began in 2006, but i think it has just made it easy to be able to explain and people get a better understanding of what actually we had to go through for the past 15 years. so i think it is just good is the way it is at the minute. figs just good is the way it is at the minute. �* . . .,, �* just good is the way it is at the minute. a . �* ., ., ., minute. as far as i'm aware at the moment. — minute. as far as i'm aware at the moment. no _ minute. as far as i'm aware at the moment, no one _ minute. as far as i'm aware at the moment, no one from _ minute. as far as i'm aware at the moment, no one from the - minute. as far as i'm aware at the moment, no one from the post i minute. as far as i'm aware at the . moment, no one from the post office has been properly held to account and obviously we have seen the statutory inquiry that continues, but what would you like to see happen on that front? obviously, the will happen on that front? obviously, they will have — happen on that front? obviously, they will have to _ happen on that front? obviously, they will have to wait _ happen on that front? obviously, they will have to wait until - happen on that front? obviously, they will have to wait until the i they will have to wait until the inquiry concludes, and it comes up with its findings, but if there needs to be a counter, there is a number of people who have sat back and watch this unfold over the years, hidden information away, and obviously the inquiry is bringing

everything to the forefront and everything to the forefront and every single day, there is a new news story, even though it is an old story, it is still new, every single day. so everything that happens now has to be, there has to be accountability. d0 has to be, there has to be accountability.— has to be, there has to be accountability. has to be, there has to be accountabili . , ., ~ , ., , accountability. do you think people should no accountability. do you think people should go to _ accountability. do you think people should go to jail — accountability. do you think people should go to jail over— accountability. do you think people should go to jail over this - accountability. do you think people should go to jail over this like - accountability. do you think people should go to jail over this like the i should go to jail over this like the postal affairs minister said today? one, i went to prison. i was only in charge of one post office. i was held accountable for it, so i think it is only fair they are held accountable for what they have done to thousands of people. find accountable for what they have done to thousands of people.— accountable for what they have done to thousands of people. and 'ust one final thought — to thousands of people. and 'ust one final thought before i to thousands of people. and 'ust one final thought before we _ to thousands of people. and 'ust one final thought before we let _ to thousands of people. and just one final thought before we let you - to thousands of people. and just one final thought before we let you go, i final thought before we let you go, janet. what would you like to say at the end of that week to people who have come out and supported your cores from across the country? i just want to say thank you to everybody. —— supported your cause. the support is amazing from each and

every person and also, this past week has been able to give those people who have hidden away with the shame of what has happened to them, they have been able to get a voice, and they have been able to come forward and actually now realise that they didn't do anything wrong. janet skinner, so good to talk to you. thank you so much for sharing your thoughts here on the bbc. i will be back shortly. hello there. although the weekend has started off on a largely fine note was some sunshine around, things will turn colder toward sunday, and into the start of next week looks very cold as we open the floodgates to this arctic wind, bringing plenty of showers. you can see on the latter part of sunday the dark blue parts across the board. so there will be

showers across coastal areas and showers across coastal areas and showers in northern scotland turning increasingly wintry as we pick up that cold and strong northerly wind and they will be a risk of frost and ice will be at high chalmers, and we hold on to cloud it will not be as cold. sunday is a chilly start and with some sunshine around an variable amounts of rain to, a few showers draped around eastern coastal areas, showers draped around eastern coastalareas, but showers draped around eastern coastal areas, but showers turning increasingly to snow across scotland and as we move through the day, temperatures start to come down, still five to 7 degrees for england and wales. into monday, that run of very cold, strong northerly winds, strongest around the coast will see some of the heavy snow showers, even affecting eastern coastal areas and some down through the irish sea into pembrokeshire and may into the high ground of south—west england and also coastal parts of northern ireland. but inland areas will stay dry were plenty of sunshine, look at these temperatures, between one and

four celsius and you factor in the strong northerly wind it will feel more like these suggest, —6 and minus eight celsius. tuesday is a very cold day with plenty of sunshine and eastern areas and snow showers across scotland and we could see this beach are running into northern ireland, and northern wales where they will be sleet and snow and there could be some disruption with this. but for the salvage stays dry, but it is another day, particularly if you factor in the wind. —— but forthe particularly if you factor in the wind. —— but for the style of it stays dry. this area of low pressure could bring some destructive snow to southern britain and it doesn't look like that'll happen, it looks like it'll stay across france but it will stakeholder for much of this upcoming week, particularly the first part of the week is staying very cold with a risk of snow across northern areas which could be disruptive and nights will be cold with severe frost and ice to look out for.

live from london, this is bbc news. in taiwan, william lai from the ruling party wins the presidential election after the main opposition party conceded 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. thousands of pro—palestinian protesters have marched through central london,

calling for a ceasefire in gaza. sport, and for a full round—up from the bbc sport centre, here it is. the english premier league is at the start of a staggered winter break which means there are just two top flight matches today with this round of fixtures spread across this weekend, and next. newcastle are hosting manchester city — that game has just kicked off with city able to move into second place if they win. score now 0—0. earlier, chelsea beat fulham 1—0, a cole palmer goal the difference between the two sides. it's chelsea's third league win in a row and moves them up to eighth place. fulham's poor away form continues, having lost their past five away league games.

we were the better side and very pleased with the performance, this third in a row in the premier league, it is important to be confident in this one. there are also two major international tournaments starting this weekend. the africa cup of nations gets underway when hosts ivory coast face guinea—bissau later. and in the asian cup, australia beat india 2—0 with goals from jackson irvine and jordan bos. uzbekistan play syria in the other game in group b — that match is just kicking off now. china are in action against tajikistan in group a, that finished goalless. china did get the ball in the net on 80 minutes but the goal was disallowed for offside. the first grand slam of the tennis season, the australian open, starts on sunday for the first time

rather than the traditional monday for various reasons, including allowing more fans to get to watch live tennis. and they've taken full advantage of the opportinty to watch tennis at melbourne park already this week. organisers say that almost 90,000 supporters came to watch tennis during qualifying. play in the main draws begins tomorrow, and novak djokovic is the men's defending champion and top seed, and he has his sights set on extending his grand slam record as the first step in his goals for the year. it is no secret that i verbalise my goals and i say clearly that i want to win a wasteland that i participate in and play on. it is no different this year. i am just hoping i can start the season in a way that i have been starting my season, most of my season throughout my career, with a win here in australia, melbourne.

america's emma navarro is clearly on form ahead of the australian open. she upset two—time champion elise mertens to secure her first wta title on saturday with a battling win at the hobart international. while on the atp tour, jiri lehecka won his first title at the adelaide international, beating britain's jack draper in the men's singles final. draper took the first set, but the czech player levelled at one set all and then won the decider. ronnie o'sullivan is on course for a record extending eighth masters title — after beating shaun murphy in the semi—finals at alexandra palace in london. o'sullivan took an early lead, going two frames to nil ahead but fellow englishman murphy came back into it and was only 2—3 down at one point before o'sullivan showed his world number one status to take the remaining frames to win 6—2 as he aims to become the oldest champion in the tournament's history at the age of 48, almost 29 years after becoming the tournament's youngest winner.

i don't feel that old, i feel... laughter i know what my age is, but i feel youngin i know what my age is, but i feel young in my mind, actually look younger around a table than i do when applying these young players, they look old, the way they... their brains are quite slow, so, for me... cheering and feel my brain is still pretty quick around a snooker table, which is enough. they need to get their act together, i am going blind and have bad knees. and that's all the sport for now. let's return to our top story — the presidential elections in taiwan where william lai from the governing dpp party has come out on top. he 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 victory speech, mr lai pledged to use dialogue instead of confrontation in exchanges with china and said he hoped that beijing understood

that peace will benefit both sides. our correspondent shaimaa khalil was at the dpp rally, where she asked participants to share their reactions to today's election results. i believe the new president will lead us to a better future. it is awesome, a victory for taiwanese history. congratulations but i taiwanese history. congratulations hut i think— taiwanese history. congratulations but i think the taiwanese have chosen— but i think the taiwanese have chosen the right people to move forward — chosen the right people to move forward i— chosen the right people to move forward. . . , ., , _ forward. i am really happy right now. forward. i am really happy right now- why? _ forward. i am really happy right now. why? because _ forward. i am really happy right now. why? because most - forward. i am really happy right now. why? because most of i forward. i am really happy right i now. why? because most of taiwan, the people _ now. why? because most of taiwan, the people want— now. why? because most of taiwan, the people want to _ now. why? because most of taiwan, the people want to take _ now. why? because most of taiwan, the people want to take our- the people want to take our democracy— the people want to take our democracy lifestyle - the people want to take our democracy lifestyle and i the people want to take our democracy lifestyle and letl the people want to take our- democracy lifestyle and let taiwan stand _ democracy lifestyle and let taiwan stand out — democracy lifestyle and let taiwan stand out in — democracy lifestyle and let taiwan stand out in international- democracy lifestyle and let taiwan stand out in international society. | stand out in international society. are you _ stand out in international society. are you worried _ stand out in international society. are you worried about _ stand out in international society. are you worried about how - stand out in international society. are you worried about how chinal are you worried about how china might react? i are you worried about how china might react?— might react? i don't care. laughter _

laughter you don't care about how china will react? i you don't care about how china will react? ., �* .., you don't care about how china will react? ., �* .. ., ., ., react? i don't care, we have to hold u . react? i don't care, we have to hold u- our react? i don't care, we have to hold up our value — react? i don't care, we have to hold up our value and _ react? i don't care, we have to hold up our value and insist _ react? i don't care, we have to hold up our value and insist what - react? i don't care, we have to hold up our value and insist what we i up our value and insist what we think is right. and we have to move on. from beijing, our china correspondent laura bicker gave us the chinese reaction to the election results. 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, new 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 in 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 see 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 in 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 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 diplomat, 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. as we've been hearing, taiwan is a key flashpoint in the tussle between china and the us for supremacy in asia. but what is the historical background to their current, complex relationship? our reporter tom brada has more. the elections in taiwan are being closely watched around the world. that is because taiwan finds itself at the centre of a geopolitical flashpoint between the us and china. for all particle purposes, the island has been independent since 1949. but china sees it as part of it sound territory which will one day unite with the mainland. if necessary by foes. on that, hey it's

a chinese president speaking in 2022. translation: me a chinese president speaking in 2022. translation:— a chinese president speaking in 2022. translation: we will never -romise 2022. translation: we will never romise to 2022. translation: we will never promise to renounce _ 2022. translation: we will never promise to renounce the _ 2022. translation: we will never promise to renounce the use i 2022. translation: we will never promise to renounce the use of- 2022. translation: we will never. promise to renounce the use of force as an option. to promise to renounce the use of force as an option-— as an option. to understand why the issue of taiwan _ as an option. to understand why the issue of taiwan so _ as an option. to understand why the issue of taiwan so contentious, i as an option. to understand why the issue of taiwan so contentious, it i issue of taiwan so contentious, it issue of taiwan so contentious, it is important to understand some of the island's history. in the first half of the 20th century, there was a civil war on mainland china which pitted the chinese national party against the chinese communist party. in 1949, mao zedong's hominis forces emerged victorious. which meant nationalist leader and his supporters fled to the island. he was one of his former advisors. —— here is. was one of his former advisors. -- here is. ., .., was one of his former advisors. -- here is. ., _, ., ., here is. you could sailing mainland china was the _ here is. you could sailing mainland china was the lowest _ here is. you could sailing mainland china was the lowest moment i here is. you could sailing mainland china was the lowest moment in i here is. you could sailing mainland | china was the lowest moment in his life. but he never accepted defeat. the party rule for several decades but after his death, the island began to transition to democracy and

in 1996, it held its first free presidential elections. it is now a prosperous myself governing island, and many of its citizens see it as entirely distinct from mainland china. but that does not sit well with beijing. which insist that countries cannot have official relations with both itself and taiwan. and in the us is a major sticking point. it maintains official relations with china but it also is the most significant supporter of taiwan, and maintains unofficial links with taipei. on the us position for taiwan's security, here is president biden. the us position for taiwan's security, here is president biden.— here is president biden. the idea that it can be _ here is president biden. the idea that it can be taken _ here is president biden. the idea that it can be taken by _ here is president biden. the idea that it can be taken by force, i here is president biden. the idea that it can be taken by force, just taken by force, just not appropriate, it will dislocate the entire region and be another action similar to what happened in ukraine.

taiwan finds itself in the middle of a diplomatic tug—of—war. and the outcome of its domestic elections could well have a profound impact on some very delicate international affairs. more on those taiwanese elections on the bbc news website. thousands of pro—palestinian protesters have marched through central london as part of a global day of action in about 30 countries. the demonstrators called for a ceasefire in gaza. the metropolitan police said it had made several arrests "in relation to offensive placards." our correspondent nicky schiller has been at the march for us. iam in i am in parliament square, which is the end of the match. tens of thousands of people have taken part in the march through central london today, the first big pro—palestinian event of the year. you will remember there were a number towards the end of last year. this is the seventh

national march and thousands marched through the centre of central london, including for the first time se .5 metre puppet, who is a syrian refugee who originally was walk from the syrian turkish border through to manchester in 2021. the a march today was to highlight palestinian refugees add a number of palestinian children march with that puppet. the march has ended up here in parliament square and speaker after speaker have called for a ceasefire now. this event is part of a number going on in a number of cities around the world. the organisers say in more than 30 countries. we know there has been a big demonstration in dublin today. all calling for a ceasefire now. one of the biggest cheers since we have been here has been for the former labour leader jeremy corbyn, one of a number of

people to address the event, as well as calling for a ceasefire now, he and a number of others, including the palestinian ambassador to the u k, also praised south africa for taking its case to the international court ofjustice. accusing israel of genocide earlier in the week, something israel denies. but praise for south africa taking that case to the icj. there is a large police presence, as you would imagine, about 1700 officers have been on duty today. some of those brought in from outside london. i saw a police van from lancashire, the lancashire force here to make sure that everything went off peacefully. the met police say at the moment to arrests have been made, they say that was in relation to offensive placards, and at the beginning of the day they warned that they wouldn't hesitate to act if they saw any placards that went against any

of the laws, and they were handing out leaflets to people, urging them not to display any offensive banners. to arrests have been made. today's protest, pro—palestinian, tomorrow there will be a pro—israeli demonstration, that will be in travelogue square. but here in parliament square, the speeches behind me continue and you can see a lot of people who are taking part in the march have stayed here to listen to the speakers all, as i said, calling for a ceasefire now in gaza. that was nicky schiller. and the number of people arrested has now risen to six, according to the metropolitan police. let's ta ke let's take you like tojerusalem where israeli prime minister benjamin netanyahu is giving an address, in hebrew but we are watching across it, and so far he has said that no one. israel from fighting in gaza until victory, not

the hague, not the axis of evil. that is some early lines coming from that address from the israeli prime minister, benjamin netanyahu, who is speaking there injerusalem. speaking there in jerusalem. meanwhile, speaking there injerusalem. meanwhile, in tel aviv, you can see crowds gathering in an anti—government protest, protest and against mitt to netanyahu, and as you can see huge crowds in tel aviv, and they are also calling for the release of hostages who were taken tjy release of hostages who were taken by hamas on the 7th of october. we will stay on that story and bring you more updates when we have them. let's turn to the war in ukraine, and regions across the country have been targeted in yet another overnight barrage of russian missiles and drones. ukraine's air force counted forty attacks and said it had shot down eight missiles. the full impact of the attack is not clear, but buildings were 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. a bear, rescued by ukrainian soldiers after being injured by russian shelling, has arrived at his new home in scotland. yampil, the asiatic black bear, is named after the town in eastern ukraine where he was discovered in an abandoned zoo, after months of russian occupation. he now has a new permanent home in west lothain, as steven godden reports. settling into life in his new home. yampil the bear�*s journey to five sisters zoo hasn't been an easy one. he's named after the town where he was rescued by ukrainian soldiers after months of russian occupation. discovered in an abandoned zoo, he was one of only a few animals to have survived.

he has been through a lot. he's been in the middle of a war zone and he's experienced some really horrible things. and so you never really know when you're working with rescue animals until you meet them and you start working with them just how they're going to react to the new environment, to the people that are working with them, so time will tell. transporting a 30 stone bear requires care and attention. the last few metres of yampil�*s journey from a belgian animal sanctuary were particularly tense. emerging from his crate, a few sniffs before thoughts quickly turned to his stomach. and then, as the neighbours look on, yampil begins to explore his new surroundings. you're always thinking about him, and he's our priority this morning, just making sure that the move went well and everything was comfortable for him. and yeah, as you can see, he's arrived and he's settled in well and he seems happy. yampil�*s arrived earlier than the keepers were expecting so this is a temporary enclosure for him while a permanent one is built elsewhere in the zoo.

asiatic black bears typically hibernate in the colder months. once yampil settles in, the hope is for a restful start to his new life in scotland. 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 then trick them into handing over banking and card details. dan whitworth 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 it out. i had no idea how they'd left my account, really. i just couldn't draw two and 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 one 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. a musical set on an iconic housing estate in sheffield is set to take london's west end by storm. standing on the sky's edge takes place over six decades, charting the political upheaval and unrest in britain from the 1960s to the present day. our arts correspondent david sillito has been taking a look. it's concrete, it's brutalist and it's hard—line. parkhill, sheffield. in the �*60s, coach trips would come to marvel at the streets in the sky.

# after the rains have gone, something inside me, i know...# it's like being in heaven up here. three mornings, decades apart. and now, 60 years on, its story of hope, long decline and now rebirth, is about to open on london's west end. # over roof slates...# and it's why the cast of standing at the sky's edge went to meet the people of parkhill. next to the greeny, bluey door, that was our kitchen. mickjones moved here in the �*60s. he's already seen the show three times. and today a chance to meet one of its stars, rachael wooding. and i tell you, when i moved on here, it was amazing. it was like you'd won the lottery. and i know what that means to have your story told and be heard and be seen. i was in tears cos it was so beautiful. this isn't a normal musical, is it? no, it isn't, and i've i done a lot of musicals!

it is because of the people, it is because of the building and what it means. it's not every day you get a musical cast going on a fact—finding mission. but this isn't a normal musical. we really are standing at the sky's edge here, aren't we? yeah, pretty much. here, the man behind it all, richard hawley. i mean, some of the families that lived here originally that they have repeatedly bought tickets to go and see it, it is a really emotional experience. standing at the sky's edge. cheering what started as a little project in sheffield has already won an olivier. but this wasn't about trying to create a west end hit. what would you want people to take away from it? learn from history and don't repeat the story again, you know, because there were awful things to happened here, awful. it's that kind of systemic neglect, we need to avoid that and it's notjust sheffield, it is everywhere. does it make a difference

coming to see the place? i cannot tell you... yes. you can feel it, i have goose pimples, and it's not cold, i have thermals on! # after the rains have gone, something inside me i know # is dying for you # after the pain has gone, i finally open my eyes # not crying any more...# tens of thousands have passed along these concrete walkways. this an attempt to tell something of the truth of those many lives. david sillito, bbc news, parkhill, sheffield. let's ta ke let's take you back to jerusalem where israel's prime minister benjamin netanyahu is delivering an address and he said, israel will not be deterred by the international court ofjustice from pursuing its war in gaza until total victory. he

is speaking in hebrew but we will bring you more elements as we have them. of course there is more on all of the day's news on the bbc news website. stay with us here on bbc news. hello there. although the weekend has started on a largely fine note with some sunshine, things are set to turn colder as we head into sunday, the start of next week, looking cold as we open the floodgates to these arctic notaries feeding, plenty of snow showers into northern areas and coastal areas. you can see as we look at the latter part of sunday, dark blue across the board. through tonight it will be mostly dry, a few showers ran coastal areas, because

northern scotland turning a crazily wintry as they start to pick up the cold and northerly wind. a risk of frost and ice where we have had showers, where we hold on to cloud it will not be as cold. sunday a chilly start, some sunshine around, variable cloud, a few rain showers across wales, south—west england. some showers right around east coastal areas but the shallow turning increasingly to snow across scotland, attempted coming down. still 5-7 c scotland, attempted coming down. still 5—7 c for england and wales. monday, a run of cold, strong northerly winds. strongest among coastal areas, northerly winds. strongest among coastalareas, most northerly winds. strongest among coastal areas, most of the heavy and frequent snow showers. even affecting eastern coastal areas, some down through the ivc independent schachmann may be the high ground of south—west england, also coastal parts of northern ireland. in a devastating guy with plenty of sunshine, temperatures 1-4 c. plenty of sunshine, temperatures 1—4 c. factor in the strong arctic northerly wind it will be more like

these temperatures suggest minus 6--8 c these temperatures suggest minus 6——8 c across scotland, very cold. tuesday another cold day, 20 of sunshine in southern easton ellis, is now across northern scotland, this feature running into northern ireland southern scotland, northern eglin, north well to bring you a speu eglin, north well to bring you a spell of sleet and snow. could be some disruption with this. further south it stays dry but another cold day particularly with the wind. there was something keen in this area live pressure, an area of disruptive snow to southern britain, doesn't look like that will happen, it will stay across france. staying cold for much of this upcoming week, particularly the first half of the week looking very cold with the risk of snow across northern areas which could be disruptive, nights will be called with severe frost and ice.

live from london. this is bbc news. william lai from taiwan's ruling party wins the presidential election, and vows to defend the island from china's intimidation and maintain its democratic way of life. but china said "reunification" with taiwan was still "inevitable" after the election on the self—ruled island that beijing claims as its own. the us military launches fresh strikes against a houthi target in yemen, that's as president biden says the us has delivered a private message to iran about the houthis.

in response, the houthis say the us strikes had no significant impact on their ability to continue attacks on vessels in the red sea. hello, i'm azadeh moshiri. welcome to the programme. let's start in taiwan, where william lai has won the election and is set to become taiwan's president. he is from the governing dpp, and is set to succeed the current president, tsai ing—wen. mr lai has been labelled a "troublemaker" by china, and beijing had warned people against voting for him. in his victory speech, he pledged to use dialogue instead of confrontation in exchanges with china. he also said he hoped that beijing understood that peace will benefit both sides. as for china, it says reunification with taiwan is still inevitable despite the vote, and opposes separatist activities. rupert wingfield—hayes reports from taipei.