after the election. israel's military says it will consider allowing palestinians to return to northern gaza, as seen described as one of utter devastation. president biden says he's sent a private message to iran about the houthis in yemen, following us and uk air strikes against the group. hello, i'm azadeh moshiri. we begin in taiwan, where voters have ignored china's repeated warnings not to vote for william lai from the ruling party, the dpp. he will replace tsai ing—wen as president after securing 40% of the vote — though the dpp lost its majority in parliament, making it hard for him to pass legislation. mr lai says he will maintain the status quo in relations with china,

which has labelled him a troublemaker and a "dangerous separatist". in his victory speech, he pledged to use dialogue instead of confrontation in exchanges with china and said he hoped beijing understood that peace will benefit both sides. china says reunification with taiwan is still inevitable despite the vote, and it opposes separatist activities. rupert wingfield—hayes reports from taipei. onto stage comes the man who will now be taiwan's next president. in the end, william lai won the election by a larger margin than expected. china's campaign to intimidate voters here not to choose him failed. his supporters say, if anything, it had the opposite effect.

china warned the people of taiwan not to vote for this man. they said he is a troublemaker who will take the island closer to war. well, tonight they have given their answer — by electing him their new president. speaking to the international media following his victory, president—elect lai was quick to offer beijing an olive branch. translation: over the last eight years we have tried - continuously to extend goodwill. unfortunately, china has not responded to these gestures. we hope in the future china will realise peace serves the interests of both sides. it's not just it's notjust the democratic it's not just the democratic system that sets the country apart. it became the first country in asia to legalise same—sex marriage. this

couple got to vote together for the first time as a family along with their daughter.— their daughter. this election is very important. _ their daughter. this election is very important, we _ their daughter. this election is very important, we have - their daughter. this election is very important, we havejustl their daughter. this election is - very important, we havejust come back from hong kong and people there are envious of others, they have told us we must protect our democracy or we could end up like them. for taiwan's main opposition party, the kmt, the result was another humiliation. they bowed as they begged for forgiveness from their supporters. it had run on a platform of getting closer to china. that policy may have contributed to their defeat. instead, voters gave the party he loathes an historic third presidential win. now everybody is waiting to see how china's leader will respond. rupert wingfield—hayes, bbc news, in taipei. the united states is a key ally of

taiwan so cross to washington and our correspondent tom bateman. what has been the reaction so far in the united states? the has been the reaction so far in the united states?— has been the reaction so far in the united states? ,, united states? the us government has congratulated — united states? the us government has congratulated william _ united states? the us government has congratulated william lai _ united states? the us government has congratulated william lai on _ united states? the us government has congratulated william lai on his - congratulated william lai on his victory but has restated and reiterated its long—standing policy that it does not support the independence of taiwan from china. that matters because i think it's meant as a message of reassurance to beijing. it is the unofficial long—standing policy of support for taiwan that has come from the us that beijing is so wary of and worried about. the importance of thatis worried about. the importance of that is because the united states has, for many years, sold weapons to the taiwanese and the chinese have never ruled out the use of force for the eventual reunification of taiwan

to china, as they put it. equally, the us has never ruled out military action... we now enter a period of extended uncertainty while everyone watches to see how beijing will respond to the victory william lai —— victory of william lai but as president biden enters a presidential election year with two crises still raging, conflicts going on in the middle east and ukraine, the last thing he will want its further aggravation with china over the continuing flashpoint of taiwan. could you explain why this result isn'tjust could you explain why this result isn't just about taiwan, why it matters so much to the united states? it matters so much to the united states? . , , u, , ., matters so much to the united states? . , , , ., ., states? it matters because china and the us are key _ states? it matters because china and the us are key rivals, _ states? it matters because china and the us are key rivals, but _ states? it matters because china and the us are key rivals, but at - states? it matters because china and the us are key rivals, but at the - the us are key rivals, but at the same time, their economies have

become increasingly interdependent. we've seen that rivalry grow, we've seenin we've seen that rivalry grow, we've seen in some ways the relationship to deteriorate. what the administration has tried to do is carry out a process of engagement. we saw last year president biden hold a meeting on the margins of the apec summit in california at which he met president xijinping. after that, there was a sense that they had discussed many of the issues they disagreed on but the americans were continuing to talk about the importance of diplomacy and engagement but in the context of the presidential election, especially with some republicans urging a harder line on the us administration towards china, the approach to something like taiwan which is a long—standing flashpoint between these two rivals will matter. there

will be a lot of eyes on the policy towards taiwan and lawmakers will ask if enough visible support is being given. next week, the us will send an unofficial delegation to taipei. these are former administration officials, not people currently in office, what is exactly that kind of thing that really grates on the chinese. we saw back in 2022 of nancy pelosi, the speaker of the house, visit taiwan which led to the chinese carrying out a live fire military drill in the strait of taiwan so there will be a lot of eyes on what the us and the chinese are going to do in the weeks to come. well, let's get more on the view from china. the chinese communist party has never ruled taiwan, but claims the self—governing island is part of its territory. our china correspondent laura bicker has more on china's reaction to the election results.

china is refusing to acknowledge the results of taiwan's presidential election. we've had two statements, one from the ministry of foreign affairs and the other from beijing's taiwan affairs office. it says that the democratic progressive party cannot represent the mainstream public opinion on the island of taiwan and it ends with the strong words, "they cannot stop the unstoppable trend of the eventual reunification of the motherland." for the last ten years, president xi jinping has sold china this vision of a strong, unified china with taiwan and he has not ruled out the use of force if necessary. his tactics have become ever more aggressive, sending warships and militaryjets around the taiwan strait repeatedly. but many people are now asking, what does he do now? because a third term for the dpp would suggest that president xi

jinping's vision of a unified taiwan is no further away than he would like. this is a party that here in china and in beijing say is a gang of separatists. there have been warnings that william lai is a troublemaker. so what does he do now? many believe there will not be conflict. while beijing is already battling economic troubles at home. there is already the issue of the united states. china and united states are taking fragile steps, small steps towards one to try to repair the relationship. that relationship is incredibly fragile and could be broken if china shows increasing aggression towards taiwan. i think china has also looked at us policy in asia over the last year, the united states has shored up alliances, increased its use of military bases right across asia which means it has an increased presence in the region and right

around waters near china. so i think it would be wary of any increased aggression. but let's see what happens over the next few months before william lai is inaugurated in taiwan. prime minister benjamin netanyahu has declared in a televised address that nothing will stop israel pursuing the war in gaza, including the international court ofjustice in the hague. for two days this week, the un's highest court heard a case lodged by south africa alleging that israel was committing genocide against the palestinians. that is something that israel strongly denies. this is what prime minister netanyahu said about that. translation: no-one will stop us, not the hague, not the axis - of evil and no—one else. the hypocritical attack at the hague

on thejewish state — which was established from the ashes of the holocaust — in the mission of those who came to commit another holocaust on thejews. this attack is a moral low in the history of nations. this is the seen live in tel aviv were thousands, including families of the hundreds of hostages are still being held in gaza. right now, that figure is at about 130, rallying for 24/2 mark 100 days of war with hamas, that's a countdown to the 100 day figure that will be on sunday. israel is keeping up its bombardment of gaza, with the crowded southern cities of rafah and khan younis bearing the brunt of the attack. gaza's health ministry says 23,843 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. we've also been hearing from israel's military — it says it will consider allowing palestinian civilians displaced from northern gaza to return there, once there is no danger to them from the fighting with hamas. these are the latest images from beit hanoun in northern gaza, as you can see, it's been reduced to ruins. here's how un under—secretary—general for humanitarian affairs, martin griffiths, described the situation in northern gaza to the security council on friday. my own colleagues from my office who have managed to make it to the north in recent days describe scenes of utter horror, corpses, dead people left lying in the road, people with evident signs

of starvation stopping trucks in search of anything they can get to survive. and even if people were able to return home to the north, we know from the statistics of buildings destroyed, many no longer have homes to go to. earlier, i spoke to dr james smith in london. he is an emergency physician associated with medical aid for palestinians and has returned from deir al—balah area of gaza strip just a few days ago. he gave me his reaction to the possible return of palestinians to the northern gaza as indicated by israeli military. i mean, the first thing to say is the palestinians have the right to return, be they currently displaced into southern gaza, be they refugees living in refugee camps in lebanon and so on. the palestinian people who have been displaced from northern gaza should indeed be allowed to return,

but that can only be done once it is safe for them to do so. and that requires an immediate ceasefire, an immediate and sustained ceasefire. we welcome such opportunity for the palestinian people to return, provided that it is safe, and this is something that should be done at the nearest possible opportunity. when it comes to calls for a ceasefire, israel maintains its right to self—defence after the events of october the 7th, that's what they would say to that, but you are an emergency physician, you've just come back, and we've seen the number of functioning hospital just absolutely plummet. what have you witnessed? there are very few functioning hospitals remaining throughout the gaza strip. myself and colleagues not only

from medical aid for palestinians but also the international rescue committee were working in the al—aqsa hospital in the middle of the gaza strip. we would see hundreds of patients injured as a result of a ground invasion or from aerial bombardment. those trauma—related, injured... we were unable to provide adequate levels of care to them because many of the health care workers that normally staff the hospitals have either been killed or displaced themselves and have had to flee to seek safety. other reasons being that we aren't receiving enough material, medical assistance to the hospital, is so on occasion we would run out of the most basic forms of medical supplies such as sterile gauze, morphine for pain relief and so on, so very, very difficult

to provide even a basic level of care to patients who are presenting in very, very high numbers. hospitals are protected under international humanitarian law. in terms of the living conditions for palestinians right now, when it comes to things like food and hygiene, what did you witness? what are they facing right now? there are inadequate levels of food coming into the gaza strip at the moment. water and sanitation are a major problem, exacerbated by crowding in the few shelters that are available for displaced people. colleagues in our team visited one shelter, one of many in which individuals numbering about 40,000 in number had just over one square metre per person in such a space. inadequate numbers of toilets,

very, very undignified and unsafe conditions, and, as a result, we see increasing rates of diarrhoeal diseases, major concerns related to malnutrition and high numbers of food insecurity as reflected in the recent ipc report. really, really, incredibly dire conditions. president biden says the us has delivered a private message to iran, about the houthi movement in yemen, which iran backs. he said 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. 0vernight, 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. i spoke to a conflict analyst from the us institute of peace who says the us institute of peace who says the air strikes may not deter the houthis. if the air strikes may not deter the houthis. ., , the air strikes may not deter the houthis. . , ., houthis. if anything it will anger them and they _ houthis. if anything it will anger them and they will— houthis. if anything it will anger them and they will definitely - them and they will definitely retaliate. they are riding this popular wave and their message resonates well with a popular base. they called for a holyjihad with many year manys lining up tojoin their ranks —— with many yemenis. this has been framed by an attack by a foreign power as an attack between the west and islam and the group might see themselves as the heart of the nation —— the houthis see themselves as the heart of the nation and hope this will increase

their recruitment drive. this is a chance for them to increase their reach, to bolster their presence in the region so they will definitely not back down. houthis had a religiously inspired group, they believe they have a divine calling, they believe they are from the lineage of the prophet muhammad and should lead the muslim nation. this resonated well with their followers in yemen and that's why they have hundreds of thousands of followers in yemen but we are seeing a dangerous trend. people from other arab states are now sympathising with the houthis and seeing them as the leaders of the nation and that's dangerous because soon enough you will have —— there will be arab fighters in their ranks as well. here in the uk, there's fresh anger over the post office scandal after it was revealed executives may have been overpaid thousands of pounds in bonuses. it comes as the tax office investigates whether the company underpaid as much as 100 million

pounds 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 overpaying 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? you know, 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. january 13 is the end of traditional christmas celebrations in scandinavia and traditionally when people throughout their trees but many are getting a new lease of life in sweden as a habitat for green life. the trees are thrown off a boat into the baltic sea, like a christmas present for the fish! there's not a lot of reeds and those are really important habitats for fish that are going missing. there are plenty of places to hide in here. there are all these branches

and there are the pine needles as well so they are great places to place the roe and forjuvenile fish to hide from biggerfish. this is bbc news, you can find us on social media. please keep watching. hello. we've had chilly weather over the past few days but things are about to get colder and we are going to see a blast of arctic air moving in for the next couple of days so a drop in temperature and some snow showers will cause a bit of disruption, particularly in the north. we got a couple of weather fronts shifting south opening the door to these cold, northerly winds. through the next few hours, already snow showers across parts of shetland, mainland scotland also seeing snow and light rain showers

further south but most of us are dry and as the sun rises first thing, temperatures are going to be either side of freezing. on sunday, the snow showers are packing and across the north of scotland, it will be windy towards the northern isles where gust could reach 70 mph. a few spots of light rain further south, northern ireland and wales into central and southern england but most places will be avoiding the showers, temperatures between 3 celsius and 6 celsius, it will feel cooler with the wind especially in the north. snow showers continue to packing on the northerly breeze on monday, they become more frequent across the northern half of scotland but also for northern ireland, snow possible here on monday and through these irish sea coasts, one or two snow showers also possible for the north york moors towards norfolk. most of us looking dry with some wintry sunshine. look at the temperatures, just1 celsius to 5 celsius but when you add on the northerly winds, it will feel bitterly cold, feeling around —5, —6

celsius on the east coasts for instance. moving to tuesday, these showers just moving on, instance. moving to tuesday, these showersjust moving on, if you instance. moving to tuesday, these showers just moving on, if you for northern ireland and southern scotland, one or two into northwest england and wales. it is the potential for more destructive snow on tuesday, moving on towards the central belt later in the day stop we keep an eye on the snow showers in the north but further south and east, i think it will be staying dry if cold again. that low pressure bringing snow on wednesday. this low pressure towards the south is most likely to be staying across france but if it pushes further north into the colder air across southern england, it could bring snow. either way, i think next week will be a colder week, a fair amount of dry weather and snow showers mainly in the north and sharp overnight frosts. bye—bye.

this is bbc news, the headlines... 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 is still "inevitable" after the election on the self—ruled island that beijing claims as its own. the us military says it has carried out a new strike on a houthi radar site in yemen, a day after dozens of similar us—british air strikes

across the country. the israeli prime minister says that nothing will deter israel's determination to pursue the war in gaza — including the international court ofjustice in the hague. officials in colombia say a landslide has killed 33 people in an indigenous community in the northwest of the country. colombia's vice president says most of those killed were children. after 24 hours of heavy rain, part of a mountain detached — crashing down on a busy road connecting the cities it is feared that more people may be buried under the mud, which engulfed several cars on the road. live now to richard mccoll, journalist based in colombia. richard, thanks so much forjoining us. what do we know about the rescue operation right now? 1shiliiiie

us. what do we know about the rescue operation right now?— operation right now? while at the moment, thank _ operation right now? while at the moment, thank you, _ operation right now? while at the moment, thank you, we - operation right now? while at the moment, thank you, we know- operation right now? while at the | moment, thank you, we know that operation right now? while at the - moment, thank you, we know that the fire brigade, the army, the president has sent out forces, there are people on the ground trying to locate anyone surviving in this absolute tragedy that could have been foretold in this area of columbia, the poorest area of columbia, the poorest area of columbia, after such heavy rains which led to three different landslides taking out this road between quibdo and medellin — so a major road that's unpaved and goes through some of the most dramatic scenery within colombia, so very difficult to do any rescue operation, and there's a realfear that could be more landslides in the immediate future. you that could be more landslides in the immediate future.— immediate future. you said that it could have — immediate future. you said that it could have been _ immediate future. you said that it could have been prevented - - immediate future. you said that it could have been prevented - can. could have been prevented — can you tell us more about that? could have been prevented - can you tell us more about that?— tell us more about that? well, it couldn't have _ tell us more about that? well, it couldn't have been _ tell us more about that? well, it couldn't have been prevented, . tell us more about that? well, it i couldn't have been prevented, per se, but predicted. this is a very

overlooked region of colombia. the road itself should be a major road, but government after government have failed to invest in this part of colombia. the department or state where this happened near to the town is the poorest state in colombia, and it really has not received the income needed to make this a safe route between two major cities. find route between two ma'or cities. and has there route between two major cities. and has there been any reaction you've heard from locals there, or any anger at what you're talking about right now? anger at what you're talking about riaht now? ~ ., , , , right now? well, anger is pretty much routine _ right now? well, anger is pretty much routine unfortunately, - right now? well, anger is prettyl much routine unfortunately, they know their lot will be overlooked, the region in this area is very much at the four of all decisions and problems. but it's a real tragedy because the three landslides took place, the people who were waiting in their cars — a lot of them got out of their cars into shelter in a

nearby home as the rains were coming down, and it was at home with 50 plus people in it that was literally enveloped and wiped off the map by the landslide. that's why there's 30 plus people who are still as yet unaccounted for.— unaccounted for. god, that's horrible- _ unaccounted for. god, that's horrible. and _ unaccounted for. god, that's horrible. and just _ unaccounted for. god, that's horrible. and just to - unaccounted for. god, that's| horrible. and just to reiterate this, in terms of colombia's history and what it's use to, how does it compare?— compare? it's not the worst landslide — compare? it's not the worst landslide that _ compare? it's not the worst landslide that colombia - compare? it's not the worst landslide that colombia has| compare? it's not the worst - landslide that colombia has had, unfortunately colombia is no stranger to natural disasters — we could go through any litany of previous issues that have taken place, natural disasters in the country — but it happens all too often and this is something that should be worked towards. and it's all too easy to blame previous administrations or politicians, but also its politician after politician, after different government after different

government after different government who have failed to do anything. government who have failed to do an hina. . ~ government who have failed to do an hina. ., ~ i. government who have failed to do an hina. . ~' . ., government who have failed to do an hina. . . ., anything. thank you so much for your time and for — anything. thank you so much for your time and for the _ anything. thank you so much for your time and for the update. _ anything. thank you so much for your time and for the update. and of - time and for the update. and of course, as soon as we hear more, we'll bring that to you. let's take you to the us state of iowa now — where the leading republican presidential candidates — donald trump, nikki haley and ron desantis — are campaigning. donald trump has taken the lead so far. it's just two days until the republican caucuses there kick off the official nominating process for the 2024 presidential election. it would normally be frantic, with each candidate staging a series of events as they try to draw any uncommitted voters into their camps. but winter storms have been wreaking havoc, with heavy snow forcing the candidates to cancel many plans. nikki haley cancelled all three of her events on friday, and donald trump's campaign cancelled three out of four in—person rallies over the weekend, opting to hold tele—rallies instead. live now to dr thomas gift,

associate professor of political science at the university college london, and founding director of the ucl centre on us politics. thank you so much for your time. now is this really a race, is there any unpredictability here? because it seems donald trump has this in the bag. seems donald trump has this in the ba. _ ., , ., seems donald trump has this in the bag. thanks so much for having me. i think there's — bag. thanks so much for having me. i think there's a _ bag. thanks so much for having me. i think there's a race _ bag. thanks so much for having me. i think there's a race for— bag. thanks so much for having me. i think there's a race for second - think there's a race for second place certainly, and that's between nikki haley and ron desantis. but if you just look at the polls, it's hard to imagine a scenario under which donald trump doesn't run away with iowa and gain the momentum going into new hampshire. he has about 50% of the vote and all the non—trump candidates are really buying over the same number of constituents testifying. they are splitting the anti—trump vote which will allow donald trump to run away with it. the real best case scenario for either ron desantis or nikki haley is to have a strong finish to

some momentum heading into the next primary, and basically establish themselves as the clear trump alternative.— alternative. and nikki haley, there's a lot _ alternative. and nikki haley, there's a lot of _ alternative. and nikki haley, there's a lot of eyes - alternative. and nikki haley, there's a lot of eyes on - alternative. and nikki haley, there's a lot of eyes on her l there's a lot of eyes on her because she's had such momentum up till now, and of course new hampshire is a big one for her — but do you think she is still running for the republican nomination? or is she running for a vp spot? i nomination? or is she running for a vp sot? ~ ., , nomination? or is she running for a vpsot? ~ ., ,. ., , nomination? or is she running for a vp sot? ~ ., ,. ., , ., vp spot? i think that is certainly a reasonable _ vp spot? i think that is certainly a reasonable question _ vp spot? i think that is certainly a reasonable question and, - vp spot? i think that is certainly a reasonable question and, given i vp spot? i think that is certainly a i reasonable question and, given she's been so reluctant to challenge donald trump directly, like all the other republican nominees, you could say she doesn't want to burn any bridges and maybe she is positioning herself for the vice presidential position, or potentially a cabinet pic in a trump administration. now that's really been the interesting aspect of this entire race, which is that no republicans have been able to go after donald trump directly— i think that's largely strategic, because they think that might alienate the trump base — but still it makes it very difficult to win if

you have a front runner who is essentially far and away clearing the field and you can't go after him. �* , ., ., ., ., him. but why would that alienate reublican him. but why would that alienate republican voters, _ him. but why would that alienate republican voters, given - him. but why would that alienate republican voters, given all - him. but why would that alienate republican voters, given all of i republican voters, given all of donald trump's legal troubles? what has that not made a real dent in support for him kudela that's certainly a question that a lot of trump critics can't seem to wrap their head around, but donald trump is a cult—like figure within the republican party. he's been very effective at this brand of grievance politics, essentially saying that democrats, the deep state, any individuals on the left are all going after him and, by extension, he says they are going after all of us in terms of the republican electorate. so when you look at his 91 criminal indictments, you look at the efforts in maine and colorado to kick him off the ballot, that all has been good for his poll numbers, he's used to fund raise its really solidified his front runner status, and that's what he has 50% plus of

the republican vote. but it's a mystery to me and many others why all this misbehavior, which would've stashed the presidential ambitions of pretty much any politician, doesn't seem to stick to donald trump. doesn't seem to stick to donald trum -. ., ., , doesn't seem to stick to donald trum. ., .,, ., ~ i. doesn't seem to stick to donald trum. ., ., ~ doesn't seem to stick to donald trum. ., ., . ., trump. thomas, thank you so much for our time. trump. thomas, thank you so much for your time- thank _ trump. thomas, thank you so much for your time. thank you. _ donald trump has appeared in court twice this week — but this does not appear to be doing him much harm in the polls. three days out from the opening primary in iowa, and he is still 30 points ahead. meanwhile, president biden is casting this year's likely rematch for the white house as a battle to save us democracy. ros atkins has been taking a look. the us election is in november, and president biden has this warning... donald trump's campaign is obsessed with the past, not the future. he's willing to sacrifice our democracy, put himself in power. donald trump is favourite to be the republican presidential nominee and he's firing joe biden's accusation back at him.

now we have a president who's a great danger to democracy. he really is. he is a danger to democracy at a level like few people have seen. trump's not provided convincing evidence to support this claim, but his own actions raise questions about his impact on us democracy, not least his false claim that the 2020 presidential election was stolen from him, a claim we heard the day after voting finished. this is a case where they're trying to steal an election, they're trying to rig an election, and we can't let that happen. the election wasn't rigged. but again and again, donald trump falsely claimed us democracy had failed to function. shouting weeks later, onjanuary 6th, just as lawmakers prepared to certinyoe biden's victory, trump held a rally in washington, dc and again said the election was rigged. shouting less than two hours later, his supporters stormed congress. three years on, donald trump faces criminal charges that allege

a wide—ranging conspiracy to overturn the results of the election. but despite this, despite his election claims being rejected byjudges and election officials, still trump continues his attack on the credibility of america's democratic institutions. but if you go to his campaign website, you'll find this pitch to voters. here's my plan to dismantle the deep state and reclaim our democracy from washington corruption once and for all. to trump, the deep state is a network of government bureaucrats working to obstruct him and his policies. and trump's plan to deal with this involves trump having more power. the new york times has reported that the former president and his backers aim to strengthen the power of the white house and limit the independence of federal agencies. this comes in various forms — here's one. first, i will immediately reissue my 2020 executive order restoring the president's authority to remove rogue bureaucrats. and i will wield that power very aggressively.

this would allow the president to remove thousands of career civil servants and replace them with loyalists. donald trump and his people i want to be much more effective in enacting policies _ than they were the last time around. they don't want their policies to be undermined by non—political- or non—appointed government workers. a process to find potential replacements is already under way. it's part of what's called project 2025. dozens of conservative organisations have produced a plan for a new republican presidency. what we're doing is systematically preparing to march into office and bring a new army of aligned, trained, and, essentially, weaponised conservatives ready to do battle against the deep state. the idea is that this marching, weaponising and battling will be done at huge scale. axios reports project 2025 aims to install a pre—vetted pro—trump army of up to 54,000 loyalists across government.

that figure's not been confirmed, but it's worth putting it in context. in the united states, we already have 4,000 political appointees, and if you compare that to any other democracy in the world, it's a large, large, large number. in other words, to go from 4,000 to potentially tens of thousands of political appointees would take the us well beyond other western democracies. it would not be merit that would define employment, but rather your loyalty to the winner of the presidency. that would not only threaten our democracy but truly undermine the ability of our government to meet the pressing needs that it has to deal with very real problems. in response to media reports about project 2025, the trump campaign team released a statement saying, that may be, that may be, but having the ability to replace civil servants is what trump wants, as is his ambition to expand presidential powers elsewhere.

take federal departments and agencies — already the president appoints the heads of many of these, but some government agencies are independent, and trump wants to change that. i will bring the independent regulatory agencies, - such as the fcc and the fdc, - back under presidential authority as the constitution demands. such a move would be unusual. these are agencies normally apart from politics, but this push for more presidential power isn't a surprise because trump has a long—held belief that the us constitution gives the president full power over all parts of government. he talked about this while in office. then i have an article 2, i where i have the right to do whatever i want as president, . but i don't even talk about that. this interpretation of the constitution is strongly contested, as is another claim made in 2022 — after again saying the last election was stolen, donald trump posted...

the termination of all articles of the constitution justified by a false claim of a stolen election. that feels relevant as we assess trump's impact on us democracy. so does his desire to use the presidency to settle scores. i will appoint a real- special prosecutor to go after the most corrupt president i in the history of the united states of america, joe biden, _ and the entire biden crime family. this description's not based on evidence and this pattern of trump threatening opponents with the law has become familiar, but that doesn't make it normal in american democracy. donald trump has come forward and said that he wants to use his ownjustice department to prosecute his political enemies in the way that he feels he has been prosecuted politically byjoe biden and joe biden's justice department.

but that would be a significant break from american democratic traditions and judicial traditions going back more than a century. this week, trump was asked about retribution. he said he won't have time for it if he's re—elected. trump's also been sharing his view of american law and justice when referencing january 6th. he's called the violent attack on the seat of the us democracy "a beautiful day." he's called the hundreds who've been jailed for what happened "hostages." none of this has affected trump's viability as a potential republican presidential nominee, nor has the torrent of falsehoods that he continues to pour into america's political discourse. and so, as republican candidates gather in iowa and the formal process of selecting the nominee begins, trump remains the man to beat. and at one recent event, there was a question for the crowd. and you've been seeing what's going on. - in the past few weeks, i the radical left democrats and their fake news allies have unveiled their newest hoax, i that donaldj trump - and the republican party are a threat to democracy.

would you believe that? "would you believe that?" donald trump asks, as his supporters laugh. for some who've watched trump in recent years, the answer is yes, they would believe that. and they're not laughing. the us special climate envoy john kerry is leaving the biden administration later this winter. the former secretary of state and presidential contender will switch to helping joe biden campaign to be re—elected to the white house. kerry was instrumental in helping to broker the 2015 paris climate agreement. he believes that a second term in the white house for biden would be the "single biggest" difference for progress in the climate crisis. here in london — thousands of pro—palestinian protesters have marched through the city centre 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 for inciting racial hatred, showing support for a proscribed organisation or racially aggravated public order offences. but of course i didn't refer to all the protesters and it was largely peaceful. —— that didn't refer. our correspondent nicky schiller was at the march for us. 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 a 3.5 metre puppet, of a syrian refugee who originally was walked from the syrian—turkish border

through to manchester in 2021. the reason itjoined the march today was to highlight palestinian refugees and a number of palestinian children marched 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 uk, 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 1,700 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. as i say, two arrests have been made. today's protest, pro—palestinian, tomorrow there will be a pro—israeli demonstration, that will be in trafalgar 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. and the number of people arrested has risen to nine — according to the metropolitan police. let's turn to the war in ukraine — and regions across the country were targeted in yet another overnight barrage of russian missiles and drones. ukraine's air force counted 40 attacks, and said it had shot down eight missiles. 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. staying with the war — and 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. new zealand's former prime minister, jacinda ardern, has married her longterm partner, clarke gayford, in a small private ceremony in the country's north island.

the wedding was originaly scheduled for early 2022, but was postponed due to the strict restrictions she herself imposed during the covid pandemic. thank you so much for watching, there's plenty more to come so please stay with bbc news. hello. we've had some fairly chilly weather over the past few days, but things are about to get colder — as we'll see a blast of arctic air moving in for the next couple of days. so a drop in temperatures and some snow showers which will cause a bit of disruption, particularly in the north. so we've got a couple of weather fronts shifting their way south, opening the doors to these cold northerly winds bringing us that arctic air. through the next few hours, already some snow showers working in across parts of shetland. mainland north of scotland also seeing a little bit of snowfall. a few light rain showers further south, but actually, most of us are dry and, as the sun rises, i think first

thing, temperatures are going to be just about either side of freezing. so, through the day on sunday, then, we've got the snow showers packing in across the north of scotland. it'll also be really windy — particularly up towards the northern isles, where gusts could reach 70mph, so blizzard conditions there. further south, few spots of light rain, perhaps northern ireland, wales, into central southern england — but most places will be avoiding these showers, and we'll see temperatures between about 3—6 celsius, degrees, but it'll feel cooler with the wind, especially in the north. now heading on into monday, snow showers continue to pack in on that northerly breeze. they'll become more frequent across the northern half of scotland — but also for northern ireland, some snow possible here on monday and, through some of these irish sea coast, perhaps pembrokeshire, 1—2 snow showers also possible for the likes of the north york moors, towards norfolk, as well. most of us, though, looking dry with some wintry sunshine — but look at those temperatures, just 1—5 on the thermometer, but when you add on those brisk northerly winds, it'll feel bitterly cold feeling — around about —5 or —6 around some of those east coast, for instance.

moving through into tuesday, and now, just have a look at these showers just moving in a few for northern ireland, perhaps southern scotland, perhaps 1—2 into parts of northwest england and wales, as well, but there is the potential for a little bit more disruptive snow on tuesday, especially moving in towards the central belt, i think later on in the day. so, we're keeping an eye on the snow showers in the north, but further south and east, i think you'll be staying dry, if cold again. so, there's that area of low pressure bringing a bit of snow, i think, for some of us on tuesday. that clears away, this area of low pressure towards the south is most likely to be staying out across france. but if it does push further north into that colder air across southern england, it could bring a bit of snow. either way, i think next week, we're looking at a colder week, a fair amount of dry weather in the south, some snow showers mainly in the north, and sharp overnight frosts. bye— bye.

live from washington. this is bbc news. william lai — the man china labelled a troublemaker — wins taiwan's presidential election, vowing to defend the island from beijing's intimidation. president biden says he's sent a private message to iran about the houthis in yemen, following us and uk airstrikes targeting the group. thousands take to the streets around the world caling for a ceasefire in gaza — but prime minister benjamin netannyahu says nothing will deter israel's detemination to pursue the war in gaza.

i'm helena humphrey. good to have you with us. taiwanese voters have chosen william lai as their president in an historic election, cementing a path that is increasingly divergent from neighbouring china who warned voters not to vote for the doctor—turned—politican. mr lai — who represents the democratic progressive party — won 40% of the vote, beating the other two opponents by a wide margin. he's broken new ground, winning an unprecedented third consecutive presidential term for his party, but the win could also increase tensions with china who has called mr lai a troublemaker and separtist. china considers taiwan a part of its territory and has been calling for a �*peaceful reunification' but has not ruled out the use of force. in recent months, the country has ramped up its military presence on the island, heightening fears of a possible conflict. rupert wingfield—hayes has more, from the taiwanese capital,

taipei.