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. 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 president xi jinping tried to intimidate voters here not to choose him but 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 him their answer by electing him their president. speaking to the international media following his victory, president—elect william 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 the piece serves the interests of both sides. it's notjust its democratic system that sets taiwan apart from china. five years ago it became the first place in asia to legalise same—sex marriage. today, for the first time, this couple got to vote together as a family with their three—year—old daughter. translation: this election is very important. _ we havejust come back from hong kong and people there are envious of us. they told us we must protect our democracy or we could end up like them. for taiwan's main opposition party, the kmt, today's result was another humiliating defeat.

the whole party leadership bowed as they begged for forgiveness from their supporters. the kmt�*s candidate hou you—ih had run on a platform of getting closer to china. that policy may have contributed to his defeat. instead voters gave the party xijinping loathes an historic third presidential win. now everyone is waiting to see how china's leader will respond. rupert wingfield—hayes, bbc news in taipei. to talk more about this, i'm joined in the studio by shirley martey hargis — senior china policy fellow from third way think tank. shirley, good to have you with us. firstly, what can you tell us about president elect william lai? former national taiwan university graduate, former mayor. also harvard

graduate, former mayor. also harvard graduate, former mayor. also harvard graduate, former physician, now turned politician and as we know now, current president of taiwan. he said throughout the campaign and in this speech as well that he intends to keep the status quo when it comes to keep the status quo when it comes to relations with china. he is now going to be in office though. what do you make of that? do you think he well? i do you make of that? do you think he well? ~' ., ., well? i think he will maintain status qu0- _ well? i think he will maintain status quo. i— well? i think he will maintain status quo. i think _ well? i think he will maintain status quo. i think he - well? i think he will maintain status quo. i think he is - well? i think he will maintain i status quo. i think he is focused well? i think he will maintain - status quo. i think he is focused on maintaining status quo on both sides of the straight and ensuring that as we just heard, of the straight and ensuring that as wejust heard, offering of the straight and ensuring that as we just heard, offering an olive branch to beijing and so we will see how that goes. i think he will be consistent with that. we how that goes. i think he will be consistent with that.— how that goes. i think he will be consistent with that. we have had some displeasure _ consistent with that. we have had some displeasure clearly - consistent with that. we have had some displeasure clearly from - some displeasure clearly from beijing. how do you think they might react to this? beijing hasn't ruled out using force for example to take back taiwan. do you see that as a

likelihood? i back taiwan. do you see that as a likelihood?— likelihood? i think china actually startin: a likelihood? i think china actually starting a war— likelihood? i think china actually starting a war with _ likelihood? i think china actually starting a war with taiwan - likelihood? i think china actually starting a war with taiwan is - likelihood? i think china actually starting a war with taiwan is not| likelihood? i think china actually. starting a war with taiwan is not a high likelihood. ithink starting a war with taiwan is not a high likelihood. i think that beijing will continue to restrict communications on both sides of the straight, that more family happened in 2016. however i think that beijing will see more of the same, more of the same of what we have seen, however i understand beijing is quite concerned about william lai's previous comments. folks are saying he seems much more pro—independence and that is a concern in beijing. we will see but however, his vp, she is a candidate

that has earned much trust from the united states and washington as well. having a former diplomat next to him is what many think will keep that balance. i to him is what many think will keep that balance-— that balance. i want to ask more about that _ that balance. i want to ask more about that relationship - that balance. i want to ask more about that relationship with - that balance. i want to ask more about that relationship with the | about that relationship with the united states. the united states is taiwan's closest ally. where are we to see a more fractious relationship between taipei and beijing, where do you think that might put washington? it will maintain its light which is the one china policy. we do not advocate that either side unilaterally cause any type of fiction. we want both sides, it's up to them to determine their fate and thatis to them to determine their fate and that is the us position. fine to them to determine their fate and that is the us position.— that is the us position. one thing i thou~ht that is the us position. one thing i thought was _ that is the us position. one thing i thought was noteworthy _ that is the us position. one thing i thought was noteworthy in - that is the us position. one thing i thought was noteworthy in the - that is the us position. one thing i i thought was noteworthy in the speech from william lai was he said we

didn't see any interference in these elections. do you think there could be the worry that during his term, there could be, if not force from beijing, other ways they try and take some of the autonomy for example away from taiwan? there is much talk and _ example away from taiwan? there is much talk and there _ example away from taiwan? there is much talk and there is _ example away from taiwan? there is much talk and there is much - example away from taiwan? there is much talk and there is much history | much talk and there is much history around economic worship and that is one of the main thing is that we are likely to see because beijing had to respond in some sort of way. much like when nancy pelosi came over to taiwan last year, i think the year before, not too far from president xijinping's collection before, not too far from president xi jinping's collection and he responded in a way that he did which i wasn't surprised by because he has to stay strong domestically and that is the main concern when running for office. i wasn't surprised he would lodge the rockets, that the response was so strong. he had to because a

speaker came over to taiwan. what speaker came over to taiwan. what ou think speaker came over to taiwan. what you think this _ speaker came over to taiwan. what you think this result _ speaker came over to taiwan. what you think this result tells _ speaker came over to taiwan. what you think this result tells about the future for taiwan and china and particularly younger generations and eye versions of feeling that we are clearly seeing among the young population? it clearly seeing among the young population?— clearly seeing among the young --oulation? ., , , ., population? it was interesting that some of the _ population? it was interesting that some of the young _ population? it was interesting that some of the young population - population? it was interesting that some of the young population in i some of the young population in taiwan voted for the candidate from the dpp. young people are showing that they are fed up with both parties, so i think in the future it will be important for kmt to move away from their style, their older style of communication. and that is why tpp was quite successful because they can speak well to the youth. because they were not able to join

together, that left open for dpp to come in. dpp, william lai won the election however less then 40% is how he won so we are now looking at the legislative yuan. the youth are, they need employment opportunities. they are worried about their everyday, can we buy a home, can build a family? for everyday, can we buy a home, can build a family?— build a family? for now, we will have to leave _ build a family? for now, we will have to leave it _ build a family? for now, we will have to leave it there. - build a family? for now, we will have to leave it there. a - build a family? for now, we will have to leave it there. a very i have to leave it there. a very interesting conversation. thank you for being with us. joe biden has said he sent a private message to iran about houthis in yemen, following us airstrikes against the group. president biden said america was confident that it was very well—prepared for the current situation, without giving further details. houthi forces held military exercises on saturday, vowing a "strong and effective response" to the american and british—led airstrikes in yemen. video released by the iran—backed

houthi movement showed officials gathered at an outpost near the yemeni—saudi border. exercises included the dropping of bombs on sites marked with american and israeli flags. angered over israel's ongoing war in gaza, houthis have been disrupting international trade in the red sea. after warning houthis to stop the attacks for weeks, the us and uk governments carried out what they called defensive airstrikes on friday and the us struck another houthi target early on saturday. 0ur middle east correspondent hugo bachega has more. 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. in a televised address, israel's prime minister benjamin netanyahu has said that nothing will deter israel's detemination to pursue the war in gaza, including the international court ofjustice in the hague. for two days this week, the united nation's highest court heard a case lodged by south africa, alleging that israel was committing genocide against the palestinians. here is some of what mr netanyahu said about the hearings. 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. 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 its 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. there has been a day of pro palestinian protests around the world on saturday, calling for a ceasefire in the fighting in gaza. marches have been held in at least 30 countries, including here in washington, where large crowds waved palestinian flags, as the mostly young protesters gathered in a show of solidarity on the 99th day of the war. pro—palestinian marches have also been held in london. the metropolitan police said it had made six arrests "in relation to offensive placards." 0ur correspondent nicky

schiller was there. 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 will march through the centre of central london, including for the first time, a 3.5 metre puppetr 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 it joined the march today was to highlight the plight of palestinian refugees and children. 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 will stop 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 have taken part have stated to listen to the speakers. there has been another mid air issue for boeing, just over a week after the door blew out on an alaska airlines flight, forcing more than 100 planes to be grounded. this time, the incident was injapan, a boeing flight had to be turned around after pilots discovered a crack in the cockpit window midair. the flight was being operated by all nippon airways, in a boeing 737—800 aircraft, going from the city of sapporo to toyama, onjapan�*s main island. a spokesperson for the airline said "the crack was not something that affected the flight�*s control or pressurisation", adding that there were no injuries to any of the passengers or crew. meanwhile, investigations on the grounded 737 max —

9 aircrafts are continuing in the wake of that in air incident on the alaska airlines flight. the us aviation authority is reportedly in no rush to lift its order to indefinitely ground the max 9s until a thorough investigation is complete. john kerry — the former us senator and secretary of state — is stepping down from his role as us special climate envoy. mr kerry served as presidentjoe biden�*s top official on climate change since 2021 and will reportedly depart from that role in the coming months. he's expected to help out with biden�*s re—relection campaign. mr kerry himself ran for president, winning the democratic nomination in 2004, before losing to george w bush in the general election. his decision to step down as climate envoy comes just one month after the cop28 climate summit, where he helped broker an international agreement for nations to transition away from fossil fuels. the biden administration reportedly says no decision has been made on kerry's potential successor.

here in the us — we're less than two days away from the iowa caucuses, where republican supporters will start the process of selecting their nominee for the 2024 presidential election. leading up to the big night — the headline out of iowa has not been candidates donald trump, nikki haley or ron desantis. it's been the weather. intense winter storms have caused major disruptions to republican presidential hopefuls campaigning in the midwestern state. a blizzard dropped about 15 inches, that's 38 centimetres of snow across iowa causing some candidates to cancel events. so just how cold will it be on monday? some forecasts in des moines, the state capital, say the low will be negative 18 degrees fahrenheit — that's minus 28 celsius. it's expected to be the coldest caucus day on record. here's candidates nikki haley and ron desantis talking about the wild winter weather.

i have been camping here for ii i have been camping here for 11 months now, all over the state and in october or november, i was at every one of the town halls, i was like, it is cold! that's what they did in october and november, they laughed and said, this is mild! i get it now. i totally get it now. this is unbelievable. i get it now. i totally get it now. this is unbelievable.— get it now. i totally get it now. this is unbelievable. i am a florida bo , born this is unbelievable. i am a florida boy. born and _ this is unbelievable. i am a florida boy, born and bred _ this is unbelievable. i am a florida boy, born and bred and _ this is unbelievable. i am a florida boy, born and bred and yet, - this is unbelievable. i am a florida boy, born and bred and yet, here | this is unbelievable. i am a florida boy, born and bred and yet, here i | boy, born and bred and yet, here i am in_ boy, born and bred and yet, here i am in negative temperatures. i am not going _ am in negative temperatures. i am not going to be cancelling. the people — not going to be cancelling. the people are willing to come out and hear from — people are willing to come out and hear from me, people are willing to come out and hearfrom me, iwill people are willing to come out and hear from me, iwill show people are willing to come out and hear from me, i will show up all the way until— hear from me, i will show up all the way until the — hear from me, i will show up all the way until the end of this caucus. you will— way until the end of this caucus. you will see me everywhere. live now to washington post columnist and associate editor karen tumulty — who is on the ground there in iowa.

looking a little warmer inside. we had to talk about the weather. any thoughts on who it might help or hinder? ,., ., , ,., , hinder? going into this, the polls have all shown _ hinder? going into this, the polls have all shown donald _ hinder? going into this, the polls have all shown donald trump - hinder? going into this, the polls| have all shown donald trump with hinder? going into this, the polls i have all shown donald trump with a huge unprecedented lead for any candidate in a republican contested primary at this point. 30 points. there is another big poll due out tonight as well, so there are two schools of thought here. one is that donald trump's supporters are so passionate, so devoted that they are the ones who will show up no matter what. but his rivals are saying, yes, but he is sitting on such a big lead that may be his will be the supporters that say, he's got such a big lead, it won't matter if i show up. i get the sense having been to

his events, having spent some time this afternoon at his campaign headquarters, his supporters do in fact seem very fired up. there is another big poll due out tonight but these temperatures are actually quite dangerous. the national weather service is calling them life—threatening, people who are out with exposed skin can get frostbite in five minutes. the caucuses have generally been family affairs, people bring their children, so nobody knows what this is going to do and it's notjust the temperatures. it's the wind. it is blowing really hard out there and that means all of the snow is blowing back and forth, and that is going to make the roads a real mess as well. ~ ., ., ., , as well. wow. you have been there out talking — as well. wow. you have been there out talking to _ as well. wow. you have been there out talking to people _ as well. wow. you have been there out talking to people braving - as well. wow. you have been there out talking to people braving the i out talking to people braving the weather yourself. out talking to people braving the weatheryourself. if out talking to people braving the weather yourself. if we take a look

at the latest poll, donald trump has over 30 points. at the latest poll, donald trump has over30 points. do at the latest poll, donald trump has over 30 points. do you see him retaining thatjust over 30 points. do you see him retaining that just from over 30 points. do you see him retaining thatjust from those conversations you have been having in iowa? my gut tells me he is going to. the question is whether he tops 50% of the vote which is what some of the polls show him having. anybody who has watched his past two presidential campaigns, in 2016 here in iowa they were very disorganised, he came in second to ted cruz. in 2020 he was running as an incumbent president so he didn't had to put in much of an effort at this campaign operation he has here now is highly, highly professional and very well organised. i do think that he is going to do well again, we are all

ina going to do well again, we are all in a situation that nobody here has ever seen before. for in a situation that nobody here has ever seen before.— in a situation that nobody here has ever seen before. for ron desantis, nikki haley. — ever seen before. for ron desantis, nikki haley, what _ ever seen before. for ron desantis, nikki haley, what kind _ ever seen before. for ron desantis, nikki haley, what kind of _ nikki haley, what kind of performance in terms of the numbers do you think they need to put in come caucus night, to be able to say, ok, that was a good enough night for second place, we can take it from here, we can continue onto new hampshire? ii it from here, we can continue onto new hampshire?— it from here, we can continue onto new hampshire? if either of them can aet within new hampshire? if either of them can get within 20 — new hampshire? if either of them can get within 20 points _ new hampshire? if either of them can get within 20 points of _ new hampshire? if either of them can get within 20 points of donald - get within 20 points of donald trump, that will be a spectacular performance, but one of the problems here is that as the two of them are battling for second place, they are really attacking each other. which means they are driving up to each other�*s negatives, they are pounding the airwaves with negative ads about each other and that actually come again, we are in a situation that i was always hard to predict because of this weird system they have and

we are in a situation we have never seen before but all of this would seem to logically be to trump a's benefit. �* , ., ., , ., ~' benefit. briefly, what do you think motivates iowa _ benefit. briefly, what do you think motivates iowa voters _ benefit. briefly, what do you think motivates iowa voters to - benefit. briefly, what do you think motivates iowa voters to get - benefit. briefly, what do you think motivates iowa voters to get out l benefit. briefly, what do you think. motivates iowa voters to get out on absolutely bleak, freezing cold january cold night? is it issues or personalities? i january cold night? is it issues or personalities?— personalities? i think right now it is a lot about _ personalities? i think right now it is a lot about personality. - personalities? i think right now it is a lot about personality. also, l is a lot about personality. also, they really cherish their spot as they really cherish their spot as the first in the nation to weight in an hour presidential primary. the view there _ an hour presidential primary. the view there of _ an hour presidential primary. the view there of the washington post: this an associate editor was a very good to talk to you there. thank you. you are watching bbc news. i am helena humphrey in washington, dc. you can always go to our website for more, that is with plenty more

features, news and analysis. you can also download the app as well. i will be back at the top of the hour. dojoin me then if will be back at the top of the hour. do join me then if you will be back at the top of the hour. dojoin me then if you can. hello. we've had some fairly chilly weather over the past few days, but things are about to get colder as we're 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 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's also going to be really windy, particularly up towards the northern isles where gusts could reach 70 miles an hour, so blizzard conditions there. further south, few spots of light rain, perhaps northern ireland, wales into central southern england. but most places are going to be avoiding these showers and we'll see temperatures between about 3 to 6 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, one or two 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! to 5 on the thermometer. but when you add on those brisk northerly winds, it's really going to feel bitterly cold. feeling around about minus five, minus six, around some of those east coast, for instance. moving through into tuesday,

and nowjust have a look at these showers just moving in a few for northern ireland, perhaps southern scotland, perhaps one or two into parts of north west england and wales as well. 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're going to 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.

this is bbc news. we will have the headlines for you at the top of the hour straight after this programme. hello and welcome to talking business from las vegas with me, michelle fleury. let's take a look at what's coming up on the show. we're at the consumer electronics show, the world's biggest tech convention, to explore how the top trends are affecting the world of business. i'll be taking a look at farming

and food security withjohn deere and getting behind the virtual wheel of an autonomous tractor over 1,000 miles away. we'll check out a range of other gadgets being showcased here in vegas and hear from two major ceos. one is the big boss of siemens, the world's largest engineering company. and i'm alsojoined by the head of nasdaq, the most famous tech index on the planet, to explore what are the big issues affecting the wider industry. wherever. wherever you'rejoining us from around the world, a big hello from las vegas and a warm welcome to the show. this week, we're on location at ces, the consumer electronics show. it's notjust a top tech event. it's also one of the biggest conventions in the world. 130 attendees are expected and more than 4,000 exhibitors. we'll be hearing from some very long established brands plowing

a furrow in technology at the top of their fields.