WORLD BRIEFING: January 14, 2024
The winner of Taiwan's presidential election says voters have shown the world "how much we cherish democracy" after his party, which champions autonomy from China, secured a third term. Lai Ching-te, the leader of the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP), is set to replace Tsai Ing-wen, who has served the limit of two terms. It is the first time a party has won a third term under Taiwan's current electoral system. Voters cast their ballots in the presidential and parliamentary election on Saturday after a campaign overshadowed by tensions with China, which claims the territory as its own. China, which has been ramping up military pressure on Taipei and described the contest as a choice between war and peace, said it will not give up on "reunification" following the results. The DPP does not acknowledge the "one China principle" in which territories like Taiwan and Hong Kong are deemed part of greater China and is in favour of maintaining the status quo in Taiwan - Sky News
Russian ships are continuing to travel through the Red Sea despite escalating Houthi attacks on commercial vessels. Tankers carrying Russian oil and container ships bound for Russian ports have not changed their paths through the Bab El-Mandeb Strait since attacks by Iran-backed Houthi rebels began in October. The Russian response is in stark contrast to that of Western shipping companies, many of whom are redirecting ships around the Cape of Good Hope at significant extra cost and time. Danish fuel tanker company Torm became the latest company to halt all transits through the Red Sea on Friday - Telegraph
Former President Donald Trump has been ordered to pay the New York Times nearly $400,000 (£313,900) in legal fees for a failed lawsuit. Mr Trump's $100m lawsuit accused the newspaper and Mr Trump's estranged niece, Mary Trump, of "an insidious plot" to obtain his tax records. A judge dismissed it last year, saying its claims "fail as a matter of constitutional law". The series of articles on Mr Trump's financial affairs won a Pulitzer Prize. On Friday, New York Supreme Court Judge Robert Reed, a Democrat, ordered Mr Trump to repay the New York Times for fees incurred by his failed legal action. The judge said he arrived at the amount, $392,638, after considering several matters, including "the complexity of the issues presented" in the lawsuit, as well as the "ability and reputation" of the newspaper's lawyers - BBC
Hong Kong flag carrier, Cathay Pacific, is beset with a long list of problems — an acute shortage of pilots, low cabin crew morale, a lacklustre share price and passenger complaints over flight cancellations. It has cancelled more than 80 flights since Christmas Eve, raising a public expression of concern from the territory’s leader. “It is the basic service requirement for airlines to provide satisfactory service to passengers,” John Lee said this week. The Hong Kong Aircrew Officers Association, its pilots’ union, have called for an inquiry into the pilot shortages and cancellations. Gary Chan, a local pro-Beijing lawmaker, was among those who saw his flight to mainland China cut this week. It would be “difficult not to foster distrust towards” the airline, he lamented. Such problems have shaken the confidence of staff of an airline ranked the world’s best four times by the Skytrax consultancy, most recently in 2014. As a pilot who has flown for more than 25 years with the airline put it, “you used to be at the top of the Premier League. Now you are near the bottom.” - FT
The overflowing River Congo, which has caused floods in DR Congo’s capital Kinshasa and nearby areas, has reached its highest level in six decades.