In today’s newsletter: Taiwan goes to the polls on Saturday, with major geopolitical ramifications on the line
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Good morning.
Before we start on Taiwan: late last night, US and UK forces launched air strikes involving at least 60 Houthi targets in 16 locations around Yemen. Joe Biden said he ordered the strikes “in direct response to unprecedented Houthi attacks against international maritime vessels in the Red Sea”. The US president added that he would not hesitate to order further military action. Despite warnings from Washington in the new year that the Houthis would “bear the consequences” of any more attacks, this week the Iran-backed group had launched its most sophisticated and heaviest attacks to date.
Immigration and asylum | The government has admitted that Rwanda still has “issues with its human rights record” despite claims by Rishi Sunak that it is a safe country. The assessment has come in a “policy statement” sent by the home secretary to MPs and lords in an effort to get backing for the Rwanda bill.
Post Office scandal | Ministers need to “immediately” update the law to acknowledge that computers are fallible or risk a repeat of the Horizon scandal, legal experts say. In English and Welsh law, computers are assumed to be “reliable” unless proven otherwise. But critics of this approach say it reverses the burden of proof normally applied in criminal cases.
Finance | Millions of drivers could be in line for a payout, it has been suggested, after the UK financial watchdog opened an investigation into whether consumers had been unfairly charged inflated prices for loans on new and secondhand cars.
US | New York building officials have issued emergency work orders to stabilise a historic synagogue and its neighbouring structures after an illicit underground tunnel was discovered.
Health | Thousands of patients are being readmitted to NHS mental health units in England every year soon after being discharged, raising concerns about poor care, bed shortages and increased risk of suicide.
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