Események

6pm: Two hours after polling closed, and the official CEC count has Lai comfortably ahead at 43.27%, Hou second with 34.01% and Ko trailing at 22.72%, with 1,841 polling places out of 17,795 (10%) reporting

5:40pm: The National Police Agency reported 92 legal violations at the polls, 49 of which involved taking photos of a ballot or bringing a phone or recording equipment into the voting booth, and 13 were for campaigning

Several voters were reported to have breached election laws as of noon Saturday, during Taiwan's presidential and legislative elections, with actions such as tearing up their ballot papers, according to local government election officials

Voting in Taiwan's presidential and legislative elections opened at 8 a.m. Saturday, with voting permitted until 4 p.m., as voters visited polling stations around Taiwan to cast their ballots.nPolls open for presidential, legislative elections - Focus Taiwan

Earthquake of magnitude 4.6 - Izu Islands, Japan region

The Chinese army pledges to crush any attempt at Taiwan independence on the eve of its presidential elections

Earthquake of magnitude 4.7 - 43 km ENE of Barcelona, Philippines

Earthquake of magnitude 4.6 - 130 km E of Bitung, Indonesia

China announces a ceasefire between the Myanmar military junta and armed groups

Earthquake of magnitude 4.8 - 118 km ESE of Sarangani, Philippines

US State Department: Blinken welcomed increased cooperation with India to defend freedom of navigation in the region

U.S. slaps sanctions on 3 Russian entities, 1 person over arms transfers with North Korea

Taiwan foreign minister criticized election interference from China and said he hopes China could hold elections too

Earthquake of magnitude 4.6 - 271 km SSW of Banjar, Indonesia

AFP: A 2.4 magnitude earthquake near a North Korean nuclear testing site

Blast Hits Western Kabul. An explosion was heard in Kabul's western Dasht-e-Barchi area on Thursday afternoon, January 11, local sources said. According to eyewitnesses, the blast took place near a bustling business center, Barchi Business Center. Casualties feared

A powerful earthquake hit northeastern Afghanistan on Thursday, shaking buildings from the capital Kabul to Islamabad in neighboring Pakistan

Earthquake of magnitude 6.4 - 44 km SSW of Jurm, Afghanistan

China calls on the United States not to interfere in the presidential elections in Taiwan

2 districts in Novosibirsk left without heat after accident at pipeline

China warns voters in Taiwan that an election win by presidential frontrunner Lai Ching-te poses a "severe danger" to cross-strait ties, days before the self-ruled island heads to the polls. "If he comes to power, he will further push for 'Taiwan independence' separatist activities (and create) turbulence in the Taiwan Strait," a China's Taiwan Affairs Office statement says

Earthquake of magnitude 4.6 - 57 km NE of Tobelo, Indonesia

Washington: Russia's violations of UN resolutions by possessing North Korean weapons is "abhorrent"

Chinese President Xi Jinping meets Maldives Prez Muizzu in Beijing

Iran’s ambassador in Kabul, Hassan Kazemi Qomi, met with the acting Foreign Minister, Amir Khan Muttaqi, Iran's embassy said on X, adding that Kazemi expressed Tehran’s readiness for all kinds of cooperation and assistance with the people of Afghanistan. According to Iran’s embassy, Muttaqi expressed Kabul’s readiness to host the meeting of the special envoy of the regional countries in Afghan affairs. the Islamic Emirate Foreign Ministry’s spokesman, Abdul Qahar Balkhi, said that Muttaqi discussed the bilateral economic, diplomatic relations and consultant services for the Afghan refugees in Iran as well as safeguarding borders between the two countries.

Chinese President: The world needs stability in Sino-American relations

Taiwan Ministry of Defense:8 PLA aircraft and 5 PLAN vessels around Taiwan were detected by 06:00 (UTC 8) today. 1 of the detected aircraft (BZK-005 UAV RECCE) had crossed the median line of the Taiwan Strait. ROCArmedForces have monitored the situation and tasked appropriate forces to respond

US, China defense officials wrap up 2 days of talks Deputy Asst Sec of Defense Michael Chase met with MajGen Song Yanchao at the Pentagon Monday-Tuesday "Chase highlighted the importance of maintaining open lines of military-to-military communication" per US readout

Joint statement from the Ministers of Foreign Affairs of Albania, Andorra, Argentina, Australia, Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Canada, Croatia, Cyprus, the Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Georgia, Germany, Greece, Guatemala, Iceland, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Japan, Latvia, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Moldova, Monaco, Montenegro, the Netherlands, New Zealand, North Macedonia, Norway, Palau, Poland, Portugal, the Republic of Korea, Romania, San Marino, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Ukraine, the United Kingdom, the High Representative of the European Union, and the Secretary of State of the United States of America: We condemn in the strongest possible terms the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea’s (DPRK) export and Russia’s procurement of DPRK ballistic missiles, as well as Russia’s use of these missiles against Ukraine on December 30, 2023, and January 2, 2024. The transfer of these weapons increases the suffering of the Ukrainian people, supports Russia’s war of aggression, and undermines the global non-proliferation regime

North Korea leader calls South Korea 'principal enemy', says he has 'no intention of avoiding war'