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.