New Zealand's former Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern has married her long-term partner Clarke Gayford. This marks the couple's second attempt to wed after COVID restrictions got in the way. The New Zealand couple had been engaged for five years before finally tying the knot. A small group of anti-vax protestors gathered outside of the wedding venue which was quickly dealt with by police. High-profile guests included a number of former and current politicians, such as current Labor Leader Chris Hipkins, and New Zealand High Commissioner to Australia Annette King.

A smoke warning has been issued for parts of Melbourne after a warehouse was engulfed in flames. It's believed the fire broke out at the Broadmeadows recycling plant at around 5am. No one was inside the building when the flames began. It took crews about three hours to bring the blaze under control. Despite the fire being under control, roads around the area will remain shut for some time.

Donald Trump has cancelled a number of campaign stops in Iowa, ahead of the caucuses on Monday. The snow has eased off but record cold temperatures are threatening turn out. Iowa voters will be the first in the nation to cast a ballot to decide who will be the Republican nominee for president. Several candidates have cancelled or postponed their events, citing travel safety as a concern. This year, candidates have been working hard to unseat Donald Trump’s dominance in the field.

At least 23 people have been killed and dozens more injured after a mudslide in northwest Columbia. It was brought on by heavy rain which covered a busy highway connecting two major cities in the province of Choco. An unknown number of people are still missing. A search is now underway to try and find people trapped under the rubble. Choco Governor Nubia Cordoba says recovery operations have been suspended due to the instability of the earth and adverse weather conditions.

The US has launched a fresh round of strikes on Yemen in what they label "follow on action" from Friday's coordinated strike with the UK. Houthi militants say they have vowed to launch retaliation strikes, adding that they will continue their attacks on ships in the Red Sea. The place targeted is understood to be a Houthi radar facility. A statement from the US military spoke of strikes designed to degrade the Houthi’s ability to attack maritime vessels – following ongoing attacks occurring in the Red Sea. This follows UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak’s visit to Ukraine on Friday, where he mentioned taking “necessary, proportionate, and targeted action” against Houthi rebels for targeting his nation’s ships.

Taiwan's ruling party has won a crucial presidential election that it billed as a choice between democracy and authoritarianism. It's a setback for China, which had warned voters on the self-ruled island against re-electing the DPP — a party it views as dangerous separatists. The election has drawn global attention for how it will affect ties with China, which claims Taiwan as its own. Lai Ching-te received more than 40 per cent of the vote. He was followed by KMT candidate Hou Yu-ih with over 30 per cent, and TPP candidate Ko Wen-je with over 25 per cent.

Australia's republican movement has been dealt a major setback following the failed Voice Referendum. According to the Sunday Telegraph, more than half of voters believe there shouldn't be a new referendum on the movement. This is despite Labor hinting at the idea if it were to win a second term. Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has confirmed he will not pursue the republican issue for the foreseeable future. Polling by the newspaper found 69 per cent of voters believed the Voice referendum should have been delayed or scrapped altogether.

The federal government is being forced to introduce legislation which will control artificial intelligence in high-risk settings. Labor says the advisory body will work with the government to create the best framework for the legislation in a bid to regulate safety of the technology. The new laws will ensure the safe and responsible use of AI, as many companies across Australia have responded for action to prevent the harms of artificial intelligence. It has been calculated that AI could add up to $4 trillion to the economy by the 2030s. This comes as many people feel artificial intelligence may have a negative impact on society.

Lai Ching-te has spoken in Taiwan on his victory for the Democratic Progressive Party in the country’s presidential election. He won the election by securing over 40 per cent of the vote in a three-way race. “The country will continue to walk on the right path forward. We will not turn around or look backwards,” Mr Lai said. “We want to thank President Tsai and the entire governing team for their unfaltering efforts over the past eight years – they have established a solid foundation for Taiwan’s reform and development. “On this foundation, Hsiao Bi-khim and myself – we will work even harder to move the country steadily forward and enhance the wellbeing of the people. “On the legislative elections, the DPP did not hold onto a majority. This means that we did not work hard enough, and there are areas where we must humbly review and look back on.”

Taiwanese Vice-President Lai Ching-te has won the country’s presidential election, securing a historic third term for the Democratic Progressive Party, who reject China’s territorial claim over the island. The election has drawn global attention for how it will affect ties with China, which claims Taiwan as its own. It is a setback for China, which views the Democratic Progressive Party as dangerous separatists. Lai Ching-te has received more than 40 per cent of the vote. He is followed by KMT candidate Hou Yu-ih with over 30 per cent, and TPP candidate Ko Wen-je with over 25 per cent.

The Nationalist Party of China (KMT) – the party which Beijing prefers – has conceded defeat in the Taiwanese elections. With well over half of the votes counted, Taiwan’s ruling party is set to declare victory in their presidential elections. It is a setback for China, which views the Democratic Progressive Party as dangerous separatists. The DPP’s candidate, Taiwanese Vice-President Lai Ching-te, is in the lead with 40.5 per cent of the vote, and is due to speak to the gathered press at 8:30pm (local time). He is followed by KMT candidate Hou Yu-ih with 33.3 per cent, and TPP candidate Ko Wen-je with 26.2 per cent.

Bitter cold temperatures are not stopping the fun at a zoo in Chicago. Brookfield Zoo’s one-year-old brown bears enjoyed the snow as they played outside for hours. And even Otto, the river otter, made the best out of the wintry conditions. The event came as a dangerous winter storm swept across the United States. Temperatures dropped to below zero on Friday across the country.

Roads are closed, and water restrictions continue in parts of Far North Queensland tonight as a monsoonal trough crosses the state, drenching communities from the Cape to the tropical coast. The rainfall is moderate but persistent and tipped to continue for several days, leaving residents on flood watch once again. 24-hour rainfall totals were highest around Cape York last night, with Dunbar receiving 201 millimetres of rain and Kowanyama 172 millimetres. “This monsoon trough looks to hang around for at least several days, potentially even until the end of next week,” Bureau of Meteorology’s Shane Kennedy said. “Potentially, we may get a few places in that 100 to 150 millimetres over the next few days.”

Former New Zealand prime minister Jacinda Ardern and long-term partner Clarke Gayford are now married. The pair tied the knot in an intimate ceremony in Hawke’s Bay on New Zealand’s North Island. They first met at the Metro Restaurant Awards in Auckland in 2012, with Clarke later proposing to Jacinda in 2019. The bride and groom were engaged for almost five years. Their first attempt at a wedding in 2022 was halted by the COVID-19 pandemic.

The Taiwan People Party has “good traction” with younger voters and has “weakened” the Democratic Progressive Party’s vote, Foundation for Defence of Democracies Senior Fellow Mark Montgomery says. The TPP is a centre-left political party founded in 2019, aiming to become an alternative to the DPP and KMT. “They’ve had good traction with younger voters,” Mr Montgomery told Sky News Australia. “The younger vote for the last three cycles has been breaking very heavily towards the DPP and, not surprisingly, the vast majority of people under the age of 30 no longer consider themselves Chinese - they purely consider themselves Taiwanese. “That had been giving the DPP a strong base. “The TPP has run a campaign to really get at that younger voter, so it has weakened the DPP – the ruling party’s – hold on that group … and that will probably be why they lose the legislature, the ruling party.”

The warning from China’s Ambassador to Australia about miscalculations in Canberra’s ties with the new Taiwanese government is “grossly inappropriate” and an “overreaction”, Foundation for Defence of Democracies Senior Fellow Mark Montgomery says. China’s Ambassador to Australia has issued a dire warning, saying any ‘miscalculations’ in Canberra’s ties with the next Taiwanese government would see the Australian people ‘pushed over the edge of an abyss’. “Grossly inappropriate comments for an ambassador to make to his host country, but probably not inconsistent with what you hear all the time,” Mr Montgomery told Sky News Australia. “This is a democratic country protecting a democratic election, and that election will have a result, and that election will have consequences. “I think no matter who is elected, the United States and Australia, and Japan, will be able to work with that leader to continue to maintain security relationship and ensure that Taiwan has sufficient resources to defend itself.”

There has been “Chinese interference” in the Taiwan elections, with them putting “quite a bit of pressure” on the country, Foundation for Defence of Democracies Senior Fellow Mark Montgomery says. The Taiwanese elections have been described as a choice between peace and war in a race that has drawn global tension. “China has brought quite a bit of pressure on Taiwan – some of it’s visual: increased intercepts by aircraft and increased penetrations of security zones by ships,” Mr Montgomery told Sky News Australia. “Some of it has been malicious cyber activity that has created disinformation and false stories about the DPP, mostly about the DPP’s candidate for president. “There has been Chinese interference, but that’s consistent – there was Chinese interference in the 2020 and 2016 elections as well.”

Bondi Partners Senior Advisor Peter McGauran says Peter Dutton’s boycott of Woolworths for their “shameful” actions means he thinks Australians have “had enough” of the criticism of their long-held beliefs. Woolworths Group, which also owns Big W, has said it will not be selling any special Australia Day merchandise in 2024. In response, Opposition Leader Peter Dutton called for Australians to ‘boycott’ Woolworths. “For many … it’s Invasion Day … but they are a minority; a majority of Australians are just going to go about Australia Day as they always do and celebrate it in a uniquely Australian way – nobody should be interrupting that right,” Mr McGauran told Sky News Australia. “Peter Dutton has called for a boycott of Woolworth – obviously, that is not in the interest of the 200,000 Australians who work for Woolworths – it might have a bit of a sugar hit, but it won’t be sustained. “Peter Dutton is a deliberative politician; he never says anything off the top of his head or unprepared. “For him to call for a boycott of Woolworths, knowing that it’s an economic nonsense … means he believes, either by way of political judgement or by way of research, that Australians have had enough of minorities criticism of their long-held belief.”

Bondi Partners Senior Advisor Peter McGauran doesn’t believe anything “new” will come out of the Senate inquiry into Coles and Woolworths, but it will “hold them to account”. Coles and Woolworths are facing a Senate inquiry into their market power and pricing decisions. In response, Coles has reduced meat prices by 20 per cent. “Nothing new will come out of the inquiry that isn’t already known, because, remember, we’ve got the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission, which has all the powers in the world, but it’s a good diversion from the government away from the cost-of-living issues,” Mr McGauran told Sky News Australia. “It will morally shame the supermarkets … Coles has already reduced its beef and lamb prices by 20 per cent. “Look, it’s good theatre. I don’t think anything, in a legal sense, will come out of it, but it will hold them to account, the way we like to hold electricity companies and gas suppliers and banks and financial institutions to account. “There might be more transparency possibly, but, again, where’s the ACCC?”

Bondi Partners Senior Adviser Peter McGauran says Australia should have provided warships to help combat Houthi attacks in the Red Sea but there is “no evidence” any of Australia’s warships have counter drone capacity. “Yes definitely,” Mr McGauran said on whether Australia should have sent warships to the Red Sea to support the US. “I don’t know if we’ve got the capability in all honesty and that says something about our naval capacities because there’s no evidence that any of our warships have a counter drone capacity. “You can not enter that theatre of war unless you are able to repel drones and missiles.” Mr McGauran’s comments come after Australia supported the US and the UK in strikes against Iran backed Houthi rebels who have been disrupting a vital commercial waterway in the Red Sea.