Iran strikes hit third country this week

Plus: The news channel weathering a political storm and an adrenaline-fuelled race through the desert

View this email online 17 January, 2024 Sofia Lotto Persio Hello. The delicate but usually cordial relations between Iran and Pakistan are under strain after Tehran launched a missile attack across the border that it says was targeting a militant group. Pakistan became the third country hit by Iranian strikes this week. In Poland, correspondent Sarah Rainsford reports on how a public TV channel at the centre of political infighting is navigating the change of government and management. We're also looking into the ancient human settlements concealed in the Amazon forest, and the runners taking on a gruelling challenge across the Atacama desert. Top of the agenda Iran targets militants in Pakistan A missile attack by Iran on Pakistan is near-unprecedented. Credit: Reuters After bombing targets in Syria and Iraq on Monday, Iran launched an air strike in the Pakistani province of Balochistan on Tuesday. Tehran claimed to have hit two sites associated with the militant group Jaish al-Adl, which it linked to attacks close to the border last month that killed more than a dozen Iranian police officers. Pakistan has described the attack as an "illegal act" that killed two children and injured three others. Iran's strikes in Syria followed a bombing in Tehran earlier this month that killed 84 people, for which the Islamic State group claimed responsibility. But in northern Iraq, Tehran said it was targeting Israeli "spy headquarters", indicating that this latest display of violence isn't wholly removed from the context of the war in Gaza between Israel and Hamas. Iran has declared it does not want to get involved in a wider conflict but Tehran-backed groups such as the Houthis in Yemen and Hezbollah in southern Lebanon have been drawn in. • Israel-Hamas aid deal: Qatar and France have brokered an agreement to allow more basic supplies into Gaza and get medicine to hostages held by Hamas. • Khan Younis: Residents of the southern Gaza city have reported one of the most intense nights of strikes since the start of Israel's offensive. • Hear this: BBC Monitoring's Mina al-Lami tells The Global Story podcast the number of attacks claimed by the Islamic State group in 2023 has dropped. And Josh Baker from The Shamima Begum Story podcast explains why they still pose a credible threat. World headlines • Lloyd Austin: Officials have released the recording of the 911 call that led to the US defence secretary's secretive hospital admission on New Year's Day. • Ethiopia famine: Officials in Tigray have warned that locals face hunger on a scale last seen in the mid-1980s, after more than 200 people were reported to have starved to death since July in one of the region's towns. • Royal manifesto: The newly crowded king of Denmark, Frederik X, has unexpectedly published a book setting out his priorities as monarch. • Demographic drop: China has recorded a second consecutive year of shrinking population numbers, raising questions about future growth prospects for one of the world's largest economies. • Age-old debate: Guinness World Records is reviewing claims that Bobi, the Portuguese dog that was crowned the world's oldest before dying at the official age of 31 years and 165 days, was not actually born in 1992 after all. AT THE SCENE | Warsaw, Poland The political battle for public media Under the previous right-wing government, the public TVP channel had become fiercely partisan - some say dangerously so. In December, the country's new government took swift measures to remedy that, but the opposition reacted by laying siege to the news HQ, which remains occupied. Sarah Rainsford, Eastern Europe correspondent The 24-hour channel, TVP Info, is back on air, but it's broadcasting from little more than a broom cupboard. The old team have gone, led by the famous "faces". Only the technicians remain. "Still here, like the cockroaches," as one of them joked. "We wanted to change everything, starting with the language. Because for the last eight years it has been the language of hate, of exclusion," Pawel Pluska, the new editor of the newly renamed flagship evening show 19:30, explained. Find out more Beyond the headlines The woman who built a cocaine empire Griselda Blanco fought against other drug leaders in Miami and often ordered her opposition to be assassinated. Credit: Netflix Even for Colombians who grew up at the height of the country's narco traffic days, the name Griselda Blanco isn't well known. A six-part Netflix series, helmed by Modern Family star Sofia Vergara, tells the story of the ruthless criminal mastermind who built one of the most profitable cartels in history. Read in full Something different 'Dark earth' The secrets of the Amazon are hidden beneath the ground. Here's why And finally... Temperatures swinging from freezing to 30C, a barren lunar landscape, the driest non-polar desert on Earth... probably not the sort of place you'd fancy a quick jog, let alone a 310-mile ultramarathon. But that's what The Speed Project Atacama involved. Tom Reynolds tells the fascinating tale of the unsanctioned race - from the lack of an official route and trucks whizzing past athletes to brushes with the law. Tech Decoded Newsletter Decode the biggest developments in global technology with a twice-weekly email. Sign up here Do you have suggestions for what we cover in BBC News Briefing? You can email me to let me know what you think. And why not forward it to friends? They can sign up here. Find all our newsletters here. While you're at it, add [email protected] to your contacts list and, if you're on Gmail, pop the email into your “Primary” tab for uninterrupted service. Thanks for reading! – Sofia You've received this email because you've signed up to the BBC News Briefing newsletter. Click here to unsubscribe To find out how we use your data, see the BBC Privacy Policy. 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