First Thing: Iran strikes ‘militant bases’ in Pakistan as regional instability spreads

Pakistan says attacks killed two children in ‘unprovoked violation’ of its airspace, adding to instability sparked by Israel-Gaza war. Plus, the parents suing US social media firms after their children’s death

Good morning.

Iran has launched airstrikes on Pakistan territory, apparently aimed at a Sunni militant group, in the latest sign of a wave of violence rolling across the Middle East and beyond.

Pakistan’s foreign ministry said two children were killed and three others were injured in what it called an “illegal” airstrike, and summoned Tehran’s senior diplomat in Islamabad to protest against the “unprovoked violation of its airspace”. The ministry did not give more details of the strikes, but Pakistani social media accounts said missile and drone strikes had been aimed at the Balochistan province which lies along the 1,000km border between the two countries.

In Iran, it was reported that the strikes were aimed at bases of a Sunni militant group, Jaish al-Adl, but references to the attack in Iranian media quickly disappeared. Iran and Pakistan have long had a tense relationship, in large part because of the activities of Balochi separatists and other militant groups in the border area. However, this would mark a significant escalation on the territory of its nuclear-armed neighbour.

• Are the strikes connected to what’s happening in Israel and Palestine? The Iranian reprisal attacks over the Kerman attack appear to have no direct connection with the Gaza war, but have come at a time when that conflict is already spreading instability across the region.

• What else is happening in the area? The Biden administration is expected to announce plans to redesignate the Houthis as specially designated global terrorists on Wednesday, according to reports in US media. Attacks on Red Sea shipping by Houthi rebels acting in solidarity with Palestinians in Gaza, led to the US and allies carrying out airstrikes for the first time in Yemen, aimed at Houthi positions.

Republican debate cancelled after Haley refuses to take stage without Trump

ABC News has cancelled the next Republican presidential debate after Nikki Haley said she would not appear on stage unless Donald Trump takes part.

Trump has refused to participate in any of the Republican primary debates so far, making Ron DeSantis the only candidate committed to Thursday’s event in New Hampshire.

“We’ve had five great debates in this campaign,” Haley said in a statement, released as she campaigned in New Hampshire. “Unfortunately, Donald Trump has ducked all of them. He has nowhere left to hide. The next debate I do will either be with Donald Trump or with Joe Biden. I look forward to it.”

Her statement was released a day after the all-important Iowa caucuses, which Trump won by a wide margin over Haley, who won just over 19% of the vote, and DeSantis, who earned 21% of the vote.

• What else could be behind the decision? The move also could be a result of the last debate, which featured only Haley and DeSantis. Haley didn’t perform as well as expected, and DeSantis ultimately ended up beating her for second place in Iowa.

Tax our wealth, super-rich tell politicians at Davos

More than 250 billionaires and millionaires are demanding that the political elite meeting for the World Economic Forum in Davos introduce wealth taxes to help pay for better public services around the world.

“Our request is simple: we ask you to tax us, the very richest in society,” they said in an open letter to world leaders. “This will not fundamentally alter our standard of living, nor deprive our children, nor harm our nations’ economic growth. But it will turn extreme and unproductive private wealth into an investment for our common democratic future.”

The rich signatories from 17 countries include the Disney heir Abigail Disney; Brian Cox, who played fictional billionaire Logan Roy in Succession; actor and screenwriter Simon Pegg; and Valerie Rockefeller, an heir to the US dynasty.

In a letter titled Proud to Pay, which they will attempt to deliver to world leaders gathered in Davos in Switzerland, the group said “inequality has reached a tipping point, and its cost to our economic, societal and ecological stability risk is severe – and growing every day. In short, we need action now”.

• Do other super rich people support them? Many do. A new poll of the super-rich shows that 74% support higher taxes on wealth to help address the cost of living crisis and improve public services. The polling found that 58% supported the introduction of a 2% wealth tax on people with more than $10m, and that 54% thought that extreme wealth was a threat to democracy.

In other news …

• Deliveries of medicine for Israeli hostages and Palestinian civilians were expected to start arriving in Gaza today under a deal mediated by Qatar and France, after a night of deadly bombardments in the territory’s south. The office of the Israeli prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, confirmed the deal.

• US senators have defeated a measure, introduced by Bernie Sanders, that would have made military aid to Israel conditional on whether the Israeli government is violating human rights and international accords in its devastating war in Gaza.

• Apple has overtaken Samsung as the world’s top smartphone seller. The US technology company’s iPhone for the first time became the world’s biggest selling smartphone after its South Korean rival’s 12-year run as leader, data showed.

• The owner of the New York Knicks basketball team put pressure on a massage therapist into sex and then set her up for a “vicious” assault by the convicted rapist Harvey Weinstein, a lawsuit filed in California yesterday alleged. James Dolan – a friend and former business associate of the disgraced Hollywood producer – is accused of trafficking the woman, Kellye Croft.

Climate check: More than 160 elephants die in Zimbabwe, with many more at risk

At least 160 elephants have died as drought conditions hit Zimbabwe, and with hot, dry weather likely to continue, conservationists fear there could be more deaths to come. The elephants died between August and December last year in the 14,651 sq km Hwange national park. Wildlife experts fear the climate crisis could make such events look normal. Persistent dry weather, droughts and prolonged dry periods are intensifying across southern Africa and a strong El Niño weather phenomenon is forecast between October and this March, resulting in hot, dry weather and little rainfall.

Don’t miss this: ‘The tide has turned’ – why parents are suing US social media firms after their children’s death

The night of 23 June 2020 passed by like any other for 16-year-old Carson Bride. The teen had just gotten a new job and the family had been celebrating. But the next morning, his mother, Kristin Bride says, the family woke to “complete shock and horror”: Carson had died by suicide. Kristin soon discovered that in the days leading up to his death, her son had been harassed on Yolo – a third-party app that at the time was integrated into Snapchat and allowed users to communicate anonymously. She filed charges against Snapchat and the two anonymous messaging apps it hosted in May 2021.

Kristin Bride’s lawsuit is one of hundreds filed in the US against social media firms in the past two years by family members of children who have been affected by online harms. Lawyers and experts expect that number to increase in the coming year as legal strategies to fight the companies evolve and cases gain momentum.

Last Thing: Dogs may wag their tails so much due to rhythm-loving humans, scientists say

Whether it is an elegant swish or a furious oscillation, tail wagging is ubiquitous among dogs. Now researchers have suggested it may have become commonplace during canine domestication because humans love its rhythm. It is thought humans domesticated dogs sometime between 15,000 and 50,000 years ago – a process that has led to a fervent bond between the two species. But while owners often rely on tail wagging to interpret how their dog might be feeling, it remains unclear just how such canine semaphore evolved. Now experts have outlined a number of theories.

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