Plus: Deadly storm moves towards Italy, and the quest to make books slimmer. ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏
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| Hello. The simultaneous explosion of pagers used by Hezbollah members injured thousands across Lebanon today, and killed at least 9. My colleagues tell us how such an extensive attack could have taken place. In Poland, Sarah Rainsford reports on the aftermath of Storm Bruno, which is making its way towards Italy. We're also reporting on | |
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GET UP TO SPEED | | | - Starvation in war-stricken Sudan "is almost everywhere", the head of the World Health Organization has told the BBC.
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QUESTIONS ANSWERED | What we know about Hezbollah pager explosions |
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| | Both Hezbollah and Lebanese officials have blamed Israel for the pager attacks. Credit: Reuters | Nine people, including a child, have been killed and thousands were injured after handheld pagers used by members of the armed group Hezbollah to communicate exploded across Lebanon, the country’s health minister says. The group blamed Israel for what it called “this criminal aggression” and vowed “just retribution”. The Israeli military declined to comment. |
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| | Frank Gardner, security correspondent, and Joe Tidy, cyber correspondent |
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| Why did Hezbollah members use pagers? | Since the start of the Gaza conflict last year, Hezbollah had warned its members not to use mobile phones for fear they could be tampered with by Israeli intelligence agents. Instead, Hezbollah were using pagers to communicate, with a new batch delivered recently. Somebody - and Hezbollah are in no doubt that Israel was behind this - was able to secretly insert themselves into the supply chain for those pagers. | How could they have detonated at the same time? | A former British Army munitions expert, who asked not to be named, told the BBC the devices would have likely been packed with between 10 to 20 grams each of military-grade high explosive, hidden inside a fake electronic component. This, said the expert, would have been armed by a signal, something called an alphanumeric text message. Once armed, the next person to use the device would have triggered the explosive. Less than 1% of the exploding pagers have so far proved fatal. | How exceptional is this? | Supply chain attacks are a growing concern in the cyber security world with many high-profile hacks recently caused by hackers gaining access to products whilst they are in development. But these attacks are normally contained to software. Hardware supply chain attacks are far rarer as they involve getting ahold of the devices. | | - In Israel: There is "no change" to the Israeli military's guidelines for its civilians, an official said. Israel Defense Forces have yet to comment on the pager explosions.
- What is Hezbollah? Here's what you need to know about the Shia Muslim organisation designated a terrorist group by Western states, Israel, Gulf Arab countries and the Arab League.
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| Deadly rain catches town sleeping | | About 5,500 soldiers are supporting people affected by the devastating floods in Poland, authorities said. Credit: BBC | Intense storms battering central Europe are now reaching Italy, where warnings for heavy rain, strong winds and floods have been issued for much of the country. The flooding has already devastated parts of Poland, the Czech Republic, Romania and Austria this week, leaving at least 21 people dead. |
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| | Sarah Rainsford, Eastern Europe correspondent |
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| | As the floodwaters have drained from Glucholazy, they’ve exposed huge damage. On the pretty, main town square a vehicle, washed away from somewhere, has come to a halt, nose down in a deep hole in the pavement. The main bridge was smashed by the swollen river and collapsed. Its ruins, plunged in the river, are now covered in the tree trunks that were torn from the embankment. Beyond that, most of Glucholazy’s streets are now thick with mud. The floods rushed in so quickly at the weekend, many people had no time to evacuate.
On Monday, we found Natalia, in tears, mopping the dirt from her bedroom. She remembered seeing the flood coming. "I was scared," she told me. "The water was everywhere." Next door, her neighbour Krzysztof was distressed too. He and his wife only finished decorating their flat a month ago. Now a dirty line on the wall shows how the water rose over a metre high inside his flat. "I've lost everything. All our money went on repairs," Krzysztof told me, surrounded by children’s toys coated in dark-brown mud. |
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| | | | - The bigger picture: Scientists say many extreme weather events are becoming more frequent and intense as a result of climate change. Here's a simple explanation why.
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THE BIG PICTURE | The quest to make books slimmer |
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| | | Changing to a more efficient typeface can make the same book much slimmer. Credit: 2K/Denmark | As it faces rising production costs and pressure around environmental sustainability, the publishing industry is finding innovative ways to make its books skinnier. Thinner paper is one way to do it, but publishers are also experimenting with more compact fonts that don't compromise on readability. |
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FOR YOUR DOWNTIME | Having the last laugh | People are celebrating Hacks for winning the Emmy for best comedy over The Bear. | |
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And finally... in England | Have you seen this capybara? Cinnamon fled the Hoo Zoo in Telford and entered woodlands within the zoo grounds. The roving rodent is "probably living her best life", the zoo owner said. | |
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World of Business | Gain the leading edge with global insights for the boardroom and beyond, every Wednesday from New York. | |
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