welcome to bbc news — broadcasting to viewers in the uk and around the world. we start with the escalating tensions across the middle east and beyond. pakistan has strongly condemned an iranian air strike on its territory, calling it completely unacceptable and warning of serious consequences. the strike — which reportedly killed two children — happened near the iranian border in the balochistan region. state media in iran had earlier said it had attacked separatist militants. with more on reaction in pakistan, here's our correspondent in islamabad,

caroline davies. a missile attack by iran on its neighbour, pakistan, would be near unprecedented. now, in the early hours here in pakistan, the country's foreign ministry has said that there has been an explosion after an air attack that it has blamed on iran. now, this would make pakistan the third country in a matter of days to be hit by an attack from iran after it's also hit syria and iraq. now, the explosion happened in a pakistani village that is located in the border regions of pakistan and iran, and that is an area known as balochistan. it is pakistan's largest but least populated region in the south—west of the country. now, earlier on, state media from iran said that the military had used drones and missiles to hit militant groups in the area. those reports were subsequently removed without explanation, according to the news agency

ap. now, the group have said that they were targeting at the time the news agencies had said that they were targeting a militant group called jaishjaish al—adl, which translates as army ofjustice, which is a sunni militant group. now, pakistan has very strongly condemned this violation of its airspace, as it calls it, and says that this is completely unacceptable. it has also warned that there could be serious consequences. now, the statement complained that this what they referred to as an illegal act, has taken place despite the existence of several channels of communication between pakistan and iran. and it said that responsibility for the consequences would lie squarely with iran. as caroline mentioned, the strike on pakistan comes a day after an iranian missile attack on iraqi kurdistan. that prompted baghdad to recall its ambassador in iraq back to tehran. the strikes were tracked

by the us — iran says they destroyed anti—iranian targets in kurdistan, including what it called an israeli spy headquarters. there's been no comment from israel. this was one of the buildings hit — near irbil, in the north of the country. local officials said four people were killed. for more on what's behind iran's attacks on its neighbours, i spoke to parham ghobadi from bbc persian. as you can see from the strongly worded statement issued by pakistani, you can see both the frustration, but also the bewilderment and the confusion. in part of the statement, they are saying that there were back channels for iranians to talk to us if they wanted to carry out any attacks or if they had any plans like that. so you can see that they are confused. and iranian media actually published

that iranian foreign minister who travelled to davos had a meeting with the acting pakistani prime minister hours before the attack was launched. so that has probably the reason for the confusion for pakistanis, because they had a meeting at a very senior level with pakistani acting prime minister, and they did not talk to the pakistanis about the strike. and you have to understand that this to put it in a context, balochistan, which is in the south eastern part of iran, is the most impoverished province in iran. hence they do not have, for example, in many parts of it, do not have access to clean water. and that is the reason that some sunni extremist groups have actually grown there. and they have they are located, some of them in pakistan, and they launch attack against iranian targets. for example, in last december, they carried out an attack

against the police station that killed 11 police officers. and before that, at the end of october, they also carried out an attack against iranian border guards, killing 14 of them. so that's why iranians were frustrated with this sunni extremist group, jaish al—adl, and they feel humiliated. that's why they carried out such a strike. but again, this is totally unprecedented. iran had never carried out attacks inside pakistani territory. it's very clear now that this conflict is escalating in the region. we also had those attacks inside iraq just a day earlier. what do you think tehran�*s strategy is? so it appears that tehran, as i mentioned earlier, feels that it has been humiliated. and the reason for that is that over two weeks ago, a top iranian commander was killed in syria

in on the outskirts of damascus. it was said that it was carried out, the attack was carried out by israelis. right after that, onjanuary the third, sn attack was carried out in iran's an attack was carried out in iran's southern city of kerman on the anniversary of slain iranian general qasem soleimani, who iranian regime considers as a national hero. so the attack killed over 90 people and iran feels that it has to flex its muscle to show the west that it has deterrence capabilities and to keep its face for domestic purposes and propaganda purposes. although islamic state claimed the attack in southern city of kerman. iran kept blaming israel for that and there is no evidence for such an attack. so iran tried to target, as they said, a israeli espionage cell in erbil, but as it appears, there is only a construction module was killed there.

to the israel—hamas war now. the qatari foreign ministry has — in the last few hours — confirmed that a consignment of medical aid will leave doha on wednesday as part of a deal agreed by the two sides. the medicine will be given to hostages being held by hamas, and in return israel will allow more deliveries of urgently needed humanitarian aid. meanwhile the us says it is hopeful that further talks could lead to the release of more hostages. another container ship has been targeted by houthi rebels in the red sea off yemen. the greek—owned vessel suffered only minor damage. the houthis began attacking merchant vessels in november, saying they were responding to israel's bombardment of gaza. the attacks have disrupted global shipping and concerns

that it could cause prices to rise have been discussed at the world economics forum in switzerland — as our economics editor faisal islam reports. here's what business leaders and world leaders want to be talking about at the world economic forum — a bright new artificial intelligence—enabled future. but the clouds that they had started to believe had cleared over the world economy, may be back again. another ship attacked by a houthi missile today, shell diverting its oil tankers, localfreight authorities saying there would be pain for european consumers. global chief executives said they had no choice but to cope. and our strategy is very much around building resilient supply chains so that we're better prepared to handle some of the turbulence that we think is, at least currently, consistently seeing year after year. just when we think things are calming down, it's not entirely calm yet. can the world economy kind of lift itself beyond the shadow of these geopolitical crisis that just don't seem to go away? you know, it's sad to say, but i think the world is getting used to crises. so, we've had a number of body

blows and the economy has, in its own way, persevered through all of those. these things are extending the cost of living challenge that we've got. there may be some discreet diplomacy going on here — the us secretary of state meeting the united nations — but arab leaders such as the qatari prime minister said the best way to stop the red sea crisis was a ceasefire in gaza. we are highly concerned about further escalation. of course, now we see that there are some retaliations from the us and uk on houthis, trying to refrain them from disrupting the international trade. yet this also will create a high risk of further escalation. the relief here is that there hasn't yet been a leap in oil or gas prices, but everyone here can see a path to that outcome. the foreign ministers of the us, the uk and iran will be here tomorrow. ukraine's president zelensky met global financiers here today.

multiple shadows over the world economy are yet to be resolved. faisal islam, bbc news in davos. uk prime minister rishi sunak has had a fresh reminder of how controversial his rwanda asylum policy plans are with his own party. two conservative deputy chairmen and a ministerial aide resigned to support a more hardline proposal. theyjoined a group of rebel mps in voting for amendments in the commons. 60 conservatives backed the first of these, making it the biggest rebellion mr sunak has suffered since becoming prime minister. our political editor chris mason reports: the three faces of resignation tonight. resigned to opposing the government — lee anderson, brendan clarke—smith and jane stevenson. none will be household names in many households, but lee anderson has built up something of a profile,

both for outspoken remarks and making a lot of money as a host on gb news, alongside his dayjob. i don't think i would carry on in my role as deputy chairman of the conservative party, when i fundamentally disagree with the bill. i think most of the bill is sound. i think it can work. but we needed it beefing up, we needed it strengthening over the next few days, and i can't be in a position to vote for something which i don't believe in. open your mouth. 0k. here comes the train. mr anderson and mr clarke—smith were both elected in 2019... cold. i'm not coming back to this pub for food. dodgy landlord. ..in places that had never, in modern times, previously sent a conservative mp to westminster. both champion day—to—day causes, as they did here, well talking about the price of baked beans. the ayes to the right, 68. the noes to the left, 529. among those ayes, saying yes to changing the government's rwanda plan, those who resigned,

alongside 57 other tory mps. a hefty assault on rishi sunak�*s authority. the rwanda policy had been debated here all afternoon. passion, frustration and anger all on show, and that was just the conservative benches. robertjenrick. robertjenrick was the immigration minister until he resigned over all of this, and is now one of the leading voices arguing the government's plans need to change. the only countries in the world to have fixed this problem, latterly australia and greece, have been willing to take the most robust action. are we? well, iam. mrjenrick wants to significantly limit the personal circumstances in which a migrant could avoid being sent to rwanda. another senior conservative, sir bill cash, argues the will of parliament must be more important than international law.

and i strongly urge the government to note the sheer anger and frustration demonstrated in opinion polls and public concern that we get this bill right, and make it work. enter a third tory you mayjust have heard of who is no longer even an mp. borisjohnson is no stranger to stirring things up. he wrote on social media that he backs conservatives proposing changes. the right course is to adopt the amendments, he said. opposition front bench, stephen kinnock. as for the opposition parties, plenty think the rwanda policy is ridiculous, morally, practically, financially. the labour party is opposed to this bill in its entirety, for the simple reason that we are opposed to the rwanda scheme in its entirety. on the snp benches, we will fight this rotten bill all the way. today, tomorrow, and any opportunity we get. not in our name. hear, hear! just before the votes, the illegal migration minister pleaded with his colleagues

to back the government, arguing its plan is as good as things get. our rwanda bill is tougher, tighter, it goes further. we have a plan to stop the boats, and i invite honourable members to back it. but the standout question tonight is how many of those many, many conservative mps who backed changing the rwanda plan will actually be willing to outright reject it. well, i potentially would be prepared to, but we have 2a hours, that is a long time in politics. we've got more votes tomorrow, on more amendments. so, we are not at that position yet, where we can make that decision. but i will be prepared to, in principle. but actually, what the government needs to do now is tighten up the bill. tonight, no more chuckle brothers pictures like these of rishi sunak and lee anderson from a few weeks ago. conservative divisions over rwanda are exposed once again. around the world and across the uk. this is bbc news.

let's take a look at some of the stories in the headlines in the uk. jersey's first female chief minister — the island's equivalent of a prime minister — has lost her role following a vote of no confidence. deputy kristina moore was elected in july 2022 but lost to a vote of no confidence brought by a former minister, who said he was unhappy with the way decisions were being made. the covid inquiry has heard there were significant differences between the uk and scottish governments�* handling of advice during the pandemic. in the first day of hearings in edinburgh, the lead council for this section of the inquiry said it would seek to find out whether holyrood could have acted sooner to affect the spread of coronavirus. travellers are facing disruption following snowfall across parts of the uk. weather conditions led to more than 100 school closures in scotland and dozens in merseyside. sub—zero temperatures are to stay until the weekend with further snow warnings

in place. you're live with bbc news. the global chief executive of fujitsu, takahito tokita, has apologised to british postmasters who were wrongly prosecuted for fraud, because of it faults in fujitsu's horizon software. speaking to the bbc at the world economic forum at davos in switzerland, mr tokita said the company was sorry for the impact it has had on the postmasters and theirfamilies, and insisted the company took the issue "very seriously". he spoke to a bbc producer between events at the swiss ski resort. would you like to apologise? yes, of course. fujitsu has apologised... has apologised for the impact on the lives of the people involved, and their families.

what do you think about fujitsu returning the money? - the government has suggested you return the money. - please understand, there is the ongoing public inquiry. i'm sorry, i cannot comment furthermore about these topics. there was also an apology from the head of fujitsu in europe for the company's role in the post office scandal. answering mps�* questions in a select committee session, paul patterson said the company had fallen below its own

standards of conduct and had a "moral obligation" to contribute to compensation for the victims. fujitsu would like to apologise for our part in this appalling miscarriage of justice. we were involved from the very start, we did have bugs and errors in the system and we did help the post office in their prosecutions of the sub—postmasters. for that we are truly sorry. the bbc�*s mariko oi is in the studio with me. mariko, why has it take so long for an apology? we won't know for sure but there are several factors that could have contributed to this delay in apologising. firstly, all of the executives we are hearing from today, because the scandal happened decades ago, none were in charge of fujitsu at the time. from the japanese headquarters point of view,

because the software was developed by his icl, the british company that fujitsu took over back in the 1990s, it appears that not many injapan were aware of all of the convictions at the time including when we spoke to a former president of the japanese headquarters two years ago. he had no idea what horizon was. i did not necessarily believe them straightaway, but after speaking to some former comedy mac uk employees, it appears the japanese headquarters allowed its uk subsidiaries do their own things and apparently, keepjapan out their own things and apparently, keep japan out was one of the slogans of the former boss in the uk. some in japan have been asking, was fujitsu to some lucky to have bought icl but of course pressure has been mounting on the company and we heard those two apologies which is definitely a shift in tone in also. the next big question is whether or not they really will chip into that compensation fund. , , . chip into that compensation fund. , , , ., fund. give us a sense of the context in — fund. give us a sense of the context in japan _ fund. give us a sense of the context in japan amongst i fund. give us a sense of the l context in japan amongst that these types of companies. when

there are errors or scandals, what generally happens? going silent when _ what generally happens? going silent when faced _ what generally happens? going silent when faced with - what generally happens? going silent when faced with bad - silent when faced with bad news, it is a very typical public relations strategy in japan and i have seen that many, many times before. but having said that, takahito tokita the global ceo of fujitsu just spoke to us did issue an apology two years ago in 2020 when it software in japan had caused the tokyo stock exchange to suspend his treating all day. so he hasn't had a history of being a bit more vocal in open about it. —— he has. and interesting with those other issues that are way more well—known by the japanese public like the stock exchange issue. that is because media there has hardly covered this post office issues there recently. and the decisions and to see the reaction there is seeing people say, the fujitsu software causes issue everywhere. that is not up to

us but interesting to see more reactions about more members of the public funding for the post office scandal. mil the public funding for the post office scandal.— office scandal. all are likely to be any — office scandal. all are likely to be any investigations - office scandal. all are likely to be any investigations in l to be any investigations in japan about this? we don't know. i think— japan about this? we don't know. i think it _ japan about this? we don't know. i think it is - japan about this? we don't know. i think it is really - know. i think it is really difficult for them to speak about it. i have been in touch with them since the early 2022 and i think takahito tokita rejected my interview requests five or six times but the company has been sending us statements. all of which firstly stated this is a matter for the uk since who has been incorporated with the inquiry. the other issue is because this is an ongoing investigation they don't want to talk about it. not that we have had that apologise we will see whether they change their mind. we would like _ they change their mind. we would like to _ they change their mind. we would like to see how developments cannot. many thanks. let's take a look at some other stories in the headlines. health officials in the tigray

region of ethiopia say 209 people, including children, have died of hunger in the town of edga arbi. they've renewed their warnings about mass starvation induced by drought and a recent civil war. french president emmanuel macron has outlined a series of measures he says will improve the life of children including better paid parental leave, regulating children's screen time, and a pilot scheme introducing school uniforms. he was speaking at a news conference to launch the government he's just appointed — he also promised more reforms to boost the economy. venice has launched its day passes for tourists via online booking. officials are hoping to limit excessive visitor numbers to the famed italian city on peak days. there are 29 days from late april to mid—july where the day pass —— costing 5 euros —— where the day pass — costing 5 euros — will be required for entrance. now to the world's biggest iceberg in what's likely to be the final months of its existence. take a look at this

erosion carving dramatic features into the iceberg — known as a23a. it's being ground down by the warmer air and water it's encountering as it drifts slowly away from the antarctic. but it's not seen as a consequence of climate change — and as it melts, it will have benefits, as jonathan amos reports. after three decades confined to the freezer in antarctica, a23a is on the move, travelling north into warmer waters. the berg is now melting — and fast. an expedition this week saw waves gouging huge caves and arches in its walls. only a23a's enormous scale is keeping it in existence. satellite images show the frozen block to have a width of 65 kilometres, or a0 miles. that's like the distance from manchester to sheffield. a23a has an area of 3900 square kilometres — that's more than twice the size of greater london. and its average thickness

is about 280 metres, nearly as tall as the eiffel tower. and it weighs close to a trillion tonnes. but these dimensions are shrinking all the time. now that it's moved off from its relatively cooler position in the southern area of the weddell sea, it's being exposed to much warmer water temperatures, much stronger currents and much warmer air temperatures as well. so all of these forces will combine to attack the integrity of that iceberg, and it will eventually begin to calve off, and break up into smaller pieces. the production and melting of these big icebergs is part of a natural cycle, not an obvious consequence of climate change. and, as this one melts, there are upsides. it'll be dropping mineral dust in the ocean. this is a fertiliser, stimulating the growth of the very smallest organisms, like plankton, all the way up

to the biggest creatures on the planet, the blue whales. that's all for now — stay with bbc news. hello there. tuesday brought some fresh snowfall to parts of northern ireland and northern england, although here the snow did tend to turn back to rain through the day, but nevertheless it left a thick covering here in grasmere in cumbria. further northwards, though, in scotland it was here that the snow stayed as snow, particularly across the northern half of the country. a snowy pitlochry here. we have had some very large accumulations of snow, then building in. really the result of a few days worth of snowfall. lerwick — 18 centimetres of thick snow there on the ground and there is morejust around the corner because these shower clouds you can see here. very heavy snow showers heading into northern scotland. this cloud further southwards, well that's storm irene. its be named by the french forecasters at meteo—france. it will be bringing some

disruptive snowfall here, some freezing rain mixed in as well. and in parts of belgium, germany, we could see 20 or 30 centimetres of snow. now, the precipitation from that just about stays offshore. you'll get very close and there will be a veil of cloud working into southern most counties of england over the next few hours. at the same time, there will be some showers around working southwards across england and wales, mostly rain, maybe one or two flurries. but that will leave a legacy of icy conditions pretty much nationwide as we start the day on wednesday. now, wednesday, there will be further snow showers in northern ireland, so a few more centimeters here, but the heaviest snow will once again be affecting northern scotland. another 5 to 10 centimetres expected on top of what's already fallen. so, yes, there will be some further disruption here. more heavy snow to come as well for northern scotland through thursday. a few more centimeters possible for northern ireland. thursday, a lot of dry and sunny weather elsewhere. but again, there could be some wintry showers working down the north sea coast affect parts of eastern england and late in the day, as the winds start to turn

to a north—westerly direction, you might see some wintry showers turn up across north wales, cheshire, merseyside and the north—west midlands. by friday, although for the majority of the uk it continues to be cold and sunny, the showers that will be affecting scotland could be really prolonged, but the air is turning very slightly less cold and so the snow should tend to become confined to the hills. that process of the weather rurning milder, then continues into the weekend, with south—westerly winds blowing much milder weather conditions across the country. however, there will be some very strong winds, maybe even disruptive winds around on sunday into the early part of next week. and spells of heavy rain, well, that could see areas of flooding return.

china's economy grew by 5.2% in 2023 according to the premier, beating its target rate. more and more workers are searching for new career paths. we take a look at the trends across the asia pacific. hello and welcome to asia business report. i'm suranjana tewari. let's begin the show in china where officials are expected to annouce several economic indicators later today. but its premier gave a sneak peek of the gdp figure at the annual meeting of global

leaders in davos. li qiang said its economy grew by around 5.2% last year, beating its target. for more on this story, i'm joined now by alicia garcia—herrero, apac chief economist at natixis. when the 5% growth target was announced in two sessions for the first time in the helm of the first time in the helm of the chinese economy, 5% was very low. the reason was chided was moving over covid policies phot the benchmark was 2021. from 2020 the growth rate was 8.1. so 5% -- from 2020 the growth rate was 8.1. so 5% —— because china did so poorly in the first half of course five—point sounds good now because we were fearing that their target would not be reached. in that regard it's

good news but we need to put him in that contact.