Pakistan launches strikes inside Iran

Plus, battle of Khan Younis threatens biggest Gaza hospital still functioning.

View in Browser Sign up for Reuters newsletters Daily Briefing Pakistan targets separatist militants inside Iran, fighting in Khan Younis threatens the biggest Gaza hospital still functioning, and Japan counts down to a precision "moon sniper" landing mission.   Plus, gold miners bring a fresh wave of suffering to Brazil's Yanomami.    By Edson Caldas Today's Top News The Pakistani foreign ministry said the country conducted strikes inside Iran targeting separatist militants. REUTERS/Akhtar Soomro MIDDLE EAST Pakistan conducted strikes inside Iran targeting separatist Baloch militants, two days after Tehran attacked the bases of another group within Pakistani territory. Will this lead to further regional escalation? Senior Correspondent Charlotte Greenfield has the latest on the Reuters World News podcast. Israeli forces fighting to seize the southern Gaza's main city are pounding areas near the biggest hospital still functioning in the enclave. Khan Younis residents said the fighting had come closer than ever to Nasser Hospital, raising fears it would fall under siege and be shut like Shifa, the main hospital in the north. Iran-backed Hezbollah has rebuffed Washington's initial ideas for cooling tit-for-tat fighting with Israel, but remains open to US diplomacy to avoid a wider war, Lebanese officials said. The region teeters dangerously towards a major escalation of the conflict ignited by the Gaza war. Follow the latest. IN OTHER NEWS The US Senate will aim to approve a stopgap measure to avert a shutdown. Congress is far behind in carrying out its duty of funding the government for the fiscal year that began on Oct. 1, with lawmakers scrambling to keep the lights on through early March, to give them more time to pass a full-year bill. Japan aims to become the fifth country to put a spacecraft on the moon when it attempts a precision landing tomorrow. The country is increasingly looking to play a bigger role in space, partnering with close ally Washington to respond to China's military and technological might, including in space.  Russia launched 33 drones and two missiles at Ukraine overnight, with air defenses destroying 22 drones, the Ukrainian military said, adding the drones hit residential neighborhoods in the southern city of Kherson. As the war shows no signs of abating, we look at how Ukraine is starting to rebuild towns and cities. Business & Markets China's ageing population threatens key Beijing policy goals for the coming decade of boosting consumption and reining in ballooning debt, posing a challenge to the economy's growth prospects. A record low birth rate and a wave of COVID deaths resulted in a second consecutive year of population decline. Taiwanese chipmaker TSMC projected steady capital spending for the current year and upwards of 20% revenue growth driven by demand for artificial intelligence. The world's largest contract chipmaker, a major Apple and Nvidia supplier, also reported a quarterly net profit that beat market expectations. Apple will remove a blood oxygen monitoring feature from two flagship Apple Watch models in the US as the iPhone maker fights a legal battle over patents on the technology behind the feature. The company said Apple Watch Series 9 and Ultra 2 models without the feature would go on sale today. DAVOS Bright banners tout the promise of artificial intelligence along the main promenade of Davos, but executives at the World Economic Forum say they are grappling with how to turn early demos into money-makers. Several CEOs told Reuters that the latest generative AI still has a lot to prove. Meanwhile, bank CEOs meeting in private at the WEF aired concerns about the competitive risks from fintech firms and private lenders, and complained about onerous regulations, a source familiar with the matter said. Follow our Davos coverage here. The Wider Image: Gold miners bring fresh wave of suffering to Brazil's Yanomami Members of the Special Inspection Group from the Brazilian Institute of Environment and Renewable Natural Resources detain an illegal miner. REUTERS/Ueslei Marcelino Brazil is losing the upper hand in its battle to save the Yanomami Indigenous people, who are dying from flu, malaria and malnutrition brought into their vast, isolated Amazon rainforest reservation by resurgent illegal miners.   During a Reuters visit to the Yanomami territory in December and January, agents of environmental protection agency Ibama said they are flying solo in the battle against the miners after crucial military support was scaled down. See our photo essay. And Finally... Nasser Al-Attiyah and co-driver Mathieu Baumel in action. REUTERS/Hamad I Mohammed Above, racers compete in the grueling Dakar Rally in Saudi Arabia, one of the most famous (and dangerous), off-road races in the world. 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