ISRAEL SHIFTS TO LESS INTENSE PHASE IN GAZA INVASION

The Israeli military has begun a new and less intense phase of its invasion of Gaza, its chief spokesman said Monday, after weeks of pressure from the US and other allies to scale back an offensive that has caused widespread devastation and civilian deaths.

The spokesman, Rear Admiral Daniel Hagari, said the Israeli campaign had already started the transition to a campaign that would involve fewer ground troops and airstrikes. “The war shifted a stage,” Hagari told NYT. “But the transition will be with no ceremony. It’s not about dramatic announcements,” he added.

Hagari said Israel would continue to reduce the number of troops in Gaza, a process that began this month. Indicating that Israel has degraded Hamas’s military capabilities in northern Gaza, Hagari said that the military would now focus on the group’s southern and central strongholds, particularly around the cities of Khan Younis and Deir al-Balah. He said Israel was also aiming to allow more humanitarian aid, including tents to house displaced people, into Gaza.

His comments came hours before Antony Blinken, the US secretary of state, was scheduled to arrive in Israel as part of amultistop tour of West Asia aimed at preventing the Gaza conflict from escalating into a broader regional war. On Monday, he was holding talks in the UAE and Saudi Arabia.

But it was far from clear that the new phase of Israel’s offensive would be less dangerous for Gazan civilians. Gazan health officials are still reporting scores of deaths every day in airstrikes. On Monday, they reported the highest daily death toll so far this year with 247 people killed overnight. Israeli forces bombarded the southern city of Khan Younis and central Gaza amid clashes in those areas, residents said.

PAK SC LIFTS LIFETIME DISQUALIFICATION, OPENS DOOR FOR NAWAZ SHARIF'S ELECTION BID

The Supreme Court of Pakistan, on Monday, invalidated the lifetime disqualification of lawmakers, thereby opening the door for former three-time Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif to run in the upcoming national elections scheduled for February 8.

The court ruled that individuals disqualified under Article 62(1)(f) of the constitution, such as Sharif in the Panama Papers case in 2017, cannot be permanently barred from participating in elections. Article 62(1)(f) sets the prerequisite for a parliamentarian to be "sadiq and ameen" (honest and righteous) and was added to the constitution by former military ruler Gen Zia-ul-Haq. In a 6-1 majority decision, the seven-member bench, led by Chief Justice Qazi Faez Isa, declared the verdict, with Justice Afridi dissenting.

The ruling is significant as it allows Sharif, a key contender from the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N), to compete in the elections, especially with his main rival, former PM Imran Khan, facing imprisonment and a five-year ban from contesting.

Previously, the apex court had deemed disqualification under Article 62(1)(f) as permanent, but an amendment in June 2023 specified a five-year electoral disqualification period instead of a lifetime ban.

Sharif was not the applicant in this case; it was filed by politician Badshah Khan Qaisarani, who, having been disqualified in 2017 for presenting a fake graduation degree, is now eligible to contest elections after more than five years have passed since his conviction.

BACK IN POWER, HASINA SAYS ELECTION WAS FREE AND FAIR

Bangladesh's Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, celebrating her fifth term victory, dismissed opposition criticism of the general election, claiming it was free and fair. Despite allegations of human rights abuses and a crackdown on dissent during her previous terms, Hasina refuted claims of illegitimacy.

The opposition Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) boycotted the polls, leading to a low turnout of 41.8%. BNP labeled it a "fake election," with its leader calling the government "illegitimate." UN rights chief Volker Turk urged the government to consider the human rights of all Bangladeshis.

The Election Commission reported Hasina's party winning 222 seats, securing her control over the parliament.

ISRAELI ATTACK KILLS TOP HEZBOLLAH COMMANDER

Israel killed a top commander of Lebanon’s Hezbollah movement, a security source said on Monday, as Washington’s top diplomat visits West Asia seeking to avert a widening of the Israel-Hamas war.

Israel pounded targets in the Gaza Strip, where a militant group reported fierce ground combat.

The Health Ministry in Hamas-run Gaza said it had recorded 249 deaths in the previous 24 hours.

On Monday, Hezbollah announced the killing of a “commander” for the first time, naming him as Wissam Hassan Tawil.

A security source in Lebanon, requesting anonymity, said Tawil “had a leading role in managing Hezbollah’s operations in the south”, and was killed there by an Israeli strike targeting his car.

High-profile killing

His is the second high-profile killing in Lebanon since last week, when a strike in a Beirut stronghold of Hezbollah killed Hamas deputy leader Saleh al-Aruri.

A U.S. Defence Department official said that Israel carried out the strike.

RUSSIA EVACUATES HUNDREDS FROM BORDER CITY AMID UKRAINIAN STRIKES

KYIV: Russia said it had moved some 300 people from the border city of Belgorod due to Ukrainian shelling, the biggest evacuation from a major Russian city since the conflict began. The unprecedented announcement follows waves of deadly strikes by Kyiv’s forces on Belgorod, which lies less than 32 km from the Ukrainian border.

WHITE HOUSE: BIDEN WON’T FIRE AUSTIN; TRUMP URGES OUSTER

Aboard Air Force One : US President Biden does not plan to fire defence secretary Lloyd Austin over his failure to disclose a hospitalisation for days, the White House said on Monday, as prominent Republicans called for the Pentagon chief to be removed. “There is no plan for anything other than for secretary Austin to stay in the job,” John Kirby, the National Security Council spokesman, told reporters on Air Force One Monday. Former President Trump, who is Biden’s likely Republican challenger in the 2024 election, said late on Sunday that Austin should be fired for his “improper professional conduct and dereliction of duty.”

IN CHINA, MUIZZU CALLS BEIJING A VALUED ALLY

Beijing : Muizzu, Maldivian President, praises China as a valued ally amid diplomatic row with India. In his first state visit, Muizzu met with Chinese officials in Fujian, emphasizing the significance of China as a collaborator in the Maldives' development. He aims to enhance bilateral relations during talks with Chinese President Xi Jinping, signing agreements for trade, professional development, and socioeconomic cooperation. The visit follows a diplomatic spat with India over derogatory remarks against PM Narendra Modi by Maldivian ministers.

FRENCH PM QUITS, MACRON COULD NAME NEW GOVT

Paris : French PM Elisabeth Borne resigned on Monday, as President Emmanuel Macron seeks to give a new impetus to his second mandate ahead of European parliament elections and the Paris Olympics this summer.

Macron did not immediately name her successor.

The change in PM comes after a year marred by political crises triggered by contested reforms of the pension system and immigration laws.

In France, opinion polls show Macron’s party trailing that of far-right leader Marine Le Pen by some eight to ten points ahead of the June vote.

Speculation of a government reshuffle has been rife in the weeks since the narrow adoption in parliament of toughened immigration rules exposed deep cracks in Macron’s centrist majority. Macron himself promised a new political initiative.

POPE CALLS FOR A UNIVERSAL BAN ON SURROGATE PARENTING

Pope Francis called on Monday for a global ban on parenting via surrogacy, calling the practice “deplorable” and a grave violation of the dignity of the woman and the child.

Francis’ remarks are likely to antagonise pro-LGBT+ groups, since surrogacy is often used by gay or lesbian partners who want to have children, and follow his landmark decision to allow priests to bless same-sex couples.

“I deem deplorable the practice of so-called surrogate motherhood, which represents a grave violation of the dignity of the woman and the child, based on the exploitation of situations of the mother’s material needs,” he said.

“Consequently, I express my hope for an effort by the international community to prohibit this practice universally.”

Francis, 87, made his comments in a 45-minute address to Vatican-accredited diplomats, which is sometimes called his “state of the world” speech.

In Italy, the country that surrounds the Vatican, surrogacy is illegal, and Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni’s right-wing coalition ruling is pushing through parliament a law that would extend the existing ban to punish couples who go abroad to carry out the procedure.

Francis also reaffirmed the Vatican’s condemnation of gender theory, which suggests that gender is more complex and fluid than the binary categories of male and female and depends on more than visible sex characteristics.

He called the theory “extremely dangerous since it cancels differences in its claim to make everyone equal”.

GERMANY READY TO LIFT VETO ON SALE OF EUROFIGHTER JETS TO SAUDI ARABIA

JERUSALEM: Germany defended plans to lift it’s long standing veto on sales of Eurofighter jets to Saudi Arabia, saying Riyadh has adopted a “constructive approach” in the Israel-Hamas war. German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock, on a visit to Israel on Sunday, signalled that Berlin was ready to lift its blockade.

TTP KILLS SIX PAKISTANI POLICEMEN GOING TO ESCORT VACCINATION TEAM

PESHAWAR: A bomb explosion targeting policemen going to provide security for polio vaccination workers killed at least six of them and injured 22 others in Pakistan's restive Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), which has been fighting to impose the rule of Sharia across the Islamic country, took responsibility for the attack.

NUMBER OF MISSING IN JAPAN EARTHQUAKE TRIPLES TO OVER 300

SHIKA: The number of people unaccounted for after Japan’s New Year’s Day earthquake more than tripled to 323 while the death toll rose to 168, according to local authorities. A new list published by Ishikawa prefecture in central Japan on Monday showed the number of missing people soaring from 31 to 281 in Wajima.