Good morning. We're covering a suicide bombing in Pakistan and U.S.-Israel relations. |
 | | The mosque after the attack.Fayaz Aziz/Reuters |
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Dozens killed in bombing in Pakistan |
A powerful suicide bombing in Peshawar, the capital of the restive Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa Province, ripped through a mosque, killing at least 59 people and wounding nearly 160 in the worst attack in Pakistan in months, officials said. The national capital, Islamabad, was put on high alert, with snipers installed on important government buildings and checkpoints tightened on roads entering the city. |
The attack broke a period of relative calm in Peshawar, though the region has been the site of several attacks on police and military targets in recent months, especially in areas that straddle the border with Afghanistan. The Pakistani Taliban have claimed responsibility for those attacks, but the group denied having played a role in Monday's bombing, even as posts on Twitter suggested otherwise. |
The mosque was nearly full, with more than 300 worshipers filling the rows when the blast struck in Police Lines, a heavily guarded neighborhood that is home to several important government and military buildings. Officials said they were investigating how the suicide bomber had managed to breach several security checkpoints to reach the mosque. |
First person: "It was a deafening explosion, and I fell on the ground," said Shabbir Afridi, a government employee who was standing near the mosque at the time of the attack. "When I ran toward the mosque, I saw dust and bodies everywhere." |
 | | Antony J. Blinken, the U.S. secretary of state, and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of Israel.Pool photo by Ronaldo Schemidt |
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A pivotal moment in U.S.-Israel relations |
In public, top officials in Israel and the U.S. describe an enduring bond between their countries. But in private, difficult conversations about escalating Israeli-Palestinian violence and the Israeli government's plan to exert more political control over the judiciary, among other fundamental issues, are placing that unity under enormous stress. |
Antony Blinken, the U.S. secretary of state, visited Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu yesterday in Jerusalem. He reiterated America's support for a two-state solution — a goal that seems more distant as Israel lurches further to the right — and spoke of the importance of "core democratic principles and institutions," an apparent reference to the proposed judicial changes. |
Blinken will travel today to Ramallah in the West Bank and meet with the Palestinian Authority president, Mahmoud Abbas. He is likely to appeal to Abbas to help contain the escalating violence and to press him to avoid pursuing legal cases against Israel, an approach that the Biden administration finds counterproductive. |
Context: Blinken's visit occurs after a spate of violence between Israelis and Palestinians that has left more than 20 people dead. Analysts worry that Palestinian frustration with a moribund peace process, along with the rise of hard-line Israeli leaders, could result in a major Palestinian uprising. |
 | | A Leopard 2 tank during a German Army training exercise.Ronny Hartmann/Agence France-Presse — Getty Images |
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Zelensky calls for speedier tank deliveries |
NATO allies have promised Volodymyr Zelensky, the Ukrainian president, dozens of tanks. But when those tanks will actually be deployed — and whether they will arrive in time to repel a looming Russian offensive — is still unclear. In a Sunday night address, Zelensky called for their delivery to be expedited. "We have to make time our weapon," he said. |
Fourteen Challenger 2 tanks promised by the British government could be in the country as soon as late March, but the soldiers who will use them have to be trained first. Ukrainian troops arrived in Britain yesterday to begin learning how to operate the tanks, as well as how to use them to fight as a unit. |
Some of the German-made Leopard 2s pledged by Germany and other European allies could arrive around the same time — but they may not all arrive right away. The speed at which they do will depend on how many tanks are immediately available and how many will need to be refurbished and reprogrammed. American-made M1A2 Abrams tanks are most likely even further away. |
Context: The vast majority of Ukrainian troops selected to crew the Western tanks will most likely have been trained on Soviet-era tanks, which should speed their transition to the Leopard 2s. German defense officials have reportedly offered an estimate of about six weeks, with a training process to begin in early February. |
A coming offensive: Military experts and allies say that in the coming weeks, Ukraine will aim to drive Russia out of occupied areas and that Moscow may soon announce another "partial mobilization" of men with military experience for its war effort in Ukraine. |
 | | Elisabetta Zavoli for The New York Times |
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 | | Desiree Rios/The New York Times |
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 | | Tony Luong for The New York Times |
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In 1973, the designer Marc Harrison built a prototype for a zinc home for people of all ages and abilities. It was soundproof, fireproof, bug proof, thermally efficient and magnetic, so that magnetized light fixtures and picture hangers could be moved around easily. Now his daughter has restored it. |
Harrison was determined to make systems and objects as easy to use as possible, said John Behringer, his former colleague. "He believed if he solved the issues for a disabled person, he would have solved the issues for everyone." |
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Seventy-five years ago this week, on Jan. 30, 1948, Mohandas Gandhi was assassinated at age 78 by a Hindu nationalist, just months after India achieved independence. He died as one of the most celebrated men on earth, and his concept of nonviolent resistance in fighting injustice has inspired political movements around the world. |
In a famous, impromptu elegy, Jawaharlal Nehru, the first prime minister of the newly independent India, promised that the light brought by Gandhi would "illumine this country for many more years. And a thousand years later, that light will be seen." |
 | | Johnny Miller for The New York Times |
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That's it for today's briefing. Thanks for starting your day with The Times. — Natasha |
"The Daily" is about Tyre Nichols, who died after he was beaten by police officers in Memphis. |
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