*) Israel killed 13,430 Palestinian children since October 7 — Gaza

Israeli air strikes and ground invasion have killed 13,430 children since the start of Tel Aviv's carnage in the besieged Palestinian enclave, Gaza's Media Office said.

It added that 8,900 women were killed over 150 days, and 7,000 people, 70 percent of whom are women and children, are still under the rubble or missing.

The media office said that 364 health personnel and 132 journalists also were killed during the period.

*) Dismantling UNRWA would sacrifice 'generation of children'

The head of the UN agency for Palestinian refugees, UNRWA, is calling out threats to shut down the organisation.

Philippe Lazzarini said cutting UNRWA loose would leave a generation of Palestinian children in the lurch, breeding anger and violence.

He told the UN General Assembly that stopping UNRWA's work is a bad idea because it would hurt millions who depend on their help, especially at a time when things are already tough.

UNRWA is facing funding freezes and pressure from Israel to close up.

*) Thousands flee as attack blamed on M23 rebels claims 15 lives in DRC’s east

The M23 militia fighters have launched sweeping attacks in the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo, killing at least 15 people and leading thousands to flee, witnesses and government officials said.

Testimony from locals, health workers and government officials on Monday pointed to attacks in the Rutshuru region of the eastern province of North Kivu.

Access to the North Kivu capital Goma has been virtually severed.

*) US top court reverses Colorado move to disqualify Trump from state ballot

The US Supreme Court has handed Donald Trump a major victory as he campaigns to regain the presidency, barring states from disqualifying candidates for federal office under a constitutional provision involving insurrection and reversing a judicial decision that had excluded him from Colorado's ballot.

The justices on Monday unanimously reversed a December 19 decision by Colorado's top court to kick Trump off the state's Republican primary ballot on Tuesday after finding that the US Constitution's 14th Amendment disqualified him from again holding public office.

The Colorado court had found that Trump took part in an insurrection for inciting and supporting the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the US Capitol by his supporters.

*) EU hits Apple with record $2B antitrust fine in Spotify case

Brussels has fined Apple $2B for thwarting competition from music streaming rivals via restrictions on its App Store, the iPhone maker's first-ever penalty for breaching EU rules.

A huge lump sum inflated a basic penalty of $43M included as a deterrent - a first for the European Union's antitrust authorities on Monday.

The European Commission charged Apple last year with preventing Swedish streaming service Spotify and others from informing users of payment options outside its App Store, following a 2019 complaint by Spotify.