US Secretary of State Antony Blinken traveled to the Middle East, where he met with the leaders of the UAE and Saudi Arabia, held talks with Israeli officials,and visited Egypt to discuss the Gaza war,the International Court of Justice heard arguments in South Africa's genocide case against Israel,and Israel and Qatar reached an agreement to deliver medicine to hostages held by Hamas.Meanwhile, after Houthi rebels launched one of their largest-ever attacks in the Red Sea,the US and the UK bombed Houthi targets in Yemen,anonymous US officials warned of a potential attack from Lebanese Hezbollah militants,North Korea ordered Seoul to stop its military exercises,and two Swedish defense officials made controversial remarks about a possible impending war.

As Russia continued its aerial assaults across Ukraine on Monday,Ukraine's Air Force warned that the nation's air defense resources are under strain on Tuesday.On Thursday, the US Department of Defense reported that over $1B worth of weapons sent to Kyiv is unaccounted for, prompting concerns that further shipments may be at risk of theft.This came as British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak met with Ukrainian Pres. Volodymyr Zelenskyy on Friday and announced $3.19B in new military aid for Kyiv.Meanwhile, a four-month-long audit reportedly revealed over $260M in financial violations within Ukraine's Defense Ministry.

Vice Pres. William Lai Ching-te won Taiwan's presidential election,as he vowed to maintain the island's status quo,French Pres. Emmanuel Macron appointed France's youngest-ever prime minister,China claimed it detained a suspected British spy,and London Mayor Sadiq Khan estimated that Brexit cost the UK economy over $178B.Meanwhile, supporters of Poland's opposition party held a mass anti-government protest,German farmers demonstrated against the government's plan to abolish agricultural tax breaks,and Papua New Guinea declared a state of emergency following the breakout of violent riots.

Chris Christie dropped out of the GOP presidential race,presidential hopefuls Nikki Haley and Ron DeSantis exchanged barbs at the fifth Republican debate,and a poll found that Haley has narrowed the gap with former Pres. Donald Trump in the GOP primary race in New Hampshire.Meanwhile, Trump spoke during closing arguments at his New York civil trial,as he sought to dismiss the federal and Georgia election interference cases against him,a Trump co-defendant in the Georgia election case accused District Attorney Fani Willis of engaging in an unprofessional relationship with the case's lead prosecutor,and a House GOP committee voted to hold Hunter Biden in contempt of Congress,as he pleaded not guilty to nine federal tax charges.In other news, state Democrats announced record-breaking fundraising in 2023,Texas blocked immigration agents from accessing a key area along the southern border,and Trump reportedly told the EU that the US would "never" help if Europe was attacked.

Morocco was elected to lead the UN's Human Rights Council,the World Health Organization's transgender committee was accused of bias,Afghanistan's Taliban arrested dozens of women for violating its Hijab rules,and a grand jury decided not to charge an Ohio woman with abuse of corpse over her actions following her miscarriage.

Armed men stormed an Ecuadorian TV station live on airafter Pres. Daniel Noboa declared a curfew amid rising gang violence,the last batch of documents related to convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein were released,a secret tunnel under a New York City Synagogue sparked chaos,a Romanian court returned controversial social media personality Andrew Tate's seized assets,and Australia criminalized the sale and display of Nazi symbols.Meanwhile, the UK's Rishi Sunak announced a law to exonerate post office workers wrongfully convicted of fraud,UK police reported that over half of child sexual abuse offenses are committed by minors,India's Supreme Court canceled the early release of 11 rapists,and mass murderer Anders Breivik sued Norway over his years-long solitary confinement.

US regulators approved Bitcoin Exchange-Traded Funds,US inflation spiked in December,the US Internal Revenue Service reported that it collected $520M in back taxes over the last year,and Argentina secured $4.7B from the International Monetary Fund.

SCOTUS declined to hear X's challenge over whether it can disclose government data requests,the US Securities and Exchange Commission confirmed that its X account was hacked,and US lender Citigroup announced plans to cut 20K jobs.

Scientists revealed a DNA test that can detect 18 types of cancer,researchers found a connection between air pollution and dementia,a study warned that maternity deaths in the UK hit a 20-year high,and the World Health Organization cautioned that low global vaccination rates could strain healthcare systems.In other news, US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin was diagnosed with prostate cancer,and the House GOP questioned Dr. Anthony Fauci over the government's response to COVID.

The year 2023 was found to be the hottest year on record,Norway approved the world's first commercial deep sea mining,a US storm grounded over 2K flights,and scientists found that climate change drove the world's largest-ever ape to extinction.

US House Speaker Mike Johnson met with OpenAI CEO Sam Altman to discuss AI regulation,Nvidia announced three new AI graphic chips,autonomous vehicle operator Waymo announced plans to test driverless rides in Phoenix,and scientists discovered a novel material that could reduce lithium use in batteries with the help of AI.

NASA delayed the launch of its crewed Artemis moon mission,as its recently launched moon lander suffered a "critical" propellant loss and fuel leak,astronomers voiced concern about the impacts of lunar ventures,and a newly-discovered space "megastructure" prompted cosmic questions.In other news, scientists discovered a valley of ancient lost cities in Ecuador's Amazon rainforest.

NFL coach Bill Belichick left the New England Patriots.

After part of an Alaska Airlines plane fell off mid-flight, two US airlines reported loose hardware in multiple planes,as the US Federal Aviation Administration grounded Boeing 737 MAX airplanes,and announced an audit into Boeing's manufacturing.

South Korea outlawed its dog meat industry.