US Sec. of State Antony Blinken stressed the need for a Palestinian state -a sentiment that was echoed by US Dept. of State spokesperson Matthew Millerbut rejected by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu -medicine for Hamas-held Israeli hostages arrived in Gaza,and a government document revealed that the UK continued its arms sales to Israeli despite legal concerns.Elsewhere, Iran struck what it claimed was an Israeli spy base in Iraq,Pakistan recalled its ambassador from Tehran following an unauthorized Iranian strike on the nation,and Islamabad launched a series of airstrikes in Iran.Meanwhile, the US seized an Iranian weapons vessel allegedly bound for Yemen's Houthis,the Indian Navy rescued a Houthi-struck cargo ship in the Red Sea,and missiles fired from Yemen hit a US-owned cargo ship,as US Pres. Joe Biden vowed to continue striking Houthi assets.In other news, North Korea claimed to have tested a new hypersonic missileand an underwater nuclear-capable drone,and Belarus drafted a new military doctrine.

A leaked German military document predicted that Russia's offensive in Ukraine could expand to NATO's eastern flank -a concern echoed by Estonian Prime Minister Kaja Kallas, who stressed that a potential conflict between Moscow and the bloc is reason enough to continue supporting Kyiv.The projection gained traction on Thursday as the chairman of NATO's military committee urged Western civilians to prepare for the prospect of war with Russia within the next two decades.This came as Ukrainian Pres. Volodymyr Zelenskyy spoke at the World Economic Forum on Tuesday in an effort to garner further economic support,with Western nations reportedly warming to the idea of using frozen Russian assets as a means of funding Ukraine.

Guatemala's Bernardo Arévalo was sworn in as president,Nauru cut diplomatic ties with Taiwan,and North Korea ruled out any reunification with Seoul.Meanwhile, a report claimed that Saudi Arabia is still considering joining the BRICS group of nations,Somalia rejected negotiations with Ethiopia in a dispute over a port in Somaliland,and a report claimed that China has been buying Nvidia chips despite a US export ban.Meanwhile, a Serbian opposition leader claimed he was beaten by the nation's secret service,Singapore's transport minister was charged with corruption,South Korea reported the number of North Korean defectors that entered its borders tripled in 2023,and the UK's parliament approved legislation to send illegal migrants to Rwanda.

GOP presidential frontrunner Donald Trump saw a record win in the Iowa caucuses,as he urged SCOTUS to keep him on the Colorado ballot,entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy dropped out of the Republican presidential race and endorsed Trump,and Biden's re-election campaign raised over $97M in the last quarter.In other news, US Congress presented and passed a stopgap bill to prevent a government shutdown,which Biden signed,climate envoy John Kerry announced his resignation from the Biden administration,and Hunter Biden reportedly agreed to testify in his father's House impeachment inquiry.Meanwhile, court documents showed that the lead prosecutor in the Georgia election interference case bought airline tickets for District Attorney Fani Willis,former Elle Magazine writer E. Jean Carroll testified in her defamation trial against Trump,prosecutors claimed that IRS contractor Charles Littlejohn sought his job with the intention of releasing Trump's tax returns,and New York City Mayor Eric Adams' legal defense fund raised over $730K.

Democratic lawmakers introduced a bill to protect access to fertility treatments,a transgender Ohio House candidate whose certification was questioned was cleared to run,a leading Thai activist was given further jail time for allegedly insulting the monarchy,and Iran's Nobel laureate Narges Mohammadi's prison sentence was extended.

The US Dept. of Justice published its report on the 2022 Uvalde school shooting,US Marine veteran Daniel Penny lost his motion to dismiss his subway chokehold case,a report found that 90% of online child abuse content is "self-generated" through extortion,and the Ecuadorian prosecutor investigating a live-streamed TV studio attack was killed.

In the US, lawmakers proposed a bill to issue $78B in tax breaks,home sales plunged to their lowest level since 1995,and the White House canceled $5B in student debt for 74K borrowers.Elsewhere, China's economic growth reached a three-decade low,and France announced parental leave reforms amid a drop in birth rates.

Sports Illustrated's publisher announced plans to lay off most of the magazine's staff,a judge blocked JetBlue Airways' merger with Spirit Airlines,Elon Musk requested a bigger stake in Tesla,and Apple removed its blood oxygen feature from its smartwatches.

A report claimed that a Beijing lab mapped COVID weeks before the global outbreak began,the World Health Organization found that global tobacco use is declining,and a study found that having more siblings negatively impacts mental health.

AI discussions took center stage at the World Economic Forum,the International Monetary Fund warned that AI could impact 40% of worldwide jobs,and the US Food and Drug Administration approved an AI-powered device to detect skin cancer.Meanwhile, OpenAI removed its ban on the military use of its AI tools,and Meta's Mark Zuckerberg announced plans to build artificial general intelligence.

Over 1K leading scientists urged the EU to loosen restrictions on genetically modified organisms,and a cloned rhesus monkey reached adulthood for the first time.

Scientists linked the dry winter weather in India's Himalayan mountains to climate change.

Japan became the fifth country to land on the moon.

An explosion at a fireworks factory in Thailand killed at least 23.