Hamas gave its initial approval for a proposed Qatar-brokered hostage release deal,while an Israeli official also said earlier in the week that such a deal could soon move ahead,Joe Biden reportedly said he's not interested in a year of war in Gaza,Tel Aviv said Israeli forces will push into Rafah after Khan Younis,and the US sanctioned several Israeli settlers over West Bank violence.Elsewhere, Russia and Ukraine completed their first prisoner swap since last week's plane crash,much of the ICJ's "terrorism" case against Moscow was dismissed,and Zelenskyy is still reportedly considering replacing the head of Ukraine's armed forces,after false reports of his firing circulated.Meanwhile, Ukrainian defense officials were accused of $40M arms fraud,Russia denied sending the US signals on Ukraine peace talks,and the EU approved $50B in Ukraine aid.In other conflict news, Yemen's Houthis threatened more attacks against Western warships,Iraq and the US began formal talks on the future of an anti-IS coalition,North Korea and China vowed to defend their common interests,and Pentagon documents suggested the US could station nukes in the UK.Meanwhile, Biden said the US had decided on its responseafter three US soldiers were killed in a drone attack on a military base in Jordan,with strikes being launched on Friday against Iranian targets in Iraq and Syria. .

Five new nations agreed to join BRICS,Mali, Burkina Faso and Niger withdrew from ECOWAS,the US moved to reimpose sanctions on the Venezuelan oil sector,and Iran and Pakistan agreed to improve security ties.Meanwhile, Thailand's Move Forward party was hit with a dissolution petition,Venezuela's top court upheld an election ban on the leading opposition candidate,a Putin critic submitted his bid to run for Russian president,and former Pakistan PM Imran Khan was sentenced to 14 more years in prisonjust one day after a separate sentence of 10 years. Elsewhere, Northern Ireland's DUP agreed to a deal to restore power-sharing,Italian PM Giorgia Meloni announced plans to invest in African energy, and Alexander Stubb won the first round of Finland's presidential election.This comes as more than 800 Western officials signed a letter condemning their governments' approach to the Israel-Gaza war,top Israeli lawmakers attended a convention on Jewish resettlement of Gaza,the Palestinian Authority announced reforms,and UN chief António Guterres urged countries to reconsider as funding for Palestinian aid collapsedand the UNRWA warned it would likely need to shut down by the end of February.In other news, the EU reportedly planned to harm the Hungarian economy if the Ukraine funding bill were to fail,and a watchdog report found that global corruption is on the rise.

The US House passed a $79B bipartisan tax bill,US Defense Sec. Lloyd Austin apologized for his handling of a medical absence,South Dakota considered sending razor wire and personnel to Texas,a Texas-bound 'take our border back' convoy raised $125k in donations,and the US House moved forward with its impeachment of Alejandro Mayorkas.Meanwhile, a UK judge dismissed Trump's case against the creator of the Steele dossier,a judge postponed Trump's federal election interference trial, the House GOP subpoenaed DA Fani Willis, and Hotelier Robert Bigelow gave Trump $1M for legal fees.In other news, a judge dismissed Disney's lawsuit against Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis,Joe Manchin said he's considering a third-party presidential run,Rep. Ilhan Omar faced censure over a Somali speech, and Rep. Cori Bush revealed that she's being investigated for her security spending.

Protesting farmers converged at an EU summit in Brussels,while the French farmers' unions called for an end to roadblocks following government concessions,after 18 were arrested for blockading a major vegetable market as they laid siege to Paris.Meanwhile, Pope Francis clarified his stance on same-sex couple blessings, calling Africa a special case,an EU document calling for gender-neutral language was criticized,and foreign-born residents sued Japan over alleged racial discrimination. In other news, a letter accused the NSA of buying web browsing data without warrants,and over 30 Jordanians were reportedly targeted by Pegasus spyware.

The man behind the largest leak in CIA history was sentenced to 40 years in prison,the mother of a Michigan school shooter took the stand in her own trial,and three people were charged for an alleged murder-for-hire plot of two Marylanders.Meanwhile, a teen was arrested over hundreds of alleged swatting incidents,the Trump tax return leaker was sentenced to five years in prison,Alec Baldwin pleaded not guilty to involuntary manslaughter, and George Carlin's estate sued a podcast outlet over an AI comedy special. .

The US added 353K jobs in January,the Bank of England and US Fed both held interest rates steady,FTX said it will repay billions and won't rebuild,a Delaware court voided Elon Musk's $56B Tesla pay package,and New York sued Citibank for allegedly not protecting its customers from scammers.Meanwhile, China's Evergrande was ordered to liquidate amid a growing property crisis.

Bay agreed to pay $59M for selling drug-making tools,and UPS said it will lay off 12k employees this year..

The WHO predicted that cancer cases will rise 77% by 2050,Unicef said it will trial a game-changing nutrition pill in Africa,a study found Alzheimer's may be transmissible in rare cases,and the first human was implanted with a Neuralink chip.Meanwhile, Oregon declared a state of emergency over its fentanyl crisis,and the UK government said it will ban disposable vapes..

The US Senate questioned top tech executives on child safety,and Japan restored connection with its moon lander.  .

Climate protesters threw soup at the Mona Lisa. .

Lewis Hamilton said he'll move to Ferrari next year,and WWE's chief resigned over a sexual assault lawsuit.

A deadly Nairobi gas explosion injured nearly 300.

The world's largest cruise ship set sail from Miami..