China claimed the US flew high-altitude objects over its airspace at least 10 times last year,the US said it recovered key parts of the recently downed Chinese balloon,and, after shooting down three unidentified aerial objects in as many days,it said it suspects the objects were 'benign' -a notion later echoed by US Pres. Joe Biden.Meanwhile, the Philippines accused China of using a military-grade laser at sea, North Korea warned against joint US-South Korea military drills,China sanctioned US-based arms manufacturers Lockheed Martin and Raytheon,and SpaceX founder Elon Musk defended the company's decision to limit Ukraine's military use of Starlink.

On Monday, Russia's defense ministry - without specifying where - claimed gains along Ukraine's frontline,with renewed missile attacks across the country reported on Thursday.According to the head of the Russian mercenary group Wagner, efforts in the Donetsk city of Bakhmut were met with "strong resistance" as Ukraine reportedly reinforced its troops in the area.On Tuesday, the Ukraine Defense Contact Group held its ninth session at NATO's headquarters in Brussels,and on Friday, the annual Munich Security Conference began,with both meetings featuring renewed calls from Ukraine for military support.Meanwhile, after US Sec. of State Antony Blinken reportedly warned that any Ukrainian attempt to retake Crimea would lead to escalation on Wednesday, Under Sec. of State Victoria Nuland was quoted saying that Washington considers the peninsula to be a legitimate target, sparking an angry response from Russia.

Scotland's First Minister Nicola Sturgeon announced plans to resign,UK sources revealed a deal on the Northern Ireland Protocol could be reached as soon as next week,Cyprus' former Foreign Minister Nikos Christodoulides was elected president,several prominent critics of Tunisian Pres. Kais Saied were arrested,and a report claimed that the US and Iran are in indirect talks over a prisoner swap.In Israel, mass protests were held outside parliament amid plans of judicial reform,the new government legalized nine West Bank settlement outposts,and a report alleged that an Israeli hacking team meddled in over 30 elections worldwide.Elsewhere, Pres. Aleksandr Lukashenko said Belarus would only fight alongside Russia if attacked,Armenia offered a peace treaty project to Azerbaijan,two Russians who fled the war were allowed to apply for asylum in South Korea,and the US government urged Americans in Russia to leave immediately.Meanwhile, Iranian Pres. Ebrahim Raisi visited China,as protests in the country flared amid continued unrest,BBC offices in India were searched following the release of a controversial documentary on PM Narendra Modi,and former Italian PM Silvio Berlusconi was acquitted of bribing witnesses to lie about his "Bunga Bunga" parties.

Following a judge's order,Georgia's special grand jury released a partial report on its investigation into the 2020 election,former VP Mike Pence was subpoenaed by the special counsel overseeing a criminal probe into former Pres. Donald Trump,but said he would challenge it,filings showed that several notable Fox News stars doubted Trump's claims of election fraud,and a source revealed that the FBI has conducted two searches at Biden's alma mater - the University of Delaware - for potentially mishandled documents.Meanwhile, former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley announced her campaign for the 2024 presidential election,Sen. Tim Scott hinted at his own bid for a presidential run,Sen. John Fetterman checked into the hospital for depression,a poll found that Americans are growing less supportive of immigration,and Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis proposed a "digital bill of rights..

An investigation found that more than 4.8K individuals may have been sexually abused as children by Portugal's Catholic Church,three people were killed at Michigan State University by a gunman,five former US officers charged in the death of Tyre Nichols pleaded not guilty,the sex-trafficking charges against US House Rep. Matt Gaetz were reportedly dropped,a gunman who pleaded guilty to a mass shooting in Buffalo, NY, was sentenced to life in prison without parole,and the ongoing trial into last year's deadly crush at an Indonesia soccer stadium was marred by claims of intimidation.

The US Dept. of Labor found that over 100 children have worked dangerous jobs for one of the nation's largest food sanitation firms,Human Rights Watch accused the UK and the US of committing crimes against humanity on the Chagos Islands 50 years ago,Cambodian PM Hun Sen ordered the shutdown of independent broadcaster Voice of Democracy,hundreds of Chinese retirees protested government plans to cut their health benefits,the World Food Program announced that it would be cutting aid to Rohingya refugees living in Bangladeshi camps,and Spain approved teen abortion, paid menstrual leave, and transgender rights laws.

In the US, the Congressional Budget Office warned that the country could default as soon as July,data showed that egg prices were up 70% in January from a year ago,New York's chief financial regulator ordered a halt of Binance's stablecoin,and a new government rule will close a loophole used for insider trading.Elsewhere, a study warned that rising energy costs could drive 141M people worldwide to extreme poverty,a report found that homelessness is rising to "emergency" levels in Hong Kong,the Bank of England said that Brexit has cost the UK economy $29B in lost investment,over 2.3k flights were canceled across seven German airports due to strikes,Nigerian Pres. Muhammadu Buhari extended the use of old banknotes amid cash shortages,and Pakistan's parliament failed to pass a bill to unlock financial aid from the International Monetary Fund.

Tesla agreed to open its electric vehicle charging network to its rivalsand recalled over 362k cars amid concerns over its self-driving software,a US Securities and Exchange Commission report showed that Musk donated billions in Tesla shares last year,several users testing Microsoft Bing's new chatbot reported issues,Ford announced that it's cutting one in nine jobs in Europe,and TikTok announced plans to open a second data center in Ireland.

The death toll from an earthquake that struck Turkey and Syria continued to climb,as aid entered through a newly-opened border crossing into Syria's opposition-held northwest region,and Turkey announced investigations into more than 130 people over the collapse of buildings during the quake.Elsewhere, research found that Antarctica sea-ice levels hit a new record low,and New Zealand declared a state of emergency amid continuing floods.

Republicans in the US House launched a probe into the origin of COVID,US Sen. Bernie Sanders confirmed that Moderna's CEO will testify about plans to raise the price of its COVID vaccine,and a study found that past COVID infection provides protection for at least 10 months.Meanwhile, the World Health Organization convened an urgent meeting over an outbreak of Marburg in Equatorial Guineaand warned that avian flu has infected a record number of birds in the US,a study found that some older women with breast cancer may not need radiation,a panel of advisors to the US Food and Drug Administration voted to approve over-the-counter Narcan,and the US Center for Disease Control warned of rising mental health issues in teens.

A panel concluded the UEFA was responsible for the chaos at last year's Champions League final.

Thousands of fish were found dead after an Ohio train derailment and spillage of toxic chemicals,and Norfolk Southern - the train's transport company - skipped a town meeting to answer questions from concerned residents..