Israel and Hamas confirmed a temporary ceasefire in a hostage-exchange deal,which, despite being delayed, came into effect on Friday,a US warship shot down multiple drones from Houthi-controlled territory in Yemen,and US forces carried out a series of strikes against Iran-backed militant groups in Iraq.Elsewhere, the Philippines and the US held joint military patrols near Taiwan,South Korea suspended a clause of the 2018 Inter-Korean military deal,and North Korea denounced a possible sale of US missiles to Japan and South Korea,as it launched its first spy satellite into orbit.Meanwhile, Niger's junta asked a court to order the Economic Community of West African States to lift its sanctions on the state,and Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese accused China of acting dangerously in international waters off of Japan.

On Monday, Ukraine reportedly sacked two top cyber defense officials amid an ongoing embezzlement probe.On Wednesday, the Ukraine Defense Contact Group, a 50-member coalition led by the US, promised to create a new alliance to improve Kyiv's air defense capabilities.On the front lines, Russia said that Ukraine suffered "colossal" losses on the east bank of the Dnipro Riveras it continued shelling the eastern Ukrainian city of Avdiivka overnight on Thursday.According to the British Defense Ministry, however, Russia also suffered casualties throughout the week from Ukrainian long-range precision strikes.Meanwhile, on Friday, a Ukrainian official who led the country's negotiations with Russia at the start of the war alleged that former British Prime Minister Boris Johnson impeded efforts to reach a peace deal with Russia last year.This came as Russian Pres. Vladimir Putin claimed on Wednesday that Moscow is ready to negotiate an end to the conflict.

China reiterated its support for the expansion of the BRICS alliance,New Zealand's National Party secured a deal to form a coalition government,the Netherlands' Freedom Party won the nation's parliamentary elections,former Vice President Joseph Boakai was declared Liberia's president-elect,and Taiwanese presidential hopeful William Lai picked the island's former US envoy as his running mate,as the country's opposition alliance collapsed.Meanwhile, Daniel Noboa was sworn in as Ecuador's youngest-ever president,US authorities claimed to have thwarted a plot to kill a Sikh separatist leader,Spanish police detained three suspects in the attempted murder of the former head of the People's Party in Catalonia,and a court ordered Pakistan's jailed former Prime Minister Imran Khan to appear in a public trial.In other news, China announced visa-free travel measures for citizens from six countries,Finland closed all but one of its passenger border crossings with Russia,NATO Chief Jens Stoltenberg expressed concern about secessionist rhetoric in Bosnia,South African lawmakers voted to suspend all diplomatic ties with Israel,and the Philippines called for a separate code of conduct with Vietnam and Malaysia in the South China Sea.

The US House reportedly geared up to impeach Biden by January,House Speaker Mike Johnson met with former Pres. Donald Trump,an appeals court barred private groups from taking legal action under the Voting Rights Act,and former First Lady Rosalynn Carter died at 96.Meanwhile, an appeals court heard arguments over a gag order on Trump in the federal election case,a judge rejected a request to revoke the bond of a Trump co-defendant in the Georgia election probe,New York City Mayor Eric Adams was accused of sexual assault,and a former State Department official was arrested for allegedly harassing a New York City street vendor.

SCOTUS declined to hear the appeal of the former Minneapolis officer convicted of killing George Floyd,four people were wounded during a shooting at an Ohio Walmart,a wave of sexual assault allegations were filed in New York,violent protests erupted in Ireland's Dublin after a knife attack injured four,and over 200 people were convicted in Italy's biggest organized crime trial in decades.

Human Rights Watch claimed that China is closing mosques in its northern regions,Iran reportedly executed a man convicted of killing a security force member during the 2022 anti-government protests,Indonesia relocated a group of Rohingya refugees to a temporary shelter,and a detained journalist in India was freed after nearly two years.

Sam Altman returned as CEO of OpenAI less than a week after being fired from the role,as Microsoft announced they had hired the tech entrepreneur,Elon Musk sued Media Matters over its claims that X promotes ads beside hateful content,and the US Senate subpoenaed the CEOs of X, Snap, and Discord to testify at a hearing on child safety.

The US Securities and Exchange Commission sued crypto exchange Kraken for allegedly failing to register with the regulator,and Turkey's central bank raised interest rates to 40%.

Biden declared an emergency over lead-in-water contamination in the US Virgin Islands,Papua New Guinea's tallest volcano erupted,and deadly flooding struck the Dominican Republic.Meanwhile, UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak announced a new initiative to produce climate-resilient crops,the EU Commission greenlighted a $5.1B package to help Poland reduce its reliance on Russian fossil fuels,and the EU agreed to stop sending plastic waste to developing nations.

The World Health Organization reported that China's ongoing pneumonia outbreak isn't linked to any unusual or novel pathogens.

A NASA spacecraft beamed back a laser message from 10M miles away.

Two people were killed when their car crashed into a border checkpoint in Niagara Falls.

An expanding population of Canadian "super pigs" threatened to cross into the northern US.