Despite being delayed four times,the UN Security Council voted to pass a Gaza resolution,as fighting in the enclave's north intensified,Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh traveled to Egypt to discuss a potential ceasefire,and CIA Director William Burns met with Israeli and Qatari representatives to discuss a possible hostage deal.Meanwhile, the US announced a Red Sea force to counter Houthi attacks,as it sanctioned a multinational network for allegedly supporting Iran's drone production,and Israel said that Hezbollah's military force must withdraw 6 miles away from its northern borderamid growing concerns of a full-scale war between the two.Elsewhere, Washington and Beijing resumed high-level military dialogue,the US prepared to lift its ban on the sale of offensive weapons to Saudi Arabia,North Korea launched an intercontinental ballistic missile,Germany agreed to deploy a permanent brigade in Lithuania,and the UN warned that Myanmar is on the brink of a humanitarian crisis.

Russian Pres. Vladimir Putin and his Ukrainian counterpart Volodymyr Zelenskyy held respective press conferences on Tuesday, which saw the former accuse the West of instigating the war and the latter announce his ambition to mobilize 500K more troops.This was followed by comments from Ukraine's defense minister on Thursday, who suggested that Ukrainians living abroad should be conscripted.On Tuesday, US think-tank the Institute for the Study of War reported that Russia had made gains in at least four areas of the frontline,as Moscow launched a series of drone strikes on Friday that breached Kyiv's missile defenses.Meanwhile, a former US Marine circulated disproven rumors that Zelenskyy used US aid funds to purchase two luxury yachts,and the Wall Street Journal alleged that Putin-ally Nikolai Patrushev was behind the death of former Wagner Group chief Yevgeny Prigozhin.

An anti-war activist who challenged Putin for the Russian presidency was banned from running,international observers claimed there were irregularities in Serbia's parliamentary elections,Egypt's Abdel Fattah el-Sisi won a third presidential term,the Democratic Republic of Congo's presidential election was held despite several delays,and UK politician Peter Bone lost his seat in the House of Commons.Meanwhile, Xi Jinping reportedly told US Pres. Joe Biden that China plans to reunify Taiwan,Beijing banned the export of technologies used to process rare earth elements,and the US released an ally of Venezuelan Pres. Nicolás Maduro in exchange for 10 detained Americans.Elsewhere, hundreds of Argentinians protested Pres. Javier Milei's austerity measures,a watchdog warned that Canada's Global Security Reporting Program operates in a "gray zone,"Ireland launched legal action against the UK over its law that gives immunity to combatants in the Northern Ireland conflict,and UK cabinet minister Penny Mordaunt informed the COVID inquiry that her messages with former Prime Minister Boris Johnson vanished.In other news, the EU agreed to overhaul its migration system,France's parliament approved a controversial immigration law,and an independent report found that 80% of detained immigrants in the UK were released but not deported last year.

Colorado's Supreme Court barred former Pres. Donald Trump from the state's 2024 ballot,a new poll showed Trump holding a slight lead over Biden,and an intelligence report found instances of foreign meddling in last year's midterms.Meanwhile, SCOTUS declined to hear arguments about Trump's claim to immunity in the election interference case,former Trump lawyer Rudy Giuliani filed for bankruptcy following his $148M defamation judgment,and Mark Meadows' request to move his Georgia election case to federal court was denied.In other news, a judge allowed the removal of a confederate memorial at the Arlington National Cemetery,and Texas criminalized illegal immigration,as it sent over 120 migrants to Chicago.

A judge temporarily blocked a California ban on firearms,the UK issued its first transgender guidance for schools,Pope Francis gave Catholic priests permission to bless same-sex couples,and the UN reported that Australia's prisons fail to adhere to the Optional Protocol to the Convention Against Torture.Meanwhile, Human Rights Watch accused Meta of censoring pro-Palestinian accounts,Harvard University lost a billionaire donor in the wake of its controversial testimony at a Congressional antisemitism hearing,Hong Kong democracy activist Jimmy Lai stood trial on national security allegationsand saw his bid to dismiss his sedition charge dismissed,and Italy's ruling party proposed a bill to safeguard Christian Christmas traditions.

Biden commuted the sentences of 11 non-violent drug convicts,over 170 associates of deceased sex offender Jeffrey Epstein are expected to be named next month,Fast & Furious actor Vin Diesel was accused of sexual battery,and Pornhub parent company Aylo Holdings admitted to profiting from sex trafficking.Meanwhile, the US charged an alleged Hezbollah member over the 1994 bombing of a Jewish center in Buenos Aires,Prague faced its worst mass shooting in the history of the Czech Republic,and France jailed a former doctor in the Rwandan genocide trial.

A volcano in Iceland erupted after weeks of seismic activity,a deadly earthquake struck northwest China,and hundreds were evacuated as floods pounded northeastern Australia.

The World Health Organization warned of the global spread of the COVID Omicron subvariant JN.1,and UK National Health Service junior doctors began their longest-ever strike.

Elon Musk's X was investigated for allegedly breaching the EU's social media laws,Google settled an antitrust case against its app store for $700M,Warner Bros. Discovery and Paramount Global reportedly entered into early merger talks,and Southwest Airlines was fined $140M over last winter's operational meltdown.

Rite Aid pharmacy was banned from using AI facial recognition,and a study found that explicit photos of children are being used to train AI.

The European Court of Justice ruled that FIFA and UEFA unlawfully blocked the formation of the European Super League.