Israel withdrew some troops from Gaza,as it contested South Africa's International Court of Justice case accusing it of genocide,the deputy head of Hamas' political bureau was killed in Beirut ”an act Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah condemned as "dangerous" ”and Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant warned that there's a "short window of time" to reach a diplomatic solution with Hezbollah,as he unveiled unofficial plans for Gaza's postwar governance.Meanwhile, following a US strike that killed an Iran-backed militia leader in Baghdad,Iraq made moves to remove the US-led coalition from the country,Iran arrested 11 suspects connected totwin blasts at a commemorative procession that killed at least 95,Tehran deployed a warship to the Red Sea,and a US-led coalition warned Yemen's Houthis to halt their attacks in the Red Sea.In other news, the US reportedly reached an agreement to extend its military presence at a Qatari base,North Korea's Kim Jong Un ordered his military to "annihilate" South Korea and the US if provoked,as Pyongyang fired over 200 shells toward South Korea's border islands,Australia's Anthony Albanese launched a probe into missing records from the Iraq war,and India's Navy rendered aid to a hijacked Liberian merchant vessel.

On Monday, Russian Pres. Vladimir Putin vowed to "intensify" attacks on Ukraine's military infrastructure as Moscow reportedly launched a total of 99 missiles across Ukraine on Tuesday.Following the strikes, Ukraine urged its allies to "respond decisively" and aid Kyiv's missile defense capabilities.This came as the US alleged that Moscow had used North Korean ballistic missiles in at least two of its recent attacks.Meanwhile, on Wednesday, the two warring sides exchanged hundreds of prisoners in what was the largest swap since the war began,and on Thursday, Ukraine's top cybersecurity official claimed that Russian hackers had compromised Kyivstar, its biggest telecommunications provider, as far back as May 2023.

Pakistan's electoral commission said the upcoming election will be held on Feb. 8 despite a resolution to delay the vote,as former Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan's nomination papers for parliamentary elections were rejected,Bangladesh's opposition alleged that the ruling party is fielding fake candidates in the upcoming election,South Korea's opposition leader Lee Jae-myung was stabbed,Seoul claimed that Kim Jong Un's daughter is his most likely successor,and Danish Queen Margrethe II abdicated the throne.Meanwhile, Turkey arrested dozens on suspicion of spying for Israel,Israel's High Court of Justice struck down Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's judicial reform,and an Argentine court suspended Pres. Javier Milei's labor reforms.In other news, Ethiopia signed a pact to use Somaliland's Red Sea port,China and Thailand agreed to waive visa requirements for each other's citizens,and small boat crossings in the English Channel fell by 36% in 2023.

SCOTUS agreed to rule on Colorado's decision that found Donald Trump ineligible for the presidency ”as requested by the former president ”Trump sued Maine's secretary of state for banning him from the state's primary ballot,voters in Illinois and Massachusetts took action to remove Trump from their states' ballots,and a new poll found that Americans are divided on whether this year's elections will be fair.In other news, Trump's businesses were accused of receiving at least $7.8M from foreign governments during his presidency,the House Judiciary and Oversight Committees made moves to hold Hunter Biden in contempt of Congress,and House Republicans readied an impeachment hearing for Secretary of Homeland Security Alejandro Mayorkas.Meanwhile, a US Department of Education official resigned over the Biden administration's policies on the Israel-Hamas conflict, Sen. Bob Menendez was accused of accepting bribes in exchange for making positive statements about Qatar,prosecutors recommended that Jan. 6 defendant Ray Epps be sentenced to six months in prison,and a Florida man was arrested for threatening to kill California Rep. Eric Swalwell.

The UN urged the US not to use nitrogen gas to execute an Alabama inmate,a court ruled that Texas can ban emergency abortions,Myanmar pardoned thousands of prisoners to mark the nation's 76th independence day,and Nobel Laureate Muhammad Yunus was jailed for violating Bangladesh's labor laws.

A shooting at an Iowa school killed a sixth grader and left several others injured,an imam was fatally shot outside of a New Jersey mosque,an armed man broke into the Colorado Judicial Center,and New York police said there's no evidence of terrorism in a fatal New Year's Eve car crash in Rochester.Meanwhile, several rounds of documents related to sex offender Jeffrey Epstein were unsealed,Argentine police arrested three foreigners over an alleged terrorist plot originating from the Middle East,and former Olympian Oscar Pistorius was released on parole after serving nine years for killing his girlfriend.

Harvard Pres. Claudine Gay resigned,early versions of Mickey and Minnie Mouse entered the public domain,India's top court rejected a new fraud probe into the multinational conglomerate Adani Group,and global grocery chain Carrefour pulled PepsiCo products from its European stores.

The US' national debt topped $34T for the first time in history,as the US economy added 216K jobs in December,and Colombia hiked its minimum wage by 12%.

San Francisco's Golden Gate Bridge installed suicide-prevention nets,a study warned that long COVID causes exercise intolerance,a report found a "widespread" presence of plastic chemicals in food,scientists explored the effects of "exercised plasma" on Alzheimer's,and a University of Cambridge study found that 48% of British teens feel addicted to social media.

Turkey opened its first major trial into last year's earthquakes that killed over 50K,and a powerful earthquake in Japan killed dozens.

Microsoft announced a new AI key on some of its PCs to connect users to its chatbot Copilot.

A Japan Airlines crash killed five.

India's first solar mission reached the sun's orbit.