A US judge ordered Iran's central bank to pay $1.68B to the families of the 1983 Beirut bombing victims,a report claimed the US plans to relocate advanced aircraft from the Middle East to Asia and Europe,North Korea said it tested a nuclear-capable underwater drone,the US alleged all sides in Ethiopia's Tigray conflict committed war crimes,and an ex-Australian soldier was charged with a war crime over the killing of an Afghan civilian.Meanwhile, renewed fighting broke out in Yemen,as its Saudi-backed government and Iranian-backed Houthis agreed to swap prisoners,Colombia suspended a ceasefire with the drug cartel Gulf Clan,the US conducted air strikes in Syria,and Israel allegedly struck Syria’s Aleppo airport for the second time this month.

On Monday, Chinese leader Xi Jinping arrived in Russia for a three-day visitthat saw Russian Pres. Vladimir Putin welcome China's proposal for a peace plan.This coincided with an unannounced meeting between Japanese PM Fumio Kishida and Pres. Volodymyr Zelenskyy in Ukraine on Tuesday.On Wednesday, veteran investigative journalist Seymour Hersh - who previously alleged that the US was behind the Nord Stream pipeline attack - claimed that Pres. Joe Biden and his administration fed US and German media "false cover stories" regarding the blast.On the ground, Ukraine allegedly launched a drone attack on Crimea overnight on Monday,as the fight for the Donetsk city of Bakhmut saw Russia "lose steam," according to Ukraine's commander of its armed forces.Meanwhile, on Friday, the UN released two reports outlining the "dire" human cost of the war and accusing both Russia and Ukraine of war crimes, and on Saturday Putin announced plans to deploy tactical nuclear weapons in Belarus.

US lawmakers questioned TikTok CEO Shou Chew over concerns about the app's suspected ties to China,France banned TikTok from government devices,Canadian MP Han Dong stepped down amid allegations he colluded with a Chinese diplomat,a report found that immigration is fueling record-high population growth in Canada,and the US and Canada agreed to roll back asylum access across their shared border.Meanwhile, Saudi Arabia and Syria held talks to resume ties,Israel and Palestine agreed to reduce tensions,Israeli's finance minister claimed there's "no such thing" as the Palestinian people,Israel voted to allow Jewish settlers to return to four West Bank settlementsand passed a law limiting the conditions to remove a sitting prime minister,and Jordan's parliament voted to recommend expelling Israel's ambassador to Amman.Elsewhere, former UK PM Boris Johnson was questioned on whether he knowingly misled parliament about a series of lockdown-breaking gatherings,the French government survived a no-confidence voteamid protests over Pres. Emmanuel Macron's pension reforms that saw Bordeaux City Hall set on fire,and over 550 were arrested during anti-government protests in South Africa.In other news, Nigeria's opposition candidate Peter Obi petitioned a court to challenge the outcome of the nation's election,a man pleaded guilty to the assassination of Haiti Pres. Jovenel Moïse,and a US court ruled that former Haitian mayor Jean Morose Viliena must pay $15M for allegedly leading a campaign of political persecution.In India, over 100 supporters of a Sikh separatist preacher were detained as authorities continued their manhunt for Amritpal Singh,and opposition leader Rahul Gandhi was sentenced to jail in a criminal defamation case over his remarks about PM Narendra Modi,and then disqualified from parliament.

A survey showed that Biden's poll numbers fell to their near lowest point in March,the GOP-backed House passed the Parents’ Bill of Rights Act,and Utah passed a law requiring minors to have parental consent to access social media platforms.Meanwhile, former Pres. Donald Trump claimed he'd be arrested on Tuesday,but wasn't after a New York grand jury postponed the case,Fox News producer Abby Grossberg sued the network,and four Oath Keepers members were convicted of obstruction for their role in the Jan. 6 riots.

A Michigan appeals court ruled that the parents of a teenager who pleaded guilty to a mass shooting at a high school can face trial,crypto founder Do Kwon was indicted in the US after being arrested in Montenegro,a Chinese regulator accused chip tycoon Zhao Weiguo of corruption,and Brazilian police launched a raid to stop an alleged assassination and kidnapping plot of several public officials.

Saudi Arabia released a US-Saudi dual citizen from prison,West Africa freed a US aid worker and French journalist,and Rwanda announced that human rights activist Paul Rusesabagina would be released from prison.Meanwhile, Uganda passed a bill that criminalizes identifying as LGBTQ+,World Athletics banned trans women from competing,Iowa barred gender reassignment treatment for minors,and the latest "Twitter Files" revealed the US government encouraged the censorship of COVID information.

In the US, the Federal Reserve (Fed) raised interest rates by 0.25%,Sens. Rick Scott and Elizabeth Warren unveiled a bill to appoint an independent Fed watchdog,mortgage rates fell,a report found that home prices dropped in February,a GOP caucus opposed guaranteeing bank deposits above $250K,and Los Angeles' school district workers went on strike.Elsewhere, the Bank of England raised rates by 0.25%,and Sri Lanka secured a $2.9B bailout from the International Monetary Fund.

The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention warned of a deadly fungus spreading at an "alarming rate,"a US Senate report found that growing drug shortages pose a national security risk,Biden ordered the declassification of intel on any potential link between a Chinese lab and COVID,Beijing's population fell for the first time since 2003,and five died in Tanzania in the country's first-ever Marburg virus outbreak.

A UN climate report called for a "survival guide for humanity,"the UN warned against "vampiric" global water useand estimated that Somalia's drought may have killed 43k in 2022,and at least 13 were killed in an earthquake that shook Afghanistan, Pakistan, and India.

Google launched its AI chatbot Bard in the US and the UK,a report claimed that OpenAI's GPT-4 generates more misinformation than its predecessor,and Amazon announced plans to lay off another 9k workers.

The CEO of Norfolk Southern testified on the February train derailment in East Palestine, Ohio..