Hamas freed three more Israeli hostages in exchange for hundreds of Palestinian prisoners,as US Pres. Donald Trump warned against any complications to the exchange,and said that Palestinians would not be able to return to Gaza under his plan,US intelligence reports suggested that Israel is likely to strike Iranian nuclear sites by mid-year,and the UN suspended its operations in Yemen's Saada.Meanwhile, dozens of global leaders attended the Munich Security Summit,Russia rejected a Ukrainian proposal to swap territory,Ukrainian Pres. Volodymyr Zelenskyy claimed that Moscow plans to target Poland or the Baltics next year,and Russia received approval to establish its first African naval base in Sudan.This comes as the UN warned of an escalating displacement crisis in the Democratic Republic of Congo,North Korea warned of retaliation after a US nuclear submarine docked in South Korea's Busan,China introduced new rules on publishing military secrets online,and a Taiwanese-made training jet crashed.

US Vice-Pres. JD Vance and European Commission Pres. Ursula von der Leyen met in Paris,China's foreign minister visited the UK for the first time in a decade,Pres. Masoud Pezeshkian questioned the sincerity of US negotiations with Iran,and the US joined talks about the future of the Chagos Islands.This comes as El Salvador ended public funding for political parties,coalition talks between Austria's Freedom Party and People's Party collapsed,Colombia's defense minister resigned,and New Zealand raised concerns over a deal between the Cook Islands and China.Meanwhile, the US and India agreed to double trade by 2030,Trump ordered global tariffs on steel and aluminum,Canada named Kevin Brosseau as its new fentanyl czar,and a US bill sought to rename Greenland "Red, White, and Blueland."In other news, the UK tightened its rules on citizenship applications,as it recorded an increase in asylum seekers' deaths in its care last year,British Chancellor Rachel Reeves faced criticism for her social media posts,and the UK's secret service admitted to providing false evidence to three courts.Elsewhere, an adviser to the European Court of Justice ruled that Denmark's social housing law is discriminatory,a US teacher was released from Russian custody,and the UN claimed that Bangladesh’s quelling of protests last year may have constituted "crimes against humanity..

Tulsi Gabbard was confirmed as Trump's new director of national intelligence,the Senate approved Robert F. Kennedy Jr. as health secretary,and FBI director nominee Kash Patel was accused of perjury.Meanwhile, a judge ordered the White House to temporarily reinstate funding for foreign aid,as Trump fired the inspector general of the US Agency for International Development (USAID),a court instructed the Trump administration to restore federal funding for grants and loans,and approximately 75K federal workers accepted Trump's buyout program.This comes as Pope Francis criticized Trump's mass deportation plan,a military general announced that 5K troops have been deployed to the Mexican border since January,and the Justice Department sued New York over its law allowing undocumented migrants to obtain driver's licenses.Elsewhere, the Associated Press was barred from the White House after refusing to name the Gulf of Mexico as the Gulf of America,the FBI uncovered 2.4K new files related to the assassination of former Pres. John F. Kennedy,and a poll found that Biden is the least liked living US president.In other news, Steve Bannon pleaded guilty in the border wall fraud case,Manhattan's top prosecutor quit after being ordered to drop corruption charges against New York City Mayor Eric Adams,and 14 states filed a lawsuit challenging the Department of Government Efficiency's authority,as the Elon Musk-led administration appeared to post classified data on its new website.

A record-breaking 124 journalists were killed worldwide in 2024,a study linked abortion bans to rising infant deaths in the US,New York rejected an extradition request for a doctor who prescribed abortion pills to a Louisiana resident,and the sponsor of the UK's assisted dying bill moved to eliminate High Court approval for euthanasia applications.

Dozens were injured when a car drove into a crowd in Munich,a French surgeon prepared to go to trial for allegedly abusing nearly 300 children,a teacher fatally stabbed a first grader in South Korea,and a trial for the attempt on author Salman Rushdie's life began.

The weight-loss drug semaglutide showed promise in reducing alcohol consumption,the World Health Organization called for cancer warning labels on alcoholic beverages,Pope Francis was hospitalized due to bronchitis,and Uganda battled a new Ebola outbreak.

Elon Musk made a $97.4B bid to purchase OpenAI,Chevron announced plans to cut 20% of its workforce,and TikTok returned to US app stores.Meanwhile, Missouri sued Starbucks over its diversity, equity, and inclusion policies,and India’s Adani Group exited two $442M projects in Sri Lanka.

The UK's economy expanded by 0.1% in the fourth quarter of 2024,and Argentina’s monthly inflation slowed to its lowest level since July 2020.

Over 60 countries — excluding the US and UK — signed a joint statement at Paris' AI Action Summit,the European Commission withdrew its AI liability directive,and researchers used AI to develop enzymes.Meanwhile, the BBC found that AI chatbots mislead users on current affairs,a study warned that AI tools may erode critical thinking skills in the workplace,and thousands of artists called on New York's Christie's to cancel its AI art auction.

A study found that Earth's inner core is changing shape,scientists detected a record-breaking high-energy "ghost particle,"researchers discovered widespread biofluorescence in birds-of-paradise,a 150M-year-old bird fossil was discovered in China,and archaeologists uncovered the remains of London's first Roman basilica.

Tennis star Jannik Sinner accepted a three-month ban as part of a doping settlement.

The world's first disabled astronaut was cleared to go to space.