Hamas said it was prepared to free all Israeli hostages in a single exchange,as it released the bodies of four hostages —initially causing a dispute after returning the wrong body of Shiri Bibas —and freed the final six hostages from the first phase of the Gaza cease-fire.Meanwhile, Israel reportedly prepared to move heavy equipment and mobile homes into Gaza,as it began withdrawing most of its forces from South Lebanon,and three buses exploded in a suspected terrorist attack in Israel.This comes as US Sec. of State Marco Rubio traveled to Riyadh,where he met with Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov to discuss the war in Ukrainein talks that excluded Kyiv,as American diplomat Keith Kellogg met with Ukrainian Pres. Volodymyr Zelenskyy,and European leaders held an emergency summit on the Russia-Ukraine war in Paris,which saw several European countries consider deploying troops to Ukraineand the announcement of a 16th sanctions package against Moscow.Elsewhere, the UN alleged that the March 23 Movement executed three minors in the Democratic Republic of Congo,as the US sanctioned a Rwandan minister over his alleged support for the Congolese militia,and Sudan's warring sides were accused of executing civilians.In other news, North Korea rejected US calls for denuclearization,the UK confirmed for the first time that the Special Forces rejected resettlement applications from over 2K Afghan commandos,France transferred control of its only military base in Ivory Coast to local authorities,and Australia and New Zealand monitored three Chinese warships in their waters.

The White House prepared for a visit from the UK's Keir Starmer and France's Emmanuel Macron,Afghanistan's Taliban made its first official visit to Japan,the Democratic Party of Hong Kong moved to dissolve,and a disputed Abkhazia election headed to a runoff.This comes as Singapore's opposition leader Pritam Singh was found guilty of lying to parliament,former Brazilian Pres. Jair Bolsonaro was indicted in connection to an alleged coup plot,Trump Media and video platform Rumble sued a Brazilian judge over alleged censorship,and former Argentine Pres. Alberto Fernández was charged with domestic gender violence.Meanwhile, Starmer polled behind most former British prime ministers,Nigel Farage gave up his ownership of Reform UK,and UK Business Secretary Jonathan Reynolds faced calls to resign over allegations that he lied on his resume.Elsewhere, the US amended its wording on Taiwan's independence,Mexico threatened to take legal action over Google's renaming of the Gulf,Washington deported 117 Venezuelan migrants held in Guantánamo Bay,and Costa Rica agreed to host 200 US deportees.

Pres. Donald Trump dismissed Air Force Gen. Charles Q. Brown Jr. as chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff,Mitch McConnell announced plans to retire from the Senate,and Kash Patel was confirmed as the director of the FBI.This comes as four top New York City deputies to Mayor Eric Adams resigned,acting commissioner of the Social Security Administration Michelle King quit,and the White House clarified that Elon Musk isn't heading the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE),as a judge decided not to block the department from accessing federal data.Meanwhile, an appeals court blocked Trump's order to end birthright citizenship,as the president cut federal benefits for illegal immigrants, signed an executive order to expand access to in vitro fertilization, considered giving 20% of DOGE savings directly to Americans,and announced plans to implement 25% tariffs on imported cars, semiconductors, and pharmaceutical products.

Authorities seized 668 Islamic-linked books in Kashmir,and the Yindjibarndi Ngurra Aboriginal Corporation sued Australia for $1.15B over damages from a mining project.

American rapper A$AP Rocky was cleared of charges related to a Hollywood shooting,Luigi Mangione appeared in court for the alleged murder of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson,and thousands of people were rescued from illegal scam centers across Myanmar.Meanwhile, Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese condemned an attack on two Muslim women,BBC News accused India's Aveo Pharmaceuticals of fueling the opioid crisis in West Africa,police discovered a secret art-forgery workshop in Rome,and former president of the Spanish Football Federation Luis Rubiales was found guilty of sexually assaulting national-team player Jenni Hermoso.

The US Securities and Exchange Commission reportedly moved to drop its lawsuit against crypto firm Coinbase,KFC decided to relocate to Texas,Amazon acquired control of the James Bond franchise,and a German court ruled that Birkenstock sandals aren't pieces of art.

MoneyUK inflation rose to 3.0% in January,as the UK public sector recorded its highest surplus since records began,and Australia cut rates to 4.1%.

Japan approved a new energy plan that prioritizes nuclear power,as it set new emission targets for 2040,a report alleged that the EU's green energy investments are harming North Africa,a study found that global glacier melt raised sea levels by 0.7 inches between 2000 and 2023,and giant sinkholes swallowed parts of the Brazilian Amazon city of Buriticupu.

A new COVID-like bat virus was discovered in China,Texas reported dozens of cases of measles,England faced a record surge in norovirus cases,and Pope Francis' bronchitis developed into pneumonia.Meanwhile, US doctors made progress in using gene therapy to treat childhood blindness,the UK's Labour Party said it had met its goal of providing an extra 2M National Health Service appointments,and dangerously high bacteria levels were found in India's Kumbh Mela waters.

A European Parliament committee voted to keep working on an AI liability directive,Elon Musk's xAI launched its latest AI model, Grok 3,and South Korea removed China's DeepSeek from its app stores.

Microsoft unveiled a breakthrough quantum chip,and Meta unveiled plans to build the world's longest submarine cable system.

A Delta Air Lines plane crashed in Toronto,two people died after two single-engine planes collided in Arizona,and a bus crash in Bolivia killed at least 30 people.

US sports betting hit a record of $13.7B in 2024,and Canada's hockey team beat the US to win the 4 Nations Face-Off.

The UN sought $6B to assist war-torn Sudan.

NASA downgraded its risk assessment of asteroid 2024 YR4.

An ancient royal tomb was discovered in Egypt,and Australia prepared to euthanize dozens of beached whales.