Israeli authorities released an additional 200 Palestinians from imprisonment on Saturday, the second wave to be freed in exchange for Israeli hostages as part of a January ceasefire agreement between Israel and Hamas.

The dismissals of more than a dozen independent inspectors general at federal agencies reportedly began Friday night and were effective immediately. The firings were carried out without giving Congress 30-day notices of removal of inspectors general, possibly in violation of the law.

“As we receive guidance from the new administration, including our higher headquarters within the Department of Defense, we are examining current policies and the implementation of any required changes,” said Mack Muzio, director of public affairs for the Alabama National Guard.

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi said the two leaders decided to work together in defense production, manufacturing, and maritime and cyber security. Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto thanked India for supporting Indonesia’s admission to the BRICS bloc of developing economies earlier this year.

A group of former American military officers and diplomats who served in Kyiv are teaming up with a Ukrainian winery owner to bring a taste of the Black Sea coast to a U.S. audience.

Four female Israeli soldiers held hostage by Hamas have returned safely to Israel after the militants paraded them in front of a crowd of thousands in Gaza City.

The Philippine coast guard says Chinese coast guard ships and a Chinese navy helicopter harassed a group of Philippine fisheries vessels conducting a scientific survey in a hotly disputed area of the South China Sea, forcing them to cancel the operation.

The Senate confirmed Kristi Noem as homeland security secretary on Saturday, putting the South Dakota governor in charge of a sprawling agency that is essential to national security and President Donald Trump’s plans to clamp down on illegal immigration.

Fighting around Sudan’s largest oil refinery has set the sprawling complex ablaze, sending thick, black polluted smoke over the country’s capital, Khartoum. 

The Senate on Friday night confirmed Pete Hegseth as defense secretary by the narrowest of margins, elevating an Army National Guard veteran and former Fox News host to the top Pentagon job with the help of a rare tiebreaking vote by the vice president.

Social media posts from official accounts at the Defense Department will be suspended for 10 days excluding communications about operations along the U.S.-Mexico border or military base activities, according to a memo issued by the acting defense secretary’s office.

Four Army units will deploy to Europe, South Korea and the Middle East in the spring as part of regular unit rotations, the Army announced Friday.

The United States has been sharing secret intelligence on threats from the Islamic State with the new government in Syria, which is itself run by leaders of a militant group long considered by Washington to be a terrorist organization, according to multiple current and former U.S. officials familiar with the exchanges.

U.S. officials are preparing to send thousands of additional troops to the U.S.-Mexico border, including, potentially, soldiers equipped with 20-ton Stryker combat vehicles, according to four U.S. officials familiar with the planning.

President Donald Trump spoke in a pre-recorded video address while Vice President JD Vance attended the event. Protesters had come to the capital for decades to call for the repeal of Roe v. Wade, but now they want to build on their victories and focus on the state-by-state battles taking place over abortion.

The latest wave of anti-government rallies was fueled by Prime Minister Robert Fico’s recent trip to Moscow to meet with Russian President Vladimir Putin. It was a rare visit to the Kremlin by a European Union leader since Moscow’s all-out invasion of Ukraine began.

The State Department has frozen new funding for almost all U.S. aid programs worldwide, making exceptions to allow humanitarian food programs and military aid to Israel and Egypt to continue.

M23 made significant territorial gains in recent weeks, encircling Goma, which has around 2 million people and is a regional hub for security and humanitarian efforts. M23 is one of about 100 armed groups that have been vying for a foothold in mineral-rich eastern Congo.

Colombia’s president has issued a decree giving him emergency powers to restore order in a coca-growing region bordering Venezuela that has been wracked in recent days by a deadly turf war among dissident rebel groups. President Gustavo Petro’s decree is the first of its kind in more than a decade.