Denmark's Frederik X visits Poland in first trip abroad as king

King Frederik X of Denmark began his first trip abroad as monarch Wednesday with a three-day visit to Poland that is focused on promoting his country's businesses and climate policies.

Frederik, who was proclaimed king on Jan. 14, received a red-carpet welcome at the presidential palace in Warsaw, where he was greeted by Polish President Andrzej Duda and an honor guard.

Danish monarchs traditionally have traveled to another Scandinavian country first, but Frederik's visit to Poland was planned before his mother, Queen Margrethe II, announced her surprise abdication in a New Year's Eve address.

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The king's trip therefore was not being treated as a state visit. He arrived without his Australian-born wife, Queen Mary, but at the head of a delegation of government and business officials.

Later Wednesday, Frederik laid a wreath at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier, a memorial for soldiers who died defending Poland and he met with the speaker of the Sejm, the lower house of parliament. He is to attend an evening dinner at the Royal Palace in Warsaw alongside Duda.

Denmark’s foreign minister, defense minister and minister for climate, energy and utilities are accompanying the king, and Danish business representatives were expected to attend the dinner.

On Thursday, Frederik plans to watch a signing agreement for a project designed to collect and reuse excess heat from the Warsaw metro by sending it into the city's district heating system. His agenda on Friday includes visiting NATO’s regional headquarters in Szczecin, a city in northwest Poland.

In his arrival speech, the king said Polish-Danish ties would be strengthened by renewable energy partnerships in the coming years.

"Renewable energy, sustainable production and new technologies are at the core of our shared vision for the future, a safe and thriving world for future generations," he said.

Denmark prides itself on its commitment to renewable energy. The small Scandinavian country claims that more than 50% of its electricity is supplied by wind and solar power. However, the most widely used renewable energy source in Denmark is bioenergy.

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US takes ‘self-defense’ strike against Houthi projectiles poised to launch at commercial ship in Red Sea

The U.S. early Thursday carried out a "self-defense" strike, targeting and destroying multiple projectiles that Houthi militants in Yemen were preparing to launch at commercial ships, a U.S. official tells Fox News. 

The strike marks the 12th time the U.S. has conducted strikes against the Houthis in Yemen since January 11th, and the second in under 24 hours. 

The U.K. was not involved in this strike, and it was carried out unilaterally by the U.S. 

Thursday morning's strike is not related to Sunday's drone attack that killed three U.S. soldiers and injured more than 40 others at a base in Jordan. 

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The latest strike came after the U.S. struck a Houthi anti-aircraft surface-to-air missile that was preparing to launch from a Houthi-controlled area of Yemen. 

A U.S. official said the surface-to-air missile was on the ground and "posed an imminent threat" to U.S. aircraft patrolling the area. 

Houthi militants, based in Yemen, have for weeks been firing upon commercial ships in the Red Sea. The soldiers say the strikes have been a show of support for Palestinians killed in the ongoing Israel-Hamas war in Gaza. 

The attacks have caused ships to avoid the Red Sea and reroute, adding tremendous costs and delays. Since early December, ship volumes have plummeted in the area with nearly 40% fewer vessels passing through the canal, leading to a 45% decline in freight tonnage. 

None of the strikes have resulted in any civilian deaths though two U.S. Navy SEALs, recently went missing during a mission in the Red Sea and have since been declared dead. 

This is a developing story. Check back for updates. 

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US sanctions 3 firms over direct connections to Sudan Civil War

The United States imposed sanctions Wednesday on three Sudanese firms it accused of being directly connected to the warring forces in Sudan, as the devastating conflict in the northeast African country continues to rage.

The army, headed by Gen. Abdel-Fattah Burhan, and the Rapid Support Forces, or RSF, a powerful paramilitary group commanded by Gen. Mohammed Hamdan Dagalo, have been fighting for control of Sudan since April. Long-standing tensions erupted into street battles concentrated in the capital but also in other areas including the western Darfur region.

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The sanctions imposed by the U.S. Treasury Department block all property and entities in the U.S. belonging to Alkhaleej Bank Co Ltd; Zadna International Co for Development Ltd; and Al-Fakher Advanced Works Co. Ltd.

In a news release, the department said both Alkhaleej and Al-Fakher had direct ties to the RSF, with Al-Fakher being a key component of the paramilitary's lucrative gold export business. Zadna is run by the army and helps provide revenue for a military-run weapons company that already has been sanctioned by the U.S., the Treasury Department said.

Wednesday's sanctions are the latest Washington has imposed on Sudan’s leaders and companies, in a bid to pressure the two sides to end the conflict. High profile individuals targeted include former Foreign Minister Ali Karti and a brother of Dagalo.

The United Nations says at least 12,000 people have been killed in the conflict, although local doctors groups say the true toll is far higher. Over 10.7 million people have been displaced by the conflict, according to the U.N. migration agency.

Over the past two months, the RSF has appeared to take the upper hand in the conflict, with its troops making advances eastwards and northwards across Sudan’s central belt.

Regional partners in Africa have been trying to mediate an end the conflict ,along with Saudi Arabia and the U.S., which facilitated rounded of unsuccessful, indirect talks between the warring parties. Burhan and Dagalo are yet to meet in person since the conflict began.

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Former Peruvian intelligence chief gets 19 years in prison for 1992 massacre of farmers

LIMA, Peru (AP) — The intelligence chief of former Peruvian President Alberto Fujimori was sentenced Wednesday to 19 years and eight months in prison in connection with the 1992 massacre of six suspected rebels in central Peru.

Vladimiro Montesinos, already in prison due to previous convictions, earlier this week pleaded guilty to charges of homicide, murder and forced disappearance for ordering the slayings of the six farmers in the town of Pativilca. The six were accused of being members of a rebel group, taken from their homes by soldiers and executed.

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A former military officer and a lawyer for drug traffickers in the 1980s, Montesinos became intelligence chief after Fujimori was elected president in 1990. Fujimori, who also faces charges in the case, has not pleaded guilty and a trial is expected on his role.

The former president, now 85, was released from prison in December, after Peru’s constitutional court ruled that a presidential pardon that had been awarded to Fujimori in 2017 should be upheld. Fujimori had been serving a 25-year sentence in connection with the slayings of 25 Peruvians by death squads in the 1990s.

Montesinos has been in prison since 2001, charged with numerous counts of corruption schemes and human rights violations. He remains in a prison by the Pacific ocean that he himself helped design at the time he enjoyed power during the Fujimori government from 1990 to 2000.

His actions led to the collapse of Fujimori’s presidency, after clandestine tapes emerged that showed him paying bribes to congressmen, businessmen and media moguls, in an effort to buy support for Fujimori’s government.

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Israel flooding tunnels in Gaza to drive out Hamas terrorists: IDF

The Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) has confirmed that it has been flooding tunnels in Gaza with large volumes of water in its effort to attack the terrorist infrastructure of Hamas.

The IDF says that its forces along with the Israeli Ministry of Defense have been using various tools to flood the subterranean network of tunnels Hamas has been using in the Gaza Strip in order to drive out terrorists hiding there. The flooding had been considered an open secret for weeks but the IDF finally confirmed the strategy on Tuesday. 

"These capabilities consist of installing pumps and pipes, the materialization of engineering developments and the ability to locate tunnel shafts suitable for the deployment of these tools," the IDF said in a statement.

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"The capability was developed in a professional capacity, including analysis of the soil characteristics and the water systems in the area to ensure that damage is not done to the area's groundwater. The pumping of water was only carried out in tunnel routes and locations that were suitable, matching the method of operation to each case."

The IDF said this strategy represents a significant engineering and technological breakthrough in combating the threat of Hamas’ underground terror infrastructure and is the result of a collaborative effort between various bodies in Israel’s security establishment.

The IDF did not go into further detail about the flooding of the tunnels. 

However, the Wall Street Journal reported last month that Israel had constructed five large seawater pumps completed in November about one mile north of the Al-Shati refugee camp. Each pump is capable of drawing water from the Mediterranean Sea and can move thousands of cubic meters of water per hour, which would flood the tunnels within weeks, the report said.

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According to that report, Israel had identified about 800 tunnels beneath Gaza that Hamas had been using to move fighters, store weapons and plan terror attacks on Israel. However, Israeli officials believe the tunnel network is much larger.

A report sent by IDF troops earlier this month said it was likely Hamas "used more than 6,000 tons of concrete and 1,800 tons of metal to build hundreds of miles of underground infrastructure." 

It is unclear how many tunnels have been flooded by Israeli forces and how many Hamas terrorists have been caught or killed as part of the operations. 

Israel is seeking to eradicate the Palestinian terror group after it took some 240 people captive during the Oct. 7 attack on Israel and brought them back to the Gaza Strip. Hamas released 105 hostages in a November truce.

Israel says that about 1,200 people were killed in the Oct. 7 surprise attack. A U.N. report last week estimated that about 16,000 people had been killed as a result of Israel’s bombardment of Gaza.

The IDF said the flooding of tunnels forms part of a range of tools deployed by the IDF to neutralize the threat of Hamas.

Other efforts include air strikes, underground combat operations and special operations with technological assets, the IDF said.

The Israeli military blew up a tunnel underneath a cemetery in Gaza after discovering that Hamas terrorists were using the tunnel for its activities, the IDF said Monday.

Fox News’ Chris Pandolfino contributed to this report. 

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Egypt pyramid renovation proposal at Giza sparks backlash: ‘straightening the Tower of Pisa,’ critic says

A proposal to renovate one of the three iconic pyramids in Giza is getting some pushback from critics, one of whom likened such a venture to "straightening the Tower of Pisa." 

The project concerns the Pyramid of Menkaure, the smallest of the Giza pyramids, built more than 4,000 years ago. The aim is to restore the pyramid to how it may have looked when it was originally built.  

Built around 2,500 B.C., the Pyramid of Menkaure stood more than 200 feet tall but has since been whittled down by erosion and vandalism. Roughly one-third of the structure was clad with granite blocks. 

Set to coincide with the opening of the Grand Egyptian Museum, Mostafa Waziri, head of Egypt’s Supreme Council of Antiquities, described the restoration plan as "a gift from Egypt to the world." 

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Waziri shared a video last Friday of the project already underway. Workers can be seen setting blocks of granite at the base of the pyramid. 

The video prompted a flurry of divided opinions. 

Critics, such as Egyptologist Monica Hanna, have argued that the structure should be preserved as is, rather than trying to create its original appearance, per AFP. 

"When are we going to stop the absurdity in the management of Egyptian heritage?" she said, comparing such ventures to "straightening the Tower of Pisa" in Italy. 

The backlash has prompted the Egyptian Ministry of Antiquities to form a committee of experts to evaluate the project. A verdict is expected in the coming days, per reporting from The Telegraph. 

The renovation proposal is part of a larger "project of the century" initiative to develop the Giza Pyramids area. This includes opening the Grand Egyptian Museum and upgrading local infrastructure – efforts aimed at boosting Egypt’s tourism industry to help the country’s beleaguered economy.

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Jamaica spike in murders triggers travel warning to Americans visiting Caribbean island nation

For the second time in as many weeks, the State Department is citing increased crime on a Caribbean island nation and warning American citizens to "reconsider travel" to Jamaica. 

The warning, issued on Jan. 23, is listed as Level 3, one level below the "do not travel" advisory. 

"Violent crimes, such as home invasions, armed robberies, sexual assaults, and homicides, are common. Sexual assaults occur frequently, including at all-inclusive resorts," the advisory issued by the U.S. Embassy in Jamaica states. 

"Local police often do not respond effectively to serious criminal incidents," it continues. "When arrests are made, cases are infrequently prosecuted to a conclusive sentence. Families of U.S. citizens killed in accidents or homicides frequently wait a year or more for final death certificates to be issued by Jamaican authorities."

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Jamaica experienced 65 murders since the new year, according to data released by the Jamaica Constabulary Force. The number of killings is short of the 81 reported in the same time frame in 2023. 

The latest warning comes amid a spike in murders in the Bahamas since Jan. 1. Last week, the U.S. Embassy in Nassau issued a warning and travel advisory to U.S. travelers, citing 18 murders that have occurred on the island nation since the new year. 

"Murders have occurred at all hours including in broad daylight on the streets," the warning states. "Retaliatory gang violence has been the primary motive in 2024 murders."

A Level 2 advisory was issued Friday, warning visitors to exercise increased caution. 

The State Department said Jamaica's murder rate has consistently been among the highest in the Western Hemisphere going back several years. U.S. citizens visiting the island are urged to purchase traveler's insurance, including medical evaluation insurance. 

US ISSUES TRAVEL WARNING FOR BAHAMAS OVER SPIKE IN MURDERS SINCE NEW YEAR

In response to the uptick in crime, Bahamian Prime Minister Philip Brave Davis said authorities will put up roadblocks and initiate more police action, The Nassau Guardian reported. 

"We will not violate anyone’s civil liberties, but you are likely to be impacted by more roadblocks and unannounced police action," he said. "This may make you late for your appointments, or delay plans you have, but this is a small price to pay for the collective benefit of having our streets made safer, and our lives less blighted by murder and other violent crimes."

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Biden response to China skirting sanctions on Iranian oil panned: 'feckless'

To state the obvious: a primary function of sanctions on Iranian oil is to tighten Iran’s budget so the Islamic Republic cannot fund the proxy militaries, like the group that killed US soldiers in Jordan, or Hamas and Hezbollah who attack Israel.  

"Without Iran’s export of oil, it cannot operate its budget much less successfully fund and arm its proxies, "says former Ambassador Mark Wallace, who heads the group United Against Nuclear Iran. 

"Without proxies, the Middle East is a much more stable place."

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Everything from the Gaza war to almost 170 attacks on US targets in the region show it’s anything but stable. The proxies appear well funded and in the face of US sanctions, Iranian Oil revenue is booming. 

"Really, we have seen a renaissance in the Iranian oil industry since President Biden came into office. We’ve seen their (Iranian) numbers go up dramatically. They’re producing the most amount of oil they’ve had since the Iranian Revolution," says energy market analyst Phil Flynn.

In the Trump years, the US engaged in what the administration called the maximum pressure campaign and ended sanction waivers with the goal of stopping Iran exports altogether. 

"We are going to zero," said then Secretary of State Mike Pompeo in 2019. "How long we remain there, at zero, depends solely on the Islamic Republic of Iran’s senior leaders."

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Now, anywhere from 300-560 tankers, dubbed "the ghost armada" or "dark fleet," sail the seas obfuscating their locations and delivering sanctioned, Iranian crude primarily to China.

On China’s east coast north of Shanghai and south of Beijing an estimated 150 small semi-independent so-called "teapot" refineries operate.

Industry analysts and Iran watchers say the teapot refineries turn Iranian crude into useable petrochemicals. 

The same analysts say the Biden administration, eager to woo Iran back into the JCPOA nuclear deal, isn’t doing anything to disrupt this black market which has earned Iran upwards of $80 billion. 

"The reality is a feckless strategy of oil sanctions and enforcing those sanctions, both against the transport and shipping of that oil and its end users," says Wallace.

An analyst with the Foundation for Defense of Democracy says the failure to disrupt the revenue that funds the proxies, means the administration needs to take blame for the US service members killed in Jordan. 

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"With the deaths of three US soldiers, it is a direct result of appeasement policy towards Iran," says Richard Goldberg.

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Sydney Harbor shark attack leaves woman with serious leg injury

An Australian woman has suffered a "serious injury" to her right leg after being attacked by a suspected bull shark in Sydney Harbor, authorities say. 

The victim, identified in Australian media reports as 29-year-old Lauren O’Neill, was bitten on Monday night while swimming in the eastern Sydney suburb of Elizabeth Bay. Her neighbors reportedly dialed emergency services and came to her aid. 

"I looked outside and Lauren was sort of pulling herself off the side of the harbor and [was] trying to get to [safety]," one neighbor, Michael Porter, told Nine News, describing how he heard screaming in the area. "Her leg was trailing behind her and the water behind her was all red with blood." 

Another neighbor, veterinarian Fiona Crago, applied a tourniquet to O’Neill’s wounds, the station also reported. 

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"She was severely mauled on her right leg and losing a lot of blood. I just focused what I had to do... which was stem the blood flow and bandaged the leg," Crago told Nine News. 

O’Neill lives in the area and witnesses say she was swimming close to moored boats but outside of a private, netted harbor pool near her apartment block, according to the Sydney Morning Herald. 

New South Wales police said in a statement that the victim suffered a "serious injury" to her right leg, Reuters reports. Authorities believe she was attacked by a bull shark and has since been taken to a hospital in stable condition, according to The Associated Press. 

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Shark attacks in Sydney Harbor are rare but the area is known to be an important habitat for bull sharks and their young, the news agency says. 

In 2009, an Australian navy clearance diver was mauled by a bull shark during a training exercise in the harbor. The attack tore off his arm and part of his leg. 

In February 2022, a swimmer at a Sydney beach died after being attacked by what witnesses described as a 15-foot great white shark. It was Sydney's first fatal shark attack since 1963. 

The Associated Press contributed to this report. 

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Former Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan sentenced to 10 years in prison in Cipher case

A court sentenced former Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan on Tuesday to 10 years in prison for revealing state secrets.

Khan, a former cricket star turned politician, is currently serving a three-year prison sentence in a graft case. He has been held in the garrison city of Rawalpindi since he was arrested in May 2023.

The verdict was announced by a special court set up at the prison, according to Zulfiqar Bukhari, chief spokesman for Khan’s Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf party, or PTI.

Authorities said Khan and his party deputy Shah Mahmood Qureshi, who also received a 10-year sentence, have the right to appeal Tuesday’s ruling in the case. Khan’s legal team was planning to appeal the conviction before the Islamabad High Court on Wednesday.

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Khan’s party said in a statement that it stands with Khan and Qureshi, "who defended Pakistan and stood for real independence."

This case against Khan, known commonly as the Cipher case, is one of more than 150 cases that he faces since he was ousted in a no-confidence vote in Parliament in April 2022. Other charges range from contempt of court to terrorism and inciting violence.

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In the Cipher case, Khan is alleged to have waved a confidential document – a classified cable – at a rally after he was removed from office.

The document has not been made public by either the government or Khan’s lawyers, but was apparently diplomatic correspondence between the Pakistani ambassador to Washington and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Islamabad.

Khan has maintained his innocence and says he didn’t disclose the exact contents of the cable. The PTI feared Khan could be sentenced to death for treason.

The ruling comes ahead of the Feb. 8 parliamentary elections in Pakistan.

Although Khan is not on the ballot, as his criminal conviction bars him from running, he maintains tremendous sway over the country’s current political landscape and remains a potent political force because of his grassroots following and anti-establishment rhetoric.

Political analyst Muhammad Ali said the latest verdict was expected, for both Khan and his deputy. The two men, in his opinion, had "indeed damaged Pakistan’s diplomatic ties with the United States, and they also embarrassed the then-Pakistani Ambassador Asad Majeed to the United States," Ali said.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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Gang violence in Mexico making some Mayan ruin sites unreachable, government says

Drug cartel violence and land disputes are making certain Mayan ruin sites in Mexico unreachable, according to the government. 

The drug violence in Chiapas, which has proliferated since last year, has left the Yaxchilán and Bonampak ruin sites completely cut off, the government said Friday. 

The latter ruin, famous for its murals, is inaccessible due to gunmen and checkpoints on the road leading to it, tour guides told The Associated Press. 

They said that travelers are forced to hand over identification and cellphones at cartel checkpoints to yet another archaeological site, Lagartero. 

Visitors also can't visit the towering pyramids at Tonina, because a landowner has shut off access his land while seeking payment from the government for granting the right of way.

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Though no tourist has been harmed so far, and the government claims the sites are safe, many guides no longer take tour groups there.

One of the tour guides likened the suggestion to being told it was safe to go to the Gaza Strip. 

Both guides who spoke to The Associated Press stressed that the best-known and most spectacular Mayan ruin site in Chiapas, the imposing temple complex at Palenque, is open and perfectly safe for visitors. But starting around December, tourists have canceled about 5% of trips booked to the area.

Things that some tourists once enjoyed — like the more adventurous trips to ruins buried deep in the jungle, like Yaxchilán, on the banks of the Usumacinta river and reachable only by boat — are either no longer possible, or so risky that several guides have publicly announced they won't take tourists there.

Residents of the town of Frontera Comalapa, where the boats once picked up tourists to take them to Yaxchilan, closed the road in October because of constant incursions by gunmen.

Cartel battles increased in Chiapas in 2023, which coincides with the uptick in the number of migrants — now about a half-million annually — moving through the Darien Gap jungle from South America, through Central America and Mexico to the U.S. border.

Because many of the new wave of migrants are from Cuba, Asia and Africa, they can pay more than Central Americans, making the smuggling routes through Chiapas more valuable. The problem now seems to be beyond anyone's control.

The other tour guide said that was because the two warring drug cartels, Sinaloa and Jalisco, often recruit or force local people to act as foot soldiers and prevent National Guard troopers from entering their towns.

In Chiapas, residents are often members of Indigenous groups like the Choles or Lacandones, both descendants of the ancient Maya. The potential damage of using them as foot soldiers in cartel fights is grim, given that some groups have either very few remaining members or are already locked in land disputes.

The guide said the ruin sites have the added disadvantage of being in jungle areas where the cartels have carved out at least four clandestine landing strips to fly drugs in from South America.

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Pentagon says Israel-Hamas war isn't spreading despite US soldiers killed in Jordan, Red Sea attacks

The Pentagon does not see the Israel-Hamas war as having spread to the wider Middle East despite a new round of attacks by Iran-backed militias that killed three U.S. soldiers and injured dozens more at a military base in Jordan over the weekend.  

Since Oct. 17, a loose coalition of Iran-backed militia groups have perpetrated more than 160 attacks on U.S. targets in Iraq and Syria. The groups say the attacks are in retaliation for U.S. support of Israel in its ongoing offensive against Hamas militants in Gaza. 

The latest attack in Jordan marked a major escalation of violence, as it was the first time U.S. soldiers have been killed, as well as an expansion of reach. 

On Monday, Deputy Pentagon Press Secretary Sabrina Singh said it was not the Pentagon’s view that the Israel-Hamas war is spreading beyond Gaza.

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"I wouldn’t say that the conflict is spreading in that we’ve seen … over 100 attacks on U.S. forces in Iraq and Syria. And of course, now in Jordan," Singh said. "We don’t want to see a widening of this conflict. We don’t see this conflict widening as it still remains contained to Gaza." 

She conceded that the attack was "escalatory" in that it killed three American service members. 

"We don’t want to see a … widening of a regional war. But we will respond at a time and place of our choosing," Singh said. 

During a stop in South Carolina on Sunday, President Biden said the U.S. "shall respond." 

"We had a tough day last night in the Middle East," Biden said. "We lost three brave souls in an attack on one of our bases." 

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In a written statement, the president said the U.S. "will hold all those responsible to account at a time and in a manner (of) our choosing." 

Earlier Monday, Secretary of State Antony Blinken said the U.S. has "been very clear in warning that anyone looking to take advantage of the conflict in the Middle East and try to expand it: don't do it." 

"We’ve taken steps to defend ourselves and to defend our partners as well as prevent escalation," Blinken said. "The president’s been crystal clear: we will respond decisively to any aggression. And we will hold responsible the people who attacked our troops. We will do so at a time and a place of our choosing." 

Per the DOD, there have been 165 attacks in Iraq, Syria, and now Jordan since Oct. 17. Of these, 66 were in Iraq, 98 were in Syria, and one was in Jordan. 

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Fallout from the Israel-Hamas war has spread to the Red Sea where Houthi militants based in Yemen have for months been firing on commercial vessels, forcing them to reroute at exorbitant costs. The militants say their actions are in defense of Palestinians under siege in Gaza. 

The ongoing attacks in the Red Sea prompted the U.S. and its allies to strike Houthi targets in Yemen. 

Singh said there was nothing "different or new" about the attack in Jordan compared to previous attacks in Iraq and Syria. 

"We can't discount the fact that other attacks, whether it be Iraq or Syria, were not intended to kill our service members," she said. 

Singh reiterated that the U.S. was not seeking war with Iran, nor did it wish to widen the conflict. 

"We have said and will continue to call out the fact that Iran does fund and equip these groups and provide them the capabilities that they use to attack our service members, whether it be Iraq, Syria, or Jordan," she said. "So, we're not going to hesitate in calling that out." 

The Pentagon said more than 40 people were injured in the weekend attacks on a small desert installation known as Tower 22 in Jordan. At least eight were medically evacuated and the most seriously hurt service member is in critical but stable condition.  

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Iran-backed militia attack update: 34 US service members injured, 8 evacuated from Jordan

The number of injured continues to climb after Iran-backed militias killed three U.S. service members and injured dozens more in an overnight attack on a military base in northeast Jordan. 

By late Sunday, the number of injured had climbed to 34 service members. This included at least eight personnel whose injuries warranted an evacuation from Jordan to higher-level care, though they were believed to be in stable condition. 

Fox News is told all service members are being fully evaluated for follow-on care. The number of injured was expected to fluctuate. 

The injuries mostly include traumatic brain injury, though the number of cases will likely go up as symptoms can take time to develop. 

IRAN-BACKED MILITIA KILLS 3 US TROOPS JUST WEEKS AFTER BIDEN SAID TEHRAN KNOWS ‘NOT TO DO ANYTHING’

Militant groups targeted the logistics support base located at Tower 22 of the Jordanian Defense Network. There are around 350 U.S. Army and Air Force personnel deployed at the base to counter ISIS. 

Out of respect for their families and per Defense Department policy, the identities of the service members are being withheld until 24 hours after their next of kin have been notified. 

The fatalities marked a major escalation after months of strikes by such groups against American forces across the Middle East since the start of the Israel-Hamas war.

Later Sunday, President Biden said that the U.S. "shall respond" to the attacks. In a written statement, Biden said the U.S. "will hold all those responsible to account at a time and in a manner (of) our choosing."

Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin said, "we will take all necessary actions to defend the United States, our troops, and our interests."

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North Korea continues testing new nuclear-capable cruise missile, conducts 2 tests within a week

North Korea, on Sunday, test launched its new cruise missiles for the second time in a week, as the country continues to accelerate its navy’s nuclear armament, according to state media.

According to the North’s official Korean Central News Agency (KCNA), North Korea’s dictator oversaw the launch of the Pulhwasal-3-31 missile Kim Jong Un.

The agency said both missiles flew over the sea of the country’s east coast for over two hours – 7,421 seconds and 7,445 seconds – before hitting an unspecified island target.

Kim reportedly said the test was a success, "which is of strategic significance in carrying out the plan… for modernizing the army which aims at building a powerful [naval] force," KCNA said.

NORTH KOREA ATTEMPTS FIRST FLIGHT TEST OF NEW NUCLEAR CAPABLE CRUISE MISSILE

South Korean military officials confirmed North Korea launched multiple cruise missiles off its coast, but no other details were provided.

On Thursday, North Korea conducted the first test flight of the cruise missile, which KCNA said did not pose a threat to neighbors. The outlet also said the missile could eventually carry nuclear weapons.

Tensions in the region have increased in recent months as Kim continues to accelerate his weapons development and provocative threats to the U.S. and its Asian allies. In response, the United States, South Korea and Japan have been continuing their combined military exercises, which Kim condemns.

NORTH KOREA FIRES SEVERAL CRUISE MISSILES INTO THE SEA AFTER DESTROYING PEACE SYMBOL, SOUTH KOREA SAYS

Over the past few months, North Korea has tested several types of weapons, including ballistic missile systems being developed, as well as an underwater drone.

KCNA said Kim inspected the construction of a nuclear submarine and has discussed concerns surrounding manufacturing other types of warships, though the agency did not provide additional details.

The country’s first operational nuclear attack submarine was launched last year, which some said appeared to be a modified submarine designed to carry cruise and ballistic missiles.

US SPY FLIGHT REPORTED NEAR NORTH KOREA BORDER FOLLOWING CLAIM OF UNDERWATER NUCLEAR DRONE

U.S. and South Korean officials have accused North Korea of providing artillery shells, missiles and other supplies to Russia for its war in Ukraine. In return, North Korea is gaining much-needed economic assistance and military technology.

Both Pyongyang and Moscow have officially denied that North Korea was sending weapons to Russia. The U.S. and Ukrainian intelligence have said that Russia is using North Korean weapons in Ukraine.

Kim met with Russian President Putin at a Russian space launch center in September and the two are scheduling another meeting.

Fox News Digital's Lawrence Richard contributed to this report.

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Who is the Iran-backed coalition Islamic Resistance in Iraq, responsible for deadly drone strike on US troops?

Three American troops were killed and dozens more were injured in northeast Jordan Sunday in an attack that marked a major escalation of tensions in the region. 

The Islamic Resistance in Iraq, a loose coalition of Iran-backed militant groups, is claiming responsibility for the deadly attack. 

Per an analysis from the Pro-Israeli Washington Institute for Near East Policy, the "Islamic Resistance in Iraq," is not a singular unit per se but rather, an umbrella term used to tie the operations of various Iran-backed proxies in Iraq and Syria. 

The report determined that an umbrella term obscures responsibility, making it more difficult to determine who is exactly responsible for attacks on U.S. targets. 

IRAN-BACKED MILITIA KILLS 3 US TROOPS JUST WEEKS AFTER BIDEN SAID TEHRAN KNOWS ‘NOT TO DO ANYTHING’ 

It is believed that the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps-Qods Force (IRGC-QF) – plays a role in organizing the loose coalition. 

"Iraqi armed groups tend to jealously guard their individual identities and the credit they derive (directly or via façade groups linked to them) from attacks, so their willingness to submerge these identities and even recant an individual group attack claim suggests that higher power is coordinating them," the Washington Institute report says. 

Many of the attack claims by the IRI brand have been published on the Telegram group called "al-Elam al Harbi" or "The War Media," published on October 18, 2023, following Hamas’ deadly assault on Israel. 

USS CARNEY, FRENCH WARSHIP ASSIST BURNING TANKER AFTER HOUTHI ANTI-SHIP BALLISTIC MISSILE ATTACK

IRI said Sunday’s attack on an installation known as Tower 22 in Jordan was in retaliation for Israel’s ongoing offensive in Gaza. It regards the U.S. as complicit, given its support of Israel.

Since Oct. 7, militia groups have struck American military installations in Iraq and Syria – with a mix of drones, rockets, mortars and ballistic missiles – at least 160 times.

President Biden said Sunday that the U.S. "shall respond." This after he blamed Iran-backed militia groups for the first U.S. fatalities after months of strikes by such groups against American forces across the Middle East amid the Israel-Hamas war.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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US withdrawal from Syria would put 'whole region at risk,' allow Iran to 'sow' more discord, expert warns

Recent reports have raised the specter of a U.S. withdrawal from Syria, and while brushed off by the Biden administration, one expert made clear that if such a withdrawal ever happened, the consequences would be disastrous for not only the region but the U.S. and its allies as well. 

Sinam Sherkany Mohamad, the representative of the Syrian Democratic Council, the political wing of the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), told Fox News Digital that a U.S. withdrawal from the region would have lasting effects.

"If the U.S. withdrew from Syria, our whole region would be at risk. We currently are guarding over 12,500 hardened ISIS fighters who would be released back to the battlefields in the Middle East, North Africa and beyond," she said. 

SLAUGHTER IN SYRIA AS ASSAD, RUSSIA TAKE ADVANTAGE OF WAR IN GAZA: ‘MOST VIOLENT BOMBING OF CIVILIANS’ 

"[A] U.S. withdrawal would also mean that hundreds of thousands of persecuted minorities who were critical in ending the violent ambitions of ISIS would be subject to retaliation by the Assad regime, and by a Turkish government that is hostile to religious and ethnic minorities," said Mohamad. "This would mean the continued persecution of Christians and other religions, total loss of the current equality of women, and the ethnic cleansing of protected minorities."

The U.S. has roughly 900 troops stationed in Syria to counter ISIS and Iranian-backed militias. It also works closely with the SDF to prevent the resurgence of the Islamic State and carries out counterterrorism operations in the region. 

A senior U.S. official told Fox News earlier this week that the U.S. has no plans to withdraw its 900 troops from Syria. Additionally, a State Department spokesperson told Fox News Digital that the U.S. is in the country to ensure the enduring defeat of ISIS and continues to work with local partners to maintain pressure on the jihadist group. 

The U.S. has no changes planned for its mission in Syria, the spokesperson said. 

Mohamad told Fox News Digital that Iran has sought for years to "control the historic capitals of the Levant, seeking influence and control in Iraq, Syria, and Lebanon." She explained, "The Autonomous Region is of vital strategic importance to blocking Iran's strategy to pursue regional hegemony in the Middle East. If Iran succeeds in removing the SDF, it would be able to continue to sow discord across the region, sponsoring terrorist attacks on countries, targeting U.S. military facilities, and threatening its allies." 

The Institute for the Study of War said in a report last year that Iran, Russia and the Syrian regime are "coordinating a coercive campaign to expel the United States from Syria," possibly as part of a "broader political-military campaign to bolster the Assad regime’s international legitimacy and expand Iranian-Russian control over Syrian territory."

The SDF said in a recent press release that its anti-terrorism units, along with international coalition partners, conducted an operation in Deir Ezzor in early January, targeting and killing senior ISIS leader Muhammed Atiyah. 

Atiyah, also known as Abu Mahmoud, was responsible for carrying out assassinations against security and military personnel in the region, according to the SDF. 

Mohamad said ISIS’ activities have significantly increased in Deir Ezzor and the Syrian desert regions, specifically Al-Sukhnah and Palmyra. 

"The Syrian Democratic Forces continue special operations focused on targets belonging to ISIS in Deir Ezzor, Raqqa and the entire region. Within two weeks, there were three operations by the Syrian Democratic Forces in participation with the international coalition against ISIS cells, during which ISIS officials were killed in Al-Hawl, Deir Ezzor, and five individuals belonging to ISIS subversive cells were arrested," she noted. 

US MILITARY SHOOTS DOWN TURKISH DRONE AFTER COMING TOO CLOSE TO TROOPS IN SYRIA 

"If tensions continue in the region and Turkish and Iranian attacks continue, we expect that the activity of ISIS cells will continue to increase, as they always benefit from the tensions and bombings caused by Iranian and Turkish strikes." 

Turkey has ramped up its airstrikes in northern Syria and Iraq against Kurdish militants, destroying 29 bunkers, shelters, caves and oil facilities in the two regions earlier this month, according to Turkey’s defense ministry. 

Turkey considers the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) and the People’s Protection Units (YPG), a Syrian branch of the PKK, as terrorist groups. The PKK is a U.S.-designed foreign terrorist group, but the U.S. supports the YPG because it has played an integral role in the fight against ISIS. 

David Adesnik, a senior fellow and the director of research at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies, told Fox News Digital earlier this month that there has been a historic animosity between Turks and Kurds. 

"There's been effectively a civil war raging in Turkey for a generation, pitting the Kurdish minority there against the government. Initially, the current government, or led by [president Recep Tayyip] Erdogan, was more open to reconciliation, but over time, took a more nationalist bent and became very anti-Kurdish," he explained. "And especially, it seemed that the Kurds were carving out an ever larger domain of autonomy within northern Syria and that sort of struck Erdogan as intolerable. And he also sees no distinction between the Kurds in Turkey, who are fighting the state and the Kurds in Syria, who are fighting the Islamic State and others." 

Adesnik said that the U.S. has tried to make an operational distinction that even if they consider some of the Kurds in Turkey as terrorists, they need to work with the Syrian Kurds. 

"It's hardly a perfect arrangement," he noted. 

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Holocaust survivors gather at 79th anniversary of Auschwitz liberation for historic remembrance day

About 20 Holocaust survivors solemnly gathered to mark the 79th anniversary of the liberation of the Auschwitz-Birkenau camp during World War II in a ceremony in Poland on Saturday.

The approximately 20 survivors from surrounding Nazi concentration camps gathered to lay wreaths and flowers and to light candles at the Death Wall in Auschwitz, where the Nazis executed thousands of inmates.

Later, the group, along with state officials, gathered to memorialize the camp's 1.1 million camp victims.

The group gathered by a brick women's barracks at the former concentration camp and lit candles and prayed for the victims.

HOLOCAUST REMEMBRANCE 2024 AS SCOPE OF DEATH, HORROR AND THREAT STILL HARD TO COMPREHEND TODAY

Halina Birenbaum, a 94-year-old survivor, spoke during the memorization beside barrack 27, where she spent part of August 1943 until the forced evacuation of camp inmates on foot on Jan. 18, 1945.

She said the suffering and tragedy of people from the Oct. 7 Hamas attack on Israel was "painful" for her and an extension of her Auschwitz experience.

Israeli Ambassador to Poland Yacov Livne defended Israel's retaliation following the unprecedented Hamas terrorist attack.

"We hoped that the lessons of the Holocaust have been learned," Livne said. "Yet, today we are astonished by accusations of genocide against the Jewish state while we fight for our existence."

In Germany, residents gathered to remember the 79th anniversary of the Holocaust by laying flowers.

Chancellor Olaf Scholz said his country would continue to bear responsibility for this "crime against humanity."

SPIELBERG ANNOUNCES NEW PROJECT TO DOCUMENT ACCOUNTS OF OCT. 7 ATTACKS: ‘NEVER IMAGINED’ SUCH BARBARITY

He called on citizens to defend Germany’s democracy and fight antisemitism as the country marked the anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz.

"Never again’ is every day," Scholz said in his weekly video podcast. "Jan. 27 calls out to us: Stay visible! Stay audible! Against antisemitism, against racism, against misanthropy — and for our democracy."

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy marked the day by posting an image of a Jewsih menorah on X.

"Every new generation must learn the truth about the Holocaust," Zelensky wrote. "Human life must remain the highest value for all nations in the world."

FAR-LEFT HATRED OF JEWS TODAY ECHOES THE SOCIALISM AND ANTISEMITISM OF HITLER IN THE 1930S

In Italy, Holocaust commemorations included a torchlit procession and official statements from top political leaders.

Italian Premier Giorgia Meloni said her conservative nationalist government was committed to eradicating antisemitism that she said had been "reinvigorated" by the Israel-Hamas war.

President Biden wrote that it's "our responsibility" to combat antisemitism and hate-fueled violence.

"Today, on International Holocaust Remembrance Day, we mourn one of the darkest chapters in history, when six million Jews and countless others were systematically murdered," Biden wrote on X. "It's our responsibility to stand up to Antisemitism and hate-fueled violence everywhere."

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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Biden admin slams 'political targeting' of Venezuela opposition leader banned from running for president

The U.S. government, along with 30 other world leaders condemned the decision of Venezuela’s highest court to block the presidential candidacy of María Corina Machado.

President Biden previously threatened the South American country to reimpose economic sanctions on Venezuela if it failed to allow fair democratic elections.

In a statement to Fox News Digital, the U.S. State Department said it is reviewing Venezuela's election process after Venezuela's highest court-the Tribunal Supremo de Justicia- ruled that Machado would not be allowed to run for president.

"The United States is currently reviewing our Venezuela sanctions policy, based on this development and the recent political targeting of democratic opposition candidates and civil society," State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller said.

VENEZUELA'S HIGHEST COURT UPHOLDS BAN ON OPPOSITION PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE

The move comes after Venezuela’s highest court upheld a ban on Machado's candidacy.

BIDEN POLICIES DRIVING MASSIVE SURGE IN VENEZUELAN MIGRATION TO SOUTHERN BORDER, REPORT FINDS

Machado, a former lawmaker, won the opposition’s independently run presidential primary in October with more than 90% of the vote. 

Her victory came despite the government announcing a 15-year ban on her running for office just days after she formally entered the race in June.

She was able to participate in the primary election because the effort was organized by a commission independent of Venezuela’s electoral authorities.

Machado rejected the ban and has continued to campaign against incumbent President Nicolás Maduro.

She had argued that she never received an official notification of the ban, and insisted that voters were the rightful decision-makers of her candidacy.

In December, she filed a claim with the Supreme Tribunal of Justice to confirm that the ban was null and void, and to pursue an injunction to protect her political rights.

Instead, the court ruled against her and upheld the ban.

Preventing Machado and other candidates from running would go against an agreement between the government of President Maduro and U.S.-backed opposition figures last year.

The agreement caused the U.S. government to ease some sanctions on Venezuela’s oil, gas, and mining industries.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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China sends several warplanes, navy ships toward Taiwan after U.S.-China talks

Taiwan's defense ministry announced on Saturday that over 30 Chinese warplanes were headed toward its country, in addition to navy ships.

Thirty-three aircraft were sent by the Chinese People’s Liberation Army from 6 a.m. Friday to 6 a.m. Saturday, officials said. The aircraft included SU-30 fighters.

Six Chinese navy vessels were also headed to Taiwan, and 13 of China's warplanes crossed the median of the Taiwan Strait. According to the Associated Press, Taiwanese officials are currently monitoring the situation.

Saturday's development happened shortly after Senior U.S. National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan and Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi agreed to meet in Bangkok. Sullivan announced the end of the talks on X Saturday evening.

US AND IRAQ TO DISCUSS FUTURE MILITARY PRESENCE IN COMING WEEKS: PENTAGON OFFICIAL

"Just finished two days of meetings with Director Wang Yi in Bangkok to follow up on the Woodside Summit between President Biden and President Xi last November," the post read, which included a photo of Sullivan and Wang shaking hands.

National Security Council spokesperson Adrienne Watson said that Sullivan and Wang's meeting "continues the commitment by both sides…to maintain strategic communication and responsibly manage the relationship."

On Thursday, the Chinese government called out the U.S. Navy for sailing a warship through the Taiwan Strait, accusing the U.S. of causing "trouble and provocation on China's doorstep."

SPACE WARFARE: US, CHINA, AND RUSSIA ARE GEARING UP FOR THE NEXT FRONTIER OF ARMED CONFLICT

On Jan. 17, the Ministry of National Defense of Taiwan said in an English-language press release that "18 sorties of various CCP primary and auxiliary aircraft" had been detected. Eleven of the sorties crossed the median line of the Taiwan Strait.

"The Armed Forces adopted combined intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance measures to closely monitor the situation, and dispatched mission aircraft, warships, and shore-based missile systems to respond appropriately," the statement read.

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"The MND emphasized that the security and prosperity of the Taiwan Strait is a matter of concern of global development and stability, so it is an obligation and responsibility for all parties in the region to take up and shoulder collectively," the defense ministry added. "The Armed Forces will continue to strengthen its self-defense capabilities to cope with regional threats based on enemy threats and self-defense needs."

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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Exclusive: Israel creates AI platform to monitor the humanitarian situation in Gaza

EXCLUSIVE: JERUSALEM – Israel’s Defense Ministry is taking advantage of its country’s vibrant high-tech scene to create an artificial intelligence-driven information platform that will help keep track of the increasingly deteriorating humanitarian situation in the Gaza Strip, even as Israeli troops continue to battle the Iranian-backed Islamist terror group Hamas, Fox News Digital has learned.

Commissioned by Israel’s Defense Minister Yoav Gallant, the NRTM system, which resembles ChatGPT and other AI platforms, relies on open-source information materials such as reports from international aid organizations, including those affiliated with the United Nations, satellite imagery, news stories and social media posts coming out of Gaza to create a real time picture of living conditions for some two million civilians in the Palestinian enclave. 

"The idea came from the minister, who has said that Israel’s war is against Hamas and not the people of Gaza," Hadar Peretz, a senior adviser at the Ministry of Defense, told Fox News Digital. "The minister wanted to make sure that we were collecting as much data as possible in order to make a full assessment of the situation."

Peretz said the goal was for this platform to become an additional tool to enable decision-making for Israeli leaders and for the minister to use in his myriad of meetings with world leaders, as well as with the heads of international organizations working to mitigate the chaos in Gaza and improve conditions. 

ISRAEL REJECTS UN, AID AGENCIES CRITICISM THAT GAZA IS ON BRINK OF STARVATION: 'NO SHORTAGE OF FOOD'

Fox News Digital was given an exclusive view of the system, which is being developed by a team of top high-tech experts and leading Israeli health professionals. Work on NRTM began last October – not long after Hamas carried out its massacre in southern Israel sparking the current war – and will be available for use on mobile devices. Like other AI platforms, it features a "chatbot" that searches and collates the crucial information, as well as an option for the user to "improve" the answer. Currently, NRTM is available in English, French and Arabic but can be quickly adapted to other languages, the developers told Fox News Digital. 

The hope, inside the ministry, is that NRTM will become a useful – and more accurate tool – for world leaders, international aid organizations and journalists following the situation in Gaza and who, up until now, have relied heavily on information provided by the Hamas-run Health Ministry. With more factual information – free from the propaganda of a designated terrorist organization – Israel hopes that a clearer picture of what is really happening on the ground will emerge – and the needs of the population will be better addressed.

Among those from the high-tech world recruited to formulate the platform is Udi, an entrepreneur and VP for business development at an early-stage VC fund, who was brought in to oversee the project’s creation and its development. 

"What we have done in the past few months is essentially build a startup for Israel’s Ministry of Defense," Udi, who requested to use only his first name, said. He added that the name, NRTM, was based on a Hebrew acronym for "Monitoring the life conditions in Gaza via the web."

Udi explained that the ministry’s request was to build a comprehensive database relying on the most advanced tech tools in order to collect the most updated open-source information that would help keep track of the humanitarian situation developing in Gaza more accurately. The system is meant to be used in tandem with other sources, such as military intelligence and security information. 

"The platform tracks detailed data and metrics in four areas," Udi said, outlining those areas as water and food availability; medication and health care facilities; internally displaced; and energy. 

WHAT IS ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE (AI)?

Calling the professionals now working on the project, including experts in Geographic Information Systems (GIS), a "dream team," Udi explained that by contracting the work out to the private sector, the Defense Ministry bypassed the bureaucratic and security barriers of a government agency to get the system up and running in a relatively short time period. 

Maor Ahuvim, the lead senior software engineer on the project, told Fox News Digital that the sources included independent satellite imagery, as well as the social media accounts of both influencers and ordinary people inside Gaza, all of which offer a real-life picture of what is happening beyond Hamas’ propaganda. He said he was also working to incorporate video imagery into the AI’s search engine. 

Showcasing how the system works, Ahuvim shared with Fox News Digital aerial maps detailing buildings in the Strip that have been destroyed during the three months of fighting. According to the NRTM data viewed by Fox News Digital, some 8,693 buildings have been destroyed out of 185,000 buildings that stood before the war, with an additional 37,379 buildings partially damaged. These figures contradict slightly recent reports that 50% of the buildings in the Gaza Strip have been destroyed or rendered unlivable. 

Another example Ahuvim shared was a satellite image of civilians who have been internally displaced by the fighting. The United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) has reported that some 1.9 million people, or nearly 85% of the Strip’s population, is now internally displaced, with the majority taking refuge in southern Gaza. NRTM’s data showed this number to be slightly less – closer to 1.3 million – based on a collation of materials that calculated the possible number of people per square meter in the south. 

Professor Eli Schwartz, the former director of the center for traveler medicine and tropical diseases at Tel Hashomer hospital in Tel Aviv, who has been working on the project from the health perspective, also said NRTM was useful in determining possible health crises, including malnutrition and outbreaks of infectious diseases. 

Last week, the heads of the World Food Programme (WFP), UNICEF and the World Health Organization (WHO) issued a joint statement calling on Israel to allow more aid into the Gaza Strip and warning that the territory was on the brink of starvation and famine if the current conditions persist. 

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Schwartz, however, said NRTM had pulled up old information published online showing that such claims were very similar to those made by the same organizations over the past two years. 

However, he said the platform would be vital in the coming months to help determine the health and sanitation conditions in the Strip and address any possible outbreaks of diseases, which, he said, were common in war situations. 

Ultimately, the NRTM team said the platform would be useful in providing both the military and the public sector in Israel, including the health and defense ministries, with a more vivid picture of what was happening in Gaza and allow government bodies to "check themselves" when making crucial decisions that will impact millions of people. 

And while, like other AI platforms, there is the danger of false information being pulled up by the system, the NRTM team said it was still working to "present results only from the best sites."

On Sunday, U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, speaking at the Third South Summit of the G-77 plus China, said, "The number of civilian casualties, including women, children and our own staff, is unprecedented in such a brief period of time. It continues to rise, and hunger and disease are now adding to the toll."

Guterres said a humanitarian cease-fire was "the only way to end this nightmare for civilians in Gaza, facilitate the release of all hostages, and prevent the conflict from engulfing the entire region."

Israel has pushed back against such comments, saying there is no shortage of food, with hundreds of aid trucks entering the Strip daily, and that reports of infectious diseases were overblown. 

In an interview with Fox News Digital last week, Col. Moshe Tetro, who heads the army’s coordination and liaison administration (CLA) for Gaza, said such claims were politically motivated, and that each organization or individual was pushing their own interests. 

Currently, Tetro said, there were no restrictions on food or medicine entering the enclave. On Monday, COGAT, the military body that oversees Tetro’s unit, announced that 10,000th truck carrying humanitarian aid had entered Gaza. It said that since the start of the war, close to 99% of the coordinated trucks carrying such aid were approved for entry. 

Tetro’s unit, which facilitates a security inspection of every aid truck to ensure weapons or dual usage goods are not smuggled into the war-stricken territory, already monitors the situation on the ground very closely. It will be among the main beneficiaries of the NRTM platform, the Defense Ministry said. 

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US approves F-16 fighter jet sales to Turkey and Greece: State Department

The State Department on Friday approved the sale of dozens of new fighter jets to both Turkey and Greece.

According to the Defense Security Cooperation Agency, the State Department has agreed to sell 40 new F16 jets to Turkey. 

The agency has also agreed to sell Turkey's neighbor, Greece, 40 F-35 Joint Strike Fighter aircraft.

Congress was notified of the sale today, the Defense Security Cooperation Agency.

TURKEY APPROVES SWEDEN'S NATO MEMBERSHIP BID

Turkey will also make upgrades to 79 of its existing fleet.

The cost for Turkey is estimated to be valued at up to $23B, the agency said.

Greece's purchase is valued at up to $8.6B.

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Person taken hostage in southern Germany, but rescued unharmed

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BERLIN (AP) — A person was taken hostage in a cafe in the southern German city of Ulm on Friday night but was later rescued unharmed, police said.

GERMAN DEFENSE MINISTER SAYS COUNTRY IS NOT READY TO DEFEND ITSELF AGAINST RUSSIAN THREAT

At about 6:45 p.m. local time, an armed man reportedly took an individual hostage inside a Starbucks in the city center, police said. At 8:20 p.m., the suspect left the building with the hostage and tried to flee.

Officers fired shots as the assailant sought to escape and were able to arrest the suspect, police said in a statement. The hostage was unharmed.

Further details about the suspect and the victim were not immediately available.

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Venezuela’s highest court upholds ban on opposition presidential candidate

CARACAS, Venezuela (AP) — Venezuela’s highest court on Friday upheld a ban on running for office that the socialist-led government placed on Maria Corina Machado, a longtime government foe and the candidate of an opposition faction backed by the United States.

Machado, a former lawmaker, won the opposition’s independently run presidential primary in October with more than 90% of of the vote. Her victory came despite the government announcing a 15-year ban on her running for office just days after she formally entered the race in June.

BIDEN POLICIES DRIVING MASSIVE SURGE IN VENEZUELAN MIGRATION TO SOUTHERN BORDER, REPORT FINDS

She was able to participate in the primary election because the effort was organized by a commission independent of Venezuela’s electoral authorities.

Machado rejected the ban and had continued to campaign. She had argued that she never received an official notification of the ban, and insisted that voters were the rightful decision-makers of her candidacy.

Machado in December filed a claim with the Supreme Tribunal of Justice to confirm that the ban was null and void, and to pursue an injunction to protect her political rights.

Instead, the court ruled against her and upheld the ban.

Preventing Machado and other candidates from running would go against an agreement between the government of President Nicolas Maduro and U.S.-backed opposition figures last year.

The agreement signed by the opposing sides in October in the Caribbean island of Barbados prompted the U.S. government to ease some sanctions on Venezuela’s oil, gas, and mining industries.

However, the administration of U.S. President Joe Biden has threatened to reverse some of the relief if Maduro’s government fails to lift bans preventing Machado and others from holding office, and if it fails to release political prisoners and wrongfully detained U.S. citizens.

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Norwegian higher education official overseeing plagiarism crackdown resigns after thesis scrutinized

A Norwegian official who was charged with overseeing how to combat plagiarism, has resigned over reports that she copied her master's thesis from a decade ago.

Sandra Borch, Norway’s minister for research and higher education, stepped down last week after a business student in Oslo discovered that parts of her master’s thesis were copied without attribution from a different author, The Associated Press reported. 

Borch has admitted to plagiarizing parts of the thesis.

SLOVAKIA'S GOVERNMENT, LED BY FIERY CRITIC OF UKRAINE AND JOURNALISTS, SURVIVES MANDATORY CONFIDENCE VOTE

"When I wrote my master’s thesis around 10 years ago I made a big mistake," she told Norwegian news agency NTB. "I took text from other assignments without stating the sources." 

The student who outed Borch, 27-year-old Kristoffer Rytterager, got upset about the minister's zealous approach to punishing academic infractions.

Several students were acquitted in lower courts of self plagiarism, by which they lifted sections of their own previous work. Borch then took them to the country's supreme court. 

"Students were being expelled for self-plagiarism. I got angry, and I thought it was a good idea to check the minister’s own work," Rytterager told The Associated Press on Wednesday.

Norway Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Store said Borch’s actions were, "not compatible with the trust that is necessary to be minister of research and higher education."

Minister of Health and Care Services Ingvild Kjerkol is also accused of plagiarizing her thesis. She told news outlets that it "should not have happened" and was an honest mistake.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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Mexican military swarms popular American tourist spot amid crime surge

Mexican authorities are cracking down on surging crime in the popular tourist destination, Tulum, as authorities seek to create a "safer and calmer environment."

According to Tulum Mayor Diego Castañón Trejo, an additional 30 members of the Mexican Navy were added to the existing law enforcement presence in the bustling Caribbean coastal destination.

In a published report, Trejo said that the additional 30 military personnel will bring the current personnel up to more than 250.

Of the 250 current active military members providing law enforcement support in Tulum, nearly 100 of them are from the Navy, Trejo said.

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The news came after a Mexican tourist was shot and killed at a Tulum resort in April.

Authorities said that the tourist allegedly refused to hand over an expensive watch he was wearing, and was shot by the robbers.

In 2023, the U.S. State Department issued a travel alert warning travelers to "exercise increased caution," especially after dark, at beach resorts in Cancun, Playa del Carmen and Tulum, which have been plagued by drug gang violence in the past.

BORDER PATROL CATCHES 40 ILLEGAL MIGRANTS STUFFED INTO SEVERAL VEHICLES

In 2022, two Canadians were killed in Playa del Carmen, apparently because of debts between international drug and weapons trafficking gangs.

In 2021, in Tulum, two tourists — one a California travel blogger born in India and the other German — were killed when they apparently were caught in the crossfire of a gunfight between rival drug dealers.

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Rights group reports more arrests as Belarus intensifies crackdown on dissent

TALLINN, Estonia (AP) — A rights group on Thursday reported dozens more home raids and arrests across Belarus in the latest intensification of a years-long crackdown on dissent in the country of 9.5 million people.

The Viasna human rights center said it knew of at least 159 people targeted by searches and detentions in multiple Belarusian cities, including the capital, Minsk. Those targeted by authorities included relatives of jailed dissidents, journalists and others, it said.

BELARUS ARRESTS AT LEAST 64 IN LUKASHENKO REGIME'S LATEST ANTI-DISSIDENT CRACKDOWN

Leaders of Belarusian opposition have called the new wave of arrests, which is the biggest in recent months, "a blow to the solidarity within the country."

According to Viasna, there are 1,419 political prisoners now held in Belarus. Many of those detained Thursday and earlier in the week had been helping families of those jailed for political reasons.

Authoritarian President Alexander Lukashenko unleashed an unrelenting crackdown on dissent in August 2020, after an election the opposition and the West denounced as a sham gave him his sixth term in office.

The outcome of the vote triggered unprecedented mass protests that rocked the country for months. Belarusian authorities detained more than 35,000 demonstrators, with police and security forces brutally beating many. Thousands have fled the country, and dozens have been labeled extremists by authorities.

Many of those detained Thursday were reportedly involved with the INeedHelpBY project, which helps "provide food to political prisoners and others who find themselves in dire straits amid repressions." Officials have outlawed the project as extremist, which exposes anyone involved to prosecution and imprisonment of up to seven years.

INeedHelpBY activst Filip Hauryshau has urged people involved to leave the project's online chat and unfollow it on social media, saying authorities are seeking a list of those involved. INeedHelpBY reported the project has provided assistance worth of more than $1.5 million since 2020.

Arrests have been carried out by Belarus’ main security service, the KGB, and its officers demand those targeted and those who witness raids to sign a non-disclosure agreement, one such witness told The Associated Press on condition of anonymity out of fear of reprisals.

Viasna said security operatives also forcibly install spyware on the phones of those detained and their relatives, which allows the KGB to monitor closed chats of activists.

"The attack on the people and the initiatives, which in harsh conditions make sure Belarusians aren't left without help, aims for revenge for the solidarity, to destroy the support infrastructure, intimidate people involved in it," Viasna rights advocate Pavel Sapelka told AP.

The Belarusian Association of Journalists said that among those arrested was Aksana Yuchkovich, a journalist with the news outlet Catholic.By who was involved in helping families of political prisoners.

It said that in the western city of Drahichyn, authorities arrested Siarhei Gardzievich, a journalist who previously served 1 1/2 years in prison before being released in October 2022. In the eastern city of Vitebsk, journalist and rights advocate Barys Khamaida was arrested.

According to the association, authorities also launched a criminal investigation of 20 Belarusian analysts and pundits who live abroad, accusing them of conspiring to overthrow the government and "propaganda of extremism."

In a statement, Belarus opposition leader Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya said she was "shocked by the raids of the Belarusian regime on families of political prisoners."

Josep Borrell, the European Union's top diplomat, condemned the new wave of arrests, noting it is unfolding ahead of parliamentary elections in February.

Marie Struthers, Amnesty International’s director for Eastern Europe and Central Asia, said in a statement that the latest arrests represent "a new departure in the chilling campaign to exterminate all vestiges of dissent in Belarus since the disputed 2020 election."

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Hungary is the last holdout for Sweden's NATO membership. So when will Orbán follow Turkey's lead?

BUDAPEST, Hungary (AP) — With Turkey completing its ratification of Sweden's bid to join NATO, Hungary is the last member of the military alliance not to have given its approval.

After more than a year of delays, and consistent urging from its Western partners to move forward with Sweden's application, the Central European country and its conservative populist prime minister, Viktor Orbán, are once again in the spotlight.

ORBÁN COMPARES HUNGARY'S EU MEMBERSHIP TO SOVIET OCCUPATION IN FIERY SPEECH

Orbán has long promised that Hungary wouldn't be the last NATO member to ratify Sweden's request to join the alliance. Yet Monday's approval in Turkey's parliament has upended those guarantees, and others in the alliance are now asking: When will Budapest follow Ankara's lead?

Hungary's government, Orbán says, is in favor of bringing Sweden into NATO, but lawmakers in his governing Fidesz party remain unconvinced, offended by "blatant lies" from some Swedish politicians that have excoriated the quality of Hungary's democracy.

Yet Orbán's critics say that there is no such schism within his party, and that when it comes to Hungary's approval of Sweden's NATO membership, Orbán alone is in control.

While Turkey made a series of concrete demands from Sweden as preconditions for supporting its bid to join the alliance, Hungary's government — long under fire in the European Union for alleged breaches of democracy and rule-of-law standards — has expressed no such requirements, hinting only that it expects a greater degree of respect from Stockholm.

Hungary's opposition parties, which favor Sweden's membership in NATO, have made several attempts over the past year to schedule a vote on the matter. But lawmakers from the Fidesz party, which holds a two-thirds majority in parliament, have refused to lend their support.

Agnes Vadai, a lawmaker with Hungary’s opposition Democratic Coalition party and a former secretary of state in the Ministry of Defense, said that the opposition would once again seek to force a vote on Sweden's membership before parliament's next scheduled session in late February.

But there's "very little chance" that Orbán’s party will support the initiative, she said, adding that Hungary's intransigence on the issue is the prime minister's attempt to prove his weight on the international stage.

"It has nothing to do with Sweden now, it has nothing to do with Turkey now. It’s merely Orbán’s personal attitude," she said. "It shows that he's driven not by political rationale, but by personal vanity. There is no gain for Hungary in this game anymore, because it's a game that he's playing."

As Turkey's parliament prepared to vote on the ratification on Monday, Orbán announced that he'd sent a letter to Swedish Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson, inviting him to Budapest to negotiate on NATO membership.

Kristersson hasn't commented publicly on Orbán’s letter, but Swedish Foreign Minister Tobias Billström said that he saw "no reason" to negotiate with Hungary on the matter, noting that Budapest hasn't presented any conditions for accepting Sweden into the alliance.

On Tuesday, Orbán tweeted that he’d had a phone call with NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg in which he had "reaffirmed that the Hungarian government supports the NATO membership of Sweden," and that he would continue to urge his parliament to approve its bid.

But Dorka Takacsy, an analyst and research fellow at the Centre for Euro-Atlantic Integration and Democracy, said that Orbán's invitation to Kristersson showed that the fate of Sweden's NATO bid lies not in the hands of Hungarian lawmakers, but with Orbán himself.

Orbán's letter, she said, "dismantled the narrative that there was any dispute within the parliamentary group of Fidesz ... It simply points to the fact that it is Orbán, the prime minister himself, who manages this whole issue single-handedly."

Vadai, the opposition lawmaker, agreed.

"Anybody who believed that it’s in the hands of the governing party lawmakers was seriously mistaken," she said. "It’s the decision of Orbán and nobody else."

A vote on the protocols for Sweden's NATO accession hasn't yet appeared on the Hungarian parliament's agenda, and barring a surprise emergency session, the matter is unlikely to go before lawmakers until at least late February.

Hungary's delays, as well as Orbán's friendly relationship with Russian President Vladimir Putin, have frustrated other allies who want to expand the alliance and provide security guarantees to Sweden amid the war in Ukraine.

With such stakes, Vadai said that she worries Orbán's conduct on the international stage has damaged Hungary's relationship with its Western partners.

"He pushes Hungary to the very edge of NATO now, he's marginalizing my country," she said. "This is just a sin."

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Argentina's president faces 1-day general strike as foes seek to derail his austerity agenda

BUENOS AIRES, Argentina (AP) — Argentina’s libertarian President Javier Milei faced a one-day general strike Wednesday protesting his decree targeting unions as well as his proposals for economic and labor law changes, showing that his opponents are wasting no time in trying to derail his austerity agenda.

The biggest union, known by its acronym CGT, organized the strike and was joined by other unions. Strikers took to the streets in the capital, Buenos Aires, and other cities across the country, joined by social groups and political opponents, including the Peronist party that dominated national politics for decades.

ARGENTINA'S MILEI WARNS WEF TO REJECT SOCIALISM, SAYS 'WESTERN WORLD IS IN DANGER'

Until his presidential run, Milei, an economist, was known mostly for his televised screeds against the political caste, and he secured victory last year by a wide margin and took office just over a month ago. A self-declared "anarcho-capitalist," he pledged a drastic reduction in state spending aimed at shoring up a government budget deficit that he says is fueling red-hot inflation, which finished 2023 at 211%.

On Dec. 20, Milei issued a decree that would revoke or modify hundreds of existing laws so as to limit the power of unions and deregulate an economy featuring notoriously heavy state intervention. A court ruling has put the labor changes on hold. He also sent an omnibus bill to Congress that would enact sweeping reforms in the political, social, fiscal, legal, administrative and security fields.

As of early evening, Milei had yet to comment publicly on the strike, which was scheduled to end at midnight. It remained unclear whether it would amount to a speedbump to his agenda, or no obstacle at all.

While people have legitimate reasons to complain -- triple-digit inflation and a steep devaluation of Argentina's peso -- behind the scenes the main impetus for the strike was the president's drive to weaken union power, Buenos Aires-based analyst Sergio Berensztein said.

"For union leaders what is at stake is really a lot. If they don’t complain, their bargaining capacity is going to drop dramatically and their influence in politics is going to dwindle," Berensztein told The Associated Press in a phone interview. "Milei feels quite comfortable confronting these leaders. He’s still very popular; union leaders are unpopular."

The walkout was Argentina’s first general strike in more than four years, and it was also the quickest ever to be organized in a president’s term since the return of democracy in 1983, according to a review by local media outlet Infobae. Milei’s predecessor, center-left Alberto Fernández, did not face any general strikes.

"We’re going to lose more rights that we worked for," teacher Karina Villagra told AP in a plaza in front of Congress. "The militancy should be stronger than ever."

Milei won the runoff election with 56% of the votes, and in his inaugural address told Argentina that things would get worse before improving. Two separate polls this month show he retains support of more than half of respondents despite accelerating inflation and mass layoffs announced at state-owned firms.

Security Minister Patricia Bullrich on Wednesday accused strike organizers of being "mafiosos" bent on preventing the change Argentine voters chose, saying on the X platform that the action would not halt the administration’s progress. Milei's spokesperson, Manuel Adorni, said at a news conference, "One cannot dialogue with people who try to stop the country and show a rather antidemocratic side."

His labor decree would restrict the right to strike by essential workers in hospital services, education and transport, and create new mechanisms of compensation to make it easier to fire employees. It also would enable workers to pay private healthcare providers directly, rather than channeling those resources through unions, and so dries up a significant source of their revenue.

His administration warned in recent days that, as with a demonstration held in December, protesters would be prevented from engaging in the traditional practice of blocking roads and would be subject to arrest.

The stoppage began at midday, and banks, gas stations, public administration, public health officials and trash collection were operating on a limited basis. Airports remained open, although state-owned airline Aerolineas Argentinas canceled 267 flights and rescheduled others, disrupting travel plans for more than 17,000 passengers.

Public transportation workers were set to go on strike at 7 p.m. in Buenos Aires and surrounding areas, but planned to operate normally during the daytime to facilitate protesters' access to and from the plaza in front of Congress.

By Wednesday afternoon, tens of thousands of protesters had flooded in. Héctor Daer, CGT's secretary general, told the crowd from atop a stage that Milei's decree "destroys individual rights of workers, collective rights and seeks to eliminate the possibility of union action at a time in which we have great inequality in society."

Pablo Moyano, of the teamsters’ union, told them that "if they pass these measures of adjustment, of hunger, then the workers, retirees and the most humble people will put him (Economy Minister Luis Caputo) on their shoulders and throw him in the river."

Milei has said passage of his proposed omnibus bill would create the basis for economic stability and growth, reining in inflation and reducing poverty, which is punishing four in 10 Argentines. The bill’s content is being discussed in Congress' lower house, with a vote expected in coming days.

Berensztein, the analyst, said he expectes the bill to be watered down significantly before clearing the house, then move on to the Senate for another round of negotiations.

Benjamin Gedan, director of the Latin America program at the Wilson Center in Washington. said that while Milei is acting as though he has a clear mandate, many of his voters were rejecting Peronism rather than throwing full support behind his proposal for austerity.

Argentines have already been hit with a 30% increase in food costs in a single month, plus a surge in energy bills and transport fares.

"His capacity to keep the Argentine public on board will be tested and is being tested already, and that’s what you’re seeing right now," Gedan said, saying the president has "given opponents a lot of weapons because he has moved so quickly and dramatically" to address Argentina’s problems.

Gedan said a one-day strike isn't "an existential threat" for the Milei presidency, but added: "Really the question is if this is a sign of what’s to come."

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