Pakistan swears in new lawmakers as protests by ex-PM Imran Khan's supporters rage on

Pakistan's National Assembly swore in newly elected members of parliament on Thursday in a chaotic scene as allies of imprisoned former Prime Minister Imran Khan shouted and protested what they claim was a rigged election.

Lawmakers from Khan's Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf party repeatedly chanted "Vote-thief!" as Shehbaz Sharif, who's expected to form the next government, entered the parliament with his brother Nawaz Sharif. Both men are former premiers.

Outgoing National Assembly Speaker Raja Pervez Ashraf administered the oath to incoming legislators at noon.

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The parliament will elect a new prime minister on Sunday, with Shehbaz Sharif facing only one rival in the vote — senior leader Omar Ayub of Khan's PTI.

Ayab, like other lawmakers backed by Khan — who was barred from running in the Feb. 8 election — joined the Sunni Ittehad Council to meet a legal requirement to sit in the legislature as PTI was barred from the ballot under its official name and its candidates had to contest the election as independents.

The house echoed with chants of "Long Live Sharif!" when the Sharif brothers signed the register after taking their oaths of office. Bilawal Bhutto Zardari, the young chairman of the Pakistan People’s Party and a key Sharif ally, was met with similar chants.

The new government will face challenges, including a surge in militant attacks and shortages of energy — as well as an ailing economy that will force Pakistan to seek another bailout from the International Monetary Fund.

Lawmakers from Khan's PTI told reporters that they will continue their campaign, both inside and outside the parliament, to protest the rigging of the election and the vote count .

"Yes, the election has been rigged," insisted Gohar Ali Khan, the current head of PTI.

PTI has called for nationwide rallies on Saturday. The party claims its results were changed in dozens of constituencies to prevent it from winning a majority, a charge the Election Commission of Pakistan denies.

The election was held against the backdrop of multiple deadly militant attacks, and the U.S. State Department later criticized the authorities for restricting freedom of expression, association and peaceful assembly. Authorities imposed a mobile services outage on election day.

The European Union also criticized the inability of some political actors to contest the elections. Pakistan’s Foreign Ministry has fired back at such criticism, saying the vote was held in a free, fair and transparent manner.

None of the foreign observers who were monitoring the election described widespread vote-stealing.

Sharif’s Pakistan Muslim League party, or PML-N, and Pakistan People’s Party of former President Asif Ali Zardari, emerged as the largest presence in the 336-seat National Assembly, or lower house of the parliament.

Under a power-sharing formula, Sharif's party will support Zardari in next month's presidential elections. Outgoing President Arif Alvi is an ally of Khan and was a senior member of PTI before becoming president.

Khan is currently serving prison terms in multiple cases and has been barred from seeking or holding office. He has been convicted on charges of corruption, revealing official secrets and violating marriage laws in three separate verdicts and sentenced to concurrent prison terms of 10, 14 and 7 years.

Khan claims the cases are politically motivated and engineered to keep him from returning to power and is appealing all the convictions. He still faces some 170 legal cases on charges ranging from corruption to inciting violence and terrorism.

On Wednesday, the PTI wrote a letter to the IMF, urging it to link any talks with Islamabad to an audit of the Feb. 8 election, which the party alleges was rigged. This comes days before the IMF releases a key installment of a bailout loan to Pakistan.

The letter has drawn widespread criticism from Khan's rivals, including Sharif, who said the former cricket star turned Islamist politician wanted to harm the country's economy.

Under his previous term as prime minister, Shehbaz Sharif — who replaced Khan after his ouster in a no-confidence vote in parliament in April 2022 — had struggled to avoid a default on foreign payments last summer when the IMF approved the much-awaited $3 billion.

Sharif has said he will seek a new IMF bailout after the end of March, when the current one expires.

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Haitian leader heads to Kenya in hopes of reviving anti-gang police force plans

Haiti's prime minister arrived Thursday in Kenya to try to salvage a plan to have the African country deploy 1,000 police officers to the troubled Caribbean nation to help combat gang violence.

Kenya agreed in October to lead a U.N.-authorized international police force to Haiti, but the Kenyan High Court in January ruled the plan unconstitutional in part because of a lack of "reciprocal agreements" between the two countries.

The office of Haitian Prime Minister Ariel Henry said he was traveling at the invitation of Kenyan President William Ruto to "finalize modalities" for agreements between the countries on the deployment, which would send 1,000 Kenyan police officers to Haiti.

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It was not immediately clear how, or if, the agreements could circumvent the court’s ruling, which also said that Kenya's National Police Service cannot be deployed outside the country.

Ruto and Henry met Thursday at the State House in Nairobi.

Ruto said in a post on X, formerly Twitter, that Kenya associates itself with the people of Haiti because of a common heritage. "We are offering the experience and expertise of our police" for the proposed Multinational Security Support Mission in Haiti, Ruto said.

Ekuru Aukot, an opposition leader who has challenged the deployment in court, has said that even if the Kenyan government establishes an appropriate agreement with Haiti, its prime minister lacks the legitimacy to sign the document on behalf of the country.

Henry has repeatedly pledged to hold elections since being sworn in as prime minister and interim president after the July 2021 assassination of President Jovenel Moïse, but he and other officials say gang violence has not allowed them to move forward on those promises.

Caribbean leaders said late Wednesday that Henry has agreed to hold general elections by mid-2025.

Aukot says he also opposes the deployment because Kenya is facing security challenges that require police intervention. Among them are the Somali-based al-Qaida-linked extremist group al-Shabab who have been carrying out retaliatory attacks since 2011 on Kenya for sending its troops to Somalia to fight the militants. He also has cited high rates of crime, including cattle rustling in Kenya's northwest.

Human rights groups also have noted that the Kenyan police have been implicated for years in human rights abuses, including extra-judicial executions.

In Haiti, gangs have grown more powerful and political instability has increased since the assassination of President Moïse, who had faced protests calling for his resignation over corruption charges and claims that his five-year term had expired.

More than 8,400 people were reported killed, injured or kidnapped in Haiti in 2023 — more than double the number reported in 2022. The gangs continue to fight over territory, and are estimated to control up to 80% of Port-au-Prince.

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Bangladesh mall fire kills at least 43

A fire at a six-story shopping mall in the Bangladeshi capital overnight killed at least 43 people and injured dozens of others, the health minister said Friday.

Health Minister Samanta Lal Sen said the fire broke out late Thursday in the building in Dhaka’s downtown area. Firefighters rescued survivors and pulled out bodies, and by early Friday, at least 43 people died and at least 22 others were being treated, he said.

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Firefighters said the fire began in a popular restaurant on the first floor of the mall in a busy commercial district at the heart of the capital, and that many people were trapped by the fire.

The cause of the fire could not immediately be determined.

Sen said at least 33 people, including women and children, were declared dead at the Dhaka Medical College Hospital, while at least 10 others died after being taken to the Sheikh Hasina National Institute of Burn and Plastic Surgery.

More than a dozen firefighting units were deployed to douse the fire that broke out at the Green Cozy Cottage Shopping Mall, said Fire Service and Civil Defense Director General Brig. Gen. Md. Main Uddin.

At 75 people, including 42 who were unconscious, were rescued from the building, rescuers said.

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State in Brazil's Amazon rainforest reports over 2,000 wildfires in past month

The Brazilian state of bra in the Amazon rainforest has been hit with more than 2,000 fires in February, according to data released Thursday by the state space agency.

The National Institute for Space Research, known by its Portuguese acronym INPE, said that satellite sensors detected the blazes between Feb. 1 and Feb. 28. It wasn’t immediately clear how much land was burned in that period in Roraima, the South American country's northernmost state.

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The number of fires was far above the monthly average of 376, and the second-highest registered in a single month since INPE began collecting data in mid-1998.

The smoke has clogged the air of entire cities in the 77,220-square-mile state, as it did in Manaus and other Amazon cities late last year. Fires are also burning down forest inside the Yanomami Indigenous Territory, Júnior Hekurari, president of the Yanomami local health council, told The Associated Press.

Fires in the Amazon are almost always deliberately set, to improve cattle pasture or burn recently-felled trees once they are dry. The fires often burn out of control and reach pristine areas of forest.

But experts say El Niño, a natural and temporary warming of part of the Pacific, along with the warming of northern tropical Atlantic waters, likely contributed to the current situation.

Earlier this month, the heightened risk of forest fires prompted President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva to declare a state of environmental emergency in several regions. It reduces cumbersome administrative procedures, allowing authorities, for example, to speed up hiring processes or extend contracts without due process.

The Amazon was hit by a historic drought last year, with eight Brazilian states recording the lowest rainfall in the July-September period in more than 40 years.

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Greek transit system thwarted by strikes, protests on deadly train wreck's anniversary

Widespread strikes in Greece halted trains, ferries and much of the capital's public transport on Wednesday in protests timed to coincide with the first anniversary of the country's deadliest rail crash, which killed 57 people.

The train disaster on the night of Feb. 28, 2023 shocked the country. Many of the victims were university students heading back to class after a public holiday when their passenger train slammed into an oncoming cargo train after the two were accidentally put onto the same track heading in opposite directions.

Wednesday’s strike disrupted public transport in the capital, Athens, and left ferries tied up in ports as unions pressed demands to further dismantle wage controls imposed during Greece's near decade-long financial crisis. Flights were unaffected after a court ruled that participation in the walk-out by air traffic controllers was illegal. Farmers and university students have also been staging anti-government protests in recent weeks.

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At the scene of the rail crash in Tempi, central Greece, relatives of the victims gathered for a memorial service as churches across the country tolled their bells 57 times Wednesday morning to honor the dead.

"This is a pain that will never end, a wound that will never heal," said Panos Routsi, whose 22-year-old son, Denis, was killed.

He said he supported a petition that has gathered hundreds of thousands of signatures to strip parliamentary immunity from lawmakers responsible for rail safety when the collision occurred.

"What I want is for them all to be (punished), all those responsible wherever they are hiding, hiding behind immunity," he said.

Flowers and candles were placed at the rail crash site, along with a banner reading: "Unpunished crime in Tempi, the souls demand justice."

"I thought I was putting my children onto the safest form of transport and they were driven to their deaths," said Nikos Plakias, who lost his 19-year-old twin daughters and one niece in the crash. Those responsible "knew the problems and they said nothing."

In the capital, protesters gathered outside Parliament chanting "murderers, murderers," while thousands of demonstrators, some holding up flares and red helium-filled balloons, gathered outside the headquarters of the country's rail operator. Some spray-painted the slogan "Our Lives" in front of a riot police cordon backed with a water cannon truck.

The rallies halted traffic in much of the capital. Scuffles broke out between police and protesters in the capital and in similar protests in Thessaloniki, the country's second-largest city, where riot police fired tear gas and stun grenades to repel demonstrators throwing paint, stones and Molotov cocktails.

Protest organizers disputed government assurances that rail safety had been comprehensively overhauled in the past 12 months.

In a statement marking the anniversary of the disaster, Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis said an ongoing judicial investigation into the crash has the government’s full support and cooperation.

"On this sad anniversary we bow our heads in memory of the 57 innocent people we lost and the ordeal of those wounded," he said. "Our thoughts are with families, who have every right to turn their pain into protest."

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French President Macron to inaugurate Olympic village in disadvantaged area transformed for Paris Games

When French President Emmanuel Macron inaugurates the Olympic village on Thursday, he will see a formerly run-down area transformed into an international hub for the Paris Games.

The village sits in the suburb of Saint-Denis, known in the sports world as the home to the Stade de France where France's national soccer and rugby teams play. But the area itself is one of France's poorest, and it saw rioting last year after a police officer fatally shot a teenager of north African descent in another Paris suburb.

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The July 26-Aug. 11 Paris Games and the Aug. 28-Sept. 8 Paralympics that follow may help raise prospects and leave a lasting legacy — for locals and for the environment.

Building the eco-friendly village led to nearly 2,000 jobs being created, with 1,136 going to local residents.

It will be Macron’s first visit to the site since October 2021. Thursday's inauguration sees the construction company of Paris Olympic venues, Solideo, handing over the village keys to Paris Games organizers.

The village cost about $2.2 billion, most of it investment by property developers but also including $700 million from public funds.

Here’s a look at some of the village's key aspects.

More than 14,000 athletes and officials will lodge here for the Olympics and 9,000 for the Paralympics.

A total of 45,000 keys will be handed over on March 1 and athletes start arriving on July 12.

There will be five residential areas, each named after a well-known area of Paris: Abbesses, Bastille, Dauphine, Étoile, Fêtes.

Apartments vary in size but hold a maximum of eight people, with two people per room and one bathroom per four people.

Beds are made from cardboard yet can withstand a maximum weight of around 550 pounds.

They were designed for the Tokyo Games, and village director Laurent Michaud says they will be recycled after the Paris Games to "give them another life."

The raised height of the beds also helps Paralympians.

"The people in wheelchairs can actually make the transfer from the wheelchair to the bed quite easily," Michaud told The AP. "Same thing for the accessibility of the nightstand and the height of the electric plugs, (which are) higher than usual."

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As a bonus, athletes can keep their reversible duvet: blue side for the Olympics, green for the Paralympics.

How to feed so many athletes from so many places at all hours?

Well, the main dining hall is open 24/7, seats 3,260 people and serves 40,000 meals daily.

Executive chef Charles Guilloy calls it "welcoming the world to our table."

French and Asian cuisine, as well as Caribbean and African food, are catered for, along with other options.

"The restaurant is where the heart of the village is," Guilloy told The AP. "It’s also a real place for sharing, and cooking is a moment of sharing."

There is another, smaller restaurant located on L’Île-Saint-Denis, which also houses athletes and is linked by a bridge.

Since construction began a little more than three years ago, there have been 28 serious injuries to laborers across all of the Olympic sites with no fatalities, Solideo's chief operating officer Yann Krysinski said.

"Of course, that's way too many, but that's a lot less than we expected according to the statistics of the field," Krysinski told The AP on site. "We met with the CEOs of all the construction companies to make sure they would provide the safest conditions possible."

Reducing the carbon footprint was a goal in choosing to use natural materials and resources.

"Most of the buildings have either the structure or the flooring made out of wood," Krysinski said.

Naturally cold water from 70 meters deep will be circulated in the flooring of the buildings to reduce the temperature in the apartments — most welcome in stifling August heat, and especially with no air conditioning due to environmental concerns.

After both the Games, 6,000 people will use the apartments in a new residential area. It will feature two schools, an anti-noise wall to shield it from a busy highway, bike lanes to Paris, and a new bridge crossing the Seine River.

Office space will also be used by 6,000 workers.

To help burn off excess calories from the giant canteen, a main fitness center holds more than 350 machines and two saunas, which can also help athletes control their weight.

There will be seven other training sites dedicated to specific disciplines like weightlifting, modern pentathlon, fencing and wheelchair basketball.

There’s also an onsite hospital and an anti-doping center.

To get around the village, 200 bikes are available as well as electric shuttles.

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At a multi-purpose meeting point called Village Plaza, athletes can get a coffee, a haircut, shop for groceries, post a letter, withdraw cash, or watch the Games live on a giant screen.

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UK arrests another Bulgarian national in Russian espionage scheme

British authorities on Tuesday charged another Bulgarian national living in England with conspiring with five other compatriots to spy for Russia.

The group of six, who are all in custody, are alleged to be part of a network conducting surveillance on behalf of Russia. Much of the activity took place abroad, but coordination took place in the U.K., prosecutors said.

Tihomir Ivanchev, 38, was scheduled to appear in court Wednesday on a charge of conspiracy to conduct espionage between August 2020 and February 2023.

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He lived in west London, according to the Metropolitan Police.

The five other Bulgarians — three men and two women — were arrested last year on an identical charge of "conspiring to collect information intended to be directly or indirectly useful to an enemy," namely Russia.

The suspects were accused of conspiring with Jan Marsalek, an Austrian national who is not charged in the case, and "others unknown."

Marsalek was the former chief operating officer of German payment systems provider Wirecard, which collapsed in 2020 in a fraud scandal. Marsalek, considered a key figure in that scandal, has been on the run since the summer of 2020 and his whereabouts are unknown.

The other five — Orlin Roussev, 46, Bizer Dzhambazov, 42, Katrin Ivanova and Ivan Stoyanov, both 32, and Vanya Gaberova, 29 — face a trial in October estimated to last four months.

Roussev, Dzhambazov, and Ivanova had previously been arrested in February on suspicion of having false identification documents. During a court appearance in July, prosecutors said they had 34 ID documents, some of which were suspected to be false, from the U.K., Bulgaria, France, Italy, Spain, Croatia, Slovenia, Greece and the Czech Republic.

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Kosovo sentences 2 ethnic Serbs to 6 months each for attacking NATO peacekeepers

A Kosovo court on Tuesday sentenced two ethnic Serbs to six-month jail terms for attacking NATO-led peacekeepers a year ago.

But one of them will be released for time served, and the other can avoid jail time if he pays a 6,000 euro ($6,500) fine.

Local media named them as Radosh Petrovic and Dusan Obrenovic, who had attacked KFOR troops in Zvecan, a municipality in Kosovo’s north, where most of the ethnic Serb minority lives.

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In May, in a dispute over the validity of local elections in the Serbian minority-dominated part of northern Kosovo, Serbs clashed with security forces, including NATO-led KFOR peacekeepers working there, injuring 93 troops.

In September, a Kosovo police officer and three Serb gunmen were killed in a shootout after about 30 masked men opened fire on a police patrol near the Kosovo village of Banjska.

Serbia doesn’t recognize Kosovo’s formal declaration of independence in 2008. Both countries want to join the European Union, which is mediating a dialogue between the former foes. Brussels has warned both that refusal to compromise jeopardizes their chances of joining the bloc.

In 1999, a 78-day NATO bombing campaign ended a war between Serbian government forces and ethnic Albanian separatists in Kosovo. Serbian forces were pushed out but Belgrade still considers it a Serbian province.

The EU's brokered negotiations between Serbia and Kosovo to normalize their relations have showed slow progress, while occasional violence has fueled fears of instability in the Balkans as Russia's full-scale war rages in Ukraine.

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Former Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro under investigation for allegedly harassing a humpback whale

Former Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro is under investigation for having allegedly "harassed" a humpback whale while riding a personal watercraft off Sao Paulo's coast last year.

Bolsonaro appeared at the federal police in Sao Paulo on Tuesday to meet with officers, along with his lawyer and former adviser who was also present at the time of the alleged incident.

The investigation is just one of the many legal headaches the former far-right leader is facing. Since leaving office a year ago, Bolsonaro has been banned from running for office until 2030, investigated for plotting a coup to remove his successor from power and stripped of his passport.

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In a June 2023 video that circulated on social media, a man is seen riding a personal watercraft close to a whale, seemingly recording the encounter with a cellphone. Federal prosecutors, who are also investigating the case, said the man appeared to be Bolsonaro.

Under Brazilian legislation, motored vessels must keep a minimum distance of 100 meters from whales and other cetaceans. Any intentional attempt to get closer can lead to a sentence of up to two to five years in prison and a fine.

The man on the personal watercraft seemed to be about 15 meters from the animal, prosecutors said last year.

For Bolsonaro's large base, the case is yet another example that their former leader is being politically persecuted — an argument he has often made since leaving office.

Last week, officers in the capital, Brasilia, questioned Bolsonaro for allegedly plotting a coup, in an attempt to remove his successor, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, from power. Bolsonaro, whose passport was seized in a previous police operation, chose to remain silent.

Supreme Court documents show that investigators believe that Bolsonaro and some of his aides, including former ministers and top military advisers, prepared a decree that would have declared the 2022 election vote fraudulent, had Bolsonaro lost the election to his leftist opponent, Lula.

The decree also planned for the arrest of a Supreme Court justice and the convening of a new election. Bolsonaro lost, but the decree was never issued, and the alleged plan was never set into action.

Bolsonaro was also ruled ineligible to run for office until 2030 by a panel of judges, who concluded that he had abused his power and cast unfounded doubts on the country’s electronic voting system.

Last year, Bolsonaro, his wife and close aides had to face investigators' questions in yet another case, after an attempt to sneak in diamond jewelry reportedly worth $3 million and the sale of two luxury watches Bolsonaro received as gifts from Saudi Arabia while in office.

Police are also investigating the nation’s intelligence agency and alleged spying on Bolsonaro’s political opponents during his term, which ended in December 2022.

Bolsonaro has denied any wrongdoing.

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Legal experts say that if police can prove that Bolsonaro intentionally approached the whale, he risked a fine at most. According to online news site G1, a local politician found guilty on similar charges and in the same location was fined 2,500 reais (just over $500).

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Study shows 2023 had high Atlantic ocean heat and low Antarctic sea ice

Off the charts "crazy" heat in the North Atlantic ocean and record-smashing Antarctic sea ice lows last year are far more severe than what Earth’s supposed to get with current warming levels. They are more like what happens at twice this amount of warming, a new study said.

The study’s main author worries that it’s a "harbinger of what’s coming in the next decades" and it’s got him not just concerned, but wondering why those two climate indicators were so beyond what was expected.

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A study in the Bulletin of the American Meteorological Society charted the North Atlantic sea temperature and the Antarctic sea ice halfway across the globe against long-accepted computer simulations. Sea ice levels that low and North Atlantic temperatures that much above normal are supposed to occur regularly in a world that has warmed 5.4 degrees Fahrenheit since pre-industrial times.

But that’s not where Earth is right now.

Last year, a record hot year by far, the world was 2.66 degrees Fahrenheit warmer than pre-industrial times, according to the European climate agency Copernicus. And over the long-term of decades, which is what scientists use, the world is at about 2.2 degrees Fahrenheit warmer than normal.

"The climate of 2023 with all the disasters, you know, with all the wildfires in Canada and all the flooding events in Europe and everything, you can interpret this as, this what we will have every year. Year after year after year in the 3-degree world," said study author Till Kuhlbrodt, a climate scientist at the National Center for Atmospheric Sciences and the University of Reading in England. "You don’t want to go there."

That’s still a few decades away, he said.

It leads to the big question of why or how did this happen last year?

At best it’s a "freak event" on top of a strong El Nino that changes weather patterns worldwide and when that ends things return to near what now passes for normal, Kuhlbrodt said.

"If it’s not like that, and the North Atlantic stays in this crazy area," then the northern hemisphere is in deep trouble, Kuhlbrodt said. "And then it’s absolutely essential to find out why this is happening and how bad it’s gonna get."

Kuhlbrodt looked at 2023 temperature levels in the North Atlantic. Last week the anomaly – or difference above the 1991-2020 average – was "so far out of whack" that it was the type of event that it would randomly happen only once in 284,000 years, said University of Miami tropical scientist Brian McNoldy, who wasn't part of the study.

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Next week or so, the North Atlantic will have gone a full year of non-stop, record-breaking sea surface temperatures, McNoldy said, adding "it’s not just record-breaking, it’s blowing past records."

In the last few weeks, Antarctic sea ice has returned to hovering at or just below record low levels, but not as off the charts as before, Kuhlbrodt said.

Kuhlbrodt and several other outside scientists said it’s not climate computer simulations that are off because they are working elsewhere and have proven right over time. Though they could be underestimating impacts of warming, they said.

So that leaves Kuhlbrodt and others wondering if it’s a sign of the acceleration of warming or if some kind of other factor connects the North Atlantic and Antarctic effects.

"There is no doubt that the impacts (of warming) are accelerating and much more visible than they were in the past," said University of Arizona climate scientist Kathy Jacobs, who wasn’t part of the study.

Saying these two conditions provide a glimpse of 3-degree world is not the same as saying conditions across the globe now are a preview of that hotter world, just a few places, Jacobs said in an email.

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French climate scientist Valerie Masson-Delmotte, who wasn’t part of the study said the Antarctic sea ice and hotter North Atlantic "show how with ongoing warming we are entering into uncharted territory and we need to anticipate and better prepare for these (low likelihood, but high impact) outcomes."

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Israeli airstrike kills 2 people deep inside Lebanon, Hezbollah responds with 60 rockets

Israel launched airstrikes Monday deep into Lebanon, killing at least two people, prompting the terror group to responded by firing 60 rockets towards the Jewish state. 

The Israeli attack came in response after Iran-backed Hezbollah shot down an Israeli drone hours earlier. Israeli warplanes struck Lebanon's Bekaa Valley, its deepest attack into the territory of its northern neighbor. 

Hezbollah responded by firing 60 Katyusha rockets at an Israeli army headquarters in the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights, near Syria.

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The attacks marked an escalation in violence between heavily armed Hezbollah and Israel since their 2006 war, which has fueled concerns of a potential regional spillover of the Gaza war.

The strike on Baalbek, because of its location deep inside Lebanon, is the most significant one since the early January airstrike on Beirut that killed top Hamas official Saleh Arouri.

As it battles Hamas in the Gaza Strip, Israeli forces have also had to contend with strikes from Hezbollah on its northern front since Hamas terrorists attacked Israeli communities on Oct. 7. 

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Hezbollah and Hamas are allies. Both are backed by Iran.

Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant has vowed to step up attacks on Hezbollah even if a cease-fire is reached with Hamas in the Gaza Strip. He said those who think a temporary cease-fire for Gaza will also apply to the northern front are "mistaken."

Hezbollah's deputy leader Shiekh Naim Kassem warned in a speech Monday that the group has many more weapons to use if Israel expands the war.

"If the Israelis go too far, we will retaliate more. All what we have used until now in the fighting is the minimum of what we own," he said in a reference to Hezbollah's huge arsenal including precision-guided missiles and explosive drones.

The Associated press contributed to this report. 

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Senegal's president estimates coming election date as postponement plans fall through

Senegal's President Macky Sall told a national dialogue Monday that elections will be held before the rainy season begins around July, and reiterated his commitment to leave office before his mandate ends in April.

But the election's 16 candidates refused to take part in the dialogue, insisting that an election date must be set as soon as possible in line with a court order earlier this month.

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Sall, who has said he wouldn’t run again after his two terms in office, had postponed the election for 10 months while citing unresolved disputes over who could run. Senegal’s Constitutional Court struck down the delay as illegal.

The court on Feb. 15 ordered the government to set a new election date as soon as possible, but Sall’s government still hasn’t done so.

The national dialogue is intended to foster trust among the population and political actors and includes civil society members and religious leaders.

"Dialogue and consultation are precisely what is needed to heal these weaknesses and move forward in the quest for the ideal of democracy," Sall said.

Senegal had been seen as one of Africa’s most stable democracies, but disputes over the election have plunged the country into a political crisis.

In another attempt to calm the West African nation, the president said he would submit a general amnesty law addressing the sometimes deadly protests in which hundreds of people were jailed.

It was unclear who would benefit from the amnesty law and if leading opposition political figures like Ousmane Sonko would benefit. Sonko is in jail and barred from running in the election. He is charged with calling for an insurrection and convicted of "corrupting youth."

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Case potentially containing Wayne Gretzky rookie cards sells for nearly $4M at auction

A case of old hockey cards possibly containing the game’s Great One has fetched more than $3.7 million after it was discovered in a Regina home.

WATCH MELTED IN HIROSHIMA BLAST SELLS FOR OVER $30K AT AUCTION

Heritage Auctions says the winning bidder bought the case of 16 sealed boxes of O-Pee-Chee’s 1979 hockey card collection, amounting to more than 10,000 cards. The auctioneer says the case could include 25 or more highly coveted Wayne Gretzky rookie cards.

A man in Regina had kept the case in a packed storage room. The auctioneer says the longtime collector asked to remain anonymous.

A company spokesperson has said he doesn’t expect the winning bidder will open the boxes, as they are rarer than the rookie cards.

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South Korean doctors given 4 days to return to work before facing indictments, medical license suspensions

Junior doctors in South Korea have four days to end their walkouts, the government said Monday, or they could face prosecution or have their medical licenses suspended.

About 9,000 medical interns and residents have stayed off the job since early last week to protest a government plan to increase medical school admissions by about 65%. The walkouts have severely hurt the operations of their hospitals, with numerous cancellations of surgeries and other treatments.

Government officials say adding more doctors is necessary to deal with South Korea’s rapidly aging population. The country’s current doctor-to-patient ratio is among the lowest in the developed world.

SOUTH KOREAN GOVERNMENT WARNS THOUSANDS OF STRIKING DOCTORS TO RETURN TO WORK OR FACE LEGAL ACTION

The strikers say universities can’t handle so many new students and argue the plan would not resolve a chronic shortage of doctors in some key but low-paying areas like pediatrics and emergency departments.

Vice Health Minister Park Min-soo said during a televised briefing Monday that the government won’t seek any disciplinary action against striking doctors if they return to work by Thursday.

"We want them to return to work by the end of this month, Feb. 29. If they return to the hospitals they had left by then, we won’t hold them responsible" for any damages caused by their walkouts, Park said. "It’s not too late. Please, return to patients immediately."

MASS WALKOUT OF SOUTH KOREAN DOCTORS LEADS TO SURGERY BACKUP

But he said those who don’t meet the deadline will be punished with a minimum three-month suspension of their medical licenses and face further legal steps such as investigations and possible indictments.

Under South Korea’s medical law, the government can issue back-to-work orders to doctors and other medical personnel when it sees grave risks to public health. Refusing to abide by such an order can bring suspensions of their licenses and up to three years in prison or $22,480 in fines. Those who receive prison sentences would be stripped of their medical licenses.

Hyeondeok Choi, a partner at the law firm Daeryun which specializes in medical law, said it’s highly unlikely the government will suspend the licenses of all doctors on strike, as that would cause "an enormous medical vacuum." Other observers said authorities would likely punish strike leaders.

There are about 13,000 medical interns and residents in South Korea, most of them working and training at 100 hospitals. They typically assist senior doctors during surgeries and deal with inpatients. They represent about 30% to 40% of total doctors at some major hospitals.

The Korea Medical Association, which represents about 140,000 doctors in South Korea, has said it supports the striking doctors, but hasn’t determined whether to join the trainee doctors’ walkouts. Senior doctors have held a series of rallies voicing opposition to the government’s plan in recent days.

Earlier this month, the government announced universities would admit 2,000 more medical students starting next year, from the current 3,058. The government says it aims to add up to 10,000 doctors by 2035.

Striking doctors have said they worry doctors faced with increased competition would engage in overtreatment, burdening public medical expenses.

A public survey showed that about 80% of South Koreans back the plan. Critics suspect doctors, one of the best-paid professions in South Korea, oppose the recruitment plan because they worry they would face greater competition and lower incomes.

SOUTH KOREAN DOCTORS RALLY AGAINST GOVERNMENT PLAN TO INCREASE MEDICAL STUDENT QUOTA

Park said the country’s medical service for emergency and critical patients remain stable, with public medical facilities extending their working hours and military hospitals opening emergency rooms to ordinary patients. But local media reported that an octogenarian suffering a cardiac arrest was declared dead last Friday after seven hospitals turned her away citing a lack of medical staff or other reasons likely related to the walkouts.

Hwang Byung-tae, a 55-year-old laryngeal cancer patient, said he has regularly visited a Seoul hospital for treatment for four years. Last week, he said he had to leave the hospital without receiving an anti-cancer injection because of the walkouts.

Hwang accused both the government and doctors of holding the lives of patients hostage. "It’s patients like me who end up suffering and dying, not them," Hwang said.

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Germany moves forward with plan to enable use of underground carbon storage technology

Germany plans to enable underground carbon storage at offshore sites, pushing ahead with a much-discussed technology in an acknowledgment that time is running out to combat climate change, the country's vice chancellor said Monday.

Europe's biggest economy is making good progress with expanding renewable energy sources and usage, but a solution is needed for the carbon dioxide emitted by some sectors such as the cement industry that are "hard to abate," said Robert Habeck, who is also the economy and climate minister.

Germany, which is home to many energy-intensive industries, aims to cut its emissions to "net zero" by 2045.

GERMANY WORKING ON LEGISLATION TO ENABLE USE OF UNDERGROUND CARBON STORAGE TECHNOLOGY

Habeck's proposed "carbon management strategy," which still needs to be turned into detailed legislation, foresees enabling the transport of carbon dioxide and its storage under the sea in Germany's exclusive economic zone, except in marine conservation areas. It doesn't foresee allowing storage sites on land, but Habeck said that could be considered later if German state governments approve.

Opponents maintain that so-called carbon capture and storage is unproven at scale and has been less effective than alternatives such as solar and wind at decarbonizing the energy sector.

Habeck, a member of the environmentalist Green party, recalled opposition to carbon storage when it was discussed in the 2000s. But he said "the technology has been developed further ... and from my point of view it is mature and safe," and that it is now being used elsewhere, not just in research projects.

Neighboring Denmark last year launched an ambitious project that aims to bury vast amounts of carbon dioxide beneath the North Sea.

"Time has run out," Habeck said at a news conference in Berlin. "In the 2000s, you could perhaps say, ‘let’s wait and see what might happen'; today we see that we haven't found any technological solution for cement and other areas that ensures climate neutrality."

"We are heading toward exceeding 1.5 degrees, which means that we are no longer in a luxury or comfort zone where we can somehow wait," Habeck added. "We have to use what we have."

He was referencing the international goal of trying to limit future warming to 2.7 degrees Fahrenheit since pre-industrial times.

GERMANY UNLIKELY TO MEET ITS GREENHOUSE GAS CUTBACK GOALS BY 2030 WITH CURRENT CLIMATE MEASURES

Stopping warming at 1.5 C or so can avoid or at least lessen some of the most catastrophic future climate change harms and for some people is a life-or-death matter, scientists have found in many reports.

Habeck said it will be "a few years" before Germany can store CO2 under the sea, and that it would be wise to coordinate European initiatives. As well as the Danish project, he pointed to Norway, the Netherlands and the United Kingdom.

Environmental group Greenpeace complained that the German plans "bear the mark of the energy industry and heavy industry" and would allow even industries for which there are "climate-friendly solutions" to carry on as they have to date.

"That is expensive, not sustainable and encumbers future generations with further long-term liabilities," Karsten Smid, an energy expert with the group's German branch, said in a statement.

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Palestinian prime minister submits government's resignation to President Abbas

Palestinian Prime Minister Mohammad Shtayyeh announced Monday that he submitted his government's resignation to President Mahmoud Abbas.

"I submitted the government’s resignation to President Mahmoud Abbas on February 20, 2024, and today I submit it in writing," Shtayyeh said at a news conference via the Palestinian News & Info Agency.

Abbas must still decide whether to accept Shtayyeh and his government’s resignation, but the move signals a willingness by the Western-backed Palestinian leadership to accept a shake-up that could lead to reforms viewed as necessary to revitalize the Palestinian Authority.

The U.S. seeks a reformed Palestinian Authority to govern Gaza once the war between Israeli forces and Hamas terrorists is over.

US SERVICE MEMBER SETS HIMSELF ON FIRE OUTSIDE ISRAELI EMBASSY IN DC

The prime minister said this decision "comes in light of the political, security, and economic developments related to the aggression against Palestinian people in the Gaza Strip, and the unprecedented escalation in the West Bank, including the city of Jerusalem."

"It comes in light of what Palestinian people, our Palestinian cause, and our political system are facing from a ferocious and unprecedented attack, genocide, attempts at forced displacement, starvation in Gaza, intensification of colonialism, colonizers’ terrorism, and repeated invasions of camps, villages, and cities in Jerusalem and the West Bank. Its re-occupation, unprecedented financial strangulation, attempts to liquidate the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Refugees, repudiation of all signed agreements, gradual annexation of Palestinian lands, and striving to make the Palestinian National Authority a security administrative authority with no political content," Shtayyeh said.

"We will remain in confrontation with the occupation, and the Palestinian Authority will continue to struggle to establish the state on the lands of Palestine," he added.

Shtayyeh said his government has worked in complicated circumstances, including the COVID-19 pandemic, the Russia-Ukraine war and its economic repercussions on Palestinian people, and the conflict with Israel, which he describes as a genocide against Palestinian people in Gaza.

NETANYAHU VOWS TO INVADE RAFAH REGARDLESS OF POTENTIAL CEASE-FIRE WITH HAMAS: 'IT WILL HAPPEN'

"In the midst of all this, the government was able to achieve a balance between meeting the needs of our people, and the requirements of providing services worthy of them, such as infrastructure, legislation, reform programs, civil peace, municipal elections, chambers of commerce, and so on - and preserving our political and national rights, and protecting them, confronting settlement, supporting the confrontation areas and Area C, and internationalizing the conflict with the occupation," he said.

The prime minister added that five years have passed since the formation of his government and that it is a "political and professional government that includes a number of political partners and independents, including five ministers from Gaza."

Shtayyeh concluded by explaining his reasoning for offering his resignation.

"Accordingly, I see that the next stage and its challenges require new governmental and political arrangements that take into account the emerging reality in the Gaza Strip, the national unity talks, and the urgent need for an inter-Palestinian consensus based on a national basis, broad participation, unity of ranks, and the extension of the Palestinian Authority's sovereignty over the entire land of Palestine," he said.

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Houthis nearly strike oil tanker in Gulf of Aden; US, coalition forces take out more one-way attack drones

U.S. Central Command said Sunday that Houthis launched an anti-ballistic missile toward a tanker ship that carries oil and chemicals in the Gulf of Aiden on Saturday, though it struck the water and did not cause damage to the ship or injuries to those on board.

In a post on X, U.S. Central Command said the Iranian-backed Houthis were likely targeting the M/V Torm Thor, which is flagged and owned by a U.S. company. The ship was sailing in the Gulf of Aden at the time of the incident, which was reportedly at 11:45 p.m. local time.

At about 9 p.m. that evening, U.S. Central Command forces shot down two one-way unmanned aerial vehicles (UAV) over the Red Sea in self-defense.

Central Command said a third UAV was also heading toward the area and crashed from what appeared to be an in-flight failure.

US, COALITION FORCES DESTROY 6 HOUTHI ONE-WAY ATTACK DRONES

"CENTCOM forces identified the UAVs and determined they presented an imminent threat to merchant vessels and to the U.S. Navy ships in the region," Central Command said. "These actions are taken to protect freedom of navigation and make international waters safer and more secure for U.S. Navy and merchant vessels."

Houthi attacks continue to take place in the region, despite efforts from the U.S. and allies to protect merchant ships.

On Thursday, Houthis fired two anti-ship ballistic missiles from southern Yemen into the Gulf of Aden, but that time, the missiles impacted the MV Islander, a Palau-flagged, U.K.-owned, cargo carrier causing one minor injury and damage.

GREEK-FLAGGED M/V SEA CHAMPION SUSTAINS MINOR DAMAGE IN HOUTHI MISSILE ATTACK 

The attack came after the Pentagon confirmed the Houthis shot down a U.S. MQ-9 Reaper drone off the coast of Yemen on Monday, marking the second such attack since November 2023.

Iranian-backed Houthi terrorists also fired two anti-ship ballistic missiles at a Greek-flagged ship headed to Yemen to deliver grain on Monday, causing minor damage, according to U.S. Central Command.

CARGO SHIP ‘TAKING IN WATER’ FOLLOWING ATTACK BY HOUTHIS IN GULF OF ADEN 

Despite the minor damage on the U.S.-owned M/V Sea Champion, the ship continued on course to Aden in Yemen, where it ultimately delivered the grain for the benefit of the Yemeni people. 

Central Command said the M/V Sea Champion has delivered humanitarian aid to the country 11 times over the past five years. 

Fox News’ Greg Norman and Liz Friden contributed to this report. 

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Top Ukrainian official hints at potential peace summit with Russia

A top Ukrainian official says Russia may soon be invited to participate in a peace summit on Ukraine's terms.

Andriy Yermak, chief of staff to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, made the statement during a press conference on Sunday. Ukraine is already participating in a summit to discuss a vision for peace in Switzerland, though Russia will not be in attendance. 

"There can be a situation in which we together invite representatives of the Russian Federation, where they will be presented with the plan in case whoever is representing the aggressor country at that time will want to genuinely end this war and return to a just peace," Yermak said Sunday.

Zelenskyy previously proposed a peace deal in late 2022. That deal called for the immediate withdrawal of Russian forces from Ukraine as well as the return to pre-war borders.

TOM COTTON MAKES CASE TO GIVE UKRAINE AID WHILE PROTECTING US BORDER

Russia dismissed that proposal immediately, and the two nations have never directly engaged in talks.

The news comes as Ukraine's defense stumbles, allowing for major Russian gains for the first time in months.

BRET BAIER REFLECTS ON THE IMPORTANCE, COST OF WAR JOURNALISM AS RUSSIA'S WAR ON UKRAINE ENTERS ANOTHER YEAR

Ukrainian officials have blamed their troubles on a lack of continued funding from the U.S. Republicans in Congress have blocked further spending on Ukraine this year.

Experts told Fox News Digital this weekend that the war is unlikely to conclude in 2024.

TRUMP SAID HE COULD END UKRAINE WAR NEARLY A YEAR AGO BUT STILL HASN'T LAID OUT SPECIFICS

"For Ukraine, the shell hunger and the manpower shortages caused by, and in the former case caused in part by U.S. delays to aid, it's a challenging year," John Hardie, the deputy director of the Foundation for Defense of Democracies (FDD)’s Russia program, told Fox News Digital. 

"It was always going to be a tough year no matter what happened with U.S. aid," he added. "The congressional delays have just made it worse. So, I think for Ukraine early this year, they’ll just try to hold on by the teeth and try to make it through 2025, when – if we put the pieces in place this year – I think Ukraine could regain the advantage.

Putin on Friday promised to continue improving Russia’s military power, including – once again – its nuclear capabilities, which he promised would remain in modernized and good order, according to Reuters. 

"Incorporating our real combat experience, we will continue to strengthen the Armed Forces in every possible way, including ongoing re-equipping and modernization efforts," Putin said.

Fox News' Peter Aitken and Reuters contributed to this report.

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Biden's vision for a Palestinian state doomed, experts say: 'An explicit recognition of Hamas'

JERUSALEM — Reports the Biden administration and a small group of Middle East states will soon begin pushing a new peace initiative with the aim of creating a Palestinian state have drawn pushback from the Israeli government, which declared this week it will not accept "international diktats."  

Regional experts also say such efforts are doomed to fail as they have in the past.   

Last week, the Israeli government, including more moderate members of what is considered to be the most right-wing cabinet Israel ever, unanimously declared its opposition to any unilateral recognition of a Palestinian state, saying such a move would only reward terrorism and prevent a future peace settlement.

"If a settlement is to be reached, it will come about solely through direct negotiations between the parties, without preconditions," a statement issued by the government said.

ISRAELI SECURITY EXPERTS SAY BIDEN’S PALESTINIAN STATE PUSH IS AN ’EXISTENTIAL THREAT’

An Israeli media report over the weekend suggested Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had, however, presented his security cabinet members with a discussion paper about Gaza, stating clearly that Israel plans to maintain security control over all land west of Jordan, including Gaza and other parts of the territories where Palestinians hope to establish an independent state.

Israel has been battling the Iranian-backed terror group Hamas in the Gaza Strip since Oct. 7 when thousands of its terrorists crossed the border, murdering 1,200 people and taking some 240 people hostage. Even as Israeli troops gear up for what could be the final phase of the war, Netanyahu and his defense chief Yoav Gallant remain reluctant to discuss any broader future arrangements for the war-torn enclave.

Prof. Efraim Inbar, President of the Jerusalem Institute for Strategy and Security, told Fox News Digital efforts by the U.S. administration to find a solution to the decades-old intractable Israeli-Palestinian conflict were nothing new and, as in the past, efforts to bring about a Palestinian state, particularly under the current conditions, were unlikely to succeed. 

"What the Americans want, a revitalized Palestinian Authority, is nothing new. … We saw a similar attempt during the Bush era," Inbar said. "I think the question we should be asking is why would a Palestinian state look any different to the Palestinian entities we've seen so far?"

Inbar said any future Palestinian state would need to be ready to "make some real compromises," including recognizing the Zionist movement, accepting Israel as a Jewish state and Jerusalem as its capital and relinquishing some of its territorial dreams. 

A Palestinian state would also have to exclude terror entities like Hamas, who Palestinian Prime Minister Mohammed Shtayyeh recently referred to as being "part of the Palestinian people" and "a partner in any future political entity." 

"These attempts are noble, but they did not succeed in the past, and I do not see that the current Palestinian leadership is ready to change the situation," said Inbar. 

ISRAELI PARLIAMENT BACKS NETANYAHU, REJECTS PUSH FOR 'UNILATERAL' RECOGNITION OF PALESTINIAN STATE

Even Fatah, the Palestinian political faction led by the current Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas, "are not the nicest of neighbors," he said, noting that, in the past few months "dozens" of members of the Authority’s official security forces have carried out terror attacks against Israelis and that after 30 years of PA rule, the population had been indoctrinated to "hate Jews and Israel." 

"I’m not optimistic about what a Palestinian state would look like at this stage," Inbar said. He added the Palestinian people had also given up hope with their own leadership due to corruption and that any future Palestinian state would most likely carry the same political culture as others in the Arab world, namely dictatorships and tribalism. 

Bassem Eid, a Palestinian human rights activist and political analyst, also expressed doubts about the success of a future Palestinian state based on past attempts to create a self-governing entity. 

"In my opinion, those leaders who are calling for a Palestinian state have forgotten one important thing – that a state must be built before it is recognized," he said. 

Eid said there is no suitable infrastructure for a Palestinian state — no real economy and a society where the majority of the population still lived in refugee camps. 

"What kind of state would that be?" he wondered. "I don’t think that is the kind of state the Palestinians are hoping for."

"My conclusion is that the Palestinians are not really qualified for a state," he said, describing how the last attempt to create a Palestinian state was when Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon disengaged from Gaza. 

"He wanted to give the Palestinians Gaza so they could start building their own state, but look at what they did there. They turned Gaza from Singapore into ISIS," he said. "I don’t think that calling for a Palestinian state right now is a legitimate demand." 

BIDEN ADMIN CONTINUES PUSH FOR TWO-STATE SOLUTION AS CRITICS WARN: 'EFFORTS REPEATEDLY FAIL'

Eid said he believed Hamas’ Oct. 7 attack "set the Israeli-Palestinian conflict backward 50 years" and that instead of calling for the creation of a Palestinian state, there should be international efforts to "build bridges to bring the Israelis and Palestinians together" after the trauma. 

He also said the focus now should move away from the Palestinian Authority, and from Hamas, who are both "specialists in destroying states," and should be put instead on local Palestinian tribes. 

"Let’s call the tribes and give them a chance to rule," said Eid. "I believe they will succeed in ruling the Palestinians much better than Hamas or the Palestinian Authority. At least let them try for the next five years, then probably a charismatic Palestinian leader will emerge, we can hold elections and then negotiations between Israelis and Palestinians can start." 

Khaled Hassan, a political risk and intelligence analyst with over 13 years of experience working in the Middle East, also said that prospects for the creation of a Palestinian state under the current conditions were dim. 

"The establishment of a state requires tremendous efforts and international support, including a unified nationalist movement, similar to the Zionist Movement in the early 20th century," he told Fox News Digital. 

"A Palestinian state would, most importantly, need Palestinian unity and Israeli recognition," he said, adding that any discussion over who might lead this potential state would "most likely spark a civil war among Palestinians" and that "Israel was highly unlikely to recognize a Palestinian state."

"A Palestinian state can’t be imposed on Israel," Hassan said. "Arab states have for decades recognized a Palestinian state, but this has led to little to nothing in reality. Although, if there was American and British unilateral recognition of a Palestinian state, that could result in unprecedented political, and legal, repercussions for Israel." 

"It might not lead to a Palestinian state coming to life, but it would greatly diminish Israel’s standing within the international community," he said. 

If such a state did successfully emerge, Hassan added, the Palestinians would grapple with finding suitable leadership. 

IRAN SETS MIDEAST ON FIRE AS CRITICS SAY BIDEN POLICIES FAILED: 'FURTHER RECKLESSNESS'

"Hamas is demanding not only to be part of a future state, but to lead it," he said. He said the creation of a state as a result of the Oct. 7 terror attacks would be "an explicit recognition of Hamas as a resistance movement whose attacks led to the establishment of a Palestinian state.

"For Palestinians, the legitimacy of a political leader is largely based on their involvement in anti-Israel terror, so any Palestinian leaders who condemn terrorism are perceived as traitors and agents of Israel." 

He noted that previous U.S. attempts to install a more moderate Palestinian leader, one that rejected terrorism, had "been met with staggering frustration." 

"Public statements by the late Egyptian presidents Sadat and Mubarak, as well as U.S. President Bill Clinton have illustrated this," said Hassan, recalling the widespread condemnation and boycott of Egypt due to its peace treaty with Israel. 

"Sadat described Arabs, including Palestinians, who boycotted Egypt over the talks as reckless ‘children and teenagers’ who should not be entrusted with the fate of Egyptians, Arabs and Palestinians," he said. "His words still ring true 40 years later as the world watches what the recklessness of Palestinian leaders have brought upon their people and upon millions of Israelis who did not want this war." 

While the challenges to creating a Palestinian state appear insurmountable, Omer Zanany, head of the joint unit for peace and security at the Mitvim Institute and the Berl Katznelson Center in Israel, said Israelis under the current government were also likely to thwart the efforts. 

He said Israel faces two choices – continuing the war in Gaza at the risk of the conflict escalating to other fronts or seizing what might be a "historic opportunity to end the war, bring home the hostages and defeat Hamas by entering into negotiations for a two-state solution." 

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Zanany, who heads a joint Israeli-Palestinian task force exploring the options, said there needed to be a gradual process that would bring enduring security for both Israelis and Palestinians. Such a process, he said, would put "hope" on the political horizon that would help to bring about crucial changes in both societies. 

"If we know there’s something that we can change, we have to begin with a process," he said."I am not talking about having peace tomorrow but about getting into a new track. And I think that’s exactly what Biden, Secretary of State Blinken and the Saudis are saying." 

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Putin’s ‘greatest hits’: Russian dissidents continue disappearing in pattern of bizarre deaths

Russian President Vladimir Putin’s opponents continue to disappear in a pattern of strange and sudden deaths, and his greatest domestic opponent, Alexei Navalny, died after a sudden collapse, according to Russian authorities.       

"Generally, as a culture, the Russians don’t believe in coincidences. But, in this particular case, there’s a reason why, although we are unlikely to determine conclusively exactly how Navalny died, many analysts agree that Russian intelligence services are likely behind his death," Rebekah Koffler, a strategic military intelligence analyst and the author of "Putin's Playbook," told Fox News Digital. 

"There’s a specific intelligence tradecraft that dates back to 1920 that the Soviets used to eliminate the so-called enemies of the state," Koffler said. "The Soviets and now the Russians are also masters of covering their tracks and making the assassination look like it’s a natural or accidental death.

"Wet affairs, which connotes the spilling of blood is a doctrine of targeted assassinations, includes poisonings, executions with a shot in the back of the head, forced suicides — such as throwing yourself out of a window — explosions of a mini-bomb hidden in a box of chocolates … and other contrived methods," Koffler explained. 

RUSSIA'S WAR ON UKRAINE UNLIKELY TO END IN 2024; CONGRESS PLAYS PIVOTAL ROLE IN DIRECTION CONFLICT TAKES

Koffler argued that Putin has not been shy about indicating that the deaths of opposition — be it a direct rival like Navalny or an ally challenging his authority like Wagner chief Yevgeny Prigozhin — occurred at his behest because "he wants us to know that his operatives are behind the operation."

"He sends us subtle signals that are easily picked up by those who understand who Putin is and know Russian intelligence signature tactics," Koffler said. "For example, after [GRU officer] Sergei Skripal was poisoned, Putin, in an interview with the Financial Times in June 2019, said that ‘treason is the biggest crime on Earth, and traitors must be punished.’

NAVALNY SPOKESPERSON SAYS HIS BODY WAS HANDED TO HIS MOTHER

"In 2010, responding to a question as to whether he had ever had to sign an order ‘to liquidate enemies of the motherland abroad,’ Putin said, ‘Traitors will kick the bucket on their own — whatever they got in exchange for it — those 30 pieces of silver they were given, they will choke on them’," she added. 

Navalny died in prison last week after collapsing in what prison officials claimed was a case of "sudden death syndrome," but an anonymous paramedic claiming to work for a morgue told independent news outlet Novaya Gazeta Europe that he saw bruising on the body consistent with a person being held down while having a seizure. 

Prigozhin, who died when his plane suddenly exploded, killing him and everyone on board, and Navalny are two of the highest-profile examples of Putin’s opponents meeting sudden demises, but many examples have occurred throughout his reign. 

Boris Nemtsov, another major domestic rival, died in 2015 right before an opposition rally. A gunman from a passing car shot Nemtsov four times while he was crossing a bridge outside the Kremlin. Putin offered condolences and called the death "provocation" before ordering authorities to investigate. 

Authorities eventually arrested five men who ended up sentenced to 11 and 20 years in prison for Nemtsov’s murder, but the Russian government has consistently refused to classify Nemtsov’s death as a political assassination.  

BRET BAIER REFLECTS ON THE IMPORTANCE, COST OF WAR JOURNALISM AS RUSSIA'S WAR ON UKRAINE ENTERS ANOTHER YEAR

Anna Politkovskaya, an American Russian journalist and human rights activist, was gunned down in the elevator of her Moscow apartment building in 2006. She regularly criticized the Kremlin, particularly regarding policies related to Chechnya. A probe into her death failed to determine who ordered her death, and investigators dismissed the involvement of a Moscow-backed Ramzan Kadyrov, who eventually took power as the head of the Chechen Republic.

Kadyrov also denied any involvement in the death of journalist Natalya Estemirova, who was abducted and killed in 2008 outside her home in Grozny. Chechnya reinstated Russian federal rule in 2009 and has remained a staunch ally of Russia, speaking out in favor of Putin’s war against Ukraine and supplying troops. 

More recently, a number of high-profile Russian businessmen died in a series of bizarre accidents after speaking out against Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, including oil giant Lukoil’s Chairman Ravil Maganov, who fell out a hospital window. Lukoil said Maganov died from an illness, but Russian media and investigators determined he had fallen out of a sixth-story window. 

Pavel Antov, known as the "sausage king" of Russia and a local politician, also fell from a window in late 2022. Authorities found him dead outside the Hotel Sai International in Rayagada, India, after celebrating his 65th birthday only days earlier. One of Antov’s traveling companions also died at the hotel. 

At least eight other Russian oligarchs died under strange circumstances over the first year of the invasion, and international investigators suggested the deaths could have been staged suicides or assassinations as retaliation for their opposition to the invasion or links to corruption in Russian gas company Gazprom.  

Koffler explained to Fox News Digital that the deaths, if carried out by intelligence, will always be designed "deliberately to be stealthy so no investigator could identify foul play.

"They are usually deemed ‘tragic accidents,’ [which is] also part of the doctrine," she added.

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King Charles praises Ukraine’s ‘determination,’ denounces Russia’s ‘indescribable aggression’ 2 years into war

King Charles on Saturday praised Ukraine’s "determination and strength" in the face of Russia’s "indiscernible aggression" while marking two years since the country was invaded. 

"The determination and strength of the Ukrainian people continues to inspire as the unprovoked attack on their land, their lives and livelihoods, enters a third, tragic, year," the monarch wrote in an official statement. 

He added, "Despite the tremendous hardship and pain inflicted upon them, Ukrainians continue to show the heroism with which the world associates them so closely. Theirs is true valour, in the face of indescribable aggression." 

The king said he had "felt this personally" in meetings he’s had with Ukrainians since the war started, including with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and his wife Oleksandra Zelenska and Ukrainian army recruits training in the United Kingdom. 

KING CHARLES III'S CANCER ANNOUNCEMENT LEAVES PUBLIC WITH UNANSWERED QUESTIONS: ‘JUST RIP OFF THE BAND-AID’

He continued, "I continue to be greatly encouraged that the United Kingdom and our allies remain at the forefront of international efforts to support Ukraine at this time of such great suffering and need. My heart goes out to all those affected, as I remember them in my thoughts and prayers."

Russia invaded Ukraine on Feb. 24, 2022.

The king’s unusually strong statement comes after the U.K. hit Russia with more sanctions following the death of Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny. The U.S. has also levied more sanctions on the country. 

KING CHARLES REDUCED ‘TO TEARS’ BY CANCER SUPPORT MESSAGES

The British Embassy in Washington, D.C. also lit up its building in the colors of the Ukrainian flag in a show of support on Saturday night. 

Charles hosted Zelenskyy a year ago at Buckingham Palace when the Ukrainian president made a surprise visit to the U.K., nearly one year since the war started. 

"We've all been worried about you and thinking about your country for so long, I can't tell you," the king said at the time. 

In March of last year, Prince William made a surprise visit to see British and Polish troops stationed on Poland’s border with Ukraine.

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"I’m here because I want to personally thank the Polish and British troops working in close and crucial partnership," the Prince of Wales said at the time." I also want to pay tribute to the inspiring humanity of the Polish people. You have opened your hearts as much as your homes," he added, of the Polish people’s willingness to accept Ukrainian refugees. 

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Mexican president defends sharing NYT reporter's number; says privacy laws don't apply to him

Mexico’s president on Friday defended his decision to disclose a reporter’s telephone number, saying a law that prohibits officials from releasing personal information doesn’t apply to him.

Press freedom groups said the president's decision to make public the phone number of a New York Times reporter Thursday was an attempt to punish critical reporting, and exposed the reporter to potential danger.

Mexico's law on Protection of Personal Data states "the government will guarantee individuals' privacy" and sets out punishments for officials and others for "improperly using, taking, publishing, hiding, altering or destroying, fully or partially, personal data."

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President Andrés Manuel López Obrador said that "the political and moral authority of the president of Mexico is above that law," adding that "no law can be above the sublime principle of liberty." He also accused U.S. media of acting with "arrogance."

He also downplayed the risks to journalists, saying it was "an old song that you (reporters) use to discredit our government," and suggesting the Times reporter should just "change her telephone number."

Mexico is one of the deadliest places in the world for reporters outside of war zones. The Committee to Protect Journalists, or CPJ, has documented the killings of at least 55 journalists in Mexico since 2018, when López Obrador took office.

Jan-Albert Hootsen, the Mexico representative for the CPJ, noted the publication of a reporter's phone number in Mexico can be dangerous.

"The vast majority of threats and harassment and intimidation that reporters in this country, both foreign and domestic, receive, are conveyed through messages on messaging apps to mobile phones," Hootsen said.

The situation began Thursday when López Obrador denied allegations contained in a New York Times story about a U.S. investigation into claims that people close to him took money from drug traffickers shortly before his 2018 election and again after he was president.

The story cited unidentified U.S. officials familiar with the now shelved inquiry and noted that a formal investigation was not opened, nor was it known how much of the informants’ allegations were independently confirmed.

As is common practice, the Times reporter had sent a letter to López Obrador's spokesman asking for the president's comment on the story before it was published, and included her telephone number as a means of contacting her.

At his daily press briefing that day, the president displayed the letter on a large screen and read it aloud, including her phone number.

In a statement posted on X, formerly Twitter, the New York Times wrote that "This is a troubling and unacceptable tactic from a world leader at a time when threats against journalists are on the rise."

Asked about the issue Friday at a White House press briefing, press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said "obviously, that’s not something we support."

"It is important for the press to be able to report on issues that matter to the American people freely and in a way that, obviously, you all feel secure and safe and in a way that you’re not being doxed or attacked. That is, you know, that is something that we will obviously reject," she said,

Mexico's National Institute for Transparency and Information Access, the agency charged with upholding personal data laws, announced Thursday it is launching an investigation into the president's actions.

But it is unclear how much good that will do: López Obrador has frequently criticized the institute and has proposed abolishing it.

Leopoldo Maldonado, of the press freedom group Article 19, said "Obviously, he is doing it with the intention of inhibiting the work of journalists and trying to prevent the publication of issues of public interest concerning his administration and the people around him."

"This is something the president has done before," Maldonado noted.

In 2022, López Obrador published a chart showing the income of Carlos Loret de Mola, a journalist who had written stories critical of the president.

The president said he got such information — which Loret de Mola has said is wrong — "from the people," but later said he based the chart in part on tax receipts, which would have been available only to the party who wrote them or the government tax agency.

López Obrador regularly lashes out at the media, claiming they treat him unfairly and are part of a conservative conspiracy to undermine his administration.

He has also expressed anger at what he claims is U.S. tolerance for such media reports. It is the second time in recent weeks that the foreign press has published stories signaling that the U.S. government has looked into alleged contacts between López Obrador allies and drug cartels.

In late January, ProPublica, Deutsche Welle and InSight Crime published stories describing an earlier U.S. investigation into whether López Obrador campaign aides took money from drug traffickers in exchange for facilitating their operations during an unsuccessful bid for the presidency in 2006.

In that instance, López Obrador placed blame squarely at the feet of the U.S. government and wondered aloud why he should continue discussing issues like immigration with a government that was trying to damage him.

On Thursday U.S. National Security Council spokesman John Kirby said, "There is no investigation into President López Obrador."

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UAE, other countries removed from international money laundering watchlist

An international watchdog said Friday that it was removing the United Arab Emirates from its so-called gray list of countries that don't take full measures to combat money laundering and terrorism financing.

The announcement was made by the Paris-based Financial Action Task Force following its meeting in the French capital. The FATF welcomed the UAE's "significant progress in improving" its anti-money laundering and counterterrorism financing policies.

Barbados, Gibraltar and Uganda will also be removed from the FATF's gray list, the watchdog said in a statement Friday following its plenary meetings.

They "will no longer be subject to the FATF’s increased monitoring process," the watchdog said in a statement.

Being on the watchdog’s gray list can scare away investors and creditors, hurting exports, output and consumption. It also can make global banks wary of doing business with a country.

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Colombia to send deep-water expedition to explore 300-year-old shipwreck thought to hold treasure

BOGOTA, Colombia (AP) — Colombia’s government on Friday announced plans for a deep-water expedition to explore the mythical galleon San José, sunk in the 18th century in the country’s northern Caribbean and believed to contain cargo valued at billions of dollars.

It is the first phase of a scientific research into deep waters that aims at collecting information to determine which pieces are suitable and possible to extract. The wreckage is 600 meters deep in the sea.

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Colombia located the galleon in 2015 but it has since been mired in legal and diplomatic disputes, and its exact location is a state secret.

Colombia's government says it will invest around $4.5 million this year in an archaeological exploration of the 62-gun, three-masted galleon that sank in 1708 after being ambushed by an English squadron on its way to Cartagena.

For the first phase of the investigation, the Colombian government does not intend to partner with private companies, said Alhena Caicedo Fernández, general director of the Colombian Institute of Archeology and History (ICANH) during a symposium on the galleon held Friday in Cartagena.

The expedition would start in spring depending on weather conditions.

Hermann León Rincón, a Navy Rear Admiral and oceanographer, told reporters the expedition involves submerging robotic equipment that is connected to a Navy ship. From there, using cameras and keeping a detailed record of its movements, he said, the robot will be positioned in connection with a satellite that is in geostationary orbit.

The robotic system was acquired by Colombia in 2021 and has the capacity to descend up to 1,500 meters (4,900 feet) deep.

Carlos Reina Martínez, archaeologist and leader of the submerged cultural heritage of ICANH, said the operation seeks to discover what life was like for the 600 people on board the boat when it sank and to study daily life, the cargo, artillery and merchandise of the colonial era in America.

"It is time to claim the heritage elements for which the remains of the galleon should be valued," said Juan David Correa, Colombia's minister of culture, who insisted that the value of the wreck is patrimonial and not monetary. "History is the treasure."

The ship has been the subject of a legal battle in the U.S., Colombia and Spain over who owns the rights to the sunken treasure.

Colombia’s government said Thursday that it formally began arbitration litigation with Sea Search Armada, a group of American investors, for the economic rights of the San José. The firm claims $10 billion corresponding to what they assume is worth 50% of the galleon treasure that they claim to have discovered in 1982.

The ship is believed to hold 11 million gold and silver coins, emeralds and other precious cargo from Spanish-controlled colonies, which could be worth billions of dollars if ever recovered.

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Ukraine's top diplomat tells skeptics at the UN that his country 'will win the war'

UNITED NATIONS (AP) — Ukraine’s foreign minister on Friday told skeptics who believe Ukraine can’t win the war with Russia that they will be proven wrong: "Ukraine will win the war."

Dmytro Kuleba, speaking at the United Nations on the eve of the second anniversary of Russia's invasion, urged the world's nations to stand behind Ukraine. If they do, he said, victory will come "sooner rather than later."

BRET BAIER REFLECTS ON THE IMPORTANCE, COST OF WAR JOURNALISM AS RUSSIA'S WAR ON UKRAINE ENTERS ANOTHER YEAR

Russia’s U.N. Ambassador Vassily Nebenzia countered by repeating Moscow's claim that it didn't start the conflict. He blamed the West for fomenting it, accused Ukraine of being a tool of Western geopolitical ambitions, and vowed that Russia's "special military operation" won’t end until its goals are achieved.

Those goals, stated on Feb. 24, 2022, the day Russian troops crossed the border, include the de-militarization of Ukraine and ensuring its "neutral status."

The U.N. General Assembly and the Security Council are marking the anniversary with ministerial meetings, which are taking place as President Volodymyr Zelenskyy pleads for more U.S. military aid and Russian forces make new gains in eastern Ukraine.

The General Assembly has become the most important U.N. body dealing with Ukraine because the Security Council, which is charged with maintaining international peace and security, is paralyzed by Russia’s veto power. Assembly resolutions are not legally binding, unlike Security Council resolutions, but they serve as a barometer of world opinion.

Addressing the 193-member assembly, Kuleba recalled that over 140 nations supported resolutions backing Ukraine and calling for Russian forces to withdraw. But, he said, "Moscow’s aim is to destroy Ukraine and they’re quite outspoken about it."

He said countries now saying Ukraine should negotiate with Russia and end the war are either "ill-informed" or didn't follow events after 2014, when Russia seized Crimea and backed an armed rebellion in eastern Ukraine. The two countries, he said, held approximately 200 rounds of negotiations and made 20 cease-fire agreements.

"All of these peace efforts ended two years ago, when Russia tore apart the Minsk process and launched its full-scale invasion," Kuleba said. "Why would anyone suggest today that following the same logic will bring us to a different result?"

Zelenskyy’s 10-point peace plan is "the only serious peace proposal on the table," Kuleba said, calling on other countries to add their diplomatic weight to it. The plan calls for expelling Russian forces, establishing a special tribunal to prosecute Russian war crimes and building a European-Atlantic security architecture with guarantees for Ukraine.

Speaking to reporters, Kuleba said he wanted to make one point clear. When Russia invaded, diplomats and experts didn't believe Ukraine would survive.

"Today, the same people do not believe that Ukraine can win this war," he said. "They turned wrong once, and they will turn wrong again. Ukraine survived the invasion. Ukraine will win the war. And if we act collectively and jointly this will happen … sooner rather than later."

Nebenzia slammed Zelenskyy's plan.

"It is nothing other than an ultimatum to Russia and an attempt to lure as many countries as possible into endless meetings on this utopian project at any price possible," he said.

At the General Assembly, where representatives of 64 countries are scheduled to speak, there was strong support for Ukraine.

Britain’s Foreign Secretary David Cameron said he recognized that there is a sense of fatigue with the war and a compromise might seem attractive, but he said Russian President Vladimir Putin isn't seeking compromise.

"Rather, this is a neo-imperialist bully who believes might is right," he said. "If Putin were to eke out some kind of win, the rest of the world would suffer, too. What starts in Ukraine would not end there."

Poland’s Foreign Minister Radoslaw Sikorski told the assembly, "Only our resolve can deter the neo-imperial delusions that may arise in any part of the world."

"We need to stay the course until Mr. Putin understands that the days of European imperialism are gone for good," he said.

Swiss Foreign Minister Ignazio Cassis said at Ukraine’s request his government will organize a high-level peace conference by the summer. He invited all nations to attend and work "to find common ground for peace" based on the U.N. Charter, and the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Ukraine.

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