China blames US for origin of COVID-19 and turning 'deaf ear to the numerous questions over its conduct'

China is blaming the United States for the origin of COVID-19, accusing Washington of "evading responsibility" for the virus amid multiple statements by President Donald Trump that it was leaked from a lab in Wuhan.

In a multipage paper, the Communist regime said the infectious disease was present in the U.S. earlier than what was officially determined. 

"The US should cease from shifting blame and evading responsibility, stop finding external excuses for its internal malaise, and genuinely reflect on and overhaul its public health policies," the paper states. "The US cannot continue to turn a deaf ear to the numerous questions over its conduct."

Fox News Digital has reached out to the White House. 

CREDIBILITY CRISIS: NEW YORK TIMES HELPED MISLEAD AMERICA OVER COVID LAB LEAK THEORY

The paper came after the White House earlier this month revamped its COVID.gov website, showing the "true origins" of the disease. 

The website, which previously focused on promoting the vaccine to Americans, walks readers through evidence supporting the lab leak theory, how former National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases Director Anthony Fauci promoted the idea that COVID-19 originated naturally, former President Joe Biden pardoning Fauci for "any offenses against" the U.S. he may have committed, and providing details on the origin of the "social distancing" rules and mask mandates. 

The new site outlines that a biological characteristic found in the virus was not found in nature, bolstering the lab-leak theory, while noting that Wuhan, China, where the first coronavirus case was found, is also home to China's "foremost SARs research lab" and that "if there was evidence of a natural origin it would have already surfaced. But it hasn't."

TRUMP MADE ME DO IT: LIBERAL MEDIA BLAMES ITS DISMISSAL OF LAB LEAK THEORY ON EX-PRESIDENT'S ‘XENOPHOBIA’

The Trump administration's CIA reported earlier in 2025 that a lab leak was the likely origin of the COVID-19 virus, which had been passed off by media outlets and scientists as a likely conspiracy theory during the early days of the pandemic.

However, China said in its paper that a past joint study conducted with the World Health Organization (WHO) found that COVID-19 was most likely transmitted from bats to humans via another animal.

The report also accused the U.S. of not doing more to combat the virus. 

"The slow and ineffective US response during the early stages of the outbreak set an appalling example to the international community and made the US performance in handling the pandemic the worst of all countries," Chinese officials wrote. "Instead of facing this issue squarely and reflecting on its shortcomings, the US government has tried to shift the blame and divert people's attention by shamelessly politicizing SARS-CoV-2 origins tracing."

"The US cannot continue to turn a deaf ear to the numerous questions over its conduct," the report said. 

Fox News Digital's Emma Colton contributed to this report. 

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Trial begins for woman accused of murdering ex's family with beef Wellington laced with poisonous mushrooms

The trial of an Australian woman accused of serving her ex-husband’s family poisonous mushrooms began this week, nearly a year after the suspect pleaded not guilty to her charges.

Erin Patterson, 50, was charged with three counts of murder and one count of attempted murder. She was originally charged with two counts of attempted murder, though the charge was dropped earlier this week.

Patterson appeared in the Victoria state Supreme Court on Wednesday, where prosecutor Nanette Rogers told jurors the accused had served a meal of beef Wellington, mashed potatoes and green beans at her home in the rural town of Leongartha on July 29, 2023.

Her guests included her in-laws, Gail and Don Patterson, both 70; Gail’s sister, Heather Wilkinson, 66; and Wilkinson’s husband, Ian Wilkinson, 68.

AUSTRALIAN WOMAN PLEADS NOT GUILTY TO MURDERING HER EX-HUSBAND'S FAMILY WITH POISONOUS MUSHROOMS

The next day, all four of the guests were hospitalized with poisoning from death cap mushrooms — or amanita phalloides — which were added to the beef and pastry dish. Simon Patterson, Erin’s husband, was not in attendance despite being invited.

Ian Wilkinson spent seven weeks in the hospital following the lunch.

The other three victims died in a hospital just days after consuming the meal at Patterson’s home.

On Tuesday, the prosecution told jurors that three charges alleging Patterson attempted to murder her husband were dropped. The two had been separated since 2015.

WOMAN UNDER INVESTIGATION AFTER POISONOUS MUSHROOM MEAL KILLED HER THREE FORMER IN-LAWS

Patterson invited her husband and his relatives to lunch two weeks before the poisoning, as she was attending a church service at Korumburra Baptist Church. Ian Wilkinson was the pastor at the church, and initially, Simon had accepted the invitation.

"She said the purpose of the lunch was to discuss some medical issues that she had and to get advice about how to break it to the kids," Rogers told the jury. "The accused said that it was important that the children were not present for the lunch."

What was surprising to the Wilkinsons, Rogers noted, was that they had never been invited to Patterson’s five-bedroom home.

The morning after the meeting at Patterson’s home, the prosecution alleged, Heather Wilkinson told Simon Patterson she was puzzled that Erin was eating from a different plate than the guests.

JEFFREY EPSTEIN CASE: VIRGINIA GIUFFRE'S DEATH MARKS THIRD LOSS, EXPERT SAYS PREDATORS NEED TO BE ‘PUNISHED’

"I noticed that Erin put her food on a different plate to us," Heather Wilkinson said, according to the prosecution. "Her plate had colors on it. I wondered why that was. I’ve puzzled about it since lunch."

Simon told his aunt it was possible his wife may have run out of plates.

The prosecution also told jurors Patterson made up an ovarian cancer diagnosis to explain why her children were not at lunch.

"After the lunch, the accused announced that she had cancer and asked for advice on whether to tell the children or keep it from them," Rogers said. "They had a discussion about it being best to be honest with the children. They prayed as a group for the accused’s health and wisdom in relation to telling the children."

WELLNESS INFLUENCER EXPOSED FOR FAKING CANCER DODGES AUTHORITIES A DECADE LATER: DOCUMENTARY

Still, Patterson’s lawyer, Colin Mandy, told jurors his client never had cancer. He also said guests were poisoned by mushrooms Patterson served, though the poisoning was a "terrible accident."

Rogers advised the jury that she would not be providing a motive for the poisonings, saying, "You do not have to be satisfied what the motive was, or even that there was a motive."

Erin Patterson eventually went to the hospital complaining about diarrhea and nausea two days after serving beef Wellington. But at that point, her guests had been diagnosed with suffering from death cap poisoning.

She later told authorities she cooked with a mixture of mushrooms she purchased from a supermarket and dried mushrooms from an Asian food store, denying that she had foraged for wild mushrooms.

But Mandy said his client lied about not foraging for wild mushrooms.

"She did forage for mushrooms," Mandy told the jury. "Just so that we make that clear. She denies that she ever deliberately sought out death cap mushrooms."

The trial was adjourned until Thursday and is expected to continue for six weeks.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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600 North Korean troops killed while fighting Ukraine, South Korea says

Roughly 600 North Korean troops have been killed fighting alongside Russia against Ukraine, South Korean lawmakers said on Wednesday, citing the country's intelligence agency.

North Korea has suffered about 4,700 casualties in the conflict, which includes deaths and injuries. But some of the country's troops have shown signs of improvement in combat capabilities over about six months by using modern weapons such as drones, the lawmakers said.

"After six months of participation in the war, the North Korean military has become less inept, and its combat capability has significantly improved as it becomes accustomed to using new weapons such as drones," Lee Seong-kweun, a member of the parliamentary intelligence committee, told reporters, after being briefed by South Korea's National Intelligence Service.

A total of about 15,000 North Korean troops have been deployed to fight Ukraine.

PUTIN THANKS NORTH KOREA FOR SENDING TROOPS TO FIGHT UKRAINE: 'WILL NEVER FORGET THE HEROISM'

Under a defense treaty that was signed last year, Pyongyang agreed to deploy troops and supply weapons to Russia in exchange for technical assistance on spy satellites, as well as drones and anti-air missiles, the lawmakers said.

Earlier this week, North Korea confirmed for the first time that it had sent troops to fight Ukrainian forces. It claims it has helped Russia retake its Kursk territory that was controlled by Ukraine.

North Korea's Central Military Commission said on Monday that the country's leader, Kim Jong Un, had sent troops to Russia to "annihilate and wipe out the Ukrainian neo-Nazi occupiers and liberate the Kursk area in cooperation with the Russian armed forces." North Korean troops eventually made "an important contribution" to Russia seizing the border territory, the commission said.

Russian President Vladimir Putin thanked North Korea for sending troops and promised not to forget their sacrifices.

"The Russian people will never forget the heroism of the DPRK special forces," Putin said on Monday. "We will always honor the heroes who gave their lives for Russia, for our common freedom, fighting side by side with their Russian brothers in arms."

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Russia could provide military assistance to North Korea if necessary in accordance with the defense treaty.

TRUMP BLASTS PUTIN, QUESTIONING IF RUSSIAN LEADER WANTS PEACE OR IS JUST 'TAPPING ME ALONG'

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The two U.S. adversaries have moved significantly closer to each other in recent years.

Lee said the remains of dead North Korean soldiers were cremated in Kursk before being shipped back home.

North Korea is also believed to have sent about 15,000 workers to Russia, according to the lawmakers, citing intelligence assessments.

U.S. President Donald Trump said Saturday he doubts Putin wants to end the war. Just a day before, Trump had said Ukraine and Russia were "very close to a deal."

Reuters contributed to this report.

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Iran accused of 'covering up' death toll in port explosion amid concerns of uprising

FIRST ON FOX: The Islamic Republic of Iran is suspected of "covering up" the true extent of the devastating explosion that rocked the Shahid Rajaee port in Iran's southern coastal town of Bandar Abbas. 

On Tuesday, the death toll reported from Tehran after the explosion had risen to 70, with another 1,200 said to have been injured from the blast. But, according to information from eyewitnesses and the impacts of the blast radius, those figures are expected to be drastically underreported amid concerns of escalating internal unrest, sources have told Fox News Digital.

According to information provided by the National Council of Resistance of Iran (NCRI), the actual death toll from the catastrophic explosion is suspected to be closer to 250, with an estimated 1,500 injured. 

A MASSIVE EXPLOSION AT AN IRANIAN PORT LINKED TO MISSILE FUEL SHIPMENT KILLS 5, INJURES OVER 700

"The true death toll is several times higher than officially reported," Maryam Rajavi, president-elect of the NCRI, said in a statement. "The IRGC, intelligence forces and other organs of repression have mobilized — not to contain the fires or rescue the wounded — but to control the situation and cover up the shipment of solid fuel for ballistic missiles and the full scale of the disaster."

The blast originated after a cargo container suspected to be holding sodium perchlorate, a propellant for missiles, including solid fuel in ballistic missiles, apparently caught fire. 

Footage of the blast showed the substantial damage caused to shipping containers, nearby offices and a massive crater left by the explosion. Anyone within 200 feet of the blast is believed to have been killed, according to sources.

One witness told the NCRI, "The security situation is very severe. We are all trapped in our homes and have been told not to go outside. The number of casualties is greater than you can imagine. My brother, who works at the dock, said many drivers were pulverized."

One worker who survived the explosion told the NCRI, "The port and offices no longer exist."

"The shockwave from the explosion was so strong that it caused colleagues' eyes to pop out," the survivor said. "Security forces have closed off the area, and no one is being allowed in.

"In the initial explosion, 15 firefighters were killed. All the staff in the administrative building were also killed."

TRUMP MARKS 100 DAYS IN OFFICE EMBROILED IN TRADE BATTLES, DEADLY WARS AND HARD PRESSED DEALS

Another survivor accused the regime of "concealing the statistics" by sending Revolutionary Guard forces and intelligence agents to the site of the explosion. 

The survivor also pointed out that "chemical and military materials" should not have been at the port to begin with and noted that the workers at the massive site were unaware of its presence. 

Iran’s interior minister said the fire likely started due to "negligence" because the cargo was improperly stored, the BBC reported Tuesday.

Interior Minister Eskandar Momeni said "shortcomings, including noncompliance with safety precautions and negligence" led to the blast.

The officials also said "some individuals deemed responsible" had been summoned, but the regime has yet to admit that any cargo units were holding missile propellant at the civilian shipping center, which is also Iran's largest port. 

The Wall Street Journal in January reported that two solid fuel shipments had been sent from China to Iran, though it is unclear if this cargo had ever been moved off site or if additional sodium perchlorate had been sent to this port. 

In a meeting that appeared to take place Sunday between Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian and regional and port officials, the president appeared to suggest that cargo shipments should not be permitted to stay on site for months at a time and said distribution processes need to be accelerated. 

In the aftermath of the explosion, Iran reportedly cordoned off the site, evacuating surrounding areas, placing security agents at local hospitals and accusing the media of perpetuating false stories about the explosion.

"The sole party responsible for this tragedy is none other than Khamenei’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), whose smuggling of various materials from abroad fuels the manufacture of missiles and other weaponry," Ali Safavi of the NCRI told Fox News Digital. 

"In the face of this disaster, rather than rushing to aid the wounded or recover the bodies of the deceased, the clerical regime — gripped by fear of a public outcry — has instead issued stern warnings against the dissemination of news, images and videos of the explosion, threatening severe legal repercussions against those who dare to expose the truth."

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Norway raises security concerns over Manhattan-sized Arctic land sale as tensions rise

A large plot of private land in Norway’s Arctic Svalbard archipelago may soon be sold for about €300 million ($330 million), but the deal has raised concerns in Oslo over national security.

The property, known as Søre Fagerfjord, covers roughly 60 square kilometers (23 square miles) and is the last privately owned land in Svalbard. 

A group of international and Norwegian investors has offered to buy the land, but officials in Norway worry it could give foreign powers a strategic foothold in a sensitive Arctic region.

The land is about 60 kilometers (37 miles) from the main town of Longyearbyen and has been in Norwegian hands for over a century. It was listed for sale last year, and the government quickly made it clear that any sale must be cleared in advance due to security laws.

NORWAY TO KEEP SUPPLYING US NAVY WITH FUEL DESPITE COMPANY BOYCOTT CALL

One of the sellers even called it a "strategic foothold in the High Arctic," which has only fueled concerns. 

Svalbard is becoming more important as melting sea ice opens up new shipping routes and increases global interest in the region.

PUTIN NEEDS TO BE CONVINCED DEFEAT IN UKRAINE IS INEVITABLE, NORWAY'S FINANCE MINISTER SAYS

The buyers describe themselves as environmentalists from NATO countries who want to protect the land.

 "The consortium includes both Norwegian and international investors who have a long-term perspective of protecting this territory from environmental changes," said Birgit Liodden, a shareholder and climate activist. 

She added that about half the money from the sale would go toward environmental projects in Svalbard. So far, the group has not discussed the sale with the Norwegian government.

Still, Norwegian officials are cautious. In 2024, they blocked a similar attempt by Chinese investors. Trade Minister Cecilie Myrseth warned at the time that such actions could harm regional stability and threaten national interests.

Svalbard is governed by a 1920 treaty that gives over 40 countries, including Russia, China and the U.S., equal rights to live and do business there. 

Russia, which operates a settlement on the islands, has accused Norway of breaking the treaty by increasing its military presence, something Norway denies.

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The sellers’ lawyer, Per Kyllingstad, said the buyers only want to protect nature and that the sale should not be blocked.

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Israeli foreign minister slams UN, calls it 'rotten, anti-Israel, and antisemitic body'

Israel's foreign minister slammed the United Nations on Monday as the organization's court opened a hearing on Israel's legal responsibilities in Gaza.

Gidon Sa’ar said that the U.N. is a "rotten, anti-Israel, and antisemitic body," which ought to be on trial for covering up terror affiliates within the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestinian Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA), who he said participated in the attacks of Oct. 7 2023. "The U.N. must answer for these crimes," Sa’ar said.

He told reporters that Israel had decided "not to take part in this circus," which is intended to deprive Israel of its "most basic right to defend itself."

OFFICIALS IN BIDEN ADMIN WORKED TO UNDERMINE NETANYAHU AFTER CEASEFIRE TALKS COLLAPSED, FORMER AIDE SAYS

"Secretary-General [Antonio] Guterres is personally accountable. He knew what was going on in UNRWA. He knew very well and he knows very well. Israel repeatedly warned him. He did nothing. He went out of his way to whitewash UNRWA. He continues to cover up the crimes of UNRWA and its terrorist employees."

Jewish News Syndicate reported that Sa’ar later presented evidence that 25% of UNRWA staff "were implicated in terrorist activity" prior to Oct. 7, 2023.  Sa’ar said that UNRWA is a proxy of the terror group Hamas.

Fox News Digital reached out to Guterres’ spokesperson seeking comment on Sa’ar’s accusations, but did not get a response.

In a statement to the press on Monday, Guterres' spokesman, Stéphane Dujarric, told a reporter that he didn’t "think the Secretary General is a big fan of a circus." Calling the presentation to the ICJ "extremely detailed and very clear and very legal," he also said that Guterres was "very clear [and] straightforward" when the U.N. "first revealed the Israeli allegations against UNRWA." Dujarric said that UNRWA Commissioner-General Phillipe Lazzarini "took extremely quick action" responding to the complaints. 

HEAD OF UN WATCHDOG SAYS UNRWA HIRED PEOPLE ‘WHO WERE SUPPORTING TERRORISM’

Lazzarini terminated the appointments of some of the UNRWA staffers who participated in the Oct. 7 attacks.

Dujarric also noted the "depletion of critical stocks" in Gaza since Israel blocked all aid to Gaza in March in an attempt to force a ceasefire with Hamas. Not only is food running out, but Dujarric said that trauma-related medical supplies, surgical supplies, therapeutic milk, medicines, and other important items are in short supply. 

In a statement regarding the ICJ hearings on April 28, U.N. Legal Counsel Elinor Hammarskjöld outlined the U.N.’s concerns about Israel’s occupation of the Palestinian territories. Referencing the Israeli Knesset’s law banning UNRWA’s operation, passed in October 2024, she stated that Israel cannot deny impartial humanitarian organizations from providing relief, and that concerns about the impartiality of such organizations may not be made unilaterally by an occupying power.

Hammarskjöld also said that U.N. premises are "inviolable," per the Geneva Convention, and "immune from search, requisition, confiscation, expropriation, or any other form of interference." 

In February, however, the State of Israel’s statement on the ICJ’s proceedings noted various incidents that demonstrate how UNRWA has violated the guiding principles of "neutrality, impartiality, and independence" mandated by the U.N.

Israel’s statement also lays out a variety of times when terrorist organizations "use and exploit UNRWA installations as hideouts and places of refuge" and claims agency staff "have assisted or closed their eyes to terrorists seeking refuge at those sites." The U.S. suspended aid to UNRWA after learning that some of its members participated in the Oct. 7 attack. 

On April 24, the U.S. Justice Department determined that UNRWA, as a specialized agency of the U.N., is not entitled to diplomatic immunity in the U.S. In a lawsuit filed in June 2024 in the Southern District of New York, 100 victims of the Oct. 7 attack are seeking $1 billion in damages from UNRWA. Lazzarini is a named defendant in the suit.

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Gaza ceasefire talks seeing 'significant breakthrough' in Cairo: sources

Negotiations held in Cairo to reach a ceasefire in Gaza were witnessing a "significant breakthrough," two Egyptian security sources told Reuters on Monday.

The sources said there was a consensus on a long-term ceasefire in the besieged enclave, yet some sticking points remain, including Hamas arms.

UN CASH APP FOR GAZANS EXPLOITED BY HAMAS AS TERROR GROUP STEALS AID MONEY MEANT FOR CIVILIANS

Hamas repeatedly said it was not willing to lay down its arms, a key demand for Israel.

Earlier, Egyptian state-affiliated Al Qahera News TV reported Egyptian intelligence chief General Hassan Mahmoud Rashad is set to meet an Israeli delegation headed by strategic affairs minister Ron Dermer on Monday in Cairo.

The sources said the ongoing talks included Egyptian and Israeli delegations.

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Lawsuit alleges anti-Israel group leaders are 'Hamas' foot soldiers in New York City'

A lawsuit filed in the Southern District of New York last month claims the leaders of several radical anti-Israel groups involved in 18 months of disruptive, violent and antisemitic protests on campuses and in the streets of New York City are "accountable for aiding and abetting Hamas’ continuing acts of international terrorism."

In purported violation of the Antiterrorism Act and the Alien Tort Statue, the defendants are said to have "acted as Hamas’ foot soldiers in New York City," and may have had foreknowledge of the designated foreign terror organization’s devastating Oct. 7 attacks.

Defendants in the case are Within Our Lifetime and its founder Nerdeen Kiswani, Columbia Students for Justice in Palestine (SJP) and its representative Maryam Alwan, Columbia-Barnard Jewish Voice for Peace (JVP) and its representative Cameron Jones, and Columbia University Apartheid Divest (CUAD) and its representative Mahmoud Khalil, who is currently in custody of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).

The lawsuit asserts that the associational defendants have "distribute[d] Hamas-created and affiliated propaganda, incite[d] fear and violence, and attack[ed] critical academic, economic, and infrastructure centers in New York City," as well as having "repeatedly terrorized and assaulted Jews across New York City and on Columbia University’s campus, physically assaulted Columbia University employees, and illegally seized and damaged public and private property."

DUFFY SLAMS MTA OVER ‘FACT CHECK’ ON ANTI-ISRAEL MOB’S GRAND CENTRAL TAKEOVER

The details of the allegations are thorough. To demonstrate how the defendants "resoundingly and knowingly answered Hamas’ call to action" on and after Oct. 7, the lawsuit cites how the defendants knowingly "obtain[ed] and disseminat[ed]" a Hamas propaganda document, which contained directions created by the Hamas Media Office for spinning the narrative of their deadly attacks. By "painstakingly follow[ing]" the document, the lawsuit alleges defendants "directly responded to, and followed orders from, Hamas." 

The lawsuit also supplies several indicators that defendants may have had foreknowledge of the heinous Oct. 7 attack, to include "a highly suggestive social media post published moments before the October 7 attack began" in which Columbia SJP posted on Instagram "We are back!!" after a months-long hiatus. 

On Oct. 7, Kiswani utilized marketing materials that "would not be released until the next day" in a National Students for Justice in Palestine (NSJP) "Toolkit" demonstrating how SJP organizations across the country could support the Gazan "resistance." 

Following Oct. 7, Within Our Lifetime promoted a "Day of Rage" in New York City while Columbia SJP and Columbia JVP promoted their own "Day of Resistance." The mere announcements of these events forced closures of Jewish schools and institutions, and "even forced Columbia University – a non-Jewish institution – to close its campus as a safety precaution," while Jewish students "were advised to lock their doors and remain inside for their own safety," according to the lawsuit. 

The lawsuit names Khalil as the purported leader of Columbia SJP’s Day of Resistance.

COLUMBIA’S ANTI-ISRAEL PROTESTERS SAY TRUMP PULLING $400 MILLION IN GRANTS FROM UNIVERSITY IS A ‘SCARE TACTIC’

In November 2023, the suit describes how a "’Shut it Down for Palestine’ event descended into – as planned – anti-Jewish and vitriolic hatred and threats," with speakers shouting "Death to Jews!" and "encourage[ing] Hamas and… comrades across Columbia’s campus to hunt down and assault pro-Israel students." 

The next day, Columbia University suspended Columbia SJP and Columbia JVP, at which time "Khalil and former members and/or organizers of Columbia SJP became leaders of CUAD." As a result, CUAD "became the primary organizer of the violent and antisemitic protests that would foment terror, sow discord, and disrupt campus life at Columbia for over a year." 

Khalil would later become the lead negotiator of the Columbia encampment, which the lawsuit notes was "well-supplied with identical tents, toiletries, food, and professional signage." Based on a statement from Shlomi Ziv, a plaintiff in the lawsuit who was held captive by Hamas for 246 days following his kidnapping at the Nova Music Festival, "Hamas and [American Muslims for Palestine (AMP)]/NSJP provided financial, organizational, and other support… for the Encampment."

Ziv alleges that his "Hamas captors bragged about having Hamas operatives on American university campuses," and even "showed him Al-Jazeera stories and photographs of protests at Columbia University that were organized by Associational Defendants."

APPARENT ANTI-ISRAEL ACTIVISTS SPLASH RED PAINT ON HOMES OF JEWISH OFFICIALS AT BROOKLYN MUSEUM 

Given the "legal chasm between independent political advocacy and coordinating with a foreign terrorist organization to seed pro-terror propaganda throughout America’s largest city," the lawsuit alleges the defendants’ "actions violate the Antiterrorism Act and the law of nations."

According to the Jerusalem Post, the National Jewish Advocacy Center, Greenberg Traurig LLP, the Schoen Law Firm, and the Holtzman Vogel Law Firm filed the suit on behalf of plaintiffs who include Ziv, several Columbia University students who have served with the Israel Defense Forces, and a number of American and Israeli citizens whose family members, most of whom are believed dead, remain in Hamas captivity. 

The lawsuit especially states that Khalil, "on information and belief, directly coordinates with Hamas, AMP/NSJP and/or other agents and affiliates of Hamas and related terrorist organizations." The filers state that his detention by ICE in March may have been "based on many of his actions described in this Complaint."

Khalil’s involvement in the Columbia protests was cited as a rationale for his removal during his April 11 hearing, when Judge Jamee Comans ruled that Khalil may be deported. Khalil also withheld past employment with the Syrian office in the Beirut British Embassy and the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) as well as his membership in the CUAD when applying for a green card.

This withholding of information, according to federal officials, made Khalil "inadmissible at the time of his adjustment."

Disruptive events in New York City show no signs of abating. In March, students stormed a classroom at Columbia University and took over a building in affiliated Barnard College, where they assaulted an employee. A Within Our Lifetime protest on April 7 "took over" the main concourse of Grand Central Station.

Fox News Digital reached out to CUAD, Columbia SJP, Within Our Lifetime, and Columbia-Barnard JVP for comment about the allegations contained within the lawsuit, but received no response.

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Conclave to pick next pope to begin May 7, Vatican says

The conclave to select the next pope will begin on Wednesday, May 7, according to the Vatican. 

The date was confirmed Monday by papal spokesman Matteo Bruni following the April 21 death of Pope Francis. 

The Vatican also announced "the Sistine Chapel will be closed to the public from Monday 28 April 2025 for the requirements of the Conclave."

An estimated 200,000 people attended a special Mass at St. Peter's Basilica on Sunday by Cardinal Pietro Parolin, the Vatican's secretary of state.  

CONCLAVE ‘VERY, VERY DIFFERENT’ FROM US ELECTIONS; ‘ANYTHING COULD HAPPEN,’ ACCORDING TO EXPERT 

"The shepherd whom the Lord gave to his people, Pope Francis, has ended his earthly life and has left us," Parolin said in his homily. "The grief at his departure, the sense of sadness that assails us, the turmoil we feel in our hearts, the sense of bewilderment: we are experiencing all of this, like the apostles grieving over the death of Jesus. Yet, the Gospel tells us that it is precisely in these moments of darkness that the Lord comes to us with the light of the resurrection, to illuminate our hearts." 

Parolin – a close collaborator of Francis – is considered No. 2 at the Vatican and is one of the possible contenders to be the next pope.

Pope Francis chose his place of burial in St. Mary Major Basilica in Rome, near an icon of the Madonna that he revered, because it reflects his "humble, simple and essential" life, the archbishop who administers the basilica said Friday.

REPORTER’S NOTEBOOK: FROM JOHN PAUL II TO FRANCIS, COVERING TWO HISTORIC PAPACIES 

A conclave, organized by the camerlengo, presently Cardinal Kevin Ferrell, begins 15 to 20 days after the pope’s death. 

"Anything could happen," Tim Gabrielli, associate professor and the Gudorf chair in Catholic intellectual traditions at the University of Dayton in Ohio, told Fox News Digital. 

During a conclave, cardinals vote through a secret ballot. A two-thirds majority is required for the election. After each round of submissions, ballots are read aloud and then burned. The ashes are used to notify audiences around the world and onlookers in St. Peter’s Square of the election’s status. 

Black smoke from the Sistine Chapel at the Vatican indicates a new round of voting is set to happen. White smoke signals a new leader of the Roman Catholic Church is selected. 

Fox News' Danielle Wallace, Gabriele Regalbuto, Courtney Walsh-Annesi and the Associated Press contributed to this report. 

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Trump threats boosted Canada’s Carney, hurt Conservatives as country votes for new leader

OTTAWA- In a dramatic reversal, the governing Liberals, who were trailing the official opposition Conservatives in the polls earlier this year, appear poised to win their fourth consecutive term in office thanks to President Donald Trump’s threats against Canada’s economy and sovereignty, according to election watchers.

"It looks like there will be a Liberal government, which seems to be what the polls point to, and it would be a very big surprise if the Conservatives won," Angus Reid, founder and chair of the Angus Reid Institute, told Fox News Digital.

In an Angus Reid Institute poll released on Dec. 30, the Conservatives were in super-majority territory with 45% support, compared to the Liberals at 11%. The results of a poll released on Saturday had the Liberals at 44% with a four-point lead over the Conservatives at 40%.

TRUMP TAKES CENTER STAGE IN CANADA’S PRIME MINISTER ELECTION DEBATE

"This really has been an extraordinary election in that, by all rights, Canadians had it with the Liberals’ woke policies and with their misspending and didn’t like Trudeau," Reid said.

He explained that the political dynamic changed when Justin Trudeau announced his resignation as Canada’s 23rd prime minister and Trump was inaugurated as the 47th president in January, and former central bank governor Mark Carney succeeded Trudeau as prime minister and Liberal leader in March.

"Between tariffs and threats of annexation, Trump became the single most important issue in the country overnight," said Reid. "That gave Mark Carney an opportunity to be the first out of the gate to say that we’re not going to put up with this – we’re a sovereign nation and we’re going to fight."

The campaign has been a two-party race between the Liberals and Conservatives and led by two starkly different leaders who focused on strengths that their critics considered weaknesses.

Carney, a 60-year-old former senior executive at Goldman Sachs who never held elected office prior to winning the Liberal leadership, has called on voters to consider – during a time of economic crisis fueled by Trump’s threats – his experience, which includes running the central banks of Canada and England, and as the United Nations Special Envoy for Climate Action and Finance. 

His detractors, however, have accused him of being out of touch and "not connected to the common man" and has spent a fair amount of time outside Canada, as a former deputy national Conservative Party campaign manager told Fox News Digital last month.

Meanwhile, Poilievre’s message to voters is that he is the agent for "change." However, his opponents claim the 45-year-old Conservative leader is part of the political establishment, having spent almost half of his life as a member of Parliament since he was first elected in 2004 – and the change he touts came with a shift in Liberal leadership from Trudeau to Carney.

WHO IS PIERRE POILIEVRE? CANADA'S CONSERVATIVE LEADER SEEKING TO BECOME NEXT PRIME MINISTER AFTER TRUDEAU EXIT

The results of an Ipsos poll conducted for Global News in Canada, released on April 21, showed a narrow three-point lead for the Liberals at 41% over the Conservatives at 38%. 

Darrell Bricker, CEO of Ipsos Global Public Affairs, told Fox News Digital that the Liberals were ahead of the Conservatives by 12 points in mid-April and have lost ground since "because of the effect of Donald Trump, both positive and negative."

"When Donald Trump is in the news saying 51st-state stuff, that brings the focus back to the major issue that the Liberals lead on, which is dealing with him," said Bricker.

"But over the past two weeks, Donald Trump has kind of gone dark on Canada. He’s been focused on China, U.S. government funding of Harvard University, and to the extent he’s talking about trade, it’s about global trade deals."

That, said Bricker, has resulted in many Canadians returning to their pre-Trump main issue of affordability, through the lens of the Liberals running the government over the past decade.

Ultimately, the outcome of Monday’s general election will be decided by geography, according to Bricker, who said that the national vote "will be won or lost" in Ontario, particularly in Toronto and the surrounding so-called 905 region, which refers to the telephone area code, where there are 55 ridings (electoral districts) and about 4.5 million eligible voters.

"The 905 voted overwhelmingly for Justin Trudeau’s Liberals three times," said Bricker. "If they do it again, the Liberals will win a fourth consecutive term in office."

CANADA’S NEW PM AND TRUMP CRITIC MARK CARNEY ACCUSED OF BEING OUT OF TOUCH WITH THE 'COMMON MAN’

Last week, Carney said if he remains prime minister following the election that he would have a meeting with Trump "within days" as part of an "ambitious and broad-ranging discussion" on a new trade and security deal between Canada and the U.S.

Reid said that the Liberals’ improved showing was not just about Canadians warming to Carney, but also about Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre’s failure to turn the dial from focusing on a consumer carbon tax, which the Liberal leader canceled on April 1 in his first act as prime minister, and "still reflecting on Trudeau long after he had gone, instead of jumping right away onto the Trump threat and becoming something that he would lead the charge on."

The irony, in Reid’s view, is that "Trump imperiled the campaign of an individual who could be in many ways his stepbrother in Canada," he said about Poilievre, who he called "mini-Trump," and his "anti-woke," smaller-government stance – "Trump-esque policies that the American right might want to see in Canada and certainly a lot of Canadians on the right want to see."

According to Elections Canada, a record 7.3 million Canadians cast their ballots in advance polls over the Easter weekend. 

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Putin thanks North Korea for sending troops to fight Ukraine: 'Will never forget the heroism'

Russian President Vladimir Putin on Monday thanked North Korea for sending troops to fight alongside Russia in Moscow's war against Ukraine and vowed not to forget their sacrifices.

Putin's comments came just hours after North Korea confirmed for the first time that it had deployed troops to fight Ukrainian forces.

Russia said two days earlier that its troops had fully reclaimed the Kursk region, which Ukrainian forces seized last year. Ukrainian officials have denied Russia's claim and said that the operation in certain areas of Kursk is ongoing.

In a statement, Putin praised North Korean troops who he said fought "shoulder to shoulder with Russian fighters, defended our Motherland as their own."

TRUMP BLASTS PUTIN, QUESTIONING IF RUSSIAN LEADER WANTS PEACE OR IS JUST 'TAPPING ME ALONG'

"The Russian people will never forget the heroism of the DPRK special forces," Putin said. "We will always honor the heroes who gave their lives for Russia, for our common freedom, fighting side by side with their Russian brothers in arms."

Earlier Monday, North Korea's Central Military Commission said the country's leader, Kim Jong Un, had sent troops to Russia to "annihilate and wipe out the Ukrainian neo-Nazi occupiers and liberate the Kursk area in cooperation with the Russian armed forces." North Korean troops eventually made "an important contribution" to Russia seizing the border territory, the commission said.

While this was North Korea's first official confirmation that its troops were deployed to Russia, it has repeatedly expressed its unwavering support of Russia's war against Ukraine.

U.S., South Korean and Ukrainian intelligence officials have said North Korea deployed 10,000-12,000 troops to Russia last fall in its first involvement in a major armed conflict since the Korean War in the early 1950s.

RUSSIA 'READY TO MAKE A DEAL' ON UKRAINE WAR, LAVROV SAYS

Putin and Kim said the deployment of North Korean troops was made under a mutual defense treaty signed in June 2024 that requires both countries to use all available means to provide immediate military assistance if either is attacked.

The two U.S. adversaries have moved significantly closer to each other in recent years.

In addition to its deployment of troops, North Korea has been supplying a large number of conventional weapons to Russia. South Korea and the U.S. are concerned that Russia could reward North Korea with military and economic assistance, including by transferring high-tech weapons technologies that can bolster its nuclear weapons program.

Kim citing North Korea’s role in Russia regaining control of the Kursk region suggests his urgent desire to receive what he wants from Russia, including its sensitive military technologies and a solid security commitment to North Korea, according to Moon Seong Mook, an analyst for the Seoul-based Korea Research Institute for National Strategy.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Monday that Russia could provide military assistance to North Korea if necessary in accordance with the defense treaty, Russian state media reported.

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North Korea and Russia did not disclose how many North Korean soldiers were sent to Russia or how many casualties they suffered. But last month, South Korea’s military assessed that roughly 4,000 North Korean soldiers had been killed or wounded in the Russia-Ukraine war. The South Korean military also said North Korea sent about 3,000 additional troops to Russia earlier this year.

South Korea’s Unification Ministry on Monday called on North Korea to withdraw its troops from Russia immediately, arguing that the North’s support of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine poses a grave provocation to international security. Ministry spokesperson Koo Byoungsam also called the North’s deployment of troops "an act against humanity."

If Russia’s retaking of Kursk is confirmed, it would deprive Ukraine of key leverage in U.S.-brokered efforts to negotiate an end to the war by exchanging its gains for some Russia-occupied land in Ukraine.

U.S. President Donald Trump said Saturday he doubts Putin wants to end the war. Just a day before, Trump had said Ukraine and Russia were "very close to a deal."

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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Greenland's prime minister says island cannot be bought, US has 'not been respectful'

Greenland's Prime Minister Jens-Frederik Nielsen said Sunday that comments from U.S. officials about the Arctic island have been disrespectful and that the island cannot be purchased, in defiance of U.S. President Donald Trump, who has repeatedly floated the idea of buying the strategic territory.

Nielsen said Greenland "will never, ever be a piece of property that can be bought by just anyone" as he stood by Denmark's Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen during a joint press conference at Frederiksen's Marienborg official residence in Lyngby, Denmark.

The Greenlandic prime minister was meeting with Frederiksen on the second day of a three-day official visit to Denmark. Greenland is a semi-autonomous territory of Denmark.

"The talks from the United States have not been respectful," Nielsen said. "The words used have not been respectful. That’s why we need in this situation, we need to stand together."

TRUMP SAYS HE WASN'T 'TROLLING' ABOUT ACQUIRING GREENLAND, CANADA AS 51ST STATE

Political parties in Greenland recently agreed to form a broad-based new coalition government amid Trump’s targets on the territory.

This, as the island has for years been leaning toward eventual independence from Denmark.

Nielsen’s three-day visit seeks to address future cooperation between the two countries.

"Denmark has the will to invest in the Greenlandic society, and we don’t just have that for historical reasons. We also have that because we are part of (the Danish) commonwealth with each other," Frederiksen said.

"We of course have a will to also continue investing in the Greenlandic society," she added.

Nielsen is scheduled to meet Denmark's King Frederik X on Monday before returning to Greenland with Frederik for a royal visit to the island.

Frederiksen and Nielsen were asked whether a meeting had been planned involving them and Trump.

TRUMP REMAINS OPTIMISTIC ABOUT ODDS OF ACQUIRING GREENLAND: 'I THINK IT'LL HAPPEN'

"We always want to meet with the American president," Frederiksen said. "Of course we want to. But I think we have been very, very clear in what is the [Danish commonwealth’s] approach to all parts of the Kingdom of Denmark."

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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Taiwan on edge after Pope Francis's death, closely watching Vatican-China relations

KAOHSIUNG, Taiwan - Some in Taiwan are watching with growing unease as the Catholic Church prepares to elect a new leader following the death of Pope Francis. The Holy See is the only European state that maintains diplomatic relations with Taipei, but some fear the growing ties between the Vatican and Beijing could change things.

Taiwan is home to fewer than 300,000 Catholics. By contrast, estimates put the number of Catholics in communist China at anywhere between eight and 12 million, with another 390,000 in Chinese-ruled Hong Kong. Despite these figures, the Holy See continues to recognize Taiwan as the sole "China."

After Pope Francis’ death, Taiwan’s President William Lai quickly said he planned to attend the funeral. A short time later, however, Taiwan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs announced that former Vice President and devout Catholic Chen Chien-jen will be Taiwan’s envoy. 

POPE FRANCIS EMPHASIZED CATHOLICISM GLOBALLY, REACHED BEYOND US, EUROPE INTO IMPOVERISHED NATIONS

According to Taipei-based lawyer and political risk analyst Ross Feingold, Taiwan will be disappointed that President Lai will miss this gathering of world leaders. "The precedent exists for Taiwan’s president to attend a pope’s funeral. In 2005, then-President Chen Shui-bian attended John Paul II’s funeral, so," he claimed, "it’s safe to assume President Lai’s team inquired whether Lai could attend Francis’ funeral, and equally safe to assume the Holy See’s response was a negative one."

After Pope Francis took office in 2013, the Vatican began to build ties with Beijing. In 2018, it signed a controversial agreement with China on the appointment of bishops. The deal—renewed and extended several times—gives both sides input on bishop selection, an attempt to bridge the divide between China’s state-run Catholic Church and an underground church loyal to Rome. Vatican officials insist the agreement is pastoral, not political. Still, for Taiwan, it is seen as a warning sign.

China, which cut ties with the Holy See in 1951, demands that all countries end diplomatic relations with Taiwan before establishing relations with Beijing. Taiwan’s official allies now number but 12, and the Holy See is its most symbolically significant diplomatic partner.

But Thomas Tu, a Vatican diplomacy expert at Taiwan’s National Chengchi University, told Fox News Digital that fears of an imminent switch are overblown. "This isn’t just about politics—it’s about the global Catholic mission," Tu said. "The Vatican has survived empires. It’s patient." Tu cited the Vatican’s relationship with Vietnam as evidence of pragmatic patience. China and Vietnam do not have formal ties, but the Vatican maintains a high-level religious representative there.

FIRST PHOTOS RELEASED OF POPE FRANCIS IN HIS CASKET; FUNERAL SET FOR SATURDAY

Pope Francis believed that engagement with China, however imperfect, is preferable to nothing. Francis was the first pope to fly through Chinese airspace and famously sent greetings to President Xi Jinping in 2014. On his visit to Mongolia in 2023, the pontiff also sent a "warm greeting to the noble Chinese people."

Each overture to Beijing has drawn criticism from within the Church, particularly from outspoken China critics, such as 93-year-old retired Cardinal Joseph Zen of Hong Kong, who was arrested in 2022 after China imposed a National Security Law that criminalized almost every form of dissent in that supposedly autonomous special administrative region. Zen's passport was recently returned to him by authorities so he could attend the pope's funeral.

Zen and others view any warming of ties with Beijing as kowtowing to an officially atheist regime.

Since 1957, Beijing, via its Chinese Patriotic Catholic Association, has kept a tight leash on millions of Chinese Catholics. Pope Francis accepted some compromises with China, but the Vatican wants autonomy in spiritual matters, which may require a miracle to accomplish under China’s one-party dictatorship.

Some observers suggest that Beijing may eventually allow more space for the Vatican, but any formal deal would require the Holy See to sever ties with Taiwan, a non-negotiable prerequisite for China. 

With a new pope being elected in the next month, some in Taiwan are worried about a shift, but few experts believe the next pontiff will make any hasty decisions. "There’s no rush," said Dr. Chang Ching, a Senior Research Fellow of the ROC Society for Strategic Studies, "The Vatican knows how to wait, and China isn’t willing yet to grant the Chinese Catholic community the same privileges Catholics enjoy in most other nations. This seventy-plus-year rift is just a tiny moment in the long history of the Church and the even longer history of Chinese civilization."

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Vancouver driver plows into crowd of people attending Filipino festival, killing multiple victims

A driver ran a car into a crowd at a Filipino festival in Vancouver, Canada, on Saturday night, leaving several victims dead and others injured, local authorities said. 

The incident happened shortly after 8 p.m. at the Lapu Lapu Day block party, the Vancouver Police Department said in a social media post.

"A number of people have been killed and multiple others are injured after a driver drove into a crowd at a street festival at E. 41st Avenue and Fraser shortly after 8 p.m. tonight," police said.

SKYROCKETING ANTISEMITISM IN CANADA SPARKS CONCERN FOR COUNTRY'S JEWS AHEAD OF ELECTION

The exact number of people dead or injured was not immediately known.

The driver was taken into custody, police said. The motive for the person driving into the crowd is unclear at this time.

SENATE APPROVES PETER HOEKSTRA AS NEXT US AMBASSADOR TO CANADA

Video posted on social media showed victims and debris strewn across a long stretch of road.

A black SUV with a damaged front section was seen in still photos from the scene.

This is a developing story. Check back for updates.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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Here's why a flare-up between India and Pakistan over Kashmir matters

India and Pakistan have intensified their hostilities over the hotly contested Kashmir region following a massacre of 26 mostly Indian tourists, which New Delhi linked to Pakistan.

Pakistan denies it was behind Tuesday's attack by gunmen on a group of tourists in Kashmir. Both sides have since escalated the tensions by exchanging diplomatic and trade sanctions against each other and raising fears of a military conflict.

INDIA VOWS TO HUNT TERRORISTS ‘TO THE ENDS OF THE EARTH’ AS TENSIONS WITH PAKISTAN RISE AFTER KASHMIR ATTACK

Here are five reasons why a flare-up between India and Pakistan matters:

Under intense domestic pressure, India has hinted at the possibility of a limited military strike on Pakistan in response to what it called the "terror attack" with "cross-border links." Pakistan has made it clear that it will respond militarily to an attack.

This raises fears that an escalation by any one side could lead to a wider war. The last time the two nations came to blows was in 2019, when a suicide car bombing killed 40 Indian soldiers in Kashmir.

In 2021, the sides renewed a ceasefire agreement along their border, which has largely held. That relative calm was broken on Thursday after a brief exchange of fire between their armies.

Both India and Pakistan are armed with nuclear weapons. There are fears that any conventional war or skirmish between them could potentially turn into a nuclear exchange.

India and Pakistan fought two major wars, in 1965 and 1971, but in 1974, India conducted its first nuclear tests, raising the stakes in any military conflict. It triggered a nuclear race and Pakistan reached that same milestone in 1998.

Since then, India and Pakistan have had one major border skirmish in 1999 that killed at least 1,000 combatants. The fighting only stopped after the U.S. intervened.

India and China are geopolitical rivals whose armies clashed along the disputed Himalayan border in 2020. Ties between the Asian giants have improved since, but they still maintain large numbers of troops on their borders. Their borders are also contiguous to Pakistan's, making it the world’s only three-way nuclear junction.

Beijing also controls a part of the Kashmir region that New Delhi says belongs to India.

On the other hand, China is also a main ally of Pakistan and has helped advance its missile programs, creating additional military concerns for New Delhi. Meanwhile, India maintains strong defense ties with the U.S., which has long sought to limit Beijing’s rise in the Indo-Pacific region.

Experts say any conflict between India and Pakistan is unlikely to stay strictly between them, as their strategic partners are likely to get involved.

In response to the massacre, India suspended a crucial treaty that governs the flow of river waters into Pakistan. Pakistan said it would consider any attempt to stop the flow of water from India an "act of war."

Under the Indus Water treaty, India is obliged to let six rivers flow freely to Pakistan. If India follows through and restricts the flow, it could have a devastating impact on Pakistan's agriculture as it battles acute water shortages.

It's also a major environmental issue. Water insecurity is a big concern in both India and Pakistan due to rapidly growing populations and climate change.

Rights groups — including the U.N. — have blamed New Delhi for rights violations, including civilian killings and arbitrary arrests, in Indian-controlled Kashmir as a result of an intense crackdown by Indian forces. It has hurt India's human rights record and raised concerns that global powers are not doing enough to pressure New Delhi and hold it accountable.

Militants fighting against Indian rule have also killed scores of civilians, including Hindu pilgrims.

India has used military response against militants as part of its efforts to eradicate "terrorism," saying it threatens regional stability.

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Biden relegated to back of world leaders section at pope's funeral: 'No longer part of cool kids club'

Former President Joe Biden was among many global luminaries in attendance at Pope Francis' funeral Saturday at the Vatican, but no longer being the leader of the free world changes everything.

Biden was accompanied by his wife, former first lady Jill Biden, but they were not seated near President Donald Trump and other world leaders. The couple instead sat toward the back of the foreign dignitaries section because they are no longer heads of state.

"Biden is no longer part of the cool kids club," one account commented on X, sharing an image of Biden near the back of the section at the funeral.

POPE FRANCIS HELD LINE ON GENDER IDEOLOGY, HAD WELCOMING POSTURE TO LGBT COMMUNITY

 "LMAO! They put Biden in the way back at the funeral of Pope Francis," another person commented on X.

"Look at how lost he looks." 

"They put Biden in the back of the Pope's funeral like a dog," another X user wrote.

"Joe Biden was treated like a nursing home patient on the world stage President Trump is treated like a Rockstar on the world stage!" another person posted on X, showing the former president far away from Trump and other world leaders.

Biden was also seen being escorted to his seat by his wife and a priest, gripping onto both and moving cautiously. 

Once in his seating area, Biden took selfies with Uganda Deputy Speaker of Parliament Thomas Tayebwa before the pope's funeral began. 

POPE FRANCIS' FUNERAL SCHEDULE, WHAT TO EXPECT FROM THE NOVENDIALI, A 9-DAY PERIOD OF PRAYER, MOURNING

Biden posed in several other photos with other mourners in attendance at the funeral, and he was smiling in each snapshot. 

Biden, the second Catholic U.S. president, visited the Vatican in October 2021, when he and Pope Francis met to discuss topics like climate change and advocacy for the poor, according to a transcript fdrom the meeting. 

CHURCH EXPERT PREDICTS ELECTION OF NEXT POPE WILL FEATURE ‘MOST DIVERSE’ CONCLAVE IN CHURCH HISTORY

Biden had previously met Pope Francis on several other occasions, including during the pope’s visit to the U.S. in 2015. 

Biden also met with Pope Francis in June at the G7 Leaders’ Summit in Apulia, Italy, where the two discussed the ongoing Israel-Hamas war, the humanitarian crisis in Gaza and the conflict between Ukraine and Russia, according to a readout of the meeting. 

Biden, who awarded Pope Francis the Presidential Medal of Freedom in January, described him as a "consequential" leader Monday who was a "Pope for everyone." 

"He was unlike any who came before him," Biden said in a post on X Monday morning. "Pope Francis will be remembered as one of the most consequential leaders of our time and I am better for having known him. For decades, he served the most vulnerable across Argentina and his mission of serving the poor never ceased. As Pope, he was a loving pastor and challenging teacher who reached out to different faiths."

Francis, who had battled pneumonia for weeks before being released from the hospital, faced health complications for many years and had half a lung removed when he was young. 

Francis, 88, died Monday morning, the day after Easter, at the Vatican.

Dr. Andrea Arcangeli, the head of the Vatican’s health department, said the pope died of a cerebral stroke that ultimately caused heart failure, which put him into a coma and led to irreversible heart failure, according to Vatican officials.

He was elected to the papacy on March 13, 2013, and was the first Jesuit to become pope.

The pope's last public appearance was on Easter Sunday at St. Peter's Square.

Biden's office did not immediately respond to Fox News Digital’s request for comment.

Fox News Digital's Diana Stancy contributed to this report.

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Who will attend Pope Francis’ funeral?

The funeral for Pope Francis, who was 88 years old when he died on April 21, is expected to be widely attended by not only the faithful, who are expected to travel worldwide for the event, but also by world leaders. 

Some 130 delegations confirmed they will travel to Rome for the funeral at St. Peter's Basilica, including roughly 50 heads of state and at least another 10 world leaders.

President Donald Trump will travel with his wife, first lady Melani Trump, who is a Roman Catholic, for the funeral in a show of respect despite the fact the president and the pope at times butted heads. 

Neither Vice President JD Vance, who visited the pope on the eve of his death, nor his wife, Usha, are expected to be at the funeral. 

Former President Joe Biden is expected to be in attendance, according to Italian media reports.

TRUMP WILL ATTEND POPE FRANCIS' FUNERAL IN ROME DESPITE CONTENTIOUS PAST: 'LOOK FORWARD TO BEING THERE!'

Just as his father, now-King Charles III, represented the late Queen Elizabeth II at the funeral of Pope John Paul II in 2005, the eldest son and next in line for the throne, Prince William, will attend the funeral on Saturday.

His family is not expected to be with him, though Prime Minister Kier Starmer is expected to attend the pontiff’s funeral.

Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni reportedly canceled travel plans to Uzbekistan and Kazakhstan so she could attend the pope’s funeral. 

In a tribute to Pope Francis posted on social media the day he died, Meloni said, "I had the privilege of enjoying his friendship, his advice, his teachings, which never ceased, not even during times of trial and suffering."

MILEI, POPE FRANCIS EMBRACE IN ROME DESPITE PAST INSULTS

Javier Milei, president of Pope Francis’ native country of Argentina, confirmed he would make the journey to pay his respects to the man of whom he was often critical.

In a statement issued after the pope's death, Milei said, "Despite differences that seem minor today, having been able to know him in his goodness and wisdom was a true honor for me."

Ireland, a Catholic nation, will be represented by both President Michael Higgins and Prime Minister Martin for the pontiff’s funeral.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy confirmed he will attend Pope Francis’ funeral at St. Peter’s Basilica, and in a tribute to the pontiff, he said, "We remember his prayers for peace in Ukraine. Our state will be represented in Rome at the farewell ceremony this coming Saturday."

Zelenskyy last visited the pope in October 2024.

EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen confirmed she will attend the pope’s funeral in what will mark the first event she and Trump have attended since he took office.

Many other world leaders are expected to attend, though notably leaders from adversarial nations like Russian President Vladimir Putin and Chinese President Xi Jinping, as well as leaders of nations the pope was critical of over human rights concerns, like Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, will not be in attendance on Saturday.

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Pope Francis' funeral schedule, what to expect from the Novendiali, a 9-day period of prayer, mourning

Pope Francis’ funeral will be held on Saturday at 10:00 a.m. local Rome time (4:00 a.m. ET) and more than 200,000 people are expected to attend the deceased Vicar of Christ’s services.

Thousands of mourners have taken to the Vatican this week to pay their final respects to Pope Francis following his death on Monday.

The funeral Mass will be held on the parvis of St. Peter’s Basilica, and His Most Reverend Eminence Cardinal Giovanni Battista Re, Dean of the College of Cardinals, will preside over the Catholic rites and blessings.

Mass will begin with an Entrance Antiphon, typically sung or recited by clergy and mourners.

FOX NEWS TO AIR SPECIAL LIVE COVERAGE OF POPE FRANCIS' FUNERAL ON SATURDAY

Then, the congregation will acknowledge their sins with the Penitential Act followed by the Collect, or opening prayer.

Cardinal Battista will then extend the First Reading, a reading from the Acts of the Apostles, to the congregation of worshipers.

The Responsorial Psalm "The Lord is my Shepherd," or "Psalm 23," is to be sung. The Second Reading, a reading from the Letter of Saint Paul to the Philippians, typically recited by an instituted lector at a pope’s funeral, will be heard among parishioners.

The Acclamation and the Gospel will follow.

Cardinal Battista will give the Homily, a reflection, which includes prayer for Pope Francis, the faithful departed and the congregation. The dean of the Roman Catholic Church's College of Cardinals will consecrate the Body and Blood of Christ and invite the faithful to receive Holy Communion following the Communion Rite, or the Our Father prayer.

THEOLOGIAN ON ‘CONCLAVE’ ACCURACY, EXPECTATIONS FOR NEXT SECRETIVE EVENT AFTER POPE FRANCIS' DEATH

Requiem Aeternam, a chant often heard among funeral-goers, is to be recited during Communion, followed by a prayer.

Cardinal Battista will offer a final Commendation and Farewell including the Prayer of the Church in Rome and the Prayer of Eastern Churches.

The funeral liturgy "I Know That My Redeemer Lives" will be sung or chanted by the congregation, and Mass will conclude with the Canticle of the Blessed Virgin Mary.

Pope Francis will be buried in a wooden casket at the Basilica of Santa Maria Maggiore, a place he often visited with flowers during his 12-year papacy.

POPE FRANCIS EMPHASIZED CATHOLICISM GLOBALLY, REACHED BEYOND US, EUROPE INTO IMPOVERISHED NATIONS

The Novendiali, an ancient and customary nine-day period of prayer, remembrance and mourning, will begin on the day of Pope Francis’ funeral on the parvis of St. Peter’s Basilica.

Pope Francis’ Holy Mass led by His Most Reverend Eminence Cardinal Giovanni Battista Re, Dean of the College of Cardinals, will commence the nine Masses in memory of the deceased pontiff.

While the Masses are open to public audiences, they are specifically held for employees and faithful of Vatican City.

The schedule is as follows, according to the Vatican:

POPE FRANCIS TO LIE IN STATE, MOURNERS WELCOME: WHAT TO EXPECT FROM THE PONTIFF'S FUNERAL

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Indian officials say troops exchanged fire with Pakistani soldiers in disputed Kashmir

Indian and Pakistani soldiers briefly exchanged fire along their highly militarized frontier in the disputed Himalayan region of Kashmir, Indian officials said Friday, as tensions soared between the nuclear-armed rivals following a deadly attack on tourists.

India has described the massacre in which gunmen killed 26 people, most of them Indian, as a "terror attack" and accused Pakistan of backing it. Pakistan denied any connection to the attack near the resort town of Pahalgam in India-controlled Kashmir. It was claimed by a previously unknown militant group calling itself the Kashmir Resistance.

INDIA VOWS TO HUNT TERRORISTS ‘TO THE ENDS OF THE EARTH’ AS TENSIONS WITH PAKISTAN RISE AFTER KASHMIR ATTACK

With the region on edge, three Indian army officials said that Pakistani soldiers fired at an Indian position in Kashmir late Thursday. The officials, who spoke on condition of anonymity in keeping with departmental policy, said Indian soldiers retaliated and no casualties were reported.

Pakistan's Ministry of Foreign Affairs declined to comment on the report.

Tensions rise

Tuesday’s attack in Kashmir was the worst assault in years targeting civilians in the restive region. Since then, tensions have risen dangerously between India and Pakistan, which have fought two of their three wars over Kashmir, which is split between them and claimed by both in its entirety.

On Wednesday, India suspended a crucial water-sharing treaty that has withstood two wars between the countries and closed their only functional land border crossing. A day later, India revoked all visas issued to Pakistani nationals with effect from Sunday.

Pakistan responded angrily that it has nothing to do with the attack, and canceled visas issued to Indian nationals, closed its airspace for all Indian-owned or Indian-operated airlines and suspended all trade with India. Nationals from both sides began heading back to their home countries through the Wagah border near Pakistan’s eastern city of Lahore on Friday.

Islamabad also warned that any Indian attempt to stop or divert the flow of water would be considered an "act of war." The suspension of the water treaty could lead to water shortages at a time when parts of Pakistan are already struggling with drought and declining rainfall.

Pakistan has also warned it could suspend the Simla Agreement — in what would be a major and worrying step. The peace treaty signed after the 1971 India-Pakistan war established the Line of Control, a highly militarized de facto border that divides Kashmir between the countries.

The United Nations has urged India and Pakistan "to exercise maximum restraint and to ensure that the situation and the developments we’ve seen do not deteriorate any further."

"Any issues between Pakistan and India, we believe can be and should be resolved peacefully, through meaningful, mutual engagement," the statement said Friday.

India and Pakistan each administer a part of Kashmir. New Delhi describes all militancy there as Pakistan-backed terrorism. Pakistan denies this, and many Muslim Kashmiris consider the militants to be part of a home-grown freedom struggle.

Residents and police in southern Kashmir said Indian soldiers detonated explosives in the family homes of two suspected militants they accused of being involved in Tuesday’s attack. In the past, Indian troops have demolished homes as a way to punish militancy in Kashmir.

Authorities say they are investigating two local men and two Pakistani nationals for their alleged involvement in the attack. Officials have not elaborated or shared any evidence.

"He left home three years ago. We haven’t seen him since and nothing was ever recovered from this house despite multiple raids," said Afroza, the aunt of one of the local men accused, Asif Sheikh. The blast partially damaged the house in Monghama village that she shares with Sheikh's parents and two sisters, including blowing out its windows. It also shattered windowpanes of several other homes.

"Even if he had done the attack, why blow up the house of a poor family," Afroza, who like many women in Kashmir uses only one name, said as she wailed.

A police official and two residents in Guree village said a house there was also targeted by soldiers. The official insisted on anonymity because he was not authorized to speak with media while the two villagers feared reprisals from authorities.

Protesters take to the streets

Also Friday, hundreds of people rallied in Muzaffarabad, the capital of Pakistan-administered Kashmir, to denounce the suspension of the water-sharing treaty.

The demonstrators chanted slogans against Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and burned his effigy before dispersing peacefully. Similar small rallies were also held elsewhere.

Pakistan’s Senate condemned the attack, while passing a resolution denouncing New Delhi’s attempt to link Islamabad to it and the suspension of the water treaty.

Hundreds of demonstrators also took to streets in India’s capital of New Delhi, where most markets were shut in protest against the killings. They demanded action against Pakistan.

"Now our patience has run out," protester Surekha Sharma said. "Now we want revenge for this."

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Trump’s goodwill tested as Putin ignores peace efforts during Witkoff's visit

President Donald Trump’s patience is being tested by Russian President Vladimir Putin, who launched a barrage of airstrikes on the Ukrainian capital city of Kyiv, killing 12 people and injuring nearly 100 more this week, one day ahead of Special Envoy Steve Witkoff’s fourth visit to Moscow.

Trump told reporters Friday he believes it is "possible" and even "very probable" his administration will negotiate a peace deal between Russia and Ukraine. 

"I think, in the end, we're going to end up with a lot of good deals, including tariff deals and trade deals. We're going to make our country rich," Trump said ahead of his departure for Rome. "We're going to try and get out of war so that we can save 5,000 people a week. That's what my aim is."

TRUMP'S 'STOP' MESSAGE TO PUTIN ECHOES BIDEN'S 'DON'T' FROM 2022

Trump repeated that he has no deadline for a deal, only that one must be ironed out "as fast as possible."

He made his comments one week after the U.S. threatened to abandon talks if Russia and Ukraine didn’t soon reach a deal and one day after Trump issued a direct message to Putin on social media to "stop" bombing Ukraine. 

"I am not happy with the Russian strikes on KYIV. Not necessary, and very bad timing. Vladimir, STOP! 5,000 soldiers a week are dying. Let’s get the peace deal DONE," he wrote. 

Trump also conceded that his repeated claims from the campaign trail that he would have the war in Ukraine stopped within 24 hours of taking office were not based on realistic goals but were "figurative."

"I said that as an exaggeration," he told reporters, again blaming the war on his predecessor, President Biden.

But it appears Trump’s verbal warnings to Putin have fallen on deaf ears, similar to the results of Biden’s verbal warnings. Trump has repeatedly accused Biden of being partly at fault for the war, though he has not explained why. 

Former Moscow CIA Station Chief Dan Hoffman said he and other security experts repeatedly warned that, under the Biden administration, Ukraine was not sufficiently armed to adequately take on Russia. 

"After failing to deter Putin's invasion, the Biden administration just kept Ukraine in the fight but didn't give Ukraine a chance to punch back fast enough or hard enough," he said.

"There are three options," Hoffman added, explaining how the U.S. can use its position as leverage over Moscow. "One, entice Russia. That's what Trump is trying to do with trade deals and eliminating sanctions. And Putin has kind of plowed through that by rejecting confidence-building ceasefire deals.

TRUMP INSISTS UKRAINE-RUSSIA PEACE DEAL IS CLOSE, BUT MISTRUST IN PUTIN LEAVES EXPERTS SKEPTICAL

"The second option is to make Putin pay on the battlefield so that he feels so much pain he has to stop the invasion," he added. "We convince Putin that we're going to rearm Ukraine by saying, 'We've offered you a great deal. You don't want the deal, we're going to arm the Ukrainians.

"The third option is to just walk away and let Europe fend for themselves and support Ukraine as much as they can. We would run the risk that Russia would take more territory from Ukraine. That would be a victory for Russia and its allies – China, North Korea and Iran.

"Let them do it, and then you'll pay the price everywhere else in the world," Hoffman warned, referring to China's threats against Taiwan. "Americans don't like to fight wars. OK, we don't like to lose wars either."

NATO CHIEF SENDS MESSAGE TO RUSSIA: YOU 'ARE NOT WINNING THIS’

An official with knowledge of the talks told Fox News Digital Friday that "Ambassador Witkoff is in Russia to meet with President Putin as part of President Trump's efforts to make peace. 

"It's long past time for the death and destruction to stop, to move past the failed strategies of the past and for an end to this devastating conflict," the official added without commenting on the "substance of negotiations."

A report by Axios this week suggested the White House had extended a "final offer" to Ukraine and Russia that called on Kyiv to recognize Russia's occupation of nearly all the Luhansk region and the occupied areas of the Donetsk, Kherson and Zaporizhzhia regions.

It also said the U.S. would agree to recognize Crimea, which Putin illegally seized from Ukraine in 2014, as now legally a part of Russia, and that Washington would lift sanctions. 

Neither the White House nor the National Security Council responded to Fox News Digital’s repeated questions about whether there will be consequences for Putin should he fail to enter into an agreement with Ukraine.

The administration also did not comment on why it believes Putin wants to enter into an agreement with the U.S. when security officials have repeatedly warned otherwise. 

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has already said he will not acknowledge Crimea as a part of Russia but rather as Ukrainian land illegally occupied by Russia.

Zelenskyy also on Thursday posted a 2018 "Crimea declaration" by Trump's first-term Secretary of State, Mike Pompeo, which said, "No country can change the borders of another by force" in a move to signify Trump’s apparent position change that now favors Russia.

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Russia 'ready to make a deal' on Ukraine war, Lavrov says

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said the Kremlin is "ready to reach a deal" to end the war in Ukraine, which has been raging for more than three years.

In an excerpt of an interview that is set to air in full on Sunday, Lavrov told CBS News that he agreed with President Donald Trump's assertion that talks between Ukraine and Russia were "moving in the right direction." 

TRUMP TELLS PUTIN 'STOP' AFTER DEADLY RUSSIAN STRIKES ON KYIV

Lavrov’s comments came after Trump criticized Russian President Vladimir Putin and demanded he halt the deadly strikes in Ukraine. 

"I am not happy with the Russian strikes on KYIV. Not necessary, and very bad timing. Vladimir, STOP! 5,000 soldiers a week are dying. Let’s get the peace deal DONE," Trump wrote.

However, Lavrov also told CBS News that there were "some specific points, elements of the deal, which need to be fine-tuned," but did not explain what was being negotiated.

Lavrov also apparently made it clear to CBS News that Russia would not give up Crimea, which the country seized from Ukraine in 2014. However, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said this week that his country would not recognize Russian control of Crimea, as it would go against Ukraine’s constitution. Trump slammed Zelenskyy over the "inflammatory" remark and said in a post on Truth Social that the comment was "very harmful" to peace efforts.

"It’s inflammatory statements like Zelenskyy’s that make it so difficult to settle this war," Trump wrote. In the same post, he said it was time for Russia and Ukraine to "get it done" and reach an agreement.

TRUMP INSISTS UKRAINE-RUSSIA PEACE DEAL IS CLOSE, BUT MISTRUST IN PUTIN LEAVES EXPERTS SKEPTICAL

Putin has yet to agree to a U.S. proposal to stop the war, and it remains unclear what exactly would get him to sign a deal. However, the Trump administration is still optimistic about its efforts to end the deadly conflict.

When speaking to reporters in the Oval Office on Thursday, Trump said that he thinks both Ukraine and Russia "want peace right now" and that "they’re ready to do something." He then asked Secretary of State Marco Rubio to weigh in on the status of the peace negotiations.

"This war is endable. Both sides just have to agree to it," Rubio told reporters. He also said there were "good meetings over the weekend," which were presumably focused on ending the conflict.

Rubio added that the results of Russia’s deadly strikes on Ukraine should remind the world why it’s so important to see peace in the region.

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