Zelenskyy says Trump could be ‘decisive’ in bringing an end to the war

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy struck a hopeful tone on Thursday during a televised interview and said he believes President-elect Donald Trump could be "decisive" in ending the war as Kyiv stares down the third anniversary of Russia's invasion. 

"Trump can be decisive. For us, this is the most important thing," Zelenskyy said according to a Reuters report. "His qualities are indeed there. 

"He can be decisive in this war. He is capable of stopping [Russian President Vladimir] Putin or, to put it more fairly, help us stop Putin," he added. "He is able to do this."

UKRAINE: HOW THE WAR SHIFTED IN 2024

Zelenskyy said Trump assured him that Kyiv would be among his first presidential visits following his inauguration later this month as Ukraine looks to stabilize the front lines. 

Stopping Russian advances early in the new year is a top priority for Zelenskyy, who also reportedly claimed that Putin feared negotiations as it would be seen by the Kremlin chief as tantamount to a Russian defeat.

Despite nearly three full years of war, Russia has been unable to achieve not only its initial war aims, but even Putin’s amended plans, which he announced last year when he said his main goal is now to take all the Donbas – a region in eastern Ukraine encompassing much of the Donetsk and Luhansk regions.

However, it is not only Putin who views potential peace negotiations with apparent trepidation. 

Zelenskyy has said he welcomes peace talks, but he has also made it clear that any negotiations on ending the war will only be accepted if Ukraine is granted certain security guarantees – like the possibility of joining NATO.

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"Naturally, any security guarantees without the United States are weak security guarantees for Ukraine," he said, though he added that Washington must take into account Kyiv’s future security.

"It cannot be otherwise," he added. "We are Ukraine, and it's our independence, our land and our future."

Putin, on the other hand, has said he will not accept any cease-fire negotiations that do not include guarantees that bar Kyiv from joining the 32-member body, which under Article 5 of the alliance’s treaty says an attack on one member will trigger an attack from all NATO nations and would effectively ensure a united strike on Moscow should it once again target Ukraine. 

Zelenskyy, who has led the country since 2019, was also asked if he would consider re-running for the presidency. 

The Ukrainian president reiterated that the nation cannot hold elections while in a state of war under the nation’s existing constitution but said he may consider it once the conflict has ended. 

"I don't know how this war will end," he said. "If I can do more than I am able, then I will probably view such a decision [seeking re-election] more positively. For now, this is not an objective for me."

Fox News Digital could not immediately reach the Trump transition team for comment. 

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ISIS increasingly unopposed following US withdrawal from Afghanistan, collapse of Syria

The threat posed by the Islamic State has once again hit the headlines following the New Year's Day attack on a crowded street in New Orleans on Wednesday by a man who may have ties to the terrorist network.

Shamsud-Din Jabbar, a U.S.-born citizen who lived in Texas and an Army Veteran, drove a pickup truck with an ISIS flag into a crowd of people on Bourbon Street, killing at least 15 people and injuring dozens of others.

However, the FBI has not confirmed his direct "affiliation" or "association" with the infamous terrorist network which has been expanding across the globe in recent years, particularly in regions like the Sahel in Africa, despite the 2019 assertion that the terrorist network had been "defeated."

WHO IS SHAMSUD-DIN JABBAR? WHAT WE KNOW ABOUT THE NEW ORLEANS NEW YEARS' TERRORIST SUSPECT

"Claims of the Islamic State defeat, just like claims of the defeat of al Qaeda, are premature," Bill Roggio, senior fellow with the Foundation for Defense of Democracies and editor of the Long War Journal, told Fox News Digital. "These groups may have setbacks, but they're persistent. 

"The Islamic State poses a threat from Afghanistan. It has a significant network in Africa, particularly in the Sahel and in East Africa, in Somalia. And its network in Iraq and Syria persists," he added. 

While the FBI has not confirmed that the New Orleans attacker was directly involved in ISIS, reports have suggested he was apparently sympathetic to the terrorist network and "pledged allegiance to ISIS" in a series of videos posted to his Facebook page, according to The New York Times. 

The FBI has not yet released a motive for the attack, and Roggio explained that this incident is unlikely to indicate there is a "resurgence" of ISIS, though the security expert did highlight that increasingly the terrorist network is finding itself up against less resistance in areas where it was previously opposed. 

The 2021 withdrawal from Afghanistan and the fall of the Bashar al-Assad regime in Syria last month to the al Qaeda-derived organization dubbed Hay’at Tahrir al-Sham left security vacuums in the Middle East and South Asia – similar to what contributed to the rise of ISIS following the U.S. withdrawal from Iraq. Security experts have warned ISIS and other terrorist networks could use these power gaps. 

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ISIS-K – the regional affiliate of the terrorist group that originated in Iraq and Syria – garnered international attention in August 2021 when it attacked Afghans fleeing the Taliban takeover amid the U.S. withdrawal and used a suicide bombing to kill 13 American service members and some 170 Afghan civilians.

The Taliban takeover prompted concern that Afghanistan would become a safe haven for terrorists like Taliban allies al Qaeda, the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan and other jihadi groups, though there was also concern that the new governing body in Afghanistan would be unable to oppose ISIS-K.

ISIS-K has largely been unable to significantly thrive in Afghanistan following the fall of the democratic government and the withdrawal of U.S. forces, but it is also no longer as fervently opposed. 

"The Taliban and the Islamic State are enemies. The Taliban goes after the Islamic State even while we're not there – that doesn't make them a counter-terrorism partner, but now they don't have the dual threat against them – the U.S. targeting the Islamic State and the Taliban targeting the Islamic State – they have greater freedom of movement," Roggio said.  

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The security expert said that when it comes to Afghanistan and the threats posed against the U.S. and its Western allies, the Taliban and al Qaeda remain a greater threat than ISIS, though he emphasized that ISIS does increasingly have "more space to operate."

"The Assad regime was an enemy of the Islamic State," Roggio said. "One of the Islamic State's enemies has been taken off the board, and therefore it will give ISIS more space to regenerate strength in an area where it already has a significant presence."

However, there is a third area where ISIS has strong roots and where it could see a resurgence should the U.S. again pull troops from the area. 

The Biden administration in September announced that, in coordination with the Iraqi government, the U.S. will end its military mission in Iraq to combat the Islamic State by 2026. The move was met with immediate concern from security experts who argued that ISIS remains a top threat to the U.S., and it could further endanger American soldiers still fighting the terrorist network in Syria. 

Specifics on the troop drawdown remain unclear, and plans to renegotiate a change to the withdrawal plans following the collapse of the Assad regime and the ambiguous state of Syria have not emerged. 

It remains further unlikely that the incoming Trump administration will push to keep U.S. soldiers in Iraq despite the threat posed by ISIS given the president-elect’s push to withdraw U.S. forces from Afghanistan during his first term. 

"The U.S. has to decide if it wants to remain in Iraq and Syria in order to counter the Islamic State and other target groups," Roggio said. "And if it decides to stay, it needs to beef up [its] presence in order to deter threats from militia groups that have been attacking U.S. troops.

"The U.S. effort to keep the Islamic State down is critical. Without the U.S. presence there, groups like the Islamic State, will thrive given the lawlessness," the security expert added. "As bad as the Assad regime was, and it was a horrible regime, it did fight the Islamic State – so without their presence, you have another terrorist organization that is in nominal control of large areas of Syria.

"As we learned in Afghanistan, you can't trust terrorists to fight other terrorists," Roggio added. 

Fox News Digital could not reach the Trump transition team for comment on his plans regarding U.S. troops in the Middle East.

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South Korea’s impeached president avoids arrest attempt after hourslong standoff

Impeached South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol on Friday fended off an arrest attempt Friday after a hourslong standoff between investigators with the country’s anti-corruption agency and presidential security. 

Investigators left the president's official residence after the presidential security service blocked them from entering for nearly six hours due to concerns about their safety. 

The agency expressed "serious regret about the attitude of the suspect, who did not respond to a process by law."

Yoon, who was impeached last month over his short-lived martial law declaration, has defied investigators' attempts to question him for weeks. He has not left the residence since Dec. 12, when he went to the nearby presidential office to make a televised statement to the nation, vowing to fight efforts to oust him.

ARREST WARRANT ISSUED FOR IMPEACHED SOUTH KOREAN PRESIDENT AS POLITICAL CRISIS DEEPENS

Apparently frustrated that his policies were blocked by an opposition-dominated parliament, Yoon declared martial law on Dec. 3 and dispatched troops to surround the National Assembly. 

Parliament overturned the declaration within hours in a unanimous vote and impeached Yoon on Dec. 14, accusing him of rebellion. Anti-corruption authorities and public prosecutors, meanwhile, have opened separate investigations. 

A Seoul court issued a warrant for Yoon's detention on Tuesday, but enforcing it is complicated as long as he remains in his official residence.

COURT ISSUES ARREST WARRANT FOR SOUTH KOREA'S PRESIDENT YOON

Yoon's lawyers, who filed a challenge to the warrant on Thursday, say it cannot be enforced at his residence due to a law that protects locations potentially linked to military secrets from search without the consent of the person in charge.

The office said it will discuss further actions, but did not immediately say whether it would make another attempt to detain Yoon. The warrant for his detention is valid for one week.

If investigators manage to detain Yoon, they will likely ask a court for permission to make a formal arrest. Otherwise, he will be released after 48 hours.

Thousands of police officers gathered at Yoon's residence on Friday, forming a perimeter around a growing group of pro-Yoon protesters who braved subfreezing temperatures for hours, waving South Korean and American flags while chanting slogans in his support. 

There were no immediate reports of major clashes outside the residence.

Nearly five hours after dozens of investigators and police officers were seen entering the gate of the residence in Seoul to execute a warrant for Yoon's detention, the dramatic scene appeared to have developed into a standoff. Two of Yoon's lawyers, Yoon Kap-keun and Kim Hong-il, were seen entering the gate of the presidential residence around noon.

It wasn’t clear whether investigators successfully entered Yoon's residential building, but South Korea's YTN television reported scuffles as investigators and police confronted the presidential security forces.

Yoon's presidential powers have been suspended since the National Assembly voted to impeach him on Dec. 14. Yoon's fate now lies with the Constitutional Court, which has begun deliberations on whether to uphold the impeachment and formally remove Yoon from office or reinstate him. At least six justices on the nine-member Constitutional Court must vote in favor of removing him from office.

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Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu leaves hospital after prostate surgery

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was released from hospital on Thursday after his prostate surgery ended "successfully," his office reported on X.

NETANYAHU GOES AGAINST DOCTOR’S ORDERS, APPEARS IN ISRAELI PARLIAMENT AFTER SURGERY

"I have just left Hadassah Ein Kerem Hospital," he said on X. The hospital is in Jerusalem.

His office said Netanyahu, 75, was in good condition and fully conscious after the conclusion of his prostate surgery.

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New Zealand police officer killed in New Year's Day vehicle attack, another injured

A driver ran down two New Zealand police officers as they patrolled on foot in the early hours of New Year’s Day, killing one and seriously injuring the other, the country’s police chief said.

The attack jolted a country where the killing of police officers on duty is rare. Senior Sergeant Lyn Fleming was the first female officer in New Zealand's history killed by a criminal act while at work, police said Thursday.

In Wednesday's attack, the vehicle drove into the officers "at speed" as they performed a routine patrol of a parking lot, before the driver turned and rammed a police car, Police Commissioner Richard Chambers told reporters in the South Island city of Nelson. Fleming died in a local hospital hours later.

BOURBON STREET ATTACK ON NEW YEAR'S REVELERS JUST THE LATEST CASE OF TERRORISTS USING TRUCKS TO KILL

A 32-year-old man was arrested over the incident shortly after it happened, at about 2 a.m. local time. He was charged with eight criminal counts, including murder, attempted murder, assault using a vehicle as a weapon and driving while disqualified.

The other officer struck by the car was in serious condition but was expected to make a full recovery, Chambers said. A third officer who was in the rammed police car received a concussion and two members of the public were hurt, one of them after coming to help the injured officers.

Chambers condemned the "senseless act of an individual who appears to have been determined to cause harm," although he did not suggest a motive.

"There was, at this stage, no indication that was what about to occur, occurred," Chambers said.

Police Minister Mark Mitchell told reporters the officers were "targeted in what I consider a very cowardly attack." It was a "devastating day" for police and for the country, Prime Minister Christopher Luxon wrote on X.

The attack happened in a downtown area of Nelson — population 55,000 — close to the street where the city’s New Year’s Eve celebrations had concluded two hours before.

Before Wednesday, the last killing of a police officer on duty in New Zealand was in 2020, when an officer was shot by a fleeing driver. 33 other officers have died through criminal acts while on duty since 1890, according to police records.

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Fleming had been an officer for 38 years and was a long-serving netball coach at a local girls' high school.

"She's a mother, she's a wife and she's a well-known and highly respected member of the Nelson community," Chambers said.

The man charged is due to appear in court on Friday. A murder conviction in New Zealand draws an automatic sentence of life in prison, with the presiding judge setting a non-parole period of at least 10 years.

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Christians increasingly persecuted worldwide as ‘modern and historical factors converge’

EXCLUSIVE: Reports for years have indicated that religious intolerance is on the rise around the globe in the face of increasing authoritarian rule and the continued spread of Islamic extremism, but a report released Thursday indicates that Christianity, above all others, is taking the biggest hit. 

"The world is seeing an increasing push toward oppressive control over religion, particularly Christianity, as a consequence of several modern and historical factors converging," Jeff King, president of the International Christian Concern (ICC), a non-profit based in Washington, D.C., told Fox News Digital. "Christians face oppression in more countries than any other faith group, with significant challenges in regions like the Middle East, Africa and Asia." 

A report titled "The Global Persecution Index 2025," released by the ICC on Thursday, outlined which nations have become the biggest offenders when it comes to religious oppression, particularly against Christian populations, and found the majority of religion-based persecution is carried out under authoritarian leaders and by Islamic extremist groups. 

PRIEST STABBED IN THE FACE DURING MASS AS RELIGION-BASED HATE CRIME IS ON THE RISE WORLDWIDE

The greatest concentration of "Red Zone" nations, countries with the most severe actions taken against Christians, including torture and death, were found in a strip of land in Africa known as the Sahel, which includes places like Mali, Niger and Chad. However, other significantly dangerous nations for the Christian faith were identified as the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Somalia, Afghanistan, Pakistan and North Korea. 

There is a mounting trend that shows authoritarian policies are on the rise globally – particularly as geopolitics enter an increasingly fragile period – and has meant more nations are clamping down on religion.

Christians and Muslims are the two largest religious groups in the world and consistently see the highest rates of "harassment" – both physical and verbal - over any other group, according to a Pew Research Center (PRC) report released this month, which analyzed findings from 2022 – data that King also referenced. 

While neither the ICC report nor the PRC report were able to break down the exact rates of how many Christians, versus Muslims, or others, were targets of harassment, the PRC found that Christians are targeted in more countries by governments or "social groups" than any other religion, with Muslims coming in second and Jews third. 

"In many authoritarian states, Christianity is seen as a proxy for Western influence and values, which regimes often reject as imperialistic or destabilizing," King told Fox News Digital. "Christianity and other faiths emphasize allegiance to a higher moral authority, which inherently challenges authoritarian regimes that demand complete loyalty to the state." 

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However, while authoritarian attempts to control the hearts and minds of its citizens through oppressive policies are nothing new, emerging and increasingly accessible technology has upped the level to which nations can persecute perceived dissidence.  

Technology like social media in many ways has improved freedom of speech and access to information worldwide, but the expansion of other technologies has also increased oppressive authoritarian systems of hyper-surveillance – even in regions not traditionally seen as religiously oppressive, like Latin America.

"Countries like Nicaragua and Venezuela, traditionally Christian-majority nations, saw a big increase in hostility toward religious groups critical of authoritarian regimes," King said. "The targeting of religious citizens and suppression of dissenting voices marked a new and alarming trend.

"Nations like China exported sophisticated surveillance technology to other authoritarian regimes, enabling tighter control and monitoring of religious groups," he added. 

Some nations have increasingly viewed Christianity as a threat to their cultural norms, including India, which in recent years has seen a severe increase in the number of attacks against Christians, according to not only the ICC and the PRC reports, but also a report submitted to the United Nations General Assembly by the Human Rights Council in February. 

"In countries like India and Pakistan, social media platforms were used to incite mob violence and spread disinformation about Christian communities, leading to targeted attacks," King explained.

The violence and oppression against religious groups around the globe are not isolated events and are indicative of an increasingly growing threat reminiscent of historical atrocities carried out under similar oppressive policies. 

"Many nations are experiencing democratic backsliding, with authoritarian leaders consolidating power and silencing dissent, including religious voices," King explained in reference to the Soviet Union and Nazi Germany. "Economic crises, political unrest, and social inequalities create conditions where leaders seek scapegoats or distractions, often targeting religious minorities to unite the majority under their rule. 

"Today’s regimes are drawing from this playbook as they face similar challenges to their authority," he added. "Religion, with its ability to inspire freedom, hope and resistance, is viewed as a mortal enemy to their dominance. 

"This trend is exacerbated by technological advancements, rising nationalism, and global instability, making the fight for religious freedom more urgent than ever," King warned.

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Global rise in antisemitism leaves Jewish community isolated, rabbi says world at 'a tipping point'

The escalation of antisemitism in the wake of the Hamas’ Oct. 7, 2023 terror massacre in Israel has paved the way for attacks on Jewish communities around the world. For the duration of the past year, schools, community centers and houses of worship have faced threats, intimidation and physical violence.

Rabbi Moshe Hauer, the executive vice president of the Orthodox Union, told Fox News Digital that throughout 2024, the "level of presumed security" the American Jewish community has lived with has shifted. "That’s difficult, when you have a place that you call home, and suddenly you don’t feel so at home." With the environment of "rolling antisemitism" in the U.S. becoming "an accepted part of daily life," Hauer said the issue "is still looked at as a problem for Jewish people as opposed to a stain on society." 

The suddenness of the shift has been striking, Hauer said. "It was like we were a source of darkness," he explained. "All those who we stood shoulder-to-shoulder with to fight for their needs and to fight for their rights suddenly don’t recognize us, so that’s jarring."

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The Anti-Defamation League tallied over 10,000 antisemitic incidents between Oct. 7, 2023 and Oct. 6, 2024, up from 3,325 during the prior year and representing the highest annual total the group has counted. They include over 8,000 incidents of harassment, 150 physical assaults and 1,840 acts of vandalism. Combined, more than half of these incidents took place at anti-Israel rallies (over 3,000) or at Jewish institutions (over 2,000).

Some politicians and the United Nations (U.N.) have stoked domestic anti-Israel hate. In January, the Chicago City Council passed a resolution calling for a cease-fire in Gaza without also calling for the disarmament of Hamas, drawing wide condemnation from Jewish community leaders. 

Despite multiple U.S. officials and the State Department condemning her spread of antisemitism, U.N. special rapporteur on the occupied Palestinian territories Francesca Albanese visited numerous U.S. campuses in October while presenting her latest report before the U.N. General Assembly. During a stop at Barnard College, Albanese "described Israel’s war in Gaza as a ‘genocide,’ justified the October 7 attack, and questioned Israel’s right to exist," the Times of Israel reported.

Hatred that had been percolating on university campuses took new shape when anti-Israel encampments sprung up at learning institutions countrywide during the spring. During some encampment protests, Jewish students were excluded from their own campus spaces. 

Terror flags have been flown on U.S. streets and campuses during anti-Israel protests. School administrators and business leaders who have angered anti-Israel protesters have had their homes and institutions tagged with the inverted red triangle that Hamas uses to denote military targets. In July, protesters replaced the American flag with the Palestinian flag in Washington, D.C., and wrote "Hamas is coming" on a statue of Christopher Columbus. 

In September, an ISIS-inspired attack on the Jewish community was thwarted by Canadian and U.S. authorities. On Oct. 26, a Mauritanian national who entered the country illegally in March 2023 shot a Jewish worshipper in Chicago before engaging in a shootout with responding police and paramedics. Chicago leaders waited five days before confirming the religious identity of the suspect’s target and noting that the shooter had intentionally targeted the Jewish community. 

CHICAGO HATE CRIME SHOOTING SUSPECT RESEARCHED JEWISH TARGETS, HAD PRO-HAMAS MATERIAL ON HIS PHONE: PROSECUTOR

Brooke Goldstein, a human rights attorney and founder of The Lawfare Project, addressed the impetus for the atmosphere of intolerance, telling Fox News Digital that "President Biden and the largely Democratic leaders of large cities around the country have failed to act to curtail Jew-hatred because it is politically inconvenient for them to enforce the civil rights of Jewish Americans and ensure public safety." 

She said that "for years, the progressive left has ignored Jew-hatred coming from within their own ranks, choosing to ignore the reality that the Jewish people are a minority people still very much needing their legal protections upheld in the face of Marxist-oriented and Islamist-inspired attacks on their identity, indigenous right to their ancestral homeland, and their ability to enjoy equal protection under the law. Their politicians downplay Jewish identity to avoid being called out for their hypocrisy given their support for social justice for all people - other than Jews - and even to avoid prosecuting attacks against Jews as hate crimes, especially when the attackers are members of other minority communities."

Rabbi Abraham Cooper, associate dean and global social action director for the Simon Wiesenthal Center, told Fox News Digital that he feels the world is "at a tipping point" where antisemitic intolerance is concerned. With popular social media influencers "normalizing" hatred of Israel, national leaders around the world escalating anti-Israel rhetoric and extremists not "feeling they’re going to be held accountable" when they target the Jewish community, Rabbi Cooper explained that it is "a perfect storm." 

In Europe, incidents of antisemitic hate have risen as much as the 800% seen in Sweden between 2022 and 2023. Jews across Europe have reported that they no longer wear items that might identify their religion and have sometimes changed their names to avoid being targeted. In France, there has been a 430% increase in Jews applying to immigrate to Israel from 2022 to 2023.

Though Ireland has a small Jewish population, it has seen an uptick in antisemitic hatred and Jewish self-censorship. In December, Israel announced that it would close its embassy in the country, citing Irish leaders’ "deligitimization and demonization of the Jewish state." 

The United Kingdom has also seen a large increase in antisemitic hate, with the Community Security Trust reporting a record 1,978 antisemitic incidents in the first half of 2024. This included a 246% increase in "damage and desecration to Jewish property" between the first six months of 2023 and the first six months of 2024. The Israeli minister for Diaspora affairs and combating antisemitism said in March that due to its pro-Hamas atmosphere, London had become the world’s "most antisemitic city." 

In late November, a bus carrying Jewish school children was attacked with rocks after protesters harassed those aboard. Days earlier, a man threw bottles at a group of Jewish teens, hitting and hospitalizing one of his targets.

Headlines about hate for the Jewish community overseas have been gruesome. In June, a 12-year-old Jewish girl in France was raped by two teens on account of her religion. In November, the body of Chabad Rabbi Zvi Kogan was found dead in the United Arab Emirates after he disappeared from his Abu Dhabi home. 

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More than nine synagogues worldwide have been the targets of arson since Oct. 7, according to a social media post from Hen Mazzig, a senior fellow at the Tel Aviv Institute. The latest attack occurred on Dec. 18 in Montreal at a synagogue which was also targeted in November 2023, the New York Post reported. Just two days later, shots were fired overnight at a Jewish elementary school in Toronto. It was the third shooting at the school since May, according to the Times of Israel.

Another recent arson attack took place at a synagogue in Melbourne, Australia, on Dec. 6. The Simon Wiesenthal Center responded to the incident by issuing a travel advisory for Australia, explaining that the country’s leaders had failed to stand up against "persistent demonization, harassment, and violence against Jews and Jewish institutions."

Just a month earlier, the Simon Wiesenthal Center issued a similar advisory for the Netherlands after a soccer match led to a "Jew Hunt," in which Jewish fans were tracked down and assaulted in the city. The incident sparked another attempted "Jew Hunt" in Antwerp and attacks on a Berlin youth soccer team.

When Cooper’s group placed the travel advisory on the Netherlands, he told Fox News Digital that "theoretically, you could slap a travel advisory on almost every place in Western Europe."

In the U.S., with anti-Jewish intolerance infiltrating elite universities, workplaces, the medical community, and the entertainment industry, Rabbi Cooper summarized that "the challenges ahead are going to be quite daunting." He also noted that he has hope on account of the resiliency of the Jewish community and the safety provided by American democracy. 

Cooper said that many appointees from President Trump’s incoming administration, including incoming U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Rep. Elise Stefanik, are "defenders of our community." When they begin implementing new policies, he said that he believes that "a lot of good things can happen very, very quickly." 

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