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The American envoy to the United Nations called Friday for countries armed with atomic weapons to pursue nuclear disarmament as she visited the atomic bomb museum in Nagasaki, Japan.

Linda Thomas-Greenfield, who became the first U.S. cabinet member to visit Nagasaki, stressed the importance of dialogue and diplomacy amid a growing nuclear threat in the region.

"We must continue to work together to create an environment for nuclear disarmament. We must continue to prevent the spread of nuclear weapons in every corner of the world," she said after a tour of the atomic bomb museum.

GOP LAWMAKER DEMANDS ACTION FROM JAPAN PM ON KEY ISSUE IMPACTING HUNDREDS OF US CHILDREN ABROAD

"For those of us who already have those weapons, we must pursue arms control. We can and must work to ensure that Nagasaki is the last place to ever experience the horror of nuclear weapons," she added, standing in front of colorful hanging origami cranes, a symbol of peace.

The United States dropped the world’s first atomic bomb on Hiroshima on Aug. 6, 1945, destroying the city and killing 140,000 people. A second attack three days later on Nagasaki killed 70,000 more people. Japan surrendered on Aug. 15, ending World War II and its nearly half-century of aggression in Asia.

Nagasaki Gov. Kengo Oishi said in a statement that he believed Thomas-Greenfield's visit and her first-person experience at the museum "will be a strong message in promoting momentum of nuclear disarmament for the international society at a time the world faces a severe environment surrounding atomic weapons."

Oishi said he conveyed to the ambassador the increasingly important role of Nagasaki and Hiroshima in emphasizing the need of nuclear disarmament.

Thomas-Greenfield's visit to Japan comes on the heels of Prime Minister Fumio Kishida's official visit to the United States last week and is aimed at deepening Washington's trilateral ties with Tokyo and Seoul. During her visit to South Korea earlier this week, she held talks with South Korean officials, met with defectors from North Korea and visited the demilitarized zone.

The ambassador said the United States is looking into setting up a new mechanism for monitoring North Korea's nuclear weapons program. Russia and China have thwarted U.S.-led efforts to step up U.N. sanctions on North Korea over its ballistic missile testing since 2022, underscoring a deepening divide between permanent Security Council members over Russia’s war on Ukraine.

She said it would be "optimal" to launch the new system next month, though it is uncertain if that is possible.

The U.N. Security Council established a committee to monitor sanctions, and the mandate for its panel of experts to investigate violations had been renewed for 14 years until last month, when Russia vetoed another renewal.

In its most recent report, the panel of experts said it is investigating 58 suspected North Korean cyberattacks between 2017 and 2023 valued at approximately $3 billion, with the money reportedly being used to help fund its weapons development.

The United States, Japan and South Korea have been deepening security ties amid growing tension in the region from North Korea and China.

Iranian nuclear sites are "fully safe" and have not been impacted by Israeli strikes, the country's regime says.

Israel carried out limited strikes on areas of Iran early Friday in retaliation for Tehran firing a barrage of missiles and drones at Israel last Saturday.

The region surrounding the city of Isfahan — home to the country's "nuclear energy mountain" — was among the areas targeted in the strike.

ISRAEL STRIKES SITE IN IRAN IN RETALIATION FOR WEEKEND ASSAULT: SOURCE

Isfahan is home to Iran's Uranium Conversion Facility and three research reactors. The country's underground Natanz enrichment site is also in the region.

Iranian state media stated following the attack that the nation's atomic sites were "fully safe" and not struck by the missiles.

"The explosion this morning in the sky of Isfahan was related to the shooting of air defense systems at a suspicious object that did not cause any damage,"  Iranian army commander Gen. Abdolrahim Mousavi said.

REPORTS OF ISRAEL'S RETALIATORY STRIKES AGAINST IRAN PROMPT REACTIONS FROM LAWMAKERS: 'RIGHT TO DEFEND ITSELF'

The International Atomic Energy Agency, a United Nations affiliate watchdog organization, later confirmed "there is no damage to Iran’s nuclear sites."

The agency said it "continues to call for extreme restraint from everybody and reiterates that nuclear facilities should never be a target in military conflicts."

Details surrounding the intended target of the strike – if there was one – were not immediately available, but Fox News was previously able to confirm the target was "not nuclear or civilian."

A senior Iranian official allegedly told Reuters that Iran has no plans to immediately respond to the Israeli strike, which was described differently in Iranian state media. The explosions heard in Isfahan were allegedly a result of the country's air defense systems activating and not a missile attack, the official told Reuters.

Former Israel Defense Forces spokesman Jonathan Conricus wrote on X that while Iran appears to downplay the strike, he "think[s] they've gotten the message."

Fox News Digital's Bradford Betz, Jennifer Griffin and Elizabeth Pritchett contributed to this report.

Desperate to end a weeks-long strike by thousands of doctors, South Korea’s government said Friday it will slow down a plan to admit more students to the country's medical schools from next year.

More than 90% of the country’s 13,000 medical interns and residents have been on strike since late February, when the government announced a plan to recruit 2,000 more students next year. That would have increased the current cap of 3,058, which has been the same since 2006, by about two-thirds.

The government adopted a compromise proposal put forward by the presidents of six state-run universities on Thursday, under which medical schools will increase admissions over several years.

WHY SOUTH KOREA MIGHT SUSPEND STRIKING DOCTORS' LICENSES EN MASSE

Doctors’ groups have claimed that the universities would be unable to handle a steep increase in students and that it would undermine the quality of the country’s medical services. Government officials say the country significantly needs more doctors to cope with the country’s fast-aging population.

Announcing the compromise proposal, Prime Minister Han Duck-soo cited concerns that the prolonged strike by junior doctors is increasing the strain on hospitals.

Han said the country’s 32 medical schools will be allowed to lower their quotas for new places by up to 50% of the target set by the government in 2025, meaning the number of new places could end up closer to 1,000 than 2,000.

Officials stressed that the compromise is temporary and that the schools will be required to finalize plans by April to increase their admissions by the full 2,000 by 2026.

Doctors' groups have called for the government to scrap the plan entirely.

"The government decided that the damage caused by the vacuums in healthcare services cannot be left unchecked and that bold decisions are needed, considering the demands by patients and broader public to solve the problem," Han said in a news conference, urging the striking doctors to return to work and negotiate with the government.

On Sept. 1, 1939, Nazi Germany's attack on Poland triggered World War II, prompting France and the United Kingdom to honor their defensive pact with Poland and declare war on Germany in response.

As Germany invaded from the west, the Soviet Union invaded from the east, culminating in the division and annexation of Poland under the German-Soviet Frontier Treaty.

The Nazis subsequently unleashed brutality on Poland's considerable Jewish population, herding them into urban ghettos to await transport to the Majdanek and Treblinka extermination camps.

SURVIVOR OF THE WARSAW GHETTO UPRISING HONORED ON 80TH ANNIVERSARY

During the Grossaktion Warsaw, in the summer of 1942, a quarter of a million Jews were transported from the Warsaw Ghetto to Treblinka. In response, groups including the Jewish Combat Organization and the Jewish Military Union began to organize a resistance effort, leading to the largest military uprising by Jews during the war.

As the Nazis' concentration camp deportation plan unfolded toward the end of 1942, the Jewish resistance initially decided to refrain from military action, under the belief that the Jewish population was being sent to labor camps. As word spread of the Nazi plan for Jewish extermination, fervor for armed resistance spread.

The first limited armed conflict in the Warsaw Ghetto Uprising took place on Jan. 18, 1943, as sparsely armed Jewish families took heavy losses, but inflicted dozens of casualties on Nazi soldiers. 

Then, on Passover eve, on April 19, German police and SS forces entered the Warsaw ghetto intent upon completing the deportation plan.

Soon, they met with heavy resistance from Molotov cocktails and grenades. Knowing the Nazi response would be fierce and total, the Jews decided to fight to the end; they refused to allow the Nazis to choose their time and place of death, and desired to call attention to the world's troubling inaction in the face of growing awareness of Nazi atrocities.

SS Brigadefuhrer Jurgen Stroop, who commanded Warsaw, gave the Jewish defenders an ultimatum, offering them an opportunity to surrender. Upon rejection, Stroop resorted to burning the Jewish resistance out, employing flamethrowers and fire bottles. The so-called "Bunker Wars" lasted for a month, as the brave Jewish defenders slowed German progress in dense house-to-house urban warfare. Some driven from above ground, many defenders took refuge below in dugouts, bunkers and sewers.

GREAT SYNAGOGUE OF WARSAW TO 'REAPPEAR', 76 YEARS AFTER BEING DESTROYED BY NAZIS DURING GHETTO UPRISING

Following weeks of combat, the Jewish Military Union lost all of its commanders, prompting its last fighters to escape to the Michalin forest through the Muranowski tunnel on April 29, marking the end of the major engagement, although sporadic resistance continued until early June.

An estimated 13,000 Jews were killed during the uprising, while nearly all the rest were deported to the Majdanek and Treblinka concentration camps. Virtually every structure in the Warsaw Ghetto was subsequently demolished, and Stroop reported to his superiors on May 16, 1943, that the Warsaw Synagogue had been blown up. After razing the incinerated buildings, the Nazis built the Warsaw concentration camp complex in their place.

However, justice would come for Stroop and the other Nazi commanders who oversaw the anti-Jewish brutality in Poland. Virtually all died in combat during the war or were captured by Allied forces and faced either execution or lengthy prison sentences. Stroop was captured in Germany by American troops, and following his conviction for war crimes, was hanged in Poland in 1952.

While the Jewish resistance faced overwhelming odds against the vastly larger and better armed German forces, the Warsaw Ghetto Uprising stands as an important milestone in Jewish history, demonstrating the triumph of the human spirit in the face of adversity, and inspiring other resistance and partisan forces both in Poland and beyond.

In 2018, Simcha Rotem, who played a key role as a courier in the Warsaw resistance, became the last survivor of the Warsaw Ghetto Uprising, dying in Jerusalem, aged 94. 

An Iranian senior official has revealed that Tehran has no plan to hit back immediately against Israel after the Jewish state carried out limited strikes inside the country early Friday, a report says. 

The strikes in Iran’s Isfahan province — which is where Natanz, one of Iran's nuclear facilities, is located — come in retaliation for Iran firing a barrage of missiles and drones at Israel last Saturday.  

The senior official told Reuters that Iran has no immediate plans to fire back at Israel and that "the foreign source of the incident has not been confirmed." 

"We have not received any external attack, and the discussion leans more towards infiltration than attack," he also claimed. 

ISRAEL STRIKES SITE IN IRAN IN RETALIATION FOR WEEKEND ASSAULT: SOURCE 

Iran went after Israel last weekend in response to a suspected Israeli airstrike on April 1 targeting the Iranian consulate in Damascus, Syria, that left a dozen dead, including Mohammad Reza Zahedi, a senior commander in Iran's Revolutionary Guards Corps. 

A well-placed military source told Fox News that Friday’s strike by Israel was "limited." Sources familiar said the U.S. was not involved and there was pre-notification to the U.S. from the Israelis. 

ISRAEL HITS IRAN WITH ‘LIMITED’ STRIKES DESPITE WHITE HOUSE’S REPORTED OPPOSITION 

Iranian state media reported that three drones had been shot down over Isfahan by air defense systems, according to Reuters. 

Iranian state television later described all sites in the Natanz area as "fully safe" and the International Atomic Energy Agency confirmed on X Friday morning that there is no damage to the nuclear facilities. 

"Director General Rafael Grossi continues to call for extreme restraint from everybody and reiterates that nuclear facilities should never be a target in military conflicts," the IAEA added. "IAEA is monitoring the situation very closely." 

Details surrounding the intended target of the strike were not immediately available, but Fox News was able to confirm the target was "not nuclear or civilian." 

As of early Friday morning, Pentagon officials have not confirmed the strike and the White House and the National Security Council have declined to comment on the unfolding situation. 

Fox News’ Bradford Betz, Jennifer Griffin and Elizabeth Pritchett contributed to this report. 

FIRST ON FOX - A decades-old interview is adding to a widening scandal involving a former high-ranking Iranian official and controversial Princeton professor. Seyed Hossein Mousavian is accused of endorsing Hezbollah and Hamas in a 1997 German newspaper interview.

The new revelations about Mousavian’s pro-Hamas and pro-Hezbollah interview in a German paper, coupled with what some claim was an endorsement of an Iranian regime fatwa (religious order) ordering the assassination of British-American author Salman Rushdie, comes at a time when the Ivy League professor is the subject of a congressional probe. Mousavian is currently facing a U.S. House Committee on Education and the Workforce investigation for allegedly advancing the interests of Iran.

WHITE HOUSE ANNOUNCES NEW SANCTIONS ON IRAN FOLLOWING ATTACK AGAINST ISRAEL: 'THE PRESSURE WILL CONTINUE'

In November, Fox News Digital exclusively reported on the investigation into Mousavian’s ties to the world’s worst state-sponsor of terrorism, the Islamic Republic of Iran. The investigation is ongoing, and the congressional committee has not issued any findings.

In an interview back in 1997 with the left-wing German daily paper Taz, Mousavian, who was Iran’s Ambassador to Germany at the time, was asked if Iran supports groups like Hezbollah and Hamas. Mousavian seemed to put his support behind Hamas. "If by that you mean that we supply Hamas with weapons: No, we do not. But if you mean that we support the Palestinians in their struggle, yes, we do."

When asked by the paper if Iran provides Hezbollah support materially or financially, Mousavian said "We support Hezbollah morally and not by supplying weapons."

'NOTHING WOULD REMAIN': IRAN'S PRESIDENT VOWS TO COMPLETELY DESTROY ISRAEL IF IT LAUNCHES ‘TINIEST INVASION’

The U.S. Middle East Media Research Institute first translated Mousavian’s German language interview earlier this month on its website and provided background material on his alleged role in stoking terrorism in Europe, including the assassination of Kurdish dissidents in a Berlin restaurant named Mykonos in 1992.

Mousavian, a Middle East security and nuclear policy specialist at Princeton University, was hosted by the Obama administration, according to the Washington Free Beacon, at least three times at the White House, and invited to speak at an important U.S. STRATCOM military event in August 2023 during the Biden administration

According to the congressional letter, first obtained by Fox News Digital, Mousavian’s appearance at the STRATCOM symposium "concerned members of the Armed Services Committees of both the House and the Senate. Additionally, aspects of this issue trouble us as members of the House Committee on Education and the Workforce."

Mousavian told Fox News Digital in November that, "My talk at the U.S. Strategic Command was all about peace in the Middle East and why the U.S. should avoid wars and focus on peace and cooperation." 

DOZENS DEAD, OVER 1,200 ARRESTED IN IRAN AS REGIME WARNS OF 'DECISIVE' CRACKDOWN

When asked by Fox News Digital if he considers Hamas and Hezbollah terrorist organizations, Mousavian refused to answer numerous Fox News Digital press queries via email, telephone and WhatsApp. Fox News Digital approached Princeton University via telephone and email for comment. The Ivy League institution did not respond to Fox News Digital's questions.

Mousavian also seemed to defend the Iranian-led campaign to assassinate U.S. and British writer Salman Rushdie because the famous novelist depicted the Muslim prophet Muhammad irreverently.

In 2022, a 24-year-old man named Hadi Matar, who is fan of Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, a U.S.-designated foreign terrorist organization, allegedly stabbed Rushdie in the neck and liver during the author’s speech in Chautauqua, New York. After the attack, Rushdie lost sight in one eye and the use of one hand.

A Nov. 5, 1992 Reuters report, titled "German Opposition Wants Iranian Envoy Expelled," said that, " ...Hossein Mousavian was summoned to the German Foreign Ministry after remarking in a radio interview that Bonn would not act against its trade interests with Iran to back Rushdie's request for the death decree to be lifted."

The Reuters report continued "Social Democrat Freimut Duve told parliament in a special debate on what has become known as the ‘Rushdie Affair’ that Mousavian should leave Germany as he did not respect its laws."

In the radio interview after Rushdie's appearance, Mousavian defended the historic Islamic practice of imposing the death sentence for blasphemy.

IRAN'S ATTACK ON ISRAEL SHINES SPOTLIGHT ON TEHRAN'S ADVANCING NUCLEAR WEAPONS PROGRAM

Mousavian declined to answer numerous Fox News Digital press queries about whether he continues to endorse the Iranian religious decree to murder Rushdie.

Mousavian denied his country’s role in the Iranian state-sponsored murders of the four Kurdish dissidents in the Mykonos restaurant. He termed the Berlin court verdict, which convicted Iranian and Hezbollah operatives of the assassinations, as "nonsense" in the German Taz interview. Mousavian refused to answer Fox News Digital press queries about his rejection of the Berlin court Mykonos verdict.

According to a 1997 article from the Berlin newspaper Der Tagesspiegel, Abolghasem Mesbahi, a former senior-level Iranian intelligence official, told a Berlin court during the Mykonos trial, "Mousavian participated in most of the [Iranian regime's] crimes that took place in Europe."

During Mousavian’s tenure as Iran’s ambassador to Germany, he was in charge of the embassy that the Berlin court found "served as the ‘headquarters" for the planning of the 1992 assassination of four Iranian dissidents at the Greek restaurant Mykonos in Berlin."

"This accusation is a big lie," Mousavian told Fox News Digital in November. "The 398-page verdict is published, and everyone can have access to it. The Berlin court verdict does not contain any direct or indirect allegations against me. German authorities never forced me to leave the country. … I have been a frequent visitor to Germany," added Mousavian.

The calls for Mousavian to be fired coincide with the scandal-plagued pro-Iran regime academic, Mohammad Jafar Mahallati, who taught at Oberlin College in Ohio.

Mahallati was Iran’s former ambassador to the U.N. from 1987-1989. Oberlin College ousted Mahallati in November 2023 after a mushrooming series of scandals, including Mahallati’s pro-Hamas teachings and calls for the destruction of the Jewish state. According to Amnesty International, Mahallati covered up the Iranian regime’s mass murder of 5,000 Iranian dissidents in 1988.

The California-based Alliance Against the Islamic Regime of Iran Apologists (AAIRIA) spearheaded the high-intensity campaign to fire Mahallati. 

WHITE HOUSE ANNOUNCES NEW SANCTIONS ON IRAN FOLLOWING ATTACK AGAINST ISRAEL: 'THE PRESSURE WILL CONTINUE'

Iranian American human rights activist Lawdan Bazargan, the lead organizer on the AAIRIA campaign, told Fox News Digital about Mousavian "It is profoundly disheartening that Princeton University would appoint such an individual, allowing him to masquerade as a proponent of peace. To think that an agent of an oppressive Islamic regime, known for its flagrant disregard for religious freedom and its menacing slogans of ‘death to America’ and ‘death to Israel,’ could have the audacity to proclaim involvement in peace initiatives is nothing short of a cynical farce."

She added, "Princeton's endorsement of Mousavian tarnishes its reputation and undermines the principles of peace, tolerance, and academic integrity it purports to uphold."

AAIRIA urged Princeton to summarily fire Mousavian, who is not a tenured academic, and the NGO announced a protest at Princeton University next week against the controversial academic. Just last month, the National Association of Scholars issued a call to terminate Mousavian’s employment.

BIDEN SAYS ISRAEL NOT TO BLAME FOR ROCKET ATTACK ON GAZA HOSPITAL THAT LEFT 500 DEAD: 'DONE BY THE OTHER TEAM'

A leading antisemitism expert has claimed that Mousavian’s account contains antisemitic posts against Israel. Mousavian falsely claimed in an October X post that Israel bombed a hospital in Gaza and termed it "a crime similar to the Holocaust of Nazi Germany." 

Rabbi Abraham Cooper, the associate dean of the Los Angeles-based Simon Wiesenthal Center, told Fox News Digital that "Cleary, this is a person who feels no matter what he does that his status will be protected at Princeton."

Regarding Mousavian comparing Israel with the crimes of Nazi Germany, Cooper said "that anyone who uses that language is proving his antisemitic credentials. He feels confident and is immune from any action against him."

A Fox News Digital examination of Mousavain’s X Posts since Oct. 7 shows the overwhelming number of posts are attacks on the Jewish state and support of many Hamas talking points, including that Israel is committing genocide in Gaza.

Cooper said "I think Princeton has a lot to answer for," and Mousavian should be disqualified as an academic in American higher education.

"To say this is a scandal would not give justice to the issues exposed. It might be time to call Princeton University forward at a congressional hearing because it covers issues of sensitive national security, "said Cooper, who has testified in Congress about antisemitism.

CHENNAI - Close to 970 million Indians start voting today as India holds its general election with polls suggesting that incumbent Prime Minister, Narendra Modi will win a third term in the world's largest democracy.

"Many Indians view Modi as a ‘strongman figure’. None of the opposition parties can field a candidate with equal charisma. Also, they have no coherent strategy or platform except that they are ‘anti-Modi,'" 25-year-old Anandh Nair from Thiruvananthapuram in the state of Kerala recently told Fox News Digital.

Modi first became prime minister in 2014. He was then re-elected for a second term in 2019.  

Nair, a student, said that "During Modi’s two terms, we actually saw the standard of living rise, especially for the middle class. Another thing was, previous leaders had been ‘wishy-washy’ about supporting our Hindu identity, almost as if they were ashamed of it. But for the BJP, there was no doubt that they showed pride. For most Indians, religion is an important part of everyday life." 

INDIAN PRIME MINISTER NARENDRA MODI VISITS KASHMIR'S MAIN CITY TO DISCUSS DEVELOPMENT PROJECTS

While Modi's Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has not yet succeeded in making inroads in some parts of the country, the main opposition Indian National Congress Party has dwindled in terms of the number of states it now holds, despite its previous dominance in Indian politics. Regardless, Modi has campaigned in the southern states of Tamil Nadu and Kerala recently in what many viewed as a daring step, given that the party has not fared well there. 

Gurdas Rao, a tour guide from Mumbai, told Fox News Digital that, "Modi is popular among both the rich and poor. All of us have seen the quality-of-life skyrocket, so why won't we vote for him again?". 

India’s economic success in the face of the economic crisis following the COVID-19 pandemic was most notable when regional neighbors, Sri Lanka and Pakistan, faced major challenges as they ran out of foreign reserves. In contrast, India stayed relatively unscathed. This culminated when India came to Sri Lanka’s rescue, providing much needed fuel resources during its economic crisis in 2022. Both the IMF and the World Bank also estimated that India was the fastest growing economy in 2023.

A significant event was when the 73-year-old Modi attended the groundbreaking opening of the Ram Mandhir, a new temple in Ayodhya and described this as fulfilling "dreams that many generations have cherished for years". This was at the holy site believed by Hindus to be the birthplace of the legendary King Rama. 
MILLIONS IN INDIA CELEBRATE AS TEMPLE BUILT ON RUINS OF HISTORIC MOSQUE 

It opened, despite much controversy surrounding the temple being built on top of a razed mosque, leaving the nation divided along religious lines. Many among the Hindu majority showed positive responses, while religious minorities seemed less satisfied. 

Prince Samuels, a Christian from Goa, told Fox News Digital that "India is a very diverse country: we have churches, mosques and temples; all on the same street. The BJP is catering to the Hindu majority and not incorporating our religious and culture diversity into their vision of a ‘united India’. They blatantly favor one community over the others."

Siddhartha Dubey, a professor of journalism based in Evanston, Illinois, said "I think the Indian diaspora, which is largely Hindu, is keen to see India growing economically and strengthening ties with their adopted countries. Both of these are currently happening. However, generally speaking, they do not seem too bothered in the whittling down of democracy and institutions within India, and it seems that many are happy to support Mr. Modi." 

He cautioned that a third Modi term will see the "doubling down against the rights of minorities and civil society". However, in terms of foreign relations, he said that "U.S.-India relations are agnostic of whoever gets elected as U.S. president this year." 

Dubey added, "India’s economy will grow and if you see the projections from big American companies, India is a key place for investment."

Former University of Delhi, Indian history professor Preeti Singh told Fox News Digital that, "Modi’s support in India transcends the differences in income levels, social categories and caste divisions. His background as a chai walla (tea vendor) has been likened to a common man much like a majority of Indians, and his rise to the top position in India personifies the aspirations of the working classes and all other Indians." 

"His promise and delivery of clean politics, corruption-free government and improved infrastructure have increased his popularity cutting across all classes and categories of society."

PUTIN SUGGESTS ADDING INDIA OTHER COUNTRIES TO UN SECURITY COUNCIL

Strong foreign relations have been a cornerstone of Modi’s tenure as prime minister. He has undertaken many foreign visits across the globe. Modi has also notably maintained ties with major world powers that rival one another. Singh explained, "Modi is clearly sticking to ‘neutrality’. He wants to make it clear that India is trying to break the shackles by conveying that major players such as the U.S. and Russia have their independent value in terms of Indian foreign policy." 

Likewise, Modi has also maintained relationships with Israel and Iran. In contrast, India’s biggest political rivals historically continue to be Pakistan and China. 

Singh also noted how India’s role during the ongoing Russia-Ukraine conflict was "rooted in strategic neutrality, while also condemning civilian killings that had taken place."

Rumela Sen, political science lecturer at Columbia University, expressed concern as to the BJP government’s "rewriting Indian history" to fit a Hindu nationalist narrative as "a battle for the soul of India". She cited "textbook revisionism on caste" and the "‘sanitization’ of independence hero Gandhi's killer"(Nathuram Godse) as examples. 

She said that the BJP’s actions "undermine several institutions and rights that were hallmarks of Indian democracy." 

"We almost do not notice the centralization of power in the hands of the executive, midnight arrests and legal harassment of opposition and critics and erosion of free press." 

When asked about concerns of eroding democracy and a crackdown on the opposition in India, State Department spokesman Matthew Miller told journalists on Monday that, "India is the world’s largest democracy, it is an important strategic partner of the United States, and I expect that to remain true."

Despite criticism, Narendra Modi has so far proven that his support-base is solidly rooted in both the domestic and foreign fronts. Also, coupled with a weak opposition and poll results, all indicators suggest that Modi will most probably be re-elected for a third term.  

Results of the 44-day-long process will be known on June 4.

The Associated Press contributed to this report. 

Israel carried out limited strikes in Iran early Friday in retaliation for Tehran firing a barrage of missiles and drones at Israel late Saturday. 

Fox News Digital has confirmed there have been explosions in Isfahan province where Natanz is located though it is not clear whether it has been hit. Natanz is the site of one of Iran's nuclear facilities. 

A well-placed military source has told Fox that the strike was "limited." Sources familiar said the U.S. was not involved and there was pre-notification to the U.S. from the Israelis. 

Pentagon officials have not confirmed the strike. The White House and the National Security Council (NSC) have declined to comment on the unfolding situation. 

Commercial flights, meanwhile, began diverting their routes early Friday morning over western Iran without explanation as one semiofficial news agency in the Islamic Republic claimed there had been "explosions" heard over the city of Isfahan, Reuters reported.

The semiofficial Fars news agency reported on the sound of explosions over Isfahan near its international airport. It offered no explanation for the blast. However, Isfahan is home to a major airbase for the Iranian military, as well as sites associated with its nuclear program.

Iran attacked Israel over the weekend in retaliation for Israel's deadly strike on Iran's consulate earlier this month that killed a dozen people, including a top general. 

ISRAEL'S ADVANCED MILITARY TECHNOLOGY ON FULL DISPLAY DURING IRAN'S ATTACK

The weekend attack by Iran marked a major escalation of violence. Despite decades of hostilities between the two nations, Iran has never directly attacked Israel, instead relying on proxy forces in Iraq, Lebanon and elsewhere. 

This is a developing story. Check back for updates. 

Zimbabwe President Emmerson Mnangagwa granted clemency to more than 4,000 prisoners, including some who were on death row, in an independence day amnesty on Thursday.

Zimbabwe marked 44 years of independence from white minority rule, which ended in 1980 after a bloody bush war. The country’s name was changed from Rhodesia to Zimbabwe.

The presidential amnesty, the second in less than a year, benefits female, older and juvenile inmates, the terminally ill and some who were originally sentenced to death.

KENYA’S MILITARY CHIEF DIES IN A HELICOPTER CRASH

Those once on death row but who had their sentences commuted to life terms in previous clemency orders or through court appeals are to be freed provided they have been in prison for at least 20 years, according to the clemency order, which was announced Wednesday and due to take effect on Thursday.

All female prisoners who had served at least a third of their sentence by independence day are being freed, as are juvenile inmates who have served the same period.

Prisoners age 60 and older who have served one tenth of their sentences will also be released. Mnangagwa also pardoned the blind and others with disabilities who have served a third of their sentence.

The prisoners are being released in batches across the country.

However, those jailed for "specified" offences that include sexual offences, robbery, public violence, unlawful possession of firearms, human trafficking and theft or vandalism of electricity and telecommunications infrastructure won't benefit from the amnesty.

All death row prisoners who have been in jail for at least 10 years had their sentences commuted to life in prison under the amnesty.

Zimbabwe has more than 60 inmates on death row. It wasn't immediately clear how many of those had their sentences commuted to life under the amnesty.

Zimbabwe is one of more than a dozen countries in Africa and more than 50 across the world that have the death penalty, although the country's last hanging was in 2005. Mnangagwa says he supports abolishing the death penalty, a move which was backed by the Cabinet in February and is now awaiting approval from Parliament.

Mnangagwa freed more than 4,000 prisoners in another clemency order last May aimed at decongesting the southern African nation's overcrowded prisons, where conditions are usually harsh. At the time, Zimbabwe had about 22,000 prisoners crammed into prisons with a capacity of 17,000.

JOHANNESBURG (AP) — South Africa faces an unusual national election this year, its seventh vote since transitioning from white minority rule to a democracy 30 years ago. Polls and analysts warn that for the first time, the ruling African National Congress party that has comfortably held power since Nelson Mandela became the country's first Black president in 1994 might receive less than 50% of votes.

One big reason is Jacob Zuma, the former president and ANC leader who stepped down in disgrace in 2018 amid a swirl of corruption allegations but has emerged in recent months with a new political party. It intends to be a major election player as the former president seeks revenge against former longtime allies.

A SOUTH AFRICAN COURT OVERTURNS BAN, RULES THAT FORMER LEADER JACOB ZUMA CAN RUN IN THE ELECTION

Here is what you need to know about the 82-year-old Zuma's return to the political ring and how it might play a significant election role.

WHO IS JACOB ZUMA?

Zuma has long been one of South Africa's most recognizable politicians. He was a senior leader in the ANC during the liberation struggle against apartheid. A former ANC intelligence chief, he has repeatedly threatened to reveal some of the party’s secrets. While Zuma was not one of Mandela’s preferred choices to succeed him, Mandela trusted Zuma to play an influential role in ending deadly political violence that engulfed KwaZulu-Natal province before the historic 1994 elections. The province has remained a vocal base of support for Zuma ever since, and members of Zuma's Zulu ethnic group make up its majority. Zuma became deputy leader of the ANC in 1997 and was appointed South Africa's deputy president in 1999.

HOW DID HE BECOME PRESIDENT?

Zuma's path to power included legal challenges. In 2006, he was found not guilty of raping the daughter of a comrade at Zuma's home in Johannesburg. A year earlier, he was fired as South Africa’s deputy president after his financial advisor was convicted for corruption for soliciting bribes for Zuma during an infamous arms deal. Alleging a political witch hunt, Zuma launched an aggressive political campaign that saw him elected ANC president in 2007. His campaign appealed to widespread discontent with then-President Thabo Mbeki, who was often described as autocratic and aloof. The corruption charges against Zuma were later dropped, amid controversy, and he was elected South Africa's president in 2009.

HOW DID HE LOSE POWER?

Zuma's presidency was often under fire. His close friends and allies, the Gupta family, were accused of influencing appointments to key cabinet positions in exchange for lucrative business deals. The allegations of corruption in government and state-owned companies eventually led the ANC force Zuma to resign in 2018. A judicial commission of inquiry uncovered wide-ranging evidence, and Zuma in 2021 was convicted and sentenced to 15 months in jail for refusing to testify. Zuma remains aggrieved with the ANC and his successor, President Cyril Ramaphosa. But few South Africans expected the break to go so far.

HOW HAS HE REEMERGED?

Zuma shocked the country in December by denouncing the ANC and campaigning against a party that had been at the heart of his political career. His new political party, UMkhonto WeSizwe, was named after the ANC's military wing, which was disbanded at the end of the struggle against white minority rule. The ANC has launched a legal case seeking to stop the new party from using a name and logo that are similar to those of the military wing. The charismatic Zuma continues to crisscross the country, delivering lively speeches, and an image of his face will represent the party on ballots.

WHAT ARE ZUMA'S ELECTION CHANCES?

The ANC already had been facing pressure from other opposition parties. But Zuma's new party threatens to draw support from within the often divided ANC. South Africa's electoral body has cleared him to run for a parliament seat, despite his past conviction. Polls suggest the new party may emerge as one of the country's biggest opposition parties and could play a significant role if the weakening ANC must form coalitions to run the country. Addressing his supporters at a recent rally, Zuma declared that "I need to return so that I can fix things."

BANJA LUKA, Bosnia-Herzegovina (AP) — Thousands of Bosnian Serbs rallied on Thursday denying that genocide was committed in Srebrenica in 1995 despite rulings to the contrary by two United Nations courts.

More than 8,000 Bosniak Muslim men and boys were executed by Bosnian Serb troops in the eastern Bosnian enclave in July 1995. The victims' remains were dumped in mass graves and later reburied to hide evidence of atrocities.

US WARNS BOSNIAN SERBS AGAINST CELEBRATION OF CONTROVERSIAL SELF-PROCLAIMED HOLIDAY

International courts in The Hague, Netherlands, have branded the crime in Srebrenica a genocide, Europe's first since World War II. Bosnian Serb top army officers and political leaders also have been convicted of genocide by U.N. judges.

Srebrenica was a "mistake" and a "huge crime," Bosnian Serb separatist leader Milorad Dodik told the crowd at the rally in the northwestern town of Banja Luka that is the Bosnian Serb main administrative center. "But it wasn't genocide."

The rally was organized in protest of a draft U.N. resolution commemorating the genocide in Srebrenica that is supported by the Bosniak politicians in Bosnia along with a number of European countries and the United States.

The resolution is yet to be passed in the U.N. but the Bosnian Serbs and neighboring Serbia have been strongly opposed, saying it would brand the Serbs as a "genocidal nation." The Serbs are supported by Russia and China.

Genocide denial is punishable by Bosnia's own laws. Bosnian Serb parliament, however, earlier on Thursday approved a report denying the Srebrenica genocide.

Dodik reiterated his threats that Bosnian Serbs, who control about a half of Bosnia, would split from the rest of the country if the Srebrenica resolution is passed in the U.N General Assembly.

The other half of Bosnia is run by the country's Bosniaks, who are mostly Muslim, and Croats.

"We do not want to live in the same state with you (Bosniaks) and we will not live in the same state with you," said Dodik. "We will do it (split) when the conditions are right."

Serbia's parliament speaker and outgoing Prime minister Ana Brnabic also attended the gathering in Banja Luka.

Dodik is staunchly pro-Russian and has faced U.S. and British sanctions for his separatism. He has traveled to Russia and met with Russia's President Vladimir Putin despite the invasion of Ukraine and in defiance of the West.

In his speech, Dodik said he hoped a potential victory at the upcoming U.S. election by former President Donald Trump would create "different conditions in which we will play." He did not elaborate. Dodik ended his speech by exclaiming "Long live Russia!"

Bosnia remains ethnically divided and politically tense long after the end of the 1992-95 war. The troubled Balkan nation is seeking European Union membership but internal divisions have hampered the effort amid fears of instability as the war rages in Ukraine.

NAIROBI, Kenya (AP) — Kenya’s military chief Gen. Francis Ogolla died in a helicopter crash west of the country, President William Ruto announced Thursday and declared three days of national mourning.

The helicopter was carrying 11 people, including Gen. Ogolla, when it crashed Thursday and caught fire in a remote area near the border with Uganda, killing nine people onboard, the president said.

KENYAN HOSPITAL LAYS OFF 100 STRIKING DOCTORS AS NATIONWIDE STRIKE NEARS A MONTH

It is unclear what caused the crash.

Gen. Ogolla, 61, was on a tour of the country’s troubled western region that has seen frequent attacks by local bandits.

He was appointed Kenya’s Chief of Defense Forces in April last year after Gen. Robert Kibochi retired.

Political controversy surrounded Ogolla even before his appointment, when he was accused by the country's electoral commission chairperson as being part of a national security council delegation that tried to influence the outcome of the 2022 general election against President Ruto.

Ruto later explained that he called Gen. Ogolla before his appointment and said that, despite the election controversy, he was the most qualified for the job.

Gen Ogolla joined Kenya's military force 40 years ago.

He was a graduate of École Militaire de Paris, the National Defence College of Kenya, Egerton University and the University of Nairobi.

Gen. Ogolla is survived by his wife Aileen, two children and a grandson.

LONDON (AP) — The husband of former Scottish leader Nicola Sturgeon was charged Thursday with embezzlement in a probe into the finances of Scotland’s pro-independence governing party, a shocking setback for the country's most powerful political couple.

Police in Scotland said a 59-year-old man was charged Thursday evening after being arrested and taken into custody earlier in the day for questioning by "detectives investigating the funding and finances of the party."

SCOTTISH LEADER NICOLA STURGEON TO RESIGN AFTER 8 YEARS

He was released after being charged, the force said. While police did not name the suspect, the details provided matched up with Peter Murrell, the party’s former chief executive who was arrested just over a year ago.

Scottish police have been investigating how 600,000 pounds ($750,000) earmarked for a Scottish independence campaign were spent. Murrell, Sturgeon and Colin Beattie, the Scottish National Party's former treasurer, were arrested and questioned last year in the probe but released without being charged with a crime.

Murrell's first arrest came shortly after Sturgeon's surprise announcement in February 2023 that she was resigning her post after eight years as party leader and first minister of Scotland’s semi-autonomous government.

Murrell stepped down the following month amid controversy about the party’s declining membership and a bitter fight to replace Sturgeon. He held the position for more than 20 years.

At the time of Murrell's first arrest, police searched the couple's Glasgow home over two days.

It is highly unusual for a leader or former leader of a U.K. political party to be arrested. Sturgeon said after being released from custody in June that her arrest had been "both a shock and deeply distressing." She insisted she had done nothing wrong.

"I do wish to say this, and to do so in the strongest possible terms," she said in a statement on social media at the time. "Innocence is not just a presumption I am entitled to in law. I know beyond doubt that I am in fact innocent of any wrongdoing."

In announcing her resignation, Sturgeon said she knew "in my head and in my heart" that it was the right time for her, her party and her country to make way for someone else.

Sturgeon and Murrell have been married since 2010 and helped steer the SNP to a dominant position in Scottish politics. It heads the semi-autonomous Scottish government in Edinburgh and holds a large majority of Scotland's seats in the U.K. Parliament in London.

But Sturgeon resigned with her biggest political goal — taking Scotland out of the United Kingdom to become an independent country — unrealized.

She had led the party and led Scotland since 2014, when Scots rejected independence in a referendum. While the referendum was billed as a once-in-a-generation decision on independence, Sturgeon and her party had pushed for a new vote, arguing that Britain’s departure from the European Union had changed the ground rules.

Those efforts reached a stalemate when the U.K. government refused to authorize a new referendum.

Sturgeon’s departure unleashed a tussle for the future of the SNP amid recriminations over the party’s declining membership and divisions over the best path towards independence. Opinion polls suggest support for the party has sagged.

With cloud seeding, it may rain, but it doesn't really pour or flood — at least nothing like what drenched the United Arab Emirates and paralyzed Dubai, meteorologists said.

Cloud seeding, although decades old, is still controversial in the weather community, mostly because it has been hard to prove that it does very much. No one reports the type of flooding that on Tuesday doused the UAE, which often deploys the technology in an attempt to squeeze every drop of moisture from a sky that usually gives less than 4 or 5 inches (10 to 13 centimeters) of rain a year.

A STORM DUMPS RECORD RAIN ACROSS THE DESERT NATION OF UAE AND FLOODS DUBAI'S AIRPORT

"It's most certainly not cloud seeding," said private meteorologist Ryan Maue, former chief scientist at the U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. "If that occurred with cloud seeding, they'd have water all the time. You can't create rain out of thin air per se and get 6 inches of water. That's akin to perpetual motion technology."

Meteorologists and climate scientists said the extreme rainfall is akin to what the world expects with human-caused climate change, and one way to know for certain that it was not caused by tinkering with clouds is that it was forecast days in advance. Atmospheric science researcher Tomer Burg pointed to computer models that six days earlier forecast several inches of rain — the typical amount for an entire year in the UAE.

Three low-pressure systems formed a train of storms slowly moving along the jet stream — the river of air that moves weather systems — toward the Persian Gulf, said University of Pennsylvania climate scientist Michael Mann. Blaming cloud seeding ignores the forecasts and the cause, he said.

Many of the people pointing to cloud seeding are also climate change deniers who are trying to divert attention from what's really happening, Mann and other scientists said.

"When we talk about heavy rainfall, we need to talk about climate change. Focusing on cloud seeding is misleading," said Imperial College of London climate scientist Friederike Otto, who heads a team that does rapid attribution of weather extremes to see if they were caused by global warming or not. "Rainfall is becoming much heavier around the world as the climate warms because a warmer atmosphere can hold more moisture."

WHAT IS CLOUD SEEDING?

Clouds need tiny water or ice droplets called nuclei to make rain. The weather modification method uses planes and ground-based cannons to shoot particles into clouds making more nucleai, attracting moisture that falls as snow and rain. Usually silver iodide is used, but it can also be dry ice and other materials. The method, first pioneered in the 1940s, became popular in the U.S. West starting in the 1960s, mostly for snow.

It can’t create water from a clear sky — particles must be shot into a storm cloud that already holds moisture to get it to fall, or to fall more than it otherwise would naturally.

HOW EFFECTIVE IS IT?

A recent study of aerial seeding found a clear precipitation pattern on a radar that mirrored the seeding and offers evidence the method works. But exactly how effective it is remains unclear, scientists say.

The physics makes sense, but the results have been so small that scientists just can't agree on whether it is fair to say it really works, said Maue and Mann.

Atmospheric forces are so huge and so chaotic that technically cloud seeding "is way too small a scale to create what happened," Maue said. Extra rainfall from cloud seeding would have been minimal, both said.

WHO USES IT?

Despite not knowing its efficacy, governments in drought-stricken regions like the U.S. West and the UAE are often willing to invest in technology like seeding in the hopes of getting even a small amount of water.

Utah estimates cloud seeding helped increase its water supply by 12% in 2018, according to an analysis by the state's Division of Water Resources. The analysis used estimates provided to them by the contractors paid to do the seeding.

Dozens of countries in Asia and the Middle East also use cloud seeding.

The U.S. Bureau of Reclamation spent $2.4 million last year on cloud seeding along the overtapped Colorado River. Utah recently increased its seeding budget by tenfold.

SO WHAT CAUSED THE DELUGE?

That part of the Middle East doesn't get many storms, but when it does, they are whoppers that dwarf what people in the United States are used to, Maue said.

Huge tropical storms like this "are not rare events for the Middle East," said University of Reading meteorology professor Suzanne Gray. She cited a recent study analyzing nearly 100 such events over the southern Arabian Peninsula from 2000 to 2020, with most in March and April, including a March 2016 storm that dropped 9.4 inches (almost 24 centimeters) on Dubai in just a few hours.

The 2021 study said "a statistically significant increase in the (whopper storms) duration over southeast Arabian Peninsula has been found, suggesting that such extreme events may be even more impactful in a warming world."

While cloud seeding can work around the margins, it doesn't do big things, scientists say.

"It’s maybe a little bit of a human conceit that, yeah, we can control the weather in like a Star Trek sense," Maue, who was appointed to NOAA by then-President Donald Trump, said. "Maybe on long time scales, climate time scales, we’re affecting the atmosphere on long time scales. But when it comes to controlling individual rain storms, we are not anywhere close to that. And if we were capable of doing that, I think we would be capable of solving many more difficult problems than creating a rain shower over Dubai."

CAPRI, Italy (AP) — Top NATO and European Union officials urged foreign ministers from leading industrialized nations on Thursday to take quick, concrete steps to provide more air defense systems and artillery to Ukraine, warning that continued delays could tilt the war in Moscow’s favor.

NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg and EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell addressed a meeting of foreign ministers of G7 nations meeting on the Italian resort island of Capri. Russia’s war on Ukraine and surging tensions in the Middle East over Iran’s unprecedented attack on Israel over the weekend have topped the agenda of the gathering.

TRUMP SAYS US WILL '100%' STAY IN NATO IF ALLIANCE TREATS AMERICA 'FAIRLY'

Without more Patriot air defense missile systems to protect against Russian strikes, "the electricity system of Ukraine will be destroyed. And no country can fight without having electricity at home, in the factories, in the front line," Borrell told reporters on the sidelines of the event.

Stoltenberg welcomed signs that the U.S. Congress might soon vote on a $61 billion aid package for Ukraine, the bulk of which would go to purchasing weapons and ammunitions from U.S. defense manufacturers. And he welcomed other recent financial pledges from the Netherlands and Denmark as well as Germany's recent announced delivery of a new Patriot missile battery.

But he said more long-term and sustainable aid was necessary to better coordinate Ukraine's response over the long term.

"There is an urgent, critical need for more air defense," Stoltenberg said, adding that artillery rounds were also needed. "We cannot continue to be in a situation where Russia is outgunning Ukraine, in the way they do now. The Russians are shooting and shooting, and the Ukrainians have limited resources to shoot back. So the Ukrainians need more, and that’s the urgent and important message from me to all allies."

Italian Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani opened the first working session by calling for new sanctions against Iran for its weekend attack and concrete help for Ukraine. "If Ukraine loses, (Russian President Vladimir) Putin will never sit at the peace table," Tajani warned.

The Capri meeting of the top diplomats from Britain, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan and the United States dovetailed with other regional diplomatic efforts sending the same messages. On Wednesday, EU leaders meeting in Brussels vowed to ramp up sanctions on Iran to target its drone and missile deliveries to proxies in Gaza, Yemen and Lebanon.

The U.S. and Britain, meanwhile, announced Thursday they were imposing a new round of sanctions on Iran, with the U.S. targeting individuals and entities that produce engines that power drones and are involved in steel production. The latest British measures target several Iranian military organizations, individuals and entities involved in Iran’s drone and ballistic missile industries.

Borrell said the existing EU sanctions regime would be strengthened and expanded to punish Tehran and help prevent future attacks on Israel. At the same time, he said, Israel needed to exercise restraint.

"I don’t want to exaggerate but we are on the edge of a war, a regional war in the Middle East, which will be sending shockwaves to the rest of the world, and in particular to Europe," he warned. "So stop it."

German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock said Iran must be isolated "because,of course, there must be a reaction to this unprecedented incident, but there must be no further escalation in the region," German news agency dpa reported.

On Ukraine, its Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba, who was invited to Capri as a guest, underlined his country’s need for essential military support, including artillery, ammunition, and air defense systems as Russia pushes along the front line.

He thanked Germany for providing Ukraine with a new Patriot battery, which was announced over the weekend, but urged the U.S. Congress to quickly approve the funding package.

"So we will work here at the ministerial level to make other allies deliver air defense systems to Ukraine. Because it’s of fundamental importance," Kuleba said.

President Joe Biden said Wednesday he supported a proposal from the House speaker, Mike Johnson, to provide about $61 billion in aid for Ukraine, signaling bipartisan support for the precarious funding bill.

U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said he hoped the U.S. funding would come through but said other allies needed to step up.

"In this moment, it is urgent that all of the friends and supporters of Ukraine maximize their efforts to provide Ukraine with what it needs to continue to effectively defend itself against this Russian aggression," Blinken said after meeting with Kuleba.

"If Putin is allowed to proceed with impunity, we know he won’t stop at Ukraine and we can safely predict that his aggression will continue," Blinken said. "Other would-be aggressors around the world will take note and unleash their own aggressions. And we will have a world of conflict, not a world of peace and security."

Borrell said Europe can't rely solely on Washington to help Ukraine defend itself.

"Concrete decisions have to be taken in order to send to Ukraine more air defense," he said. "We do have Patriots, we have anti-missile systems. We have to take them from the our barracks where they are just in case, and to send to Ukraine where the war is raging. And I’m sure we will be doing that, but it has to be done quickly."

THE HAGUE, Netherlands (AP) — A human rights organization representing ethnic Armenians submitted evidence to the International Criminal Court on Thursday, arguing that Azerbaijan is committing an ongoing genocide against them.

Azerbaijan’s government didn't immediately comment on the accusations. The neighboring countries have been at odds for decades over the disputed territory of Nagorno-Karabakh, and are already facing off in a separate legal case stemming from that conflict.

AZERBAIJAN, ARMENIA EXCHANGE BLAME AFTER DEADLY BORDER SKIRMISH

Lawyers for the California-based Center for Truth and Justice, or CFTJ, say there is sufficient evidence to open a formal investigation into Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev and other top leaders for genocide. They have submitted a so-called Article 15 communication urging the court’s chief prosecutor Karim Khan to look into alleged atrocities.

Khan’s office will now consider the evidence submitted and determine if the court will open an investigation, a decision expected to take months.

"My goal here is to get the highest bodies that protect human rights to take some action, not just mere words," Lala Abgaryan, whose sister Gayane was killed by Azerbaijani soldiers in 2022, told The Associated Press.

Her sister’s body was badly mutilated and images of the abuse were spread online. Abgaryan says the pictures were so heinous that she suffered psychological damage after looking at them.

Long-standing tensions between Armenia and Azerbaijan erupted in 2020 into a war over Nagorno-Karabakh that left more than 6,600 people dead. The region is within Azerbaijan but had been under the control of ethnic Armenian forces since the end of a separatist war in 1994.

Last year, following a lightning military campaign, Azerbaijan retook the disputed territory. After Azerbaijan regained full control of Karabakh, which had a population of around 120,000, more than 100,000 of the region’s ethnic Armenians fled, although Azerbaijan said they were welcome to stay and promised their human rights would be ensured.

Prior to Azerbaijan’s offensive, Armenia and former International Criminal Court chief prosecutor Luis Moreno Ocampo accused Azerbaijan of committing genocide by creating conditions aimed at destroying Karabakh Armenians as a group.

A group of around 30 people gathered in the rain in front of The Hague-based court Thursday to hand over more than 100 pages of documents.

The rights organization said it has submitted a dossier of evidence containing the testimony of more than 500 victims and witnesses.

"These atrocities are captured on social media, by Azerbaijani soldiers themselves, where you hear them laughing, making comments, and taking the dead bodies that they’ve just slaughtered and beheaded," CFTJ leader Gassia Apkaria told the AP.

Legal experts say that genocide may be out of reach for the court. Armenia is a member of the ICC, but Azerbaijan isn't, leaving prosecutors with jurisdiction only over crimes committed on Armenian territory. Nagorno-Karabakh is internationally recognized as part of Azerbaijan.

Forcing nearly the entire population to relocate to Armenia, however, could fall within the court’s remit. Deportation is considered a crime against humanity.

"There is no way this was an exodus by chance," says Mel O’Brien, an associate professor of international law at the University of Western Australia and genocide expert.

The court has moved forward with an investigation under similar circumstances into possible crimes committed by Myanmar against the Rohingya minority group. While Myanmar isn't a member state, neighboring Bangladesh is and around 750,000 people have fled across the border after being forced from their homes.

The CFTJ’s request came amid two weeks of proceedings between Armenia and Azerbaijan at another global court in The Hague. The United Nations' top court, the International Court of Justice, is hearing arguments related to a pair of cases stemming from the conflict. Each country has accused the other of violating a racial discrimination treaty.

The military Junta ruling Burkina Faso have expelled three French diplomats for alleged subversive activities, according to a government document posted on social media Thursday.

The Junta named the three diplomats, two of whom are political advisors, and declared they were persona non grata in Burkina Faso, according to the document signed by the ministry of foreign affairs Tuesday. They have 48 hours to leave Burkina Faso.

The document did not give details about the alleged subversive activities.

ALGERIAN JOURNALIST CLAIMS COUNTRY EXPELLED HIM WITHOUT EXPLANATION

The French foreign ministry said in a statement Thursday that it regretted the decision to expel its diplomats and rejected the accusations, stating its activities in Burkina Faso were within the United Nations framework for diplomatic and consular relations.

"The decision of the Burkinabè authorities is not based on any legitimate basis," said the statement. "We can only deplore it."

The expulsion comes amid deteriorating relations between Burkina Faso and its former colonial ruler, France. The military junta severed military ties with France in 2023, ordering hundreds of French troops to depart the West African country within a month, following in the path of neighboring Mali, also headed by a coup leader.

More than 60 years after Burkina Faso’s independence, French remains an official language and France has maintained strong economic and humanitarian aid ties with its former colony. As the Islamic extremist insurgency has deepened, however, anti-French sentiment has spiked due in part to the unabating violence.

After a second coup last year, anti-French protesters began urging the junta to strengthen ties with Russia instead.

The prevailing anti-western sentiment and increasing ties with Russia and China are ongoing trends across Burkina Faso and neighbouring Mali, said Rida Lyammouri, senior fellow at the Policy Centre for the New South, a Moroccan-based thinktank.

"This is a continuation of a measure adopted by Burkina Faso and Mali that has seen the expulsion of French diplomats and journalists and suspended some international media," said Lyammouri.

The junta is also distancing itself from regional and Western nations that don’t agree with its approach. This year, it left the West African regional economic bloc known as ECOWAS and created an alliance with Mali and Niger, also led by military juntas.

ANKARA, Turkey (AP) — A moderately strong earthquake struck central Turkey on Thursday, the country’s disaster management agency said, causing damage to some buildings. There were no immediate reports of any deaths or serious injuries.

The 5.6 magnitude quake hit in the town of Sulusaray, in Tokat province, some 450 kilometers (280 miles) east of the capital, Ankara, according to the Disaster and Emergency Management Presidency.

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It was felt in neighboring provinces, including in Yozgat, where a two-story building collapsed, the disaster agency said.

Several mudbrick and wooden homes and barns were damaged in the village of Bugdayli, near Sulusaray, according to Tokat's governor Numan Hatipoglu. Earlier in the day, Sulusaray was hit by two other earthquakes, measuring magnitude 4.7 and magnitude 4.1.

Turkey lies on active fault lines and earthquakes are frequent.

A devastating magnitude 7.8 earthquake struck parts of southern Turkey and neighboring Syria last year, killing more than 59,000 people.

BRUSSELS (AP) — The European Commission proposed Thursday to start negotiations with the United Kingdom to allow young people to move freely, work and study in both regions after Brexit — the U.K.'s departure from the EU four years ago.

According to the EU, the withdrawal of the United Kingdom from the EU following a referendum in 2016 has damaged mobility between the two areas.

EU, BRITAIN AND SPAIN SAY SIGNIFICANT PROGRESS MADE IN TALKS ON POST-BREXIT STATUS OF GIBRALTAR

"This situation has particularly affected the opportunities for young people to experience life on the other side of the Channel and to benefit from youth, cultural, educational, research and training exchanges," the Commission said.

When the U.K. was still a member of the economic and political bloc, its nationals had the right to live and work freely in the EU, with reciprocity for EU nationals in the U.K. Under the agreement proposed by the EU's executive arm, EU and UK citizens between 18 and 30 years old would be eligible to stay up to four years in the destination country.

The deal would also allow equal treatment of EU and UK students in the field of university tuition fees. Most EU students must now pay international tuition fees if they want to study in the U.K. The Commission says these vary between 11,400 and 38,000 pounds ($14,200-$47,300) per year and are a strong deterrent for EU students who generally don't have to pay as much within the bloc.

The Commission’s recommendation will be discussed by EU member countries who must give the green light before the executive arm can start negotiations with the UK.

"We have successful Youth Mobility Schemes with 13 countries, including Australia and New Zealand, and remain open to agreeing them with our international partners, including EU member states," the British government said in a statement.

The U.K. has its own Youth Mobility Scheme, which it has offered to some EU member states. The Commission believes the British plan is less ambitious than its own proposal.

"Our agreements provide a valuable route for cultural exchanges providing partner countries are also willing to offer the same opportunities for young British people," the British government added.

A website that allowed international cyber fraudsters to trick up to 70,000 British victims into revealing personal information such as bank account details and passwords has been infiltrated and disrupted, London police said Thursday.

Metropolitan Police said they seized the LabHost site, which enabled more than 2,000 criminals to create phishing sites that got victims to reveal 480,000 bank card numbers and 64,000 PIN numbers.

Law enforcement in the U.K. and abroad arrested 37 people since Sunday, and another 800 were warned that police know their identity. Many of them remain under investigation.

UK POLICE INVESTIGATE ALLEGEDLY RACIST REMARKS BY TOP CONSERVATIVE PARTY DONOR

The site set up in 2021 allowed criminals to pay a monthly fee to create fraudulent websites that appeared to be those of legitimate banks, healthcare agencies or postal services but were designed to steal users' personal information.

The site provided templates and a how-to lesson for less tech-savvy users to use profiles of 170 companies to set up some 40,000 scam sites.

The tutorial ended with a robotic voice saying: "Stay safe and good spamming."

Police have notified as many as 25,000 U.K. victims that their data was compromised.