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Unusually mild weather and droughts in Italy are destroying crops and threatening livelihoods this winter, Italy's main farming lobby Coldiretti said on Thursday.

The world has just experienced its hottest January on record, continuing a run of exceptional heat fueled by climate change, according to data published by the European Union's Copernicus Climate Change Service on Thursday.

"A boiling winter is causing nature to crash," Coldiretti said in a statement, adding that some plants are blossoming too early and will be exposed to harm from any drop in temperatures.

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The dry spell is also threatening to disrupt the sowing of cereals, legumes and vegetables, with effects on animal feed too, the lobby group said.

"Italy's agriculture is the part of the economy that, more than any other, experiences the consequences of climate change on a daily basis," Coldiretti said.

The farming lobby wants help for farmers forced to try to respond to the changing weather and its effects on crop cycles, water management and the land.

It called for the "commitment of the institutions to support innovation, from agriculture 5.0 with drones, robots and satellites to GMO-free green genetics".

Climate concerns, alongside low prices for produce, rising costs and cheap imports have led Italian farmers to join colleagues across Europe in organizing mass protests to demand action by authorities.

As well as harming agriculture, a mild winter has left ski resorts in central Italy idle because of a lack of snow.

Winter has been exceptionally mild in other parts of southern Europe, with Spain seeing its warmest January on record, worsening a long-running drought in the regions of Catalonia and Andalusia.

Chinese coast guard vessels have been passing by Japanese-claimed waters for weeks in the East China Sea and China's warships have been edging near Japan's southwestern islands in recent days, Japanese officials said.

A fleet of four Chinese coast guard vessels on Thursday passed just outside of the territorial waters of Japan-controlled islands, which Beijing also claims, for the 49th day in a row, the Japanese Coast Guard said.

It warned China’s vessels against further approaching the islands, called the Senkaku in Japanese, while Beijing calls them the Diaoyu. China's Coast Guard on Tuesday acknowledged that it was patrolling waters off the Diaoyu Islands, which are also claimed by Taiwan.

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China routinely sends coast guard vessels and planes into waters and airspace surrounding the islands to harass Japanese vessels in the area and force Japan to scramble jets in response.

Japan Coast Guard Commandant Shohei Ishii said last month that Chinese Coast Guard activity in infiltrating Japanese territorial waters violates international law, and that the "situation is extremely serious and is unpredictable."

Tokyo in recent years has significantly reinforced defense of southwestern Japan, including Okinawa and its outer islands that are considered strategically key to the Japanese defense in the face of China’s growing assertiveness and tension around Taiwan, an autonomous island that Beijing says is its territory.

Japan's Defense Ministry said this week that it has repeatedly spotted Chinese warships off the coast of Okinawa since the previous week. On Feb. 1, a Chinese guided missile destroyer and frigate crossed the waters between Okinawa and the Miyako islands as they moved south, causing the deployment of a Japanese Self Defense Force warship and a reconnaissance aircraft.

On Saturday, a reconnaissance ship passed the area to the north. Then, on Sunday, the Chinese reconnaissance ship showed up in the waters again, the ministry said. On Monday, the guided missile destroyer and the frigate were spotted crossing the waters between Okinawa and Miyako, the ministry said.

Japan has been increasingly concerned about China's maritime activities, including its joint military exercises with Russia around the Japanese coasts. Under a new security strategy adopted in December, 2022, Japan is accelerating the development of long-range cruise missiles that can hit targets in China or North Korea.

German Chancellor Olaf Scholz pushed for further U.S. and European aid for Ukraine as he set off Thursday for a visit to Washington, declaring it was time to send Russian President Vladimir Putin a "very clear signal" that the West won't let up on supporting Kyiv.

Scholz is to meet members of the Congress later in the day and President Joe Biden on Friday. His visit comes after wartime aid for Ukraine was left hanging in the Senate as Republicans blocked a bipartisan border package that had been tied to the funding, then struggled to coalesce around a plan to salvage the aid for Kyiv.

Scholz didn't mention that directly in a statement to reporters before his departure, and took no questions. But he said a key issue now is "how Europe, but also the United States, can perpetuate support for Ukraine."

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"What has been pledged so far in Europe and what has been pledged by decisions of the American Congress isn't yet enough," he said. "So we must achieve a way for all of us together to do more."

Germany is stepping up aid for Ukraine this year, planning more than $7.5 billion for weapons deliveries despite a domestic budget crisis. It has delivered air-defense systems, tanks and armored personnel carriers among other aid since Russia's full-scale invasion started and is now Kyiv’s second-biggest supplier, after the U.S.

Leaders of the 27-nation European Union, of which Germany is the most populous member, last week sealed a deal to provide Ukraine with 50 billion euros in support for its economy.

Berlin is making "a very big contribution, but it won't be enough on its own if sufficient support doesn't come together everywhere," Scholz said. "Now is the moment for us to do what is necessary — give Ukraine the possibility to defend itself, and at the same time send the Russian president a very clear signal: the signal that he can't expect our support to ease off."

The message in the coming weeks needs to be that Western support "will last long enough and be big enough," the chancellor added.

Scholz already called recently for other European countries to step up with more weapons deliveries for Ukraine, saying that "it can’t be down to Germany alone."

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The German leader said in mid-December that if the situation in Ukraine worsens, other countries reduce their aid or the threat to Germany and Europe increases, "we will have to react to that" with a possible further increase in aid, and his government could seek an exemption from the country's strict self-imposed borrowing limits.

But officials have stressed that the priorities are for all in Europe to step up and for the U.S. to continue its aid.

In an opinion piece published in the Wall Street Journal ahead of his U.S. trip, Scholz wrote that "we must continue to move in a strategic lockstep on both sides of the Atlantic."

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Putin "is trying to undermine our unity and turn our citizens against supporting Ukraine," and others are watching to see whether those divisions can be exploited and "whether disinformation campaigns can take hold," he added. "We must prove them wrong by convincing citizens on both sides of the Atlantic that a Russian victory would make the world a far more dangerous place."

The stabbing of a 23-year-old Palestinian American who advocates say was attacked near the University of Texas campus while riding in a truck displaying support for Palestine merits the label of a hate crime, Austin police announced Wednesday.

Bert James Baker, 36, was arrested following the Sunday evening attack on Zacharia Doar, who was hospitalized. Baker was charged with aggravated assault with a deadly weapon. Police said Wednesday that their Hate Crimes Review Committee had determined that the stabbing met the definition of a hate crime. They have provided that information to prosecutors, who will make the final decision on whether to enhance the offense.

The Travis County District Attorney’s Office said Wednesday that they are in the process of receiving the evidence from police and "look forward to working with them."

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Doar was one of four Muslim Americans who were in the truck, according to the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR), which said Baker allegedly tried to rip a flagpole with a keffiyeh scarf reading "Free Palestine" off of their vehicle. CAIR said the four had previously attended a pro-Palestinian protest.

An arrest affidavit said that Baker, who was on a bicycle, rode up to the truck Doar and three others were riding in, opened the tailgate and doors and yelled racial slurs at them. The group exited the truck and approached Baker, who punched Doar in the shoulders, the affidavit said. A fight ensued, with Baker eventually pulling out a knife and stabbing Doar in the rib, the affidavit said.

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When Baker was interviewed by police, he said he was an alcoholic and had more to drink that day than he normally did, the affidavit said.

Baker was being held in jail on Thursday on $100,000 bond. Jail records did not list an attorney for him.

Threats against Jewish, Muslim and Arab communities increased across the U.S. during the Israel-Hamas war. Israel invaded Gaza after an Oct. 7 attack on Israel by Hamas militants.

In Vermont in November, three college students of Palestinian descent were shot and seriously wounded while taking an evening walk in an attack that authorities are investigating as a possible hate crime. In October, a landlord in Illinois was accused of fatally stabbing a 6-year-old Muslim boy and wounding his mother. He was charged with a hate crime after police and relatives said he singled out the victims because of their faith.

An addled tourist faces criminal charges for his outburst on a packed passenger plane. 

When a flight attendant refused to let him disembark, he leaped up, ran toward an emergency exit and shouted as he forced it open.

The Thai Airways passenger, 40-year-old Wong Sai Heung of Vancouver, Canada, was escorted off the Airbus A320 by authorities at Chiang Mai International Airport around 9 p.m. local time Wednesday.

Passengers had already taken their seats, and the doors had been sealed. However, Heung ordered a flight attendant to let him off Thai Airways flight TG121 just as it was lining up on the runway, according to Nation Thailand. 

He shouted "that someone was going to assault him" as he pushed the door behind the cockpit open, causing the emergency slide to unfurl and rendering the plane immobile in the middle of the tarmac. 

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Heung could be seen escorted away in handcuffs in a video captured after the incident. 

"I was very paranoid and had anxiety," he said. "It was the thing I had last time on the trip to Vietnam, but it's pretty much, the second big trip, but it was a big panic attack, I thought I was getting killed in that spot. I'm not doing well."

Police told Nation Thailand that Heung was not under the influence when he was arrested. He was taken to Phu Ping Ratchaniwet Police Station for questioning after the incident, and remains in custody. 

He faces charges for rendering an airplane to be in a condition likely to cause danger to a person and failing to comply with an order of an aircraft commander or crew member, according to the police station's deputy superintendent, Colonel Nattawut Noisorn. 

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"The suspect may face further charges for aviation offenses, which are currently being processed by the relevant organizations," he added. "Additionally, if the 13 airlines affected by the incident decide to file a report, he could face additional charges."

Heung's outburst not only delayed the flight he was on, but prevented other arriving flights from landing. Departing planes were delayed on the ground while arriving planes were caught in a midair holding pattern. 

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Other passengers aboard Thai Airways flight TG121 were checked into an area hotel after their flight was rescheduled. Originally, the hourlong flight was supposed to depart at 9:05 p.m. and arrive at Suvarnabhumi International Airport in Bangkok. 

"A plane was about to take off, but someone panicked and tried to open the door," passenger Watcharapon Pethsurp told Nation Thailand. "As far as I know, at 9:45 p.m., the plane was about to leave before there was a scream and then an announcement from a flight attendant saying that someone panicked and attempted to leave through the exit, causing it to slide open."

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"The plane was unable to fly, and we had to wait for the mechanics to take it back to the pit stop," Pethsurp said. 

Thai Airways wrote in a statement that the flight was able to depart several hours later, just after midnight. 

Thailand expects to open up a humanitarian corridor in about a month to deliver aid to suffering civilians in war-torn Burma, Thai Foreign Minister Parnpree Bahiddha-Nukara said Thursday after inspecting the planned staging area in the northern Thai province of Tak.

The plan, initiated by Thailand with the endorsement of Burma and other fellow members of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, is relatively small in scale and initially would reach just a tiny proportion of the 2.6 million civilians the U.N. estimates are displaced throughout Burma.

Burma is wracked by a nationwide armed conflict that began after the army ousted the elected government of Aung San Suu Kyi in February 2021 and suppressed widespread nonviolent protests that sought a return to democratic rule.

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Large areas of the country, especially frontier areas, are now contested or controlled by anti-military resistance forces, pro-democracy fighters allied with armed ethnic minority organizations that have been fighting for greater autonomy for decades.

Thai officials have said they expect about 20,000 displaced people will benefit from the plan in its initial stage. The Thai and Burma Red Cross societies would implement distribution, to be monitored by the ASEAN Coordinating Centre for Humanitarian Assistance on Disaster Management.

Other details of the cross-border aid plan remain incomplete or unrevealed, but Parnpree described it at a news conference as a government-to-government deal, meaning activities on the Burma side of the border will be handled by that country’s ruling military council.

The ongoing hostilities, however, make unlikely any expansion of what is considered a pilot project, confined for now to a small area just across the river border from Thailand.

"We have long been calling for a program of direct cross-border humanitarian assistance to the refugees and civilians truly in need of help," said Nay Phone Latt, a spokesperson for Burma's shadow National Unity Government, the leading political body of the anti-military resistance.

He rejected the Thai plan, however, urging that the aid instead go through the ethnic minority groups that control much of the border area, and charging that previous efforts to assist displaced person had been diverted to help the military.

Asst. Prof. Surachanee Sriyai, a visiting fellow at Singapore's ISEAS-Yusof Ishak Institute, also doubts that Burma's military government has the will or the competence to run a legitimate assistance program. Neither the Thai nor the Burma Red Cross is capable of dealing with delivering assistance in such complicated circumstances, she believes.

At his news conference in Mae Sot, in Tak province, Parnpree defended Thailand’s approach, saying, "If we don’t start with the government, eventually, if we start with other people, we will have to come back to start with the government anyway.

In other forums he has acknowledged that the Thai initiative has deep roots in regional geopolitics. Speaking last month at the Diplomacy Dialogue on the sidelines of the World Economic Forum in Switzerland, he said that with no end in sight to Burma’s conflict, "The fear among the regional countries is Burma becoming increasingly fragmented and becoming an arena for major-power competition."

As Burma's eastern neighbor, Thailand especially fears an influx of refugees.

Parnpree said ASEAN needs to actively push to implement what it calls the Five-Points Consensus, which it agreed just a few months after the army’s 2021 takeover in Burma..

The agreement called for the immediate cessation of violence, a dialogue among all concerned parties, mediation by an ASEAN special envoy, provision of humanitarian aid through ASEAN channels, and a visit to Burma by the special envoy to meet all concerned parties.

Burma's generals, despite initially assenting to the consensus, failed to act on it.

Parnpree told his Davos audience that while it was desirable to have Burma return to the path of democracy, it was meanwhile imperative to address its peoples’ humanitarian needs.

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He said Thailand hopes its aid plan will be the building block for constructive dialogue and engagement within Burma and between Burma and the international community as the process goes forward.

An aid worker in Mae Sot who has been involved for about a decade in humanitarian activities involving displaced people in Burma’s Kayin state, where the project will be implemented, described what he knows so far about the plan as a good initiative but far too limited, given huge numbers of displaced people across Burma.

Speaking on condition of anonymity because he feared interference in his work from the authorities, he blamed Burma's military for the humanitarian crisis and said they should not be involved at all in the assistance plan. He added that he believed Burma’s military authorities were incapable of carrying out such a program, charging that had failed to deliver assistance to people in need during the coronavirus pandemic.

At least 13 Sudanese migrants died and 27 others are believed missing after their small metal boat sank Thursday off the Tunisian coast as they sought to cross the Mediterranean to reach Europe, according to local authorities.

The Tunisian coast guard was able to rescue just two people from the capsized boat nine miles off the coast of the port of Chebba, and is searching for those missing, regional court spokesperson Farid Ben Jha said. The survivors said a total of 42 people were aboard, all from Sudan.

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They said the group had left from the coast of nearby Sfax, a common jumping-off point for illegal boat journeys across the Mediterranean to Italy. The boat sank soon after setting to sea, Ben Jha said.

Such migration attempts have increased recently from Tunisia, by both Tunisians and people from elsewhere in Africa.

Migration activists sounded the alarm last month about mass expulsions and arbitrary arrests of migrants in Tunisia, where authorities are seeing more migrants arrive for attempted Mediterranean crossings from the North African nation to Europe.

The Tunisian Forum for Economic and Social Rights cited witness accounts indicating the situation had become particularly dire around Tunisia’s borders with Libya and Algeria as well as around Sfax, the country’s second most populous city, 117 miles from the Italian Island of Lampedusa.

Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk torched American Republican senators on Thursday after an additional $60 billion in U.S. aid for Ukraine stalled in a recent vote. 

"Dear Republican Senators of America. Ronald Reagan, who helped millions of us to win back our freedom and independence, must be turning in his grave today. Shame on you," Tusk wrote in a post on the X, invoking the former Republican president and his efforts in the 1980s to support Poland's struggle to shake off Moscow's dominance. 

Poland borders Ukraine and has been pressing the U.S. and Europe for unwavering support for Kyiv’s forces nearly two years after Russia's full-scale invasion, as security concerns for NATO members and allies in the region mount. In a national election in November, Polish voters turned out in huge numbers to embrace Tusk and more centrist, moderate conservative and left-wing parties after eight years of rule by a nationalist conservative party that was at odds with the European Union. 

The country saw tens of thousands of demonstrators take to the streets in support of "God, Family and Fatherland" after the election signaled a more globalist shift. The European Union had blasted the previous Warsaw government for not ending an impasse at the Poland-Ukraine border in protest of grain imports and favorable treatment for Ukrainian truckers. 

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In response to Tusk's rebuke of U.S. Republicans, Polish conservative journalist Wojciech Wybranowski wrote, "In Poland, we are also fighting a silent battle. A silent war against economic backwardness, against social exclusion, economic exclusion, against competition from Germany." Reagan "might be ashamed for today's Republicans in the US, but the great men of independent Poland: Grabski, Kwiatkowski etc. would be ashamed today for the ineptitude of you and your associates," he wrote to Tusk. 

The U.S. Senate on Wednesday failed to pass a supplemental spending agreement that included aid for Ukraine, Israel and Taiwan, as well as an ambitious border security and immigration package that drew widespread opposition from conservative Republicans in both chambers since its release on Sunday.

Wednesday's vote was 49-50. It needed 60 votes to pass. The vote went mostly along party lines, except for five Democratic no votes and four Republicans voting yes. 

Sens. Ed Markey, D-Mass.; Bob Menendez, D-N.J.; Alex Padilla, D-Calif.; Bernie Sanders, I-Vt.; and Elizabeth Warren, D-Ma., voted against, with Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., also voting against as a procedural move to allow it to be reconsidered at a future time. Republicans voting yes were Sens. James Lankford, R-Okla.; Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska; Susan Collins, R-Maine; and Mitt Romney, R-Utah. The package had been negotiated for months by Sens. Lankford; Chris Murphy, D-Conn.; Krysten Sinema, I-Ariz.; and Biden administration officials.

The $118 billion package included $60 billion for Ukraine, $14 billion for Israel, aid to Taiwan, humanitarian assistance to Gaza and $20 billion in measures to tackle the historic and ongoing crisis at the southern border. 

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After Wednesday's rejection of the supplemental, Schumer tried to push ahead to a crucial test vote on a $95 billion package for Ukraine, Israel and other U.S. allies – a modified package with the border portion stripped out. The standalone $95 billion package would invest in domestic defense manufacturing, send funding to allies in Asia and provide $10 billion for humanitarian efforts in Ukraine, Israel, Gaza and other places.

The White House said President Biden believes there should be a new border policy but would also support moving the aid for Ukraine and Israel alone, as he has from the start.

"We support this bill which would protect America’s national security interests by stopping Putin’s onslaught in Ukraine before he turns to other countries, helping Israel defend itself against Hamas terrorists and delivering life-saving humanitarian aid to innocent Palestinian civilians," White House spokesman Andrew Bates said. 

Even though support for Ukraine has been a top priority for Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell, the deeply divided Republican conference was scrambling to find support for the wartime funding. After former President Trump eviscerated the Senate’s bipartisan border proposal, House Speaker Mike Johnson said the package would be dead on arrival. Trump has also led many Republicans to question aid for Ukraine and insist on an exit strategy. 

As a result of the impasse, the U.S. has halted arms shipments to Ukraine at a crucial point in the nearly two-year conflict.

Fox News' Adam Shaw and The Associated Press contributed to this report. 

About 340 members of Burma's Border Guard Police and soldiers have fled into Bangladesh during fighting with an ethnic minority army, Bangladesh's foreign minister said Thursday.

Hasan Mahmud said 340 security personnel had entered Bangladesh by Wednesday. He said Bangladesh is having discussions with Burma's government about the issue and that it is willing to take them back.

Mahmud made the comments while on a visit to India, his first since becoming foreign minister last month.

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Earlier this week, Bangladesh's border agency said some Burmese troops had entered in recent days during fighting with the Arakan Army in Burma's Rakhine state bordering Bangladesh. It was the first time that Burmese forces have been known to flee into Bangladesh since an alliance of ethnic minority armies in Burma launched an offensive against the military government late last year.

Officials said the troops that entered had been disarmed and taken to safe places.

Mahmud said he had also raised the issue with India, which shares a 1,020-mile border with Burma and is home to thousands of refugees from Burma in different states. Indian officials in November estimated that thousands had entered northeastern states in India to flee heavy fighting in Burma's western Chin state.

Separately on Thursday, India's Home Ministry announced that it would end visa-free movement between India and Burma "to ensure the internal security of the country." The Free Movement Regime, as it is known, is an agreement between the two countries that allows people living along the border to travel up to 10 miles inside the other country without a visa.

The Arakan Army is the military wing of the Rakhine ethnic minority that seeks autonomy from Burma's central government. It has been attacking army outposts in the western state since November.

It is part of an alliance of ethnic minority armies called the Three Brotherhood Alliance that launched an offensive in October and gained strategic territory in Burma's northeast bordering China. Its success was seen as a major defeat for the military government, which seized power in February 2021 from the elected government of Aung San Suu Kyi and is now embroiled in a wide-ranging civil war.

Bangladesh shares a 168-mile border with Buddhist-dominated Burma and hosts more than 1 million Muslim Rohingya refugees, many of whom fled from Burma starting in August 2017 when its military launched a brutal "clearance operation" against them following attacks by an insurgent group.

A panel of U.N.-backed experts that focuses on children's human rights called Thursday on Russia to prevent efforts to rewrite school curricula and textbooks to reflect the government's "political and military agenda," including over the war in Ukraine.

The Committee on the Rights of the Child held two days of hearings in Geneva last month before presenting its findings on conditions in Russia. The examination was part of a regular review that all U.N. member countries receive.

Bragi Gudbrandsson, the committee's vice chair, said that the panel highlighted the killings and injuries of hundreds of children through "indiscriminate attacks" by Russia in Ukraine by using explosive weapons. He cited measures to strip deported Ukrainian children of their nationality and give them Russian citizenship.

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The Ukrainian government and "other sources" indicated that about 20,000 Ukrainian children had been forcibly deported, though it was difficult to determine exact numbers, he said. "Russia denied this," he added.

"It is our conclusion that there are (is) evidence of forced transfer of children from Ukraine to Russia," said Gudbrandsson, a former director-general of Iceland's child protection agency.

Russian officials attended the committee’s Jan. 22-23 hearings. The Russian diplomatic mission in Geneva didn't immediately respond to a request from The Associated Press seeking comment, but said that a response would come from Moscow.

The 18-member committee of independent experts last examined Russia's record on children's rights a decade ago. It also urged the Russian government to investigate war crime allegations against President Vladimir Putin’s commissioner for children’s rights.

In March 2023, the International Criminal Court issued an arrest warrant for Putin and Maria Lvova-Belova, his children's rights commissioner, accusing them of abducting children from Ukraine.

The U.N. committee, in its concluding observations, said it was "deeply concerned" about the allegations of Lvova-Belova’s responsibility and urged Russian authorities to "investigate allegations of war crimes perpetrated" by her. It didn't mention the allegations against Putin.

The Russian government has faced international condemnation over deportations of Ukrainian families, including children, to Russia following Putin's order for Russian troops to launch a full-scale invasion of Ukraine on Feb. 24, 2022. It also has come under recent scrutiny over the alleged interference by Putin's ruling party in schools and policies that put a positive spin on Russia's war effort.

The Russian delegation headed by Alexey Vovchenko, a deputy minister of labor and social protection, denied during last month's hearings that any Ukrainians were forcibly removed from their country. He said that 4.8 million residents of Ukraine — including 770,000 children — had been taken in by Russia.

The committee also denounced the alleged "widespread and systematic state propaganda in schools about the war in Ukraine," including through the issuance of a new history textbook and a new training manual for teaching the government's positions on the conflict.

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The U.N. panel called on authorities to "prevent any attempts to rewrite school curriculum and textbooks to reflect the political and military agenda of the government."

Ann Skelton, the committee chair, said that it put an emphasis on the "politicization and militarization of schools," adding: "We consider it to be a very big risk for the future of these children ... who are being indoctrinated basically."

The committee also expressed concerns about sexual and other violence committed by Russian soldiers against children in Ukraine. The U.N. last year added Russia to a blacklist of countries that violate children’s rights in conflict, citing boys and girls who were killed during attacks on schools and hospitals in Ukraine.

Children's rights in Bulgaria, Congo, Lithuania, Senegal and South Africa were also considered by the committee during its January hearings.

Finland's government said Thursday that it would extend the closure of its long border with Russia for another two months until April 14, because it sees no signs that Moscow was stopping its "hybrid operation" of funneling migrants toward the frontier with the Nordic nation.

Finland closed the 832-mile land border late last year after about 1,300 migrants without proper documentation or visas had arrived across the frontier since September — an unusually high number, just months after Finland joined the NATO alliance.

Most of the migrants hail from the Middle East and Africa. The vast majority of them have sought asylum in Finland, a nation of 5.6 million people.

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The government said in Thursday’s statement that "instrumentalized migration" from Russia poses "a serious threat to Finland’s national security and public order."

Based on the information provided by the border, security and other authorities to the Cabinet, "it is likely that instrumentalized migration would resume if border crossing points were opened at the eastern border," the government said.

"We have seen no signs that Russia is changing its behavior. On the contrary, the information we have received confirms our assessment that Russia is continuing its hybrid operation," Interior Minister Mari Rantanen said. "We have reason to believe that this situation will continue for some time."

According to Rantanen, there are "hundreds, if not thousands, of migrants" who are currently staying close to the border on the Russian side and waiting for the chance to cross into Finland.

Finland has earlier accused Russia of deliberately ushering the migrants to its normally heavily controlled border facing the Nordic country.

In comments given to the Russian news agency RIA Novosti, Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova on Wednesday accused the Finnish government of an unwillingness to hold dialogue on the border issue.

"Helsinki stubbornly refuses to discuss with us the threats allegedly posed to Finland’s security from Russia’s side of the border," Zakharova was quoted as saying by RIA Novosti.

According to Zakharova, Finland is also avoiding direct contact between the two countries’ border authorities — a claim that was quickly refuted by the Finnish Border Guard, which said it has remained in regular touch with its Russian counterpart throughout the border conflict.

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All eight Finland-Russia border crossing points for people have been closed since Dec. 15. The southeastern rail checkpoint for cargo trains in Vainikkala remains open for now.

In January, the government agreed to keep the crossing points closed until Feb. 11.

Prime Minister Petteri Orpo’s government originally chose to close the border with Russia in November, citing security concerns and Moscow’s "hybrid warfare." It later opened two selected checkpoints in eastern and northern Finland on a trial basis, but the migrant influx continued.

Finland acts as the European Union’s external border in the north and makes up a significant part of NATO’s northeastern flank.

Pressure is mounting on Hungary's head of state to resign after it was revealed that she issued a presidential pardon to a man convicted as an accomplice in a child sexual abuse case.

Hungary's opposition parties say that President Katalin Novák, Hungary's one-time minister for families and a close ally of Prime Minister Viktor Orbán, is no longer fit to hold office after she pardoned the former deputy director of a state-run children's home last year.

The man was sentenced to more than three years in prison in 2018 for helping to cover up the sexual abuse committed by the institution's director, who himself was sentenced to eight years for his abuse of at least 10 children between 2004 and 2016.

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Novák, who issued the pardon along with around two dozen others on the occasion of Pope Francis' April 2023 visit to Hungary, has denied that she acted improperly and rejected calls for a formal explanation of her decision.

"Under my presidency, there has not been and will not be pardons for pedophiles, as it was in this case," she said during a news conference on Tuesday.

Novák's office did not respond to an Associated Press request for comment.

All of Hungary's opposition parties have called for Novák's resignation. Democratic Coalition, the largest of the parties, has initiated an ethics proceeding against her in parliament.

On Thursday, a Democratic Coalition lawmaker delivered a letter to Catholic Church representatives in Hungary to pass to Pope Francis, saying that Novák had "served sin" by granting the pardon on the occasion of the pontiff's visit.

The lawmaker, Olga Kálmán, said the pardon had expunged the criminal record of the children's home's former deputy director and allowed him to work among children again.

"This pardon means that from now on, he has no criminal record and has not been barred from practicing his vocation. From the moment of his pardon, he can go back to working in an orphanage," Kálmán told the AP.

In a Facebook post on Tuesday, one of the sex abuse survivors, Mert Pop, wrote in a comment that Novák's decision "deprives victims of due justice," and that "the obscurity surrounding the pardoned offender provokes deep concern among those who have suffered, and in society at large."

"Confronted with the gravity of the crimes committed, the decision to pardon is unexpected and inexplicable, causing deep pain and disappointment to those affected, further complicating their lives," Pop wrote. He said he expects an explanation from Novák on behalf of the victims.

MARRIED VIRGINIA TEACHER FACES UP TO 50 YEARS IN PRISON AFTER SEX CRIMES WITH STUDENT AT HIS HOME: PROSECUTOR

As controversy rose on Thursday, Orbán said in a video on Facebook that he had proposed an amendment to Hungary's constitution that would prevent those convicted of crimes against children from receiving presidential pardons.

"There is no mercy for pedophile offenders, that is my personal belief," Orbán said. "It’s time to settle this issue."

Hungary's former justice minister, Judit Varga, also has come under fire, since her endorsement was required for the pardon to take legal effect. Varga is expected to lead the list of European Parliament candidates from Hungary's governing Fidesz party when elections are held this summer.

Kálmán, the opposition lawmaker, said she thinks Novák and Varga "should not represent me or Hungarians, either in Hungary or abroad."

A protest against Novák's decision has been called for Friday in front of the presidential palace in Budapest.

An airline in Ireland that mistakenly placed an innocent man on a no-fly list, and even contacted the man’s boss about the matter, has apologized for the apparent mix-up, reports show. 

Airline Ryanair said before Ireland’s High Court that the company "SINCERELY and unreservedly apologised" for wrongly placing Eoin Michael Cahill on a no-fly list over alleged disruptive behavior, Irish newspaper The Journal reported Tuesday, citing court documents. Upon learning of the accusation, Cahill sued the airline for defamation. 

Cahill was reportedly slated to fly from Dublin to Coppenhagen on the low-budget airline on Jan. 2, but remained in Ireland for work purposes. Cahill works for Jones Engineering Group, and frequently flies for work purposes between Ireland and Denmark, The Journal reported. 

HOLIDAY TRAVEL TURNS TRAGIC WHEN FLIGHT ATTENDANT DIES IN FRONT OF PASSENGERS MOMENTS BEFORE TAKEOFF

During that Jan. 2 flight, an unidentified separate passenger allegedly became disruptive with airline staff, requiring airport police intervention. The airline said that Cahill had been "mistakenly identified" as the disruptive passenger and placed on the no-fly list. 

NO-FLY LISTS: MAJOR AIRLINES REVEAL HOW MANY PASSENGERS ARE BANNED FROM THEIR FLIGHTS

Cahill’s suit argued that the airline defamed him to his own employer, claiming the airline contacted his boss stating the man was "disruptive" and barred from flying on Ryanair. Cahill said the mix-up has hurt his professional reputation, as he’s a frequent traveler. 

RYANAIR FLIGHT DIVERTED AFTER MID-AIR BRAWL CREATES CHAOS: REPORTS

The airline apologized, and offered to pay Cahill’s legal fees in addition to roughly $10,700 in compensation. The airline also said it would write a letter to Cahill’s employers clarifying the accusations are "fully withdrawn," The Journal reported. 

The case officially closed on Tuesday, Business Insider reported. Ryanair did not immediately respond to Fox News Digital’s request for comment. 

A leading human rights group dismissed on Thursday the conviction of a prominent Egyptian political activist as an act of retaliation for his decision to challenge President Abdel Fattah el-Sissi in last year’s presidential election.

On Tuesday, a Cairo misdemeanor court sentenced former presidential hopeful Ahmed Altantawy, along with 22 of his aides, including his campaign manager, to one year in prison on grounds of disseminating un-authortized endorsement forms for his candidacy. The court also barred Altantawy from national elections for the next five years.

"It isn’t just that the authorities are punishing peaceful dissent. By barring Tantawy from running in future elections, the authorities are sending a clear message that no serious challenge to Sisi will be tolerated," said a statement released by Human Rights Watch.

EGYPT'S EL-SISSI CRUISES TO REELECTION AMID DOMESTIC, INTERNATIONAL TURMOIL

The New York City-based group urged the Egyptian authorities to drop all charges immediately.

Tantawy, who is at liberty, is still expected to deposit 20,000 Egyptian pounds ($647), which was set as a bail by the court to suspend the sentence while an appeal is filed.

More than 120 members of Altantawy’s presidential campaign have been arrested since last year, according to a local advocacy group.

On Altantawy’s Facebook page, his lawyer Nabeh Elganadi dismissed the trial as fundamentally flawed, accusing the court of ignoring all requests from the defense. "Nothing is right about this trial other than the defendants' names," he wrote.

Last year, Altantawy, who was widely seen as the most viable opposition candidate, dropped out of the presidential race after failing to garner the number of signatures from voters required for a nomination.

At the time, Altantawy accused state security agencies of harassing his staff and supporters to prevent him from reaching the voter threshold for candidacy. El-Sissi was reelected by an overwhelming majority for a third term.

El-Sissi's victory was widely deemed a foregone conclusion — his three opponents were marginal political figures who were rarely seen during the election campaign.

"By continuing the persecution of Tantawy for challenging Sisi, Egyptian authorities have further pulled the mask off a farcical electoral process that ensures one-man rule and annihilates Egyptians’ right to genuine political participation," Amr Magdy, an HRW spokesman said in the group's statement.

Brazilian police are investigating several top allies of former President Jair Bolsonaro for allegedly trying to overturn the results of the 2022 election and searched their homes and offices Thursday.

Bolsonaro was not himself the target of a search but, like others, was ordered to forfeit his passport, according to a decision by Supreme Court Justice Alexandre de Moraes made public Thursday.

The subjects of the 33 searches police planned to conduct included Bolsonaro's 2022 running mate, Gen. Walter Braga Netto; a former adviser, Gen. Augusto Heleno; former Justice Minister Anderson Torres and the head of Bolsonaro's Liberal Party, Valdemar Costa Neto, the decision said.

BOLSONARO BANNED FROM RUNNING FOR OFFICE FOR 8 YEARS

There were also four preventive arrest warrants, one of which targeted Bolsonaro’s special adviser on international affairs, Filipe Martins.

Bolsonaro's lawyer, Fabio Wajngarten, said on X, formerly Twitter, that Bolsonaro would comply with the order to hand over his passport. A Bolsonaro aide who among the search targets was with the former president at the time of the Thursday morning operation, Wajngarten said.

The aide was asked to return to Brazil's capital, Brasilia, to put Bolsonaro in compliance with an order not to have any contact with individuals under investigation, the lawyer said.

Police said in a statement they were carrying out 33 searches and seeking four arrests in eight states and the Federal District, where Brasilia is located. The probe is connected to an alleged criminal organization that "acted to attempt a coup d'etat" that would have kept Bolsonaro in power after his election defeat against Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, the statement said.

The group under investigation allegedly prepared before the 2022 election to allege voting fraud "in order to enable and legitimize a military intervention," police said.

Bolsonaro repeatedly sowed doubt about the reliability of Brazil's voting system and never conceded defeat after the election. He and his political party filed a request to annul ballots cast on most electronic voting machines, which would have overturned results.

The bid was rejected and the head of Brazil’s electoral authority, Alexandre de Moraes, wrote in his decision that the challenge appeared aimed at incentivizing anti-democratic protest movements and creating tumult.

Lula, who defeated Bolsonaro in the presidential race with the closest finish in Brazil's modern history and remains in office, told a radio station in Minas Gerais on Thursday that it wasn’t his place to comment on a sealed investigation.

But he added that a Jan. 8, 2023 uprising in Brazil’s capital by Bolsonaro supporters who sought to oust him would not have occurred without the former president's involvement.

"A lot of people should be investigated, because it is concrete fact that there was an attempted coup, there was a policy of disrespecting democracy, there was an attempt to destroy something we built so many years ago, which is the democratic process," Lula said.

Last month, federal police searched properties associated with Bolsonaro's son Carlos, a Rio de Janeiro city councilman, and with the former chief of Brazil’s intelligence agency under Bolsonaro, Alexandre Ramagem.

FORMER BRAZILIAN PRESIDENT JAIR BOLSONARO GIVES TESTIMONY ABOUT HIS ACTIONS RELATED TO THE JAN. 8 ATTACKS

Police said those operations were part of an investigation into the nation’s intelligence agency and alleged spying on political opponents during Bolsonaro’s term, which ended in December 2022. Bolsonaro was with his son when his home and office were raided last week but wasn't forced to forfeit his phone or any other belongings.

Previously issued police statements and Supreme Court documents showed police were investigating an "organized crime" group that operated within the intelligence agency during Bolsonaro’s administration and that allegedly used the agency’s tools and services for political use and personal gain.

Police claimed they identified a group that allegedly included Carlos Bolsonaro, which "monitored ‘political enemies’," according to Supreme Court documents. The group was also suspected of seeking to interfere with ongoing police investigations, some of which targeted or involved two other sons of Bolsonaro, Jair Renan and Flávio Bolsonaro, a sitting senator.

European Union lawmakers called on Thursday for an independent investigation into allegations of vote-rigging in Serbia and demanded that EU funds be cut off if the authorities in Belgrade fail to cooperate with the inquiry or are found to be implicated in election irregularities.

The governing Serbian Progressive party of populist Serbian President Aleksandar Vučić won the Dec. 17 parliamentary and municipal elections, securing 129 seats in the 250-seat assembly. The opposition Serbia Against Violence coalition finished a distant second with 65 seats.

A vote-monitoring mission set up by international rights watchdogs said in a preliminary report that the polls were "marred by harsh rhetoric, bias in the media, pressure on public sector employees and misuse of public resources."

EUROPEAN UNION LEADERS SEAL $54 BILLION AID PACKAGE FOR UKRAINE AFTER HUNGARY LIFTS VETO THREAT

Serious irregularities included alleged cases of vote-buying and ballot box stuffing, according to the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe and the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe, which aren't part of the EU, and the European Parliament.

In a resolution, passed in a 461-53 vote with 43 abstentions, the lawmakers noted with "serious concern" that evidence collected by observers showed that irregularities "may have critically impacted" voting results, notably in the capital Belgrade, and "undermined the legitimacy" of the polls.

The resolution called for "an independent investigation by respected international legal experts and institutions" into all the polls, with "special attention" focused on what happened in Belgrade.

The lawmakers called "for the suspension of EU funding on the basis of severe breaches of the rule of law in connection with Serbia’s elections," should the authorities ignore the investigation’s findings or are found to have been directly involved in voter fraud.

The resolution has angered Serbian Prime Minister Ana Brnabić.

"I can hardly put into words the extent to which the European Parliament’s resolution is scandalous," Brnabić said, and she condemned opposition officials for traveling to the EU legislature to lobby for the resolution to take a tough line.

"They want MEPs (members of the European Parliament) to line up our citizens, for Serbs to account to them, and I wonder how can they have the right to humiliate the citizens of Serbia in this way," Brnabić said. "Shame on them."

The resolution, adopted during a plenary sitting in Strasbourg, France, is nonbinding but it constitutes yet another official expression of concern about Vučić and his party. Vučić’s ties to Russian President Vladimir Putin and his failure to enforce EU sanctions on Moscow have dismayed many.

FARMERS BLOCK SPANISH HIGHWAYS IN PROTEST OF EUROPEAN UNION BUREAUCRACY

Serbia is a candidate to join the 27-country EU, and Thursday’s resolution underlined that Belgrade’s membership talks "should advance only if the country makes significant progress on its EU-related reforms."

On Tuesday, Serbia’s National Assembly held a tense inaugural session as the ruling nationalists ignored the reports of vote-rigging and other irregularities.

As it started, opposition lawmakers gathered around the speaker’s stand, whistling, booing and holding signs that read "You Stole the Elections." Others held photos of Vučić with a caption that read "The mafia boss."

Supporters of the ruling party displayed a large banner denouncing the opposition.

With the number of migrants making the dangerous Atlantic crossing from West Africa to Europe up sharply, two senior EU leaders arrived Thursday in the African coastal nation of Mauritania, where they are expected to sign deals with the president on migration, security and green energy.

European Union Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and Spain’s Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez landed in Nouakchott, the capital of Mauritania, for talks with President Mohamed Ould Ghazouani.

In January alone, some 7,270 migrants landed on Spain’s Canary Islands, the archipelago that is used as a stepping stone to continental Europe, about as many as in the first six months of 2023.

EUROPEAN UNION LEADERS SEAL $54 BILLION AID PACKAGE FOR UKRAINE AFTER HUNGARY LIFTS VETO THREAT

The Canary Islands had already been struggling with a record number of arrivals last year when nearly 40,000 people arrived on its shores on boats from West Africa.

Despite the presence of both Spanish and Mauritanian patrols of the coast, the majority of this year's migrant arrivals have departed from the impoverished nation.

FARMERS BLOCK SPANISH HIGHWAYS IN PROTEST OF EUROPEAN UNION BUREAUCRACY

Mauritania has been hailed as a key partner of the EU and Spain in the fight against people smuggling and is seen as one of the most stable countries in the volatile Sahel region. Many of the migrants embarking on smugglers' boats leaving from Mauritania come from neighboring Mali and Senegal.

In addition to announcing more funds for migration control and humanitarian aid, European officials are expected to sign several financing and development projects on green hydrogen as part of an EU energy transition initiative.

Russian President Vladimir Putin's government has disqualified an anti-war opponent in the upcoming presidential election, citing signature irregularities.

The Russian Central Election Commission announced Thursday that Civic Initiative Party candidate Boris Nadezhdin has been disqualified from running against Putin.

Authorities claimed that approximately 15% of the signatures of endorsement produced by the Nadezhdin campaign were irregular or inadmissible, breaching the 5% threshold allowed.

Nadezhdin previously reported 158,000 signatures in support of his campaign — 58,000 more than the 100,000 needed to qualify, according to reports from Russian outlets.

ANTI-WAR RUSSIAN PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE COLLECTS 150K SIGNATURES SUPPORTING CAMPAIGN

The anti-war candidate announced the milestone last month, stating that the large amount of extra signatures is meant to ensure against any attempts to find logistical issues with his candidacy. Regardless, the Kremlin has ruled to keep Nadezhdin off the ballot.

"One thing happened which many could not believe: citizens sensed the possibility of changes in Russia," Nadezhdin wrote in a statement following the end of his run. 

PUTIN ANNOUNCES PRESIDENTIAL RE-ELECTION BID, FIFTH TERM EXPECTED TO BE CERTAIN

He added, "It was you who stood in long lines to declare to the whole world: ‘Russia will be a great and a free country.’ And I represented each of you today in the auditorium of the Central Election Commission."

Putin submitted his nomination papers to the Central Election Commission last month for the March 17 election, which he is widely expected to win. The former intelligence officer continues to hold overwhelming political power in Russia's government and institutions.

Putin has held continuous positions as president or prime minister since 1999. He has been president since 2012, with his previous stint as president running from 2000 to 2008. 

Liberal Democratic Party candidate Leonid Slutsky and New People Party candidate Vladislav Davankov were approved for the March election by officials earlier this month. 

The March election is widely assessed as a farce outside Russia, with international watchdogs and political observers pointing to Putin's complete control of the government and willingness to even use violence on his enemies.

A Russian presidential hopeful opposing Moscow's military action in Ukraine met Thursday with a group of soldiers' wives who are demanding that their husbands be discharged from the front line.

Longtime Kremlin critic Boris Nadezhdin, who serves as a local legislator in a town near Moscow, is collecting signatures to qualify for the race to challenge President Vladimir Putin in the March 15-17 vote.

Speaking at a meeting with wives and other relatives of Russian servicemen who were mobilized to fight in Ukraine, Nadezhdin, 60, criticized the government's decision to keep them in the ranks as long as the fighting continues.

ANTI-WAR RUSSIAN PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE COLLECTS 150K SIGNATURES SUPPORTING CAMPAIGN

"We want them to treat people who are doing their duty in a decent way," he said.

Wives of some of the reservists who were called up for service in the fall of 2022 have campaigned for their husbands to be discharged from duty and replaced with contract soldiers.

Maria Andreyeva, whose brother is fighting in Ukraine and who took part in the meeting, said that "we have been depressed for a long time and are looking for ways to spur ourselves." She said she and the other women have been filing petitions, picketing government buildings and taking other action.

RUSSIAN POLITICIAN ADVOCATING FOR PEACE IN UKRAINE VOWS TO FORGE AHEAD WITH NEW POLITICAL PARTY

Their demands have been stonewalled by the government-controlled media, and some pro-Kremlin politicians have sought to cast them as Western stooges — accusations the women angrily rejected.

The mobilization of 300,000 reservists that Putin ordered in 2022 amid military setbacks in Ukraine was widely unpopular and prompted hundreds of thousands to flee abroad to avoid being drafted.

Aware of the public backlash, the military since then has increasingly sought to bolster the forces in Ukraine by enlisting more volunteers. The authorities claimed that about 500,000 signed contracts with the Defense Ministry last year.

During Thursday's meeting, Nadezhdin, a member of the local council in the town of Dolgoprudny just outside Moscow, reaffirmed his call for a quick end to the fighting in Ukraine.

"The country wants peace, it’s crystal clear," Nadezhdin said. "The country wants this to end. People want to bring back those who are there. We told the truth and it’s very important how the government reacts to this meeting."

He spoke with optimism about his presidential bid, arguing that his calls for peace are getting increasing traction and he has received donations from thousands of people.

"I will keep moving for as long as I feel public support," he said. "Millions of people are supporting me."

Under Russian law, independent candidates like Nadezhdin must gather at least 300,000 signatures from 40 regions or more.

Another presidential hopeful who called for peace in Ukraine, former regional legislator Yekaterina Duntsova, was barred from the race last month after the Central Election Commission refused to accept her nomination, citing technical errors in her paperwork.

RUSSIAN ANTI-WAR CANDIDATE BLOCKED FROM FACING PUTIN IN PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION

The election commission already has approved three candidates for the ballot who were nominated by parties represented in parliament and therefore weren't required to collect signatures: Nikolai Kharitonov of the Communist Party, Leonid Slutsky of the nationalist Liberal Democratic Party and Vladislav Davankov of the New People Party.

All three parties have been largely supportive of the Kremlin's policies. Kharitonov had run against Putin in 2004, finishing a distant second.

The tight control over Russia’s political system that Putin has established during 24 years in power makes his reelection in March all but assured. Prominent critics who could challenge him on the ballot are either in jail or living abroad, and most independent media have been banned.

Under constitutional reforms he orchestrated, Putin is eligible to seek two more six-year terms after his current term expires this year, potentially allowing him to remain in power until 2036.

A German Navy frigate set sail on Thursday toward the Red Sea, where Berlin plans to have it take part in a European Union mission to help defend cargo ships from attacks by Yemen's Iranian-backed Houthi rebels that are hampering trade.

The Hessen set off from the North Sea port of Wilhelmshaven with about 240 servicepeople on board. The aim is to have it in place once the EU mission is given the official go-ahead and the German parliament has approved a mandate for the ship to join in, which is expected at the end of February.

EU foreign ministers are expected to sign off on the Red Sea mission on Feb. 19. Officials have said that seven countries in the bloc are ready to provide ships or planes.

FARMERS BLOCK SPANISH HIGHWAYS IN PROTEST OF EUROPEAN UNION BUREAUCRACY

The Iranian-backed Houthis have waged a persistent campaign of drone and missile attacks on commercial ships over Israel’s offensive in Gaza against Hamas, which began in October.

However, the rebels have frequently targeted vessels with tenuous or no clear links to Israel, imperiling shipping in a key route for global trade between Asia, the Middle East and Europe.

U.S. and British forces have carried out strikes against targets used by the Houthis, seeking to disrupt their missile-launching capabilities. But the EU's foreign policy chief, Josep Borrell, has said the EU mission — dubbed Aspides, from the Greek for "shield" — won't take part in any military strikes and will only operate at sea.

Meanwhile, the U.S. Central Command said on X, previously known as Twitter, that its forces conducted self-defense strikes against two Houthi mobile anti-ship cruise missiles on Wednesday morning as they prepared to launch against ships in the Red Sea.

And on Wednesday night, U.S. forces conducted a second strike against a Houthi mobile land attack cruise missile that was being prepared for launch.

"CENTCOM identified these missiles in Houthi-controlled areas of Yemen and determined they presented an imminent threat to U.S. Navy ships and merchant vessels in the region." the post said. "These actions will protect freedom of navigation and make international waters safer and more secure for U.S. Navy and merchant vessels."

EUROPEAN UNION LEADERS SEAL $54 BILLION AID PACKAGE FOR UKRAINE AFTER HUNGARY LIFTS VETO THREAT

The second strike came shortly after a U.S. drone blew up a car in the Iraqi capital, killing a high-ranking commander of the powerful Kataib Hezbollah militia on Wednesday night in Baghdad. The commander, Wissam Muhammad Sabir Al-Saadi, known as Abu Baqir Al-Saadi, was in charge of Kataib Hezbollah’s operations in Syria and responsible for "directly planning and participating in attacks" on American troops in the region.

In recent weeks, the United States and the United Kingdom, backed by other allies, have launched airstrikes targeting Houthi missile arsenals and launch sites for its attacks.

An air assault last Friday in Iraq and Syria targeted other Iranian-backed militias and the Iranian Revolutionary Guard in retaliation for a drone strike that killed three U.S. troops in Jordan.