World News

U.K. Prime Minister Rishi Sunak faces a test of his authority and his nerve on Wednesday as he tries to subdue a Conservative Party rebellion and win parliamentary approval for his stalled plan to send some asylum-seekers on a one-way trip to Rwanda.

Lawmakers are due to vote on a bill that aims to overcome a U.K. Supreme Court block on the Rwanda plan, a day after some 60 members of Sunak’s governing Conservatives rebelled in an effort to make the legislation tougher. The dissent cost Sunak two party deputy chairmen, who quit in order to vote against the government on the amendments. A junior ministerial aide also resigned.

A similar rebellion on Wednesday would doom the Safety of Rwanda Bill, and potentially Sunak’s 15-month-old government.

UK PRIME MINISTER RISHI SUNAK FACES CRITICAL VOTE ON 'TOUGHEST EVER ANTI-ILLEGAL IMMIGRATION LEGISLATION'

With polls showing the Conservatives trailing far behind the Labour opposition in opinion polls, Sunak has made the controversial — and expensive — immigration policy central to his attempt to win an election this year.

He argues that deporting unauthorized asylum-seekers will deter people from making risky journeys across the English Channel and break the business model of people-smuggling gangs.

"We have a plan. It's working," Sunak said Wednesday in the House of Commons.

He needs to convince fellow Conservatives, as well as voters, that it's true. But the liberal and law-and-order wings of the Conservatives — always uneasy allies — are at loggerheads over the Rwanda plan.

Moderates worry the policy is too extreme, concerns underscored when the United Nations’ refugee agency said this week the Rwanda plan "is not compatible with international refugee law."

However, many on the party’s powerful right wing think the bill doesn't go far enough in deterring migration to the U.K. Hard-liners’ attempts to toughen the bill by closing avenues of appeal for asylum-seekers failed Tuesday, and some of the Conservative rebels say they will oppose the legislation as a whole if it is not strengthened.

If about 30 Tory lawmakers vote against the bill, it could be enough, along with opposition votes, to kill the legislation.

But many Conservative lawmakers may hesitate to take the option of killing Sunak’s signature policy, which could trigger panicky moves to replace him or even spark a snap election. The government has to call a national election by the end of the year.

Sunak insists the bill goes as far as the government can because Rwanda will pull out of its agreement to rehouse asylum-seekers if the U.K. breaks international law.

Illegal Immigration Minister Michael Tomlinson said there was only an "inch of difference" between the government and its Conservative critics, and "actually we all want the same thing."

He said he was confident the bill "is going to get through tonight."

The Rwanda policy is key to Sunak’s pledge to "stop the boats" bringing unauthorized migrants to the U.K. across the English Channel from France. More than 29,000 people made the perilous journey in 2023, down from 42,000 the year before. Five people died last week while trying to launch a boat from northern France in the dark and winter cold.

RISHI SUNAK GETS A RESPITE AFTER UK LAWMAKERS VOTE IN FAVOR OF THE RWANDA MIGRATION BILL

London and Kigali made a deal almost two years ago under which migrants who reach Britain across the Channel would be sent to Rwanda, where they would stay permanently. Britain has paid Rwanda at least $305 million under the agreement, but no one has yet been sent to the East African country.

The plan has been criticized as inhumane and unworkable by human rights groups and challenged in British courts. In November, the U.K. Supreme Court ruled the policy is illegal because Rwanda isn’t a safe country for refugees.

In response to the court ruling, Britain and Rwanda signed a treaty pledging to strengthen protections for migrants. Sunak’s government argues that the treaty allows it to pass a law declaring Rwanda a safe destination.

If approved by Parliament, the law would allow the government to "disapply" sections of U.K. human rights law when it comes to Rwanda-related asylum claims and make it harder to challenge the deportations in court.

If the bill is passed by the House of Commons on Wednesday, it will go to the House of Lords, Parliament’s upper chamber, where it faces more opposition.

A top NATO military official is calling Wednesday for a "warfighting transformation" of the organization, saying that "anything can happen at any time." 

Dutch Admiral Rob Bauer, who leads NATO’s Military Committee, made the remarks while opening a meeting with national defense chiefs in Brussels that included U.S. Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. Charles Q. Brown Jr. 

"In order to be fully effective also in the future, we need a warfighting transformation of NATO," Bauer said, noting that "the tectonic plates of power are shifting" and "as a result: we face the most dangerous world in decades." 

"In order to strengthen our collective defense and at the same time support Ukraine in its existential fight, we need a whole of society approach," he added. "We need public and private actors to change their mindset from an era in which everything was plannable, foreseeable, controllable, focused on efficiency… to an era in which anything can happen at any time. An era in which we need to expect the unexpected. An era in which we need to focus on effectiveness." 

"Ukraine will have our support for every day that is to come, because the outcome of this war will determine the fate of the world," Bauer also said. 

LEAKED GERMAN DOCUMENTS SHOW LEADERS ARE PREPARING SHOULD RUSSIA LAUNCH WORLD WAR 3: REPORTS 

Bauer spoke a day after Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy huddled with corporate executives and world leaders at the World Economic Forum's annual meeting in the Swiss ski resort of Davos, where top officials from the United States, European Union, China, the Middle East and beyond are gathering.

ZELENSKYY MAKES URGENT CALL FOR SUPPORT AT WORLD ECONOMIC FORUM AT DAVOS 

Zelenskyy is trying to keep his country's long and largely stalemated defense against Russia on the minds of political leaders, just as Israel's war with Hamas, which passed the 100-day mark this week, has siphoned off much of the world's attention and sparked concerns about a wider conflict in the Middle East. 

"It is important that you stand with us, I thank you for your support. It is very important to be here, to boost investment in Ukraine and support our economy," Zelenskyy said at an invitation-only "CEOs for Ukraine" session, according to his office. 

The Associated Press contributed to this report. 

Pakistan condemned Iran on Wednesday and warned of "consequences" after Tehran launched airstrikes in their country that killed two children.

Pakistan’s Foreign Ministry said it angrily denounced the attack in a message to Iran's Foreign Ministry, and summoned an Iranian diplomat in Islamabad "to convey our strongest condemnation of this blatant violation of Pakistan’s sovereignty." It added: "The responsibility for the consequences will lie squarely with Iran."

Iran claimed its strike on Tuesday, just across the Iran-Pakistan border on Pakistan's restive southwestern Baluchistan province, was targeting bases for a militant separatist group. Instead, a Pakistani intelligence report said it left a 6-year-old girl and an 11-month old boy dead. Three women were also injured.

Iran's attack on Pakistan comes a day after Iran carried out strikes in northern Iraq, killing several civilians, and in Syria. It threatens to ignite further violence in the Middle East, already under heightened tensions by Israel's ongoing war on Hamas in Gaza.

US STATE DEPARTMENT ISSUES CONDEMNATION OF IRAN’S ATTACKS IN ERBIL

Tuesday's strike on Pakistan strained diplomatic relations between the two neighbors, but both sides appeared wary of provoking the other.

Iran said in state media reports that its paramilitary Revolutionary Guard targeted bases for the militant group Jaish al-Adl, or the "Army of Justice." The group seeks an independent Baluchistan and has spread across Afghanistan, Iran and Pakistan.

The attack included six bomb-carrying drones and several rockets striking homes that the militants said housed the wives and children of their fighters. The group said the attack killed two children and wounded three others.

BIDEN ADMINISTRATION TO RELIST YEMEN'S IRAN-BACKED HOUTHIS AS DESIGNATED TERRORISTS AMID RED SEA ATTACKS

Iran has fought against the militants but a missile-and-drone attack on Pakistan is unprecedented.

Pakistani intelligence said three or four drones were fired from Iran, hitting a mosque and other buildings.

A senior Pakistani security official, who spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity, called the attack "destabilizing" and said it sets a "dangerous precedent" with "reciprocal implications."

Pakistani defense analyst Syed Muhammad Ali said his government would weigh potential retaliation carefully.

Jaish al-Adl was founded in 2012 and is believed to largely operate in Pakistan. The group has claimed bombings and kidnapped members of Iran's border police in the past. 

As recently as December, suspected Jaish al-Adl members killed 11 people in a nighttime attack on a police station in southeastern Iran.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

A 10-year-old boy from Maryland was bitten by a shark in the Bahamas on Monday, according to local police. 

The boy was bitten on the right leg by the shark during an "expedition in a shark tank" at a local resort on Paradise Island, according to a release by the Royal Bahamas Police Force. 

The victim was transported to an area hospital and is in stable condition, police said. 

Paradise Island is situated just off the northern edge of New Providence, Bahamas, and its capital city, Nassau.

CALIFORNIA WOMAN DESCRIBES SHARK ATTACK: 'I SAW IT CLAMP ON MY LEG'

Police said the incident is under investigation and no other details were provided, including what type of predator attacked the boy.

Police did not identify the resort, but Atlantis Paradise Island offers shark experiences on site, according to the Associated Press. The resort did not immediately respond to the outlet’s request for comment.

The attack comes just weeks after a 44-year-old Massachusetts woman was killed by a shark while paddleboarding in the Bahamas.

In late December, a 39-year-old man was killed after an encounter with a shark while surfing off Maui’s northern shore.

GREAT WHITE SHARK DECAPITATES MEXICAN DIVER MARKING FIRST FATAL SHARK ATTACK OF 2023: REPORT

Gavin Naylor, program director of the International Shark Attack File in Florida, told The Associated Press last month that there had been a couple of shark-related fatalities reported in the Bahamas in the past five years.

He noted that the Bahamas has a "huge" tourist population, adding that there are a lot of people in the water and a lot of visitors who want to view sharks from a fishing boat or dive with them.

"So the sharks get acclimated, and the animals are a little bit less cautious than they otherwise might be," he said. 

Between 30 to 40 shark species live around the Bahamas, although the Caribbean reef shark, the bull shark, the tiger shark and the black tip shark have the highest bite frequency, Naylor said.

"Usually, it’s an accidental bite. They think it’s something else," he said. "Once in a while, they’ll actually single out people, and it’s very intentional."

There were 83 shark attack bites reported worldwide in 2023, 15 of which were fatal, according to the website TrackingSharks.com. The site states there were 41 shark bites in the U.S. last year, two of which were fatal.

Fox News Digital contacted Bahamas Police Force for further information, but did not receive a response. 

Fox News' Pilar Arias and Bradford Betz as well as The Associated Press contributed to this report. 

A bride was arrested in her wedding dress and accused of being involved in an extortion scheme with her would-be husband and six others, police in Mexico said.

The woman, identified as Nancy N. by Mexico state prosecutors, was detained during her nuptials amid a major police operation in December. 

Pictures of the bride showed her handcuffed and flanked by police officers.

Authorities said that Nancy was preparing to marry her fiancé – Clemente N., who goes by the alias "Mouse," when authorities arrested her.

DEADLY CARTEL DRONE ATTACK STRIKES REMOTE MEXICAN VILLAGE

But Mouse escaped police capture and is still wanted for murder, prosecutors said.

Police have allegedly offered a 300,000-peso (~$17,400) reward for information leading to his capture.

Police said that the betrothed couple was allegedly part of a group that was accused of extorting chicken merchants in Toluca near Mexico City.

The couple was also accused of allegedly participating in kidnapping four individuals.

Prosecutors allege that the love birds were part of a well-known drug cartel, La Familia Michoacana.

TEXAS HELICOPTER CRASHES DURING PATROL MISSION NEAR MEXICAN BORDER

In a translated press release, authorities said that the gang members forced wholesalers to pay "an illegal quota" of two pesos per kilo on the chickens and eggs they sell and forced retailers to pay five pesos.

Among other alleged crimes, the Familia Michoacana is suspected of recently using a drone to kill five people in the southern Mexican state of Guerrero.

The attack is believed to have involved drones operated by cartel members, as well as gunmen, according to the religious and human rights organization Minerva Bello Center.

Prosecutors attributed the attack to a "confrontation" between warring criminal groups La Familia Michoacana and Los Tlacos, "who maintain a dispute for control of the area."

In the press release, prosecutors said they are cracking down on extortion in 2024.

Authorities said that 593 people had been detained since the end of 2022 on extortion charges and 274 people had been convicted.

A judge at Lebanon’s highest court suspended the arrest warrants against two former cabinet ministers in the 2020 Beirut port blast case, officials said Tuesday.

The explosion was one of the world’s largest non-nuclear blasts ever recorded.

Judge Sabbouh Suleiman of the Court of Cassation lifted the warrants against former public works minister, Youssef Fenianos, as well as former finance minister and current member of parliament Ali Hassan Khalil, judicial officials said, speaking on condition of anonymity in line with regulations.

ISRAELI WOMAN, SON KILLED BY ANTI-TANK MISSILE NEAR LEBANON BORDER

In 2021, Judge Tarek Bitar, who has led the investigation into the explosion, issued warrants against Fenianos and Khalil. Fenianos in turn asked for Bitar's removal over "legitimate suspicion" of how he handled his case. The judge accused Fenianos, Khlail and two other former senior government officials of intentional killing and negligence that led to the deaths of more than 200 people in the explosion.

Some politicians and security officials have also been asking for Bitar's removal as anger and criticism by families of the victims and rights groups have grown with the investigation being stalled for over a year.

Despite arrest warrants issued for cabinet ministers and heads of security agencies, no one has so far been detained amid political interference in the work of the judiciary.

The United States Treasury in September 2020 slapped sanctions on Fenianos and Khalil, accusing them of corruption and providing "material support" to the militant Hezbollah group. Bitar had also charged and pursued Khalil in the port blast probe with homicide and criminal negligence.

The Aug. 2020 blast killed at least 218 people and more than 6,000 wounded, according to an Associated Press tally. It also devastated large swaths of Beirut and caused billions of dollars in damages.

More than three years later, there are still no answers to what triggered the explosion, and no one has been held accountable. Rights groups and local media revealed that most state officials knew of the presence of hundreds of tons of ammonium nitrate, a highly explosive material used in fertilizers that had been improperly stored there for years, in the port.

Serbian opposition supporters were back in the streets on Tuesday, accusing President Aleksandar Vučić's populist government of orchestrating fraud in last month's parliamentary and local elections.

The protesters want the Dec. 17 vote to be annulled and held again in free and fair conditions. Similar demonstrations were held for days after the elections.

"The entire planet knows that the thief has been caught stealing," opposition politician Marinika Tepic told the few thousand protesters. "There are no free and fair elections here. If we give up this fight, there will be no more elections."

US, EUROPEAN UNION RAISE ALARM OVER ELECTORAL IRREGULARITIES IN SERBIA

The ruling Serbian Progressive Party was declared the winner, but the main opposition alliance, Serbia Against Violence, claims the election was stolen, particularly in the vote for Belgrade city authorities.

Both Serbian election authorities and the courts have rejected the complaints lodged by the opposition group over the election.

International observers have said that the election was held in unjust conditions, noting serious irregularities that included ballot box stuffing and vote-buying.

Some local election monitors alleged that voters from across Serbia and neighboring countries were bused in to cast ballots in Belgrade. Local election monitors and opposition supporters alleged that populist supporters were registered at bogus addresses there.

Vučić and his party have called the reports "fabricated."

In December, tensions soared when police fired pepper spray at protesters who tried to enter Belgrade City Hall and arrested dozens.

The crowd on Tuesday also lit candles at a Belgrade church to mark the killing on Jan. 16, 2018 of a moderate ethnic Serb politician from Kosovo, Oliver Ivanović.

Kosovo is a former Serbian province whose 2008 declaration of independence is unrecognized by Belgrade. The dispute remains a source of tension in the volatile Balkans.

Serbia is seeking European Union membership but has refused to impose sanctions on traditional ally Russia, partly because Moscow supports Belgrade's claim to Kosovo.

Supporters of former rebel leader Guy Philippe have launched protests that have paralyzed some cities across Haiti as they demand the resignation of Prime Minister Ariel Henry.

Demonstrators forced the closures of schools, government agencies and private businesses on Monday in places including the southern cities of Jeremie and Miragoane, as well as the northern city of Ouanaminthe, which borders the Dominican Republic, according to local media reports. Hundreds of protesters also were reported Tuesday in the southern city of Les Cayes, with additional demonstrations expected in coming days.

HAITIAN EX-SENATOR SENTENCED IN PRESIDENT MOÏSE ASSASSINATION PLOT

Philippe, who was repatriated to Haiti last month after serving years in prison in the U.S., said in a message to supporters that he is not plotting a coup but rather looking to transform Haiti, where poverty has deepened and gang violence has increased.

"My revolution is for the people, for the people only," he said, adding that he does not oppose Haiti’s National Police. "I’m asking police to do their job, to protect the people."

Philippe served nine years in a U.S. prison following a guilty plea to a money laundering charge. He is best known for leading a 2004 rebellion against former President Jean-Bertrand Aristide and masterminding attacks on police stations.

Philippe returned to a Haiti that is crumbling under the power of dozens of gangs blamed for killing nearly 4,000 people and kidnapping another 3,000 last year, overwhelming police, according to the U.N.

In his speech to supporters, Philippe promised that "the suffering is going to be over pretty soon."

The Sudanese government suspended ties Tuesday with the east African regional bloc trying to mediate between the country’s army and a rival powerful paramilitary force, accusing the body of violating Sudan’s sovereignty by inviting the paramilitary leader to an upcoming summit.

The army, headed by Gen. Abdel-Fattah Burhan, and The Rapid Support Forces, commanded by Gen. Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo, have been fighting for control of Sudan since April. Long standing tensions erupted into street battles concentrated in the capital but also in other areas including the western Darfur region.

SUDAN PARAMILITARY LEADER CLAIMS COMMITMENT TO CEASEFIRE, THOUGH PEACE TALKS REMAIN STAGNANT

In a statement, The Sudanese foreign ministry — which is aligned with the army — said the move is a response to IGAD for inviting Dagalo without previous consultation, which it said was a "violation of Sudan’s sovereignty." The 42nd IGAD summit is set to take place in Kampala, Uganda, on Thursday.

IGAD did not immediately respond to the foreign ministry announcement. Dagalo confirmed last week on social media that he received an invitation from IGAD.

The eight-member bloc is part of mediation efforts to end the conflict, along with Saudi Arabia and the United States which facilitated rounds of unsuccessful, indirect talks between the warring parties as recently as early November. The two military leaders are yet to meet in person since the war broke out.

Tuesday’s announcement comes one week after Dagalo finished a tour of Africa, where he met with government officials in Uganda, Djibouti, Ethiopia, Kenya, South Africa and Rwanda.

Over the past two months, the RSF has appeared to take the upper hand in the conflict, with its fighters making advances eastwards and northwards across Sudan’s central belt.

The United Nations says at least 12,000 have been killed in the conflict. Rights groups have accused both sides of war crimes.

The countries that make up IGAD include Djibouti, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Kenya, Somalia, South Sudan, Sudan and Uganda.

Israeli Kibbutz Be'eri announced on Tuesday that two of its residents being held captive by the Hamas terror group in Gaza have been killed while imprisoned.

Kibbutz officials stated that Yossi Sharabi, 53, and Itai Svirsky, 38, who appeared in a new video released by Hamas on Sunday evening, the 100-day anniversary of the October 7 massacre, had been killed. 

The video also featured a third hostage, Noa Argamani, 26.

Confirmation from the community comes a day after the Israeli military voiced grave concern over the fates of the two Israeli civilians seized in the October 7 attacks.

FORMER HOSTAGES, FREED FROM HAMAS, OBSERVE BIRTHDAY OF BABY TAKEN CAPTIVE IN GAZA

Their bodies are also still being held by Hamas, according to kibbutz officials. 

Svirsky, 38, from Tel Aviv, was kidnapped from his mother's home in Kibbutz Be'eri. His mother and his father were murdered on Oct 7th. However, Svirsky's 97-year-old grandmother survived.

Sharabi was kidnapped with his brother Eli from Kibbutz Be'eri. His daughter's boyfriend, Ofir Engel, was abducted, too, but has since been released.

EU IMPOSES SANCTIONS ON HAMAS LEADER

IDF Spokesperson Rear Admiral Daniel Hagari released a statement saying "This is a new benchmark in barbarism set by Hamas."

"Hamas is weaponizing social media as an instrument of war. Hamas wages psychological warfare to terrorize and torment the hostages, their families, and the world," Hagari stated. "Every minute is critical as we fulfill our critical mission: To bring our hostages home."

BIDEN MARKS DAY 100 OF CAPTIVITY FOR HOSTAGES IN GAZA: 'TRAGIC MILESTONE'

On Tuesday, the European Union (EU) imposed sanctions on Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar for his role in planning the Oct. 7 massacre in Israel.

The EU also added Sinwar to the EU terror list while the Israeli military has been attempting to capture or kill Sinwar since the Oct. 7 attack, but so far, has not had success. 

ISRAEL TO BEGIN SCALING BACK MILITARY OFFENSIVE IN SOUTHERN GAZA SOON, ISRAELI DEFENSE MINISTER SAYS

Recent reports have suggested that Israel knows Sinwar's location, but cannot strike against him because he has surrounded himself with Israeli hostages.

As of now, there are still 136 hostages, men, women, children in the hands of Hamas.

The defense minister of Belarus said Tuesday that the country closely allied with Russia will put forth a new military doctrine that for the first time provides for the use of nuclear weapons.

Russia last year sent tactical nuclear weapons to be stationed in Belarus, although there are no details about how many. Russia has said it will maintain control over those weapons, which are intended for battlefield use and have short ranges and comparatively low yields.

It was not immediately clear how the new doctrine might be applied to the Russian weapons.

BELARUS' MILITARY REPORTEDLY TAKING IN UKRAINIAN CHILDREN

"We clearly communicate Belarus’ views on the use of tactical nuclear weapons stationed on our territory," Defense Minister Viktor Khrenin said at a meeting of Belarus' Security Council. "A new chapter has appeared, where we clearly define our allied obligations to our allies."

The doctrine is to be presented for approval to the All-Belarusian People’s Assembly, a representative body that operates in Belarus in parallel with the parliament.

Russia used Belarus territory as a springboard to send its troops into Ukraine on February 24, 2022, and has maintained its military bases and weapons there, although Belarusian troops have not taken part in the war.

Security Council Secretary Alexander Volfovich said that the deployment of Russian nuclear weapons in Belarus is intended to deter aggression from Poland, a NATO member.

"Unfortunately, statements by our neighbors, in particular Poland ... forced us to strengthen" the military doctrine, he said.

Iran launched attacks Tuesday in Pakistan targeting what it described as bases for the militant group Jaish al-Adl, potentially further raising tensions in a Middle East already roiled by Israel's war on Hamas in the Gaza Strip. Pakistan said the strikes killed two children and wounded three others in an assault it described as an "unprovoked violation" of its airspace.

Confusion followed the announcement from Iran as state media reports on it soon disappeared. However, the attack inside of nuclear-armed Pakistan by Iran threatens the relations between the two countries, which long have eyed each other with suspicion while maintaining diplomatic relations.

The attack also follows Iranian strikes on Iraq and Syria less than a day earlier, as Tehran lashes out following a dual suicide bombing this month claimed by the Sunni militant group Islamic State that killed over 90 people.

US STATE DEPARTMENT ISSUES CONDEMNATION OF IRAN’S ATTACKS IN ERBIL

Iran's state-run IRNA news agency and state television had said that missiles and drones were used in the strikes in Pakistan. Press TV, the English-language arm of Iranian state television, attributed the attack to Iran’s paramilitary Revolutionary Guard.

Jaish al-Adl, or the "Army of Justice," is a Sunni militant group founded in 2012 which largely operates across the border in Pakistan. The militants have claimed bombings and kidnapped Iranian border police in the past.

Iran has fought in border areas against the militants, but a missile-and-drone attack on Pakistan is unprecedented for Iran. Iranian reports described the strikes as happening in the mountains of Pakistan’s Baluchistan province.

Pakistan's Foreign Ministry issued a strongly worded rebuke of the strikes.

"Pakistan strongly condemns the unprovoked violation of its airspace by Iran which resulted in death of two innocent children while injuring three girls," the statement read. "This violation of Pakistan’s sovereignty is completely unacceptable and can have serious consequences."

It added: "Pakistan has always said terrorism is a common threat to all countries in the region that requires coordinated action. Such unilateral acts are not in conformity with good neighborly relations and can seriously undermine bilateral trust and confidence."

Two Pakistani security officials said the Iranian strikes damaged a mosque in Baluchistan's Panjgur district, about 30 miles inside Pakistan from the Iranian border. The officials spoke on the condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak to journalists.

The attack came even as Iran's Foreign Minister Hossein Amirabdollahian met Pakistan’s caretaker Prime Minister Anwaar-ul-Haq Kakar on the sidelines of the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland. What the men discussed was not immediately clear.

Baluchistan has faced a low-level insurgency by Baluch nationalists for more than two decades. Baluch nationalists initially wanted a share of provincial resources, but later initiated an insurgency for independence.

Iran long has suspected Sunni-majority Pakistan as hosting insurgents, possibly at the behest of its regional archrival Saudi Arabia. However, Iran and Saudi Arabia reached a Chinese-mediated détente last March, easing tensions.

Meanwhile, attacks by militants entering from Iran have targeted Pakistani security forces. In April 2023, a militant attack from across the border with Iran killed four Pakistani soldiers in Baluchistan province.

Late Monday, Iran fired missiles into northern Syria targeting the Islamic State group and into Iraq at what it called an Israeli "spy headquarters" near the U.S. Consulate compound in the city of Irbil.

Iraq on Tuesday called the attacks, which killed several civilians, a "blatant violation" of Iraq's sovereignty and recalled its ambassador from Tehran.

A group of Palestinians attacked a Christian holy site in the West Bank over the weekend, causing extensive damage, according to media reports. 

Palestinians from the Balata refugee camp in the city of Shechem were armed with guns, firebombs and stones during the Sunday night attack on Jacob's Well near Nablus, sources told the Tazpit Press Service, an Israeli news agency. 

"Nablus is controlled by the Palestinian Authority, which fails to help the Christian community and stop the disturbing pattern of violence against them," Elias Zarina told the TPS.

PRO-PALESTINIAN PROTESTERS ATTEMPT TO DISRUPT NEW YEAR'S EVE FESTIVITIES IN NEW YORK CITY, BOSTON

Zarina is the co-founder and community manager of the Jerusalemite Initiative, a Jerusalem-based nonprofit, which encourages Arab Christian integration into Israeli society.

The monastery's keeper, 80-year-old Father Ioustinos of the Greek Orthodox Patriarchate was not hurt, but was traumatized by the violence, the news agency reported. 

Local leaders said attacks by Palestinians on Christian sites have become commonplace. 

"It’s not something special in particular, there are many instances like this everywhere these days, unfortunately, even in Jerusalem," Dr. Naim Khoury, founder of the first Baptist Church in Bethlehem, told TPS. "The whole situation is very unstable and people are frustrated with the situation. People should pay attention and see what’s happening. We know very well that no Christian would abuse a mosque."

The site that was attacked Sunday night was purchased by Biblical Patriarch Jacob based on the New Testament, according to Christian beliefs, TPS said. 

In 1908, work began on a small Christian compound, which included a church and monastery. Construction was only completed in the 1990s due to financial reasons and other factors. 

The alleged attack came as Israel and Hamas continue to battle in the Gaza Strip following the terror group's Oct. 7 attack on Israeli communities.

Private and public companies in the Dominican Republic are preparing for a voluntary six-month pilot program aimed at creating a four-day workweek, the first move of its kind for the Caribbean country.

The initiative announced Monday will launch in February, with employees earning the same salary, according to the Dominican government. The move would reduce the standard workweek from the required 44 hours to 36 hours, with employees working Monday through Thursday only.

"It prioritizes people, improving health and well-being, and promoting a sustainable and environmentally friendly productivity," said Labor Minister Luis Miguel de Camps.

DOMINICAN NATIONAL KILLED AFTER COAST GUARD FIRES ON FLEEING BOAT CARRYING $11M WORTH OF COCAINE

Companies expected to participate include Claro, the Latin American telecommunications giant; power company EGE Haina; IMCA, a heavy equipment business, and the government’s National Health Insurance agency.

A local university is tasked with analyzing the results, including any health changes in workers and the relationship between work and their personal lives.

Currently, companies in the Dominican Republic usually allocate eight hours of work during the week and another four on Saturdays, although they are free to distribute the hours as they see fit, as long as it's not more than 44 hours a week.

The Dominican Republic is following in the footsteps of Britain, which launched what was considered the world’s largest trial of a four-day workweek and found positive results last year.

A growing number of U.S. companies also have switched to a shorter workweek, while in Chile, legislators approved a bill last year to reduce the work week from 45 to 40 hours.

Attendees at the World Economic Forum in Davos will discuss the prospect of a virus far more potent than COVID being unleashed across the world.

The hypothetical virus, dubbed by the World Health Organization (WHO) as Disease X, has not yet been formed but scientists and attendees at the global confab say they will be chatting about the potential pathogen so that they can prepare properly should it ever strike.

"With fresh warnings from the World Health Organization that an unknown ‘Disease X’ could result in 20 times more fatalities than the coronavirus pandemic, what novel efforts are needed to prepare health care systems for the multiple challenges ahead?" a page detailing the meeting states on the WEF website.

FAUCI ADMITS SOCIAL DISTANCING NOT BASED ON SCIENCE, 'SORT OF JUST APPEARED'

The session will be led by Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, the director general of WHO, who oversaw the organization’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic, as well Nisia Trindade Lima, Brazil’s minister of health, and Michel Demaré, the chair of the board at pharmaceutical giant and vaccine maker AstraZeneca. 

"Disease X," a placeholder name given by the WHO to a theoretical virus that has not yet been formed, was added to the WHO’s short list of pathogens for research in 2017 that could cause a "serious international epidemic," according to a 2022 WHO press release. Other viruses added to the now updated list include Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS), Ebola and Middle East respiratory syndrome (MERS).

COVID-19, caused by a novel coronavirus, was an example of Disease X and has also been added to the WHO list. A novel virus is one that hasn't been found in humans in the past.

"Targeting priority pathogens and virus families for research and development of countermeasures is essential for a fast and effective epidemic and pandemic response," Dr Michael Ryan, the executive director of the WHO’s health emergencies program, said in the 2022 press release. 

"Without significant R&D (research and development) investments prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, it would not have been possible to have safe and effective vaccines developed in record time."

The WHO said that by flagging these pathogens as a priority, it can lay out preparedness roadmaps, knowledge gaps and research goals, as well as drug therapies and diagnostic tests.

COVID-19 LOCKDOWNS: WHAT'S UP WITH NOSTALGIA FOR THE ‘OUTBREAK ERA'?

"Where relevant, target product profiles, which inform developers about the desired specifications for vaccines, treatments and diagnostic tests, are developed," the statement reads.

"Disease X represents the knowledge that a serious international epidemic could be caused by a pathogen currently unknown to cause human disease," the WHO says on its website. "The R&D (research and development) blueprint explicitly seeks to enable early cross-cutting R&D preparedness that is also relevant for an unknown 'Disease X.’"

For instance, it took just 326 days from the release of the genetic sequence of the SARS-CoV-2 virus to the authorization of the first COVID vaccine, thanks in part to the work done since 2017 in preparation for Disease X, according to Bloomberg. Now groups like the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations (CEPI) are supporting rapid response vaccine platforms that could develop new immunizations within 100 days of a virus with pandemic potential emerging under a $3.5 billion plan.

Scientists do not yet know what the next deadly virus might be or how it may be formed. 

"This concept [of Disease X] was one of the lessons we learned from this [COVID] pandemic," Dr. Thomas Russo, an infectious diseases expert at the University of Buffalo Jacobs School of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences, told The Independent. 

"As mankind breaks down these barriers [between humans and other species] through live animal markets and deforestation, we need continued surveillance and studies and improved biosecurity across the world."

Disease X could also turn out to be a new pathogen not yet known even among animals, he warned.

Meanwhile, Monica Crowley, a former assistant Treasury secretary, said the WEF meeting’s attendees may have more sinister goals in mind concerning Disease X.

"Just in time for the election, a new contagion to allow them to implement a new WHO treaty, lock down again, restrict free speech and destroy more freedoms," Crowley wrote on X.

"Sound far-fetched? So did what happened in 2020. When your enemies tell you what they’re planning and what they’re planning FOR, believe them. And get ready."

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan vowed on Tuesday to widen military operations against groups linked to Kurdish militants in neighboring Iraq and Syria, days after an attack on a Turkish military base in Iraq killed nine Turkish soldiers.

Turkish warplanes and drones have been carrying out airstrikes on targets in Syria and Iraq believed to be affiliated with the banned Kurdistan Workers’ Party, or PKK, since attackers attempted to infiltrate a military base in northern Iraq’s semi-autonomous Kurdish region on Friday. Five soldiers died in the attack while four others died later of critical injuries.

In a televised address following a Cabinet meeting, Erdoğan said Turkish jets had struck a total of 114 targets in Syria and Iraq in operations launched in the last five days.

TURKISH AIRSTRIKES WIPE OUT KEY ENERGY INFRASTRUCTURE IN SYRIA'S KURDISH NORTHEAST

A further 60 infrastructure and facilities were destroyed in separate operations by Turkey’s intelligence agency, the president added.

Erdoğan said Turkey was determined to eliminate the threat from Kurdish militants "at its source" in Iraq and Syria. It was not clear if Ankara, which has carried out land offensives in the past, is contemplating a new ground operation.

"Our operations will continue until every inch of the mountains in northern Iraq that have become the source of terrorist actions ... are secured," he said. "In the same way, we will not stop until the terror nests in Syria ... are completely destroyed."

The Turkish leader continued: "God willing, in the coming months, we will definitely take new steps in this direction, regardless of who says what, what threats they make or what their plans are."

On Monday, Kurdish-led authorities said Turkish shelling and airstrikes have targeted dozens of infrastructure facilities in northeast Syria over the past days wounding at least 10 people and cutting out electricity and water supplies in wide areas held by the main U.S.-backed group in the war-torn country.

The PKK, which maintains bases in northern Iraq, is considered a terror organization by Turkey’s Western allies, including the United States. Tens of thousands of people have died since the start of the conflict in 1984.

Turkey also considers Syrian Kurdish groups as terrorist organizations but the U.S. disagrees with that status and regards them as allies in the fight against the Islamic State group in Syria.

Rwanda’s military on Tuesday said it had killed a Congolese soldier who crossed the border and allegedly fired at Rwandan army patrols, the latest incident in cross-border tensions between the neighbors.

In a statement, the Rwanda Defense Force said it also arrested two Congolese soldiers who had been with the one killed. It said they crossed the border at Isangano village in Rubavu district, near the Congolese city of Goma.

HUNDREDS OF THOUSANDS IN URGENT NEED OF ASSISTANCE AS SEVERE FLOODING HITS CONGO

A local farmer, who spoke on condition of anonymity because of fear of reprisals, told The Associated Press the Congolese soldiers appeared to have crossed into Rwanda unknowingly, as some border markings can be difficult to see.

For months, Congo's government has accused Rwanda of supporting the M23 armed rebel group that’s been active in eastern Congo, forcing hundreds of thousands of people to flee their homes. Rwanda has repeatedly denied the claim.

In March last year, the Rwandan army shot dead a soldier from Congo whom it alleged had crossed the border and shot at Rwanda Defense Force soldiers in Rubavu district. The incident led to an exchange of fire between soldiers from the two countries but no further casualties were reported, the force said.

President Félix Tshisekedi, while campaigning for his re-election last month, alleged that Rwandan President Paul Kagame was behaving like "Hitler," which Rwanda’s government described as "a loud and clear threat."

Relations between Rwanda and Congo have been fraught for decades. Rwanda alleges that Congo gave refuge to ethnic Hutus who carried out the 1994 Rwandan genocide that killed at least 800,000 ethnic Tutsis and moderate Hutus. In the late 1990s, Rwanda twice sent its forces into Congo. The Rwandan forces were widely accused of hunting down and killing ethnic Hutu, even civilians. Rwanda denies it.

Kenyan authorities will allow cargo flights from Tanzania after its neighbor threatened to ban Kenya Airways passenger flights to Tanzania's commercial capital.

TANZANIA BLOCKS KENYAN AIRWAYS PASSENGER FLIGHTS IN RESPONSE TO KENYA BLOCKING ITS CARGO FLIGHTS

The Tanzania Civil Aviation Authority in a statement Tuesday said its Kenyan counterpart had given approval to operate cargo flights between the East African countries.

The issue around aviation restrictions between Kenya and Tanzania has been successfully resolved, Kenya's foreign affairs minister, Musalia Mudavadi, said in post on X, formerly Twitter.

The Tanzanian authority on Monday threatened to ban Kenya Airways passenger flights to Dar es Salaam beginning Jan. 22 over Kenya's lack of airline approvals. The Kenya Civil Aviation Authority did not say why it denied Air Tanzania the approval to operate cargo flights.

Kenya Airways has been suffering losses, and Kenya's government has injected millions of dollars into the national carrier to keep it afloat. A ban on the lucrative Tanzanian route would have been painful.

An American art dealer who co-owned a gallery in New York City has been found dead in Rio de Janeiro in what Brazilian police are investigating as a homicide, reports say. 

Brent Sikkema, the 75-year-old behind the Manhattan contemporary art gallery Sikkema Jenkins & Co., was found with stab wounds when his body was discovered Monday inside a townhome he owned, according to the Brazilian newspaper O Globo. 

"Officers will listen to witnesses, are looking for more information and are carrying out other inquiries to shed light on the case," the Civil Police of Rio de Janeiro State announced, adding that forensics work has been done at the property where Sikkema's body was found. 

The U.S. Consulate in Rio has confirmed the death of a U.S. citizen. O Globo reports that Sikkema’s lawyer took care of his townhouse when he wasn’t in Brazil and went to check on the property after not being able to get in contact with him ahead of a work meeting Monday. 

FAMILY MAN GUNNED DOWN IN FRONT OF WIFE AND SON IN BRAZIL WAS ACTUALLY A HITMAN WANTED BY INTERPOL 

An Instagram page purportedly operated by Sikkema documented his world travels. One image showed him with Michelle Obama. 

"It is with great sadness that the gallery announces the passing of our beloved founder, Brent Sikkema," Sikkema Jenkins & Co. wrote in a post on Instagram. "The gallery grieves this tremendous loss and will continue on in his spirit." 

On its website, the gallery says it "exhibits work in a variety of media, including painting, drawing, installation, photography and sculpture.

GRANDFATHER KILLED ON NYC SUBWAY WAS TRYING TO BE PEACEMAKER IN DISPUTE: POLICE 

"The program includes important established artists such as Jeffrey Gibson, Arturo Herrera, Sheila Hicks, Vik Muniz, and Kara Walker, as well as emerging talents," it adds.

"An alumnus of the San Francisco Art Institute, Brent began his gallery work in 1971 as Director of Exhibitions at the Visual Studies Workshop in Rochester, New York. He acted as the Director of Vision Gallery in Boston from 1976 until 1980 and owner from 1980 to 1989," the gallery also said. "After moving to New York in 1991, Brent opened a contemporary art gallery in Soho named Wooster Gardens. The gallery moved to the Chelsea arts district in early 1999 and a few years later the name was changed to Sikkema Jenkins & Co." 

Sikkema is survived by his husband and son, according to O Globo. 

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

The European Union imposed sanctions on Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar on Tuesday for his role in planning the Oct. 7 massacre in Israel.

The EU also added Sinwar to the EU terror list. The Israeli military has been attempting to capture or kill Sinwar since the Oct. 7 attack, but has so far found no success.

"[Yahya Sinwar] is subject to the freezing of his funds and other financial assets in EU member states. It is also prohibited for EU operators to make funds and economic resources available to him," the EU wrote in a statement.

Recent reports have suggested that Israel knows Sinwar's location, but cannot strike against him because he has surrounded himself with Israeli hostages. The IDF has refused to comment on reports that it knows the terrorist leader's location, however.

ISRAEL ANNOUNCES PARTIAL TROOP WITHDRAWAL FROM GAZA IN NEW PHASE OF HAMAS WAR

Israel believes there are at least 133 Israeli and foreign hostages being held in Gaza, though it is unclear how many of them remain alive.

ISRAELI SOLDIERS TARGETED IN ‘EXTREMELY BLOODY AND INTENSE’ BATTLES AS GAZA STRIP TENSIONS RISE

Israeli forces took over Sinwar's private compound in Gaza weeks ago, but said the leader had long since fled the residence.

Sinwar is believed to have fled his home for the relative safety of Hamas' extensive network of tunnels that lie beneath Gaza's major cities.

ISRAEL TO DEFEND ITSELF AGAINST GENOCIDE ACCUSATIONS FILED BY SOUTH AFRICA AT INTERNATIONAL COURT

Reports from some hostages who have been released say Sinwar met with them a few days after they were taken from Israel into Gaza.

"Sinwar was with us three-four days after we got there," Yocheved Lifshitz, 85, told the Davar news outlet. "I asked him how he wasn’t ashamed, to do such a thing to people who for years support peace? He didn’t answer. He was quiet."