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Sudanese paramilitary leader Gen. Mohammed Hamdan Dagalo said Thursday he was committed to a cease-fire to end the devastating war that has wrecked his country, even as fighting continues and there has been no progress on proposed peace talks between Dagalo and Sudan military chief Gen. Abdel-Fattah Burhan.

Dagalo, leader of the Rapid Support Forces, said in a statement following a meeting in Pretoria with South African President Cyril Ramaphosa that he had briefed Ramaphosa on the "considerable efforts taken to end this war."

"I emphasized our unwavering commitment to cease hostilities," Dagalo said, although he didn't say if or when he would meet with Burhan. The warring generals agreed last month to a face-to-face meeting and to start talks over a possible cease-fire, according to the East African regional bloc IGAD.

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No date or location for the talks have been announced.

During Thursday's meeting with Dagalo, Ramaphosa said he hoped there would be an "imminent face-to-face dialogue" between Dagalo and Burhan and called for an "immediate cease-fire," Ramaphosa's spokesperson, Vincent Magwenya, said.

Tensions between former allies Dagalo and Burhan erupted in all-out war in mid-April in the Sudanese capital, Khartoum, and elsewhere across the country. The fighting has killed more than 12,000 people, according to the United Nations, while doctors and activists say the real death toll is higher. More than 7 million people have been forced to leave their homes.

Despite talk of a cease-fire, the conflict has intensified. Last month, 300,000 people were forced to flee their homes in a province that had become a safe haven for civilians after the RSF attacked and took the city of Wad Medani.

The RSF takeover prompted fears among Wad Medani residents that they would carry out atrocities in their city as they are accused of doing in Khartoum, and the Darfur region in western Sudan.

The U.S. State Department has said that both the RSF and the Sudanese military have committed war crimes or crimes against humanity during the nine-month conflict.

Dagalo is on a tour of African countries. He met with Kenyan President William Ruto on Wednesday following visits to Uganda, Ethiopia and Djibouti.

LONDON (AP) — A neo-Nazi podcaster who called for the deaths of Prince Harry and his young son received a prison sentence Thursday along with his co-host Thursday. The sentencing judge in London called the duo "dedicated and unapologetic white supremacists" who encouraged terrorism.

Christopher Gibbons and Tyrone Patten-Walsh espoused racist, antisemitic, Islamophobic, homophobic and misogynistic views and encouraged listeners of their "Lone Wolf Radio" podcast to commit violent acts against ethnic minorities, authorities said.

PRINCE HARRY, MEGHAN MARKLE SHARE THEIR DIGITAL HOLIDAY CARD VIA ARCHEWELL ORGANIZATION

Using aliases on their show, the pair said "the white race was likely to be ‘genocided’ unless steps were taken to fight back." They approved of a day when so-called race traitors would be hanged, particularly those in interracial relationships. Prince Harry's wife, Meghan, is biracial.

On one episode, Gibbons said the Duke of Sussex should be "prosecuted and judicially killed for treason" and called Harry's son, Archie, who is now 4, a "creature" that "should be put down."

Gibbons, 40, was sentenced to eight years in prison, the Metropolitan Police said. Patten-Walsh, 34, was given a 7-year term. Both will be on the equivalent of probation for three years after their release.

"The evidence demonstrates that you desire to live in a world dominated by white people purely for white people. Your distorted thinking is that the white race has ceded too much influence to Blacks and Asians, to Jews and Muslims, to gays, to white liberals and to white people in mixed-race relationships," Judge Peter Lodder said.

While Patten-Walsh and Gibbons were entitled to hold their beliefs — regardless of being "as preposterous as they are offensive to a civilized society" — Lodder said they had gone too far.

The London men started "Lone Wolf Radio," which had 128 subscribers and around 9,000 views of its 21 episodes in June 2020.

The two celebrated right-wing extremists who carried out mass murders in Norway, Christchurch, New Zealand and Charleston, South Carolina. They also posted images of a Nazi executing a Jewish man at the edge of a pit of corpses and Nelson Mandela being lynched.

A Kingston Crown Court jury convicted them in July of eight counts of encouraging terrorism.

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Gibbons was also convicted of two counts of disseminating terrorist documents through his online neo-Nazi "radicalization" library that had more than 2,000 subscribers, authorities said.

Cmdr. Dominic Murphy, who heads the Met’s counter terrorism unit, said the material they disseminated "is exactly the kind that has the potential to draw vulnerable people — particularly young people — into terrorism."

President Alexander Lukashenko of Belarus signed a new law Thursday that gives him lifelong immunity from criminal prosecution and prevents opposition leaders living abroad from running in future presidential elections.

The law theoretically applies to any former president and members of his or her family. In reality, it only is relevant to the 69-year-old Lukashenko, who has ruled Belarus with an iron fist for almost 30 years.

The new measure appears aimed at further shoring up Lukashenko’s power and eliminating potential challengers in the country's next presidential election, which is due to take place in 2025.

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The law significantly tightens requirements for presidential candidates and makes it impossible to elect opposition leaders who fled to neighboring countries in recent years. Only citizens of Belarus who have permanently resided in the country for at least 20 years and have never had a residence permit in another country are eligible to run.

Belarus was rocked by mass protests during Lukashenko’s controversial re-election in August 2020 for a sixth term, which the opposition and the West condemned as fraudulent. At that time, Belarusian authorities detained more than 35,000 people, many of whom were tortured in custody or left the country.

Lukashenko also has been accused of involvement in the illegal transfer of children from Russian-occupied towns in Ukraine to Belarus.

According to the text of the new law, Lukashenko, were he to leave power, "cannot be held accountable for actions committed in connection with exercising his presidential powers."

The law also says the president and members of his family will be provided with lifelong state protection, medical care, life and health insurance. After resigning, the president would also become a permanent lifelong member of the upper house of parliament.

Opposition leader Svetlana Tikhanovskaya, who fled to neighboring Lithuania in 2020, said the new law is Lukashenko’s response to his "fear of an inevitable future," suggesting Lukashenko must be concerned about what happens to him when he leaves power.

"Lukashenko, who ruined the fates of thousands of Belarusians, will be punished according to international law, and no immunity will protect him against this, it’s only a matter of time," Tikhanovskaya said.

The country's political opposition is seeking an investigation into the disappearances of opposition politicians and the removal of Ukrainian children from Ukraine.

"We will ensure that the dictator is brought to justice," Tikhanovskaya said, emphasizing that there are still about 1,500 political prisoners behind bars in Belarus, including Nobel Peace Prize laureate Ales Bialiatski.

A well-known gay rights activist in Uganda who was stabbed by unknown assailants this week attributed the attack to what he described Thursday as a growing intolerance of the LGBTQ+ community fueled by politicians.

The climate of intolerance is being exacerbated by "politicians who are using the LGBTQ+ community as a scapegoat to move people away from what is really happening in the country," Steven Kabuye said in an interview from a hospital bed on the outskirts of Kampala.

Two attackers on a motorcycle tried to stab Kabuye in the neck on Wednesday, and when he tried to shield himself the attackers stabbed him in the right arm and stomach, police said. A video posted on the social media platform X shows Kabuye on the ground writhing in pain with a deep wound to his right arm and a knife stuck in his belly.

PROMINENT UGANDAN GAY RIGHTS ACTIVIST CRITICAL AFTER STABBING

Kabuye said Thursday that he believes the attackers were trying not just to wound him, but to kill him, and that he fears his enemies might even target him in the hospital. "I don't know who to trust right know," he said.

Kabuye is the executive director of the advocacy group Colored Voice Truth to LGBTQ. He had gone into exile in Kenya last March after receiving death threats following an attack on one of the members of the group, organization advocacy officer Hans Senfuma said. Kabuye had returned to Uganda on Dec. 15.

In May, Uganda’s president signed into law anti-gay legislation supported by many in Uganda but widely condemned by rights activists and others abroad.

The version of the legislation signed by President Yoweri Museveni doesn’t criminalize those who identify as LGBTQ+ — which had been a key concern for some rights campaigners. But the new law still prescribes the death penalty for "aggravated homosexuality," which is defined as sexual relations involving people infected with HIV, minors and other categories of vulnerable people.

Kabuye had posted on X that he was deeply concerned about the consequences of Uganda’s Anti-Homosexuality Act 2023.

"This law violates basic human rights and sets a dangerous precedent for discrimination and persecution against the LGBTQ+ community. Let us stand together in solidarity and fight against bigotry and hate," he said.

Migrants from several countries abducted from a bus and held by armed men for days near Mexico’s border with Texas were released by their captors, not rescued as initially reported by authorities, President Andrés Manuel López Obrador said Thursday.

31 MIGRANTS RESCUED AFTER KIDNAPPING NEAR TEXAS BORDER, MEXICAN AUTHORITIES SAY

"They decided to let them go," López Obrador said during his morning press briefing. The 32 migrants — authorities corrected the initial number of 31 after discovering there was a baby among the group that had not been included because it hadn’t purchased a bus ticket — were from Ecuador, Colombia, Venezuela, Honduras and Mexico.

The president said that the migrants had been left in the parking lot of a shopping center in Rio Bravo, Tamaulipas, and that no arrests had been made.

Armed and masked men on Saturday stopped the bus on the highway that connects the border cities of Reynosa and Matamoros, Federal Security Secretary Rosa Icela Rodríguez said Wednesday. They were taken away aboard five vehicles.

Organized crime groups that control the border area regularly kidnap migrants to hold them for ransom.

The size of this group was unusual, but not unprecedented.

The organized crime group responsible for the abductions was not identified and has not commented on the reason for their release. But often the increased presence of authorities that comes with a high-profile event makes it difficult for cartels to carry out their day-to-day operations smuggling drugs, migrants, weapons and money across the border.

The United Kingdom is not sufficiently coordinating with France in efforts to reduce the number of migrants crossing the English Channel in small boats, according to a French report that points to the "uncertain effectiveness" of illegal migration policies.

France is "struggling to develop operational cooperation arrangements" with the U.K., according to the report published Thursday by France’s Court of Accounts, a body in charge of auditing the use of public funds, independent from the government and parliament.

The report refers in particular to a joint intelligence unit created in 2020 to fight human smuggling and reduce the number of people risking their lives to cross the Channel illegally. In 2022, it helped dismantle seven illegal migration networks.

UK SAW RECORD DECLINE OF MIGRANT CROSSINGS OF ENGLISH CHANNEL IN 2023

The Court "found that the British don't provide usable information on the departures of small boats, and give very general, first-level information that has not been counter-checked."

Information on the circumstances in which migrants arrive and their nationalities "appears to be very patchy," the report said. "The relationship between France and the UK is therefore unbalanced in terms of information and intelligence exchange."

Britain’s Home Office said Thursday that the report "is based on out-of-date information and does not accurately reflect our current working relationship, including intelligence sharing, with France."

"In the last two years, we have taken more robust action alongside them to crack down on vile people-smuggling gangs and stop the boats," it said in a statement. "We continue to work closely with French partners at all levels, helping to drive forward improvements in the prevention of crossing attempts, both on the beaches and long before they reach them.

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The U.K. Defense Ministry estimated that crossings of the English Channel by boat increased by at least 58% between 2021 and 2022, a year that saw over 45,000 migrants arrested on British shores.

The report said 56% of crossing attempts were prevented that same year — unchanged from the year before.

The British government announced this week that the number of migrants crossing fell by more than a third in 2023, to just under 26,000.

Britain's Home Office said that another 26,000 "of these dangerous, illegal and unnecessary crossing attempts were prevented in 2023 thanks to our partnership with France."

France in recent years has stepped up efforts to prevent migrants from crossing the Channel, including through more police, equipment and facilities. The country received $243 million from the U.K. from 2018 to 2022 as part of a bilateral agreement and British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak last March promised 541 million euros for the 2023-2026 period.

The number of people living illegally in France is unknown, but researchers from the Pew Research Center estimated their numbers in 2017 to be between 300,000 and 400,000, in a country of 67 million inhabitants. This is about three times fewer migrants with no legal status than in the U.K. and Germany.

The Court of Account's report assessed a series of other issues related to illegal immigration policies, which were subject to 133 changes in law in the past decade.

It pointed to the difficulty of implementing orders to leave the national territory, despite France carrying out the most deportations in the European Union. Over 150,000 such decisions were made in 2022 and only 10% of the concerned people actually left, it said.

Amid recent debate over an immigration bill that focused largely on how to speed up the deportation process, the report said that "international comparisons suggest that a change of scale is not realistic" regarding such policies.

U.K. authorities sent back about 3,500 people to their home country and Germany sent back about 13,000 people in 2022, according to statistics gathered by the French Interior Ministry.

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Reasons listed in the report include French authorities' difficulty to prove the identity of the concerned migrants, reluctance from home countries to issue authorization to let them in and refusal by commercial airlines and plane pilots to take them onboard.

The Court of Account instead suggested enacting policies that would encourage migrants to voluntarily move back to their home countries by offering them money. Such policies have been proven to have "significant efficiency," the Court said, noting that France is lagging behind the UK and Germany in that respect.

Pierre Moscovici, head of the Court of Account, said Thursday the body also recommends a better organization of border guards and police to make them more efficient, noting that more people are illegally crossing the border, mostly from Italy and Spain, in recent years.

Irregular immigration costs France about 1.8 billion euros each year and involves 16,000 state employees, police and military, the Court said.

The Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) is claiming responsibility for the suicide bomb attacks in Iran this week, Fox News Digital has learned.

ISIS claims to have orchestrated the double suicide bomber attack at the memorial to deceased Iranian military official Qassem Soleimani.

A statement from ISIS published to Telegram named terrorist operatives Omar al-Mowahid and Sayefulla al-Mujahid as the suicidal attackers behind the "dual martyrdom operation."

IRANIAN MEDIA REPORT AT LEAST 103 KILLED, 141 INJURED IN EXPLOSIONS NEAR GRAVE OF GENERAL QASSEM SOLEIMANI

The explosion killed at least 103 people and wounded up to 141 more in Kerman, Iran, according to Wednesday reports from Iranian media.

Soleimani was killed in 2020 at the hands of a U.S. drone strike ordered by then-President Trump.

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Some Iranian leaders initially blamed Israel for the attacks, though the accusations were rebuffed by Western powers.

The incident comes amid severe tensions between Iran, the U.S. and Israel. 

Iran's proxy terrorist groups have attacked U.S. bases in Iraq and Syria more than 100 times since October, and Iran-backed Houthi rebels in Yemen have harassed trade in the Red Sea. 

Hezbollah, another Iran-supported group, has threatened Israel's northern border with drone attacks.

Fox News Digital's Jennifer Griffin and Anders Hagstrom contributed to this report.

Traveling the world sounds expensive, but it doesn't have to be. Vacationing can quickly add up with expenses like airfare, luxury hotels, fancy dinners and expensive excursions.

With the getaways in this guide, airfare is going to be the biggest hurdle to overcome. All of these places have inexpensive hotel nightly rates that become even cheaper if you choose a hostel, and you can buy food for just a couple of U.S. dollars.

To combat expensive airfare to these destinations, try to book during the offseason when prices tend to go down. 

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Laos is a beautiful country to explore in Asia without breaking the bank. It has very mountainous terrain, making it perfect for outdoor activities like hiking, zip-lining and kayaking.

This trip is very possible to do for about $30 to $50 per day, depending on where you stay, the food you purchase and the activities you take part in.

While in Laos, explore the city of Luang Prabang, where you can visit the breathtaking Kuang Si Falls, which costs just a couple of dollars to enter.

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Many travelers head to Cambodia to see the ancient temple complex known as Angkor Wat.

In addition to the ancient temple, tourists can explore the capital, Phnom Penh, and shop at local markets. Keep in mind that Angkor Wat is about five and a half hours from Phnom Penh.

You can find plenty of places to stay in Cambodia for $10 to $20 a night.

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A vacation to Thailand can be affordable while still being jam-packed with activities.

In Thailand, you'll be able to enjoy everything from beaches to Buddhist temples.

If backpacking, you can get yourself a bed for just $6 per night. If you want a hotel with more amenities, you can book a room for around $35 per night in Thailand.

Indonesia is one of the most popular budget-friendly vacations for travelers to take. Bali in particular brings in lots of tourists. Its popularity makes it one of the more expensive and busy parts of Indonesia.

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Other islands to consider are Sumba, Lombok and Java, where you can still experience beautiful white-sand beaches without the hefty price tag.

Filled with unforgettable beaches and places to explore, the Philippines is a destination on many people's travel bucket list.

There are plenty of affordable places to stay in the Philippines. If you want to splurge, you can book a high-end resort for just a few hundred dollars a night.

While in Malaysia, take time to explore the many alluring caves throughout the country.

For lodging, you can stay at a beautiful resort for less than $30 a night.

If you enjoy a good scenic hike, Sri Lanka has plenty. Many allow you to get up close to native wildlife like breathtaking elephants.

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You'll also be able to visit the beach and soak up the sun.

About $20 to $40 is how much you can expect to spend on accommodations in Sri Lanka, with an average meal costing around $5.

India is a fan-favorite among travelers on a budget.

India offers lots of affordable lodging. A room in Mumbai will cost around $50 per night. A room in Jaisalmer costs as low as $7.

Many dream of traveling to Greece, and it's possible to do without breaking the bank.

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Greece is a very busy tourist destination, with many visitors flooding to places like Mykonos, Santorini and Athens.

While these places still aren't overwhelmingly expensive, there are more budget-friendly options like Kythnos, Ikaria, Rhodes and Hydra.

Beach resorts in Cancun, Cabo and Tulum are not the most budget-friendly travel option.

Aside from pricey beach resorts, Mexico is a very affordable place to visit.

Playa del Carmen and Isla Mujeres are options for a more affordable but still unforgettable getaway.

Nicaragua features lots of surfing spots, volcano hikes and is not overpopulated by tourism.

Hotels with great amenities like dining and pools cost around $30 to $40 a night.

Visiting Acatenango volcano and Pacaya Volcano are two popular hikes to make while in Guatemala.

Exploring the city of Antigua is another experience travelers long to have when visiting Guatemala.

You can get a hotel room in Antigua for around $70 per night.

A dream vacation to Egypt can be done on a budget.

While in Egypt, you can cruise the Nile, explore the city of Cairo and, of course, tour the Pyramids of Giza.

You can find tons of affordable hotels in Egypt, some of which even provide views of the pyramids for just around $50 per night.

In today's interconnected world, travel visas stand as pivotal gatekeepers, regulating and enabling international movement for individuals across diverse purposes. These official endorsements, issued by governments worldwide, serve as essential permits, delineating the scope and duration of visits for foreign nationals.

Traveling across borders has long been facilitated by the visa. The history of the travel visa unfolds a captivating narrative of diplomacy, security and global connectivity.

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The concept of a visa finds its origins in ancient civilizations like Persia and China. Persia's "caravanserais" required travelers to possess a "caravanserai pass" for safe passage; China issued "teh-passes" to foreigners entering its borders. These early forms set the groundwork for regulating movement and ensuring safety.

During medieval times, the passport, a precursor to the modern visa, emerged in the form of "safe conducts" or "letters of passage." These documents granted safe passage through territories and were primarily used by emissaries, merchants and pilgrims.

The 19th century witnessed the formalization of visa systems. The British Aliens Act of 1905 was among the first modern legislations to require entry permits, and the League of Nations Convention of 1920 laid the groundwork for a standardized passport format and visa regulations.

The aftermath of World War II marked a significant shift in visa policies. The establishment of the United Nations in 1945 led to global agreements that fostered international cooperation, introducing visas categorized for diplomacy, tourism and employment.

Advancements in technology revolutionized visa processing. Electronic visas, also known as e-Visas, and visa waivers streamlined the application process, facilitating travel for tourists and business people. Many countries embraced online platforms for visa applications because it simplified the process and promoted tourism.

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Contemporary challenges such as security threats and immigration concerns prompted stricter visa policies. Biometric data integration and background checks became routine, balancing security with facilitating legitimate travel.

Visa policies significantly impact global economies, diplomacy and cultural exchange. Efforts to simplify visa procedures, introduce visa-free travel agreements and stimulate tourism remain at the forefront of international agendas.

The travel visa's history mirrors geopolitical shifts, tech progress and societal demands. From ancient origins to its modern sophistication, a visa acts as a gateway to global exploration.

Russian President Vladimir Putin approved an order that will grant citizenship to foreigners who fight against Ukraine. 

According to the decree, foreign nationals who serve with the Russian military for at least one year will be eligible to receive citizenship for both themselves and their families.

The Kremlin extended the offer to "foreign citizens who signed a [one-year] contract with the Russian Armed Forces or military formations or who are undergoing military service during the special military operation [in Ukraine]," according to a translation from the Moscow Times.

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Citizenship benefits would extend to those who served, their spouses, parents and children.

The decisions show foreign support for Russia's invasion of Ukraine has become an increasing priority for the government.

At least 315,000 Russian troops have been killed or injured so far in the war in Ukraine, amounting to nearly 90% of its personnel when the conflict started, a December 2023 report claimed. 

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The statistic was highlighted in a declassified U.S. intelligence report that found Russia began its invasion of Ukraine in February 2022 with 360,000 troops, a source familiar with the document told Reuters at the time.

The report also said Russia started the war with 3,100 tanks but has since lost 2,200 of them, and after backfilling its army with T-62 tanks produced in the 1970s, it only has about 1,300 tanks on the battlefield, according to Reuters, citing the source.

Global intelligence reports have shown extensive efforts by Russian agents to field combatants in the conflict from foreign countries.

The Cuban government said last year it had uncovered a human trafficking network being operated in Russia with the goal of recruiting citizens to participate in the war against Ukraine.

Cuba's Ministry of Foreign Affairs said in a statement at the time that the country's ministry of the interior uncovered the operation, which it says has been dismantled.

The country's foreign affairs ministry said the country has a "firm and clear historical position against mercenarism, and it plays an active role in the United Nations in rejection of the aforementioned practice, being the author of several of the initiatives approved in that forum."

Fox News Digital's Adam Sabes and Greg Norman contributed to this report.

Russia is reportedly moving forward with a deal to purchase short-range ballistic missiles from Iran. 

The Wall Street Journal first reported on the tentative sale agreement on Thursday, citing unnamed U.S. officials. 

The officials say the missiles would boost Russia's ability to target Ukrainian infrastructure at a time when support for continued U.S. military assistance for Kyiv is waning in Congress. 

"The United States is concerned that Russian negotiations to acquire close-range ballistic missiles from Iran are actively advancing," one of the U.S. officials told the Journal. "We assess that Russia intends to purchase missile systems from Iran."

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The officials told the Journal they do not believe the agreement has been finalized but predict the first deliveries of Iranian missiles could take place by the spring. 

Moscow has already begun receiving ballistic-missile launchers and several dozen ballistic missiles from North Korea, the officials said. 

Russia's interest in obtaining Iranian missiles was first made apparent in mid-December, when a Russian delegation visited an Iranian training area to view ballistic missiles and related equipment displayed by Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) Aerospace Force, including its short-range Ababil missile, according to the U.S. officials speaking to the Journal.

The previously undisclosed trip came after Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu visited the headquarters of the IRGC Aerospace Force in Tehran in September to observe a display of the Ababil and other missile systems, the officials said. At that time, Shoigu also met with Maj. Gen. Mohammad Bagheri, the chief of staff of Iran’s armed forces, and touted that relations between Russia and Iran were approaching new heights. 

That visit came the same month Russian President Vladimir Putin and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un held a summit at a spaceport in Russia’s far east to pledge greater cooperation on economic and security issues. Several officials familiar with the transaction told the Journal that North Korea has since started to ship a range of weaponry to Russia, including, for the first time, short-range ballistic missiles to eastern Russia. The officials said the weaponry includes previously reported stocks of artillery. 

IRANIAN MEDIA REPORT AT LEAST 103 KILLED, 141 INJURED IN EXPLOSIONS NEAR GRAVE OF GENERAL QASSEM SOLEIMANI

Moscow’s approach could include increasing the number of missiles launched in a bid to overwhelm Ukraine’s antimissile defenses, as indicated by Russia’s efforts to increase supply through deals with North Korea and now Iran. Russia has already obtained many drones from Iran used in the Ukraine war, the Journal reported, and Moscow and Tehran are together building a new factory in Russia that U.S. officials assess could manufacture thousands of drones for fighting Kyiv’s forces.

There is growing concern from the U.S. that strengthening cooperation between Moscow and Tehran could bolster Iran’s military capability in the Middle East and an economy crippled by Western sanctions.

A United Nations Security Council resolution adopted after the 2015 Iran nuclear deal that prohibited Iran from exporting or importing some types of missiles and drones, as well as military technology used to produce and operate missiles, without the council’s approval, formally expired in October. In response, the U.S. slapped Iran with more sanctions intended to discourage Tehran's missile trade and released a pledge with 47 other countries to stifle Iran’s sale of ballistic missiles and related technology. 

Russia’s Foreign Ministry, however, said the U.N. ban on Iranian missile sales no longer needed to be followed – a move that contrasts with Moscow's previous cooperation with the U.S., European nations and China in negotiating the 2015 nuclear deal with Tehran, as well as Russia's 2017 support for the U.N. Security Council implementing sanctions against North Korea in response to its nuclear and ballistic missile activities. Since the Ukraine war, a former State Department official told the Journal, Russia's foreign policy now focuses on "undermining U.S. interests." 

India rung in the New Year with a two-day nationwide strike over a new hit-and-run law. The law decrees that hit-and-runs would be punishable by up to 10 years in prison, or a maximum fine of $8,405. The law is poised to replace the Indian Penal Code under which an accidental killing in a road accident carries a maximum of two years imprisonment. 

Tensions were quelled when Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s government assured protesting truck, bus and tanker operators the law would be implemented only after consulting with unions. 

Although India accounts for just 1% of the global vehicular population, it tops the world in road accident-related deaths. The Ministry of Road Transport and Highways’ 2022 data shows hit-and-run cases accounted for the second-largest share of total accidental deaths at 18.1%. While hit-and-runs claim about 50,000 lives a year in India, road-related deaths from trucks or lorries make up only 11.3% of the total. 

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The ruling BJP party argues that "these new laws are designed to save more lives in road accidents and will apply to all vehicles." However, protesting drivers believe India's new hit-and-run law is biased against larger vehicles. The law is likely to disproportionately affect truck drivers who, according to a study by SaveLIFE Foundation, average nearly 12 hours on the road and some 260 miles each day. The opposition Congress party gave support to the protests, saying people could misuse the legislation to commit extortion and corruption.

"The law certainly needs to take into account the views of major stakeholders, that is the truck drivers," Byram Dhalla director of B.D. Dhalla Transport told Fox News Digital. "Truckers are most vulnerable to the application of this law, if only because they spend the most time on the roads," he pointed out. Furthermore, trucking businesses contend that the more draconian rules could dissuade drivers from the already dwindling profession. 

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Initially slated for three days, the strikes resulted in a disruption of supply chains as well as immense road blockages, traffic jams and sporadic violence. The brief but massive protests also led to long gas pump lines as people began panic-buying fuel. The thousands of gas stations that were running out of fuel have begun to stabilize today. 

India’s northwestern and western states were especially impacted by the turmoil. The BJP began talks with the All India Motor Transport Congress (AIMTC) on Tuesday, ending the upheaval. The AIMTC union estimated the strikes caused about $12 million loss of trade per day. 

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The AIMTC is now working toward gaining more clarity on what constitutes rash or negligent driving as well as how an accused driver should inform authorities. Truckers also insist the government must take into consideration the risk of irate mob violence if drivers attempt to transport the injured to hospitals.

"Truck drivers are always the soft target, irrespective of fault lying in their actions or otherwise," remarked Dhalla. "All in all, the law needs a lot of careful thought and assurance of comfort to the driver fraternity."