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Europe's longest reigning monarch Queen Margrethe rode through Denmark’s capital Thursday in a gilded, horse-drawn coach as she concluded her last New Year celebrations before her abdication later this month.

Thousands braved the freezing temperatures, strong winds, snow and sleet to cheer the popular queen along the route in what is to be her last public appearance as monarch. She will step down on Jan. 14 after 52 years on the throne.

The 83-year-old monarch will hand the throne to her oldest son, Crown Prince Frederik in the first such resignation in Europe’s oldest ruling monarchy in nearly 900 years.

DENMARK'S QUEEN MARGRETHE II ANNOUNCES SHE'S STEPPING DOWN FROM THRONE: 'NOW IS THE RIGHT TIME'

Margrethe rode in the so-called Gold Coach — pulled by six white horses — that is used when the monarch rides from the royal residence at the Amalienborg Palace to the Christiansborg Palace during the traditional New Year’s fete with officers from the Armed Forces, among others.

The monarch wore a fur coat and white gloves in the closed 19th-century coach covered in 24-karat gold leaf and topped with four gilded crowns on the roof. It was escorted by members of the Hussar Regiment in blue uniforms with red jackets.

Earlier this week, Queen Margrethe held a series of events to greet the Danish government, parliament, top civilian and military officials and foreign diplomats.

The Christiansborg Palace which is used for official royal events, such as gala banquets and public audiences, also houses the Danish parliament, the prime minister’s office and Denmark’s highest court. It is located a little over half a mile from Amalienborg.

DENMARK'S QUEEN MARGRETHE II HAS UNDERGONE 'EXTENSIVE BACK SURGERY,' NOW IN STABLE CONDITION

The queen will sign her formal abdication on Jan. 14 at a state council — a meeting with the Danish government — making Frederik, 55, and his Australian-born wife Mary, 51, king and queen of Denmark.

Although monarchs in several European countries have abdicated to allow younger royalty to take over, there is no such tradition in Denmark.

For years, Margrethe has insisted that she will not quit. However, her health has changed that. In her annual New Year televised address on Dec. 31, Margrethe said back surgery in early 2023 led to "thoughts about the future" and when to pass on the responsibilities of the crown to her son. "I have decided that now is the right time," she said.

When she ascended the throne in 1972 after her late father, King Frederik IX, only 42% of Danes supported the monarchy. The most recent survey shows that 84% of Danes favor it to a high or some degree.

Four members of an Iran-aligned Iraqi militia group — including a high-ranking Iraqi militia commander — were killed in a drone strike in Baghdad on Thursday, according to reports by The Associated Press and Reuters.

A U.S. official has confirmed to Fox News that the U.S. is responsible for the strike which targeted an Iraqi militia leader in Baghdad who is believed responsible for attacks on U.S. forces.

The official says this was a precision strike on a vehicle, and not a hit on a whole facility as other outlets have reported. The strike targeted a leader with the Harakat Hezbollah al-Nujaba, an Iraqi Shi'ite military group, the U.S. official said. 

ARMED DRONE SHOT DOWN OVER ERBIL AIRPORT IN NORTHERN IRAQ, WHERE US FORCES ARE STATIONED

"The United States is continuing to take action to protect our forces in Iraq and Syria by addressing the threats they face," a statement from the U.S. military official reads. 

Harakat Hezbollah al-Nujaba has links to Iraq's Popular Mobilization Forces (PMF), a coalition of militias that is nominally under the control of the Iraqi military.

The PMF announced in a statement that its deputy head of operations in Baghdad, Mushtaq Taleb al-Saidi, or "Abu Taqwa," had been killed in the strike which was "as a result of brutal American aggression," according to The AP.

Six others were wounded in the strike, according to Reuters.

Iraqi military spokesman Yehia Rasool said in a statement that the Iraqi army "holds the International Coalition Forces responsible for this unprovoked attack on an Iraqi security body operating in accordance with the powers granted to it by the Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces."

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Fox News Digital requested comment from the State Department and the White House but did not immediately receive a response. 

Thursday’s strike comes amid mounting regional tensions fueled by the Israel-Hamas war and fears that it could spill over into surrounding countries. It also coincides with a push by Iraqi officials for US-led coalition forces to leave the country.

On Tuesday, Iraqi forces shot down an armed drone over the Erbil airport in northern Iraq, where U.S. and other international forces are stationed, according to a report.

U.S. forces in Iraq and Syria have been attacked at least 115 times since October 17th, according to U.S. defense officials. The Pentagon does not count attacks on U.S. warships at sea in this number.

Fox News’ Lawrence Richard, as well as The Associated Press and Reuters, contributed to this report.

South Korea's opposition leader Lee Jae-myung is recovering well following his attempted assassination this week, according to medical professionals.

Doctor Min Seung-kee said Thursday that Lee is "recovering smoothly" at Seoul National University Hospital.

Medical teams will continue to monitor the political leader's condition for complications as his recovery continues.

SOUTH KOREA OPPOSITION LEADER STABBED IN NECK DURING VISIT TO BUSAN

Lee, the chief of the main opposition Democratic Party, was brutally attacked while visiting the southern port city of Busan on Tuesday. 

The suspected attacker appeared to be a man in his 50s or 60s who wore a paper crown with Lee's name printed on it, news photographs showed. He approached Lee asking for an autograph among a crowd of supporters before he lunged forward and attacked, video footage showed. 

The assailant was quickly subdued and arrested at the scene. His motive remains unknown.

SOUTH KOREAN POLICE RAID HOUSE OF SUSPECT WHO STABBED OPPOSITION LEADER LEE JAE-MYUNG

South Korean police raided the attacker's home and office on Wednesday in the city of Asan. Authorities also intend to search the assailant's phone.

The attack left a gash in Lee's neck that is about 1 centimeter long, according to YTN television.

Min told the press that the knife cut Lee's jugular vein, requiring stitches to close the bleeding wound.

A neighbor living near the unidentified suspect told The Associated Press that the man was a quiet person who did not often talk about politics. 

He also said the suspect works as a real estate agent but fell behind on paying his rent.

Fox News Digital's Landon Mion contributed to this report.

Russia and Ukraine exchanged hundreds of prisoners of war (POW) on Wednesday after intense negotiations mediated by the United Arab Emirates.

The exchange was the first in nearly five months and is the largest documented swap between the countries since Russia launched a full-scale invasion nearly two years ago.

Ukrainian authorities said that 230 Ukrainians, 224 soldiers and six civilians, returned home, while Russia’s Defense Ministry said that 248 Russian servicemen have been freed under the deal sponsored by the United Arab Emirates.

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A video released by Ukrainian authorities shows tearful Ukrainian soldiers draped in their nation’s blue and yellow flag hugging and embracing their fellow POWs at an undisclosed location. They could be seen filing off a bus, singing the national anthem and shouting the patriotic greeting "Glory to Ukraine."

Most Ukrainians, but not all, appeared to be in good health, according to Reuters. One returnee shouted, "We are home! You didn't forget us!"

The Russian Ministry of Defense released a similar video of returning uniformed prisoners arriving in Belgorod on buses. "I'll be home in five hours, roughly speaking, that's going to be a joy," said one unnamed man.

The UAE’s Foreign Ministry attributed the successful swap to the "strong friendly relations between the UAE and both the Russian Federation and the Republic of Ukraine, which were supported by sustained calls at the highest levels." 

The UAE has maintained close economic ties with Moscow despite Western sanctions and pressure on Russia over the last two years. Russian President Vladimir Putin visited the Middle East last month.

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In a video post on X, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy welcomed the news of the returning soldiers and said that many of them had been missing.

"Initially, there was no information about some of them being held captive," Zelenskyy said. 

"They were considered missing in action. It is critical to keep hope alive. Prisoner swaps have been on hold for a long time, but negotiations have not ceased for a single moment. We are seizing every opportunity, attempting every mediation format, and raising the issue at any international meeting that may be helpful."

"The more Russians we capture, the more effective the negotiations regarding swaps will be," he said in his video address.

Russia's Commissioner for Human Rights, Tatyana Moskalkova, thanked Putin and the military and intelligence services for their efforts in the exchange.

Ukraine and Russia have held many prisoner swaps in the months after Russia's invasion, but the rate slowed drastically in 2023.

The prisoner swap came a day after Russia launched hypersonic ballistic missiles at Ukraine's two largest cities, leaving at least five people dead and at least 130 injured, officials said. 

The Associated Press and Reuters contributed to this report.

The approximately 10-year-old daughter of North Korean supreme leader Kim Jong Un will likely succeed her father in the dictatorship. 

South Korea's National Intelligence Service announced Thursday that Kim Ju Ae is forecast as the dictator's very likely heir apparent, according to all available data collected.

"Based on analyses on her public activities and the level of the North's respect toward her since her public appearance, Kim Ju-ae appears to be the most likely successor," said National Intelligence Service official Cho Tae-yong in a report to the South Korean parliament, according to Yonhap News Agency.

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The NIS is leaving open a variety of possibilities for succession, given that Kim Jong Un is believed to have at least one other child who has not been seen by the public.

Ju Ae made her first public appearance in November 2022, accompanying her father and mother, Ri Sol Ju, to an intercontinental ballistic missile launch.

Since then, Ju Ae has been photographed extensively alongside her father attending parades, dining with the top brass and touring military facilities.

NORTH KOREA FERTILITY RATE PLUMMETS TO ESTIMATED 1.38, SOUTH KOREA OFFICIALS CLAIM

Previously, intelligence groups have said it was "too early" to determine Ju Ae's role.

Analysts have pointed to consistent, high-profile appearances over the last year as significant evidence for her heir-apparent status.

"By accompanying her father on major events, she’s like learning kingship and building a human network at a tender age," said Sejong Institute analyst Cheong Seong-Chang.

Earlier this year, South Korean officials announced it has reason to believe the North Korean dictator's first child is a male.

"We do not have detailed evidence that his first child is a son," said Rep. Yoo Sang-beom of the People Power Party. "But we are convinced that the first child is certainly a son based on intelligence that has been shared with an external intelligence agency."

The mysterious eldest child of Kim Jong Un has been a source of speculation for years, and the ramifications of their gender could be significant to the future of the government.

Thirty-one migrants have been rescued in Mexico after a group of armed and masked gunmen kidnapped them from a bus traveling to the border with Texas over the weekend, Mexican authorities said Wednesday.

Presidential spokesman Jesús Ramírez said in a post on X that the army and national guard helped carry out the rescue operation. He said the migrants were under the care of authorities and undergoing medical examinations.

Mexico’s Interior Secretary Luisa Alcalde also confirmed the rescue, without giving further details about how or where the rescue operation occurred.

Officials did not immediately provide any details about the armed group that carried out the abduction or about the rescued migrants.

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The bus carrying 36 people was intercepted near Rio Bravo on Saturday on the highway that connects the border cities of Reynosa and Matamoros, which sits across from Brownsville, Texas, Federal Security Secretary Rosa Icela Rodríguez said earlier Wednesday.

The armed group forced all the migrants off the bus and abducted 31 of them in five vehicles, Rodríguez said. The abducted migrants were from Ecuador, Colombia, Venezuela, Honduras and Mexico.

GUNMEN KILL 6 PEOPLE, WOUND 26 OTHERS IN ATTACK ON PARTY IN NORTHERN MEXICO BORDER STATE

The search for the kidnapped migrants included tracking their cell phones, reviewing surveillance video from the bus and an air search of the area via helicopter, Rodríguez said.

Organized crime groups that control the border area regularly kidnap migrants to hold them for ransom, with large abductions previously occurring in Tamaulipas state. 

In March 2019, 22 people were taken from a bus and not seen again. The Zetas cartel also massacred 72 Central American migrants who had been taken off buses near San Fernando, Tamaulipas in 2010.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.