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A judge in London threw out a lawsuit Thursday filed by former U.S. President Trump which claimed the infamous dossier and its "shocking and scandalous claims" harmed his reputation.

"There are no compelling reasons to allow the claim to proceed to trial," Judge Karen Steyn said of the lawsuit Trump filed against Orbis Business Intelligence, a company co-founded by Christopher Steele, the former British spy who created a dossier in 2016.

The dossier was paid for by Democrats and published during Trump’s first presidential bid against Hillary Clinton. It contained uncorroborated allegations and rumors that spread like wildfire among Trump’s critics and through mainstream media outlets.

Trump repeatedly denied the accusations in the dossier, which included rumors about him engaging in sex acts with Russian prostitutes. He unequivocally said the dossier was fake news and a political witch hunt – then sued to clear his name.

REP TENNEY NOMINATES TRUMP FOR NOBEL PEACE PRIZE FOR 'HISTORIC' ABRAHAM ACCORDS

The ruling comes as Trump is the frontrunner for the 2024 Republican presidential nomination and faces other legal woes in the U.S.

In the lawsuit, Trump alleged Orbis violated British data protection laws and sought damages. He also wanted a judge to definitively rule the claims were false.

BIDEN TOPS TRUMP IN NEW POLL, BUT LEAD SHRINKS AGAINST THIRD-PARTY CANDIDATES

Trump’s legal team argued the former president "suffered personal and reputational damage and distress" because his data protection rights were violated. Trump’s lawyer Hugh Tomlinson argued the dossier "contained shocking and scandalous claims about the personal conduct of President Trump." Trump’s case "is that this personal data is egregiously inaccurate."

Conversely, Orbis said the lawsuit should be thrown out because the dossier, which was published by BuzzFeed, was never meant to be made public. It was done so without the permission of Steele or Orbis, they claim. They also said Trump’s lawsuit was filed too late.

The judge seemed to agree, saying Trump had "chosen to allow many years to elapse – without any attempt to vindicate his reputation in this jurisdiction – since he was first made aware of the dossier."

She said that "the claim for compensation and/or damages… is bound to fail."

Steele previously ran the Russia desk for Britain’s Secret Intelligence Service, also known as MI6. He was paid by Democrats to compile research into any ties between Trump and Russia.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

The leaders of the 27 European Union countries sealed a deal Thursday to provide Ukraine with a new $54 billion support package for its war-ravaged economy despite weeks of threats from Hungary to veto the move.

European Council President Charles Michel announced the agreement that was reached in the first hour of a summit he was chairing in Brussels.

"We have a deal," Michel said in a post on X, formerly known as Twitter. He said the agreement "locks in steadfast, long-term, predictable funding for Ukraine," and demonstrated that the "EU is taking leadership and responsibility in support for Ukraine; we know what is at stake."

EUROPEAN UNION LEADERS FOCUS ON SECURING AGREEMENT WITH HUNGARY OVER WAR SUPPORT PACKAGE FOR UKRAINE

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy welcomed it as a "very important" decision.

That Hungary lifted its veto, and so quickly, came as a surprise. On the eve of the summit, Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban posted on X: "We will stand up for the voice of the people! Even if the bureaucrats in Brussels blackmail us."

Orban raised staunch objections to the financial aid package in December and blocked its adoption, and he had threatened to do the same in recent days. The populist leader's government has been in a dispute with the EU's executive commission over Hungary's alleged democratic backsliding and had some of its own funding withheld as a result.

EUROPEAN UNION LEADERS RALLY FOR INCREASED UKRAINE MILITARY AID TO FILL AMMUNITION GAP

In December, the 26 other leaders agreed the $54-billion package would run from 2024 through 2027. They also agreed to make Ukraine a candidate for EU membership, which Orban reluctantly accepted.

But the financial package was part of a review of the EU’s continuing seven-year budget, which requires unanimous approval.

An EU official, who asked not to be named because the summit was ongoing, said the leaders agreed that the bloc’s executive branch, the European Commission, would propose a review of the budget in two years, if deemed necessary. Such a review would not include an opportunity for a future veto, the official added.

Almost two years after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, the war has ground to a halt, and Ukraine’s economy desperately needs propping up. But political infighting in the EU and in the United States has held up a long-term source of funding.

"Continued EU financial support for Ukraine will strengthen long-term economic and financial stability, which is no less important than military assistance and sanctions pressure on Russia," Zelenskyy wrote Thursday on X.

On the way into their meeting, several fellow leaders had lashed out at Orban, accusing him of blackmail and playing political games that undermined support for Ukraine and the country's war-ravaged economy.

Concern has mounted that public support to keep pouring money into Ukraine has started to wane, even though a Russian victory could threaten security across Europe.

"There is no problem with the so-called Ukraine fatigue issue. We have Orban fatigue now in Brussels," Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk told reporters Thursday. "I can’t understand. I can’t accept this very strange and very egoistic game of Viktor Orban."

Orban, the EU leader with the closest ties to Russia, is angry at the European Commission’s decision to freeze his government’s access to some of the bloc’s funds over concerns about the alleged democratic backsliding in Hungary.

In response, Hungary vetoed statements at the EU on a range of issues. Orban’s also exported the problem to NATO, by blocking high level meetings with Ukraine until only recently. Budapest is also holding up Sweden’s bid for membership in the military organization.

"I don’t want to use the word blackmail, but I don’t know what other better word" might fit, Estonian Prime Minister Kaja Kallas told reporters as she arrived at EU headquarters.

EUROPEAN UNION LEADERS GROW FRUSTRATED AS HUNGARY BLOCKS $54 BILLION IN AID FOR UKRAINE

"Hungary needs Europe," she said, highlighting the country’s own economic problems and high interest rates. "He should also look into what it is in it for Hungary, being in Europe."

Tusk insisted that there could be "no room for compromise on our principles, like rule of law. And for sure there is no room for compromise on the Ukraine question." The recently elected Polish leader added of Orban: "If his position will dominate in Europe, then Ukraine will lose for sure."

Irish Prime Minister Leo Varadkar said it was important for the leaders to try to seal a deal supported by all 27 member countries but that in any case "we can’t go away without an agreement."

In the end, the leaders flew to Brussels from across Europe to address an issue that was apparently resolved within minutes.

Indian police cleared a suspected Chinese spy pigeon after eight months' detention and released it into the wild Tuesday, news agency Press Trust of India reported.

The pigeon’s ordeal began in May when it was captured near a port in Mumbai with two rings tied to its legs, carrying words that looked like Chinese. Police suspected it was involved in espionage and took it in, later sending it to Mumbai's Bai Sakarbai Dinshaw Petit Hospital for Animals.

Eventually, it turned out the pigeon was an open-water racing bird from Taiwan that had escaped and made its way to India. With police permission, the bird was transferred to the Bombay Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, whose doctors set it free on Tuesday.

INDIA CAPTURES ‘SPY’ PIGEON SUSPECTED OF WORKING FOR PAKISTAN: REPORTS

Mumbai police could not be reached for comment.

It is not the first time a bird has come under police suspicion in India.

NYC PIGEON DYED PINK SPARKS SPECULATION OF 'SICKENING' GENDER REVEAL: 'WHAT IS WRONG WITH PEOPLE?'

In 2020, police in Indian-controlled Kashmir released a pigeon belonging to a Pakistani fisherman after a probe found that the bird, which had flown across the heavily militarized border between the nuclear-armed nations, was not a spy.

In 2016, another pigeon was taken into custody after it was found with a note that threatened Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

All 27 countries of the European Union have agreed on a €50 billion ($54 billion) financial aid package to Ukraine despite staunch objections from Hungary in December and in the days leading up to Thursday’s summit in Brussels, according to a top E.U. official.

"We have a deal. Unity," European Council President Charles Michel wrote in a post on X. "All 27 leaders agreed on an additional 50 billion euro support package for Ukraine within the EU budget."

"This locks in steadfast, long-term, predictable funding for Ukraine. EU is taking leadership and responsibility in support for Ukraine; we know what is at stake."

ZELENSKYY'S RETURN TO DC FOR MORE CASH IN UKRAINE WAR A 'MOST DISGRACEFUL CHARADE': JD VANCE

Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán had blocked the deal in December, just days after Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy had come to the U.S. and failed to persuade lawmakers to approve an additional $61 billion for the war-torn country.

Orbán, who has a history of banking on clashes with other EU leaders for an electoral benefit at home, told state radio at the time that he blocked the aid package to Ukraine as part of a multi-year plan to make sure Hungary gets the funds it wants from the EU budget. The 26 other leaders had agreed to the package and to make Ukraine a candidate for EU membership, which Orbán reluctantly accepted.

It is unclear what concessions, if any, were made to secure the Hungarian leaders' vote. The financial package is part of a review of the EU’s continuing seven-year budget, which must be approved unanimously.

Earlier this week, Orbán had accused the E.U. of blackmail after a leaked document reportedly suggested that the bloc planned to sabotage Budapest’s economy, by cutting off all funding to the country.

RUMORS THAT UKRAINE'S TOP COMMANDER MAY BE DISMISSED EXPOSE RIFTS IN UKRAINE TOP BRASS

European leaders argue that a Russian victory in the war would threaten the security of the bloc. The war, which was sparked by a Russian invasion nearly two years ago, has dragged on and Ukraine has been in desperate need of cash to prop up its forces. 

Russia intended for its invasion to last only a few weeks, but Ukraine’s surprising and effective resistance dragged the conflict out as it neared a third year.

Ukraine’s much-promised counteroffensive in the second year, however, did not yield the results that Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy had promised, which has prompted questions from Congress about pouring more money into the war effort. 

President Biden has pressed Congress to embrace a bipartisan Senate deal to pair border enforcement measures with Ukraine aid.

Zelenskyy acknowledged the E.U. deal on X on Thursday, thanking the EU leaders for coming to an agreement. 

"Grateful to @CharlesMichel [President of the European Council]and EU leaders for establishing the €50 billion Ukraine Facility for 2024-2027." 

"It is very important that the decision was made by all 27 leaders, which once again proves strong EU unity. Continued EU financial support for Ukraine will strengthen long-term economic and financial stability, which is no less important than military assistance and sanctions pressure on Russia."

Reuters and The Associated Press contributed to this report.

Police in London have launched a manhunt for a suspect after a "corrosive substance was thrown at people," leaving a woman and her two young daughters hospitalized. 

The incident happened Wednesday night along Lessar Avenue in the southern part of the city and the Metropolitan Police say investigators believe the male suspect and the woman "are known to each other." 

"It was reported that a man had thrown a child to the ground and that a substance -- which we now know to be alkaline -- had been thrown," Superintendent Gabriel Cameron said. "The man attempted to make off in a car but collided with a stationary vehicle, and then made off on foot, in the direction of Clapham Common." 

Cameron said the attack injured a 31-year-old woman and her two daughters, ages 8 and 3. They all remain in the hospital as of Thursday morning. 

UK POLICE FATALLY SHOOT CROSSBOW-WIELDING SUSPECT 

"While none of their conditions are life-threatening, the injuries to the woman and younger girl could be life-changing. It may be some time before hospital staff are able to say how serious that might be," Cameron said. 

Police said "Three women -- two in their 30s and one in her 50s -- who were injured when they bravely came to the aid of the family, have all been discharged from [a] hospital with minor burn injuries" and a "man in his 50s who also helped declined hospital treatment for minor injuries he suffered." 

Five officers who responded to the scene suffered injuries but have since been discharged from hospital care after receiving treatment, according to Cameron. 

UK MAN WHO KILLED 2 COLLEGE STUDENTS, JANITOR SENTENCED TO HIGH-SECURITY HOSPITAL 

"All these members of the public, and my officers, deserve enormous recognition and praise for coming to the aid of this woman and children in what must have been a terrifying scenario," he said. "We will provide them with all the support we can." 

The Met Police are now working to track down the suspect. 

"Officers from across the Met are working with partner agencies and forces to locate and arrest the man," Cameron said. "While this appears a targeted attack, he is a dangerous individual and we urgently need to find him." 

The U.S. successfully shot down a ballistic missile fired from Yemen, destroyed three Iranian drones that were near an American warship and destroyed a Houthi ground control station and additional Houthi UAVs in a series of incidents spanning several hours, according to the United States Central Command.

Iranian-backed Houthi militants fired one anti-ship ballistic missile on Wednesday at approximately 8:30 p.m. Sanaa time. The missile exited Houthi-controlled areas of Yemen and traveled toward the Gulf of Aden when it was successfully shot down by the USS Carney, CENTCOM said.

Then later, at approximately 9:10 p.m, USS Carney engaged with and shot down three Iranian UAVs that were in its vicinity. Neither incident resulted in any injuries or damage reported.

The pair of strikes came as U.S. forces have engaged with Houthi drones throughout the region in recent weeks.

WHITE HOUSE PROMISES RETALIATION AGAINST IRAN PROXY GROUP: ‘THE FIRST THING YOU SEE WON’T BE THE LAST'

Fox previously reported that U.S. forces engaged multiple Houthi targets early Thursday that "presented an imminent threat" to U.S. forces and commercial vessels in the Red Sea.

US TAKES ‘SELF-DEFENSE’ STRIKE AGAINST HOUTHI PROJECTILES POISED TO LAUNCH AT COMMERCIAL SHIP IN RED SEA

The U.S. forces struck an Iranian-backed Houthi UAV ground control station and 10 Houthi one-way UAVs that "presented an imminent threat to merchant vessels and the U.S. Navy ships in the region," Central Command said.

The strikes took place at approximately 1:30 a.m. Sanaa time.

Over the last 15 years, U.S. taxpayers have given an astonishing amount of money to UNRWA, a United Nations refugee agency for Palestinians that critics have long said promoted an anti-Israel agenda in the Middle East and recently came under scrutiny for its alleged ties to Hamas.

From 2009 to 2024, a little under $4 billion in taxpayer dollars was given to the humanitarian relief organization, according to a Fox News Digital review.

During former President Obama's tenure in the White House, from 2009 to 2016, the U.S. gave roughly $2.43 billion to UNRWA.

Following the Obama presidency, former President Trump took office and the U.S. continued delivering taxpayer funds to the agency before his administration slashed funding for UNWRA. Some $400 million was given to UNRWA through 2017 and 2018, but following the Trump administration's suspension of funds, nothing more was given during the latter half of his tenure.

BIDEN DELIVERED $121M IN TAXPAYER FUNDS TO HAMAS-TIED UNRWA SINCE OCTOBER, STATE DEPARTMENT SAYS

Upon taking office in January 2021, President Biden resumed giving funds to UNRWA. To date, the Biden administration has sent more than $1 billion in taxpayer funds to the agency.

Since October, the Biden administration has sent about $121 million in taxpayer funds to UNRWA. A remaining $300,000 in appropriated funds for this fiscal year was supposed to be delivered to the agency in the next few weeks. However, the U.S. froze those funds over allegations that some UNRWA members participated in the Oct. 7 Hamas terrorist attack on Israel, according to State Department spokesman Matthew Miller.

"That funding has been suspended," Miller told reporters at the State Department daily press briefing. He added that it was "impossible" to say how much more the U.S. could provide to UNRWA this fiscal year if the funds are unfrozen, because the government is operating under a continuing resolution.

Biden officials say the funds provide humanitarian aid to the Palestinian people, while critics say the group is "effectively a branch of Hamas."

One such critic, Richard Goldberg, a senior advisor at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies, testified before the House Foreign Affairs Committee on Tuesday and claimed UNRWA is a "horror show" that has been "co-produced by the United States taxpayer."

Speaking to Fox News Digital, Goldberg said, "UNRWA, like other U.N. agencies, does not recognize Hamas, Islamic Jihad, Hezbollah … as terrorist organizations."

"For UNRWA, these are political labels. And so, they have a principle to not discriminate in their hiring, in their aid distribution based on political affiliation, which sounds correct, you know, this principle of neutrality that they claim. But actually, what it means is that they have no problem providing aid and hiring people who are members or affiliates of U.S. designated terrorist organizations," he added.

US TAXPAYER-FUNDED UN AGENCY'S LONG HISTORY OF ENABLING HAMAS EXPOSED

Despite its described efforts to distribute funds fairly, Goldberg said the agency has "knowingly and willfully" funded Hamas members and their families.

He claimed they "put Hamas members on their payroll, distribute aid that will benefit Hamas members and their families," he said. "And we in the United States know they're doing this, have known this for decades."

"When you approach UNRWA and say, you know, you need to comply with U.S. laws that prohibit aid to terrorist organizations, they say we take all sort of measures to prevent aid going from any party that's on the U.N. sanctions list. Well, Hamas and Hezbollah and Islamic Jihad, they are not on a U.N. sanctions list. So they're guaranteeing that any dollar you give them will end up in the hands of terrorists and terrorist organizations."

"On every level," Goldberg said, the structure of the agency "is designed to guarantee collaboration, subsidy support, hiring, distribution of aid, all to/with terrorist organizations."

UNRWA's ties to Hamas have come into focus in recent weeks after Israel provided the Biden administration with a new dossier containing information about how some 13 agency staffers allegedly assisted or supported the Hamas terror attacks on Oct. 7.

In addition to the U.S. putting a pause on "additional" funding to UNRWA in response to the dossier, other countries have followed suit. Germany, Italy, Australia, Finland, Netherlands and Switzerland have also joined the boycott following the accusations, which have already resulted in the termination of multiple staffers.

Miller said the next expected payment to UNRWA would happen over the summer and that the amount would depend on how much money Congress approves for the agency in Biden's $106 billion supplemental package request.

In a Jan. 25 letter to Texas GOP Rep. Michael McCaul, who serves as chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, William Deere, the director of UNRWA's office in Washington D.C., wrote that UNRWA has a "zero-tolerance policy with regard to staff neutrality violations and takes all credible allegations seriously."

Deere also noted that an investigation was underway by UNRWA into what he said were the claims of "unchecked pro-Hamas activity within the organization, including potential employee neutrality violations."

Despite the terrorism allegations, the Biden administration has defended UNRWA, insisting that the entire agency should not be judged by the purported actions of 13 people.

"We very much support the work that UNRWA does, we think it's critical," Miller said. "There is no other humanitarian player in Gaza who can provide food, medicine at the scale that UNRWA does. 

"We want to see that work continued, which is why it is so important that the United Nations take this matter seriously, that they investigate it, that there is accountability for anyone who is found to engage in wrongdoing, and that they take whatever other measures are appropriate to ensure that this sort of thing cannot happen again," he added.

The State Department and UNRWA did not respond to Fox News Digital questions.

Fox News' Chris Pandolfo, Peter Aitken and Anders Hagstrom contributed to this report.

MEXICO CITY (AP) — A federal court granted a temporary injunction against bullfighting in Mexico City on Wednesday, as activists and supporters of the practice once again locked horns in court.

Bullfighting had only just returned Sunday to the capital's Plaza Mexico, which held the city's first legal bullfight in almost two years.

MEXICO CITY PREPARES TO RESUME BULLFIGHTING AFTER HIGHEST COURT OVERTURNS BAN

The ruling will apparently force the postponement of fights scheduled for Feb. 4-6; organizers have not yet announced what they will do.

In May 2022, a local court ordered an end to bullfighting, ruling that the practice violated city resident’s rights to a healthy environment free from violence.

That case had been appealed to the Supreme Court, which struck down the ban on largely technical grounds but left the underlying questions unresolved.

But the joy of bullfighting enthusiasts only lasted a few days. Animal rights supporters quickly filed another legal challenge that resulted in Wednesday's ruling, which suspends fights until Feb. 7.

At that point, another hearing will be held to consider activists' complaints that the practice subjected the animals to cruelty and violated humans' rights to be free of degrading spectacles of cruelty and environmental insensitivity.

Animal rights groups have been gaining ground in Mexico in recent years while bullfighting followers have suffered several setbacks. In some states such as Sinaloa, Guerrero, Coahuila, Quintana Roo and the western city of Guadalajara, judicial measures now limit the activity.

Ranchers, businessmen and fans maintain that the ban on bullfights infringes on their rights and puts at risk several thousand jobs linked to the activity, which they say generates about $400 million a year in Mexico.

The National Association of Fighting Bull Breeders in Mexico estimates that bullfighting is responsible for 80,000 direct jobs and 146,000 indirect jobs.

The association has hosted events and workshops in recent years to promote bullfights and find new, younger fans.

TUNIS, Tunisia (AP) — Cash-strapped Tunisia wants to take the unprecedented step of borrowing billions from its central bank to address budget deficits and bandage its economic crisis, a step that experts warn could bring inflation and lessen faith in institutions.

In an emergency meeting behind closed doors, parliament's finance committee on Wednesday considered a request from President Kais Saied's government to borrow the funds after it previously overhauled laws designed to guarantee the bank's autonomy.

MIGRANTS TRAPPED ON TUNISIA-LIBYA BORDER TRANSFERRED BACK TO TUNISIA AFTER FACING DANGEROUS CONDITIONS

Those laws added the central bank to a growing list of institutions that critics say Saied has sought to undermine since taking power in the North African nation, along with briefly suspending parliament and rewriting Tunisia's constitution.

His government wants the central bank to directly buy up to 7 billion Tunisian dinars ($2.25 billion) in interest-free bonds to help plug a 10 billion dinar ($3.2 billion) budget deficit.

But in Tunisia — where inflation and shortages of basic goods have become routine — the request is raising concerns about maintaining the bank's independence from politics, causing inflation and further spooking foreign lenders and investors.

It comes as Tunisia finds itself unable to borrow from traditional creditors, including the International Monetary Fund, whose proposed $1.9 billion bailout package remains in limbo.

Though the IMF has said purchasing securities like bonds may serve a monetary policy purpose at times, it has warned countries that central banks should not finance government expenditures.

"Amending the status of the Central Bank of Tunisia just to allow it to finance the government's budget and nothing else ... is a misguided approach that brings with it numerous risks — notably inflationary — for the country's economy and relationship with its partners," said economist Aram Belhadj, a professor at the Faculty of Economics and Management of Tunis.

Borrowing from the central bank may fund the budget in the short term, retaining subsidies for everyday goods like flour, electricity and fuel. But with shortages of key goods and bread lines in recent memory for Tunisians, the decision could further destabilize trust in the currency and its value, said Raouf Ben Hedi, an analyst at Tunisia's Business News.

Because of Tunisia’s debt and its likelihood of defaulting, Fitch upheld Tunisia's CCC- credit rating in December. The ratings firm at the time warned that a borrowing scheme allowing the central bank to directly finance government "would endanger the credibility of the central bank and raise pressure on prices and the exchange rate."

The government's unprecedented request comes as other sources of financing are scarce.

As Tunisia's presidential election approaches later this year, negotiations over the IMF's bailout package remain at an impasse due to Saied's reluctance to curb subsidies or reduce public sector wages. He has criticized the institution's recommended reforms as "foreign diktats" and fired his finance minister, a key proponent of the proposed reforms.

"Political pressures can lead to expansionary monetary policies during election periods, which is the case for Tunisia," Ben Hedi said, warning that such policies could lead to recessions.

King Frederik X of Denmark began his first trip abroad as monarch Wednesday with a three-day visit to Poland that is focused on promoting his country's businesses and climate policies.

Frederik, who was proclaimed king on Jan. 14, received a red-carpet welcome at the presidential palace in Warsaw, where he was greeted by Polish President Andrzej Duda and an honor guard.

Danish monarchs traditionally have traveled to another Scandinavian country first, but Frederik's visit to Poland was planned before his mother, Queen Margrethe II, announced her surprise abdication in a New Year's Eve address.

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

The king's trip therefore was not being treated as a state visit. He arrived without his Australian-born wife, Queen Mary, but at the head of a delegation of government and business officials.

Later Wednesday, Frederik laid a wreath at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier, a memorial for soldiers who died defending Poland and he met with the speaker of the Sejm, the lower house of parliament. He is to attend an evening dinner at the Royal Palace in Warsaw alongside Duda.

Denmark’s foreign minister, defense minister and minister for climate, energy and utilities are accompanying the king, and Danish business representatives were expected to attend the dinner.

On Thursday, Frederik plans to watch a signing agreement for a project designed to collect and reuse excess heat from the Warsaw metro by sending it into the city's district heating system. His agenda on Friday includes visiting NATO’s regional headquarters in Szczecin, a city in northwest Poland.

In his arrival speech, the king said Polish-Danish ties would be strengthened by renewable energy partnerships in the coming years.

"Renewable energy, sustainable production and new technologies are at the core of our shared vision for the future, a safe and thriving world for future generations," he said.

Denmark prides itself on its commitment to renewable energy. The small Scandinavian country claims that more than 50% of its electricity is supplied by wind and solar power. However, the most widely used renewable energy source in Denmark is bioenergy.

The U.S. early Thursday carried out a "self-defense" strike, targeting and destroying multiple projectiles that Houthi militants in Yemen were preparing to launch at commercial ships, a U.S. official tells Fox News. 

The strike marks the 12th time the U.S. has conducted strikes against the Houthis in Yemen since January 11th, and the second in under 24 hours. 

The U.K. was not involved in this strike, and it was carried out unilaterally by the U.S. 

Thursday morning's strike is not related to Sunday's drone attack that killed three U.S. soldiers and injured more than 40 others at a base in Jordan. 

WHITE HOUSE PROMISES RETALIATION AGAINST IRAN PROXY GROUP: ‘THE FIRST THING YOU SEE WON’T BE THE LAST'

The latest strike came after the U.S. struck a Houthi anti-aircraft surface-to-air missile that was preparing to launch from a Houthi-controlled area of Yemen. 

A U.S. official said the surface-to-air missile was on the ground and "posed an imminent threat" to U.S. aircraft patrolling the area. 

Houthi militants, based in Yemen, have for weeks been firing upon commercial ships in the Red Sea. The soldiers say the strikes have been a show of support for Palestinians killed in the ongoing Israel-Hamas war in Gaza. 

The attacks have caused ships to avoid the Red Sea and reroute, adding tremendous costs and delays. Since early December, ship volumes have plummeted in the area with nearly 40% fewer vessels passing through the canal, leading to a 45% decline in freight tonnage. 

None of the strikes have resulted in any civilian deaths though two U.S. Navy SEALs, recently went missing during a mission in the Red Sea and have since been declared dead. 

This is a developing story. Check back for updates. 

The United States imposed sanctions Wednesday on three Sudanese firms it accused of being directly connected to the warring forces in Sudan, as the devastating conflict in the northeast African country continues to rage.

The army, headed by Gen. Abdel-Fattah Burhan, and the Rapid Support Forces, or RSF, a powerful paramilitary group commanded by Gen. Mohammed 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 SUSPENDS TIES WITH EAST AFRICAN BLOC OVER PARAMILITARY LEADER'S SUMMIT INVITATION

The sanctions imposed by the U.S. Treasury Department block all property and entities in the U.S. belonging to Alkhaleej Bank Co Ltd; Zadna International Co for Development Ltd; and Al-Fakher Advanced Works Co. Ltd.

In a news release, the department said both Alkhaleej and Al-Fakher had direct ties to the RSF, with Al-Fakher being a key component of the paramilitary's lucrative gold export business. Zadna is run by the army and helps provide revenue for a military-run weapons company that already has been sanctioned by the U.S., the Treasury Department said.

Wednesday's sanctions are the latest Washington has imposed on Sudan’s leaders and companies, in a bid to pressure the two sides to end the conflict. High profile individuals targeted include former Foreign Minister Ali Karti and a brother of Dagalo.

The United Nations says at least 12,000 people have been killed in the conflict, although local doctors groups say the true toll is far higher. Over 10.7 million people have been displaced by the conflict, according to the U.N. migration agency.

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

Regional partners in Africa have been trying to mediate an end the conflict ,along with Saudi Arabia and the U.S., which facilitated rounded of unsuccessful, indirect talks between the warring parties. Burhan and Dagalo are yet to meet in person since the conflict began.

LIMA, Peru (AP) — The intelligence chief of former Peruvian President Alberto Fujimori was sentenced Wednesday to 19 years and eight months in prison in connection with the 1992 massacre of six suspected rebels in central Peru.

Vladimiro Montesinos, already in prison due to previous convictions, earlier this week pleaded guilty to charges of homicide, murder and forced disappearance for ordering the slayings of the six farmers in the town of Pativilca. The six were accused of being members of a rebel group, taken from their homes by soldiers and executed.

PERU REOPENS MACHU PICCHU AFTER A MONTH OF ANTIGOVERNMENT PROTESTS

A former military officer and a lawyer for drug traffickers in the 1980s, Montesinos became intelligence chief after Fujimori was elected president in 1990. Fujimori, who also faces charges in the case, has not pleaded guilty and a trial is expected on his role.

The former president, now 85, was released from prison in December, after Peru’s constitutional court ruled that a presidential pardon that had been awarded to Fujimori in 2017 should be upheld. Fujimori had been serving a 25-year sentence in connection with the slayings of 25 Peruvians by death squads in the 1990s.

Montesinos has been in prison since 2001, charged with numerous counts of corruption schemes and human rights violations. He remains in a prison by the Pacific ocean that he himself helped design at the time he enjoyed power during the Fujimori government from 1990 to 2000.

His actions led to the collapse of Fujimori’s presidency, after clandestine tapes emerged that showed him paying bribes to congressmen, businessmen and media moguls, in an effort to buy support for Fujimori’s government.

KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — Rifts within Ukraine’s top leadership have burst into the open following swirling rumors that the country's top military chief will be dismissed amid reported tensions with President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.

The rumors that Valerii Zaluzhnyi would be sacked were denied by Zelenskyy’s office and the Defense Ministry this week and the immensely popular top commander still retains his post. But the reports have fueled expectations of his imminent resignation, which could be a boon for Russia as the war approaches its second anniversary.

YELLEN TO URGE CONGRESS TO 'ACT QUICKLY' ON UKRAINE AID, WARNING OF 'UNTHINKABLE CONSEQUENCES' TO SECURITY

His departure would be the most severe shakeup of Ukraine's top military brass since the Russian invasion as the country grapples with dire ammunition and personnel shortages following a failed summer counteroffensive. It also could hurt the morale of Ukrainian troops, who have been fighting grinding battles for nearly two years.

Much needed military aid to fuel the next phase of the fight is blocked in the U.S. Congress, and Ukrainian forces are digging in to defend positions against advancing Russian troops.

"Zelensky has the right to remove Zaluzhnyi. But he needs to have a very good justification for that, a very good explanation which is understandable to Ukrainians," said Oleksii Haran, research director at the Democratic Initiatives Foundation in Kyiv.

"We know that if Zaluzhnyi is dismissed right now, it will be used by Russian propaganda, it will be used by forces, including those inside the United States, which are delaying supplies of arms to Ukraine. So this won’t be a good thing," Haran said.

Zaluzhnyi enjoys widespread popularity across the country and the military, but he has had been at odds with Zelenskyy since saying in an interview with The Economist last year that the fighting with Russia had stalemated. The president denied that was the case.

Reports about Zaluzhnyi's possible dismissal appeared in Ukrainian media Monday. Ukraine's Mirror of the Week said, citing unidentified sources close to Zelenskyy and Zaluzhnyi, that the president had asked the general to step down. Zaluzhnyi was offered a post as an adviser, but he rejected that, according to the reports.

The Associated Press could not confirm the reports. Requests for comment by Ukrainian officials, the president's office and Zaluzhnyi's office were not answered.

Russian state media delighted Wednesday at Western reports on the rumors, covering the story several times during the flagship discussion program "60 Minutes" on the Russia 1 television channel as well as during news bulletins on the news channel Russia 24.

Putin’s spokesman, Dmitry Peskov, told reporters that the Kremlin is "of course" following the news about Zaluzhnyi.

"There are still many questions," Peskov said, according to Tass, adding: "One thing remains obvious: The Kyiv regime has many problems, everything is wrong there. This is clear."

"It’s obvious that the failed counter-offensive and the problems at the front have led to growing conflict ... both in the military and civilian elite" in Kyiv, Peskov said. He predicted that "these conflicts will grow" as Russia’s military operation "continues successfully."

A Kosovar court on Wednesday sentenced a former infrastructure minister to more than 3 1/2 years in prison for abusing his position by overspending public funds on a road project. Three of his top aides were also ordered to serve time.

The Priština district court sentenced former minister Pal Lekaj, 61, to three years and eight months after convicting him of abuse of power. He spent 53 million Euros ($57 million) to build the Arben Xhaferi highway in 2017 — an amount the court decided was too high. Lekaj was also prohibited from holding any public post for 3 1/2 years.

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The three aides were sentenced to terms ranging from one year and eight months to three years and three months.

Lekaj said he would appeal. His lawyer Musa Damati called the verdict "scandalous," saying the contract extension at the heart of the allegations against his client was not an individual but a collective decision.

Lekaj was infrastructure minister from 2017-2020 and has been an opposition lawmaker from the Alliance for the Future of Kosovo party since then.

Kosovo’s government has made fighting corruption a priority but it still remains a shortcoming in the country, 25 years after the 1998-1999 war when NATO member countries pushed back Serbian forces in a 78-day bombing campaign. Serbia still does not recognize Kosovo’s 2008 independence.

Kosovo was ranked 83 in the Transparency International’s Corruption Perceptions Index for 2023, the same as the previous year.

Burma's leading resistance group and allied ethnic armed groups battling the military government on Wednesday released a political road map to ending military rule and enabling a peaceful transition of power, saying they were open to peace talks with the army if it accepted their terms.

The joint statement was released a day ahead of the third anniversary of the army’s seizure of power from the elected government of Aung San Suu Kyi, and the same day the government extended a state of emergency for another six months. The emergency decree empowers the military to assume all government functions.

The joint statement, posted on social media, was the clearest yet on the resistance movement's goals if it prevails in the civil war.

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The military government had no immediate reaction.

Burma's political crisis was unleashed when the military took power and used deadly force to suppress widespread peaceful protests, triggering armed resistance throughout the country that the army has been unable to quell.

The new statement is from the National Unity Government, or NUG, established by elected lawmakers who were barred from taking their seats. It claims to be Burma's legitimate government. The other signers are the Chin National Front, the Karenni National Progressive Party and the Karen National Union, all in active combat against the military government.

The joint statement's objectives include terminating the military's involvement in politics, placing all armed forces under the command of an elected civilian government, promulgating a new constitution embodying federalism and democratic values, establishing a new federal democratic union and instituting a system of transitional justice.

Forming a federal union has long been a goal of ethnic minority groups that would like to have more self-rule in areas where they are dominant.

The statement calls for dialogue with the military’s leadership, but only after it shows its unconditional acceptance of its plan for the termination of military rule and peaceful transition of power.

The military government regularly describes the NUG as a terrorist organization, declaring it and other resistance groups illegal, making contacts with them illegal and discouraging even third parties seeking to promote peace from meeting with such groups.

The document is meant more as reassurance for third parties about the resistance's intentions than an offer to open talks, Tin Tun Naing, the NUG’s minister for the planning, finance and investment, told The Associated Press.

A recent offensive by a separate group of ethnic armed organizations calling themselves the Three Brotherhood Alliance seized control of strategic parts of northeastern Burma, exposing army weakness and sparking resistance attacks in other parts of the country.

Even before its recent battlefield defeats, the military government has acknowledged instability hindering its control over large swaths of territory.

Four Mexican tourists died after a boat carrying 19 people capsized late Monday near Cancún. 

The captain of the "Diosa del Mar" was also detained. Authorities did not specify what type of craft the boat was. 

The vessel was carrying 17 passengers and two crew members while traveling to Cancún from Isla Mujeres, when it "wrecked in the bay between Isla Mujeres and Cancún, when returning to its place of origin," the Isla Mujeres City Council said in a press release. 

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"We express our solidarity with the families of the victims and with the people who were rescued," the council said. 

Most of the passengers were rescued by the Mexican navy, local police and civil defense agencies. Some were taken to hospitals. 

All were Mexican citizens. Authorities were looking into whether the boat was overcrowded. The passengers had reportedly gone to a restaurant on the island and were returning to mainland Mexico when the incident occurred. 

"We are analyzing the weather conditions and the boat’s capacity, whether it had the capacity to carry those 19 people," said Raciel López, the state attorney general.

The Cancún region has experienced similar boating accidents in the past, given its popularity with tourists. 

In 2022, two American divers were killed when a dive boat drove over them. In 2018, two dozen tourists were injured when a crude bomb exploded aboard a passenger ferry at Playa del Carmen, a resort area further down the coast. 

The Associated Press contributed to this report. 

MEXICO CITY (AP) — Mexico’s president on Wednesday condemned media reports that the U.S. government launched an abortive investigation into claims that drug traffickers may have contributed money to his failed 2006 campaign.

President Andrés Manuel López Obrador immediately interpreted the reports as a U.S. attack on his government and his Morena party before Mexico’s June 2 presidential election.

MEXICO'S PRESIDENT CONDEMNS REPORTS OF AN OLD US INVESTIGATION INTO ALLEGED DRUG CAMPAIGN DONATIONS

The controversy threatened to revive bilateral tensions just as both countries head into presidential elections, and could damage U.S.-Mexico cooperation on fighting drug trafficking, in much the same way as the 2020 U.S. arrest of a former Mexican defense secretary, Gen. Salvador Cienfuegos.

The stories described testimony by traffickers that they passed about $2 million to confidants of López Obrador in 2006, when he narrowly lost the race for president.

No concrete proof was found and the 2010 investigation was later dropped, but López Obrador suggested that U.S. agencies were behind the new round of reports about the old allegations.

"It is completely false, it's slander," López Obrador said Wednesday at his daily media briefing. "I am not complaining about the journalists ... I'm complaining about the U.S. government, for allowing these immoral practices that violate political ethics."

"It's not the journalist, it's higher up," the president said, without specifying what U.S. agency he was accusing of being behind the stories.

López Obrador has long complained about the actions of U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration agents in Mexico, and following the arrest of Cienfuegos, he imposed restrictions on U.S. agents in Mexico.

Mike Vigil, former head of international operations for the DEA, feared that the latest dispute could mark a similar decline in cooperation.

"It's just terrible, it's going to mean more drugs heading to the United States and more violence in Mexico," Vigil said. "It's worse than when Cienfuegos was arrested."

"This is a direct attack against him. Secondly, he views it as an impact on the presidential campaign or in the presidential elections that are coming up," Vigil said. "Now, if we thought the relationships with Mexico were bad, they are going to go from worse to almost nonexistent."

Claudia Sheinbaum, the candidate for López Obrador's Morena party, holds a commanding lead in opinion polls for the June 2 election. But Mexico's continued high rates of violence — and Sheinbaum's pledge to continue López Obrador's policy of not confronting drug cartels — are one of the governing party's most vulnerable flanks.

According to reports by ProPublica, Insight Crime and Germany's Deutsche Welle, the DEA was investigating claims by a cooperating drug trafficker and a former campaign adviser that leaders of the Beltran Leyva drug cartel gave the money to close confidants of López Obrador in 2006.

But a wiretap of a conversation between the DEA informants and one of López Obrador's top aides didn't confirm the donations, and U.S. officials later ordered the politically sensitive case closed.

López Obrador is notoriously touchy about anything that tarnishes his own moral authority or reputation, upon which his entire party rests.

But the fact that the three stories were published almost simultaneously on Tuesday made López Obrador and his supporters suspect that some powerful entity was behind the wave of bad press.

Guadalupe Correa-Cabrera, an associate professor at George Mason University, said that the timing made some in Mexico think the story had been leaked to reporters by some U.S. official.

"It is kind of the reaction to the publication of three stories about the same issue that were published at the same time. And that’s also something that has been questioned," she said.

López Obrador is no stranger to being quizzed about how he financed his unprecedented three presidential campaigns in 2006, 2012 and 2018, when he finally won the presidency. Campaign operators linked to López Obrador have been caught on video several times receiving large sums of cash, but with no proof he knew about it.

But many other politicians in Mexico have been involved in campaign finance scandals, Correa-Cabrera notes.

"That's also an open question about several politicians and presidential campaigns, not only Andrés Manuel López Obrador, but people in power over all," she said.

Beyond concerns the stories could affect Mexico's elections, Correa-Cabrera notes the real impact could be on the U.S. election in 2024.

"I think it also has to do with the attacks that Republicans have publicly expressed and of course the proposals of declaring a war on cartels," she said. "This adds to the idea that could be utilized easily by Republican politicians ... ‘Mexico is a narco state, we need to do something about it, we need to send our troops there.’"

López Obrador was already angry at perceived American interference. He claimed that the U.S. arrest of Cienfuegos, the former defense secretary, was part of a DEA plot to weaken Mexico’s armed forces and allow U.S. agents free reign in Mexico.

Cienfuegos was arrested at a Los Angeles airport in 2020, accused of participating in an international drug trafficking and money laundering network.

Mexico demanded Cienfuegos’ release, reportedly threatening to expel U.S. agents unless he was returned. The United States dropped the charges and returned him. Mexico quickly absolved Cienfuegos of any wrongdoing, and later held up visas for U.S. agents and restricted the work they could do in Mexico.

A U.S. official tells Fox News the U.S. struck a Houthi anti-aircraft surface-to-air missile that was preparing to launch from a Houthi-controlled area of Yemen Wednesday afternoon Yemen time. 

This is the first time the U.S. has struck an anti-aircraft missile in Yemen and the 11th time the U.S. has carried out a strike against a Houthi target since Jan. 11.

The surface-to-air missile was on the ground and "posed an imminent threat" to U.S. aircraft patrolling the area, the U.S. official said. It was successfully destroyed. 

YEMEN’S HOUTHIS FIRE MISSILE TOWARD USS CARNEY, CENTCOM SAYS

It was not immediately clear how the anti-aircraft surface-to-air missile was struck.

The strike comes after the Iran-backed Houthis, which the U.S. recently relisted as a terrorist group, fired a ballistic missile toward the USS Carney in the Gulf of Aden on Friday. 

The projectile was "successfully shot down" by the American destroyer and there were no reports of injuries, according to CENTCOM. 

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The Houthis have been attacking ships in the Red Sea for weeks as a show of support for Palestinians in the Israel-Hamas war. 

The attacks have seen ship volumes plummet in the area with 39% fewer vessels passing through the canal than at the start of December, leading to a 45% decline in freight tonnage.

The strike also comes days after three U.S. service members were killed and at least 40 others were injured in a drone attack on an outpost in northeast Jordan near the Syrian border as tensions in the region escalate.

President Biden on Tuesday indicated he had decided on how to respond after three U.S. soldiers were killed in a drone attack. The U.S. attributed the drone attack to the Islamic Resistance in Iraq, an umbrella group of Iran-backed militias that includes the militant group Kataib Hezbollah.

Speaking to reporters at the White House before leaving for a campaign event in Florida on Tuesday, the president said yes when asked if he had decided on a response, but he did not offer any details.

Kosovo authorities on Wednesday said they would impose the use of the country’s currency, the euro, and abolish the use of neighboring Serbia’s dinar in the north where most of the ethnic Serb minority lives.

Kosovo’s Central Bank Governor Ahmet Ismaili said starting Thursday, new rules on local transactions in euros would be applied in the northern municipalities, and all financial institutions there should register in the next month. Four banks and 15 financial institutions use Serbia’s dinar.

The governor said the new rules were not targeting Serbia’s dinar.

KOSOVO RESIDENTS GATHER TO REMEMBER 45 PEOPLE KILLED BY SERB FORCES IN 1999 MASSACRE

But the decision has sparked concern among Western powers fearing more tension in Kosovo’s relations with Serbia. They have urged Pristina to postpone the move.

"The euro as the only means of payment and purchase, clearly defined in the Republic of Kosovo, is not a negotiable issue," Prime Minister Albin Kurti said.

There has been no reaction from Belgrade.

The decision has worried residents like Blagica Radovanovic, a retired professor in Northern Mitrovica.

"What are we going to do with people who are receiving social benefits, to whom postmen bring (money) directly to their doors?" Radovanovic asked. "This will cause a great humanitarian catastrophe."

"We shall try that the new rules do not have a negative impact or penalize the citizens," Deputy Prime Minister Besnik Bislimi said, pledging a public awareness campaign to follow.

The European Union and the United States are pressing both countries to implement agreements that Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic and Kurti reached in February and March.

The EU-facilitated normalization talks have failed to make progress, especially following a shootout last September between masked Serb gunmen and Kosovo police that left four people dead and ratcheted up tensions.

Both Serbia and Kosovo have said they want to join the EU, but EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell has said their refusal to compromise is jeopardizing their chances for membership.

Serbian forces fought a 1998-99 war with ethnic Albanian separatists in what was then the province of Kosovo. About 13,000 people, mostly ethnic Albanians, died. Kosovo eventually declared independence in 2008, but the government in Belgrade does not recognize its neighbor as a separate country.