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Norway braces for most powerful storm since 1990s
Norway's central Atlantic coast battened down Wednesday as authorities warned that the country could see its most powerful storm in three decades and urged people to stay indoors.
Hurricane-force winds were expected to hit the region, as air traffic companies and ferry lines predicted disruptions. Police warned that gusts of 78 to 112 miles per hour were expected.
By midday Wednesday, there were scattered reports of ferry lines linking Norwegian islands suspending their services, and the closing of schools, roads, tunnels and bridges across the mountainous country.
EXTREME COLD HAMPERS NORTH DAKOTA OIL PRODUCTION; 60 SPILLS REPORTED IN PAST WEEK
Named "Ingunn" by Norwegian meteorologists, the storm was expected to land in central Norway around midday Wednesday before moving north Thursday.
The storm is expected to hit the same area as the 1992 New Year’s hurricane, one of the strongest storms in Norway's history, the newspaper VG wrote.
Authorities issued a red warning, the highest level, for the area around the city of Trondheim, where strong winds were expected Wednesday. Another red warning also was issued for the Lofoten islands, up north along the coast in the Arctic.
"Red hazard warnings are rare and must be taken with the utmost seriousness," said Nils Karbø of the Norwegian Public Roads Administration.
"It is important to secure loose objects and assess whether work taking place outdoors can be changed or postponed," said Gunn Robstad Andersen of the Norwegian Labour Inspection Authority. She added that employers should encourage people to work from home and avoid unnecessary travel."
Norwegian Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Støre planned to return to Oslo Wednesday, the Norwegian news agency NTB wrote.
No flights were canceled as of Wednesday morning, but spokeswoman Catharina Solli of the domestic airline Wideroe said that they "take it airport by airport as we go along," NTB wrote.
Police asked people to avoid going outside if possible, and to watch for flying objects when doing so.
4 Chinese nationals charged for allegedly smuggling electronic components from US to Iran
Four Chinese nationals have been charged after unlawfully exporting and smuggling "U.S. export controlled items through China and Hong Kong ultimately for the benefit of entities affiliated with the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) and Ministry of Defense and Armed Forces Logistics (MODAFL)," according to a U.S. Attorneys Office press release.
Baoxia Liu, also known as Emily Liu, 42; Yiu Wa Yung, also known as Stephen Yung, 63; Yongxin Li, also known as Emma Lee, 36; and Yanlai Zhong, also known as Sydney Chung, 40, have been charged with various federal crimes related to an alleged yearslong conspiracy to unlawfully export and smuggle U.S.-origin electronic components from the United States to Iran.
The indictment, announced Wednesday, says the alleged crimes took place between May 2007 until July 2020. The suspects are accused of using an array of "front companies" in the People's Republic of China to "funnel dual-use U.S.-origin items, including electronics and components that could be utilized in the production of UAVs, ballistic missile systems, and other military end uses, to sanctioned Iranian entities with ties to the IRGC and MODAFL such as Shiraz Electronics Industries (SEI), Rayan Roshd Afzar, and their affiliates.," the press release said.
The defendants allegedly concealed the fact that the goods were destined for the Middle East and misrepresented the end destination and users to U.S. companies.
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"Our indictment alleges a years-long, complex conspiracy to violate U.S. laws by procuring U.S. technology with military uses for entities in Iran who would do us harm – a serious offense that endangers our national security," U.S. Attorney Matthew M. Graves said in the release.
The authorities quoted in the release say the conspiracy was a threat to the United States' economic and national security.
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The four Chinese nationals are charged with "conspiring to violate the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA), violating IEEPA, smuggling goods from the United States, and one count of submitting false or misleading export information."
Should they be convicted, they face a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison for violating the IEEPA; up to 10 years in prison for smuggling goods from the United States; and up to five years in prison for each count of conspiracy and submitting false or misleading export information.
Arrest warrants have been issued for Liu, Yung, Li and Zhong, who authorities say are all in hiding.
Fox News' Jake Gibson contributed to this report.
Former head of Germany's domestic spy agency faces scrutiny for alleged extremism
Germany's domestic intelligence agency has put its former head, who has become a hard-right politician since being removed from the job several years ago, under scrutiny.
Hans-Georg Maassen posted a letter from the BfV agency to his lawyer on his website Wednesday after public broadcaster ARD and media outlet t-online reported that the authority he led from 2012 to 2018 now has him in its files on right-wing extremism.
The letter, dated Jan. 16, listed information that the BfV has him in its files. The agency refused to comment on the report and the letter, saying that it doesn't comment on individuals because of their rights, German news agency dpa reported.
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Maassen was removed as the head of the BfV in 2018 after appearing to downplay far-right violence against migrants in the eastern city of Chemnitz. He became a vocal if marginal figure on the hard right of the conservative Christian Democratic Union, the party once led by former Chancellor Angela Merkel, and ran unsuccessfully for election to the national parliament in 2021.
CDU leaders last year launched an effort to expel Maassen, following a tweet in which he said that the direction of "the driving forces in the political and media sphere" was "eliminatory racism against whites and the burning desire for Germany to kick the bucket."
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In recent weeks, Maassen has set in motion plans to turn an arch-conservative group he leads, the WerteUnion, into a new political party. On Saturday, he tweeted a letter announcing that he was leaving the CDU, currently Germany's main opposition party, which he asserted is now "a variant of the socialist parties and not an alternative to them."
On Wednesday, Maassen wrote on X, formerly known as Twitter, that the government "is clearly afraid" of him and his prospective new party, and said the letter sent to his lawyer "contains no substantiated evidence that justifies observation."
Nobel Peace Prize nominations close with few public entries, including Israel peace activist
The doors close Wednesday on nominations for the 2024 Nobel Peace Prize, with peace activists connected to the wars in Gaza and Ukraine among the known entries.
The Norwegian Nobel Committee keeps the nominations secret, but those with nomination rights sometimes make their picks public.
Attempts to find an end the war in Gaza have been a theme for some of the announced nominations.
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Academics at the Free University Amsterdam said they have nominated the Middle East-based organizations EcoPeace, Women Wage Peace and Women of the Sun for peace efforts between Israelis and Palestinians.
"They are bringing communities together to build peace in the Middle East with a special focus on the role of women and climate justice," the university’s Peace and Conflict Studies department wrote.
Norwegian lawmaker Ingvild Wetrhus Thorsvik told newspaper VG that she had nominated Palestinian video journalist Motaz Azaiza for documenting conditions in Gaza.
The prestigious prize typically attracts more than 300 entries from academics connected with peace studies, lawmakers of national parliaments, former winners and others with nomination rights.
The International Peace Bureau organization, which won the prize in 1910, said it had nominated The Russian Movement of Conscientious Objectors and The Ukrainian Pacifist Movement for their commitment to the protection of conscientious objectors to violence, particularly after the Russian invasion of Ukraine in February 2022. The Belarusian organization Our House, was also nominated for the same reason.
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The Norwegian Nobel Committee whittles down the list of candidates in a series of meetings before announcing the winner in October. The wide base of individuals and organizations qualified to nominate condidates means the longlist can contain some eccentric choices: Both Joseph Stalin and Adolf Hitler have previously had their names put in the hat.
Imprisoned Iranian activist Narges Mohammadi won the 2023 Nobel Peace Prize for campaigning for women's rights and democracy in her country. Her teenage children accepted the award on her behalf.
The peace prize and the other Nobel Prizes are handed out on Dec. 10, the anniversary of prize founder Alfred Nobel’s death in 1896.
UN agencies call for increased funding to support Palestinian refugees
An array of U.N. organizations have united to warn of "catastrophic consequences for the people of Gaza " if key donor countries don't resume funding for the U.N. agency for Palestinian refugees, the main lifeline for people in the besieged territory.
The United States and more than a dozen other countries have announced plans to suspend contributions to the agency known as UNRWA after Israel alleged that 12 of its thousands of workers participated in the Oct. 7 attacks in Israel that sparked the war in Gaza.
U.N. officials fired most of the workers and vowed an investigation.
The heads of the World Health Organization, World Food Program, UNICEF, International Organization for Migration and other agencies and partners said the allegations were "horrifying."
"However, we must not prevent an entire organization from delivering on its mandate to serve people in desperate need," the joint statement said. "No other entity has the capacity to deliver the scale and breadth of assistance that 2.2 million people in Gaza urgently need."
U.N. officials have warned that UNRWA will have to halt operations by the end of February if funding is not restored.
U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres appealed to 35 donor nations in a closed-door meeting on Tuesday and sought new support as well.
The allegations against UNRWA staffers are among the most scathing yet to dent the image of the sprawling world body and its affiliates after scandals ranging from breakdowns in peacekeeping to sexual abuse in places like Congo.
Linda Thomas-Greenfield, U.S. ambassador to the United Nations in New York, acknowledged Tuesday that UNRWA plays "a critical role in providing life-saving assistance to Palestinians," but said "we need to see fundamental changes before we can resume providing funding directly" to the organization.
Earlier Tuesday, spokesman Jens Laerke with the U.N. humanitarian agency emphasized at a U.N. briefing in Geneva that UNRWA is "irreplaceable in the humanitarian operation."
Jan Egeland, former head of the U.N. humanitarian agency and secretary-general of the Norwegian Refugee Council, said it was "telling" that U.N. bodies and nongovernmental organizations agree that defunding UNRWA "means a collapse of humanitarian work among Palestinian women and children in their hour of greatest need — when they’re under this relentless, indiscriminate bombardment and when there is so little capacity for humanitarian relief."
In an interview, Egeland said "UNRWA did everything right" in response to Israel's allegations about the UNRWA employees' involvement in the "horrendous attack."
"They fired these people. On these mere allegations, they've initiated an independent investigation of everything surrounding that potential betrayal of all of our ideals by a small group of employees in the organization," he said.
Suspected explosive device found outside Israeli Embassy in Sweden
The Israeli Embassy in Stockholm was the target of an "attempted attack" on Wednesday, the Israeli ambassador to Sweden said, after a suspected explosive device was found outside the building.
The national bomb squad detonated and destroyed the device in a controlled manner after embassy staff notified authorities about the object, Reuters reported, citing Swedish police.
Ziv Nevo Kulman, Israel’s ambassador to Sweden, thanked Swedish authorities for their quick response in a post on X.
"Today we were subject to an attempted attack against the Embassy of Israel in Stockholm and its employees," Kulman wrote. "We thank the Swedish authorities for their swift response. We will not be intimidated by terror."
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Police did not immediately provide any details about the object or how it arrived outside the embassy.
IRAN VOWS TO ‘DECISIVELY RESPOND’ TO ANY US ATTACKS: ‘NO THREAT WILL BE LEFT UNANSWERED’
Swedish daily Aftonbladet reported, citing unnamed sources, that the object is believed to have been a hand grenade that was thrown over the fence of the embassy and landed near the building, according to Reuters.
The incident triggered a large response from law enforcement, who set up a perimeter of about 300 feet around the embassy building.
Iran's minority Zoroastrians celebrate Sadeh with bonfire festival
Lighting fires that brightened the night sky, followers of Iran’s minority Zoroastrian religion marked the Sadeh festival in several cities, celebrating the end of the coldest winter days.
Every year on Jan. 30, Zoroastrians gather after sunset to celebrate the 50 days and 50 nights remaining to Spring. Sadah, which means "the one hundred", is an ancient feast from when the religion was the dominant faith in the powerful Persian empire, which collapsed after the Arab invasion in the 7th century.
On the southwestern outskirts of Tehran Tuesday evening, several Zoroastrian priests and priestesses, dressed in white from head-to-toe to symbolize purity, led young followers to light a giant bonfire in a joyful ceremony.
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Around the fire, people listened to bands playing music, theological lectures as they milled about eating and celebrating.
In a rare move, the Islamic Republic's air force band played the national anthem among other tunes to the excitement of the attendees.
Iran’s 85-plus million population are mostly Shiite Muslims. The country has been ruled by hard-line clerics who preach a strict version of Islam since the 1979 Islamic revolution, who discouraged people from following pre-Islamic feasts and traditions.
Zoroastrianism is a monotheistic religion that predates Christianity and Islam. It was founded some 3,800 years ago by the prophet Zoroaster. It stresses good deeds, and fire plays a central role in worship as a symbol of truth and the spirit of God. Zoroastrians stress they are not fire-worshippers, but see fire as a symbol of righteousness.
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Alongside other minorities, including Christians and Jews, they have one representative in parliament, Esfandiar Ekhtiari.
During Tuesday's ceremony, Ekhtiari said the celebration belongs to everyone and is a symbol of "felicity, respect to humanity and nature as well as human beings ."
In 2023, UNESCO recognized Sadeh in its Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity from Iran and Tajikistan.
Though they have common elements such as lighting fire, the Sadeh festival is different from Nowruz which marks the Persian new year.
Persecuted Iranian women highlight life under regime: 'They enjoy killing'
Three Iranian women are spreading awareness at the International Religious Freedom (IRF) Summit on their shared prisoner-of-conscience experiences and empowering others to take action.
The IRF Summit is bringing together global victims and advocates by stressing the tragedies of religious persecution.
Countries of Particular Concern by the State Department have long listed Iran as having severe violations such as torture, prolonged detention without charges, forced disappearance, and/or other flagrant denial of life, liberty or security of persons.
Mitra Aliabouzar came to the United States in 2013 after being banned from studying, having been imprisoned for student activism. She says there needs to be action among nations to combat the Islamic regime in Iran.
She told Fox News Digital the "Islamic regime in Iran, it's homicidal. They enjoy killing, it’s in their DNA, but they are not suicidal. They want to stay in power, and they want to do that at any cost. So, if they have two options of releasing the political prisoners or staying in power, they would definitely choose that."
By the end of 2022, security forces killed more than 500 people, including at least 69 children, and arrested more than 19,000 protesters, including children, according to the nongovernmental organization Human Rights Activists News Agency.
During her studies in Iran, Aliabouzar protested the Iranian government’s repression of its own people. She was jailed and sentenced to three years imprisonment and finally released on bail after serving five months.
Ruhi Jahanpour, imprisoned in 1982-1983 for organizing Baha'i activities with her fellow youth, says she and others were steadfast in their faith even while prisoners of conscience.
The Baha’i community in Iran has long faced grave abuses. Over 1,000 Bahais' are currently at risk of imprisonment, according to the United Nations.
After the 1979 revolution, authorities in Iran executed or forcibly disappeared hundreds of Bahais, including their community leaders. Thousands more lost their jobs or were forced to leave their homes or their country.
"One of the questions that [the Iranian regime] have repeatedly, repeatedly asked us in prison was if you are Baha'i deny your faith… and they make every effort to make women deny their faith, including torturing them," shared Jahanpour.
Iran’s government considers the Baha’is part of a "deviant sect of Islam" because their faith recognizes divine revelation after the Prophet Mohammed, whom Islam considers the final revelation from God or "seal of the prophets." The government severely restricts Baha’is right to education, including prohibiting Baha’i students from registering at universities and expelling them if their identities are discovered.
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A common torture is "bastinado," which is a method of inflicting pain and humiliation by administering a beating on the soles of a person's bare feet.
Minoo Anvari, whose father was executed in for being a Baha'i in the early days of the revolution, was arrested herself in 1982 with 30 other Baha’is. She went through torture in the regime's attempt to have her recant her faith.
Anvari hopes to draw attention at the summit to the tactics of individual violations by the regime in an effort to sway attention away to the atrocities instead of larger-scale attacks.
She said that "at this moment even someone’s home could be attacked right now, and Baha'is arrested… if it wasn’t for the pressure locally, nationally and internationally,"
"Baha’is abide by the law, and we don’t fight back with the resistance. This is a peaceful faith that is a unity. Baha’is are being quiet and executed," Anvari told Fox News Digital.
Malaysia swears in new king who promises hands-on leadership and economic revival
The billionaire sultan who rules Malaysia’s Johor state was sworn in as the nation’s new king Wednesday under a unique rotating monarchy system.
Sultan Ibrahim Iskandar, 65, took his oath of office at the palace and signed the instrument of the proclamation of office in a ceremony witnessed by other royal families, Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim and Cabinet members. A coronation ceremony will be held later.
One of the richest men in the country, Sultan Ibrahim has an extensive business empire ranging from real estate to telecoms and power plants. The candid monarch has close ties with Anwar and his rule could bolster Anwar’s unity government, which faces a strong Islamic opposition.
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Nine ethnic Malay state rulers have taken turns as king for five-year terms under the world’s only such system since Malaysia gained independence from Britain in 1957. Malaysia has 13 states but only nine have royal families, some that trace their roots to centuries-old Malay kingdoms that were independent states until they were brought together by the British.
Sultan Ibrahim's election to the national throne by his fellow rulers in October was widely expected based on an established rotation order. Sultan Nazrin Shah, the ruler of Perak state and next in line to the throne, was reelected as deputy king.
Known as the Yang Di-Pertuan Agong, or He Who is Made Lord, the king plays a largely ceremonial role, as administrative power is vested in the prime minister and Parliament. The monarch is the nominal head of the government and armed forces, and is highly regarded as the protector of Islam and Malay tradition. All laws, Cabinet appointments and the dissolution of Parliament for general elections require his assent. The king has the power to proclaim an emergency and pardon criminals.
Sultan Ibrahim succeeded Sultan Abdullah Sultan Ahmad Shah of Pahang state, who presided over a tumultuous period that included COVID-19 lockdowns and political instability.
The political influence of the king has grown in recent years. Sultan Abdullah intervened in the past to decide who became prime minister, including naming Anwar as prime minister after 2022 general elections led to a hung parliament.
Sultan Ibrahim has indicated he will maintain a hands-on approach. He said in an interview with the Singapore Straits Times published last month that he would not want to waste five years on the throne as a "puppet king" but will focus on fighting graft and deepening unity in the country. The sultan and other rulers have also warned against attempts by the opposition to oust Anwar’s government, calling instead for political stability.
Sultan Ibrahim, whose mother is English, is also vocal about welfare issues and takes annual road trips on his motorbike to meet the people in his state.
He has also made no secret of his wealth. Earlier Wednesday, the sultan flew from Johor to Kuala Lumpur on his private jet, a gold -and-blue Boeing 737. Apart from a fleet of jets, he has an extensive collection of cars and motorcycles, as well as properties abroad. Sultan Ibrahim is also the only ruler with a private army — a condition agreed upon for the state to join modern-day Malaysia.
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Sultan Ibrahim's high corporate profile — including a stake in the multibillion-dollar Forest City development project in Johor with China’s beleaguered developer Country Garden — has raised eyebrows amid concerns of a possible conflict of interest. He told the Singapore Straits Times that he plans to revive a high-speed rail link project with Singapore and bolster the troubled Forest City project.
But the sultan has defended his business dealings. In 2015, he quipped that he has to "earn a living, like ordinary Malaysians" as he cannot rely on his $5,700 monthly state allowance.
His wife Raja Zarith Sofiah, who is from another royal family, is an Oxford graduate and a prolific writer who has authored several children’s books. They have five sons and a daughter.
European Union leaders rally for increased Ukraine military aid to fill ammunition gap
The leaders of five European Union countries urged their neighbors and allies Wednesday to ramp up military support for Ukraine, while the bloc’s defense ministers debated ways to help meet the war-ravaged country’s ammunition shortfall.
In their appeal, the leaders of the Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Germany and the Netherlands warned that Europe's security is tied to the fighting that started almost two years ago with Russia's invasion of its neighbor.
"Our ability to continue to support and sustain Ukraine’s defense, both during the winter and in the longer term, is decisive," they wrote in the Financial Times newspaper. "In fact, it is a matter of our common European security."
EUROPEAN UNION LEADERS FOCUS ON SECURING AGREEMENT WITH HUNGARY OVER WAR SUPPORT PACKAGE FOR UKRAINE
With neither Russian nor Ukrainian troops demonstrating an advantage in the drawn-out conflict, fears are growing that public support for Ukraine’s war effort is waning. EU and NATO leaders, who are among Ukraine’s main backers, have shifted from praising the country's battlefield gains to celebrating its ability to survive against a more powerful enemy.
The prospect of Donald Trump returning to the White House after the U.S. presidential election in November is also driving leaders and military officers to demand that Europe must do more to defend itself. During his last term, Trump undermined confidence among NATO allies that the U.S. would back them in a security crisis.
In the Financial Times, the five leaders said it was vital to speed up arms deliveries up given that the war was unlikely to end soon.
"Russia doesn’t wait for anybody, and we need to act now. If Ukraine loses, the long-term consequences and costs will be much higher for all of us," they wrote. "We Europeans have a special responsibility. Therefore, we must act. Europe’s future depends on it."
According to EU estimates, Ukraine was firing around 4,000 to 7,000 artillery shells each day last summer, while Russia was launching more than 20,000 shells a day in its neighbor’s territory. Russia’s arms industry far outweighs Ukraine’s, and Kyiv has relied on Western help to match Moscow’s firepower.
Yet the 27-nation EU's plans to produce 1 million artillery rounds for Ukraine have fallen short, with only about a third of the target met. Senior EU officials have said they now expect the European defense industry to be capable of producing around 1 million shells annually by the end of this year.
But the shells will not arrive quickly. NATO’s procurement agency said last week that delivery of ammunition orders can take anywhere from 24 to 36 months. Even the five leaders conceded that deliveries could take a year.
"What is urgent today is to provide the ammunition and weapon systems, including howitzers, tanks, UAVs and air defense, that Ukraine so urgently needs on the ground. Now," they wrote.
EU defense ministers meeting in Brussels on Wednesday discussed ways to further boost production.
While not targeted by the five leaders, France has been accused of failing to provide sufficient support given its size and military weight. Still, on Jan. 18, France announced more planned deliveries of its Caesar artillery system to Ukraine.
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French President Emmanuel Macron is due to travel to Ukraine in coming weeks.
Asked Tuesday about doubts over future U.S. support for Ukraine, Macron said, "I am convinced that the next few months are decisive." He stressed that he thinks Ukraine is mainly a European issue.
"Ukraine is on European soil. It is a European country. And if we want a peaceful and stable Europe, we need to be credible in terms of our own security and defense vis-à-vis all our neighbors," the French leader said during a trip to Sweden.
EU leaders are set to gather over dinner later Wednesday to discuss their support for Ukraine. They have a Thursday summit scheduled on overcoming Hungary’s veto of a long-term financial aid package worth $54 billion to help prop-up the Ukrainian economy.
Political infighting also is holding up additional U.S. support for Ukraine.
Russia, Ukraine exchange hundreds of POWs after deadly plane crash killed Ukrainian troops
Ukraine and Russia exchanged hundreds of prisoners of war in an exchange conducted just days after the crash of a Russian transport plane carrying dozens of captured Ukrainian troops.
The Wednesday exchange saw Russia turn over 207 Ukrainian troops, while Ukraine released 195 Russians, according to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. The exchange is the first to occur since last week's crash. Moscow accused Ukraine of shooting down last week's transport, which it says was headed to make another prisoner swap.
"Our people are back. 207 of them. We return them home no matter what. We remember each Ukrainian in captivity. Both warriors and civilians. We must bring all of them back. We are working on it. The Ukrainian team has done another excellent job. Budanov, Yermak, Usov, Maliuk, and Klymenko. Well done!" Zelenskyy wrote on X.
Russian President Vladimir Putin on Friday claimed that a Ukrainian missile shot down the military transport plane carrying 65 Ukrainian prisoners of war and nine Russians last week.
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"Knowing (the POWs were aboard), they attacked this plane. I don’t know whether they did it on purpose or by mistake, through thoughtlessness," Putin claimed.
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Ukraine has neither confirmed nor denied that its forces shot down a Russian military transport plane that day. Russia's claim that the crash killed Ukranian POWs could not be verified, according to the AP.
Ukrainian officials did confirm earlier this week that a prisoner exchange had been scheduled to happen Wednesday but said at the time that it had been called off. The officials added that Moscow had not requested for any airspace to be kept safe for a certain length of time, as it had for previous prisoner swaps.
Russia and Ukraine have agreed to numerous prisoner swaps over the past two years of conflict, but it was not clear until today's exchange that that pattern would continue following last week's disaster.
Fox News' Chris Pandolfo contributed to this report.
European Union leaders focus on securing agreement with Hungary over war support package for Ukraine
European Union leaders at a summit on Thursday will focus on the one member state blocking a $54 billion war support package for Ukraine: Hungary, the country in the bloc with the closest ties to Russia.
Almost two years after Russian President Vladimir Putin launched the invasion of Ukraine, the war has ground to a virtual stalemate and Ukraine desperately needs financial assistance.
"Securing agreement is vital for our credibility, and not least for our commitment to provide steadfast support to Ukraine," EU Council president Charles Michel said in his invitation letter to leaders of the 27-member bloc.
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The aid requires unanimous support. But Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban vetoed it at a previous summit in December and continues to oppose it.
"In December, we still had a little time. But from March onwards, Ukraine will start running into difficulties according to international financial institutions," a senior EU diplomat warned ahead of the meeting in Brussels. The official spoke on condition of anonymity in accordance with EU practices.
For most EU countries, helping Ukraine is crucial to protect the bloc from Russia's threats and maintain its credibility on the global stage.
"Ukraine is on European soil. It is a European country. And if we want a peaceful and stable Europe, we need to be credible in terms of our own security and defense vis-à-vis all our neighbors," French president Emmanuel Macron said.
Orban has repeatedly angered EU leaders since Russia's full-scale invasion in 2022. He criticized EU sanctions on Russia as being largely ineffective and counter-productive. He pushed for peace talks between Moscow and Kyiv, though he hasn’t detailed what that might mean for Ukraine’s territorial integrity.
At the previous EU summit, however, Orban did not prevent the EU from starting membership negotiations with Ukraine.
Concerned about democratic backsliding by Orban’s government, the EU has frozen Hungary’s access to tens of billions of euros in funds. Hungary, with its own economic concerns, has responded by vetoing some EU political decisions.
Instead of unlocking the new aid for Ukraine, Orban has proposed to split it into annual tranches and introduce a review mechanism. But that idea has not been well received because it would allow Orban to block the money later.
If the stalemate remains, it will not mean that Ukraine will suddenly be deprived of EU assistance. The EU diplomat said leaders will make sure it won't impact Ukraine in the short term.
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The 26 other countries could decide, on a voluntary basis, to decouple the aid from the EU budget. But it’s not their favorite option since it would require approval from several national parliaments, creating more uncertainty.
A more likely scenario would see EU leaders extending by one year the $19.5 billion in financial assistance they provided in 2023 to Ukraine from another program, and top it up with additional loans. That could be adopted with a qualified majority, meaning Hungary could not stop it.
In total, EU support to Ukraine since the war began amounts to some $92 billion, according to EU figures. That includes more than $43 billion to support Ukraine’s economy, around $29.2 billion in military assistance measures and over $18.4 billion to help EU member states support Ukrainians fleeing the war.
Thailand court orders halt on Move Forward party's advocacy for changing royal defamation law
Thailand’s Constitutional Court ruled Wednesday that the progressive Move Forward party must cease advocating amending the law on royal defamation — a decision that leaves the party vulnerable to being dissolved.
The court's nine judges deemed it unconstitutional to advocate a change in Article 112 in the country’s Criminal Code — also known as lese-majeste law — which protects the royal institution from criticism by imposing severe penalties on those found to violate it, including up to 15 years in jail per offense.
Critics say the law is often wielded as a tool to quash political dissent. Student-led pro-democracy protests beginning in 2020 openly criticized the monarchy, previously a taboo subject, leading to vigorous prosecutions under the law.
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Since those protests, more than 260 people have been charged with the offense, according to Thai Lawyers for Human Rights.
The Move Forward party came in first in the 2023 general election, campaigning heavily on making an effort to amend Article 112, along with other democratic reforms. The win suggested Thai voters were ready for change after nearly a decade of military-controlled government.
But the military-installed Senate effectively blocked the party from power when they refused to approve then-party leader Pita Limjaroenrat as prime minister. Senators said they opposed Pita because of his intention to seek reforms to the monarchy.
In July, Teerayut Suwankesorn, a lawyer associated with royalist politics, petitioned the court to block Pita and the Move Forward party from seeking to change the law. He argued the election campaign proposal to amend the law on royal defamation violated a constitutional clause against seeking to overthrow the system of constitutional monarchy.
"The court unanimously voted that the act of the two accused exercised the rights and freedom to try to overthrow Democratic System under His patronage … and order to cease all opinions including speech, writing, publishing, advertising to amend 112," read the court's ruling.
Both the party and its critics say the decision paves the way for follow-up legal action that could see the party dissolved.
Move Forward supporters believe the conservative royalist establishment seeks to eliminate the party as a political force through rulings by courts and state agencies such as the Election Commission, which are staunch defenders of the status quo.
But agitation for a more liberal atmosphere surrounding discussion of the subject has grown since the death of King Bhumibol Adulyadej in 2016.
Speaking at a news conference Wednesday after the court’s ruling, Pita was asked if it marked an end to efforts to reform the harsh lese majeste law.
"It’s an opportunity lost, that we can use the parliament to find different views and an opportunity to find the consensus building for such an important and critical and fragile issue, that parliament would be the best place to do it, and we lost that opportunity today," he responded.
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"What’s my message to the voters?" he said. "We’ve tried our best and we have a very true intention of finding the proportionality of law between the protection of the monarchy and the proportionality of freedom of speech in the modern Thailand, so we’ve tried our best."
Pita had been suspended from the legislature pending the court’s ruling on whether he violated the election law by owning shares in a media company. He was the executor of his father’s estate which included stock in a company that is the inactive operator of a defunct independent television station. Thailand’s Constitutional Court ruled Jan. 24 that Pita did not violate the law and can retain his seat in Parliament.
Pita has stepped down as party leader after his suspension so that a party colleague could become leader of the parliamentary opposition.
Earlier Wednesday, the Bangkok South Criminal Court convicted a prominent political activist of defaming the country’s monarchy and sentenced her to a two-year suspended jail term under Article 112.
Putin's secret country compound revealed just 18 miles away from NATO country
Russian President Vladimir Putin has allegedly sectioned off a plot of land just 18 miles from the border of a NATO member state, according to an independent Russian outlet.
"It is not known for certain what exactly this site is for, but judging by satellite images, it appeared in the last couple of years," Dossier Centre journalist Ilya Rozhdestvenskiy said in a video of the stunning compound.
"It is possible that an air defense system is being displayed here…" Rozhdestvenskiy noted. "This is not the first time that marks on the ground - from the supports of military equipment deployed in combat positions from the air - have protected the president."
The compound in Karelia, a territory that borders Finland, includes a one-square kilometer (just shy of 250 acres) plot of land, surrounded by an additional three-square kilometers (around 750 acres) of fenced-in forest – an area equivalent to twice the area of Monaco, according to Radio Svoboda.
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Putin shares the deluxe compound with his 40-year-old gymnast lover Alina Kabaeva, a winner of bronze and gold medals in consecutive Olympics for Rhythmic Gymnastics in 2000 and 2004, respectively. She later won election to the Duma as a member of the United Russia Party.
The journalist describes a barn on the property as a "reception house," and the residence includes a brewery, tearoom and a "pool or fountain." The compound also hosts a bathhouse, a fishery and farm, a marbled beef farm and private access to a waterfall and lake.
He also claims the compound as a "separate underground entrance, a helipad and a pier for yachts" on the adjacent Lake Ladoga, allowing Putin to "enjoy nature in complete solitude."
Historian and journalist Mikhail Solomatin in 2011 posted a story on his blog about how a group of people, in the presence of a lawyer, confiscated the land on Lake Ladoga as part of a "recreation center" construction, insisting the land must be given away, Russian weekly newspaper Sobesednik reported.
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A fisherman who visited the site shortly after found a security detail that stopped him and demanded documents and conducted an interrogation about the purpose of his trip. Locals living in the area moved away in exchange for cash payments.
The land around the property remains fenced in and monitored by CCTV cameras and motion sensors mounted on a fence and overlooking stretches of barbed wire.
Putin can even just go two miles down the road to dine at a restaurant and relax in a spa owned by his trusted oligarch and former Chelsea F.C. owner Roman Abramovich, who has a compound neighboring the Russian president’s own.
Yuri Kovalchuk, a close Putin ally rumored to be his "personal banker," owns a hotel nearby the compound as well. His businesses largely attend to Putin’s leisure activities, overseeing his real estate properties, according to East2West.
Fugitive wanted for allegedly killing girlfriend at Boston airport is arrested in Kenya
A suspect who fled the U.S. after allegedly killing his girlfriend and leaving her body in a parking garage at Boston’s Logan Airport last year has been arrested in Kenya, the Massachusetts State Police say.
Kevin Kangethe, 41, was taken into custody at a nightclub in Nairobi on Monday after Kenyan authorities received a tip, according to The Associated Press. Kangethe is now expected to be extradited back to the U.S. to face justice.
"I’m extremely grateful to the U.S. Department of State’s Diplomatic Security Service, the FBI, Kenyan law enforcement agencies, the Kenyan government and the Massachusetts State Police for bringing the person accused of Margaret Mbitu’s brutal murder into custody," Suffolk District Attorney Kevin Hayden said following the arrest.
"We had been keeping tabs on him while the international coordination of the arrest warrant and apprehension plan was being completed," added Massachusetts State Police spokesperson David Procopio.
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Mbitu, a resident of Whitman, Massachusetts, was first the subject of a missing person investigation before she was found dead on Nov. 1 at Logan Airport.
"Kangethe fled to Kenya shortly after killing the 31-year-old Whitman resident, with whom he had been in a relationship, according to the investigation by State Police detectives," Massachusetts State Police said in a statement. "Ms. Mbitu's body was located in a parked car in the Central Parking garage at Logan International Airport on the evening of November 1, 2023."
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"The subsequent investigation identified Kangethe, who lived in Lowell, as Ms. Mbitu's assailant and determined that he had boarded a flight to Kenya," police added. "State Police Detectives obtained a warrant charging Kangethe with Ms. Mbitu’s homicide and began working with the State Department DSS, Interpol, and Kenyan authorities to locate him in Kenya."
State Police also said Kangethe is expected to appear in a court hearing in Kenya "within the next few days" and "the process to extradite him to Boston for prosecution has begun."
The U.S. Embassy also commended the efforts of Kenyan law enforcement in arresting the fugitive.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
Former Tokyo Olympic official denies bribery charges in court
Haruyuki Takahashi, a former Tokyo Olympics organizing committee member, appeared in a court on Wednesday and said he was not guilty of taking bribes connected to the Tokyo Games.
A former executive with the powerful Japanese advertising company Dents u, Takahashi is charged with accepting around $1.4 million in exchange for awarding Olympic contracts for the Tokyo Games held in 2021.
Wearing a gray suit and blue tie, Takahashi sat silently while one of his defense lawyers read from a document for about two hours before a panel of three judges at Tokyo District Court.
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His lawyers argued that the money Takahashi received was not bribes but legitimate consulting income as a sports marketing expert.
The defense also argued the Tokyo organizing committee had no power to make marketing decisions on sponsors or licensing, which was the realm of Dentsu, the powerful Japanese advertising company that headed Tokyo Olympic marketing.
The defense acknowledged Takahashi held power with Dentsu, where he previously worked. It also acknowledged Takahashi had close relations with International Olympic Committee officials and others in the sports world.
The next trial date was set for Feb. 22.
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The indictment says Takahashi received bribes from business suit retailer Aoki Holdings, publisher Kadokawa and others. Sun Arrow, one of the companies implicated, produced the stuffed toy version of the Olympic mascot, Miraitowa, and Paralympic version, Someity.
About a dozen people have already been convicted in related bribery cases, but all have received suspended sentences.
The myriad corruption investigations around the Tokyo Olympics are the latest to soil recent Games. French investigators have this year's Paris Olympics under scrutiny over how contracts are awarded.
Though the Olympics are funded partly by private money, they also rely heavily on taxpayer funding. In the case of Tokyo, at least 50% was public money. Tokyo says it officially spent $13 billion on the Tokyo Games, but a government audit says it might be twice that much.
South Korea opposition leader who was stabbed accuses president of fostering divisions
A South Korean opposition leader who was stabbed in an attack and underwent surgery earlier this month accused the country's conservative president on Wednesday of promoting divisive politics and worsening an already toxic discourse in the nation.
Lee Jae-myung also urged voters to support his liberal Democratic Party in the April parliamentary elections in order to keep what he described as President Yoon Suk Yeol’s "prosecutorial dictatorship" in check.
With Yoon, "our society has become even more extremely polarized," said Lee, speaking at his first news conference since the Jan. 2 attack. Instead of "leading the way in promoting national unity," Yoon is "obsessed with choosing sides and waging an outdated ideological war."
SOUTH KOREA OPPOSITION LEADER STABBED IN NECK DURING VISIT TO BUSAN
Lee was attacked during an event in the southeastern city of Busan. The attacker, a man police say they believe acted alone, approached him allegedly for an autograph and stabbed him in the neck, then left him bleeding and slumped on the floor.
Lee underwent surgery and spent eight days in hospital before his release. The suspect, who was arrested, later told investigators that he wanted to kill Lee to prevent him from becoming president.
At the news conference, Lee, who narrowly lost to Yoon in the 2022 presidential race, also claimed that his rival’s allegedly reckless policies were letting a decaying job market and tensions with nuclear-armed North Korea get out of hand.
Lee is seen as one of the early favorites for the 2027 presidential election but has struggled with a prolonged prosecutorial investigation over corruption allegations stemming from his days as mayor of the city of Seongnam, a job he held for a decade until 2018. He has denied legal wrongdoing and accused Yoon, a prosecutor-turned-president, of pursuing a political vendetta.
Lee in his remarks Wednesday described the attack against him as "an assassination attempt" in broad daylight, and an event previously "unthinkable in South Korea, reputed as the safest country in the world."
In another attack last week, Bae Hyunjin, a lawmaker from Yoon’s People Power Party, was treated for lacerations after being repeatedly struck in the head by a rock-wielding 14-year-old boy.
South Korean politics are deeply divided along ideological and generational lines, as well as regional loyalties, with political bickering intensifying ahead of the April vote. The elections are widely seen as a referendum on Yoon, who has already been struggling with low approval ratings and an opposition-controlled National Assembly that has limited the implementation of his agenda.
Since taking office, Yoon has turned from the dovish approach of his liberal predecessor, Moon Jae-in, who had pursued inter-Korean rapprochement, and instead moved to expand the South’s combined military exercises with the United States and Japan to cope with the North’s evolving threats.
Yoon has also sought stronger assurances from Washington that the U.S. would act swiftly and decisively to protect its ally in the event of a North Korean nuclear attack.
Also on Wednesday, Lee reiterated his standing criticism of Yoon’s hardened approach, saying it is contributing to the heightened North-South tensions. He called for renewed South Korean efforts to resume communication with the North — most urgently the revival of a disconnected military hotline between the two to prevent accidental cross-border clashes.
SOUTH KOREAN POLICE RAID HOUSE OF SUSPECT WHO STABBED OPPOSITION LEADER LEE JAE-MYUNG
Lee also berated North Korean leader Kim Jong Un for his recent declaration of abandoning the North’s longstanding objective of reconciliation with South Korea and defining the South constitutionally as the North's most hostile foreign enemy.
Kim’s threats are pushing the Koreas dangerously close to a possible military clash, Lee said adding that preventing an escalation was now the priority.
During a government meeting on Wednesday, Yoon warned of the possibility that North Korea could conduct various provocations ahead of the April elections in attempting to influence the outcome.
Experts say North Korea likely prefers that the opposition to maintain majority in the National Assembly in the South, thereby improving the opposition's prospects for the presidential election. The North's reasoning, they say, is that a liberal government in Seoul would be more willing to make concessions to Pyongyang.
Iran vows to 'decisively respond' to any US attacks: 'No threat will be left unanswered'
Iranian officials warned that Tehran would decisively respond to any U.S. attacks, as President Biden vowed unspecified action following the deaths of three American soldiers in Jordan.
"We hear threats coming from American officials, we tell them that they have already tested us, and we now know one another, no threat will be left unanswered," Iranian Revolutionary Guards' chief Hossein Salami said on Wednesday, Reuters reported, citing the semi-official Tasnim news agency.
"We are not after war, but we have no fear of war," Salami, who answers only to Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, said at an event Wednesday, according to the state-run IRNA news agency.
Another warning came from Amir Saeid Iravani, Iran's ambassador to the United Nations in New York.
"The Islamic Republic would decisively respond to any attack on the country, its interests and nationals under any pretexts," Iravani said, according to the IRNA. He described any possible Iranian retaliation as a "strong response," without elaborating. He gave a briefing to Iranian journalists late Tuesday, according to IRNA.
Iravani also denied that Iran and the U.S. had exchanged any messages over the last few days, either through intermediaries or directly. The pan-Arab satellite channel Al Jazeera, which is based in and funded by Qatar, reported earlier that such communication had taken place. Qatar often serves as an intermediary between Washington and Tehran.
Such messages have not been exchanged," Iravani said.
On Saturday, a general in charge of Iran's air defenses described them as being at their "highest defensive readiness." That raises concerns for commercial aviation traveling through and over Iran as well. After a 2020 U.S. drone strike in Baghdad killed Qassem Soleimani, the commander of the elite Quds Force of Iran's Revolutionary Guards, Iranian air defenses mistakenly shot down a Ukrainian passenger plane, killing all 176 people on board.
In response to the 2020 U.S. strike, Iranian Revolutionary Guards also targeted the Ain al-Asad U.S. base in Iraq.
Speaking to reporters as he left the White House on a campaign trip to Florida Tuesday, Biden vowed to reporters he decided how to respond after three U.S. service members were killed and more than 40 others were injured in a drone strike by Iranian-backed militants on a post in Jordan near the Syrian border crucial to the anti-ISIS mission in the region.
The president did not elaborate. Meanwhile, attacks by the Iranian-backed Houthi rebels continue in the Red Sea, most recently targeting a U.S. warship. The missile launched Tuesday night targeted the USS Gravely, an Arleigh Burke-class guided missile destroyer, the U.S. military’s Central Command said in a statement.
"There were no injuries or damage reported," the statement said.
A Houthi military spokesman, Brig. Gen. Yahya Saree, claimed the attack in a statement Wednesday morning, calling it "a victory for the oppression of the Palestinian people and a response to the American-British aggression against our country." Saree claimed the Houthis fired "several" missiles, something not acknowledged by the U.S. Navy. Houthi claims have been exaggerated in the past, and their missiles sometimes crash on land and fail to reach their targets.
The Houthis claimed without evidence on Monday to have targeted the USS Lewis B. Puller, a floating landing base used by the Navy SEALs and others. The U.S. said there had been no attack. Since November, the rebels have repeatedly targeted ships in the Red Sea over Israel’s offensive against Hamas in Gaza. But they have frequently targeted vessels with tenuous or no clear links to Israel, imperiling shipping in a key route for global trade between Asia, the Mideast and Europe.
The Houthis hit a commercial vessel with a missile on Friday, sparking a fire that burned for hours.
Five members of the Iranian Revolutionary Guards have been killed following Israeli strikes in Syria since late December, according to Reuters.
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The Tasnim news agency reported Monday that another Israeli strike hit an "Iranian military advisory center" in Syria, killing two. Iran's envoy to Syria denied the details on the target and said those killed were not Iranians, according to Reuters.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
Russia's lower house advances bill to confiscate assets of those who 'discredit' the military
The lower house of Russia's parliament on Wednesday approved a bill that would allow authorities to confiscate money, valuables and other assets from people convicted of spreading "deliberately false information" about the country's military.
After its swift passage in the State Duma, the bill is now expected to quickly sail through the upper house of parliament and receive Russian President Vladimir Putin's signature.
Duma speaker Vyacheslav Volodin said the measure would strengthen the punishment for the "traitors who sling mud at our country and our troops" and "strip those scoundrels of honorary titles, confiscate their assets, money and other valuables."
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The new law would apply to people who are convicted of publicly inciting "extremist activities," calling for actions that would hurt the security of the state or "discrediting" the armed forces. Discrediting the Russian military became a criminal offense under a law adopted as part of a sweeping government crackdown on dissent after Moscow sent troops into Ukraine in February 2022.
"Everyone who tries to destroy Russia, who betrays it, must suffer the deserved punishment and pay compensation for the damage inflicted on the country, at the cost of their property," Volodin said before Wednesday's vote.
The proposed law does not appear to include real estate among the assets subject to seizure, unlike the draconian Soviet-era legislation that authorized the seizure of housing.
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"We don't want to revive the Soviet-style confiscation. We don't need that," Pavel Krasheninnikov, head of the Duma legal affairs committee, told reporters.
Russian officials have used the existing law against "discrediting" the military, which covers offenses such as "justifying terrorism" and spreading "fake news" about the armed forces, to silence Putin's critics. Multiple activists, bloggers and ordinary Russians have received long prison terms.
Iraqi terror group charged with fatal attack on US troops claims it will stop military activity
The Iraq-based terrorist group believed to be responsible for the fatal attack on U.S. troops in Jordan announced that it is suspending military activity in the region.
The group, Kata’ib Hezbollah, says it is halting operations under pressure from its backers in Iran and the Iraqi government, according to the New York Times. President Biden has nevertheless vowed to respond to the Sunday attack, which left three U.S. soldiers dead and roughly 30 more injured.
Kata'ib Hezbollah, which translates to "Brigades of the Party of God," is responsible for a large majority of the more than 160 attacks against U.S. forces operating in Iraq and Syria since mid-October.
"We announce the suspension of military and security operations against the occupation forces — in order to prevent embarrassment to the Iraqi government," the group's leader, Abu Hussein al-Hamidawi, said in a statement late Tuesday.
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Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani had called for a halt to attacks on the U.S. in late 2023, but he went ignored. Following the death of American troops, however, he interceded to the Iranian government directly, according to the Times.
"Kata’ib Hezbollah’s decision came as a result of the action taken by the prime minister internally and externally, to prevent escalation, and to ensure the smooth completion of negotiations on completing the process of the international coalition’s withdrawal from Iraq," an Iraqi government spokesman said in a statement.
"We hope that all parties will listen to the government’s call in order to reduce tension and ensure that there are no hot spots of tension in the region, and in Iraq in particular," the spokesman added.
Biden says he has decided on what action he will take to respond to the strike in Jordan, but the White House has not offered details about the nature or timeline of the response.
Meanwhile, Iran has said it will respond in kind to any attack from the U.S.
