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Panama’s Supreme Court on Friday denied an appeal from former President Ricardo Martinelli, convicted of money laundering in the case of a media company he purchased, likely keeping him out of this year’s presidential race.

The court ruled that a 10-year prison sentence handed down last year for Martinelli will stand, making him ineligible to run in Panama’s presidential elections May 5. Article 180 of the country's constitution says that no one sentenced to five or more years for a crime can be elected president or vice president.

The 71-year-old businessman and supermarket magnate who governed Panama from 2009 to 2014 was elected by his party last June as its presidential candidate. He was one of eight hopefuls vying for the presidency.

PANAMA'S SOLE CATHOLIC CARDINAL FOUND ALIVE AFTER BRIEF DISAPPEARANCE

Neither the Panama Electoral Tribunal nor the Supreme Court immediately responded to questions about when Martinelli would be formally barred from the election.

If he is barred, Martinelli's running mate José Raúl Mulino would become the party’s presidential candidate.

Martinelli was convicted last July of money laundering in a case dating back to 2017 and related to his 2010 purchase of a publishing company that owns national newspapers.

Prosecutors said companies that had won lucrative government contracts during Martinelli’s presidency funneled money to a front company that was then used to purchase the publisher. The transactions involved a complex series of foreign money transfers that came up to $43 million. The front company collecting the money was called "New Business."

Martinelli was sentenced to 128 months in prison and fined $19 million. He had denied wrongdoing and maintained that he was the victim of a political persecution. An appeals court ratified the sentence in October.

Martinelli, a populist who oversaw a period of massive infrastructure projects in the country, including construction of the capital’s first metro line, is the first former president convicted of a crime in Panama.

Last year, the United States government barred Martinelli and his immediate family from entering the country, based on his involvement in "significant" corruption.

MEXICO CITY (AP) — Guillermo Barraza buzzes with a nervous energy as he watches himself transform.

Hands delicately paint stripes of bright pink eyeshadow onto Barraza’s angular face as newscasters and makeup crews bustle around him.

FEDERAL COURT ONCE AGAIN SUSPENDS BULLFIGHTS IN MEXICO CITY, AS ACTIVISTS AND SUPPORTERS LOCK HORNS

Tonight, in a small studio set in the heart of Mexico City, Barraza is making history.

Through his drag character Amanda, the 32-year-old journalist is the first-ever drag queen to host a news program for Mexican TV.

By stepping out under the glow of the studio lights, Barraza has sought to push the boundaries of society in a place where both LGBTQ+ people and journalists are violently targeted. And he is doing it at a moment when the issue has roared back into the public discourse with the violent death of one of the very guests on his program, one of the most prominent queer figures in the country who was later found dead along with their partner with dozens of cuts across their body.

"Having an alter ego, you have fewer problems because they can’t harass a character. You have more freedom to speak out," he said. "There are many things that Guillermo wouldn’t do or say that Amanda wouldn’t think twice about."

As he says it, his makeup artist helps him pull on a bright blonde wig, and Barraza shrugs on a purple sequined blazer. Each piece goes on like another layer of sparkle-studded armor until all that remains of Barraza is a playful smile under purple lipstick.

"Let’s go, let’s go," Barraza says, striding through the halls, each clack of his leather boots ringing out like an act of defiance to a society that has long rejected people like him.

"Rock star," he adds, pushing through the heavy metal doors and onto his set.

___

From its inception, the program "La Verdrag" was meant to radically transform the way the LGBTQ+ communit y is viewed in Mexican society. First broadcast in October, the program goes against the grain in a highly "macho" country where nearly 4 in every 5 people identify as Catholic.

The program — a play on words in Spanish mixing the word "truth" and "drag" — first came to fruition when Barraza, a journalist of 10 years, took the helm of the newscast of his public television station, Canal Once, during Mexico’s Pride celebration in June dressed in drag.

The crush of hate comments that followed first scared Barraza, who had already received two death threats working as a journalist in northern Mexico. But it soon pushed him and the TV station to create a show to make a space to discuss LGBTQ+ issues with a serious tone.

"This just years ago, would be completely unthinkable, talking about transsexuality, gender, drag," said Vianey Fernández, a news director at Canal Once. "We want to open up spaces for the LGBTQ+ community, and we need to do it with a serious perspective, recognizing not just their rights but also their abilities."

In Mexico, drag — the act of dressing up in exaggerated outfits that challenge gender stereotypes — has been long employed in entertainment and comedy shows like "El Show de Francis," "Las Hermanas Vampiras" and "Desde Gayola."

The shows would often use gay slurs and cartoon-like stereotypes. Still, they took key steps in carving out space for the queer community in Mexico, said Jair Martínez, researcher for the Mexican LGBTQ+ rights organization Letra S.

"They’re pioneers, showing how you can transform yourself from a victim to someone with agency, with the capacity to resist," he said.

Growing up gay in the conservative northern city of Culiacán, Sinaloa, Barraza never saw gay characters he identified with on a deeper level staring back at him from the screen of his family’s clunky television.

On news channels, the only time gay people were brought up was following a hate crime or a brutal murder. In school, people would go out of their way to not appear gay. With a family that continues to struggle to accept his public gender expression, Barraza said he only grew into himself when he became involved in a theater community, where his character of Amanda was born.

"In Sinaloa, they teach you not to be gay." Barraza said. "Historically, we were always ridiculed, an object of entertainment."

In other countries, with the rise of shows like "RuPaul’s Drag Race," drag has gradually mixed with mainstream culture. But drag has long been used as a tool or resistance when the LGBTQ+ community is "under attack", explained Michael Moncrieff, a University of Geneva researcher who has studied the history of drag queens.

Early examples date back to 18th century England’s "molly houses," secret meeting places where people would cross dress and which were often raided by authorities when homosexuality was still a capital offense. Later, drag would become an integral part of the so-called Harlem Renaissance, and the faces of resistance in key moments like the McCarthy-era.

In the past 15 years, the practice has rippled across the world from Israel to Moscow to parts of Africa, Moncrieff said, and continues to be used in the U.S. to combat a wave of anti-LGBTQ+ legislation and bans.

"These are the fighters of their community," Moncrieff said. "Drag queens were willing to do the things that no one else wanted to do."

___

Barraza opens his program with a characteristic flourish, standing on a stage surrounded by three hefty broadcast cameras and earpiece-donning producers counting down "four, three, two, one."

Today, wrapped in a puffy blue-and-purple ball gown, Barraza spins around, looks into the camera with his chin tilted upward and says: "Welcome to La Verdrag, the program where minorities turn into a majority."

Running 40 minutes in length, Barraza's show cycles through the day’s biggest headlines – gender in Mexico’s 2024 elections, human rights in a historic migration to the U.S., and violence against queer populations. He pivots the rest of the program to deeply reported stories and interviews that each pull back a different layer of the world of queerness in Mexico.

One week, it’s a deep dive on transgender youth in Mexico, the next it’s an interview with Ociel Baena, the first openly nonbinary person in Latin America to hold a judicial position. One of most recognizable LGBTQ+ figures in the country, Baena smashed through barrier after barrier, becoming emblematic of the fight for visibility long championed by drag queens of the past.

"This hate speech against me continues to grow and grow. I’ve seen it on social media. What’s most regrettable are the death threats I’ve been receiving recently," Baena said. "They’re ingredients that create a breeding ground for homicides."

Donning a blazer, silver pumps shrouded by a white skirt and their signature rainbow fan, it would be the last TV interview the magistrate would ever give. Just weeks later, Barraza would be reminded that breaking out of that box in a place like Mexico can come with deadly consequences.

Baena was found dead next to their partner in their home in the conservative central Mexican state of Aguascalientes. What appeared to be nearly two dozen razor cuts slashed across their body, haunting Barraza and many queer people in Mexico.

Just hours after Baena’s body was found, local prosecutors quickly described the deaths as a murder-suicide, a move often made by authorities to dub a case a crime of passion and quickly shelve cases in a country where nearly 99% of crimes go unsolved.

Local prosecutors said it appeared that Baena's partner had killed the magistrate then killed himself, a theory quickly rejected by other Mexican officials and Mexico’s LGBTQ+ community, which said it was just another attempt by authorities to brush aside the violence against them.

Activists continue to demand a deeper investigation, taking into account the mounting death threats against Baena and historical violence against LGBTQ+ populations. In the first month of 2024, authorities and rights groups registered at least three more transgender people killed.

___

Gathered with a group of friends in his Mexico City apartment after watching the first broadcast of "La Verdrag," Barraza flicks through rows of hate comments flooding Canal Once’s social media, something that would only continue to grow with each broadcast.

"‘God prohibits perversion, only Satan is happy with the rotting of this world. What a disgusting creep,’" Barraza reads with a roar of laughter, tossing out jokes with his characteristic ease.

Behind it is a blanket of fear, a reminder of the weight of what he’s undertaking.

In addition to being one of the deadliest places to practice journalism in the world, Mexico has some of the highest rates of violence against LGBTQ+ communities in Latin America, a region where hate crimes and gender-based violence already run high.

"I wouldn’t be the first journalist to be killed and I wouldn’t be the last," he said. "My biggest fear is that what I’m doing is going to hurt other people, my partner, my mom, my brother."

Over the past six years, the rights group Letra S has documented at least 513 targeted killings of LGBTQ+ people in Mexico. Cases of violence have only risen in the past year, said Martínez, the Letra S researcher tracking the deaths.

Slayings of gay and transgender people are often characterized by a particular brand of brutality, bodies left mutilated by their victimizers. While a normal homicide victim in Mexico may be stabbed once and show signs of beatings, Martínez said he’s seen cases of gay people being stabbed up to 20 times, their genitals cut off and hate messages written across their bodies.

"They don’t just try to put an end to the victim, but rather send a message to the entire population. This brutality is intended to sort of discipline or to make an example of what could happen to other LGBTQ+ people," Martínez said.

___

Barraza peers down at a sea of thousands of mourners carrying candles and Pride flags in mid-November, a somberness painted on his normally animated face.

Speckling nearly every surface are photos of the magistrate Baena, who just weeks before sat across from Barraza speaking about mounting death threats they received for their activism.

Their violent death sent shockwaves through Mexico’s gay community, that once looked to Baena as a vocal leader in their fight for visibility. Chants of "justice, justice!" floated over Barraza, whose mind cycled through the hate comments popping up on La Verdrag’s social media.

"They’re both sick in the head," read one. "Divine justice."

"One week drunk celebrating their killing, the world is a better place," another would read.

He sees flashes of Baena smiling and laughing next to him behind the cameras of his studio.

"My mom wrote to me this morning incredibly worried. A couple friends wrote to me saying, ‘Man, step out of the spotlight. Don’t talk politics. Protect yourself,’" Barraza said. "I don’t want my mom to have to be the one out here marching."

As Barraza marches alongside thousands of others winding through Mexico City’s main artery, tears begin to stream down his face. His partner, Francisco, wraps his arms around Barraza and they step forward hand-in-hand, walking until the wind whipping around them dries their tears.

"In this country, no one is safe," Barraza said. "The more visible you are, the more you want to fight for change, the more you put a target on your own chest. And if we have to put our lives on the line, that’s what we’ll do, because we won’t let fear win."

The U.S. has begun airstrikes on Middle East targets from multiple platforms, a U.S Defense official has told Fox News. 

This is a developing story. Check back for updates.

The U.N. food agency said Friday it has received reports of people dying from starvation in Sudan, where raging fighting between rival generals is hampering the distribution of aid and food supplies to those most hungry.

The 10 months of clashes between the Sudanese military, led by Gen. Abdel Fattah Burhan, and the Rapid Support Forces, a powerful paramilitary group commanded by Gen. Mohammed Hamdan Dagalo, has decimated vast swaths of the northeastern Africa country.

The conflict erupted last April in the capital, Khartoum, and quickly spread to other areas of the country, after months of simmering tensions between the two forces.

SUDAN SUSPENDS TIES WITH EAST AFRICAN BLOC OVER PARAMILITARY LEADER'S SUMMIT INVITATION

World Food Program said that some 18 million people across Sudan currently face acute hunger, with the most desperate trapped behind the front lines of the conflict.

The hotspots include Khartoum, the western Darfur region, and the provinces of Kordofan and Gezira — areas where roadblocks, taxation demands and security threats endanger supplies.

"Life-saving assistance is not reaching those who need it the most, and we are already receiving reports of people dying of starvation," said Eddie Rowe, WFP's director for Sudan.

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, according to the U.N. migration agency.

Dagalo's paramilitary forces appear to have had the upper hand in the conflict over the past three months, with their fighters advancing to the east and north across Sudan’s central belt. Both sides have been accused of war crimes by rights groups.

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

A ship carrying 16,000 sheep and cows that turned back from the Red Sea due to the risk of attack off Yemen was stranded at an Australian port in a heatwave on Friday as the exporter sought to offload at least some of the animals into quarantine.

Meanwhile, another vessel carrying an even larger cargo -- tens of thousands of animals -- from Australia sailed for a Red Sea port in Jordan, with a contingency plan to unload them in the Gulf if it fails to obtain permission to enter the waterway.

Passage through the Red Sea has become perilous due to attacks on shipping by Yemen's Houthi militia that have disrupted global trade.

IRAN-BACKED HOUTHI LAUNCH THREE ATTACKS IN RED SEA, GULF OF ADEN AS TENSIONS ESCALATE; US MILITARY RESPONDS

The MV Bahijah set out for Israel on Jan. 5 carrying around 14,000 sheep and 2,000 cattle but diverted due to threat of attack and was ordered home by the Australian government. It arrived in Perth in Western Australia on Monday during a summer heatwave.

Biosecurity rules mean the animals cannot disembark without being quarantined. Australia's agriculture ministry said it is still considering an application by the exporter, Israeli firm Bassem Dabbah, to unload some animals and send the rest back to sea for a voyage of roughly 33 days to reach Israel by going around Africa.

Officials say the livestock are in good health but some politicians and animal rights activists claim their plight amounts to cruel mistreatment and have called for Canberra to bring forward a planned ban on live sheep exports.

"Australia's biosecurity and the health and welfare of the livestock onboard are our highest priorities," the agriculture ministry said.

Israeli animal groups Let the Animals Live and Animals Now said they had filed legal proceedings seeking to prevent the animals on board the Bahijah from being imported into Israel.

The Israeli government did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Meanwhile, another livestock carrier, the Jawan, set sail from Australia for the Jordanian port of Aqaba on Thursday, according to ship tracking data on Refinitiv Eikon.

On board are around 60,000 animals, most or all of them sheep, said John Hassell, head of farm group WAFarmers.

The Australian agriculture ministry said it had approved the vessel to sail "with a contingency plan including that it cannot enter the Red Sea unless the department (ministry) gives approval to do so 72 hours before they enter the Red Sea."

If the vessel cannot enter the Red Sea it will unload in the Gulf and the animals will be trucked overland to Jordan, a source familiar with the matter said.

Reuters was unable to contact Bassem Dabbah or Jawan Compania Naviera SA, listed by Refinitiv as the owner of the Jawan.

The Bahijah's manager, Korkyra Shipping, did not respond to requests for comment. The Jawan's listed manager, MC-Schiffahrt GmbH & Co KG, did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Australia's live export industry shipped more than half a million sheep and half a million cattle overseas last year.

An undocumented migrant from Burma has died in a road accident while fleeing an immigration detention center with over a hundred others in Malaysia late Thursday, officials said.

The incident was the second reported breakout from a Malaysian detention center in as many years. In April 2022, 582 ethnic Rohingya refugees from Burma escaped an immigration depot in northern Kedah state. Six of those migrants were killed after being hit by vehicles on a highway.

BURMESE RESISTANCE OUTLINES PLAN FOR PEACEFUL TRANSITION OF POWER FROM MILITARY JUNTA

A total of 131 migrants escaped from the Bidor immigration detention depot in Malaysia's western Perak state on Thursday night, Immigration Department director-general Ruslin Jusoh said in a statement on Friday.

One of the migrants died following a road accident, he said, adding that search operations were ongoing for the remaining escapees.

The migrants, who escaped from the men's block of the depot, included 115 ethnic Rohingya refugees and 16 Burma nationals of other ethnicities, state news agency Bernama reported, citing a statement from Perak police. Bernama reported the man who died had been struck by a vehicle on a highway.

Malaysia, which does not recognize refugee status, has long been a favored destination for ethnic Rohingya fleeing persecution in Burma or refugee camps in Bangladesh.

But in recent years, Malaysia has turned away boats carrying Rohingya refugees and rounded up thousands in crowded detention centers as part of a crackdown on undocumented migrants.

President Joe Biden and First Lady Jill Biden will on Friday take part in the dignified transfer of the remains of three troops killed in the Iran-backed militia attack in Jordan last weekend.

The Bidens will join the grieving families of the three American service members who died when a drone struck a base, known as Tower 22, near the demilitarized zone on the border between Jordan and Syria. The Iraqi border is only six miles away.

The fallen troops were Sgt. William Jerome Rivers, 46, Spc. Kennedy Landon Sanders, 24, and Spc. Breonna Alexsondria Moffett, 23, all of whom were from Dover. Sanders and Moffett were posthumously promoted to the rank of sergeant. The soldiers were assigned to the 718th Engineer Company, 926th Engineer Battalion, 926th Engineer Brigade, Fort Moore, Georgia. 

More than 40 troops were also injured in Sunday's drone attack.

TOWER 22 EXPLAINED: WHAT TO KNOW ABOUT THE SITE OF THE LATEST ATTACK AGAINST US SOLDIERS IN THE MIDDLE EAST

Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin and Gen. CQ Brown, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, will join the Bidens for the solemn ritual at Dover Air Force Base in Delaware. 

President Biden is not expected to speak during the dignified transfer, according to The AP.

"These service members embodied the very best of our nation: Unwavering in their bravery. Unflinching in their duty. Unbending in their commitment to our country — risking their own safety for the safety of their fellow Americans, and our allies and partners with whom we stand in the fight against terrorism," Biden said earlier this week. "It is a fight we will not cease." 

Speaking to reporters at the White House on Tuesday, the president said yes when asked whether he had decided on a response, but he did not offer any details.

According to the AP, Moffett joined the Army Reserves in 2019 while she also worked for a home care provider to cook, clean and run errands for people with disabilities.

Sanders worked at a pharmacy while studying to become an X-ray technician and coached children’s soccer and basketball, and Rivers joined the Army Reserve in New Jersey in 2011 and served a nine-month tour in Iraq in 2018.

US WITHDRAWAL FROM SYRIA WOULD PUT 'WHOLE REGION AT RISK,' ALLOW IRAN TO 'SOW' MORE DISCORD, EXPERT WARNS

The deaths were the first U.S. fatalities blamed on Iran-backed militia groups, who for months have been intensifying their attacks on American forces in the region following the onset of the Israel-Hamas war in October. Separately, two Navy SEALs died during a January mission to board an unflagged ship that was carrying illicit Iranian-made weapons to Yemen.

Deputy Pentagon Press Secretary Sabrina Singh said the "fallen" heroes had been deployed to Jordan in support of Operation Inherent Resolve and the international coalition working to ensure the lasting defeat of ISIS. 

The soldiers' deaths marked a major escalation of violence in the ongoing attacks on U.S. forces in the region. The Biden administration has blamed these attacks on Iran-backed militia groups in Syria and Iraq who have struck American targets in retaliation for the U.S.' support of Israel in its ongoing war with Hamas in Gaza that began on October 7. 

Austin has said that he and the president would not tolerate any attack on U.S. forces and "will take all necessary actions to defend the U.S. and our troops."

Friday’s dignified transfer will be the second that Biden will have attended as president. He took part in a ritual in August 2021 after 13 service members were killed in a suicide bombing in Kabul during the military’s chaotic withdrawal of Afghanistan.

Fox News’ Bradford Betz and The Associated Press contributed to this report.

Not all heroes wear capes. Some don't wear anything at all.

With only towels around their waists, patrons aboard a floating sauna in a Norwegian fjord rescued two people whose car had plunged into the water.

The car appeared to have driven off the quay on Thursday at the Akershusstranda, an area where ships dock at the foot of the Norwegian capital Oslo’s picturesque medieval fortress and castle.

NORWAY BRACES FOR MOST POWERFUL STORM SINCE 1990S

A witness told the Norwegian VG newspaper that he saw the car stopped, before it suddenly accelerated and ended up in the water. The paper reported that the driver had thought the vehicle was in park when he hit the accelerator pedal.

As the car went down, the two occupants escaped and were on the roof of the vehicle as the sauna raft headed toward them.

Nicholay Nordahl, the skipper, told VG that "I gave full throttle toward the people who came climbing out of the car" and reached them just as the car went under.

"With good help from two of the guests, we got them up. They warmed up in the sauna," he said.

STORM INGUNN BRINGS HURRICANE-FORCE WINDS, STRUCTURAL DAMAGE AND POWER OUTAGES TO NORWAY

The wooden sauna rafts that operate on the fjord in Oslo are electrically powered, allowing people to take part in the much-loved Scandinavian pastime in peace while enjoying the natural beauty of the area — and perhaps taking a dip in the icy waters.

The car was later recovered from the water.

The 16-year-old convicted killers of a transgender teenager in northwest England nearly a year ago were named in court on Friday after the judge in the case lifted a ban on reporting their identities.

At Manchester Crown Court, Justice Amanda Yip lifted the restrictions on the naming of Scarlett Jenkinson and Eddie Ratcliffe as the killers of 16-year-old Brianna Ghey in a horrific murder that shocked the nation.

Brianna was stabbed with a hunting knife 28 times in her head, neck, chest and back in broad daylight after being lured to a park in the town of Warrington on Feb. 11, 2023. Police believe she was killed because she was vulnerable and accessible, with her death not a hate crime but done for "enjoyment" and a "thirst for killing."

16-YEAR-OLDS CHARGED WITH MURDER IN FATAL STABBING OF TIKTOK TEEN BRIANNA GHEY

Under English law, young offenders are usually granted the protection of restrictions that prevent them from being named until they turn 18. Jenkinson and Ratcliffe were previously known as Girl X and Boy Y, having been 15 at the time of the killing.

However, Yip said after they were found guilty last month that there was a "strong public interest in the full and unrestricted reporting of what is plainly an exceptional case." Lawyers for the two argued that naming them would have ramifications for their welfare.

Jenkinson and Ratcliffe both face a mandatory life sentence. The judge was hearing victim impact statements from Brianna's family and experts before deciding later Friday how long they will have to spend in prison before being eligible for parole.

In a statement to the court, Brianna’s father, Peter Spooner, said being the father of a transgender child — Brianna was previously known as Brett — had been "a difficult thing to deal with" but that he had been "proud to gain another beautiful daughter."

"We were forming a new relationship and these two murderers have stolen that from us both," he said. "Justice may have been done with the guilty verdicts, but no amount of time spent in prison will be enough for these monsters."

The defendants denied killing Brianna and blamed each other for the fatal stabbing. It is not known which one or if both wielded the knife. Neither had been in trouble with police before. The two were found guilty by a jury last month following a four-week trial.

The trial heard that the defendants were intelligent and had a fascination with violence, torture and serial killers. They had planned the attack for weeks, detailed in a handwritten plan and phone messages found by detectives. They also had discussed killing others, which prompted police early in the investigation to rule out transphobia as a motive behind Brianna’s murder.

PHILADELPHIA TEEN MURDER SUSPECT SEEN ON NEW VIDEO AFTER ESCAPE FROM CUSTODY

Prosecutor Deanna Heer read a statement to the court from Brianna's mother, Esther Ghey, in which she said the hardest thing to come to terms with was finding out that one of those charged with Brianna’s murder, Jenkinson, was someone she thought was her daughter’s friend.

She said she was pleased when Brianna sent a text message on the day of her death saying she was going to meet a friend.

"I thought that she would have a wonderful time, hanging around with her friend and getting some fresh air. When all that time she was being lured to her death," she said.

"All I can think about is that she would have been scared and I wasn’t there for her. She needed me to protect her, Brianna wasn’t a fighter and she must have been so terrified," she said.

A man died Friday after falling from the Tate Modern art gallery, one of London's busiest tourist attractions, police said.

The Metropolitan Police force said officers and ambulance crews were called to the gallery at about 10:45 a.m. A man, who has not been identified, was pronounced dead at the scene.

Police said the death was being treated as "unexpected" but not suspicious.

CHILD THROWN FROM TOP OF LONDON'S TATE MODERN ART GALLERY, TEENAGER ARRESTED, POLICE SAY

Tate Modern said it would remain closed for the rest of the day "as a mark of respect."

"All our thoughts are with the person’s family and friends at this time," the gallery said in a statement.

Set in a former power station on the south bank of the River Thames, the gallery sees more than 5 million visitors a year.

PICASSO PAINTING DAMAGED BY LONDON GALLERY VISITOR, OFFICIALS SAY

In 2019, a 6-year-old French boy suffered severe and life-changing injuries after being thrown from the open-air 10th-floor viewing platform at the gallery. An 18-year-old man, who did not know the boy, pleaded guilty to attempted murder and was sentenced to at least 15 years in prison.

An Afghan migrant man, who is wanted for maiming a mother and her two daughters in a corrosive substance attack in London, is a convicted sex offender who converted to Christianity to successfully claim asylum after two failed attempts, according to multiple reports. 

Abdul Shokoor Ezedi, 35, allegedly threw a corrosive alkaline substance from a metal coffee cup at a 31-year-old woman and her daughters, ages 3 and 8, during an incident on Wednesday night along Lessar Avenue in the southern part of the city. All three remain in hospital. 

The suspect attempted to escape the scene in a car but crashed into a stationary vehicle and then ran, the BBC reports.

ILLEGAL MIGRANT FLIPS MIDDLE FINGERS AFTER BEING CHARGED WITH ATTACKING NYPD IN TIMES SQUARE

It has now emerged that Ezedi is a former asylum seeker from Afghanistan who was allowed to stay in the U.K. despite being convicted of a sexual offense in 2018. He arrived in the U.K. on the back of a truck in 2016.

He received a nine-week jail term suspended for two years for sexual assault and 36 weeks' imprisonment, also suspended for two years, for exposure. He was granted the right to stay in the U.K. on his third application in 2020, the BBC reports.

A priest vouched that Ezedi had converted to Christianity, which helped his application, the Daily Mail reports. He previously practiced the Muslim faith.

The Metropolitan Police say investigators believe Ezedi and the woman "are known to each other." 

NYPD CHIEF BLASTS MIGRANTS' ATTACK ON OFFICERS AS MUGSHOTS OF SUSPECTS RELEASED

"While none of their conditions are life-threatening, the injuries to the woman and younger girl could be life-changing," Superintendent Gabriel Cameron said. 

"It may be some time before hospital staff are able to say how serious that might be," Cameron added. 

Police also said that three women -- two in their 30s and one in her 50s -- were injured when they came to the aid of the family.

They have all been discharged from hospital with minor burn injuries. A man in his 50s who also helped declined hospital treatment for minor injuries.

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

"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 Ezedi. 

"We believe he traveled down from Newcastle earlier that day. We don’t know yet what led to it. We’re working to establish the circumstances," Cameron said.

"While this appears a targeted attack, he is a dangerous individual, and we urgently need to find him," he added.

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

Russia has refused Ukrainian requests to hand over the bodies of scores of prisoners of war whom the Kremlin claims were killed in the downing of a Russian military transport plane by Kyiv's forces, a Ukrainian intelligence official said.

Andrii Yusov, the spokesperson for Ukraine's military intelligence, in televised remarks late Thursday reaffirmed Kyiv's call for an international probe into the Jan. 24 crash inside Russia that would determine whether the Il-76 transport carried weapons or passengers along with the crew.

Russia accused Ukraine of killing its own men, while Kyiv dismisses Moscow’s assertions as "rampant Russian propaganda."

EUROPEAN UNION LEADERS SEAL $54 BILLION AID PACKAGE FOR UKRAINE AFTER HUNGARY LIFTS VETO THREAT

Kyiv has neither confirmed nor denied that its forces shot the plane down, and Russia’s claim the crash killed Ukrainian POWs couldn’t be independently verified. Ukrainian officials emphasized that Moscow didn’t ask for any specific stretch of airspace to be kept safe for a certain length of time, as it has for past POW exchanges.

Some Western intelligence assessments have suggested the plane was shot down by a missile from Ukraine, although they could not confirm the presence of POWs on board.

A French military official told The Associated Press that the country’s military concluded that Ukrainian forces used a battery of Patriot surface-to-air missiles to shoot down the Il-76, firing from about 50 kilometers (about 30 miles) away.

The official, who spoke on condition of anonymity to divulge the intelligence findings, said the Ukrainian battery apparently managed to stay hidden while getting closer to the target and then switched on its radar "just long enough to hit them."

Another Western official also said the plane was downed by "a missile strike rather than any kind of mechanical failure," and it’s almost certain the missile was fired from Ukrainian territory. The official said "it’s not yet clear" whether it was carrying Ukrainian POWs.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told the state RIA Novosti news agency on Friday that the Kremlin hadn't received a Ukrainian request to hand over the bodies. Asked if Russia would be willing to hand them over, he later told reporters that the official investigation into the incident was continuing and it would be up to Russian law enforcement agencies to consider such a request.

President Vladimir Putin said Wednesday that Russia wouldn’t only welcome but would "insist" on an international inquiry into the plane's downing that he described as a "crime" by Ukraine.

Yusov, the Ukrainian intelligence spokesperson, said some of the Ukrainian POWs who were meant to be part of an exchange on the day of the crash were swapped Wednesday when about 200 Ukrainian prisoners returned home.

Russia’s Investigative Committee, the main state criminal investigation agency, said Thursday its probe of the crash found that the Il-76 was brought down by one of the U.S.-made Patriot air defense systems, which Western allies — namely the U.S., Germany and the Netherlands — have supplied to Ukraine. The U.S. has provided the Patriots with the understanding that they not be used outside of Ukraine

Russian officials claimed there were 74 people on board, including 65 Ukrainian POWs, six crew members and three Russian servicemen. All were reported killed when the plane hit the ground and exploded in a giant fireball in the Belgorod region near Ukraine.

The Investigative Committee said investigators have found over 670 body fragments and identified all of the crash victims.

The committee said it also has recovered 116 pieces of two missiles that were fired from a Patriot system from near the village of Lyptsi in Ukraine's Kharkiv region. It showed a video that purported to show some missile fragments lying in the snow with visible markings.

Ukraine previously claimed credit for a May 2023 cross-border strike with Patriot missiles.

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

Ukrainian air force spokesman Yuriy Ihnat said in an interview in November the Ukrainian military used Patriots to down two Russian warplanes and three helicopters over Russia’s Bryansk region in May in what he called a "brilliant" operation.

With the 930-mile front line remaining largely static as the war approaches the two-year mark, Russia has continued to pummel Ukraine with long-range strikes.

In Kryvyi Rih, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s hometown, a drone attack damaged an energy infrastructure facility, leaving 100,000 people without electricity and 113 coal miners stranded underground for a time, according to Mayor Oleksandr Vilkul. All the miners were brought to safety after power was partially restored, he said.

Another Russian strike Thursday killed two French aid workers in the town of Beryslav in the southern Kherson region, Gov. Oleksandr Prokudin said. French President Emmanuel Macron denounced the attack as "cowardly and outrageous."

An Iran-backed militant group in Iraq has promised to continue attacks on U.S. troops after three American soldiers were killed by a drone strike in Jordan on Sunday.

In a statement released Friday, Harakat al-Nujaba, one of the strongest Iraqi militias, announced that it plans to continue military operations against U.S. forces while allied factions have backed off their attacks after the Biden administration said there will be retaliation. 

Akram al-Kaabi, the group's leader, called for an end to the Israeli military operations in Gaza and withdrawal of the "American occupation of Iraq," in a statement posted on X. 

The announcement comes after Kataib Hezbollah, another powerful Iranian-backed Iraqi militia, which is closely monitored by the U.S. government, said on Tuesday that it would "suspend military and security operations against the occupying forces" to avoid embarrassing the Iraqi government.

IRAN MANUFACTURED THE DRONE THAT KILLED 3 US SOLDIERS IN JORDAN, US OFFICIAL SAYS

Al-Nujaba, which emerged from the larger Asa’ib Ahl al-Haq militia in 2013, has fought both opposition forces in Syria and the Islamic State militant group in Iraq.

The Islamic Resistance in Iraq, a coalition of Iranian-backed militias that the U.S. has blamed for the deadly attack in Jordan, has launched more than 160 attacks on bases hosting U.S. troops in Iraq and Syria since October 7, amid tensions over U.S. support for Israel in the ongoing war in Gaza.

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

The White House has repeatedly stated there will be a response to the killing of three American soldiers in Jordan.

White House national security spokesman John Kirby said Wednesday the response will come "on our own time, on our own schedule," and that "the first thing you see won't be the last." 

IRAN-BACKED HOUTHIS LAUNCH THREE ATTACKS IN RED SEA, GULF OF ADEN AS TENSIONS ESCALATE; US MILITARY RESPONDS

The Pentagon identified those killed in the attack as Sgt. William Jerome Rivers, 46, of Carrollton, Georgia; Spc. Kennedy Ladon Sanders, 24, of Waycross, Georgia; and Spc. Breonna Alexsondria Moffett, 23, of Savannah, Georgia. The Army Reserve announced on Tuesday that it had posthumously promoted Sanders and Moffett to the rank of sergeant.

In addition to those killed, at least 34 service members were injured, including at least eight personnel whose injuries warranted an evacuation from Jordan to higher-level care, though they were believed to be in stable condition. 

While the attack was launched by an Iran-backed militia in Iraq, President Biden's administration had previously said that it ultimately held Iran responsible for the incident. 

Kirby indicated the U.S. response will "be a response over time" and that it would not be limited to a "one-off," though he did not elaborate.

Fox News Digital's Anders Hagstrom, Fox News' Liz Friden and the Associated Press contributed to this report.

The United Kingdom could recognize an independent Palestinian state before an official process creating one is agreed upon between Israel and the Palestinians, according to Britain’s top diplomat.

Foreign Secretary David Cameron told The Associated Press in Lebanon on Thursday that his country could move unilaterally to recognize a Palestinian state before what could be yearslong negotiations on a two-state solution, calling it "absolutely vital for the long-term peace and security of the region."

"What we need to do is give the Palestinian people a horizon towards a better future, the future of having a state of their own," added Cameron, also a former British prime minister. "It could be something that we consider as this process, as this advance to a solution, becomes more real."

While the idea of a two-state solution has been floated in the past, there have been no substantive negotiations since 2009.

ISRAEL SHARES DOSSIER SPELLING OUT ALLEGATIONS AGAINST 12 UN EMPLOYEES ALLEGEDLY INVOLVED IN HAMAS ATTACK

Western countries, including Britain and the U.S., support the idea of an independent Palestinian state existing alongside Israel, believing the two-state outcome could be a solution to hostilities across the region.

Cameron said the idea would only be pursued after a cease-fire in Gaza is implemented, saying the first step must be a "pause in the fighting" in Gaza which could eventually turn into "a permanent, sustainable cease-fire."

U.K. recognition of a Palestinian state "can’t come at the start of the process, but it doesn’t have to be at the very end of the process," he added. The U.K. would also recognize it in the United Nations, he said.

BIDEN SAYS PALESTINIANS 'DESERVE A STATE OF THEIR OWN' IN CALL FOR TWO-STATE SOLUTION 'FREE FROM HAMAS'

He clarified that no recognition could come while Hamas, which is designated a foreign terrorist group, continued to rule in Gaza "because you can’t have a two-state solution with Gaza still controlled by the people responsible for Oct. 7."

The line was a reference to the Hamas-led terror attack on Israeli border communities on Oct. 7, 2023, that left more than 1,200 people in Israel dead.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has rejected the creation of an independent Palestinian state after the war.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

After a U.S. senator grilled the Singaporean CEO of TikTok about his nationality and suggested he was affiliated with the Chinese Communist Party, Singaporeans are complaining about ignorant — or even racist — views of their country.

TikTok CEO Shou Chew and executives of other technology firms such as Meta, X and Snap testified Wednesday before U.S. lawmakers on online harm to children from social media.

During the hearing, Chew was repeatedly questioned about his nationality and possible affiliations to the Chinese Communist Party by Sen. Tom Cotton, R-Ark.

TIKTOK’S DARK SIDE: WHY IT’S MORE THAN JUST A FUN APP AND YOU NEED TO REMOVE IT

TikTok, which is operated by the Chinese firm ByteDance, has over 150 million users in America. U.S. lawmakers have regarded TikTok with considerable suspicion over whether its data can be accessed by the Chinese government and whether the app can be used to expand China’s influence. Chinese companies are required to set up Communist Party cells.

"You said today, as you often say, that you live in Singapore. Of what nation are you a citizen?" Cotton asked.

Chew affirmed that he is Singaporean — which does not allow its citizens to hold dual citizenship — but Cotton pressed on, asking if Chew was a citizen of any other nation, and if he had ever applied for Chinese citizenship. China also does not permit dual nationality, and rarely accepts applications for citizenship.

When Chew responded no to both questions, Cotton asked if he had ever been a member of the Chinese Communist Party or have had any affiliation to it.

"No Senator, again, I’m Singaporean," Chew responded, visibly perplexed. The party requires members to be Chinese citizens.

Cotton’s line of questioning was described as "McCarthy-esque" by The Washington Post. Clips of the exchange posted on social media platforms drew tens of thousands of views.

An Instagram reel of the exchange uploaded by Singapore flagship newspaper The Straits Times drew nearly 2,000 comments, most criticizing or mocking Cotton for his line of questioning.

"Senator, do you know where Singapore is?" one person asked. Another remarked that "just because he looks Chinese, doesn’t mean he’s Chinese."

About 75% of Singapore’s approximately 5.9 million population is ethnically Chinese, a result of Chinese immigrants moving to Singapore in the 1800s and early 1900s. Many young Singaporeans today do not identify with China as a cultural motherland.

Wednesday’s hearing was Chew’s second time appearing before U.S. lawmakers. He first testified in front of lawmakers in March 2023. That grilling lasted six hours, with lawmakers asking questions about TikTok’s data security and harmful content on the platform.

Jojo Choo, an assistant marketing manager in her 30s, said she was happy to see a Singaporean appearing in Congress at first.

"Initially I felt pride because the CEO of such a huge company is actually someone from Singapore," she said. "But I quickly realized how ignorant the senator’s questions were."

Choo said the Cotton's questions were tinged with racism and it was "narrow-minded" to assume that someone who’s ethnically Chinese would be affiliated with China.

Another Singaporean, Fian Fazlie, said he was "completely baffled yet amused" at the senator’s questioning.

"He’s just being ignorant and he’s still justifying (his words) in his latest Instagram post," Fazlie, who works in the public transport sector, said about Cotton.

‘TIKTALK?’ LANGUAGE EXPERT EXPLAINS THE NEW ACCENT PEOPLE ARE NOTICING THEIR FAVORITE INFLUENCERS SPEAKING

Cotton posted a clip of himself giving an interview on Fox News to Instagram, stating in the caption that Chew had "a lot of explaining to do."

"Of course, you can be affiliated with or associated with the Chinese Communist Party anywhere in the world," Cotton said on Fox News, adding that the Biden administration has many cases against U.S. citizens suspected of collaborating or working with the Chinese Communist Party.

"Singapore unfortunately is one of the places in the world that has the highest degree of infiltration and influence by the Chinese Communist Party," said Cotton.

It's unclear what Cotton’s claims about Singapore were based on.

The 41-year-old Chew is a native of Singapore, where he lives with his wife Vivian Kao and their three children. Prior to joining TikTok, Chew worked for five years at Xiaomi, a Chinese smartphone company. Before that, he was a partner at the venture capital firm DST Global and earlier worked at Goldman Sachs.

Malaysia's Pardons Board said Friday it has reduced ex-Prime Minister Najib Razak's 12-year jail sentence by half and sharply cut a fine, less than two years into his sentence from a corruption case linked to the theft of billions of dollars from state coffers.

With the sentence commuted, Najib will be freed by Aug. 23, 2028, the board said in a statement. The board also cut Najib's $44.5 million fine to $11.3 million.

It is unclear if Najib is still eligible for additional time off for good behavior. If so, he could be out as early as August 2026.

MALAYSIA'S TOP COURT REFUSES TO REVIEW 2022 DECISION TO UPHOLD PRIME MINISTER NAJIB RAZAK'S GRAFT CONVICTION

Despite his conviction, Najib is still influential in his party, the United Malays National Organization, which is now a member of Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim's unity government that took power after 2022 general elections.

The Pardons Board didn't explain why it commuted Najib's sentence, nor why it waited until Friday to announce it. The board isn't required to give any grounds for its action, which has prompted an outcry and triggered calls for the government to justify the move.

The board said it considered Najib’s application for a royal pardon at its meeting Monday and decided to reduce his sentence and fine after considering advice and opinions. The meeting was chaired by the country’s then-king, Sultan Abdullah Sultan Ahmad Shah, who is from Najib’s home state of Pahang. A new king took office on Wednesday under Malaysia's unique rotating monarchy system.

The decision is seen to further hurt Anwar's anti-corruption campaign, just months after prosecutors dropped 47 graft charges against Deputy Prime Minister Ahmad Zahid Hamidi, who is the current UMNO party chief.

Anwar said Najib had gone through the process of law and has the right to appeal for a royal pardon. He said the king has the final say.

"It's beyond the prime minister or the government. I respect the decision of the then-king. ... Of course it is very political, some support, some don’t but they cannot ignore the fact that you must respect the rights of everyone convicted to appeal to the Pardons Board," Anwar said in an interview with Al-Jazeera.

Najib still has other linked trials which will continue, he added.

Najib, 70, was imprisoned in August 2022 after losing his final appeal in his first of several corruption trials linked to the multibillion-dollar looting of a state fund, 1 Malaysia Development Berhad, or 1MDB. He became Malaysia’s first former leader to be imprisoned after the shocking defeat of his long ruling coalition in a 2018 general election due to the 1MDB scandal.

1MDB was a development fund that Najib set up shortly after taking power in 2009. Investigators allege at least $4.5 billion was stolen from the fund and laundered by Najib’s associates through layers of bank accounts in the U.S. and other countries and financed Hollywood films and extravagant purchases that included hotels, a luxury yacht, art and jewelry. More than $700 million landed in Najib’s bank accounts.

Najib was found guilty in 2020 of seven charges of corruption for illegally receiving $9.4 million from SRC International, a former unit of 1MDB. He still faces several other graft trials linked to 1MDB. His wife, Rosmah Mansor, was also sentenced in 2022 to 10 years in prison and a record fine of 970 million ringgit for corruption involving a solar energy project and is out on bail pending an appeal.

Najib has maintained his innocence, alleging he was duped by Malaysian financer Low Taek Jho, thought to be the mastermind of the scandal, who remains at large.

Many Malaysians on Friday demanded to know the justification of the pardons board's move for such a high-profile graft case in which the government had to spend billions of dollars to service 1MDB's debts.

MALAYSIAN EX-PM ACCUSED OF BUYING $800,000 IN HIGH-END JEWELRY IN A SINGLE DAY

"The message to the world ... is depressingly and bleakly clear: there are 2 tracks for criminals in Malaysia — 1 for all of us ordinary rakyat (citizens), 1 for the political elite. Very sad day for this country," lawyer and politician Lim Wei Jiet wrote on social media.

Some analysts said pushback is likely to be contained. Anyone who insults the king can be charged for sedition.

"Anwar's reputation as a reformer would take a beating. There will be some outrage but the fallout will be limited. The Malay community is quite feudalistic and once they are told it's the king's prerogative, they will back off," said James Chin, professor of Asian studies at Australia’s University of Tasmania.

Najib's daughter, Nooryana Najwa Najib, posted on Instagram that the family appreciated the board's gesture but were disappointed that Najib wasn't given a full pardon and released immediately.

A vehicle loaded with gas exploded and set off an inferno that burned homes and warehouses in Kenya's capital, killing at least three people and injuring more than 270, officials said Friday, with the death toll expected to rise.

Many residents were likely inside their homes when the fire reached their houses in the Mradi area of the Nairobi neighborhood of Embakasi, government spokesman Isaac Mwaura said.

The truck explosion ignited a huge fireball, and a flying gas cylinder set off a fire that burned down a garment and textile warehouse called Oriental Godown, Mwaura said. Several other vehicles and businesses were damaged by the inferno that started around 11:30 p.m. Thursday.

DONKEY CART EXPLOSION KILLS KENYAN POLICE OFFICER, INJURES 4 OTHERS

At the scene after daybreak, several houses and shops were burned out. The shell of the vehicle believed to have started the explosion was lying on its side. The roof of a four-story residential building about 200 yards from the scene of the explosion was broken by a flying gas cylinder. Electric wires lay on the ground. Nothing remained in the burned-out warehouse except the shells of several trucks.

Alfred Juma, an aspiring politician, said he heard loud noise from a gas cylinder in a warehouse next to his house. "I started waking up neighbors asking them to leave," Juma said.

He said he warned a black car not to drive through the area, but the driver insisted and his vehicle stalled because of the fumes. "He attempted to start the car three times and that’s when there was an explosion and the fire spread into the (warehouse) setting off other explosions."

MINE EXPLOSION IN KENYA KILLS 3, INJURES 3 OTHERS

He said he grabbed two children and they hid in a sewage ditch until the explosions ended. His family hadn't been present, but Juma lost everything he owned in the fire.

"Police were turning away everyone and so it was difficult to access my house and I had to seek a place to sleep until this morning," neighbor Caroline Karanja said. She said the smell and smoke were still choking, and she would have to stay away for a while because she had young children.

Police and the Kenya Red Cross reported three deaths. The toll may rise after daybreak, said Wesley Kimeto, the Embakasi police chief.

The government and Red Cross said 271 people were taken to several hospitals with injuries.

The proximity of the industrial company to residences raised questions about enforcement of city plans. Officials at the county government have been accused of taking bribes to overlook building codes and regulations.

A bipartisan group of U.S. lawmakers are urging Hungary to immediately ratify Sweden's application to join NATO, saying patience with the Central European country is "wearing thin" as it continues to delay its approval for the Nordic nation.

Hungary is the only country in the 31-nation military alliance that hasn't yet backed Sweden's membership bid, and frustration has mounted within NATO as Budapest has repeatedly pushed back a vote on ratification for more than a year.

In a joint statement released Thursday, U.S. Sens. Jeanne Shaheen, a New Hampshire Democrat, and Thom Tillis, a North Carolina Republican, called on Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán to "advance Sweden’s accession protocols to NATO without further delay," and said continuing to hold up the process would harm Budapest's relations with its allies.

NATO CHIEF URGES US LAWMAKERS TO CONTINUE SUPPORTING UKRAINE, WARNS BEIJING IS WATCHING

"Despite its numerous prior public commitments, Hungary is the last remaining NATO member to have not ratified Sweden’s bid and both time and patience are wearing thin. Hungary’s inaction risks irrevocably damaging its relationship with the United States and with NATO," the senators wrote.

Orbán, a staunch nationalist that has led Hungary since 2010, has long promised that his country wouldn't be the last NATO member to approve Sweden's application. But as Turkey's parliament voted to back Stockholm's bid in January, attention has shifted to Budapest as NATO members seek to expand the alliance amid Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine.

A vote on the protocols for Sweden’s NATO accession hasn’t yet appeared on the Hungarian parliament’s agenda, and the matter is unlikely to go before lawmakers until at least late February when the parliament reconvenes.

In a separate statement, U.S. Sen. Ben Cardin, a Maryland Democrat and chair of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, raised the prospect of imposing sanctions on Hungary for its conduct, and called Orbán "the least reliable member of NATO."

Cardin said that the Biden administration should examine whether Hungary should continue to participate in the U.S. Visa Waiver Program, which allows passport holders from 41 countries to enter the United States for business or tourism without a visa for up to 90 days.

He also said that "given the level of corruption" in Hungary, the U.S. should examine initiating sanctions against Hungarians under the Global Magnitsky Act, a program that allows Washington to sanction foreign individuals for human rights and corruption violations.

Cardin said he was "grateful" that the European Union on Thursday approved a $54 billion aid package to Ukraine, but noted that it had only done so by overcoming a veto by Orbán that had threatened to derail the funding.

Orbán had opposed financing the aid through the EU's common budget, but ultimately consented to the measure under pressure from other leaders in the 27-nation bloc.

Speaking in an interview with state radio on Friday, Orbán, seen by his critics as the Kremlin's closest EU ally, cast doubt on Ukraine's ability to defeat Russia's invasion.

"Westerners still think that time is on our side, that the longer the war lasts, the more Ukraine’s military situation will improve. I think the opposite is true," he said. "I think that time is on the side of the Russians, and the longer the war lasts, the more people will die, and the balance of power will not change in Ukraine’s favor. Then why do we continue the war?"

North Korean ruler Kim Jong Un reasserted his goal that the military step up "war preparations" on Friday, state media said.

The comment came as he toured a shipyard in Nampho bolstering his country’s navy and as his military conducted weapons tests by firing cruise missiles into the sea.

Kim has ramped up his country’s industrial efforts in recent months with the goal of building a nuclear-armed navy to counter what he perceives as threats from South Korea, the U.S. and Japan.

The navy "presents itself as the most important issue in reliably defending the maritime sovereignty of the country and stepping up the war preparations," Kim said during an inspection of the naval facility, according to North Korea’s official Korean Central News Agency.

NORTH KOREA FIRES MULTIPLE CRUISE MISSILES IN 3RD TEST WITHIN A WEEK, SOUTH KOREA SAYS

According to the Korean news agency, the warships being constructed in Nampho are related to a five-year military development plan set during a ruling party congress in early 2021. It did not specify the types of warships being built.

At the shipyard, Kim ordered workers to "unconditionally" complete the efforts within the timeframe of the plan that runs through 2025, KCNA said.

Kim previously revealed an extensive wish list of advanced military assets, which included nuclear-powered submarines and the ability to launch nuclear missiles from underwater.

NORTH KOREA NOW USING AI IN NUCLEAR PROGRAM: REPORT

Kim Inae, a spokesperson for South Korea’s Unification Ministry, said it was the first time the ministry was aware of the North Korean dictator conducting a military inspection in Nampho.

"By making military threats routine, North Korea is trying to create a sense of insecurity among South Korean people to undermine trust in their government and to attract international attention to build an atmosphere in which its demands must be accepted to resolve the crisis on the Korean Peninsula," she said

The comments were reported hours before North Korea’s military launched several projectiles into its western sea.

South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff said the U.S. and South Korean militaries confirmed the launch of multiple missiles and said they were analyzing the specific number of projectiles and would provide an assessment of their flights.

The launches were North Korea’s fourth round of cruise missile tests in 2024.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

Members of the House of Representatives on Thursday will launch the first bipartisan caucus on Burma to pressure U.S. administrations to act on the crisis in the Southeast Asian country since the military staged a coup three years ago, according to a statement.

Republican Bill Huizenga of Michigan and Democrat Betty McCollum of Minnesota will chair the Congressional Burma Caucus, which the statement from the two lawmakers said was intended to bolster congressional support for the fight for democracy and human rights in the country also known as Myanmar.

Burma's military seized power three years ago on Thursday, detaining democratic leaders including Nobel laureate Aung San Suu Kyi and sparking a youth-led pro-democracy uprising that morphed into an armed resistance movement after a lethal crackdown.

BURMESE RESISTANCE OUTLINES PLAN FOR PEACEFUL TRANSITION OF POWER FROM MILITARY JUNTA

"The humanitarian crisis in Burma has risen to a level that urgently needs attention from congressional leaders," said the lawmakers' statement, shared with Reuters ahead of an announcement on Thursday.

The caucus was expected to have at least 30 lawmakers as initial members, according to Kristiana Kuqi of Campaign for a New Myanmar, an advocacy group that helped set up the caucus, in part to keep a sustained focus on Burma as issues like the wars in Ukraine and Gaza, and U.S. rivalry with China, dominate discussion in Washington.

"The more engaged we have Congress and congressional staff ... the more we're able to push the needle" on Burma, Kuqi said.

Advocates want the Biden administration to give more support to anti-coup forces in Burma after Congress last year passed legislation allowing the U.S. government to provide them with non-lethal support, and to form an advisory group to decide what to do with roughly $1 billion in Burma assets frozen by the U.S. government after the coup.

Washington on Wednesday announced new sanctions on companies and individuals with ties to the military aimed at the fuel used to conduct aerial bombings that have often targeted civilians, as well as the military's ability to produce arms.