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

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

PERU REOPENS MACHU PICCHU AFTER A MONTH OF ANTIGOVERNMENT PROTESTS

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

KOSOVO TO MAKE EURO ITS ONLY CURRENCY, EVEN IN SERB-DOMINATED AREAS, RAISING CONCERN IN WEST

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

SOUTHEAST ASIAN NATIONS MEET TO DISCUSS BURMESE CIVIL WAR, SOUTH CHINA SEA CONFLICTS

The military government had no immediate reaction.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

SQUATTER PIRATES IN FLORIDA SETTING UP HOMES ON ABANDONED BOATS

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

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

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

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

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

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

The Associated Press contributed to this report. 

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

WHO IS THE IRAN-BACKED COALITION ISLAMIC RESISTANCE IN IRAQ, RESPONSIBLE FOR DEADLY DRONE STRIKE ON US TROOPS?

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

There has been no reaction from Belgrade.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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.

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. 

CHINESE HACKERS PREPARING TO ‘WREAK HAVOC’ ON AMERICAN CITIZENS, COMMUNITIES, FBI DIRECTOR WARNS

"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.  

TAIWAN CONDUCTS DEFENSIVE MILITARY DRILLS AS CHINESE WARSHIPS, PLANES LOOM

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. 

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.

GERMAN SPY CHARGED WITH TREASON FOR PASSING SECRET DOCUMENTS TO CIA AND RUSSIAN INTELLIGENCE

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."

GERMAN SPY CHIEF'S FUTURE CREATES NEW STRAINS IN GOVERNMENT

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."

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.

ISRAEL FLOODING TUNNELS IN GAZA TO DRIVE OUT HAMAS TERRORISTS: IDF

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.

ISRAEL TO BAN REBUILDING OF ISRAELI SETTLEMENTS IN GAZA FOLLOWING CONCERNS FROM BIDEN ADMIN

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.

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.

UNITED NATIONS SPOX INSISTS ‘UNRWA DOES NOT WORK WITH HAMAS’ DESPITE CLAIMS EMPLOYEES PARTICIPATED IN OCT 7

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."

UN CALLS ON COUNTRIES TO RESUME UNRWA FUNDING DESPITE REPORT EMPLOYEES PARTICIPATED IN OCT 7 MASSACRE

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.

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."

TOP ISRAELI TIKTOK OFFICIAL QUITS COMPANY AMID ACCUSATIONS OF ANTISEMITISM ON PLATFORM

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.

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.

IRAN VOWS TO 'DECISIVELY RESPOND' TO ANY US ATTACKS: 'NO THREAT WILL BE LEFT UNANSWERED'

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.

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.

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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. 

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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.

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.

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.

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 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.

UKRAINE’S A STEP CLOSER TO JOINING THE EU. HERE’S WHAT IT MEANS, AND WHY IT MATTERS

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.

WHAT IS THE EUROPEAN UNION AND WHO WANTS IN? EVERYTHING YOU SHOULD KNOW

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.