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Alexei Navalny was murdered by Russia with a type of frog poison, the governments of the United Kingdom, Sweden, France, Germany and The Netherlands have concluded.

In a joint statement on Saturday, the NATO countries said they were "confident" the Russian dissident had been poisoned by the Russian government with a "lethal toxin" known as epibatidine, which is found in South American poison dart frogs. The frogs aren't native to Russia. 

"Russia claimed that Navalny died of natural causes. But given the toxicity of epibatidine and reported symptoms, poisoning was highly likely the cause of his death," the countries wrote. "Navalny died while held in prison, meaning Russia had the means, motive and opportunity to administer this poison to him." 

ALEXEI NAVALNY'S DEATH REPRESENTS MAJOR BLOW TO POLITICAL DISSENT IN RUSSIA

The conclusion was made based on samples taken from Navalny's body. 

Navalny, one of Russian President Vladimir Putin’s most powerful opponents, died in a Russian prison in Siberia in 2024 after he decided to go back to his home country in 2021.

Navalny was immediately detained upon his return to his home country on charges that included fraud and contempt of court that were widely considered to be politically motivated.

The activist was famously brought to a German hospital in 2020 to recover after Western powers, including the U.S., accused Russia of poisoning him with a nerve agent known as novichok that was developed by the Soviet Union.

RUSSIA AGREES TO ABIDE BY EXPIRED NEW START NUCLEAR ARMS LIMITS - AS LONG AS US DOES THE SAME

"Russia’s repeated disregard for international law and the Chemical Weapons Convention is clear," the statement said, adding that Russia was also widely believed to have used novichok in England in 2018, leading to the death of a British woman named Dawn Sturgess.

"These latest findings once again underline the need to hold Russia accountable for its repeated violations of the Chemical Weapons Convention and, in this instance, the Biological and Toxin Weapons Convention," the statement said.

The countries added that they had written to the director general of the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons to "inform him of this Russian breach of the Chemical Weapons Convention."

U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio on Saturday blasted the idea of a "world without borders," warning European leaders that unchecked mass migration is destabilizing Western civilization and eroding national sovereignty.

Speaking at the annual Munich Security Conference, Rubio criticized the post-Cold War belief that the world had reached the "end of history" — an era in which liberal democracy would spread, and national borders would fade — calling it a "dangerous delusion."

"This was a foolish idea that ignored both human nature, and it ignored the lessons of over 5000 years of recorded human history, and it has cost us dearly," Rubio said.

Rubio stressed that border security is not rooted in exclusion, but in responsibility.

TRUMP PLEDGES TO REASSERT MONROE DOCTRINE TO RESTORE AMERICAN POWER

"We must also gain control of our national borders, controlling who and how many people enter our countries," he said. "This is not an expression of xenophobia. It is not hate. It is a fundamental act of national sovereignty."

Failing to do so, Rubio warned, is "not just an abdication of one of our most basic duties owed to our people — it is an urgent threat to the fabric of our societies and the survival of our civilization itself."

The U.S. top diplomat added that lax enforcement threatens "the cohesion of our societies, the continuity of our culture, and the future of our people."

Rubio’s remarks come amid mounting political tensions in both Europe and the U.S. over migration, asylum policy and border security.

RUBIO STEPS INTO MUNICH SPOTLIGHT AS TRUMP LEANS ON HIM TO CARRY VANCE’S POPULIST MESSAGE ABROAD

Outlining America’s direction under President Donald Trump, Rubio said the U.S. seeks to rebuild its alliance with Europe on stronger footing.

"We want allies who can defend themselves so that no adversary will ever be tempted to test our collective strength," he said. "This is why we do not want our allies to be shackled by guilt and shame. We want allies who are proud of their culture and of their heritage, who understand that we are heirs to the same great and noble civilization, and who, together with us, are willing and able to defend it."

"We in America have no interest in being polite and orderly caretakers of the West's managed decline," Rubio said. "We do not seek to separate, but to revitalize an old friendship and renew the greatest civilization in human history."

RUBIO WARNS NATO ALLIES US IS 'NOT SIMPLY FOCUSED ON EUROPE,' DOESN'T HAVE UNLIMITED RESOURCES

The secretary said the U.S. seeks an alliance "ready to defend our people, to safeguard our interests, and to preserve the freedom of action that allows us to shape our own destiny, not one that exists to operate a global welfare state and atone for the purported sins of past generations."

Rubio reminded attendees that America’s ties to Europe stretch back centuries, saying the U.S. will remain permanently linked to the continent.

"What we have inherited together is something that is unique and distinctive and irreplaceable," Rubio said. "Acting together in this way, we will not just help recover a sane foreign policy, it will restore to us a clear sense of ourselves. It will restore a place in the world, and in so doing, it will rebuke and deter the forces of civilizational erasure that today menace both America and Europe alike."

Marco Rubio could not be immediately reached by Fox News Digital for comment.

FIRST ON FOX: Eduardo Bolsonaro, son of the currently incarcerated former Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro, is a man on an unofficial diplomatic mission in the United States. His objective is to free his father, who is currently serving a 27-year sentence at the Federal Police headquarters in the nation's capital.

Convicted on charges of plotting a coup d'état, leading an armed criminal organization and attempting to violently abolish the democratic rule of law, Jair Bolsonaro remains a popular yet controversial figure in Brazil, and who still commands a devoted following nationwide, especially in the southern strongholds of Rio de Janeiro and São Paulo.

Eduardo Bolsonaro has pursued a "maximum pressure campaign" against the current Brazilian regime on behalf of his father, lobbying the Trump administration for sanctions against the country, and for Magnitsky sanctions against the head of the Brazilian Supreme Court Alexandre de Moraes.

RUBIO WARNS BRAZIL OF US RESPONSE AFTER BOLSONARO'S CONVICTION FOR PLOTTING A COUP

In 2022, Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva narrowly defeated incumbent Bolsonaro in the closest election since Brazil's 1985 return to democracy. This followed Lula's dramatic release from prison by the Brazilian Supreme Court in 2019, where he was serving a sentence for corruption.

While many expected São Paulo Governor Tarcisio de Freitas to run in 2026, he declined, clearing the way for the former president's other son, Sen. Flavio Bolsonaro, who declared his candidacy last December.

Speaking to Fox News Digital at the Hispanic Prosperity Gala at Mar-a-Lago Eduardo Bolsonaro discussed the present situation.

"A lot of polls are showing that my brother, Senator Flavio (Bolsonaro), is tied and some of them he's a little bit ahead… Flavio just launched, just announced that he is going to run. It was a big decision that Jair Bolsonaro took, recognizing that it would be impossible for him to run in the October election, for sure, because he's in jail now. Unfairly, but he is. This is a fact."

Eduardo Bolsonaro believes the nation's economic and security issues will propel his brother to victory.

"The strategy of Flavio is to show how bad the Lula administration is, mainly in economy and also in security. These are areas where Flavio is doing very well… everybody's fed up with Lula supporting Hamas, increasing criminality, and not doing a great job in the economic area. So, Flavio, for sure his focus is going to be on the economy and security to defeat Lula."

While Flavio Bolsonaro and Lula are clearly the top two contenders, several other right-wing and center-right candidates have entered the race, including Minas Gerais Governor Romeu Zema, Parana Governor Ratinho Junior and Goias Governor Ronaldo Caiado. 

Eduardo Bolsonaro dismisses concerns that the current electoral scenario could split the vote and lead to a first-round electoral victory for Lula.

"It doesn't matter who is going to the second round; against Lula, everybody will be together. Because we all know that the worst that can happen to the country is the re-election of Lula da Silva. So these polls that are trying to say that Lula… can win in the first round, if the right-wing movement splits the votes between these candidates, this is a lie. For sure, this is not going to happen."

"And for sure, it's very good that we have more candidates on the right-wing… Why? Because they will all criticize Lula da Silva. So, even Flavio is publicly saying that it would be a good thing to do to support more and more candidates for the right… against Lula."

JIM CAVIEZEL STARRING IN BOLSONARO BIOPIC AS SON OF JAILED FORMER PRESIDENT LAUNCHES 2026 CAMPAIGN

While former president Bolsonaro is incarcerated, his movement enjoys strong support in the Brazilian Congress, which recently passed legislation that would dramatically cut his prison sentence. 

However, Lula vetoed the legislation in January, which means that Congress may now seek to override that veto. Additionally, the Supreme Court, which is unfavorably disposed to Bolsonaro, may also review the legislation on grounds of constitutionality.

"Everything that the Supreme Court does not like, they say that this is against our constitution. It's the way that they try to get all of the power over the legislative [branch], and even sometimes the executive power. So, this is one more chapter of this long invasion by the judiciary… Lula da Silva doing the veto against this bill that was approved by the Congress only shows that he is always speaking with the left-wing bubble, he's talking to the radical left people."

Eduardo Bolsonaro believes the Brazilian people support his father over the Supreme Court, and points out that his father was not even present in Brazil for the Jan. 8 riots.

"In Brazil they do not approve [of the veto], they are fed up with all of this… On the very same day [Jan. 8, 2023]… the ‘protest dictator’, Jair Bolsonaro, was in Orlando, in Disney World. So everybody knows this is a fake thing and no one can support any more debates around this."

"That's why Jair Bolsonaro is in jail because if he wasn't convicted to 27 years in jail, he would be free to run, and for sure he would be the next president of Brazil. That's the only reason that he is in jail: because of political reasons. That is why when Flavio Bolsonaro gets elected in October and changes the political scenario, this will also change the scenario inside the judiciary of Brazil."

Eduardo Bolsonaro is entirely focused on his brother Flavio's 2026 presidential campaign as the means to freeing his father from prison.

"Now, I only have one role… electing Flávio Bolsonaro, and he will give the pardon to Jair. Not only to Jair, but also to me. I am accused of committing crimes in the United States because I was talking with authorities, American authorities, and they consider this an attack against the sovereignty of Brazil."

"The judge of the Supreme Court, Alexandre de Moraes, who got sanctioned by the Trump administration with the support of Scott Bessent and Marco Rubio, he blames me for that. But as he does not have the courage to sue Trump, Bessent and Rubio, he's suing me for that. So we hope that Flavio is going to get elected and then as president he has the power to pardon me, my father and more than 400 conservative people that are in jail."

While the Bolsonaros have historically performed very well in the vote-rich and wealthy southern states of Rio de Janeiro, São Paulo and Minas Gerais, they have underperformed in Brazil's poorer Northeast region, which is where Lula is originally from.

Yet, Bolsonaro promises a strong showing nationwide, and says that voters in the Northeast are ready for a change:

"It's bringing the truth. People nowadays know that the ‘assistencialismo’ (populist social assistance for purposes of vote-buying), that is the way that Lula gets this high amount of votes in the Northeast of Brazil."

"We are also going strong in the Northeast. The Northeast, you're going to see, it's not anymore a region of Brazil that is under the [control of] Lula."

Eduardo Bolsonaro weighed in on recent U.S. military action in Venezuela, and pledged a renewed U.S.-Brazilian geopolitical relationship, and full support for American action against Communist regimes:

"Maduro is not the president anymore and in Nicaragua Daniel Ortega arrested seven opponents… that were running for president. How can you consider this a democracy? So, for sure, it's not a democracy. There is no difference between these guys and Chapo or Pablo Escobar. The difference is only that Nicolás Maduro and Daniel Ortega took over the country, they took over the institutions."

"So everybody, not only Venezuela, but also Brazil, is really happy that the great military of the United States arrested Maduro… It's bringing hope to the people. And for sure, we do support them, not only in public… but also in international forums."

This interview was lightly edited for style and clarity.

British Prime Minister Keir Starmer announced the United Kingdom will deploy its aircraft carrier strike group to the North Atlantic and the High North later this year, marking a show of force as security tensions escalate across Europe.

Speaking on Saturday at the annual Munich Security Conference in Germany, Starmer said the mission would be led by HMS Prince of Wales and carried out alongside the U.S., Canada and other NATO allies.

"I can announce today that the U.K. will deploy our carrier strike group to the North Atlantic and the High North this year, led by HMS Prince of Wales, operating alongside the U.S., Canada and other NATO allies, in a powerful show of our commitment to Euro-atlantic security," Starmer told the high-profile forum aimed at strengthening European defense and diplomatic ties.

NATO LAUNCHES ARCTIC SECURITY PUSH AS TRUMP EYES GREENLAND TAKEOVER

The High North — a term referring to the Arctic and surrounding regions — has become increasingly strategic amid growing Russian military activity. 

The deployment is intended to bolster security against potential Russian threats, according to BBC News.

The announcement comes as President Donald Trump has repeatedly reiterated interest in the U.S. acquiring Greenland, citing national security concerns in the Arctic regarding Russia and China.

Starmer warned that Moscow’s military buildup could intensify even if a peace agreement is reached in Ukraine, arguing that Russian rearmament would "only accelerate." 

UK PRIME MINISTER OUTRAGED AFTER MANCHESTER UNITED CO-OWNER WARNS COUNTRY IS BEING 'COLONIZED' BY MIGRANTS

Europe, he said, must be prepared to "deter aggression" and, if necessary, be ready to fight.

"We must build our hard power, because that is the currency of the age," he said.

The carrier strike group is an international naval task force led by the Royal Navy. It consists of one aircraft carrier, about 40 aircraft, a frigate, a destroyer, a submarine and a supply ship, according to BBC News.

HMS Prince of Wales, a roughly $3.5 billion aircraft carrier, serves as the Royal Navy’s flagship, BBC News reported.

TROOPS FROM EUROPE DEPLOY TO GREENLAND IN RAPID 2-DAY MISSION AS TRUMP EYES US TAKEOVER

Trump has previously threatened tariffs on Britain and other European countries unless an agreement is reached allowing the U.S. to take control of the Danish territory. 

After meeting with NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte in late January, Trump announced that he would not impose tariffs that were set to take effect Feb. 1 given they formed the "framework of a future deal with respect to Greenland and, in fact, the entire Arctic Region."

Trump told reporters outside the White House on Friday that the administration is "negotiating right now for Greenland," adding that, "We get along very well with Europe." 

The president was also asked about the Munich Security Conference.

"If it wasn't for me, they'd be paying 2% and not paying," Trump said of NATO allies. "They're paying 5% and they're paying. We have a very good relationship with NATO."

The three-day Munich conference brings together world leaders, defense chiefs and security officials.

Starmer did not immediately respond to Fox News Digital's request for comment.

Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., alleged at the Munich Security Conference on Friday that U.S. aid to the Jewish state enabled a genocide against Israel. AOC’s attack on the Jewish state in Munich unfolded in the birthplace of Adolf Hitler’s Nazi movement that carried out the worst genocide in human history.

AOC’s assault on Israel’s war campaign to defeat the U.S. and EU-designated terrorist movement in the Gaza Strip sparked outrage and intense criticism from academic military and Middle East experts.

During the town hall event in Munich, the Squad member said, "To me, this isn't just about a presidential election. Personally, I think that the United States has an obligation to uphold its own laws, particularly the Leahy laws. And I think that personally, that the idea of completely unconditional aid, no matter what one does, does not make sense. I think it enabled a genocide in Gaza. And I think that we have thousands of women and children dead that don't, that was completely avoidable."

'DOUBLING DOWN ON STUPID': NEWSOM, AOC, TRASH TRUMP AT EUROPEAN SUMMIT AS THEY RAISE 2028 PROFILES

She continued, "And, so I believe that enforcement of our own laws through the Leahy laws, which requires conditioning aid in any circumstance, when you see gross human rights violations, is appropriate."

The Leahy Laws prohibit the Department of Defense and the State Department from funding "foreign security force units when there is credible information that the unit has committed a ‘gross violation of human rights." Former Sen. Patrick Leahy, D-VT., introduced the bill in 1997.

Tom Gross, an expert on international affairs, told Fox News digital that "AOC has flown all the way to Munich — infamous as the city in which Hitler staged his Nazi Beer Hall Putsch that marked the beginning of the road to the Holocaust — in order to smear the Jewish people further with a phony genocide allegation."

Gross added, "Such preposterous allegations of ‘genocide’ form the bedrock of modern antisemitic incitement against Jews in the U.S. and globally. This shocking ignorance and insensitivity by Ocasio-Cortez should rule her out of any potential presidential bid or other high office."

RASHIDA TLAIB HIT WITH HOUSE CENSURE THREAT, ACCUSED OF 'CELEBRATING TERRORISM' IN PRO-PALESTINIAN SPEECH

Military experts and genocide researchers have debunked the allegation that Israel carried out a genocide against Palestinians during its self-defense war against the Hamas terrorist organization that started after Hamas terrorists attacked communities in parts of southern Israel on Oct. 7, 2023 that saw over 1200 Israeli and foreign nationals killed and 251 brutally kidnapped and taken into Gaza by Hamas and other terrorists.

Danny Orbach, a military historian from the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, and co-author of "Debunking the Genocide Allegations: A Reexamination of the Israel-Hamas War from October 7 2023, to June 1, 2025," told Fox News Digital that Ocasio-Cortez accusation that Israel committed genocide is an "accusation that is incorrect both factually and legally. Under the Genocide Convention, genocide requires proof of a special intent to destroy a protected group, in whole or in part, and as a baseline condition, an active effort to maximize civilian destruction.

"The evidence shows the opposite: as demonstrated in our multi-author study Debunking the Genocide Allegations, Israel undertook unprecedented measures to mitigate civilian harm, including establishing humanitarian safe zones that independently verified data show were approximately six times safer than other areas of Gaza."

Orbach added, "Israel also issued detailed advance warnings before strikes and facilitated the entry of over two million tons of humanitarian aid, often at significant cost to its own military advantage, including the loss of surprise and the sustainment of an enemy during wartime."

He concluded, "These measures were taken despite Hamas’s Oct. 7 massacre, its systematic use of human shields and hospitals for military purposes, and a tunnel network exceeding 1,000 kilometers — an operational challenge without historical precedent. Finally, no credible evidence demonstrates the kind of unambiguous, exclusive genocidal intent toward Palestinians that international law requires and that cannot be reasonably interpreted otherwise."

The conservative commentator Derek Hunter posted on X. "Imagine going to Germany to complain about a fake genocide by Jews...in Munich, of all places. @AOC is about as smart as clogged toilet."

In Dec. 2024, Germany joined the U.S. in rejecting the allegations that Israel committed genocide in Gaza.

Chaotic video shows the moment a midair brawl erupted between passengers on a Jet2 flight bound for the United Kingdom on Thursday, reportedly forcing the plane to make a diversion.

Flight LS896, traveling from Antalya, Turkey, to Manchester, England, was diverted to Belgium after what the airline described as the "appalling behavior" of two "disruptive" passengers onboard, representatives told the New York Post.

"They were both offloaded by police in Brussels and the flight continued to Manchester," the representatives said.

Video circulating online appears to show passengers exchanging punches in the aisle as other travelers scream.

PASSENGER’S WI-FI NAME TRIGGERS BOMB SCARE, FORCES TURKISH AIRLINES EMERGENCY LANDING

It was not immediately clear what prompted the brawl. However, an eyewitness alleged that a male passenger made "racist" remarks earlier in the flight, the Sun reported.

"From early on in the flight, a passenger seated behind us began making racist remarks, quiet enough that others couldn’t clearly hear, but loud enough for us to," the traveler alleged.

According to the eyewitness, tensions escalated after the man — who had allegedly been drinking — was unable to purchase cigarettes onboard and became aggressive.

BIBLICAL STUDIES STUDENT ILLEGALLY IN U.S. ALLEGEDLY STABS TWO TEENS WITH METAL FORK, SLAPS WOMAN ON FLIGHT

Cabin crew members attempted to defuse the situation, but the dispute ultimately turned physical.

After diverting to Brussels, authorities removed the two passengers from the aircraft. The flight then resumed its journey and landed in Manchester at around 10 p.m., the Post reported.

Jet2 confirmed both individuals have been placed on the airline’s no-fly list.

"We can confirm that the two disruptive passengers will be banned from flying with us for life," Jet2 told the Post. "We will also vigorously pursue them to recover the costs that we incurred as a result of this diversion."

'SECURITY-RELATED SITUATION' GROUNDS FLIGHT TO VACATION HOT SPOT, PASSENGERS CONFINED FOR HOURS

The airline added, "As a family-friendly airline, we take a zero-tolerance approach to disruptive passenger behavior, and we are very sorry that other customers and our colleagues onboard had to experience this too."

Jet2 did not immediately respond to Fox News Digital's request for comment.

Fox News Digital's Kelly McGreal contributed to this report.

A man who had recently been released from prison on a terrorism charge was shot and killed by a police officer after he allegedly tried to attack another officer with a knife and scissors near the Arc de Triomphe in Paris Friday.

The incident happened near the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier at the ceremony for relighting the eternal flame, which is carried out nightly.

The unidentified man, who is a French national born in 1978, allegedly tried to attack an officer guarding the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier and was shot by another officer.

He died of his wounds at a hospital, the French counterterrorism prosecutor’s office said.

GENEOLOGY COMPANY EXEC SLAMS PIMA SHERIFF'S ‘DEVASTATING’ MOVE TO SHIP NANCY GUTHRIE EVIDENCE TO FLORIDA LAB

He was sentenced to 17 years in prison in Brussels in 2013 on a terrorist-related offense of attempted murder of three police officers in Belgium and had just been released in December.

The man served 12 years in prison and was placed under police supervision with routine checks, the French prosecution office said.

VIDEO SHOWS THE ‘HEIST OF THE CENTURY’ AT THE LOUVRE

The French counterterrorism prosecutor’s office said it had opened an investigation into the man related to his ties to a "terrorist enterprise" before his death.

The man was held in a Belgian prison until 2015, when he was transferred to France and released on Christmas Eve.

The Arc de Triomphe was closed to guests after the incident, which had no other reported injuries.

The Arc de Triomphe, at the end of the Champs-Élysées, is one of Paris and Europe’s most popular sights, and millions of tourists visit the monument in the heart of the French capital each year.

Reuters and the Associated Press contributed to this report. 

Video released this week shows Ukraine launching domestically produced FP-5 "Flamingo" cruise missiles, as Kyiv pushes deeper strikes on Russian military infrastructure nearly four years into the war.

Ukraine’s military said the missiles were used in an overnight attack on February 11 to 12 targeting a missile, ammunition and an explosives arsenal near the settlement of Kotluban in Russia’s Volgograd Oblast, describing the facility as belonging to Russia’s Main Missile and Artillery Directorate, known as GRAU, and said it was among the largest ammunition storage hubs used by Russian forces. 

Ukrainian officials said powerful explosions and secondary detonations were recorded at the site, while the extent of damage was still being assessed.

RUSSIAN ATTACK ON KHARKIV WIPES OUT YOUNG FAMILY, LEAVING PREGNANT MOTHER AS SOLE SURVIVOR

Russian regional authorities acknowledged an incident at a Defense Ministry facility in the same area. Volgograd Governor Andrey Bocharov said air defenses repelled a missile attack and that falling debris triggered a fire at a military facility near Kotluban. He said an evacuation of nearby residents was ordered during firefighting because of the threat of detonation. Anadolu Agency reported that buses were prepared to move residents to temporary accommodation centers.

Russia’s Defense Ministry has also publicly referenced the Flamingo system. In a daily update carried by Russian state media, the ministry said its air defenses shot down five Flamingo long-range cruise missiles over the previous 24 hours. The ministry did not provide evidence in the statement, and Kyiv has not confirmed how many missiles were intercepted.

BATTERED IN UKRAINE, RUSSIA RACES TO REARM — BUT QUESTIONS LINGER OVER ITS MILITARY STRENGTH

Ukraine has increasingly highlighted indigenous long-range capabilities, including the FP-5. An East-to-West News agency video report previously cited Ukrainian officials describing the missile’s range as 3,000 kilometers, or about 1,864 miles, and said officials claim accuracy within about 14 meters, though battlefield performance is difficult to independently verify.

In response to a reporter's question on Friday on the talks between the sides, President Donald Trump put the onus back on President Zelenskyy to make a deal. 

"Well, Zelenskyy is going to have to get moving. Russia wants to make a deal, and Zelenskyy is going to have to get moving otherwise, he's going to miss a great opportunity. He has to move," he said.

A new round of U.S.-brokered talks between Russia and Ukraine is expected in Geneva next week, even as fighting persists along the more than 1,200-kilometer front line.

Ukrainian officials said Russian attacks across Ukraine continue, saying on Friday that a Russian drone assault on port infrastructure near Odesa killed one person and injured six others, while a separate strike near the eastern front line killed three brothers, including an eight-year-old and wounded their mother and grandmother.

The Islamic Republic of Iran’s atrocities against demonstrators opposed to the regime has reportedly resulted in security forces killing at least 19 Iranian Christians, according to Article 18, an organization that promotes religious freedom in Iran.

Article 18 reported on Feb. 9 that "The total number of Christians confirmed to have been killed during the protests is at least 19, including members of Iran’s recognized (Armenians and Assyrians) and unrecognized (converts) communities."

According to the Article 18 statement, the Islamic Republic’s "brutal response to last month’s mass demonstrations" resulted in the security forces murdering Iranian Christians Nader Mohammadi, 35, and Zahra Arjomandi, 51, who were both shot dead on Jan. 8 in separate protests 1,000 miles apart.

INSIDE TRUMP’S IRAN WARNING — AND THE UNEXPECTED PAUSE THAT FOLLOWED

Mohammadi was the father of three young children, and was killed in Babol in northern Iran. Arjomandi, who was a mother of two children, died in her son’s arms on the Persian Gulf island of Qeshm, in southern Iran, noted Article 18.

The Iranian Christian website Mohabat News stated that regime security forces refused to release Arjomandi's body for six days. Mohabat reported that her body was only released for burial under "strict security measures", which included a media blackout and prohibiting a memorial service.

Mansour Borji, the executive director for Article 18, told Fox News Digital that, "Today, Christians, like millions of other Iranians, seek the freedom and justice that they have been denied for nearly five decades, and they know well that this comes at a price. Every year many Christians are arrested and imprisoned under torturous conditions for practicing their right to religious freedom, where a simple act like praying together in house-churches seems like an act of civil disobedience."

IRAN WILL RETALIATE 'WITH EVERYTHING WE HAVE' IF US ATTACKS, SENIOR DIPLOMAT WARNS

He continued, "Our organization considers the Islamic Republic’s massacre of all peaceful protesters a crime against humanity that should not go unpunished. There must be an end to the impunity that, for far too long, has enabled this regime to commit crimes like at home and abroad. Branding peaceful protesters as ‘terrorists,’ and Christians that are persecuted every year as ‘Zionist mercenaries,’ is nothing but scapegoating."

He warned that "The Islamic Republic's regime has, since its inception, demonstrated all traits of a totalitarian state. Most Iranians have now come to realize that their fundamental rights have been taken away from them, including the freedom to choose one’s own religion or belief, political self-determination and even their lifestyle choices. Christians were some of the earliest to experience this, when an Anglican priest and convert to Christianity, Rev. Arastoo Sayyah, was killed in his church office less than 200 hours after the 1979 revolution."

A comprehensive 2025 report titled, "The Tip of the Iceberg" about the persecution of Iranian Christians was released by Article 18 in collaboration with Open Doors, Christian Solidarity Worldwide and Middle East Concern.

According to the "The Tip of the Iceberg" report, Mohammad Nasirpour, the deputy prosecutor of Tehran and head of the 33rd District Prosecutor’s office, stated in his indictment against four Iranian Christians on June 2022: "Armenian and Assyrian Christians in the Protestant denomination, with their evangelical nature and mission to Christianize Iran, are perceived as a security threat to the Islamic Revolution, aimed at undermining the Islamic foundation of the Islamic Republic. It could be said that Persian-speaking evangelical movements are supported by fundamentalist evangelical Christians and Zionists." 

According to a Feb. 10 report on the website of Christianity Today, Iranian Christians want President Trump to intervene to stop the Ayatollah’s regime from continuing with its massacre of Iranians.

RUBIO REVOKES IRANIAN OFFICIALS' US TRAVEL PRIVILEGES OVER DEADLY PROTEST CRACKDOWN KILLING THOUSANDS

"That’s probably one of the most frustrating aspects of the whole situation right now," said Shahrokh Afshar, founder of Fellowship of Iranian Christians. "Everyone was hoping he would do something," Afshar told the outlet after the Iranian authorities killed thousands of protesters in January, according to some estimates.

Fox News Digital has reported over the decades on the Islamic Republic’s high-intensity persecution of Iranian Christians in the wake of the growing popularity of Christianity in the Muslim-majority country. Iran’s regime targets diverse groups of Christians, including Evangelicals and Catholics. In 2017, Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) arrested two Christians – a mother and her son – as part of a brutal crackdown on Catholicism in the country’s West Azerbaijan Province.

STATE DEPARTMENT DEMANDS IRAN HALT EXECUTION OF 19-YEAR-OLD WRESTLING STAR AS IOC REMAINS SILENT

The family’s bibles and literature on Christian theology were also seized during the raid.

The United States State Department has designated Iran as a "Country of Particular Concern" (CPC)" because the Islamic regime has "engaged in or tolerated particularly severe violations of religious freedom" with respect to violations of the International Religious Freedom Act of 1998.

The Iranian regime -controlled statistical center of Iran claims there are 117,700 Christians of recognized denominations as of the 2016 census, according to the most recent U.S. State Department report on the plight of Iranian Christians. 

However, the State Department noted that, "The Christian advocacy NGO Article 18 estimates there are 500,000 to 800,000 Christians in the country, while the Christian advocacy NGO Open Doors International estimates the number is 1.24 million. Christian NGOs report many Christians are converts from Islam or other recognized faiths." The population of Iran is roughly 92 million.

Thousands of anti-government protesters violently faced off against riot police outside government buildings in Albania’s capital, Tirana, earlier this week, as people called for the resignation of the government following a massive corruption scandal.

The main Albanian opposition party called for people to take to the streets and demand the resignation of Deputy Prime Minister Belinda Balluku after she was indicted by a special prosecutor who alleged she had been improperly influenced in her decision to favor one company in a tender for the construction of a 3.7-mile tunnel in southern Albania.

Albania’s Special Court Against Corruption and Organized Crime suspended Balluku from the government in November, but Prime Minister Edi Rama took the issue to the country’s Constitutional Court, which reinstated Balluku in December.

STATE DEPARTMENT STAYS QUIET AS ALBANIA REINSTATES DEPUTY PRIME MINISTER ACCUSED OF CORRUPTION

Balluku denied the allegations, calling the accusations against her amounted to "mudslinging, insinuations, half-truths and lies." Rama has refused to dismiss her.

The corruption allegations touched off widespread outrage, sparking protests in recent months. 

"The wave of popular protests in Albania reflects a growing societal backlash against what critics describe as the increasingly autocratic rule of Prime Minister Edi Rama," Agim Nesho, former Albanian ambassador to the U.S. and the United Nations, told Fox News Digital.

"Over more than a decade in power, Rama is accused of centralizing authority and personalizing state institutions, while his government has faced persistent allegations of cooperation with organized crime and the misuse of public funds and public assets for the benefit of politically connected clients," Nesho claimed.

The shady circumstances surrounding Rama’s most important ally and the lack of accountability reinforces the sentiment that is pervasive in Albanian society that their government is rife with corruption. With both the incumbent government and opposition figures accused of corruption, public confidence in institutions and the justice system has steadily been eroded.

ITALY ROCKED BY ANARCHIST-LED RIOTS AS OVER 100 POLICE INJURED, MELONI CONDEMNS VIOLENCE

Albania has a long legacy of government corruption and ranks 91st out of 182 countries in Transparency International's 2025 Corruption Perceptions Index.

The protests on Tuesday turned violent when supporters of Berisha’s opposition Democratic Party threw rocks and Molotov cocktails at government offices in Tirana. Security forces responded with water cannons and tear gas.

Berisha claims the protests have been peaceful, and people are only voicing their opposition to Rama’s increasing autocratic rule and his attacks of the justice system.

At least 16 protesters were treated for injuries and 13 protesters were arrested, according to The Associated Press. 

Observers of the region believe Berisha, who was prime minister from 2005 to 2013 and faced his own corruption charges, is angling to topple the socialist prime minister and main political rival, Rama, and return to power.

The turmoil in Albania comes as the country has long sought European Union membership, which began in 2014 when it became an official candidate for accession. While the 2025 annual European Commission report stated that Albania made significant strides in judicial reforms and combating organized crime, the latest allegations against Rami’s government will complicate its path to EU membership.

The United States helped implement Albania’s judicial reform process, including the creation of the Specialized Anti-Corruption Structure (SPAK). The State Department’s Bureau of International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs (INL) invested millions to foster democratic progress in Albania and assisted in combating Albania’s struggles with corruption and strengthening its weak institutions.

Nesho warned the U.S. and European Union need to get serious with policy in the Western Balkans and help move Albania closer to European integration.

"If Washington and Brussels continue to look the other way — failing to enforce the rule of law, restore real checks and balances, and cut the regime’s ties to organized crime and drug trafficking — Albania risks drifting into the orbit of Eastern-style autocracy," Nesho said.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Thursday asked a court to revoke the Israeli citizenship of two Palestinian men convicted of terrorism offenses.

The effort appears to be the first use of a law enacted three years ago allowing the revocation of citizenship and subsequent deportation of Palestinian citizens who were convicted of certain violent crimes such as terrorism and received financial support from the Palestinian Authority as a reward.

Netanyahu filed court documents arguing that the severity of the crimes, along with payments the men reportedly received from a Palestinian Authority fund, justify pulling their citizenship and expelling them from the Jewish State.

The prime minister has long claimed the fund rewards violence, including attacks on civilians.

TRUMP SAYS HE WOULD ‘ABSOLUTELY’ REVOKE CITIZENSHIP FROM NATURALIZED CRIMINALS — IF HE HAS THE AUTHORITY

But Palestinian officials have contended that it is a safety net for the broad cross‑section of society with family members in Israeli detention. They also accused Netanyahu of focusing on the relatively small number of beneficiaries who carried out the attacks.

When the law passed, critics argued that it allowed Israel's legal system to treat Jewish and Palestinian people differently. Civil rights groups said that basing a deportation law on Palestinian Authority payments effectively excluded Jewish Israelis, including settlers convicted of attacks against Palestinians, from the threat of losing their citizenship, as the statute targeted people of a certain race.

Netanyahu said this week that the government launched proceedings against the two men and that similar cases would be brought in the future.

TRUMP MEETS NETANYAHU, SAYS HE WANTS IRAN DEAL BUT REMINDS TEHRAN OF 'MIDNIGHT HAMMER' OPERATION

Israeli officials said Mohamad Ahmad, a citizen from Jerusalem, was convicted of "offenses that constitute an act of terrorism and receiving funds in connection with terrorism." He allegedly received payment after he was sentenced in 2002 for a shooting attack and served 23 years before his release in 2024.

Mohammed Ahmad Hussein al-Halsi was sentenced in 2016 to 18 years behind bars for stabbing elderly women. He also allegedly received payments while in prison.

Ahmad would be deported immediately, while al-Halsi would be removed upon his release, as individuals are subject to removal to Gaza once their sentences are complete under the 2023 law, which applies to citizens or permanent residents convicted of "committing an act that constitutes a breach of loyalty to the State of Israel," including terrorism.

The general director of Israel's Adalah legal center, Hassan Jabareen, called the move to use the law "a cynical propaganda move" by Netanyahu. He said stripping citizenship violated the most basic principles of the rule of law, including by acting against people who have completed prison sentences.

"The Israeli government is attempting to strip individuals of the very foundation through which all rights are protected, their nationality," he said on Thursday, according to The Associated Press.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

The USS Gerald R. Ford has been ordered to move from the Caribbean Sea to the Middle East, as President Donald Trump weighs whether to take military action against Iran amid tensions in the region, a U.S. official confirmed to Fox News.

This will put two aircraft carriers and their accompanying warships in the region. The USS Abraham Lincoln aircraft carrier and three guided-missile destroyers arrived in the Middle East more than two weeks ago.

The USS Ford, which set out on deployment in June 2025, was sent from the Mediterranean Sea to the Caribbean last fall as the administration established a significant military presence ahead of the operation to strike Venezuela and capture its president, Nicolás Maduro.

SCOTT BESSENT SAYS IRAN UNDERSTANDS 'BRUTE FORCE' AS TRUMP WEIGHS OPTIONS AMID NUCLEAR STANDOFF

On Thursday, Trump warned Iran that failure to reach a deal with the U.S. regarding its nuclear program would be "very traumatic" after the two countries held indirect talks in Oman last week.

"It should happen quickly. They should agree very quickly," he told reporters.

Trump held talks with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Wednesday and said he insisted to the Israeli leader that negotiations with Iran must continue.

TRUMP SAYS IRANIAN SUPREME LEADER KHAMENEI SHOULD BE 'VERY WORRIED' AMID TENSIONS

Netanyahu is calling on the Trump administration to push Tehran to scale back its ballistic missile program and end its support for terror groups such as Hamas and Hezbollah as part of any deal.

Fox News' Jennifer Griffin and The Associated Press contributed to this report.

Switzerland is set to vote this summer on a proposal aimed at capping the country’s population at 10 million, the latest effort by the nation’s leading right-wing party to restrict immigration.

The Swiss People’s Party (SVP), which holds the most seats in parliament, announced the referendum on Wednesday after gathering enough support through petition signatures.  

The measure, which will be put on the national ballot on June 14, comes just as the population neared 9.1 million, according to the Federal Statistics Office.

The anti-immigration campaign was proposed as officials noted that foreign-born residents now make up about 27 percent of the population.

DUBLIN PROTESTERS CLASH WITH POLICE, BURN VEHICLE AFTER MIGRANT ACCUSED OF SEXUALLY ASSAULTING IRISH GIRL

The SVP, which has long sought to curb rising migration, said that more than 1 million immigrants from the European Union (EU) came to Switzerland in 2024.

The party called the situation "uncontrolled immigration," saying that "the majority of the Swiss population suffers" from increased demand on environmental resources and infrastructure.

"Our small country is bursting at the seams," the party said. "Nature is being paved over. There are ever more traffic jams on the roads, overburdened public transport, overburdened schools, housing shortage and rising rents, massively increasing crime and exploding costs for Swiss taxpayers."

STARMER’S DIGITAL ID WORK REQUIREMENT SPARKS UPROAR FROM UK'S LEFT AND RIGHT

If the measure is enshrined into law, both Swiss citizens and foreign residents must not exceed a total population of 10 million before 2050.

If the population reaches 9.5 million before then, the government may take steps to curb growth by introducing measures on asylum and family reunification, noting that many immigrants — primarily Muslim men from North Africa, the Middle East, and Afghanistan — enter through asylum applications.

GREENLAND'S PRIME MINISTER SAYS 'WE CHOOSE DENMARK' OVER THE US 

Major Swiss political parties outside the SVP, including centrist, left-leaning and liberal groups, have reportedly rejected the initiative.

Critics cautioned that the passing of such measure could strain Switzerland’s relations with its European neighbors, as most foreign-born residents hail from other EU countries.

In response, the SVP said lawmakers "could not have made it clearer that they don't care about the concerns of the population, which is increasingly suffering from uncontrolled immigration."

They also stressed that they do not intend to terminate the "free movement of persons agreement with the EU," which allows European citizens to move and work freely across borders, and said such cancellation would remain a last resort if the Federal Council fails to limit immigration.

UNITED NATIONS: Iran’s election as vice-chair of the United Nations Commission for Social Development is being slammed by human rights advocates and policy analysts, who have condemned the U.N.'s hypocrisy when it comes to its treatment of undemocratic regimes. 

The leadership role was approved without objection during a meeting of the commission, where delegates adopted agenda items and organizational decisions by consensus.

The United Nations has faced continued criticism over its inaction towards the regime's violent crackdown against protesters in December and January. On Wednesday, U.N. Secretary General António Guterres faced criticism for congratulating Iran on the anniversary of the 1979 Islamic revolution.

UN CHIEF BLASTED AS ‘ABJECTLY TONE-DEAF’ OVER MESSAGE TO IRAN MARKING REVOLUTION ANNIVERSARY

U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Mike Waltz criticized the development, writing on X: "Yet another reason why we are not a member of, nor do we participate in, this ridiculous ‘Commission for Social Development.’"

Alireza Jafarzadeh, author of The Iran Threat and deputy director of the U.S. office of the National Council of Resistance of Iran, also criticized the decision. "Having the Iranian regime in the leadership of a U.N. body tasked with promoting democracy, gender equality, tolerance and non-violence is appalling and like fox guarding the hen house," Jafarzadeh said. "The vast majority of the Iranian people are calling for regime change because the mullahs are the world’s leading human rights violators, misogynist to the core, and they slaughter the voices of dissent by thousands."

He argued that Iran should face scrutiny rather than institutional advancement. "Instead, the Iranian regime must be a subject of intense investigation and accountability by all U.N. bodies for crimes against humanity and genocide, from the 1980s to January 2026 uprisings," Jafarzadeh said. "Decades of inaction by Western governments have emboldened the regime. This must stop now."

G7 THREATENS IRAN WITH NEW SANCTIONS OVER NATIONWIDE PROTEST CRACKDOWN KILLING THOUSANDS

"By electing Iran to help lead a commission devoted to democracy, women’s rights and non-violence, the U.N. makes itself into a mockery," said Hillel Neuer, executive director of UN Watch. "This is a regime that brutalizes women for not covering their hair, and that just massacred tens of thousands of its own civilians in two days."

Neuer argued that governments had the ability to block the appointment but chose not to act. "The EU states know how to stop abusive regimes from winning these seats — they’ve done so in the recent past with Russia — but this time on Iran, they chose silence and complicity," he said. "By rewarding the Mullahs right after their slaughter of innocents, the U.N. has now sent a very dangerous message to Tehran."

Lisa Daftari, an Iran analyst, said the optics of Iran holding a leadership role in a commission centered on social development and rights were deeply troubling.

US AMBASSADOR WARNS IRAN AT EMERGENCY UN MEETING THAT TRUMP IS 'MAN OF ACTION,' 'ALL OPTIONS ARE ON THE TABLE'

"For Iranian women who risk prison or worse just for taking off a headscarf, watching Tehran get a vice-chair on a U.N. social-development commission feels like a slap in the face."

She added that broader patterns in U.N. voting and resolutions contribute to perceptions of bias.

"When the same U.N. system has spent the last decade passing roughly 170-plus resolutions against Israel and only around 80 on all other countries combined, you don’t need a PhD to see there’s a bias problem," Daftari said. "When the U.N. has churned out well over a hundred anti-Israel resolutions in recent years while managing a fraction of that number on the world’s worst dictatorships, it looks less like moral leadership and more like political theater."

Daftari rejected that procedural nature of United Nations committees and committees.

"Some diplomats will wave this away as a procedural formality, but at the U.N. nothing is ever purely symbolic," she said. "The bottom line is that handing Iran’s regime a gavel on ‘social development’ confirms yet again that the place is biased and deeply hypocritical."

South Korea's espionage agency, the National Intelligence Service, informed lawmakers Thursday that it thinks North Korean leader Kim Jong Un's teenage daughter is near to being set apart as the regime's future leader, The Associated Press reported.

Kim is the third generation of men in his family to rule North Korea.

In a closed-door briefing, NIS officials said they are closely monitoring whether Kim’s daughter — believed to be named Kim Ju Ae and around 13 years old — appears with him before thousands of delegates at the upcoming Workers’ Party Congress, said lawmaker Lee Seong Kweun, who attended the meeting.

NORTH KOREA EXECUTED TEENS FOR LISTENING TO K-POP, WATCHING ‘SQUID GAME’: REPORT

"In the past, (NIS) described Kim Ju Ae as being in the midst of ‘successor training.’ What was notable today is that they used the term ‘successor-designate stage,’ a shift that’s quite significant," Lee noted, according to the outlet.

In 2023, South Korea's National Intelligence Service indicated to lawmakers that the North Korean leader and his wife probably had an older son as well as younger, third child of unknown gender, according to The Associated Press.

PENTAGON PLANS TO GIVE SOUTH KOREA PRIMARY ROLE IN DETERRING NORTH KOREA THREATS UNDER NEW STRATEGY

North Korea is one of the world's few nuclear-armed nations, making it a unique threat on the global stage.

A 2025 U.S. Intelligence Community Annual Threat Assessment stated that "Kim remains committed to increasing the number of North Korea’s nuclear warheads and improving its missile capabilities to threaten the Homeland and U.S. forces, citizens, and allies, and to weaken U.S. power in the AsiaPacific region, as evidenced by the pace of the North’s missile flight tests and the regime’s public touting of its uranium enrichment capabilities."

THE WORLD'S TOP NUCLEAR POWERS HAVE NO ARSENAL LIMITS, HERE ARE THE COUNTRIES WITH NUKES

"Russia is increasingly supporting North Korea’s nuclear status in exchange for Pyongyang's support to Moscow’s war against Ukraine," the assessment noted.

The Associated Press contributed to this report

The U.S. military has completed its withdrawal of American forces from al-Tanf Garrison in Syria, U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM) announced Thursday.

The departure, finalized Feb. 11, was carried out as part of a broader shift in U.S. posture in the region under Operation Inherent Resolve, the coalition mission launched in 2014 to combat ISIS.

American troops have maintained a limited presence in the country to support partner forces and prevent the terrorist group from resurging after it was territorially defeated in 2019.

Syria’s Defense Ministry said government forces took control of the al-Tanf base following the U.S. withdrawal and have begun deploying along the country’s borders with Iraq and Jordan, according to the Syrian Arab News Agency, the country’s state-run news outlet.

US MILITARY LAUNCHES AIRSTRIKES AGAINST ISIS TARGETS IN SYRIA, OFFICIALS SAY

The ministry said the handover was coordinated with U.S. officials and that Syrian Arab Army units moved in to secure the base and surrounding areas in the tri-border desert region.

The development follows a Pentagon decision in April 2025 to scale back and consolidate U.S. forces in Syria. 

Caroline Rose, director of the Crime-Conflict Nexus and Military Withdrawals portfolios at the New Lines Institute, told Fox News Digital that al-Tanf was one of the most strategically important U.S. garrisons in Syria, if not the broader Middle East, as it offered access, insight and intelligence collection along Syria's borders with Jordan and Iraq.

AFTER TRUMP DECLARED ISIS DEFEATED, US FACES NEW TEST AS DETAINEES MOVE AMID SYRIA POWER SHIFT

"This was not only pivotal during the U.S.-led Coalition to defeat the Islamic State, where there was a threat of cross-border offensives and violence, but also proved key to U.S. deterrence efforts against Iran-backed militia networks that operated in Iraq and Syria," she said. "The U.S. pullout from Al-Tanf is a signal that Washington is now comfortable with where the counter-ISIS fight is and the defeat of Iran-aligned proxy networks in the region, along with Syrian security integration efforts with the [Syrian Democratic Forces]."

Rose added that the departure could be viewed as a setback for Jordan, which has long depended on the U.S. position at al-Tanf to deter adversarial actors in the region.

Despite the withdrawal, U.S. forces remain prepared to counter ISIS threats, CENTCOM said, noting that in the past two months, American forces have struck more than 100 targets in the region and captured or killed more than four dozen ISIS fighters.

The change in posture comes just weeks after U.S. forces transferred 150 ISIS fighters from a detention facility in Hasakah, Syria, to a secure location in Iraq. 

FROM SYRIA TO SOMALIA, US TROOPS REMAIN DEPLOYED THIS HOLIDAY SEASON UNDER MISSIONS THAT NEVER FORMALLY ENDED

Officials indicated in late January that thousands more detainees could also be moved as part of the broader effort to maintain long-term security in the region.

Syria became the 90th member of the Global Coalition to Defeat ISIS, a U.S.-led alliance formed to coordinate international efforts against the extremist group, in November.

Tom Barrack, the U.S. ambassador to Turkey and special envoy for Syria, said Damascus — under interim President Ahmed al-Sharaa — is prepared to assume security responsibilities, including control of ISIS detention facilities and camps, following the 2024 ouster of Bashar al-Assad.

The United States is warning Peru that China’s growing control over a major Pacific port could threaten the country’s sovereignty, escalating tensions over Beijing’s expanding footprint in Latin America.

The concern centers on the $1.3 billion deep-water port in Chancay, north of Lima, which has become a flashpoint between Washington and Beijing after a Peruvian court ruling limited government regulatory oversight of the project.

The State Department’s Bureau of Western Hemisphere Affairs said on social media that it was "concerned about latest reports that Peru could be powerless to oversee Chancay, one of its largest ports, which is under the jurisdiction of predatory Chinese owners," adding: "We support Peru’s sovereign right to oversee critical infrastructure in its own territory. Let this be a cautionary tale for the region and the world: cheap Chinese money costs sovereignty."

CONGRESSIONAL COMMISSION WARNS CHINA'S PACIFIC INFRASTRUCTURE PROJECTS COULD POSE A MILITARY THREAT

China's foreign ministry rejected the comments as "rumor-mongering and smearing" and insisted the project remains under Peruvian authority, according to The Associated Press report.

Asia analyst Gordon Chang told Fox News Digital: "Chancay is so central that analysts say it will redirect trade across the South Pacific. We know Beijing considers ports to be dual-use and strategic. China, held up the BlackRock deal to acquire the CK Hutchinson port operations in the Panama Canal Zone even though the ports are nowhere near China itself."

"In times of war, China will not allow its port operations to load, unload, or service American ships or ships coming from or going to U.S. ports," he warned.

Jack Burnham, senior analyst in the China program at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies, said the port reflects a broader strategic push by Beijing in the region.

SOUTH AMERICAN LEADER DEFIES TRUMP'S ‘DONROE DOCTRINE’ IN BOLD CHINA PIVOT TOWARD XI

"The Chancay port is a keystone in China’s investment in Latin America — its size and proximity provide a bridge across the Pacific and access to another market to fuel Beijing’s export-driven economic engine," Burnham said.

"China’s investment in Peru is predicated on Beijing grasping the sinews of Lima’s critical infrastructure to gain influence. With effective control over the port cemented for now by a lower Peruvian court ruling, China gains access to one of the largest critical infrastructure projects in the region, a position from which it could exercise significant control."

The dispute comes as Washington and Beijing compete for influence across Latin America, where China has expanded investment through infrastructure projects and trade, analysts say.

China’s state-owned shipping giant Cosco, which holds a majority stake in the project, dismissed U.S. concerns and said the court ruling "in no way involves aspects of sovereignty," adding that Peruvian authorities still oversee security, environmental compliance and customs, according to The Associated Press.

Peru’s transport infrastructure regulator, Ositran, has said it plans to appeal the ruling, arguing the port should not be exempt from the same oversight applied to other major facilities.

China's Embassy in Washington, D.C., did not provide a comment in time for publication.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

Russia will temporarily suspend flights to Cuba after airlines reported difficulties refueling aircraft on the island, aviation authorities said Wednesday.

Russia’s Federal Air Transport Agency Rosaviatsia said in a statement posted on Telegram that the airlines Rossiya, part of the Aeroflot Group, and Nordwind were forced to adjust their flight programs due to problems securing fuel in Cuba.

In the coming days, Rossiya will operate several outbound-only flights from Havana and Varadero to Moscow to return Russian tourists home before halting service.

After those repatriation flights are completed, the airline’s Cuba program will be suspended until the situation improves, the agency said, calling the decision one made "in the interests of passengers."

US MILITARY SEIZES ANOTHER FUGITIVE OIL TANKER LINKED TO VENEZUELA

The Transport Ministry and Rosaviatsia said they are maintaining close contact with Cuban aviation authorities and are exploring alternative options to restore two-way service.

The announcement comes two weeks after President Donald Trump declared a national emergency over Cuba and authorized new measures aimed at choking off the island’s oil supplies.

CUBA PROTESTERS DEMAND FOOD, ELECTRICITY AS RUBIO SAYS NATION ON 'VERGE OF COLLAPSE’ FROM MARXIST POLICIES

In a Jan. 29 executive order, Trump said Cuba poses an "unusual and extraordinary threat" to U.S. national security and empowered his administration to impose tariffs on goods from any country that "directly or indirectly sells or otherwise provides any oil to Cuba."

The order, which took effect Jan. 30, allows additional duties on imports from countries found to be supplying oil to Havana, part of what Trump described as a "zero tolerance" policy toward the Cuban government.

The Federal Aviation Administration’s website shows a Notice to Airmen, or NOTAM, an official alert issued to pilots about hazards or operational disruptions, was posted Feb. 10 for nine Cuban airports warning that Jet A-1 fuel is not available.

The advisory covers Havana (MUHA), Varadero (MUVR), Cienfuegos (MUCF), Santa Clara (MUSC), Camagüey (MUCM), Cayo Coco (MUCC), Holguín (MUHG), Santiago de Cuba (MUCU) and Manzanillo (MUMZ), and remains in effect through March 11.

The Norwegian Nobel Committee is calling on Iran to stop its physical abuse and life-threatening treatment of Nobel peace laureate Narges Mohammadi, who has been imprisoned since December. 

The committee said it had received "credible reports" of "life-threatening mistreatment" of Mohammadi, an activist arrested by plain-clothes agents while peacefully attending the funeral of the late human rights lawyer and advocate Khosrow Alikordi.

Mohammadi has been beaten by wooden sticks and batons and dragged across the ground by her hair, tearing sections of her scalp and causing open wounds, the committee said. 

US AMBASSADOR WARNS IRAN AT EMERGENCY UN MEETING THAT TRUMP IS 'MAN OF ACTION,' 'ALL OPTIONS ARE ON THE TABLE'

Furthermore, she was repeatedly kicked in the genitals and pelvic region, leaving her unable to sit or move without severe pain and raising serious concerns of bone fracture, it said.

"The Committee is horrified by these acts, and reiterates that Ms. Mohammadi’s imprisonment is arbitrary and unjust," committee Chair Jorgen Watne Frydnes said in a statement. "Her only ‘offence’ is the peaceful exercise of her fundamental rights – freedom of expression, association and assembly – in defence (sic) of women’s equality and human dignity."

TOP IRANIAN GENERAL THREATENS TO 'CUT OFF' TRUMP'S HAND OVER POTENTIAL MILITARY STRIKES

An Iranian prosecutor at the time of the arrest told reporters that Mohammadi made provocative remarks at the memorial ceremony in the northeastern city of Mashhad and encouraged those present "to chant norm‑breaking slogans" and "disturb the peace," Reuters reported. 

Mohammadi, who won the Nobel Peace Prize in 2023, has spent much of the last two decades in Iran’s infamous Evin prison.   

The committee is calling on Tehran to release Mohammadi and guarantee her access to medical care. 

"Mohammadi's ordeal is yet another grim example of the brutal repression that has followed the mass protests in Iran, where countless women and men have risked their lives to demand freedom, equality and basic human rights," it said.

Iran dominated the agenda in Wednesday’s White House meeting between President Donald Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, with both leaders signaling that diplomacy with Tehran remains uncertain and that coordination will continue if talks fail.

In a post on Truth Social following the meeting, Trump said he pushed for continued negotiations but left open other options.

"There was nothing definitive reached other than I insisted that negotiations with Iran continue to see whether or not a deal can be consummated. If it can, I let the Prime Minister know that will be a preference. If it cannot, we will just have to see what the outcome will be… Last time Iran decided that they were better off not making a deal, and they were hit with Midnight Hammer — That did not work well for them."

Netanyahu’s office said the leaders discussed Iran, Gaza and broader regional developments and agreed to maintain close coordination, adding that the prime minister emphasized Israel’s security needs in the context of negotiations.

FROM GAZA TO IRAN: WHAT’S AT STAKE IN TRUMP-NETANYAHU MAR-A-LAGO TALKS?

Earlier in the day, Netanyahu formally joined the U.S.-backed Board of Peace, signing onto the initiative ahead of the meeting after weeks of hesitation. The move places Israel inside a forum that includes Western partners as well as Turkey and Qatar, whose involvement in Gaza has drawn criticism in Jerusalem.

Experts say the decision reflects strategic calculations tied to both Gaza and Iran.

Dr. Dan Diker, president of the Jerusalem Center for Security and Foreign Affairs, said Netanyahu’s participation is directly linked to cooperation with Washington and to shaping postwar arrangements in Gaza.

"It is in Israel’s interest for Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to join the Board of Peace. He needs a place at that table even alongside adversarial powers such as Muslim Brotherhood-aligned countries Qatar and Turkey. Netanyahu’s membership in the Board of Peace is an important element in his cooperation with President Trump to help implement the 20-point plan, with deradicalization, disarming Hamas and demilitarization as the first three non-negotiable actions."

ISRAELI OFFICIALS REPORTEDLY WARN IRAN'S BALLISTIC MISSILES COULD TRIGGER SOLO MILITARY ACTION AGAINST TEHRAN

Diker said the decision is also tied to Iran. "More strategic reason that Netanyahu’s membership on the Board of Peace is important is that it represents an element of cooperation to counter the Iranian regime. Netanyahu is likely counting on action against the Iranian regime from the Iranian people themselves and from the United States in the coming weeks. In exchange, Netanyahu continues to cooperate in implementing the 20-point plan in Gaza as part of a quid pro quo."

Blaise Misztal, vice president for policy at the Jewish Institute for National Security of America, described Israel’s move as a pragmatic choice shaped by the incomplete implementation of the Gaza deal and the broader regional threat environment.

"The implementation of the Gaza peace deal leaves much to be desired. Hamas, despite being given 72 hours to release all hostages, took over 100 days to do so; Hamas has still not disarmed; there is neither an International Stabilization Force nor any countries jumping at the chance to join it; and the Board of Peace comprises countries that have shown themselves enemies of peace with Israel."

He said Israel ultimately chose engagement over isolation. "Proceeding with the deal — including joining the Board of Peace — is Israel’s least bad option. Israel has a better chance of countering or balancing Turkish and Qatari influence on the Board of Peace by being in the room with them, rather than outside it."

Misztal also linked the timing to Iran. "With the United States having a real chance to disarm, or even topple, the Iranian regime and the risk that Tehran might yet lash out at Israel, there is no interest in doing anything that would risk restarting the war in Gaza."