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Serbian President Aleksandar Vučić says relations between Serbia and the United States have undergone a dramatic transformation under President Donald Trump, a shift he says has changed public perceptions in a country where memories of the 1999 NATO bombing campaign remain deeply rooted.
In an exclusive interview with Fox News Digital, Vučić praised Trump's approach to the Balkans, arguing that the administration's focus on economic cooperation rather than political pressure resonated with many Serbs. "President Trump and his team so far were working very diligently and dedicatedly on the Western Balkans," Vučić said, adding that many Serbs view his administration very differently from previous U.S. governments.
"If you ask people in Serbia just to make a comparison between Clinton and Trump's administration, or Democrats to Republicans, you wouldn't believe it," Vučić said. "It would be 90 to 10 or 95 to 5."
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The comparison is particularly striking in Serbia, where many still associate the United States with NATO's 1999 bombing campaign during the Kosovo conflict, launched to stop Serbian forces' crackdown on ethnic Albanians in Kosovo and which remains one of the most consequential events in modern Serbian history.
Vučić said he recently extended an invitation to Trump to visit Serbia and predicted the American president would receive an enthusiastic welcome.
"I hope that we'll be able to host him," Vučić said. "More people will be ready to greet him and wait for him than he might even expect…I dare to say even more than hundreds of thousands of people."
The Serbian president said the improving relationship between Washington and Belgrade is increasingly centered on economics, investment and technological cooperation, and mutual conservative values.
According to Vučić, Serbia and the United States are preparing to launch a strategic dialogue that will focus on energy, infrastructure, artificial intelligence, defense cooperation and investment opportunities. Among the projects under discussion are energy infrastructure, liquefied natural gas cooperation, data centers and advanced computing technologies.
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The growing relationship comes as Serbia seeks to position itself as a regional economic hub while continuing its long-standing ambition of joining the European Union.
Vučić pointed to preparations for Expo 2027 in Belgrade with nearly 150 participating countries, as evidence of Serbia's growing international profile and economic ambitions.
Vučić, who has served as Serbia's dominant political figure since becoming prime minister in 2014 and president in 2017, pointed to the country's economic growth as evidence of its transformation. "Our GDP was 32 billion (euros) when I became the prime minister," Vučić said. "This year it's going to be over 100 billion euros., which is $120 billion."
Vučić's relationship with Trump dates back to the president's first term, when the White House brokered a series of economic normalization agreements between Serbia and Kosovo. Rather than focusing first on the politically explosive question of Kosovo's status, the Trump administration emphasized infrastructure projects, transportation links and investment aimed at improving ties between the two sides.
In September 2020, Vučić and then-Kosovo Prime Minister Avdullah Hoti signed U.S.-brokered economic agreements at the White House that included commitments to expand rail and highway connections and promote investment. Trump described the deal as a breakthrough achieved by focusing on "job creation and economic growth" rather than longstanding political disputes.
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Asked whether he would consider recognizing Kosovo, which declared independence from Serbia in 2008 and has been recognized by the United States under President George W. Bush and most European countries, if doing so unlocked Serbia's economic future and accelerated its path toward membership in the European Union, Vučić pushed back on the premise, arguing that economic cooperation and improved relations should come before discussions about political status.
"I'm not saying that I'm ready to violate my constitution… I have always been open to talks or compromising solutions, I have always been open to developing great economic ties and no doubt much better political ties. But I was not speaking about recognition of someone's independence," he said.
While Serbia continues to pursue membership in the European Union, the country has also maintained ties with Russia and China, a balancing act that has drawn scrutiny amid Russia's war in Ukraine and growing geopolitical tensions worldwide.
Asked whether Serbia could continue navigating between East and West in an increasingly divided world or would eventually need to choose a side, Vučić rejected the notion that countries must choose between competing geopolitical camps. Instead, he pointed to both his own visit to China and Trump's engagement with Beijing as examples of what he described as pragmatic diplomacy focused on national interests.
"President Trump didn't go there because of his vanity," Vučić said of Trump's visit to China. "He brought with him all the leading people of the United States of America for making better businesses, for earning more money for their companies."
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Vučić said he adopted a similar approach during his own visit, arguing that leaders should prioritize economic opportunities for their citizens rather than ideological alignments. "I'm coming from a small country. I was asking for more investments and was fighting for the interests of my people," he said.
The Serbian president said the same pragmatic approach should guide efforts to resolve ongoing conflicts in both Ukraine and the Middle East.
"It's always better to have thousands of days of negotiations than one day of war," he said.
Asked about tensions involving Iran and the wider conflict in the Middle East, Vučić reiterated Serbia's support for Israel, a position that increasingly distinguishes Belgrade from some European governments.
"I am the president of the country that is one of the very rare countries in Europe that is not hesitating to cooperate and collaborate with Israel," he said. "And it is proud to say this publicly and openly."
Vučić warned about what he described as rising antisemitism around the world.
"From time to time, I'm very much afraid to see a lot of antisemitic slogans and antisemitic banners," he said.
"The Serbian president said Serbia has resisted those trends and pledged that it would continue to do so under his leadership."
"It does not happen in Serbia, and it won't happen as long as I'm the president."
Israel's deputy foreign minister accused the European Union of weaponizing a "socially acceptable mask" of anti-Zionism to target Israel— after it sanctioned Israeli civil society groups that oppose a Palestinian state. It also sanctioned several individuals.
"We are witnessing a deeply troubling trend where traditional antisemitism has simply put on a new, socially acceptable mask: anti-Zionism," Deputy Foreign Minister Sharren Haskel told Fox News Digital. "Where prejudice once targeted the individual Jew, it is now directed at the collective Jewish state and our fundamental right to live in our ancestral homeland. But make no mistake, the political targeting of Israel always bleeds into an assault on Jewish life itself," Haskel added.
The European Union imposed the sanctions on four Israeli civil society organizations and three of their senior figures, alleging support for "settler violence" and claiming they undermine prospects for a Palestinian state — a move that Regavim, one of the groups targeted, described as an infringement on Israeli sovereignty.
"Our entire activity consists of legal and parliamentary work. We collect and analyze information and policies and go to court and the legislature to highlight areas where Israel’s policy is either lacking or misguided," Naomi Kahn, Regavim’s director of international division, told Fox News Digital.
"The European Union is trying to control the internal political system and policies of an independent state that is supposed to be an ally. When we point out the absurdity of the situation, they don’t like it," she said.
In its announcement, the European External Action Service (EEAS) stated that "extremist settlers and the organizations supporting them contribute directly to violence, forced displacement and dispossession across the West Bank."
The sanctions, according to the EEAS, "target entities and individuals that facilitate, finance or support activities contributing to settler violence and serious human rights abuses against Palestinians."
The statement also accused Regavim of lobbying for "the demolition of Palestinian property" and referenced an EU-funded school in Jabbet al-Dhib near Bethlehem.
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Kahn said the school was constructed illegally on Israeli state land in Area C, within a nature reserve connected to the Herodian complex. She said legal proceedings were carried out regarding the structure and that it was ultimately demolished.
Under the 1993 Oslo Accords, negotiated during the Clinton administration, the West Bank was divided into three areas: Area A, under full Palestinian control; Area B, under Palestinian civil authority with Israeli security control; and Area C, under full Israeli administrative and security control.
Kahn added that an engineering assessment found the school unsafe for use, arguing that placing students and teachers inside it posed "downright dangerous" conditions.
"We pointed out that the EU and the Palestinian Authority are simply violating the law in a very purposeful, systematic way to take control of Area C using structures like schools, sometimes mosques, and homes of innocent people that they push into those areas," she added.
Regavim has published a report claiming there are 100 illegal schools in Area C that it says are being used by the P.A. as part of a broader strategy of de facto annexation.
Separately, a 2023 mapping study by Regavim estimated that roughly 103,000 unauthorized Arab-built structures exist across the West Bank, asserting that the P.A.— often with external support — has facilitated extensive illegal construction activity.
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In response, Israel’s cabinet last month approved a set of broad measures aimed at countering efforts by the P.A. to establish de facto control over disputed territories.
Under the resolution, initiatives attributed to Ramallah to create a parallel land registry in Area C were declared to have no legal validity or standing.
"The real target here is not violence, but legitimate political opposition. The sanctioned organizations do not support violent action; rather, they have consistently challenged the concept of a two-state solution and exposed how the EU actively builds illegal structures in Judea and Samaria," Haskel said, referring to the biblical names of the territories.
She accused the EU of disregarding the Oslo Accords and "attempting to unilaterally alter facts on the ground to steal Israeli land."
Haskel acknowledged there was an issue, as in any society, with some individuals who break the law, but emphasized they represent a small minority and that Israel investigates and prosecutes them. She said grouping hundreds of thousands of law-abiding Israeli residents in the West Bank together with Hamas — a genocidal terror organization responsible for mass murder — distorts moral distinctions.
She said, "This creates a false and dangerous symmetry that minimizes the exceptional threat of global terrorism while politically targeting individual Israelis. It is an unacceptable moral equivalence that blurs the line between a sovereign democracy defending its people and the savage terror apparatus trying to destroy it."
Following several requests for comment, EEAS referred Fox News Digital to its original sanctions statement.
U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM) announced that it carried out "self-defense strikes" against Iran over the weekend.
"U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM) conducted self-defense strikes on Iranian radar and command and control sites for drones in Goruk, Iran and Qeshm Island this weekend," a press release noted.
"The measured and deliberate strikes occurred on Saturday and Sunday in response to aggressive Iranian actions that included the shootdown of a U.S. MQ-1 drone that was operating over international waters. U.S. fighter aircraft swiftly responded by eliminating Iranian air defenses, a ground control station, and two one-way attack drones that posed clear threats to ships transiting regional waters," CENTCOM continued.
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"No American service members were harmed. CENTCOM will continue to protect U.S. assets and interests in response to unwarranted Iranian aggression during the ongoing ceasefire," the release added.
The Associated Press reported that Kuwait noted its air defenses opened fire on Monday to intercept drone and missile attacks. Around the same time, Iran’s paramilitary Revolutionary Guard said it responded to an American attack without saying where, likely referring to the attack on Kuwait. The Guard, via a statement reported by the state-run IRNA news agency, indicated that America targeted a telecommunications tower, according to the AP.
U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM) said in a Monday post on X, "Last night at 11 p.m. ET, U.S. forces successfully intercepted two Iranian ballistic missiles targeting American forces based in Kuwait. These missiles were immediately defeated and no American personnel were harmed. U.S. Central Command remains vigilant and will continue to protect our forces from Iranian aggression while supporting the ongoing ceasefire."
Asserting that Iran "really wants" to strike an agreement, President Donald Trump declared in a Monday morning Truth Social post that chattering critics are making it more difficult for him to negotiate.
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He urged people to "sit back and relax," claiming that the issue will ultimately turn out "well."
"Iran really wants to make a deal, and it will be a good one for the U.S.A. and those that are with us. But don’t the Dumocrats, and various seemingly unpatriotic Republicans, understand that it is MUCH tougher for me to properly do my job and negotiate, when political hacks keep negatively ‘chirping,’ at levels never seen before, over and over again, that I should move faster, or move slower, or go to war, or not go to war, or whatever," he declared in a Truth Social post early on Monday.
"Just sit back and relax, it will all work out well in the end - It always does!" he declared.
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The U.S. is continuing to conduct a blockade against Iran.
"U.S. forces operating in the Gulf of Oman enforced blockade measures by disabling a Gambia-flagged maritime vessel attempting to sail toward an Iranian port, May 29," CENTCOM announced in a Saturday press release.
The Associated Press contributed to this report
JOHANNESBURG — An estimated 30,000 mostly Muslim Fulani militants are operating in Nigeria, causing "worsening insecurity and religious freedom violations," according to an influential new report.
The report, by the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF), states "violence by Fulani militants caused the highest number of deaths among all religious communities in Nigeria over the last year, as compared to attacks by organized insurgent groups and criminal gangs."
The Fulanis, so-called herders of livestock, have, according to the USCIRF report, "targeted Christian (farming) communities in the Middle Belt and, increasingly, the South, burning homes and churches as well as kidnapping, raping, and murdering."
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But a former counterterrorism expert at the State Department told Fox News Digital that the kind of strikes the U.S., working with Nigerian government forces, have recently carried out in Nigeria’s North against Islamist terrorist organizations such as Boko Haram and Islamic State, wouldn’t work against the Fulanis in the predominantly Christian central areas of the country.
Sterling Tilley, former acting director within the Bureau of Counterterrorism, who has worked in Nigeria for the State Department, said that the U.S. "militarily dealing with the farmer-herder conflict is not advisable because it is likely to bring more instability in the country." Tilley, now director of the Thomas R. Pickering Graduate Foreign Affairs Fellowship at Howard University, added, "There are some steps that can be taken to quell the violence, but there must be Nigerian political will to do so."
This week, Secretary of War Pete Hegseth commented on the recent strikes ordered by President Donald Trump on Nigeria, saying, "Maybe a year ago, [the president] heard the call of Nigerian Christians who were being targeted and killed by ISIS. And he said, 'Pete, I want the War Department to focus on ensuring that we do everything we can to protect those Christians.'"
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Christians make up approximately 48%, and the Fulanis, the report says, represent around 6%, or 14.5 million of Nigeria’s population. Fulani militants, the USCIRF report stated, "have often carried out operations during Christian holidays such as Christmas or Easter to further maximize the psychological impact, terrifying those communities from gathering to celebrate or worship. During attacks, assailants sometimes utter slogans with religious connotations, such as "Allahu Akbar" (Arabic for "God is great").
But, according to the report, Muslims are being attacked too. "Fulani assailants have not spared Muslims, raiding herders’ cattle and violently attacking non-Fulani Muslim communities," the report added.
"Violence at the hands of militants from the Fulani tribe far outnumbers violence from all other militant groups such as Boko Haram or ISWAP (Islamic State West African Province)," Henrietta Blyth, CEO of Open Doors UK & Ireland, an organization that highlights the persecution of Christians, told Fox News Digital.
While her organization was not part of the report, she said, "My heart has been broken as I have heard stories from women and men who have seen their beloved family members butchered in front of them or carried off into a life of slavery."
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Blyth added: "The situation is complicated, and as the report concludes, it is too simplistic to say all perpetrators are religiously motivated. What is undisputable is that Christians are highly vulnerable and often the victims, paying the price in blood. They desperately need protection and, for hundreds of thousands driven from their homes, the chance to heal and rebuild their lives."
The USCIRF report also stated, "Criticism of responses to Fulani militant violence from federal and state authorities has often described their responses as unsatisfactory at best and complicit at worst."
Tilley told Fox News Digital that elections are to be held in Nigeria next year, and "the Fulani do have considerable political influence as a voting bloc. Thus, the Nigerian government seems reluctant to take actions necessary to quell the violence for fear that they could lose their base of support in the North and Middle Belt."
Fox News Digital reached out to the Nigerian government for comment but did not receive a response by publication time.
Iran is said to be ‘deeply threatened’ by the small African breakaway state, Somaliland, because of the potential for U.S., Israeli and Western powers to use its deep water port and airbase.
Such moves would severely disrupt Iran’s plan to use their proxy, Yemen’s Houthi terror group, to attack Red Sea shipping.
Iran has been accused of pressuring the Houthis to renew their strikes on shipping, particularly in the Red Sea’s Bab-el-Mandeb Strait. The waterway has become the main route for oil to ship out of the Middle East to Asia since the Strait of Hormuz was effectively closed.
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Lisa Daftari, a Middle East and foreign policy expert, told Fox News Digital, "Iran’s regime is deeply threatened by what Somaliland represents in an emerging pro‑Western, potentially pro‑Israel foothold overlooking the Bab el‑Mandeb, that could blunt Tehran’s leverage via the Houthis over Red Sea shipping and Israel."
Daftari, the editor‑in‑chief of The Foreign Desk, said, "that’s why Iran‑backed Houthis are already explicitly threatening to strike any Israeli or Western military presence in Somaliland and warning they could move to choke the Bab el‑Mandeb if the conflict with the U.S. and Israel escalates."
The White House has said that Iran’s proxies, such as the Houthis, have been weakened. "The United States Military achieved all of the goals laid out for Operation Epic Fury – including weakening Iran’s proxies. Now, Iran is being strangled economically – giving President Trump all the cards as negotiations continue," Anna Kelly, special assistant to the President and White House principal deputy press secretary told Fox News Digital when asked if the U.S. was considering a full-time-basing relationship with Somaliland.
Edmund Fitton-Brown, a senior fellow at The Foundation for Defense of Democracies (FDD) told Fox News Digital that Somaliland’s recognition of Israel and Israel’s recognition of it last December has clearly irked Iran.
Fitton-Brown, who is a former U.K. ambassador to Yemen — the Houthis home country, said Iran "opposes any recognition of it (Somaliland) primarily because Israel is the first state to recognize it, and Iran will oppose anything that Israel does. Iran is also viscerally opposed to the U.S. and UAE, both of which have pragmatic engagement with Somaliland, short of recognition. Somaliland is a potential base for anti-Houthi enforcement, i.e. a threat to the Iranian Axis of Resistance."
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The U.S. already has a large base on the Red Sea in Djibouti, but Fitton-Brown says this is increasingly problematical "China is significantly expanding its military and commercial presence in Djibouti. There is a sense that Djibouti is not a reliable ally for the U.S. So Somaliland’s time has probably come."
And Somaliland hopes so. Its Foreign Minister, Abdirahman Dahir Adam, told Fox News Digital "At a time when the Strait of Hormuz is under pressure and threats to the Red Sea are escalating, Somaliland has reiterated its longstanding offer to provide the United States with access along our coast. We have been clear about this in times of peace, and we are equally clear today."
The Somaliland government is also offering storage space for tomahawk missiles, with a government source saying it’s "a unique way to advance security interests."
Adam added, "U.S. destroyers that expend their missile batteries in the Red Sea require (currently) up to two weeks of travel to be resupplied. Somaliland is ready to play a practical role in helping the U.S. to secure global trade routes."
But Somaliland’s offer of allowing use of its airbase and seaport is not all plain sailing. Maj. Gen. (Ret.) Kenneth P. Ekman, former AFRICOM/J5 and West Africa coordination element lead, told Fox News Digital "a policy dilemma presents when conducting diplomatic and military relations with Somaliland directly, rather than through the Federal Government of Somalia and the SNA (Somali National Army)."
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"This same dilemma presents," Ekman continued. "While we (the U.S.) enjoy good access in Djibouti, this access is singular and competes with the Chinese presence. Additional access to the port of Berbera, located in Somaliland, provides redundancy (backup) and a relationally different partner. Frankly, the U.S. military, along with some of our allies and partners, need port access in Berbera."
Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas., chairman of the Senate Subcommittee on Africa and Global Health, is strongly advocating for the U.S. to go all the diplomatic way and recognize Somaliland.
He told Fox News Digital in a statement that "Somaliland promises to be a critical counterterrorism ally for the United States, both because of its strong willingness to partner with us and because of its unique location. We should recognize the Republic of Somaliland as an independent state and, in the meantime, significantly boost our counterterrorism cooperation."
The U.S. though, appears to be making below-the-radar moves. The Commander of U.S. Africa Command (AFRICOM), Gen. Dagvin Anderson, was recently in the country visiting port facilities, with a delegation, in November. This week, a Somaliland government source told Fox News Digital that U.S. military delegations come to the state every two months, with the last visit in the second half of April.
Fitton-Brown told Fox News Digital that, "The U.S. is already using it (Somaliland) for counterterrorism operations. My understanding is that the U.S. doesn’t have a permanent military presence in Somaliland, but actively cooperates with Somaliland's security forces on regional counterterrorism and maritime security issues."
A former senior U.S. defense official agreed that American military specialists have been co-ordinating with Somaliland forces since 2023, when they came together to kill Bilal al-Sudani, reportedly a key facilitator and financier of the ISIS global network.
However, the U.S. aligns publicly with Somalia, from which Somaliland broke away in 1991.
When asked this week about the U.S. military relationship with Somaliland when it comes to counter-terrorism operations in the country, a Pentagon official told Fox News Digital: "The United States maintains its strategic partnership with the Federal Government of Somalia.
"In northern Somalia, AFRICOM, alongside the Federal Government of Somalia and Somali Armed Forces, has conducted airstrikes to degrade ISIS—Somalia's ability to threaten the U.S. Homeland, our forces, and our citizens abroad. In southern Somalia, AFRICOM, also in close coordination with the Federal Government of Somalia, has conducted airstrikes to enable partner forces’ ability to degrade al Shabaab. Our strategic approach to countering terrorism in Africa relies on trusted partnerships and collaboration grounded in and through shared security interests."
Daftari added, "Somaliland is offering the United States what the mullahs fear most in this theater, namely an alternative, resilient platform on the African shore that includes an airfield, port, and over‑the‑horizon access that would dilute Houthi leverage and give Washington options that don’t depend on Djibouti or Persian Gulf partners alone."
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PARIS, France — Israel's ambassador to France says far-left leader Jean-Luc Mélenchon's rhetoric against Jews "reminds me of Hitler," warning that foreign influence is fueling a surge in antisemitism that has some French Jews hiding their identities to survive daily life.
France recorded 1,320 antisemitic acts in 2025 — triple the 436 incidents in 2022 — but a senior member of the Jewish community leaders told Fox News Digital they refuse to retreat, even as the attacks and incidents keep coming.
Israeli Ambassador to France Joshua Zarka says France is home to Europe’s largest Muslim community and is contributing to a high volume of antisemitic incidents reported across the country each day. France also has Europe's largest Jewish community.
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"The number of events is extremely high — not because the French government does not fight it, but because there is this base in which antisemitism is growing," due to foreign influence, which he claimed comes from Iran, Russia, Turkey and Qatar, he said.
While he says those state actors are fueling the fire of Jew-hatred from the outside, certain French political actors exploit antisemitism for the purpose of getting more votes. According to Zarka, foremost among them is the far-left party La France Insoumise (LFI).
"The way [LFI leader] Jean-Luc Mélenchon speaks in front of a crowd reminds me of Hitler. The way he uses the idea of uniting against one enemy by speaking of Israel is similar to the way Hitler used to speak about the Jews," Zarka said.
In February, the Human Rights League criticized Mélenchon after he mocked the pronunciation of Jewish names, including that of MEP Raphaël Glucksmann.
Mélenchon previously wrote on his blog that "antisemitism remains residual in France," remarks critics said downplayed a surge in Jew-hatred after Hamas’ Oct. 7 massacre in Israel.
Fox News Digital repeatedly contacted Mélenchon’s media advisor for comment but did not receive a response.
Zarka added that, over the past three years, there has been a shift in the Jewish community’s perception of what was once considered the extreme right, with many no longer viewing the National Rally, formerly led by Marine Le Pen, as such.
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"Let’s not forget that [National Rally President] Jordan Bardella went to Israel and, at Yad Vashem, made a formal commitment to fight antisemitism, be it from the right or the left, and that is significant. ... That is sinking into the mind of the Jewish community," Zarka said.
Recent incidents include the partial cutting down on Jan. 12 in Lyon of a tree planted in memory of Ilan Halimi, who was abducted and murdered in a 2006 antisemitic attack.
On Feb. 9, a young boy wearing a kippah was assaulted by a group of five individuals, one of whom allegedly held a knife to his throat. Ten days later, acid was sprayed in two dining rooms of a kosher restaurant in Paris’s 17th arrondissement.
On April 15, racist and antisemitic graffiti targeted three high schools in the Montpellier metropolitan area.
In March, two brothers were arrested for with what authorities described as a "deadly and antisemitic" plot after police discovered a semi-automatic weapon, a bottle of hydrochloric acid and an Islamic State flag in their vehicle.
Rabbi Elie Lemmel was targeted in two antisemitic attacks, including last June in Deauville, where he was punched in the stomach. Days later, he was attacked again in Neuilly-sur-Seine while sitting at a café terrace, when a Palestinian from Gaza struck him with a chair.
Lemmel told Fox News Digital he had almost never faced aggression before but believes the post-Oct. 7 conflict has intensified tensions. He said he understands those who choose to be more discreet and would never judge them.
"You have to be vigilant," he said. "Unfortunately, some people see a kippah, and it bothers them. Those who want to do harm will always find reasons.
"If we start hiding, it is the beginning of the end," he added. "I have always worn a kippah, and that is why I continue to wear it."
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Yonathan Arfi, president of the Conseil Représentatif des Institutions juives de France (CRIF), said some Jewish families now forgo displaying mezuzahs or use different names on mobile apps to avoid being identified.
"On the one hand, there is a rise in antisemitism that leads to precautionary behavior," Arfi told Fox News Digital. "On the other hand, Jewish life remains more vibrant than ever, with synagogues full and more kosher restaurants than ever before.
"We must not offer antisemitic terrorists and those driven by hatred our fear and withdrawal as a trophy," said Arfi. "Wherever possible, Jewish life must continue openly and proudly."
Immigration to Israel, he said, should nevertheless be seen as a warning sign that some Jews no longer see a future in France.
Historically, French immigration to Israel averaged between 1,500 and 2,000 people annually after the Six-Day War. The figure peaked at around 8,000 annually between 2012 and 2015, fell to about 1,000 in 2023, then rose again to more than 2,000 in 2024 and 3,500 in 2025. The Jewish Agency for Israel estimates roughly 4,000 immigrants from France in 2026.
The Israeli ambassador to Paris noted that French authorities take combating antisemitism seriously, and therefore the country remains "a relatively safe place," while urging Israelis to exercise caution when traveling to other European countries such as Spain, Belgium and even the Netherlands, "where antisemitism flourishes."
In February, President Emmanuel Macron denounced the "antisemitic hydra" that had crept into "every crack" of French society during a ceremony commemorating Ilan Halimi, a Jewish man kidnapped and tortured to death by the Gang of Barbarians in 2006.
"In 20 years, and despite the resolute efforts of our police officers, gendarmes, judges, teachers and elected officials, the antisemitic hydra has kept advancing," Macron said, according to Le Monde.
"Constantly assuming new faces, it has insinuated itself into the heart of our societies, into every crevice, too often accompanied by that same pact of cowardice: to keep silent, to refuse to see."
Macron also condemned the "Islamist antisemitism" behind the Oct. 7 Hamas-led massacre and "far-left antisemitism," which he said "rivals that of the far right."
He added that antisemitism increasingly "uses the mask of anti-Zionism to advance quietly."
Even so, bilateral ties with Israel are not without friction, with Zarka disclosing that the government of Macron refused to allow U.S. military overflights carrying weapons to Israel during the war against Iran.
"The French made the decision not to provide us with an aerial bridge for American weapon shipments to fly over during the war against Iran," he said.
It was the second time France had denied such a request, the first occurring during the 1973 Yom Kippur War, the envoy noted.
China has deployed over 100 vessels in the waters surrounding Taiwan in the week after President Donald Trump's Beijing summit with Chinese President Xi Jinping, the secretary general of Taiwan's National Security Council said Saturday.
"Our ISR/intel shows that the PRC has deployed over 100 vessels around the 1st Island Chain over the past few days, so soon after the Beijing summit," Secretary General Joseph Wu wrote on X.
"In this part of the world, China is the one & only PROBLEM wrecking the Status Quo & threatening regional peace & stability."
Wu posted a graphic appearing to show a high volume of Chinese vessel deployments in the South China Sea, the East China Sea and near Taiwan and The Philippines.
Wu alerted the world to the ship deployments a little more than a week after Trump left Beijing and just days after acting U.S. Navy Secretary Hung Cao told U.S. lawmakers the U.S. was temporarily pausing weapons shipments to Taiwan.
"Right now we're doing a pause in order to make sure we have the munitions we need for Epic Fury," Cao testified during a hearing of the Senate Appropriations Defense Subcommittee Tuesday.
U.S. lawmakers approved a $14 billion weapons package for Taiwan in January, though Trump has yet to sign off on it.
Taiwanese officials say they were not alerted to any potential pauses, according to The Associated Press.
Cao's pause announcement followed the Trump-Xi summit during which Chinese officials made clear that the Taiwan question is China's biggest issue in diplomatic relations with the United States.
"President Xi stressed to President Trump that the Taiwan question is the most important issue in China-U.S. relations," Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Mao Ning said in a statement after the Trump-Xi meeting.
"If it is handled properly, the bilateral relationship will enjoy overall stability. Otherwise, the two countries will have clashes and even conflicts, putting the entire relationship in great jeopardy."
Fox News Digital contacted the White House, a representative for the Taiwanese government and the Chinese Foreign Ministry for additional comment.
The United States has arrested the sister of the executive president of GAESA, a sprawling conglomerate of military-run businesses in Cuba, due to her alleged ties to the communist regime.
GAESA has been cited for reportedly diverting millions in aid meant for the Cuban people "at the behest of the regime," Secretary of State Marco Rubio said in a post on X Thursday.
Adys Lastres Morera was taken into ICE custody after the State Department revoked her lawful permanent resident (LPR) status, according to Rubio.
Morera, who was managing real estate assets while living in Florida, reportedly aided Havana’s communist government, officials said.
ALLEGED MEMBER OF CUBA'S MINISTRY OF THE INTERIOR ARRESTED BY ICE AGENTS IN MIAMI
Her status termination was carried out at Rubio’s discretion. Morera entered the United States as a lawful permanent resident in 2023, Reuters reported.
"Today, Adys Lastres Morera, a Cuban national with ties to the communist regime in Havana, was arrested following the Department of State’s termination of her lawful permanent resident (LPR) status, at my direction," Rubio said.
RUBIO SAYS CUBA NEEDS ‘NEW PEOPLE IN CHARGE’ AS BLACKOUTS, UNREST GRIP ISLAND
Morera is the older sister of Ania Guillermina Lastres Morera, who was sanctioned earlier this month for her role as executive president of GAESA.
GAESA has been described by officials as an exploitative communist entity that siphons resources from the Cuban population.
"While the Cuban people suffer from the collapse of Cuba’s non-functioning communist economy, GAESA functions to allow a small circle of regime elites to plunder all the remaining resources of the island, squirreling away as much as $20 billion in illicit funds away in hidden overseas bank accounts," Rubio said.
He added that Ania Guillermina Lastres Morera, as a senior executive, is responsible for managing international assets allegedly used to fund the "lavish lifestyles" of the Castro-era elite, as well as supporting efforts tied to broader ideological influence abroad.
Rubio also pointed to worsening conditions inside Cuba, including widespread blackouts and severe shortages of food, fuel, and medicine, arguing that GAESA is diverting resources away from basic needs under the communist system.
"GAESA’s ill-gotten riches are not spent on repairing the collapsing power grid, stocking empty pharmacies, feeding hungry families, or providing for the most basic and essential needs of the Cuban people. Instead, they are used to enrich Havana’s elites and underwrite their ongoing campaign of espionage, subversion, and revolutionary militancy against the free peoples of this hemisphere," he said.
Die Maislobby, unterstützt von zahlreichen Öllobbyisten, drängt auf ein Gesetz zur Ausweitung der Ethanolbeimischungspflicht. Dies soll durch 1) eine Lockerung der Luftreinhaltebestimmungen und 2) die Ausweitung der Beimischungspflicht auf kleine Raffinerien erreicht werden. Dadurch werden die Kraftstoffkosten steigen.
Morgen stimmt der Kongress über den absurd benannten „Nationwide Consumer and Fuel Retailer Choice Act“ ab, der die unmoralische und kostspielige Vorgabe der Regierung erweitert, dass wir Milliarden Gallonen mehr Maisethanol konsumieren müssen, als wir freiwillig wählen würden.
Der neue Gesetzentwurf erweitert die Ethanolquote dauerhaft um
Die Befürworter einer Ausweitung der Ethanolbeimischungspflicht haben nicht nur die Frechheit, so zu tun, als würden sie die Freiheit vergrößern, während sie sie in Wirklichkeit einschränken, sondern sie geben auch vor, die Kraftstoffpreise senken zu können, obwohl eine Ausweitung der Ethanolbeimischungspflicht die Preise tatsächlich nur erhöhen kann.
Hier erfahren Sie, warum die Ethanolbeimischungspflicht die Kraftstoffkosten erhöht, ohne Vorteile zu bringen (außer für Maisbauern und Lobbyisten), und warum eine Ausweitung der Beimischungspflicht die Kraftstoffkosten nur noch verschlimmern wird.
Die Ethanolbeimischungspflicht verteuert Kraftstoffe direkt, da sie uns zwingt, Ethanol zu kaufen, auch wenn es teurer ist.
Jährlich werden dem Benzin rund 7,5 Milliarden Gallonen Ethanol beigemischt, die auf einem freien Markt wahrscheinlich nicht verwendet würden (vorausgesetzt, der Großteil des Benzins wäre auf einem freien Markt E5). Wenn Ethanol also teurer ist als Benzin, erhöht die Beimischungspflicht die Kosten um das 7,5-Milliardenfache der Preisdifferenz zwischen Ethanol und Benzin.
Im Jahr 2025, als Ethanol etwa 40 bis 50 Cent pro Gallone teurer war als Benzin im Großhandel (nach Berücksichtigung der geringeren Energiedichte von Ethanol), könnten die zusätzlichen Ersatzkosten durch die Ethanol-Subvention auf über 3 Milliarden Dollar bzw. über 2 Cent pro Gallone geschätzt werden.
Die Befürworter der Ethanolbeimischungspflicht weisen gerne darauf hin, dass Ethanol billiger sein kann als Benzin, wenn die Ölpreise hoch sind – wie es derzeit der Fall ist.
Ein geringfügiger Vorteil durch günstigeres Ethanol würde sich jedoch in einem freien Kraftstoffmarkt ohne Vorgaben ergeben – da Händler und Verbraucher frei zwischen höheren Ethanolbeimischungen wählen könnten, wenn diese günstiger wären. Dennoch hat die Maislobby Vorschläge zur Kraftstofffreiheit wiederholt abgelehnt.
Ein neues E15-Gesetz würde in diesem Jahr keinen Unterschied bei den Preisen machen, da das geltende Recht es der Bundesregierung bereits erlaubt, E15 ganzjährig im Einzelfall zuzulassen – und dies hat sie in diesem Jahr auch schon getan.
Die Ethanol-Lobbyisten wollen die ganzjährige Zulassung von E15 durch den Kongress nur deshalb, um die Ethanolquote dauerhaft auszuweiten, damit wir immer viel Ethanol kaufen müssen – egal wie teuer es ist.
Die Ethanolbeimischungspflicht verteuert Benzin um bis zu 0,30 US-Dollar pro Gallone, da Raffinerien gezwungen sind, teure Biokraftstoffzertifikate zu erwerben, deren Kosten an uns weitergegeben werden.
Die Beimischungspflicht hat Raffinerien zu erheblichen Investitionen in Ethanoltransportsysteme und Ethanolmischanlagen veranlasst, die sich bisher auf mehrere Milliarden Dollar belaufen. Um E15 anbieten zu können, müssten einige Tankstellen Modernisierungen vornehmen, deren Kosten sich auf 13.000 bis 71.000 US-Dollar belaufen.
Kleinere Raffinerien, die sich die teure Infrastruktur zur Ethanolbeimischung oft nicht leisten können, sind gezwungen, sogenannte RINs (Renewable Fuel Notations) von Raffinerien zu kaufen, die zusätzlich Ethanol beigemischt haben. Diese Biokraftstoffzertifikate stellen eine Kostenbelastung dar, die größtenteils über höhere Kraftstoffpreise an die Verbraucher weitergegeben wird.
Eine kleine Raffinerie mit einer Produktion von 60.000 Barrel pro Tag (920 Millionen Gallonen pro Jahr) müsste möglicherweise rund 140 Millionen Biokraftstoffzertifikate stilllegen. Bei einem aktuellen Preis von 2 US-Dollar pro Biokraftstoffzertifikat entspräche dies Kosten von 280 Millionen US-Dollar. Die Raffinerie würde voraussichtlich nur einen Nettogewinn von 200 bis 400 Millionen US-Dollar erzielen und wäre daher gezwungen, einen erheblichen Teil der Kosten an die Verbraucher weiterzugeben.
Eine aktuelle Studie ergab, dass die Beimischung von Biokraftstoffzertifikaten zu einem Preisanstieg von nahezu der Höhe der Zertifikatskosten selbst resultierte. Bei den heutigen Preisen für Biokraftstoffzertifikate bedeutet dies, dass die Ethanolbeihilfe den Benzinpreis um bis zu 30 Cent pro Gallone erhöhen könnte.
Nachsatz – Der Übersetzer
In Deutschland wird an Markentankstellen E5 um 6ct/L teurer verkauft als E10, an meiner freien Tankstelle beträgt der Unterschied nur 2ct/L – Und das, obwohl der Sprit mit E10 eigentlich teurer ist, als E5.
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Gesetz sorgt für Überraschung: Kraftstoff E10 plötzlich genau so teuer wie Super
Viele Autofahrer haben beim Tanken in den ersten Tagen 2020 eine Überraschung erlebt: E10 ist teurer geworden und kostet inzwischen meist so viel wie Super. Schuld daran ist ein neues Gesetz: Wer gewerbsmäßig Kraftstoff vertreibt, muss künftig eine höhere Biokraftstoffquote erfüllen. …
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Der VCD Verkehrsclub Deutschland berichtete
VCD-Faktencheck E10-Benzin
……
Weshalb ist E10 günstiger als E5?
Der Preis für Ethanol hat Mitte 2010 unter dem heutigen Preis für Benzin ab Raffinerie gelegen. Der Ethanolpreis folgt aber in einer beinahe parallel verlaufenden Kurve dem für Kraftstoff aus Mineralöl. Steigt der Ölpreis, dann nutzen die Agrosprit-Unternehmen die Gelegenheit, den Ethanolpreis und damit ihren Gewinn zu erhöhen. Im Januar 2011 lag der Preis für Ethanol 10 Cent pro Liter höher als der für Benzin. Also müsste E10 eigentlich teurer sein als E5. Aber weit gefehlt.
E10 wird an deutschen Zapfsäulen günstiger angeboten als das in der Produktion etwas billigere E5. Das hat folgenden Grund: Bezogen auf den Heizwert müssen im Laufe des Jahres 2011 6,25 Prozent des in Deutschland verkauften Sprits Agrokraft sein – ansonsten drohen den Unternehmen Strafzahlungen. Die Tankstellenkonzerne haben also ein Interesse daran, möglichst viel E10 zu verkaufen. Das funktioniert nur, wenn es entweder billiger ist oder deshalb getankt wird, weil die Autofahrer von einer positiven Umweltwirkung des E10-Kraftstoffes überzeugt sind.
Was kostet E5 und E10 die Autofahrer?
Wirklich nachhaltig erzeugtes Ethanol ist etwas teurer als Agrosprit aus großen Monokulturen.
… Heutiges Bioethanol hat eine zweifelhafte Ökobilanz. Bei dem Marktpreis für beimischungsfähiges Ethanol im Januar 2010 müsste der Preis für E10 rechnerisch um einen Cent teuer sein als für Benzin ohne Ethanol und 0,5 Cent teuer als für das bisher getankte E5. Dazu kommt der höhere Kraftstoffverbrauch von E10, der bei einem bisherigen Verbrauch von 6 Litern Mehrkosten in Höhe von ca. 15 Cent pro 100 Kilometer bedeutet. In der Summe entstehen also nachvollziehbare Mehrkosten von nicht einmal 20 Cent pro 100 km. Die Mineralölkonzerne werden aber voraussichtlich vor allem von Autofahrern, die weiter E5 tanken, deutlich mehr kassieren.
Ist E10 wirklich klimafreundlich?
Hinter der Pflicht zur Markteinführung von E10 steckt das Ziel der EU, Europas Abhängigkeit von importierten fossilen Brennstoffen zu verringern und gleichzeitig das Klima zu schonen. Die Grundidee klingt plausibel: Da Ethanol VCD Service • Faktencheck E10-Benzin 3 04/ 2 0 1 1 aus nachwachsenden Rohstoffen wie Getreide, Mais oder Zuckerrüben gewonnen wird, geben Pflanzen bei ihrer Verbrennung nur das zuvor aufgenommene CO2 wieder ab – ein für sich genommen CO2 -neutraler Vorgang. Und doch ist E10 nicht per se umweltfreundlich, die Bezeichnung »Biosprit« ist sehr fragwürdig. So geht diese Rechnung nur dann auf, wenn für den Anbau der Energiepflanzen keine sensiblen Bereiche wie Wälder und andere natürlichen Ökosystem
Auszug Seite 2 / 3
Der Beitrag Stoppt die Mais- und Öllobbyisten – noch mehr Ethanol ins Benzin zu mischen! erschien zuerst auf EIKE - Europäisches Institut für Klima & Energie.
This is part two of a series examining the challenges confronting the NATO alliance.
POLAND-BELARUS BORDER: Riding in a military convoy escorted by armored vehicles from Poland’s 18th "Iron Division" along the country’s nearly 324-mile border with Belarus, soldiers pointed toward dense forests where they say Europe’s newest form of warfare is unfolding.
Polish officials warn illegal migrants weaponized by Russia and Belarus to destabilize NATO's eastern flank are also making their way to the United States — part of what Warsaw calls an ongoing war against the Western alliance that has direct implications for American security.
The border was once guarded mainly by Poland’s Border Guard and police. But after years of mounting pressure from illegal crossings, Polish officials say the army was deployed because the situation became too large and too dangerous to handle as a conventional immigration challenge.
TROOPS AT THE BORDER: HOW THE MILITARY’S ROLE IN IMMIGRATION ENFORCEMENT HAS EXPLODED UNDER TRUMP
Now, the frontier is guarded in layers: soldiers, border guards and rapid-response forces. A temporary barrier built in 2021 has become an electronic fence backed by surveillance systems and military patrols. Polish officials say migrants trying to cross have come from countries including Syria, Somalia, Afghanistan and India.
They describe the crisis as "artificial migration," saying the illegals are flown into Belarus from the Middle East, Africa and Asia and then transported toward the Polish border by Belarusian authorities in an effort to pressure and destabilize NATO countries.
Military officials at the border said the peak was in 2021, when there were 39,697 illegal crossing attempts. By 2025, it was 29,869, slightly fewer than in 2024. So far in 2026, they have seen a major drop, they say.
For Warsaw, the numbers tell only part of the story.
Polish officials say the border pressure is not spontaneous illegal migration, but a Russian-backed Belarusian operation designed to destabilize NATO from within.
"We are at war," Ambassador Krzysztof Olendzki of Poland’s Foreign Ministry told Fox News Digital after the border visit.
"Not only Poland, but also all the countries of the eastern flank of NATO, we are in war," Olendzki said. "We cannot see it as a classical war with soldiers, with tanks and so on, but the war is exercised by our adversaries, by Belarus and Russia, who are using practically migrants as an asymmetric weapon against NATO countries."
The crisis dates back to 2021, when Poland, Lithuania and Latvia accused Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko’s regime of encouraging migrants from the Middle East, Africa and elsewhere to travel to Belarus and cross illegally into the European Union. Belarus has denied orchestrating the flows, but Poland and the EU have described the campaign as hybrid warfare.
Olendzki said the goal is not only to push people across the border, but to create chaos inside Western societies.
The border visit underscored how far Poland has gone to harden what it views as one of NATO’s most vulnerable frontiers.
Capt. Angelika Korkosz of Poland’s 18th Division described the day-to-day strain on soldiers stationed there.
"Many times soldiers were faced with aggression from illegal groups of immigrants, and they have to act appropriately and calmly in accordance with the law and procedures while protecting themselves," Korkosz told Fox News Digital.
POLISH GOVERNMENT PLANS MANDATORY MILITARY TRAINING FOR ADULT MEN
Polish officials said migrants have used Molotov cocktails in at least two incidents, sparking fires near the border. Soldiers also spoke of a Polish serviceman who died after being stabbed by an illegal migrant at the frontier.
Korkosz said the challenge is not only violence, but exhaustion.
"A few months ago, we had minus-20-degree winters, so 12-hour duty during these conditions is really demanding," she said. "Many soldiers are here for a long time, and it is getting more and more difficult, this long separation from their relatives."
Still, she said the troops are prepared.
"The training includes decision-making under pressure in an ambiguous operational environment," Korkosz said. "That’s why when we are here at the border, we are really well-prepared for performing our duties."
Poland says the border defenses are working. Amb. Olendzki said the lower number of crossings this year reflects the physical barrier, the increased effectiveness of the Border Guard and the military presence. But he warned the threat has not disappeared, only shifted.
NATO WARNS RUSSIA AFTER POLAND SHOOTS DOWN 'HUGE NUMBER' OF DRONES THAT VIOLATED ITS AIRSPACE
"Seeing the fact that the Polish-Belarusian border is quite well guarded, our adversaries are just pushing migrants through the borders of our neighboring countries," he said. "So it hasn’t ended, but it’s changed the direction. The threat still exists, and we must be vigilant."
That matters to NATO because Poland’s border with Belarus is not only Warsaw's border. It is also the eastern edge of the European Union and NATO territory.
Belarus is Russia’s closest ally and allowed its territory to be used for Russia’s 2022 invasion of Ukraine. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy warned Russia may be trying to pull Belarus deeper into the war and could use Belarusian territory to threaten Ukraine or even a NATO country.
That fear is central to Poland’s security posture.
During a meeting with reporters in Warsaw, Polish deputy Foreign Minister Marcin Bosacki told Fox News Digital Russia’s war against Ukraine is, for Poland, "a matter of national safety and existence."
But Bosacki said the threat to NATO countries is already wider than the battlefield in Ukraine.
"We had on NATO countries’ territories assassinations, numerous drone attacks on airports, on critical infrastructure," Bosacki said. "We had very serious cyberattacks."
Bosacki said Poland faced a Russian-instigated cyberattack last December on critical energy infrastructure that Warsaw believes was intended "to black out part of Poland."
The warning fits a broader pattern of concerns across NATO’s eastern flank. The Associated Press reported earlier this year that balloons from Belarus had crossed into Polish airspace for a third consecutive night, with Polish forces describing the incidents as attempts to test air defense responses.
For Poland, illegal migration, cyberattacks, drones, sabotage and disinformation are not separate problems. They are different pieces of one Russian and Belarusian pressure campaign against NATO.
Olendzki said Poland’s role is to stop the pressure before it moves deeper into Europe or beyond.
"Standing on guard on the eastern flank of NATO, we are providing security not only to Poland, to Lithuania, Latvia, Estonia, Finland, but to entire NATO, also to the United States," he said.
That U.S. connection is a central part of Poland’s message to Washington: The eastern flank is not a distant European problem, but a front line in a broader confrontation with Russia and its allies.
Poland now spends nearly 5% of its GDP on defense, the highest rate in NATO, if based on GPD. Bosacki said Warsaw has long taken defense spending seriously.
"We never went below 2% defense spending," Bosacki said. "Now we are spending almost 5%. This is real military spending."
He said the eastern flank has become more influential inside NATO because countries closest to Russia were proven right.
"The eastern flank is much more powerful than even five years ago," Bosacki said. "We were right about the nature of Putin’s regime and Russia’s aggressive strategy."
That view has shaped Poland’s approach to the United States. Warsaw wants American troops to remain in Europe, but Polish officials also acknowledge that Europe must assume more of the defense burden as U.S. attention increasingly shifts toward China and the Indo-Pacific.
Bosacki said Poland understands that "Europe ceased to be angle number one for U.S. foreign policy," but wants any change in America’s role to be "gradual and well-designed."
He added that Poland wants the shift in trans-Atlantic security to be "not a divorce, but a new kind of relationship."
For now, that relationship is being tested along a cold, wooded border where Poland says NATO’s future wars may already be taking shape.
The Polish soldiers patrolling the frontier do not describe their mission in grand geopolitical terms. Korkosz said she joined the military because she wanted to do "something which matters."
But to Polish officials, the mission at the Belarus border is much bigger than immigration enforcement.
It is a warning to the rest of NATO that the alliance’s next war may not begin with tanks crossing a border, but with migrants pushed through forests, cyberattacks on power grids, drones near airports and disinformation campaigns designed to fracture societies from within.
Africa’s top public health agency confirmed a new Ebola outbreak in Congo on Friday after 65 deaths and 246 suspected cases were recorded in the country’s remote Ituri province.
Health officials are now investigating whether the outbreak involves the Ebola Zaire strain — the deadliest and most well-known version of the virus — or a different variant, according to the Africa Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Neighboring Uganda also confirmed one Ebola-related death involving a Congolese man whose case officials said was imported from Congo.
The outbreak has been concentrated in the Mongwalu and Rwampara health zones in eastern Congo, an area near the borders of Uganda and South Sudan that officials warned could become a regional transmission risk because of mining-related travel, weak infrastructure and ongoing insecurity.
EBOLA OUTBREAK REPORTED IN AFRICAN COUNTRY — HERE’S WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW
Ebola is a highly contagious and often fatal disease spread through bodily fluids including blood, vomit and semen. Symptoms can include fever, vomiting, diarrhea, muscle pain and internal bleeding.
The Africa CDC said only four of the deaths have so far been laboratory confirmed, while testing and sequencing efforts continue to determine the exact strain involved in the outbreak.
Initial tests suggested the outbreak may not involve the Ebola Zaire strain, which was responsible for Congo’s devastating 2018-2020 epidemic that killed more than 1,000 people.
UGANDA STARTS CLINICAL TRIAL OF VACCINE FOR SUDAN STRAIN OF EBOLA AMID NEW OUTBREAK
The World Health Organization (WHO) said it sent a response team to the region last week to help local officials investigate the outbreak and collect samples.
WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said Congo has a "strong track record" responding to Ebola outbreaks and announced the agency is releasing $500,000 in emergency funding to support containment efforts.
Health authorities said Congo has stockpiles of Ebola treatments and approximately 2,000 doses of the Ervebo vaccine, though officials cautioned the vaccine is only effective against the Ebola Zaire strain and not against Sudan or Bundibugyo variants.
This marks Congo’s 17th recorded Ebola outbreak since the virus was first identified in the country in 1976.
The Associated Press contributed to this reporting.
At first, Mihrigul Tursun speaks with remarkable control.
Sitting in Washington in a neatly pressed blue suit, the 35-year-old Uyghur mother answers questions softly, almost cautiously. But once the memories begin, they arrive all at once, in vivid and painful detail, as though the years separating her from China’s detention system no longer exist.
The story pours out of her in relentless detail, one memory collapsing into another: the underground cells, the interrogations, the women screaming at night, the smell of overcrowded prison rooms, the body of her infant son lying motionless in her arms as she desperately tried to warm him back to life.
For Tursun, the horror is not something she remembers. It is something she says she continues to live with every day.
WOMAN WHO SPENT 7 YEARS IN CHINESE PRISON DESCRIBES TORTURE, SURVEILLANCE AND LOSS OF HER HUSBAND
And always, there is fear.
Not fear for herself, exactly. That, she suggests, stopped mattering long ago.
The fear is for the family members she believes remain vulnerable inside China because she chose to publicly describe what happened to her, only because of her faith.
Her story unfolds as President Donald Trump visits China this week for meetings with Chinese leader Xi Jinping, with trade, security and regional tensions dominating headlines. But for Tursun, China is not an abstract geopolitical rival. It is the country she says destroyed her family, shattered her health and left psychological wounds she still struggles to survive every day.
She says she speaks publicly because too few people who survived China’s detention system are able, or willing, to tell the world what they saw.
"People think this only happened in history," she said. "But it is still happening."
ELITE US COLLEGES LINKED TO CHINESE SURVEILLANCE LABS DRIVING UYGHUR ‘GENOCIDE,’ STUDY WARNS
Tursun was born in Xinjiang, the far western region China officially calls the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region, home to millions of Uyghurs, a predominantly Muslim ethnic minority with their own language and culture. For years, human rights groups, researchers and former detainees have accused Beijing of carrying out mass detention, forced labor, political indoctrination and severe religious repression against Uyghurs and other Muslim minorities.
China denies the allegations, describing the facilities as vocational training centers aimed at combating extremism and terrorism.
Tursun says her own relationship with the Chinese state began long before the camps.
At age 10, she said, she was sent by the government to study inside China in Mandarin-language schools designed to assimilate Uyghur children into mainstream Chinese society.
"They educate us as Chinese mind," she said.
Years later, she moved to Egypt to study business administration. There, she married an Egyptian man and gave birth to triplets in 2015: two boys and a girl.
The children were only two months old when her parents urged her to return to China so they could meet their grandchildren and help care for them.
Tursun resisted at first. The babies were too young to travel, she told them. But her mother insisted it was urgent.
On May 12, 2015, she boarded a flight to China carrying the newborns.
She says the nightmare began almost immediately after landing in Beijing.
At the airport, two people approached and offered to help carry the babies through border control. Moments later, she said, they identified themselves as police officers.
"They say, ‘Keep silent. Follow us,’" she recalled.
Tursun said officers separated her from the children and interrogated her for hours about her time in Egypt, asking whether she had participated in political activities or anti-Chinese events. She repeatedly asked to see her babies, explaining they needed to be breastfed.
Instead, she says officers placed a black hood over her head, handcuffed her and transferred her to detention in Xinjiang.
There, she says, interrogations and torture began.
Weeks later, authorities temporarily released her after informing her that one of her children was sick. Escorted by police to a hospital in Urumqi, she found her surviving son and daughter separated on different floors, connected to oxygen tubes.
The next day, doctors handed her paperwork to sign.
At the top, she said, were the words: "Death certification."
The document bore the name of her infant son. "They say, ‘This is your son,’" she recalled softly.
Doctors refused to explain what had happened, she said. Because she was considered a political suspect, she says no one would answer her questions.
For three days, she kept her son’s body with her at her parents’ home under constant police surveillance.
As Muslims, the family wanted to bring the child to a mosque and bury him according to religious tradition, she said, but authorities would not allow anyone to see the body.
"The body stayed with me three days," she said. "I try to give him warmth. I try to let him wake up."
He never opened his eyes again, she says as tears filled her eyes.
Following her son’s burial, she says authorities expelled her family from their home and detained her again. Between 2015 and 2018, she was transferred between multiple prisons and detention facilities where she endured psychological abuse, interrogations and torture.
REPORT DETAILS RISING PRESSURE ON UNDERGROUND CATHOLICS AS CHINA DENIES CRACKDOWN
One memory still haunts her more than any other.
During an interrogation, she says officers mocked her faith after she told them God would punish them for what they were doing.
"Chinese Communist Party is God," she recalled them saying. "Xi Jinping is God."
Then, she said, officers shaved her hair and applied electric shocks to her head until she lost consciousness.
Tursun also described what she says were systematic medical examinations performed on detainees, including blood tests and organ screenings. Similar allegations from former detainees have fueled longstanding accusations by activists and researchers that Chinese authorities harvested organs from prisoners of conscience, claims Beijing has repeatedly denied.
Inside one detention facility, she says more than 60 women were packed into a small cell under constant surveillance. Some had not seen sunlight for more than a year, she claimed.
CHINESE UNDERGROUND CHURCH PASTOR, FATHER OF US CITIZENS, DETAINED BY AUTHORITIES, FAMILY SAYS
Many of the women were educated professionals: teachers, doctors, neighbors she recognized from outside prison.
Others were barely more than children.
She recalled one 17-year-old Uyghur girl from a remote village who had never traveled outside her hometown and asked basic questions about the outside world, like how people can fit inside airplanes.
Weeks later, Tursun says, guards took the teenager away. When she returned, she appeared bloodied and severely traumatized. She was sexually attacked.
Two months later, the girl died. Tursun broke into tears. "No one care about that."
She says guards dragged the girl’s body away "like trash."
Eventually, her husband was able to locate her and the children, and after the Egyptian authorities intervened, she was allowed to leave China — after both of them signed to never talk about their experience.
Today, Tursun lives in the United States with her surviving children after eventually receiving refuge following congressional testimony in 2018 about her experiences in China.
In many ways, she is among the fortunate few.
Her children are alive. They are safe. They are growing up in America rather than under constant state surveillance in Xinjiang.
But survival, she says, is not the same thing as healing.
Her physical health remains fragile. So does her mental health. She says trauma follows her constantly, affecting her sleep, her memory and even ordinary daily routines.
"There is no one hour I forget," she said.
CHINA FORMALLY ARRESTS 18 LEADERS OF UNDERGROUND ZION CHURCH AMID RELIGIOUS CRACKDOWN
Sometimes, she admitted quietly, she no longer wants to continue living.
It is her children, she says, who keep her going. And the obligation she feels toward the women she left behind.
The women whose faces she still remembers. The women she watched deteriorate inside the camps. The women she says died there. That obligation, she says, is stronger than fear.
Former Ambassador-at-Large for International Religious Freedom Sam Brownback, who interviewed Tursun for his recent book on religious persecution in China, believes stories like hers expose what he describes as the Chinese Communist Party’s deepest insecurity.
"This is the issue they fear the most: religious freedom," Brownback said during an interview in Washington as Trump arrived in Beijing.
"President Trump, you’re the president that’s done more on religious freedom than any modern president… You need to take this message to President Xi Jinping and his crushing of religion in China."
"Our fight is not with the Chinese people," he added. "It’s with the party."
In a statement to Fox News Digital, Chinese Embassy spokesperson Liu Pengyu said the Chinese government protects "freedom of religious belief in accordance with the law" and argued that people of all ethnic groups in China enjoy religious freedom. Liu pointed to official figures showing nearly 200 million religious believers in China, along with more than 380,000 clerical personnel, approximately 5,500 religious groups and more than 140,000 registered places of worship.
Liu said Beijing regulates religious affairs involving "national interests and the public interest" while opposing what it describes as illegal or criminal activities carried out under the guise of religion. He also accused foreign countries and media outlets of interfering in China’s internal affairs under the pretext of religious freedom and urged journalists to "respect the facts" and stop what he described as "attacking and smearing" China’s religious policies and religious freedom record.
As the interview ended, Tursun gathered herself slowly before stepping back out into the streets of Washington.
To strangers passing by, she looked like any other young mother moving through the city.
Only she carries memories most people cannot imagine.
WARNING: This article includes graphic and disturbing accounts from the October 7 massacre in Israel.
Hamas and its Palestinian collaborators used sexual and gender-based violence "deliberately and systematically" as an inherent part of a wider strategy of the 2023 massacres in southern Israel, according to a report released Tuesday by the Civil Commission on Oct. 7 Crimes Against Women and Children.
The Israeli nonprofit said its investigation documented evidence of abuse at multiple sites during the Oct. 7 terror invasion, including the Nova Music Festival, kibbutzim near the Gaza border, Israel Defense Forces bases, among hostages in captivity and in the condition of recovered bodies showing signs consistent with sexual violence.
According to the report, investigators identified at least 13 recurring forms of abuse, including rape, sexual torture, shootings directed at victims’ genital areas and abuse carried out after death.
Dr. Cochav Elkayam-Levy, founder and chair of the Civil Commission and a principal co-author of the report, told Fox News Digital that the greatest challenge in compiling the findings was the team’s repeated exposure to graphic material and the trauma associated with reviewing it on a regular basis.
"We had to not only collect materials, but also review and analyze it alongside forensic experts while witnessing human suffering at its worst," Elkayam-Levy said. "What motivated us was the denial, the hesitation and the questioning. We wanted to ensure that the world knows what happened to the victims.
"For us, it is a final act of justice for the victims," she added.
The report also detailed cases in which sexual violence was inflicted in front of or involving family members, including one incident in which relatives were allegedly forced to carry out acts on each other.
FREED HOSTAGE ROM BRASLAVSKI DETAILS ABUSE, STARVATION DURING 738 DAYS IN GAZA CAPTIVITY
It further accused Hamas and allied perpetrators of using videos, digital platforms and social media as tools to magnify psychological harm, spread fear and publicize the attacks, including by distributing sexualized material.
Elkayam-Levy said she hopes the findings will not remain confined to academics, human rights organizations or activists, but will also be studied by counterterrorism and national security experts to better understand and confront such atrocities.
"We cannot prevent what we do not fully understand," Elkayam-Levy said. "No single prosecution could ever capture the full magnitude of these crimes in the way this report does. It is therefore critical that policymakers, decision-makers, members of Congress and senators find ways to formally recognize these findings and hold hearings so we can begin addressing this issue. We want the findings of this report to receive formal institutional recognition."
The report, Elkayam-Levy noted, underscores that victims of the Oct. 7 atrocities came from 52 countries, highlighting the global scope and impact of the attack.
Witness testimony cited in the report included an account of a woman being sexually assaulted before being beheaded. Another witness described seeing a woman dragged from a vehicle, pinned against a wall, repeatedly raped and then stabbed, with the assault allegedly continuing after her death.
In another case, a witness described discovering the body of a man whose genitals had been severed, lying beside the body of a woman holding them, in what the report described as an apparent effort to degrade and humiliate the victims.
Investigators said some female victims were found naked or partially unclothed, with evidence of severe mutilation and objects including grenades, nails and household tools inserted into their bodies. The report also cited gunshot wounds, cuts and burn injuries concentrated on intimate areas.
The report said some female bodies brought to morgues showed broken pelvises or legs, bloodied underwear and additional trauma to the abdomen or groin.
Former hostages, both women and men, have also testified to rape, sexual torture and other forms of abuse during abduction or captivity, according to the report. It said some female captives reported sexual assaults while receiving treatment in Gaza hospitals for injuries sustained during the attacks.
Male hostages likewise described sexual abuse while in captivity, including assaults in showers and incidents carried out under armed threat while victims were naked, the report said. One former hostage recounted being sexually assaulted when a captor forcibly rubbed his genitals against the victim’s anus.
Last month, former hostage Rom Braslavski recounted the abuse he said he endured during captivity in an exclusive interview with Fox News Digital.
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"They would hit me with whatever they had on hand. I underwent severe torture, bondage and sexual abuse. Everything they could do to me, they did. My body is still covered in scars. After four months of torture, I was clinically dead, rolling my eyes and passing out. They decided to stop the violence and brought doctors to treat me with injections and gave me food again," he said.
The report said sexual and gender-based violence was "widespread and systematic" and constituted an "integral component" of both the Oct. 7 attacks and the subsequent treatment of captives, while calling the prosecution of such crimes an "urgent" priority to be pursued through international accountability mechanisms.
Among its recommendations, the commission called for targeted sanctions against individuals and entities accused of carrying out or materially supporting the Oct. 7 attack and its aftermath. It also urged action against what it described as denial, minimization or politicization of the sexual crimes committed during the massacre and in captivity.
"The Commission further recommends that Israel adopt a comprehensive gender strategy within its prosecutorial framework and establish a specialized chamber or panel of judges dedicated to the prosecution of sexual and gender-based crimes committed on October 7th and during captivity," the report said.
Elkayam-Levy said the report has received widespread international attention, including front-page coverage in U.S. and global media outlets. "We feel the discussion has shifted from questioning whether these crimes occurred to examining their consequences," she said. "There is now a substantial legal evidentiary foundation preserved in a secure archive that cannot be denied."
President Donald Trump arrived in Beijing for a high-stakes summit with Chinese President Xi Jinping at a moment when both Washington and Beijing are trying to stabilize one of the world’s most consequential rivalries without giving ground on deeper strategic disputes.
The two-day visit marks Trump’s first trip to China since 2017 and comes amid mounting tensions over trade, artificial intelligence, Taiwan and the fallout from the war with Iran. While the White House is framing the summit as an opportunity for new economic agreements and "rebalancing" the U.S.–China relationship, analysts say Beijing’s priorities are far broader and more long-term.
"Trump arrives seeking headline deals and visible momentum ahead of the midterms," wrote Zongyuan Zoe Liu, senior fellow for China studies at the Council on Foreign Relations. "Xi is playing a longer game, focused on strategic patience rather than substantive compromise."
TRUMP HEADS TO BEIJING FOR HIGH-STAKES XI TALKS AS TAIWAN TENSIONS, TRADE DISPUTES TEST US STRENGTH
Topics expected to be discussed during the summit include trade, aerospace, agriculture and energy agreements, and the creation of a U.S.–China Board of Trade and Board of Investment, according to the White House.
White House spokeswoman Anna Kelly said Trump’s goal is to "deliver more good deals on behalf of our country" while safeguarding U.S. national security.
Trump participated in a welcome ceremony and bilateral meeting with Xi Thursday morning local time in Beijing, followed by a tour of the Temple of Heaven alongside the Chinese leader and a state banquet later.
Chinese Embassy spokesperson Liu Pengyu said Beijing views the summit as an opportunity to stabilize ties between the world’s two largest economies.
"Heads-of-state diplomacy plays an irreplaceable role in providing strategic guidance for China–U.S. relations," Liu said in a statement to Fox News Digital. "We welcome President Trump’s state visit to China. China stands ready to work with the U.S. to expand cooperation and manage differences in the spirit of equality, respect and mutual benefit, and provide more stability and certainty for a transforming and volatile world."
For Xi, analysts say, the top priority likely is avoiding further escalation with Washington while buying time for China’s slowing economy, as it continues to struggle with weak domestic demand, deflationary pressure and industrial overcapacity.
A recent report by the U.S.–China Economic and Security Review Commission warned that Beijing is doubling down on state-led industrial policy despite mounting structural weaknesses in the Chinese economy.
The commission said China is increasingly operating a "two-speed" economy, where much of the broader economy stagnates while sectors prioritized by the Chinese Communist Party receive massive state support and continue expanding beyond market demand.
The report also warned of a new "China Shock 2.0," arguing Beijing’s excess industrial capacity and record trade surplus are disrupting global markets while increasing foreign dependence on Chinese-controlled supply chains in sectors ranging from batteries and pharmaceuticals to semiconductors and artificial intelligence.
"Chinese policy seeks simultaneously to reduce China’s reliance on foreign technology while increasing the world’s dependence on China," the commission noted in its findings.
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At the same time, Xi is entering the talks with leverage stemming from the ongoing Iran crisis and global energy disruptions.
Trump has faced growing domestic pressure over rising energy prices tied to instability in the Middle East and shipping threats near the Strait of Hormuz. Beijing, meanwhile, remains one of Iran’s largest oil customers and maintains political ties with Tehran.
Susan Thornton, former acting assistant secretary of state for East Asian and Pacific affairs during Trump’s first term, said during a recent Stanford University Asia-Pacific Research Center interview that expectations for major breakthroughs should remain low despite the summit’s symbolism.
"The primary value lies in the act of meeting itself," Thornton said.
She suggested Beijing may see a strategic advantage in America’s renewed focus on the Middle East. While China has made nominal peace proposals, it has not stepped up as a mediator.
"It seems like they are kind of hanging back and waiting to see what will happen," Thornton said, arguing that from Beijing’s perspective, a U.S. entanglement in the Middle East may serve as a useful distraction, diverting Washington’s attention and pressure away from China.
One area where the two sides could announce tangible progress is agriculture.
The White House is pushing Beijing for expanded purchases of U.S. farm products ahead of the summit, according to a Reuters report published Tuesday, particularly soybeans and grains.
But traders and analysts told Reuters that China’s appetite for major new soybean commitments may be limited due to weak domestic demand and cheaper alternatives from Brazil. Instead, markets are watching for potential agreements involving corn, sorghum, wheat, beef and poultry, sectors viewed as less politically contentious in the broader U.S.–China relationship.
More than a dozen U.S. business executives, including leaders from agricultural giant Cargill, are accompanying Trump during the visit.
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Despite the focus on trade and geopolitical tensions, survivors of China’s religious persecution are urging the administration not to sideline Beijing’s crackdown on religious groups and dissidents.
Ahead of the summit, Trump publicly pledged to raise the case of imprisoned Chinese pastor Ezra Jin following advocacy efforts by his daughter, Grace Jin Drexel, who has accused Beijing of persecuting Christians.
Former U.S. officials told Fox News Digital they are skeptical human rights concerns will play a central role during a summit primarily focused on lowering tensions and stabilizing economic ties between the two powers.
Taiwan and technology restrictions are also expected to loom over the talks. Beijing continues to oppose U.S. arms sales and support for Taiwan, while Washington has tightened export controls targeting China’s advanced semiconductor and AI sectors.
Still, despite the escalating rivalry, neither Washington nor Beijing appears eager for a direct confrontation.
For Trump, the summit offers an opportunity to showcase economic wins and diplomatic engagement ahead of the 2026 midterms.
For Xi, analysts say, the goal is far more measured: preserve stability, avoid confrontation and continue positioning China for a prolonged strategic competition with the United States.
U.K. Prime Minister Keir Starmer could face a leadership challenge as soon as next week after his Labour Party suffered major losses in Thursday’s local elections.
Labour MP Catherine West told the BBC that if a Cabinet minister does not challenge Starmer by Monday, she will trigger a leadership contest herself.
West said she was putting the Cabinet "on notice."
"I’m putting people on notice — if I don’t hear by Monday morning of some leadership hopefuls, I will be asking everybody in the Parliamentary Labour Party to put a name against my name, because we need to get this ball rolling," she told the outlet.
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"But my preferred option is for the Cabinet to do a reshuffle within itself, where there’s plenty of talent and for Keir to be given a different role, which he might enjoy, perhaps an international role, and then for others to come to the fore, who can communicate the message, who are very able, so we can have minimum fuss," she continued.
West, a former junior Foreign Office minister, would need support from 20% of Labour MPs — or 81 members — to trigger a contest.
She said about 10 MPs are backing her effort and expressed confidence more would join, according to the report.
Labour suffered roughly 1,400 losses across the U.K. in this week’s elections, with Reform UK making significant gains, according to GB News.
Starmer accepted responsibility for the losses but resisted calls to resign, saying he was "not going to walk away and plunge the country into chaos."
Still, he has not explicitly ruled out a managed exit and is expected to address the situation on Monday.
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As of late Friday, 22 Labour MPs had publicly called for the prime minister to step down or set a timeline for his exit, the BBC reported.
West did not name a preferred replacement.
"I don't have a candidate," she said. "That's part of the problem."
"But I think there are several people who would like to do it, who have been planning for months, but I'm very surprised that none of them has popped up today to say 'I will do it'," she added.
Fox News Digital’s Robert Schmad contributed to this report.
The U.S. military conducted a strike on a vessel in the Caribbean tied to suspected drug trafficking operations, killing two people, U.S. Southern Command said.
In a post on X, U.S. Southern Command (SOUTHCOM) said Joint Task Force Southern Spear carried out a "lethal kinetic strike" on May 4 at the direction of commander Gen. Francis L. Donovan.
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The command said intelligence assessed the vessel was transiting along known narco-trafficking routes in the Caribbean and allegedly engaged in drug trafficking operations. It added that the vessel was operated by what officials described as designated terrorist organizations.
Two male suspected "narco-terrorists" were killed in the strike, and no U.S. military personnel were harmed, according to the statement.
The strike is part of an ongoing campaign targeting suspected drug-trafficking vessels in Latin American waters that has continued since early September and has killed at least 188 people in total. Other strikes have taken place in the eastern Pacific Ocean.
The operations have ramped up again in recent weeks, even as the U.S. remains engaged in conflict with Iran, according to officials and prior military statements.
U.S. officials have described the effort as part of a broader campaign against what the administration calls "narcoterrorism" in the Western Hemisphere.
U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Türk on Tuesday accused Iran’s regime of dramatically intensifying its crackdown on dissent in the wake of the February conflict, warning that Tehran has carried out executions, mass arrests, torture and one of the world’s longest internet shutdowns while invoking national security.
In a sharply worded statement from Geneva, Türk said at least 21 people have been executed and more than 4,000 arrested on national security-related charges since Feb. 28 as the regime faces mounting scrutiny over what he described as a sweeping assault on fundamental rights.
"I am appalled that, on top of the already severe impacts of the conflict, the rights of the Iranian people continue to be stripped from them by the authorities in harsh and brutal ways," Türk said.
Since the start of the conflict two months ago, the U.N. said nine people have been executed over the January 2026 protests, 10 for alleged membership in opposition groups and two on espionage charges. It's estimated some 40,000 people were killed by regime forces during January's uprising.
Türk warned that Iran’s broad use of vaguely defined national security laws has enabled authorities to fast-track prosecutions, deny legal counsel and rely on coerced confessions.
"Even where national security is invoked, human rights can only be limited where strictly necessary and proportionate," he said, calling on Tehran to halt executions, impose a moratorium on capital punishment and immediately release those arbitrarily detained.
For many Iranian dissidents, the findings reflect an already dire reality.
"It is bad," Banafsheh Zand, an Iranian-American journalist and editor of the Iran So Far Away Substack, told Fox News Digital. "They’re completely killing off the country."
On Saturday, it was reported that Iran had executed another athlete, a 21-year-old karate champion. Sassan Azadvar Joonqani was detained in January during the anti-regime protests and was executed by the regime on Thursday, according to a Euronews report.
In March, Iran executed another athlete, 19-year-old wrestling champion Saleh Mohammadi, for protesting against the regime, Fox News Digital reported.
Türk’s office said detainees have reportedly faced enforced disappearances, torture, mock executions and televised confessions, with ethnic and religious minorities, including Bahá’ís, Zoroastrians, Kurds and Baluch Iranians facing particular risk.
Among those cited by the U.N. was imprisoned Nobel Peace Prize laureate Narges Mohammadi, whose condition sharply worsened Friday after what her family described as a catastrophic health crisis after months of being denied specialized care.
According to a statement from the Narges Foundation published Friday, Mohammadi was urgently transferred by ambulance from Zanjan Prison to a hospital after suffering two episodes of complete loss of consciousness in a single day, accompanied by severe cardiac distress.
The foundation said prison doctors determined her condition could no longer be managed on site after what her family called a "last-minute" transfer that may have come dangerously late.
Her husband, Taghi Rahmani, told Fox News Digital earlier this week that her physical condition had already become increasingly dire after what he described as a violent arrest and deteriorating prison treatment.
"She has sustained severe trauma and urgently requires medical attention," he said.
Rahmani previously said Mohammadi’s medical team and outside specialists had pushed for treatment in Tehran due to her history of multiple heart procedures, while authorities allegedly blocked those recommendations until her condition became life-threatening. Despite her physical decline, Rahmani said, "Spiritually and mentally, Narges remains steadfast."
IRAN’S KHAMENEI LASHES OUT AT PROTESTERS AS NATIONWIDE ANTI-REGIME UNREST GROWS
The U.N. statement, combined with Mohammadi’s emergency hospitalization, has intensified scrutiny of Iran’s prison conditions, which Türk described as marked by overcrowding, medical neglect and severe human rights abuses.
Türk also cited dire prison conditions, including overcrowding, shortages of food, water and medicine and denial of medical care.
The U.N. further highlighted reports of lethal violence in detention centers, including claims that security forces killed at least five detainees in Chabahar Prison after protests over suspended food distribution.
But while dissidents welcomed the U.N.’s unusually forceful language, some also questioned whether condemnation without action can meaningfully alter conditions, especially as Iran this week was elevated to a vice chair role on a U.N. nuclear nonproliferation committee.
"The reason why Iranians just don't trust, don't like and don't want to know from the U.N.," Zand said, is what she described as its repeated failure "to rise to the occasion of responding to the regime and holding their feet to the fire at the right time ... with the right amount of pressure."
While she said the latest statement itself was important, Zand argued many view such condemnations as hollow when paired with what they see as institutional legitimacy granted to Tehran.
"They're making a statement. … Fine," she said. "But what are they gonna do about it?"
As the leader of President Barack Obama’s negotiating team on the nuclear agreement with Iran, Wendy Sherman launched a no-holds-barred attack on President Donald Trump’s Iran strategy over the weekend.
Sherman, who served as undersecretary of state for political affairs during the Obama administration and as deputy secretary of state under President Joe Biden, took aim at Trump’s Iran policy in recent interviews.
Sherman’s assault on the Trump administration’s war strategy in a Bloomberg News interview raised eyebrows because it comes at a time when the administration is inflicting enormous economic pressure on Tehran’s rulers via the U.S. blockade of the Strait of Hormuz.
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Having played a key role in sealing the widely criticized 2015 nuclear deal with Iran, which Trump withdrew from in 2018, she slammed Trump’s Iran plan in the Bloomberg interview. "He doesn’t have a strategy. He’s very tactical [and] very transactional — as he was as a developer. In this case, I don’t think that approach will work."
She added, "He has cost our alliances, American taxpayers, 13 American lives, our inventory of weapons, our ability to project power abroad."
In response to her controversial comments, State Department spokesperson Tommy Pigott strongly pushed back, telling Fox News Digital, "She was literally part of the team that handed the Iranian regime billions of dollars and a roadmap to a nuclear weapon. She has no credibility. The facts: Under the previous administration, wars broke out, and our enemies grew stronger. Under President Trump, historic peace deals have been signed — including an unprecedented peace plan for Gaza — and the Iranian regime will never obtain a nuclear weapon."
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Harvard Law professor Alan Dershowitz, who just dropped his Democratic Party membership by registering as a Republican, told Fox News Digital: "She is the primary villain of the deal that gave Iran a nuclear bomb. She has no credibility. If Iran develops a bomb, it should put her name on it."
Adding to the growing anti-Israel sentiment among Democrats, Sherman also attacked Israel in the interview. She said, without giving any evidence, "I also believe that Prime Minister [Benjamin Netanyahu] has led us down a road — and we have been part of it — that has, in essence, created a genocide in Gaza that has destabilized the Middle East."
When asked about Sherman’s criticism of Israel, Dershowitz said, "She is a bigot and anti-Israel. She sees everything through the lens of Barack Obama."
Obama faced criticism during his tenure for his alleged anti-Israel policies, including allowing an anti-Israel U.N. Security Council resolution to pass in the last days of his presidency.
In a Wall Street Journal opinion article last week, Dershowitz wrote: "The Democratic Party has become the most anti-Israel party in U.S. history. Last week, all but seven Senate Democrats voted for an arms embargo against the Jewish state… There is no denying that the hard left, anti-Israel wing of the Democratic Party has moved from the fringe to the mainstream."
Asked to respond to the criticism of her remarks on Iran, Israel and Dershowitz’s comments, Solveig Reeker, a representative for Sherman, told Fox News Digital, "I'm sorry Ambassador Sherman is not available at this time and must decline."
A dangerous dissident republican group, the New IRA, which is allegedly linked to Iran and Hezbollah, claimed responsibility Tuesday for a car bomb outside a Belfast police station before warning of further attacks, according to reports.
The blast targeted a Police Service of Northern Ireland station in Dunmurry, and police increased patrols after the group threatened to target officers at their homes.
A 66-year-old man was also arrested Tuesday under terrorism laws after the explosion, Reuters reported.
In a statement attributed to the "leadership of the IRA," the group said the bomb was meant to kill officers leaving the station. It warned that anyone cooperating with police "will be severely dealt with."
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A 2020 report by The Times, citing information from an MI5 informant, alleged connections among the New IRA, Lebanon-based Hezbollah and Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC).
The report said individuals linked to the group signed a book of condolences after the 2020 killing of Iranian Gen. Qassem Soleimani in a U.S. drone strike in Baghdad, raising concerns about possible external support, including weapons and funding.
"The New IRA–Hezbollah link is a useful data point in a much larger pattern: the operationalization of the so-called axis of resistance," former Defense Department intelligence officer Andrew Badger told Fox News Digital.
"This joins Russia, Iran, China, North Korea and an expanding bench of aligned non-state actors into a working logistical and tradecraft network across the globe," Badger said.
"What we are watching is the maturing of a hybrid warfare model, pioneered and led by Russia and Iran, in which adversaries of the Western-led order increasingly share tactics, techniques and procedures (TTPs) across geographies and ideologies," said Badger, the co-author of "The Great Heist."
The New IRA’s latest bombing also follows a similar attempted car bomb attack on another police station outside Belfast just weeks ago. It is one of several militant groups that oppose the 1998 Good Friday Agreement and want to end British rule in Northern Ireland and establish a united Ireland.
It has carried out a series of attacks in recent years targeting police and security forces.
"The real challenge for local Irish police and security services is that these groups now compound each other’s learning," Badger added.
"A tactic battle-tested in one theater can be in the hands of a dissident cell in another within months, and Western counter-terror structures simply aren’t wired to track that kind of cross-pollination," he said.
"A Lebanese Shia militia training a hard-left Irish republican faction would have looked exotic 10 years ago.
"Today, it is consistent with a wider pipeline including Russian sabotage cells using local criminal proxies in Europe and Iranian-directed assassination plots on U.K. and U.S. soil.
"The playbook of these actors — proxies, dual-use logistics, weapons-and-finance pipelines, exploitation of grievance movements in the target country — appear to be converging," Badger added.
