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Aides to Venezuela opposition leader Maria Corina Machado said she was detained Thursday, followed moments later by official denials, in a confusing episode that capped a day of protests seeking to block President Nicolás Maduro from clinging to power.

It's not clear exactly what transpired after Machado bid farewell to hundreds of supporters, hopped on a motorcycle and raced with her security convoy through the empty streets of eastern Caracas to an undisclosed location.

At 3:21 p.m. local time, Machado’s press team said in a social media post that security forces "violently intercepted" her convoy. Her aides later confirmed to The Associated Press that the opposition hardliner had been detained, and international condemnation immediately poured from leaders in Latin America and beyond demanding her release.

But about an hour later, a 20-second video of Machado was posted online by a Maduro supporter in which the opposition leader said she was followed after leaving the rally and that she had dropped her purse. "I'm good, I'm safe," Machado said in a raspy voice, adding "Venezuela will be free."

THOUSANDS OF VENEZUELAN OPPOSITION SUPPORTERS TAKE TO THE STREETS AHEAD OF MADURO'S THIRD INAUGURATION

Her aides later said in a social media post that the proof-of-of-life video message had been coerced, and that after recording it she was freed. They said she would provide details of her "kidnapping" later.

Meanwhile, Maduro supporters denied that she was detained and gloated that government opponents were trying to spread fake news to generate an international crisis. "Nobody should be surprised," Communications Minister Freddy Nanez said. "Especially since it's coming from the fascists, who were the architects of the dirty trick."

Earlier Thursday, Machado addressed hundreds of supporters who heeded her call to take to the streets a day before the ruling party-controlled National Assembly was scheduled to swear in Maduro to a third six-year term despite credible evidence that he lost the presidential election.

"They wanted us to fight each other, but Venezuela is united, we are not afraid," Machado shouted from atop a truck in the capital minutes before she was reported detained.

Machado, 57, is a hardliner former lawmaker who stayed and fought against Maduro even after many of her allies in the opposition leadership fled, joining an exodus of some 7 million Venezuelans who’ve abandoned their homeland in recent years.

Loyalists who control the country's judiciary banned her from running against Maduro last year. In a deft move, she backed an unknown outsider — retired diplomat Edmundo González — who crushed Maduro by a more than two-to-one margin, according to voting machine records collected by the opposition and validated by international observers.

González, invoking the title of president-elect recognized by the U.S. and other countries, was among those who demanded Machado's release in the immediate aftermath of what was believed to be her shock arrest.

"To the security forces, I warn you: don't play with fire," he said in a social media post from the Dominican Republic, where he met with President Luis Abinader and a delegation of former presidents from across Latin America.

There was a relatively small turnout for Thursday's protests as riot police were deployed in force. Venezuelans who’ve witnessed Maduro’s security forces round up scores of opponents and regular bystanders since the July election were reluctant to mobilize in the same numbers as they have in the past.

"Of course, there’s fewer people," said empanada vendor Miguel Contrera as National Guard soldiers carrying riot shields buzzed by on motorcycles. "There’s fear."

Those demonstrators that did show up blocked a main avenue in one opposition stronghold. Many were senior citizens and dressed in red, yellow and blue, answering Machado’s call to wear the colors of the Venezuelan flag. All repudiated Maduro and said they would recognize González as Venezuela’s legitimate president.

The deployment of security forces as well as pro-government armed groups known as "colectivos" to intimidate opponents betrays a deep insecurity on the part of Maduro, said Javier Corrales, a Latin America expert at Amherst College.

Since the elections, the government has arrested more than 2,000 people — including as many as 10 Americans and other foreigners — who it claims have been plotting to oust Maduro and sow chaos in the oil rich South American nation. This week alone, masked gunmen arrested a former presidential candidate, a prominent free speech activist and even González’s son-in-law as he was taking his young children to school.

"It’s an impressive show of force but it’s also a sign of weakness," said Corrales, who co-authored this month an article, "How Maduro Stole Venezuela’s Vote," in the Journal of Democracy.

"Maduro is safe in office," said Corrales, "but he and his allies recognize they are moving forward with a big lie and have no other way to justify what they are doing except by relying on the military."

Venezuela’s National Electoral Council, also stacked with government loyalists, declared Maduro the winner of the election. But unlike in previous contests, authorities did not provide any access to voting records or precinct-level results.

The opposition, however, collected tally sheets from 85% of electronic voting machines and posted them online. They showed that its candidate, González, had thrashed Maduro by a more than two-to-one margin. Experts from the United Nations and the Atlanta-based Carter Center, both invited by Maduro’s government to observe the election, have said the tally sheets published by the opposition are legitimate.

The U.S. and other governments have also recognized González as Venezuela’s president-elect. Even many of Maduro’s former leftist allies in Latin America plan to skip Friday’s swearing-in ceremony.

President Joe Biden, meeting González at the White House this week, praised the previously unknown retired diplomat for having "inspired millions."

"The people of Venezuela deserve a peaceful transfer of power to the true winner of their presidential election," Biden said following the meeting.

Venezuelan opposition parties and their supporters - including leader Maria Corina Machado, who had been in hiding - protested around the country on Thursday in an eleventh-hour effort to put pressure on President Nicolás Maduro, one day before he is due to be sworn in for his third six-year term.

The opposition and the ruling party are locked in an ongoing dispute over last year's presidential election, which they both claim to have won.

The country's electoral authority and top court say Maduro, whose time in office has been marked by a deep economic and social crisis, won the July vote, though they have never published detailed tallies.

VENEZUELAN OPPOSITION LEADER MARÍA MACHADO HAS URGENT MESSAGE FOR PRESIDENT-ELECT DONALD TRUMP

The government, which has accused the opposition of fomenting fascist plots against it, said it will arrest opposition leader Edmundo Gonzalez should he return to the country and has detained prominent opposition members and activists in the lead-up to the inauguration.

The opposition says Gonzalez, 75, won in a landslide. It has published its own vote tallies as evidence, winning support from governments around the world, including the United States, which consider Gonzalez the president-elect.

Machado, who is the country's most popular opposition leader but who was barred from running in 2024, joined a protest in Chacao in eastern Caracas at around 2:20 p.m. local time (18:20 GMT), dressed in a white shirt and blue jeans and waving a Venezuelan flag from the top of a truck.

"They lost the streets, which are ours, they are barricaded in Miraflores (presidential palace)," Machado told the crowd. "From today we are in a new phase."

Her appearance marked her first public outing since August when she went into hiding at an unknown location.

Machado, 57, urged protesters to peacefully flood the streets and repeatedly asked members of the police and military - who guarded polling stations during the election - to back Gonzalez's victory.

"I'm not afraid, I lost my fear a long time ago," said 70-year-old Neglis Payares, a retired central bank worker, as she gathered with other opposition supporters in western Caracas in the morning.

"We don't know how many of them have their heart on our side," she added, gesturing at security forces who had gathered near the protest.

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Reuters witnesses estimated some 7,000 people had gathered in Caracas by around 2:20 p.m. local time. In the days after the election, thousands also took to the streets.

Maduro, 62, has been in power since 2013. He has the vociferous support of leaders in the armed forces and the intelligence services, which are run by close allies of powerful Interior Minister Diosdado Cabello.

"I am convinced nothing will happen," Cabello said on state television on Monday. "But that doesn't mean we will lower our guard."

The military's financial interests make loyalty shifts unlikely, said BancTrust, a London investment bank, in a note. "A limited military rebellion would entail significant risks for those involved, thus diminishing incentives to participate," it wrote.

Security forces set up checkpoints around the country.

In the western oil city of Maracaibo, an opposition protest of dozens of people was quickly dispersed by motorcycle-mounted security forces by late morning. In central Valencia, protesters gathered at another location after initially being met with tear gas.

Opposition supporters also gathered in San Cristobal, near the border with Colombia, in the western city of Barquisimeto and in eastern Puerto Ordaz.

"I'm here because we need to get rid of this government. We have no money, we have no work," 62-year-old housewife Roisa Gomez said at a protest in the central city of Maracay. "I'm fighting for my vote, which I cast for Edmundo Gonzalez. They cannot steal the election."

Soon afterward, security forces used tear gas to disperse the Maracay protesters.

Many of the demonstrators were of retirement age and said they wanted change so their migrant children and grandchildren would return to the country. More than 7 million Venezuelans live abroad.

The ruling party was holding rival marches nationwide, images of which were broadcast on state television.

"We've come out to show that there is a democracy. On this side are the patriots who will be sworn in with Nicolas (Maduro), on the other side are fascists who want (foreign) intervention, war, to sell their country," said 50-year-old Caracas motorcycle taxi driver Manual Rincon.

Gonzalez, who has been on a tour of the Americas this week and met with U.S. President Joe Biden and President-elect Donald Trump's national security advisor, has repeatedly pledged to return to Venezuela but given no details about how.

An arrest warrant was issued for Gonzalez for alleged conspiracy, prompting his September flight to Spain.

Machado is being investigated by the attorney general in at least two cases, but no warrant for her has been made public.

The government has detained several high-profile politicians and activists, including a former presidential candidate. This week, the attorney general's office said it had freed more than 1,500 of the 2,000 people, including teenagers, detained during post-election protests.

Venezuelans living abroad also held protests, including in Madrid, where Gonzalez's daughter Carolina Gonzalez spoke to hundreds of demonstrators.

"My dad sends a hug to all of you, glory to the brave people of Venezuela," she said, her voice breaking.

The Polish government adopted a resolution on Thursday vowing to ensure the free and safe participation of the highest representatives of Israel — including Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu — who chose to attend commemorations for the 80th anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz-Birkenau later this month.

Netanyahu became an internationally wanted suspect last year after the International Criminal Court, the world's top war crimes court, issued an arrest warrant for him and others in connection with the war in Gaza, accusing them of crimes against humanity.

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"The Polish government treats the safe participation of the leaders of Israel in the commemorations on January 27, 2025, as part of paying tribute to the Jewish nation, millions of whose daughters and sons became victims of the Holocaust carried out by the Third Reich," read the resolution published by the office of Prime Minister Donald Tusk.

The government published the statement after Polish President Andrzej Duda asked Tusk to ensure that Netanyahu can attend without the risk of being arrested.

German forces occupied Poland at the start of World War II and set up a system of ghettos and death camps where they killed millions of Jews and others.

There had been reports suggesting that the arrest warrant could prevent Netanyahu from traveling to Poland to attend observances marking the anniversary of the liberation in 1945 of the Auschwitz-Birkenau death camp by Soviet forces on Jan. 27.There had been reports suggesting that the arrest warrant could prevent Netanyahu from traveling to Poland to attend observances marking the anniversary of the liberation in 1945 of the Auschwitz-Birkenau death camp by Soviet forces on Jan. 27.

Member countries of the ICC, such as Poland, are required to detain suspects facing a warrant if they set foot on their soil, but the court has no way to enforce that. Israel is not a member of the ICC and disputes its jurisdiction.

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The court has more than 120 member states, though some countries, including France, have already said that they would not arrest him. Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán even said he would defy the warrant by inviting Netanyahu to Hungary.

It was not even clear if Netanyahu wanted to attend the event. The Polish Foreign Ministry said earlier Thursday that "it has not received any information so far indicating that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is going to attend the celebration of the 80th anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz."

"Poland is a safe country and any leader visiting Poland is entitled to protection granted by the Ministry of the Interior," it added. The ministry also suggested that any idea that Netanyahu could be arrested in Poland is "fake news" that spread in U.S. media.

The commemoration will be attended by international officials and elderly survivors. It is to take place in Oswiecim, a town that was under German occupation during the war.

More than 1.1 million people were murdered at Auschwitz. Historians say that most of them, about a million, were Jewish, but the victims also included Poles, Roma, Soviet prisoners of war, and others.

The Kremlin on Thursday said it is closely monitoring the "dramatic" comments made by President-elect Donald Trump over his desire to acquire Greenland amid his expansionist rhetoric to take over the Panama Canal and assume Canada as a "51st state."

"The Arctic is a zone of our national interests, our strategic interests," Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said, according to a Reuters transcript. "We are interested in preserving the atmosphere of peace and stability in the Arctic zone.

"We are watching the rather dramatic development of the situation very closely, but so far, thank God, at the level of statements," he added.

FRANCE PUSHES BACK ON TRUMP USING MILITARY PRESSURE TO TAKE GREENLAND, SAYS IT'S NOW 'SURVIVAL OF THE FITTEST'

Trump, who earlier this week said he could not rule out using military or economic force to take the Danish territory as well as the Panama Canal, has drawn some rebuke from European leaders like German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, who reminded the former, and soon-to-be president of the United States, that national sovereignty is a "fundamental principle of international law and a key part of what we call Western values."

In a comment posted to X on Wednesday, Scholz, who has voiced "incomprehension" at Trump’s expansionist comments, said the principle of national sovereignty "applies to every country, whether in the East or the West."

"In talks with our European partners, there is an uneasiness regarding recent statements from the U.S.," he added, without mentioning which European leaders. "It is clear: We must stand together."

Despite international concern over Trump’s comments, some European leaders appear to be toeing the line when it comes to the level of rebuke they have issued.

Denmark Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen responded to Trump’s comments on Tuesday by clarifying that Greenland is not for sale but added she was glad the arctic country was garnering international interest.

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Similarly, in a Wednesday statement, Greenland Prime Minister Múte Egede, who supports independence from Denmark, urged calm and said, "Greenland looks forward to working with the incoming U.S. administration and other NATO allies to ensure security and stability in the Arctic region."

The statement is a subtle reminder that Greenland, as a territory of Denmark which is a NATO member, is protected under the international alliance – though it is unclear if Greenland would remain so upon seeking independence or whether it, like Sweden and Finland have in recent years, would then need to apply for its own membership. 

While Greenland remains under NATO protection, this means any attack on the Arctic nation – including by the U.S. – would trigger Article Five of the international treaty and prompt a military response from the other 31 NATO allies. 

The Trump transition team did not respond to Fox News Digital’s questions over how Trump’s threats could violate that treaty and threaten military conflict with NATO allies. 

Instead, a statement from Trump transition team spokesperson Karoline Leavitt was provided which said, "Every decision President Trump makes is in the best interest of the United States and the American people. That’s why President Trump has called attention to legitimate national security and economic concerns regarding Canada, Greenland, and Panama." 

However, Russian leaders have picked up on the apparently restrained response from some European leaders and on Thursday Peskov said, "Europe is reacting very timidly to this, it is clear that it's scary to react to Trump's words, so Europe is reacting very cautiously, modestly, quietly, almost in a whisper. 

"After all, if they say that it is necessary to take into account the opinion of the people, then perhaps we should still remember the opinion of the people of the four new regions of the Russian Federation, and we should show the same respect for opinion of these people," he said in reference to the four regions in Ukraine that Russia illegally annexed in 2022, not including Crimea, but which are not internationally recognized as a part of Russia. 

NATO did not immediately respond to Fox News Digital's questions. 

A worker digging up clay in a southern England limestone quarry noticed unusual bumps that led to the discovery of a "dinosaur highway" and nearly 200 tracks that date back 166 million years, researchers said Thursday.

The extraordinary find, made after a team of more than 100 people excavated the Dewars Farm Quarry in Oxfordshire in June, expands upon previous paleontology work in the area and offers greater insights into the Middle Jurassic period, researchers at the universities of Oxford and Birmingham said.

FIRST-OF-ITS-KIND GREEN DINOSAUR SKELETON RECOVERED IN UTAH COULD BE NEW SPECIES, SAYS NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC

"These footprints offer an extraordinary window into the lives of dinosaurs, revealing details about their movements, interactions, and the tropical environment they inhabited," said Kirsty Edgar, a micropaleontology professor at the University of Birmingham.

Four of the sets of tracks that make up the so-called highway show paths taken by gigantic, long-necked herbivores called sauropods, thought to be Cetiosaurus, a dinosaur that grew to nearly 60 feet in length. A fifth set belonged to the Megalosaurus, a ferocious 30-foot predator that left a distinctive triple-claw print and was the first dinosaur to be scientifically named two centuries ago.

An area where the tracks cross raises questions about possible interactions between the carnivores and herbivores.

"Scientists have known about and been studying Megalosaurus for longer than any other dinosaur on Earth, and yet these recent discoveries prove there is still new evidence of these animals out there, waiting to be found," said Emma Nicholls, a vertebrate paleontologist at the Oxford University Museum of Natural History.

Nearly 30 years ago, 40 sets of footprints discovered in a limestone quarry in the area were considered one of the world's most scientifically important dinosaur track sites. But that area is mostly inaccessible now and there's limited photographic evidence because it predated the use of digital cameras and drones to record the findings.

The group that worked at the site this summer took more than 20,000 digital images and used drones to create 3-D models of the prints. The trove of documentation will aid future studies and could shed light on the size of the dinosaurs, how they walked and the speed at which they moved.

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"The preservation is so detailed that we can see how the mud was deformed as the dinosaur’s feet squelched in and out," said Duncan Murdock, an earth scientist at the Oxford museum. "Along with other fossils like burrows, shells and plants, we can bring to life the muddy lagoon environment the dinosaurs walked through."

The findings will be shown at a new exhibit at the museum and also broadcast on the BBC's "Digging for Britain" program next week.

The CEO of the Panama Canal has denied President-elect Donald Trump's allegation that the waterway built by the United States over a century ago is now under the control of China. 

"The accusations that China is running the Canal are unfounded," Panama Canal Authority leader Ricaurte Vásquez Morales told the Wall Street Journal on Wednesday. "China has no involvement whatsoever in our operations."

"Rules are rules and there are no exceptions," Vásquez Morales reportedly added. "We cannot discriminate for the Chinese, or the Americans, or anyone else. This will violate the neutrality treaty, international law, and it will lead to chaos."

In the 1970s, then-President Jimmy Carter negotiated what became known as the Torrijos-Carter Treaties, which agreed the United States could use military force to defend the waterway against any threat to its "neutrality." That aspect was considered crucial for the U.S. at the time amid the threat of Soviet-aligned states. Carter also agreed that the Panama Canal itself would be turned over to Panama on Dec. 31, 1999.

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On Tuesday, a reporter asked Trump at Mar-a-Lago if he would assure the world he would not use "military or economic coercion" to gain control of the Panama Canal, as well as Greenland. 

"No, I can't assure you on either of those two. But, I can say this. We need them for economic security. The Panama Canal was built for our military," Trump said. "Look, the Panama Canal is vital to our country. It's being operated by China. China. And we gave the Panama Canal to Panama. We didn't give it to China. And they've abused it. They've abused that gift. It should have never been made." 

While former President Carter was lying in state at the Capitol, Trump said he liked the man but disagreed with the deal he struck regarding the canal.

"Giving the Panama Canal is why Jimmy Carter lost the election, in my opinion, more so maybe than the hostages. The hostages were a big deal. But if you remember, nobody wants to talk about the Panama Canal because, you know, it's inappropriate, I guess. But, because it's a bad part of the Carter legacy," Trump added later. "But, he was a good man. Look, he was a good man. I know him a little bit, and he was a very fine person. But that was a big mistake." 

This is not the first time the Panamanian government has denied China's influence. 

Last month, Trump posted on TRUTH Social, "Merry Christmas to all, including to the wonderful soldiers of China, who are lovingly, but illegally, operating the Panama Canal."

In response, Panamanian President José Raúl Mulino dismissed the claim as "nonsense," saying at a press conference, "There is not a single Chinese soldier in the canal." 

"The canal is Panamanian and belongs to Panamanians. There's no possibility of opening any kind of conversation around this reality," he added, according to the BBC. 

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Trump's concerns echo those from the U.S. Department of Defense over growing Chinese investments in shipping ports around the world. 

Testifying before the House Armed Services Committee last March, Gen. Laura J. Richardson, the head of U.S. Southern Command, told lawmakers that the People's Republic of China (PRC) "messages its investments as peaceful, but in fact, many serve as points of future multi-domain access for the PLA and strategic naval chokepoints." 

"These investments include critical infrastructure such as deep-water ports, cyber facilities, and space facilities," Richardson warned. "In Panama, PRC-controlled State-Owned Enterprises (SOEs) continue to bid on projects related to the Panama Canal – a global strategic chokepoint." 

Five percent of world commerce passes through the Panama Canal, Richardson said. 

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Two seaports on either side of the Panama Canal have been run for decades by the Hong-Kong-based company Hutchison Ports PPC, the New York Times reported, noting how the Chinese government has increasingly implemented its national security laws on the island of Hong Kong that can force companies to comply with intelligence-gathering and military operations. 

Roughly 40% of U.S. container traffic runs through the Panama Canal, according to the newspaper. 

In a new report by the Israeli Ministry of Health, recently submitted to the United Nations, hostages who were freed from Hamas captivity described how they were subjected to unimaginable suffering. Among the chilling testimonies, two children revealed they were bound and beaten throughout their captivity, with scars and marks of trauma evident on their bodies. Others reported deliberate burning with heated objects, leaving permanent injuries.

Women detailed horrifying sexual violence, including assaults at gunpoint and forced undressing in front of captors. Men also endured sexual abuse, prolonged starvation, severe beatings, and torture involving branding with hot metal.

Many hostages suffered significant weight loss, with children losing up to 18% of their body weight. Unsanitary conditions led to infections, gastrointestinal illnesses, and other severe health complications. These atrocities, coupled with the systematic use of physical and psychological abuse as tools of oppression, paint a grim picture of the hostages’ ordeal.

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While some have been freed, 99 remain in captivity, still enduring these unimaginable conditions 14 months after the Oct. 7, 2023, Hamas attack.

Among those still held is Or Levi, whose wife was murdered during the Oct. 7 attack. Or’s brother, Michael Levi, shared his anguish in an interview, describing the devastating impact of the Health Ministry’s report.

Levi expressed deep frustration with the international community, particularly the United Nations, and said he holds little hope for meaningful action after the report. "For some reason, the Israeli side is not counted as human," he told Fox News Digital. "The U.N. ignores the fact that Hamas is committing crimes against humanity." Levi represented the hostages’ families in a briefing to the U.N. Security Council last month. "When I addressed the Security Council, I wanted them to hear a personal story. They need to understand that there cannot be lives that are worth more than others."

"When you see how inhumane and horrible the conditions that the hostages are in, and knowing that my brother is one of them… it kills me," he said. "Thinking about my brother, who is almost six feet three, trying to stand up in dark, airless tunnels less than six feet tall – it’s unbearable."

Negotiations to free the hostages are ongoing, after President-elect Trump vowed that there would be "all hell to pay" if the hostages are not released before he enters office. However, Levi’s brother Or is reportedly not "on the lists" because he is a young man and therefore not considered a "humanitarian case." Michael explained that his brother has a 3-year-old son who, after losing his mother on Oct. 7, has only his father left. "If this is not a humanitarian case, I don’t know what is," he said.

REPORT EXPOSES HAMAS TERRORIST CRIMES AGAINST FAMILIES DURING OCT 7 MASSACRE: 'KINOCIDE'

Despite his frustration, Levi holds hope for a shift in approach under Trump. "I’m actually optimistic that someone will do something," he said. "Up until now, the pressure on Hamas and their financiers, like Qatar, Turkey, and Iran, has been inadequate. President Trump’s more aggressive stance could bring results."

"The report we are submitting to the U.N. is a harrowing testimony to the brutal experiences suffered by the hostages in Hamas captivity," said Israel’s Health Minister Uriel Busso. "These are actions that cannot be tolerated and demand that the world wake up and take action."

Israel's ambassador to the United Nations slammed the world body during a recent meeting of the U.N. Security Council for its treatment of the hostages issue. "The U.N. and the international community are trying to forget the torture and atrocities that took place on Oct. 7. We will never forget the horrors, and we will not stop until we return all the hostages."

Dr. Hagar Mizrahi, head of the Ministry’s Medical Directorate, added, "The severe physical and mental states of the returnees offer the world a glimpse into the widespread atrocities committed by Hamas. The condition of all hostages still held in Gaza is dire. It is imperative that all efforts be made to bring them back."

The Ministry of Health’s report is divided into two sections. The first outlines the physical and psychological abuse endured by hostages during their captivity, based on testimonies from medical teams who treated the returnees. The second section focuses on rehabilitation models designed to help returnees recover, informed by data from specialized clinics.

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Psychological abuse was equally devastating, according to the report. Hostages were isolated and forced to witness acts of violence. Survivors reported intense trauma, including dissociative episodes, severe nightmares, and an overwhelming sense of guilt for leaving loved ones behind. Many remain unable to adjust to normal life, haunted by the horrors they endured.

The report’s release has triggered mixed reactions. While it validates the survivors’ suffering, it also reopens emotional wounds for families and returnees. "The detailed documentation underscores the urgency for international intervention," said Dr. Hagai Levin, head of the Health Team for Hostages and Missing Families Forum.

Levin emphasized the complexity of treating released hostages. "They face profound psychological challenges, including PTSD, anxiety, depression, and difficulty reintegrating into daily life," he explained. "Children often experience developmental regression and heightened anxiety. Rehabilitation requires a multidisciplinary, long-term approach."

Minister Busso’s statement to the U.N. was unequivocal: "The testimonies presented in this report serve as a wake-up call for the international community to apply increased pressure on Hamas and its supporters to free all the hostages without delay. It is a moral and humanitarian imperative, and the time to act is running out."

As Donald Trump Jr. made a surprise visit to Greenland this week, President-elect Donald Trump's rhetoric is getting more serious about buying Denmark's Arctic territory.

The president-elect did not rule out using military coercion to gain control of Greenland in a press conference at Mar-a-Lago on Tuesday. "No, I can't assure you on either of those two," Trump said, when asked if he would rule out using military or economic coercion to gain control of Greenland. "We need it for national security. That's for the free world. I'm talking about protecting the free world," he continued.

Meanwhile, Denmark's leaders remain adamant the Arctic territory is not for sale. "We have a clear interest in that it is the U.S. that plays a large role and not Russia or other countries. But Greenland is for the Greenlandic people," Denmark Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen told reporters on Tuesday.

DANISH PRIME MINISTER HAS BLUNT MESSAGE FOR TRUMP: GREENLAND IS NOT FOR SALE

Greenlanders will vote later this year if they want to stay a part of Denmark or not. The strategic island is at a territorial crossroads, as the U.S., China and Russia race to control the melting Arctic region.

Denmark and therefore Greenland are NATO allies. Article 5 of the NATO charter states that any military attack on a NATO ally requires a military response from the rest of the alliance.

"I don't think it is useful to talk about Article five implications because the United States is not actually going to use force on NATO ally. There are lots of reasons why that would never happen." Ian Bremmer, founder and president of the Eurasia Group, told Fox News.

"It’s not that you don't take what the president says seriously, because the fact that he's making these threats does change how much American allies feel like they can count on the United States going forward… it does undermine leverage that the U.S. has in terms of international rule of law. It brings us closer to the, to the law of the jungle," Bremmer continued.

Trump first began talk of buying Greenland in 2019 because it has about a quarter of the world's rare earth minerals, needed for all electronics, semiconductor manufacturing, the defense industry and the new clean energy economy.

Sherri Goodman, who served as the Pentagon’s first undersecretary of Defense for Environmental Security in the 1990s, recently wrote a book on the strategic and national security consequences of climate change titled, "Threat Multiplier: Climate, Military Leadership and the Fight for Global Security."

Goodman has seen firsthand how important Greenland is to the U.S. military.

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"We've long had a military base in the north of Greenland to track former Soviet, now Russian incoming missiles or satellites. And because of climate change, navigation around Greenland and travel to Greenland is becoming more accessible," Goodman said.

Then-President Harry Truman wanted to buy Greenland after WWII to box out the Soviets from the Arctic. During the Cold War, the Arctic region was the most direct route for a strategic nuclear exchange between the U.S. and the USSR using long-range bombers and ballistic missiles. The GIUK Gap to the east of Greenland is a huge access point for Russia's operations in the Atlantic Ocean. Greenland became a key location for early-warning networks and today is home to the northernmost U.S. military installation, Pituffik Space Force Base, which holds a substantial portion of the global network's missile warning sensors and space surveillance sensors.

China's ambitions in the Arctic have grown in recent years. In 2018, China laid out plans to build infrastructure and develop shipping lanes opened by climate change. State-owned businesses have put in bids to buy land in both Iceland and Greenland, so far with no luck.

Temperatures are rising in the Arctic four times faster than they are in the rest of the world, making access to the rare earth minerals it holds more accessible.

"In this rush for resources, the U.S., NATO, and NATO allies want to ensure that China and Russia don't access that. China has a history of using surrogate science and investigation as a way to gain access and learn about territories in the Arctic," Goodman said.

Pentagon deputy press secretary Sabrina Singh was asked about Greenland at a Defense Department briefing on Wednesday. "I'm certainly not going to get into hypotheticals. I think that's for the incoming administration to speak to," Singh said. 

Secretary of State Antony Blinken responded to a question about Greenland at a press conference in Paris on Wednesday. "The idea expressed about Greenland is obviously not a good one. But maybe more important, it's obviously one that's not going to happen. So we probably shouldn't waste a lot of time talking about it," Blinken said.

A baby girl, who was born on a packed migrant dinghy headed for Spain's Lanzarote island in the Canaries, was being treated in hospital along with her mother and both were in good condition, medical and regional government authorities said on Thursday.

The pair were being treated with antibiotics and monitored by a pediatric team, Dr. Maria Sabalich, emergency coordinator of the Molina Orosa University Hospital in Lanzarote, told Reuters.

"The mother and child are safe," she said. "They are still in the hospital, but they are doing well."

MEXICO DISPERSES MIGRANT CARAVANS HEADING TO US AHEAD OF TRUMP INAUGURATION

The Spanish coast guard said the boat carrying the pregnant mother had embarked from Tan-Tan, a province in Morocco about 135 nautical miles southeast of Lanzarote.

Upon discharge from the hospital, the mother and infant will be received at a humanitarian center for migrants, before likely being moved to a reception center for mothers and young children on another island, Cristina Ruiz, a spokesperson for the Spanish government in the Canaries capital, Las Palmas, told Reuters.

The latest arrivals add to the thousands of migrants that strike out for the Canaries from the western African coast each year on a perilous sea voyage that claims thousands of lives.

Thanks to good weather, the rescue operation was straightforward, Domingo Trujillo, captain of the Spanish coast guard ship that rescued the migrants - a total of 60 people including 14 women and four children - told Spanish wire service EFE.

"The baby was crying, which indicated to us that it was alive and there were no problems, and we asked the woman's permission to undress her and clean her," he said. "The umbilical cord had already been cut by one of her fellow passengers. The only thing we did was to check the child, give her to her mother and wrap them up for the trip."

Overnight, the Canary Islands' rescue services recovered two more boats, bearing a total of 144 people.

According to Spanish migration charity Walking Borders, 9,757 people died on the Atlantic Route to the Canary Islands from West Africa in 2024. The route from Morocco and Western Sahara are most commonly used by women who routinely suffer sexual violence, discrimination, racism and deportations while in transit.

Trujillo said the crews were exhausted but proud of their work.

"Almost every night we leave at dawn and arrive back late," he said. "This case is very positive, because it was with a newborn, but in all the services we do, even if we are tired, we know we are helping people in distress."

British lawmakers voted against launching a national inquiry into the U.K. grooming gang scandal on Wednesday, after objections to the way the vote was being put forward – and amid international scrutiny of the crisis spearheaded by Elon Musk.

The House of Commons voted on an amendment to hold a statutory inquiry into the scandal – where it was revealed that men of predominantly Pakistani heritage had sexually abused girls for years in towns in northern England.

The measure was an amendment to a children’s well-being and schools bill backed by the Labour government. U.K. Prime Minister Keir Starmer warned that a vote in favor of the amendment would kill the overall bill to which it was attached. The amendment was voted down by 364 votes to 111 in the Labour-controlled chamber, Sky News reported.

UK PM STARMER HITS BACK AGAINST MUSK ATTACKS ON CHILD GROOMING GANGS

"What we need now is action. What can't be tolerated is the idea that this afternoon members opposite will vote down a bill which protects children," Starmer said ahead of the vote, calling it a "wrecking amendment."

Conservative Party Leader Kemi Badenoch pushed back.

"Be a leader, not a lawyer," she told him, as she said that a new inquiry should investigate the connected issues between the towns. 

"The reason why a national inquiry is important is because this issue is systemic," she said, involving "local and national officials, the police, prosecutors and politicians."

"These interlinked issues cannot be covered by local inquiries alone," she said.

Previous reports had found evidence of "appalling" abuse, with more than 1,400 girls abused between 1997 and 2013 in Rotherham alone. Reports also found that authorities had been scared of fueling racism in their handling of the crimes given the ethnic makeup of the perpetrators. The scandal tapped into brewing concerns about multiculturalism and mass immigration.

The issue came back to the spotlight recently after local officials in Oldham called on the government to launch a national inquiry into the town’s handling of the crisis. A 2022 report had found that children had been failed by officials, but had found no cover-up despite concerns that it would be capitalized on by right-wing activists.

ELON MUSK DEMANDS UK ACT ON GROOMING GANG SCANDAL AMID GROWING CALLS FOR PROBE

The U.K. government rejected the request, saying that any inquiry should be organized locally. That, in turn, drew calls from Badenoch and Elon Musk for a national inquiry.

"Across the country, thousands of girls were tortured and sexually abused at the hands of men who treated them as things to be used and disposed of, destroying many lives forever. The prime minister has mentioned previous inquiries. He is right, there has been an inquiry into child sexual abuse. But it wasn't about the rape gang scandal," Badenoch said.

Musk, who has been hammering away at the issue on X – even calling for the prosecution of top U.K. government officials, including Starmer – appealed again to the British public before the vote.

"Please call your member of parliament and tell them that the hundreds of thousands of little girls in Britain who were, and are still are, being systematically, horrifically gang-raped deserve some justice in this world," Musk said on X on Wednesday.

"This is vitally important, or it will just keep happening," he said.

BRITAIN HIT BY ANOTHER ASIAN GROOMING GANG SCANDAL AS REPORT EXPOSES CHILD SEX ABUSE IN MANCHESTER

Starmer had previously slammed "lies and misinformation" without naming Musk directly, and had accused U.K. politicians of jumping on a "bandwagon of the far-right."

On Wednesday, he again accused Badenoch of jumping on a bandwagon and urged lawmakers to make sure the broader bill passed.

"One of the provisions in the bill is to protect children vulnerable today who are out of school to prevent abuses ever taking those children out of school. I implore members opposite to defy the misleading leadership of the Leader of the Opposition and vote for a really important bill."

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

Two U.S. citizens have been arrested in Venezuela on charges that remain unclear, but which President Nicolas Maduro on Tuesday claimed were related to the intent to "practice terrorism."

Maduro said "very high level" Americans that he branded "mercenaries" were part of a group of seven who were arrested, though he did not provide any evidence or details of the arrests.

"Just today we've captured seven foreign mercenaries, including two important mercenaries from the United States," said Maduro, according to a Reuters report. 

VENEZUELA'S MADURO TO START THIRD TERM IN OFFICE AMID RIGGED ELECTION: 'BLATANT VIOLATION'

Maduro – who is set to once again take up the top office on Friday for a third term despite the widely contested results of the July election – said two Colombians and three Ukrainians were also arrested. 

He reportedly said his security forces had arrested 125 foreign mercenaries from 25 different countries who he claimed had entered the country with the intent "to practice terrorism against the Venezuelan people."

A spokesperson from the State Department flatly rejected Maduro’s claims and told Fox News Digital, "Any claims of U.S. involvement in a plot to overthrow Maduro are categorically false."  

"The United States continues to support a democratic solution to the political crisis in Venezuela. As Maduro and his associates have shown in the past, they may detain and jail, without justification or due process, U.S. citizens who enter Venezuela," the spokesperson added. 

The identities of the individuals arrested have not been released due to "privacy and other considerations."

Though the spokesperson told Fox News Digital that the department is "working to gather more information" and remains "concerned" for the Americans detained in Venezuela. 

VENEZUELAN OPPOSITION LEADER WHO CLAIMED VICTORY OVER MADURO MEETS WITH BIDEN

It remains unclear how many Americans are currently held in Venezuela following the significant prisoner swap in 2023 when Washington and Caracas negotiated the release of dozens of prisoners, including 10 Americans, in exchange for Colombian businessman Alex Saab, a close ally of Maduro.

His remarks coincided with a visit to D.C. from opposition presidential candidate Edmundo Gonzalez, who Washington has ardently backed, and who has been declared the president-elect by several nations, including the U.S.

On Monday, President Biden re-emphasized the U.S.’s position on the results of the election – which the Maduro-aligned courts have declared as a victory for the soon-to-be three-term president – and called Gonzalez the "true winner" of the July race.

Venezuelan authorites have refused to release ballot-box results to support their victory claims, while Gonzalez’s team has reportedly published thousands of scanned copies of voting machine results that ballot box observers gathered in the days after the election – reportedly accounting for 80% of the votes cast that showed a win for the opposition leader. 

Maduro’s accusations regarding a U.S.-crafted coup plot escalated in the weeks following his internationally contested election and by September the Venezuelan leader was issuing claims that the CIA had orchestrated a plot to overthrow his government and said some 400 rifles had been seized and a Navy SEAL arrested. 

Isaias Medina, former Venezuelan diplomat to the United Nations, said Maduro’s latest arrests and comments "align with his patterns of ‘hostage diplomacy.'"

"These accusations, widely viewed as baseless, appear to be another ploy to shift attention away from Maduro's illegitimate inauguration and suppress dissent ahead of anticipated protests," Medina explained to Fox News Digital. "By tying foreign nationals to these allegations, Maduro seeks to stoke fear of external interference while creating convenient scapegoats for his failing leadership and attempting to legalize state terrorism.

"The timing of these charges raises concerns about Maduro's broader strategy," he added. "Moreover, the theatrical accusations serve to justify crackdowns on opposition protests, intimidating Venezuelans into silence as the country sinks deeper into economic and humanitarian crises. 

"These actions underline the lengths Maduro will go to maintain control, despite mounting domestic discontent and growing calls for accountability on the world stage," Medina said.

The State Department has listed Venezuela as a Level 4 "do not travel" location due to the security threats Americans face there.

A 23-year-old medical student who was missing in a remote Australian mountain range for two weeks has been located.

Hadi Nazari from Melbourne went missing on Dec. 26, 2024, when he separated from two hiking companions to take photos in the Kosciuszko National Park in the Snowy Mountains in New South Wales state, the Associated Press reports. 

He survived on two muesli bars, foraged berries and creek water, police said on Wednesday.

His rescue came after he approached a group of hikers on Wednesday afternoon, telling them he was lost and thirsty, Police Inspector Josh Broadfoot said.

UTAH BROTHERS SURVIVE AVALANCHE AFTER ONE PULLS OTHER OUT OF SNOW BURIAL

"This is the fourteenth day we've been looking for him and for him to come out and be in such good spirits and in such great condition, it’s incredible," Broadfoot said, according to Reuters, adding that Nazari was in "really good spirits."

The hiker had traveled more than six miles across steep and densely wooded terrain from where he was last seen. More than 300 people had searched for him in the national park that is home to the 7,310-foot Mount Kosciuszko. 

2 DEAD AFTER SEARCH FOR SASQUATCH IN WASHINGTON NATIONAL FOREST

Nazari was reunited with his two hiking friends on Wednesday before he was flown to a hospital for a medical assessment, Broadfoot said. Video showed them in a deep embrace prior to his departure.

Weather conditions are mild during the current Southern Hemisphere summer.

Searchers had been optimistic that Nazari would be found alive. He was an experienced hiker equipped with a tent. Searchers had found his campfire, camera and hiking poles in recent days, suggesting that he was continuing to walk.

Ambulance Insp. Adam Mower said Nazari only needed treatment for dehydration.

"He’s in remarkable condition for a person who’s been missing for so long," Mower said.

The Associated Press and Reuters contributed to this report. 

The U.S. military on Wednesday said its forces struck weapons depots used by the Iran-backed Houthi terrorist group in Yemen to target naval warships and merchant vessels in the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden. 

"U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM) forces conducted multiple precision strikes against two Iranian-backed Houthi underground Advanced Conventional Weapon (ACW) storage facilities within Houthi-controlled territories of Yemen," CENTCOM said in a statement. 

The military command confirmed there were no injuries to U.S. personnel and no U.S. equipment was damaged in the strike. It did not confirm whether any Houthi terrorists were killed or injured in the attack. 

TRUMP REINFORCES 'ALL HELL WILL BREAK OUT' IF HOSTAGES NOT RETURNED BY INAUGURATION

"The strikes are part of CENTCOM's effort to degrade Iranian-backed Houthi attempts to threaten regional partners and military and merchant vessels in the region," CENTCOM added.

The U.S. military did not confirm where in Yemen the strikes were carried out, though local outlet Al-Masirah TV, which is owned and funded by the Houthis, reportedly claimed that five "raids" were carried out in the northwestern Amran province and two in the Sanaa province, where the capital city of Sanaa is located, reported Voice of America. 

The Houthis have long operated out of Sanaa and other coastal regions after taking the capital city in 2014 from the internationally recognized government. 

The Wednesday strike on the terrorist network is just the latest in an apparent increase by the outgoing Biden administration, which conducted at least three strikes last month on Houthi targets, including command and control facilities and weapons production and storage depots.

ISRAEL KILLS HAMAS COMMANDER WHO LED HEINOUS OCT. 7 ATTACK ON KIBBUTZ NIR OZ KILLED IN DRONE ATTACK: IDF

The U.S. also successfully countered at least two separate attempted strikes by the Houthi rebels on naval and merchant ships in December alone. 

Attacks by the Houthis have increased in recent years, but they ramped up following the Oct. 7, 2023, attacks by Hamas on Israel, which the Houthis have also increasingly targeted over the last 15 months.

But as rocket fire from Gaza and Lebanon following more than a year of fighting with Israel has fallen drastically amid a cease-fire agreement with Hezbollah and the campaign against Hamas, the Houthis have escalated their attacks. 

Reports this month have suggested the Houthis continue to launch missile fire from over 1,200 miles away at Israel – not only posing a physical threat to Israelis but continuing to affect shipping lanes and air transport.

Israel has warned that if the attacks by the Yemeni terrorist group do not stop, Jerusalem will respond as it has against other Iran-backed forces.

"We will hunt down all of the Houthis’ leaders and we will strike them just as we have done in other places," Defense Minister Israel Katz said in late December, reported the Associated Press. 

Authorities in Mexico are offering state protection to famed regional Mexican singer Natanael Cano and other artists after a drug cartel in northern Mexico publicly threatened them, prosecutors confirmed to The Associated Press on Tuesday.

Photos of a banner threatening the lives of Cano, a singer of corridos, a musical genre often linked to drug cartel violence, and several other artists in the Sonora region circulated on social media over the weekend.

The banner appeared to be signed by "Jalisco Matasalas" a group within a faction of the Sinaloa Cartel known as the "Chapitos," which sowed terror in northern Mexico in recent months in a bloody power struggle. The gang accused the singers of "financially helping" a rival gang known as "Salazares."

ICE REMOVES NOTORIOUS DRUG CARTEL LEADER FROM US

"This is the last time you will receive a warning, just in time for you to cut the crap. Mind your own business," the banner read. "If you don't heed this warning, you will be shot."

The Sonoran Prosecutor's Office on Tuesday told the AP that the threatening message was found hanging from a school and that they had opened an investigation.

Allan de la Rosa, a spokesperson for the prosecutors, said authorities offered state protection to the artists to "prevent any aggression related to the direct threat displayed on the banner." He did not elaborate on the nature of the protection.

Cano's communications team did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Corridos, made up of ballads from northern Mexico, is a musical genre that has long been linked to drug violence, but they also depict the harsh realities many Mexicans face living under narco violence. The genre, along with Mexican regional music, is experiencing a resurgence with younger artists like Cano and Peso Pluma blending classic styles with other genres like trap music.

Over the past five years, streaming of Mexican music has grown 400% on Spotify and in 2023 Mexican artist Peso Pluma bested Taylor Swift as the most streamed artist on YouTube.

Such artists have long faced sharp criticisms from authorities and threats from drug gangs.

In 2023, Peso Pluma — who paid homage to drug kingpin Joaquín "El Chapo" Guzmán in songs – was forced to cancel a show in Tijuana after the 25-year-old received threats from a rival of the Sinaloa Cartel, warning that "it would be your last performance" if he proceeded with the concert.

Later, Tijuana banned the performance of narco ballads altogether to protect "the eyes and ears" of youths as it tries to contain violence. Local authorities in northern states previously banned musicians singing narcocorridos.

The threat against Cano follows a surge in violence in Sinaloa and other northern Mexican states,

The threats against Cano follow a surge of violence in Sinaloa and other northern Mexican states triggered by the kidnapping and capture of narco boss Ismael "El Mayo" Zambada and the ensuing all-out-war between rival factions of the Sinaloa Cartel, including the one that allegedly threatened Cano.

FIRST ON FOX - Senior Republican and Democratic representatives will introduce a bill today prohibiting recognition of a Georgian Dream government of the Black Sea nation that has been swept by massive anti-government demonstrations for more than 40 days now.

Rep. Joe Wilson, R-S.C., chairman of the Helsinki Commission, and Democrat Rep. Steve Cohen, D-Tenn., are set to introduce the "Georgian Nightmare Non-Recognition Act" on Wednesday.

Fox News Digital has exclusively obtained the bill barring recognition or normalization of relations "with any Government of Georgia that is led by Bidzina Ivanishvili or any proxies due to the Ivanishvili regime’s ongoing crimes against the Georgian people," the bill reads.

According to the bill, "no federal official or employee may take any action, and no Federal funds may be made available, to recognize or otherwise imply, in any manner, United States recognition of Bidzina Ivanishvili or any government in Georgia."

REPUBLICAN CONGRESSMAN CALLS ON INCOMING ADMINISTRATION TO TARGET 'THE AXIS OF AGGRESSORS'

Rep. Cohen, who came up with the name of the bill, told Fox News Digital the Georgian Dream has become the Georgian nightmare.

"Sanctioned oligarch Ivanishvili’s Georgian Dream party has now become a tool of Putin. They falsified the October election and illegally picked a pliable president. The United States cannot and will not recognize this illegitimate government. The Georgian Nightmare Non-Recognition Act will ensure that the United States does not. Until it agrees to free and fair elections, the Ivanishvili regime must remain fully isolated by all democratic governments."

While the Georgian Dream government did not respond to Fox News Digital’s request for comments, the party’s political council released a statement on Wednesday saying the recently imposed sanctions are "anti-Georgian steps" orchestrated by the "Global War Party" and "deep state" networks, calling Rep. Wilson "one of the most serious manifestations of the deep state" and "a degraded politician." 

In its nature and goals, the "Georgian Nightmare Non-Recognition Act’’ resembles Rep. Wilson-led 2023 "Assad Regime Anti-Normalization Act," which passed last February. The bill was passed in the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) 2025 and was signed into law by President Biden last month. 

"The Assad Regime Anti-Normalization Act" too prohibited recognition or normalization of relations with the Bashar al-Assad government. "It is the policy of the United States not to recognize or normalize relations with any government of Syria that is led by Bashar al-Assad due to the Assad regime’s ongoing crimes against the Syrian people", the NDAA passage reads.

Though it is up to the president to recognize a certain government or a leader, lawmakers refer to the existing precedents. The United States Congress has a long tradition of not recognizing illegitimate regimes. The Congress never recognized the Russian occupation of Ukrainian Crimea or Georgian South Ossetia and Abkhazia regions.

The United States also never recognized the Soviet annexation of the Baltic States in 1940 and maintained a policy of non-recognition, viewing the Baltic States as illegally occupied territories until they regained independence in 1991.

GEORGIAN PM PRAISES COUNTRY'S PROTEST CRACKDOWN DESPITE US CONDEMNATION

"Similarly, my Assad Regime Anti-Normalization Act ensured the United States never recognized the murderous Assad regime. Now that regime is also gone. We will pursue the same policy with the Ivanishvili regime. Thanks to the strength of the freedom-loving Georgian people, I am positive that this regime will be gone soon too and Georgia will have free and fair elections," Rep. Wilson told Fox News Digital in a statement. 

Senior Fellow at the Hudson Institute Luke Coffey, who has advocated for Georgia’s Western aspirations, including NATO membership, for over a decade, said the legislation is an indication that "U.S. lawmakers and policymakers are becoming increasingly frustrated" with the Georgian Dream and their actions in Georgia.

"It is also a reminder of how important the U.S. Congress is in American foreign policy development, and those Georgian Dream officials should pay close attention to what Congress is doing, especially those members of Congress who are close to Donald Trump. After January 20th, these members of Congress will have even more influence on U.S. foreign policymaking," Coffey said.

According to the bill, the United States shall recognize Salome Zourabichvili as "the incumbent President of Georgia prior to the fraudulent elections on October 26, 2024" and as the only legitimate leader in Georgia.

This policy may be declared void "in the case of the restoration of the Georgian constitution as demonstrated by the holding of free and fair elections," the bill reads.  

Despite the current low point in the U.S.- Georgian relationships, Coffey believes that with the best policies pursued, relationships can get back on track. "In the meantime, the United States needs to pursue policies that support the legitimate political opposition against an increasingly authoritarian, Belarusian-like government in Tbilisi," Coffey said.

An Italian journalist detained in Iran for three weeks, whose fate became intertwined with that of an Iranian engineer wanted by the United States, was freed Wednesday and is heading home, Italian officials said.

A plane carrying Cecilia Sala, 29, left Tehran after "intensive work on diplomatic and intelligence channels," Premier Giorgia Meloni’s office said, adding that the Italian premier had personally informed Sala's parents of the news.

Iranian media acknowledged the journalist’s release, citing only the foreign reports. Iranian officials offered no immediate comment.

WHO IS GIORGIA MELONI? TRUMP HOSTS ITALIAN PM AT MAR-A-LAGO

Sala, a reporter for the Il Foglio daily, was detained in Tehran on Dec. 19, three days after she arrived on a journalist visa. She was accused of violating the laws of the Islamic Republic, the official IRNA news agency said.

Italian commentators had speculated that Iran detained and held Sala as a bargaining chip to ensure the release of Mohammad Abedini, who was arrested at Milan’s Malpensa airport three days before, on Dec. 16, on a U.S. warrant.

The U.S. Justice Department accused Abedini and another Iranian of supplying the drone technology to Iran that was used in a January 2024 attack on a U.S. outpost in Jordan that killed three American troops. He remains in detention in Italy.

Sala’s release was met with cheers in Italy, where her plight had dominated headlines, as lawmakers hailed the successful negotiations to bring her home.

It came after Meloni made a surprise trip to Florida last weekend to meet with U.S. President-elect Donald Trump at his Mar-a-Lago estate.

IRAN'S NUCLEAR PROGRAM IS NEARING 'THE POINT OF NO RETURN,' FRANCE'S MACRON SAYS

Meloni tweeted Sala’s return in a statement on X in which she thanked "all those who helped make Cecilia’s return possible, allowing her to reembrace her family and colleagues."

Sala's fate became intertwined with that of Abedini as each country's foreign ministries summoned the other's ambassador to demand the prisoners' release and decent detention conditions. The diplomatic tangle was particularly complicated for Italy, which is a historic ally of Washington but maintains traditionally good relations with Tehran.

Members of Meloni's cabinet took personal interest in the case given the geopolitical implications. Foreign Minister Antonio Tanaji and Defense Minister Guido Crosetto hailed the diplomatic teamwork involved in securing Sala's release, which amounted to a significant victory for Meloni.

Since the 1979 U.S. Embassy crisis, which saw dozens of hostages released after 444 days in captivity, Iran has used prisoners with Western ties as bargaining chips in negotiations with the world.

In September 2023, five Americans detained for years in Iran were freed in exchange for five Iranians in U.S. custody and for $6 billion in frozen Iranian assets to be released by South Korea.

Western journalists have been held in the past as well. Roxana Saberi, an American journalist, was detained by Iran in 2009 for around 100 days before being released.

Also detained by Iran was Washington Post journalist Jason Rezaian, who was held for more than 540 days before being released in 2016 in a prisoner swap between Iran and the U.S.

Both cases involved Iran making false espionage accusations in closed-door hearings.

At least nine workers are trapped inside a flooded coal mine in India’s northeastern Assam state, officials said Tuesday, as authorities summoned the army to help in the rescue operation.

The miners became trapped on Monday morning in the Umrangso area in Dima Hasao district, about 125 miles (200 kilometers) south of the state capital, Guwahati.

13 YOUNG MINERS FEARED DEAD IN INDIA'S REMOTE NORTHEAST

The workers are "feared trapped 300 feet below the ground after water gushed in from a nearby unused mine. We are mobilizing resources to rescue them," said Kaushik Rai, a local government minister who is monitoring the rescue efforts.

Army soldiers and a national disaster management team at the site used ropes and cranes to assist the ongoing operation.

Rescuers found three helmets, some slippers and a few other items, Rai said. "The divers have been able to dive into 35 or 40 feet of water inside the mine. The water level now is estimated at 100 feet," he said.

Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma said on the social media platform X that the mine appeared to be illegal and that police had arrested one person as they investigate the case.

Workers at the site said over a dozen miners had been trapped inside the mine, which has minimum safety measures, and some managed to escape as water from a nearby unused mine began filling the mine.

In India’s east and northeast, workers extract coal in hazardous conditions in small "rat hole" mines that are narrow pits in the ground, usually meant for one person to go down, and are common in hilly areas. The coal is usually placed in boxes that are hoisted to the surface with pulleys. In some cases, miners carry coal in baskets up on wooden slats flanking the walls of the mines.

Accidents in illegal mines are frequent and the livelihoods of those who do such mining depend on the illegal sale of coal. At least 15 miners were killed after getting trapped in one such mine in Meghalaya state in 2019.

President-elect Trump reiterated that "all hell will break out" if the hostages still held in Gaza have not been freed by the time he enters office in two weeks on Jan. 20. 

Trump was asked about the threats he first levied in early December at the Hamas terrorist organization that has continued to hold some 96 hostages, only 50 of whom are still assessed to be alive, including three Americans. 

"All hell will break out," Trump said, speaking alongside Steve Witkoff, special envoy to the Middle East and who has begun participating in cease-fire negotiations alongside the Biden administration and leaders from Egypt, Qatar, Israel and Hamas. 

PARDONS, ISRAEL, DOMESTIC TERRORISM AND MORE: BIDEN'S PLANS FOR FINAL DAYS OF PRESIDENCY

"If those hostages aren't back – I don't want to hurt your negotiation – if they're not back by the time I get into office, all hell will break out in the Middle East," he added in reference to Witkoff.

Trump again refused to detail what this would mean for Hamas and the Trump transition team has not detailed for Fox News Digital what sort of action the president-elect might take. 

In response to a reporter who pressed him on his meaning, Trump said, "Do I have to define it for you?"

"I don't have to say any more, but that's what it is," he added. 

ISRAELI PM OFFICE DENIES REPORTS THAT HAMAS FORWARDED LIST OF HOSTAGES TO RELEASE IN EVENT OF DEAL

Witkoff said he would be heading to the Middle East either Tuesday night or Wednesday to continue cease-fire negotiations. 

In the weeks leading up to the Christmas and Hanukkah holidays, there was a renewed sense of optimism that a cease-fire could finally be on the horizon after a series of talks over the prior 14 months had not only failed to bring the hostages home, but saw a mounting number of hostages killed in captivity. Once again, though, no deal was pushed through before the New Year. 

After nearly 460 days since the hostages were first taken in Gaza in the aftermath of the Oct. 7, 2023, attacks, Witkoff appeared to be holding onto hope that a deal could be secured in the near future. 

"I think that we've had some really great progress. And I'm really hopeful that by the inaugural, we'll have some good things to announce on behalf of the president," Witkoff told reporters. "I actually believe that we're working in tandem in a really good way. But it's the president – his reputation, the things that he has said that are driving this negotiation and so, hopefully, it'll all work out and we'll save some lives."

In addition to the roughly 50 people believed to be alive and in Hamas captivity, the terrorist group is believed to be holding at least 38 who were taken hostage and then killed while in captivity, as well as at least seven who are believed to have been killed on Oct. 7, 2023, and then taken into Gaza.

Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said Tuesday there is not a ‘snowball’s chance in hell’ his country will become part of the U.S., as President-elect Trump continues to make his push to make the neighbor to the north the United States’ 51st state.

"There isn’t a snowball’s chance in hell that Canada would become part of the United States," Trudeau wrote on X. "Workers and communities in both our countries benefit from being each other’s biggest trading and security partner."

Trudeau’s response came after Trump said Canada should be a state, while speaking at a news conference on Tuesday at his Mar-a-Lago resort in Palm Beach, Florida.

TRUMP PLANS TO ‘IMMEDIATELY’ REVERSE BIDEN’S ‘RIDICULOUS’ BAN ON NEW OIL AND GAS DRILLING ALONG US COAST 

Trump also highlighted that if Canada were to join the U.S., it would not be by using military force, but instead through "economic force."

On Monday, the president-elect said in a social media post that "many people in Canada LOVE being the 51st State."

But he also stressed that if Canada and the U.S. were to merge, there would be no tariffs, taxes would drop, and Canada would be "totally secure" from threats of Russian and Chinese ships "constantly surrounding them."

TRUMP TROLLING CANADA AS 51ST STATE COULD BOOST DEMOCRATS WITH ‘BLUE-STATE BEHEMOTH’

"Together, what a great Nation it would be!!!" Trump exclaimed in his social media post.

Over the past few weeks, Trump has trolled Canada by musing about it becoming the 51st state, while also posting a doctored photo of the president-elect standing on top of a mountain, next to a Canadian flag.

Trump also mocked Trudeau, repeatedly referring to him as "governor," and threatened to impose massive tariffs on Canada, which likely factored into Trudeau announcing his resignation from the post on Monday.

WHAT TRUMP IS SAYING ABOUT CANADA BECOMING THE 51ST STATE

Trudeau announced that he intends to resign as party leader and prime minister after pressure from within his own Liberal Party increasingly grew amid heightened criticisms over his handling of the economy and threats levied by Trump. He said he will resign once the party selects a new leader. 

Trudeau, who led the nation for nearly a decade, has been grappling for months with significant drops in his approval ratings over mounting frustration relating to issues like the soaring cost of living and rising inflation. 

Trudeau’s resignation means the Liberal Party can appoint an interim prime minister to lead the country until the elections next fall, giving them potentially a fighting chance to bring renewed support back to the Liberal Party. 

Along with his fixation on Canada, Trump has also called on Denmark to sell Greenland to the U.S.

Fox News Digital’s Paul Steinhauser, Caitlin McFall and Danielle Wallace contributed to this report.

Iran’s nuclear program is nearing the "point of no return," French President Emmanuel Macron is now warning. 

Iran is the top "strategic and security challenge" for France and Europe this year, Macron said this week during an annual foreign policy conference with French ambassadors, according to Reuters. 

"The acceleration of the nuclear program leads us nearly to the point of no return," the French leader was quoted as saying. 

"In the coming months we will have to ask ourselves whether to use... the mechanism to restore sanctions," Macron added. 

BIDEN, JAKE SULLIVAN DISCUSSED POSSIBILITY OF HITTING IRAN NUCLEAR PROGRAM: REPORT 

The comments come after International Atomic Energy Agency Director General Rafael Grossi told Reuters in December that Iran is enriching uranium close to the 90% level required for weapons grade. 

French, German and British diplomats are now set to meet their Iranian counterparts on Jan. 13 in an effort to defuse tensions, according to Reuters. 

Iran has argued that its nuclear program is for peaceful purposes. 

IRAN EXECUTES OVER 1,000 PRISONERS IN 2024, HIGHEST TOTAL IN 30 YEARS, REPORT SAYS 

Axios recently reported that in a top meeting with National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan roughly a month ago, President Biden was presented with a series of strike options should Iran make a move to develop a nuclear weapon.

Biden has vowed not to let Iran develop a nuclear weapon on his watch, but it remains unclear what steps Iran would have to take in order for the Biden administration to respond with direct hits, given that Tehran has already been reported to have stockpiled near-weapons-grade uranium and to be bolstering its weaponization capabilities.

The president was reportedly presented with a series of scenarios and response options during the meeting, though sources told the outlet that Biden has not made any final decisions regarding the information he was given.  

Another source reportedly told Axios there currently are no active discussions on militarily hitting Iran’s program.

Fox News’ Caitlin McFall contributed to this report.