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China’s military launched large-scale drills around Taiwan Tuesday to send a "severe warning" and a message of "forceful containment against Taiwan independence," Beijing officials said. 

Taiwan's Ministry of National Defense said it had tracked 19 Chinese navy vessels in the waters surrounding the island in a 24-hour period from 6 a.m. Monday until 6 a.m. Tuesday. The exercises – which involved Chinese navy, air, ground and rocket forces – were unannounced. 

"China's blatant military provocations not only threaten peace in the Taiwan Strait but also undermine security in the entire region, as evidenced by drills near Australia, New Zealand, Japan, Korea, the Philippines and the South China Sea," Taiwan's Presidential Office wrote on X. "We strongly condemn China's escalatory behavior." 

Taiwan defense officials added that they had been tracking the movement of China's Shandong aircraft carrier since Saturday and that its carrier group had entered into Taiwan's air defense identification zone on Monday. In response, Taiwan dispatched military aircraft and ships and activated land-based missile systems, according to Reuters. 

THE US IS NOT READY FOR A NUCLEAR SHOWDOWN WITH CHINA, KEY CONSERVATIVES WARN TRUMP 

"I want to say these actions amply reflect (China's) destruction of regional peace and stability,"  Taiwan's Defense Minister Wellington Koo said. 

China's Xinhua News Agency said the Eastern Theater Command on Tuesday conducted "multi-subject drills in waters to the north, south and east of Taiwan Island." 

The theater command "organized its vessel and aircraft formations, in coordination with conventional missile troops and long-range rocket launching systems, to conduct drills of air interception, assault on maritime targets, strikes on ground objects, and joint blockade and control," Xinhua quoted the command as saying. 

TAIWAN’S VOLUNTEER MILITARY SHRINKS AMID GROWING CHINESE AGGRESSION 

The exercises were "aimed at testing the troops’ capabilities of carrying out integrated operations, seizure of operational control and multi-directional precision strikes, the command said. 

China's Taiwan Affairs Office also said the exercises were directed at Lai Ching-te, Taiwan's strongly pro-independence president. 

"Lai Ching-te stubbornly insists on a ‘Taiwan independence’ stance, brazenly labeling the mainland as a ‘foreign hostile force,’ and has put forward a so-called "17-point strategy ... stirring up anti-China sentiments," China’s Taiwan Affairs Office said in a statement. "We will not tolerate or condone this in any way and must resolutely counter and severely punish these actions." 

The Associated Press contributed to this report. 

JERUSALEM — The stunning court conviction of popular right-wing politician Marine Le Pen on Monday for embezzlement sparked outrage from President Donald Trump’s Department of Government Efficiency head, Elon Musk, who compared her fate to Trump’s legal troubles.

Musk said after the verdict that, "This will backfire, like the legal attacks against President Trump." Musk pinned the blame on the left for the conviction of Le Pen. He wrote on X, "When the radical left can’t win via democratic vote, they abuse the legal system to jail their opponents. This is their standard playbook throughout the world."

The conviction of Le Pen, which bans her from running for office for five years, comes amid legal prosecutions of other right-wing politicians, ranging from Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to Romania’s Călin Georgescu to former Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro.

TRUMP'S VICTORY COULD GIVE BOOST TO BRAZIL'S BOLSONARO'S RE-ELECTION HOPES AMID COURT BAN ON HIM RUNNING

Fox News Digital reported last year, after a Manhattan jury convicted then-former President Trump of falsifying business records, that legal experts saw similarities between his case and the ongoing corruption prosecution against Netanyahu.

When asked on Monday about Le Pen's sentence, Trump told reporters it was "a big deal," adding, "But she was banned for running for five years, and she's the leading candidate. That sounds like this country, that sounds very much like this country."

Other cases where world leaders and politicians on the right have been targeted include Netanyahu, who was charged with fraud, breach of trust and accepting bribes in a legal saga that started four years ago and is still unfolding. Netanyahu has flatly denied all the accusations against him.

Romania’s right-wing presidential frontrunner, Georgescu, was barred from the race under criminal charges he compared to those Trump faced.

"We are faced with a communist regime as well," Georgescu told Fox News Digital just before a Romanian electoral bureau barred him from running in a May presidential election rerun. Prosecutors opened a criminal case against him two weeks prior. 

Just last week, Brazil’s Supreme Court accepted charges against former President Bolsonaro over an alleged attempt to remain in office after his 2022 election defeat, ordering the former leader to stand trial.

Italy’s Vice Premier Matteo Salvini, who was cleared in December of illegally detaining migrants, called his case "a declaration of war by Brussels."

Eugene Kontorovich, a legal expert and senior fellow at the Heritage Foundation’s Margaret Thatcher Center for Freedom, told Fox News Digital, "France follows the pattern of political prosecutions in the U.S. and Israel, where criminal prosecutions for obscure victimless offenses are used to knock out popular leaders of right wing parties, and use to courts to stand between the electorate and their preferred candidates. It is unlikely these cases are all happening within a year of each other: Leftists around the world are learning from, and legitimizing, each other’s tactics."

ROMANIA BLOCKS FRONTRUNNER FROM POSTPONED PRESIDENTIAL RACE

The heart of the embezzlement case revolves around accusations against Le Pen and more than 20 other National Rally figures who allegedly used EU funds to hire employees to work for the National Rally instead of matters involving the European Parliament as required by EU regulations in Brussels.

The French court also imposed a four-year prison sentence on Le Pen. The conviction unleashed a political earthquake in France, where the next presidential election is slated for 2027.

Right-wing Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán, an ally of Trump, posted in French on social media a solidarity message, "Je suis Marine!" ("I am Marine"), an apparent reference to the slogan "Je suis Charlie" that was formulated after radical Islamist terrorists murdered journalists in 2015 from the Charlie Hebdo satirical magazine in Paris.

Le Pen has transformed the anti-immigration party National Rally (formerly called the National Front) into a serious political force that is a legitimate contender to win the 2027 presidential election.

She ousted her father, the late Jean-Marie Le Pen, who founded the National Front, and rejected his antisemitism. He was fined for terming the Holocaust gas chambers a "detail of history".

Marine Le Pen's protégé, the 29-year-old Jordan Bardella, recently spoke last week at an Israeli government conference on combating antisemitism. He is expected to take over the National Rally. He urged a "peaceful mobilization" to protest the verdict. 

According to French24, Bardella said the guilty verdict has "killed" French democracy. His party launched a petition that states:"It is no longer the government of judges, but the dictatorship of judges, which wishes to prevent the French people from expressing themselves."

Le Pen's lawyer, Rodolphe Bosselut, announced that he would appeal the verdict. 

"I am shocked by the incredibly tough verdict against Marine Le Pen," said Holland’s right-wing politician, Geert Wilders, who has been dubbed the Dutch version of Trump. 

He added,"I support and believe in her 100% and I trust she will win the appeal and become President of France."

Fox News Digital's Morgan Phillips, Reuters and The Associated Press contributed to this report.

The president of Finland is urging President Trump to impose a deadline on Vladimir Putin of April 20 to agree a ceasefire in Ukraine.

Speaking to Fox News in London following a weekend visit with Trump in Florida, Alexander Stubb praised Trump's negotiating efforts, saying Trump is "probably the only person in the world who can mediate the peace."

DAN HOFFMAN: TRUMP HAS TRIED ‘EVERYTHING’ HE COULD TO ‘ENTICE’ RUSSIA TO COME TO BARGAINING TABLE

But he argued the ceasefire negotiation process should not be open ended.

"We need a ceasefire, and we need a date for the ceasefire," Stubb said. "And that date should be the 20th of April."

April 20 would mark three months since Trump's inauguration, and is also Orthodox Easter.

"If President Putin — who is the only one who is not accepting a ceasefire, because the Americans want it, the Europeans want it, the Ukrainians want it — if he doesn't oblige by the ceasefire, then we should go for a colossal set of sanctions coming from the United States and Europe," Stubb said.

Trump has spoken of a "psychological deadline" for Russia to agree to a ceasefire, but has declined to name a date.

TRUMP THREATENS SANCTIONS ON RUSSIA, DEMANDS PEACE AFTER MAJOR HITS IN UKRAINE

Stubb said Putin "respects, and in many ways fears, Donald Trump."

Finland — a neighbor of Russia's, with a shared border running more than 800 miles — upended decades of neutrality two years ago when it joined NATO, alarmed by the war in Ukraine.

Stubb believes Ukraine should also be allowed to join the military alliance "in the long run" — a position that runs counter to the Trump administration's.

Following talks and a round of golf with Trump in Florida, the Finnish leader said European leaders are heeding American complaints that Europe does not spend enough money on defense, relying instead on the United States.

"Europe needs to take more responsibility for its own security, more responsibility for its own defense," Stubb said. "I think we're doing exactly that."

He described the U.S.-European relationship as "in a transition," but insisted: "We're allies.

"Just because ideologically there are differences at times between Europeans and Americans doesn't mean that we're going to sever or divorce."

A Palestinian man protesting Hamas, the terror group that rules the Gaza Strip, was fatally tortured, with his body left on his family's doorstep as a warning to others who are thinking of publicly opposing the organization. 

Uday Al Rabay, 22, was beaten and died after participating in an anti-Hamas protest in the Palestinian territories last week, said a senior officer affiliated with the opposition Fatah party, The New York Post reported.

IRAN'S KHAMENEI WARNS OF 'STRONG BLOW' AS TRUMP THREATENS TO DROP BOMBS, PUTIN SILENT ON US IRE

"Uday was martyred by the criminals of Hamas. And what’s his crime? He told the truth, because he refused to be silent on injustice, because he did not kneel to Hamas," said Mazen Shat, a police officer linked to Fatah, to the Telegraph.

Rabay was targeted allegedly after pictures purportedly of him were shared on the Telegram messaging app. He was allegedly kidnapped after the protest last week. 

"Hamas is oppressing people in a brutal way," Shat said. "Like a puppy [with] a rope around his neck, they dragged [Uday’s body] to the door of his house and told his family that this is the punishment for those who complain about Hamas."

TRUMP VINDICATED AS EXPLOSIVE REPORT CONFIRMS IRAN SUPERVISES HOUTHI 'POLITICAL AND MILITARY AFFAIRS'

Protests against Hamas happened in Gaza after Israel resumed its bombing of the territory following the collapse of a two-month ceasefire between Hamas and the Jewish state. 

Israel has bombarded Gaza since, prompted backlash against Hamas. 

"People have been under Israeli bombing since October 2023, they don’t want the war to continue by all means," said Sam Habeeb, a London-based Gazan, to the Telegraph.

Protesters have called for Hamas to be removed from power.

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"The people do not want the rule of Hamas. The rule of Hamas is over," a protester said, according to the Akron Jewish News. "This Hamas rule has destroyed us, killed us and displaced all the people."

President Donald Trump on Monday touted the success of the U.S.’s two-week-long offensive against the Houthis in Yemen and issued a clear message: "Stop shooting at U.S. ships, and we will stop shooting at you."

The Trump administration launched its operations earlier this month after the Houthi terrorist group once again renewed its threats against Israeli vessels earlier this month after Jerusalem cut off humanitarian aid headed for the Gaza Strip.

"The Iran-backed Houthi Terrorists have been decimated by the relentless strikes over the past two weeks," Trump said in a post on his social media outlet Truth Social on Monday afternoon. "Many of their Fighters and Leaders are no longer with us." 

IRAN'S KHAMENEI WARNS OF 'STRONG BLOW' AS TRUMP THREATENS TO DROP BOMBS, PUTIN SILENT ON US IRE

"We hit them every day and night – Harder and harder," he added.

Trump said their capabilities that enable the Houthis to target shipping in the region are "being rapidly destroyed."

The terrorist network, backed by Iran, began escalating its attacks on Western ships in the Red Sea following the Oct. 7, 2023, Hamas attacks on Israel. Notably, security experts have pointed out the Houthi attacks are not indiscriminate as they do not routinely target Chinese or Saudi Arabian vessels. 

Trump also issued a message to Iran on Monday and warned if the attacks do not stop, Washington will come for Tehran next. 

TRUMP VINDICATED AS EXPLOSIVE REPORT CONFIRMS IRAN SUPERVISES HOUTHI 'POLITICAL AND MILITARY AFFAIRS'

"Our attacks will continue until they are no longer a threat to Freedom of Navigation," Trump said. "Otherwise, we have only just begun, and the real pain is yet to come, for both the Houthis and their sponsors in Iran."

Trump has increased his threats issued against Iran in recent days, warning of direct military repercussions not only if it doesn’t stop arming terrorist networks, but if it continues with its nuclear ambitions. 

U.S. Central Command has not released an update about the Houthi leaders allegedly killed in the strikes or the most recent operations. 

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According to Houthi representatives, three people were killed in an overnight strike around the Houthi-controlled capital of Sanaa — which the terrorist network has held its grip on since 2014, reported the Associated Press.

The strike, which apparently carried on into Monday morning, came just three days after the previous attack on Friday, which was reported to have been more "intense" than previous aerial campaigns and was carried out over several locations in and around Sanaa.

A British toddler was kicked out of a nursery school after being accused of being transphobic or homophobic, according to local media reports. 

The child, aged 3 or 4, was kicked out of an unnamed school nursery "for being transphobic," the Telegraph reported Monday. 

The name of the school and details of the case were not disclosed by the Department for Education (DfE) of the United Kingdom, the report said. 

A DfE spokesman told the newspaper that "all pupils and staff should feel safe and protected at school and should never face violence or abuse."

UK STABBING SUSPECT IN DEATHS OF 3 GIRLS FOUND WITH RICIN, AL QAEDA MATERIAL AND CHARGED UNDER TERRORISM ACT

Statistics revealed that 94 students at state primary schools were suspended or permanently excluded for transphobia and homophobia in 2022-23.

That figure includes 10 students from year one and three from year two, where the maximum age is seven, the report states. 

"Every once in a while, the extremes of gender ideology throw up a story that seems too crazy to believe, and a toddler being suspended from nursery for so-called transphobia or homophobia is one such example," Helen Joyce, director of advocacy at Sex Matters, told the newspaper.

MAINE GOV. JANET MILLS RESPONDS TO TRUMP'S DEMAND FOR APOLOGY OVER TRANS-ATHLETE POLICIES

"Teachers and school leaders involved in this insanity should be ashamed of themselves for projecting adult concepts and beliefs onto such young children," she added. 

Author J.K. Rowling, who has spoken out on trans issues, took issue with the suspension. 

"This is totalitarian insanity. If you think small children should be punished for being able to recognise (sic) sex, you are a dangerous zealot who should be nowhere near kids or in any position of authority over them," she posted on X. 

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Lord Young, the director of the Free Speech Union, told the newspaper: "It beggars belief that schools are suspending children as young as five for breaching their ‘transphobia’ policy. I would have thought that if your ideology is so rigid it justifies you punishing toddlers for not complying with it, that’s a powerful argument for discarding it in favor of something less dogmatic."

Furious comments issued by President Donald Trump over the weekend prompted a swift and aggressive response from Iran, while Russian President Vladimir Putin remains tight-lipped in the face of the U.S. leader’s ire.

Iran’s supreme leader, Ali Khamenei, issued a warning on Monday and said it would respond "decisively and immediately" to any threat issued by the U.S. after Trump said there "will be bombing" and likely more tariffs if Tehran does not agree to a nuclear deal with Washington. 

"The enmity from the U.S. and Israel has always been there. They threaten to attack us, which we don’t think is very probable, but if they commit any mischief, they will surely receive a strong reciprocal blow," Khamenei said according to a Reuters report.

TRUMP THREATENS TO BOMB IRAN UNLESS THEY END NUCLEAR WEAPONS PROGRAM AND BEGIN TALKS ON NEW DEAL

"And if they are thinking of causing sedition inside the country as in past years, the Iranian people themselves will deal with them," he added.

Despite Iran’s refusal and warning directed at both the U.S. and Israel, Behnam Ben Taleblu, an Iran expert and senior fellow at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies, said Khamenei’s comments are an attempt to "buy time" while balancing growing external and internal pressures on his regime.

"At once, Khamenei sought to both downplay the chances of President Trump or Israel taking military action while also looking to deter such an eventuality due to the regime’s own policies," he told Fox News Digital. "This is a tightrope Khamenei will increasingly be forced to walk as he plays for time and engages in nuclear escalation.

"U.S. policy should be to keep Khamenei off balance," he added.

While Iran takes an offensive stance against Trump and his ambitions to finally bring Tehran to heel on its nuclear expansion, Russia is taking a different approach as it refuses to bow to Trump’s plans to see an end to the war in Ukraine. 

TRUMP SAYS HE IS 'PISSED OFF' WITH PUTIN OVER LACK OF PEACE PROGRESS: REPORT

Over the weekend, Trump said he was "pissed off" over comments made by Putin on Friday when he suggested the work Washington was doing to negotiate a ceasefire with Russia and Ukraine was moot because he believes the government in Kyiv to be illegitimate and therefore cannot sign any deals. 

"If Russia and I are unable to make a deal on stopping the bloodshed in Ukraine, and if I think it was Russia’s fault … I am going to put secondary tariffs on oil, on all oil coming out of Russia," Trump said, noting that tariffs could be as high as 50%. 

The president later said his ire could "dissipate quickly" if Putin "does the right thing," and once again noted he has "a very good relationship with [Putin]."

However, the Kremlin chief, who reportedly has another call scheduled with Trump this week, has not responded to Trump’s heated comments.

The chief spokesman for Putin, Dmitry Peskov, said on Monday that Russia will continue to work on "restoring" relations with Washington that he said were "damaged by the Biden administration" following Russia’s illegal invasion of Ukraine, and noted that Putin remains in "open contact" with Trump.

However, Putin’s lack of public response and the toned-down statements from the Kremlin are all part of Putin’s broader strategy, former DIA intelligence officer and Russia expert, Rebekah Koffler, told Fox News Digital.

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"Putin, like Trump, thrives on confrontation," Koffler said. "Except his approach is different. The Kremlin deliberately is projecting that Putin is cool, calm, and collected now, which he is. 

"The fact that President Trump reportedly got mad and used those words means to Putin that he finally got to him, the way he got to Biden, Obama, and others who called him a killer and other derogatory words," she continued. 

"Putin now feels that not only Russia has an upper hand on the battlefield over Ukraine and in terms of total combat potential over NATO, but he also was able to unbalance Trump," Koffler explained. "That is the whole point - it’s a judo move." 

Greenland's prime minister said Sunday that the U.S. "will not get" the resource-rich island in the Atlantic.

President Donald Trump wants to annex the self-governing territory of Denmark, a NATO ally of the United States, claiming it is needed for national security purposes.

"President Trump says that the United States ‘will get Greenland.’ Let me be clear: The United States will not get it. We do not belong to anyone else. We decide our own future," Jens-Frederik Nielsen said in a Facebook post.

Vice President JD Vance, second lady Usha Vance, National Security Advisor Mike Waltz and Utah Republican Sen. Mike Lee visited Pituffik Space Base, the Department of Defense’s northernmost military installation, in Greenland on Friday. 

TRUMP RELEASES POWERFUL VIDEO HIGHLIGHTING US-GREENLAND BOND AFTER DEADLY NAZI ATTACK

In a Saturday interview with NBC, Trump said that military force wasn’t off the table in regards to acquiring Greenland, according to the Associated Press.

"I think there’s a good possibility that we could do it without military force," Trump said. "This is world peace, this is international security," he said, but added: "I don’t take anything off the table."

WHY TRUMP'S PUSH FOR FRIGID GREENLAND IS ABOUT ICING OUT US ADVERSARIES

Although the Danish territory has said it is seeking independence from Copenhagen but isn’t interested in becoming part of the U.S., Trump has repeatedly floated, dating back to his first administration, a desire to secure Greenland for the U.S. as Russian and Chinese presence grows in the Arctic. 

Polls have shown that nearly all Greenlanders oppose becoming part of the United States. Anti-American protesters, some wearing "Make America Go Away" caps and holding "Yankees Go Home" banners, have staged some of the largest demonstrations ever seen in Greenland.

Fox News Digital's Michael Dorgan, Diana Stancy and The Associated Press and Reuters contributed to this report. 

French politician Marine Le Pen and eight other members of her right-wing party were found guilty of embezzling public funds on Monday, and she herself was barred from running for public office.

The French court did not immediately announce how long Le Penn will be ineligible for office, and she stormed out of the courtroom before he finished reading her sentence. She is a top candidate to run for president in 2027, and Le Pen has said that prohibiting her from running in that election would be "political death."

Le Pen has argued that such a sentence would also effectively disenfranchise her voters. She came in second place to French President Emmanuel Macron in both the 2017 and 2022 elections, and her National Rally party has grown massively in support in recent years.

"There are 11 million people who voted for the movement I represent. So tomorrow, potentially, millions and millions of French people would see themselves deprived of their candidate in the election," Le Pen told the court prior to her sentencing.

​TRUMP, PUTIN AGREE TO BEGIN CEASEFIRE NEGOTIATIONS IN MIDDLE EAST, WHITE HOUSE SAYS

The facts of her case relate to the spending of funds from the European Parliament to support aspects of the National Rally party. Prosecutors established in court that EU parliament funds were used to pay Le Pen's bodyguard as well as her personal assistant. The other defendants were convicted of similar uses of the funding.

Prosecutors requested a 2-year prison sentence as well as a 5-year period of political ineligibility for Le Pen.

Le Pen said she felt they were "only interested" in preventing her from running for president.

TRUMP HOLDS 'VERY GOOD' CALL WITH ZELENSKYY FOLLOWING DEAL WITH PUTIN

Le Pen and other right-wing figures have risen in Europe thanks in large part to a surge in anti-mass immigration sentiment.

Her court ruling comes as Macron has struggled to come to grips with President Donald Trump's return in the U.S., leading to conflict between Europe and the U.S. over economic policies and the defense of Ukraine.

RUSSIA, UKRAINE AGREE TO BLACK SEA CEASEFIRE FOLLOWING US TALKS

Last week, the Trump administration touted its negotiations with Ukraine and Russia and said both nations had agreed to "eliminate the use of force" in the Black Sea – but the Kremlin later confirmed this was only contingent on the removal of international economic restrictions.

"Russia shall have no right of say regarding the support we are providing and will provide Ukraine, nor shall they set the conditions," Macron reportedly said in response.

Macron also shot down Trump's call for Europe to consider ending sanctions on Moscow.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan reportedly called for the destruction of Israel during Eid al-Fitr prayers at the Çamlıca Mosque in Istanbul on Sunday.

The Jerusalem Post reported that Erdoğan said "May Allah, for the sake of his name ‘Al-Qahhar,’ destroy and devastate Zionist Israel." His call for the annihilation of the Jewish state has drawn fierce condemnation, particularly from Israeli officials.

In response to his remarks, Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar stated on X, "The dictator Erdogan revealed his antisemitic face," adding that "Erdogan is dangerous to the region, as well as to his own people, as has been proven in recent days," Sa’ar referred to the widespread protests in Turkey and added, "Let's hope NATO members understand how dangerous he is, and not before it's too late." 

Following his comments, Turkey's foreign ministry issued a statement that read, in part, "We categorically reject the outrageous statement made by the Foreign Minister of the Netanyahu government.

TURKEY'S ERDOGAN CONTINUES CRACKDOWN ON PROTESTERS FOLLOWING ARREST OF MAIN RIVAL ON CORRUPTION CHARGES 

"These disrespectful and baseless allegations are part of an effort to cover up the crimes committed by Netanyahu and his associates," adding, "We will continue to stand by the innocent civilians targeted by Israel and to defend their rights."

In a social media post, Israel’s foreign ministry demanded clarity on whether Erdoğan denies his antisemitic views, emphasizing the president’s problematic actions both domestically and internationally. 

"What bothered the Turkish Foreign Ministry? Here’s a way to clarify the dictator’s words: Clearly state that Erdogan is not an antisemite, that he is not an obsessive hater of the Jewish state." 

The post underscores the growing concern over Erdoğan’s intentions toward Israel.

The tensions between Turkey and Israel go beyond Erdoğan’s support for Hamas, although that remains a central issue. Hamas, which carried out the brutal massacre of more than 1,200 Israelis on October 7, 2023, has long had Turkish backing. Erdoğan’s refusal to denounce Hamas, describing them as a legitimate political party, has angered Israel and much of the international community.

The diplomatic relationship between Turkey and the U.S. has also been under scrutiny. While Turkey’s domestic actions, like cracking down on political opponents, including the arrest of Istanbul’s mayor Ekrem İmamoglu, have sparked unprecedented protests, U.S. officials are attempting to stabilize relations. On March 26, Secretary of State Marco Rubio met with Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan, discussing Turkey’s potential support for a Russia-Ukraine ceasefire and other geopolitical issues, despite recent internal turmoil.

"Turkey’s strongman Recep Tayyip Erdogan is facing the worst domestic political crisis of his career. The streets are flooded now with protesters who are outraged over the arrest of opposition leader Ekrem Imamoglu, restrictions on the internet, and other authoritarian maneuvers," Jonathan Schanzer, executive director of the Foundation for Defense of Democracies, told Fox News Digital.

TRUMP UNIQUELY PLACED TO ‘WHISPER’ IN ERDOGAN’S EAR OVER TURKISH REGIONAL AMBITIONS: GREEK DEFENSE MINISTER

"To deflect, Erdogan has engaged in blistering rhetoric against Israel. This comes amidst Erdoğan’s unflinching financial and political support for Hamas since the October 7 war erupted, not to mention Erdoğan’s support for the al-Qaeda government in Syria, which also poses a threat to Israel," Schanzer said.

The tensions between Turkey and Israel are not limited to Hamas support. Erdoğan’s actions in Syria, where Turkey has backed Hayat Tahrir al-Sham, who overthrew the Assad regime and gained control over parts of the country, have further strained relations with Israel, leading to growing concerns over Ankara’s role in fostering instability on Israel’s borders.

Before Erdoğan's most recent threats against Israel, Trump administration officials had indicated that they may lift restrictions on defense contracts with Turkey, including the potential reinstatement of Turkey’s F-35 program participation. This comes after a phone call between Presidents Trump and Erdoğan on March 21, which may pave the way for a change in policy that could potentially allow the sale of the F-35s to Ankara.

As a NATO member, Turkey plays a pivotal role in the alliance’s security framework. 

The Taliban's supreme leader said Sunday there is "no need" for Western laws in Afghanistan, noting that democracy is dead as long as sharia laws are in place.

Hibatullah Akhundzada was speaking during a sermon marking Eid al-Fitr, an Islamic holiday, at the Eidgah Mosque in the southern city of Kandahar.

"There is no need for laws that originate from the West. We will create our own laws," Akhundzada said as he emphasized the importance for Islamic laws, according to audio of his message that was published on X by the Taliban government’s chief spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid.

FAYE HALL, AMERICAN DETAINED BY TALIBAN, HAS BEEN RELEASED

The Taliban’s interpretation of sharia has resulted in restrictions for Afghan women and girls, who have been denied an education, working roles in many job fields and from appearing in most public spaces.

These laws have isolated the Taliban in the international community, but they have still been able to establish diplomatic ties with some countries, including China and the United Arab Emirates.

Akhundzada has taken a stronger approach on policy since the Taliban seized control of Afghanistan in 2021 during the chaotic withdrawal of U.S. and NATO troops from the region, despite some officials initially promising a more moderate government.

TALIBAN FREES AMERICAN HOSTAGE GEORGE GLEZMANN FOLLOWING NEGOTIATIONS WITH US, QATAR

The terror group's supreme leader criticized the West in his remarks on Sunday by saying non-believers were unified against Muslims and that the U.S. and other countries were united in their hostility toward Islam, pointing to the Israel-Hamas war in Gaza.

Akhundzada said democracy had come to an end in Afghanistan and sharia was in effect. He also argued that supporters of democracy were attempting to separate the people from the Taliban government.

The Taliban have no credible opposition inside or outside the country, although some senior figures within the government have criticized the leadership’s decision-making process and concentration of power in Akhundzada’s circle.

Some Taliban members want greater engagement on the world stage and to eliminate harsher policies to attract more support from outsiders.

In recent months, there has been increased engagement between the Taliban and the U.S. under President Donald Trump, mostly due to prisoner exchanges and releases.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

The Israeli military issued evacuation orders on Monday for most of Rafah and suggested it may soon launch another ground operation in the city after its ceasefire with Hamas ended.

The evacuation orders appeared to cover almost all the city and nearby areas. The military ordered civilians to head to Mawasi, where tent camps were set up along the coast.

"The IDF is returning to intense operations to dismantle the capabilities of the terrorist organizations in these areas," a spokesperson for the Israeli Defense Forces wrote on X. "For your safety, move immediately to the shelters in Al Mawasi."

Earlier this month, Israel ended its ceasefire with Hamas and renewed its air and ground attacks against the terror group. In early March, Israel cut off all supplies and humanitarian aid to Gaza to pressure Hamas to accept changes to the ceasefire agreement.

ISRAEL STRIKES BEIRUT FOR THE FIRST TIME SINCE A CEASEFIRE ENDED THE LATEST ISRAEL-HEZBOLLAH WAR

Israel launched a major operation in Rafah in May, decimating large parts of the area. The military seized a strategic corridor along the border and the Rafah crossing with Egypt, which is Gaza's only path to the outside world that was not controlled by Israel.

Israel was expected to withdraw from the corridor under the ceasefire before later refusing, citing the need to block weapons smuggling.

Israel has said it would intensify its military operations until Hamas releases the remaining 59 hostages in its custody, including 24 who are believed to be alive. Israel has also called on the terror group to disarm and leave the territory, conditions that were not in the ceasefire agreement. Hamas has rejected those demands.

LANDMARK UK REPORT ON HAMAS EXPOSES WORST ATTACK ON JEWS SINCE HOLOCAUST

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Sunday that his country would take control of security in Gaza after the war and would impose President Donald Trump's controversial proposal to resettle the territory's civilians in other countries.

The proposal has been universally rejected by Palestinians, who view it as forcible displacement from their homeland. Human rights experts also say the plan would likely violate international law.

Hamas has insisted on moving forward with the signed ceasefire deal, which called for the remainder of the hostages to be released in exchange for a lasting ceasefire and Israel pulling its troops out of Gaza. Negotiations over those parts of the agreement were supposed to have begun in February after some hostages were freed in exchange for more than 1,000 Palestinian prisoners in Israeli custody.

The war began when Hamas launched an attack on Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, killing roughly 1,200 people and kidnapping another 251, most of whom have since been released in ceasefires or other deals.

More than 50,000 Palestinians have been killed by the Israeli military's retaliation, according to the Hamas-run government's Gaza Health Ministry, which does not differentiate between civilians and terrorists.

At the height of the war, roughly 90% of Gaza's population had been displaced, and many had fled.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

Pope Francis publicly acknowledged that this Lenten season is a time of healing for his soul and body.

On Sunday, the Vatican released the text of Francis' prepared Sunday Angelus prayer. It is the seventh straight Sunday that his illness has prevented him from delivering the blessing from a window over St. Peter's Square as usual. 

"Dearest friends, let us live this Lent as a time of healing, all the more as it is the Jubilee," Francis said. "I too am experiencing it this way, in my soul and in my body."

"That is why I give heartfelt thanks to all those who, in the image of the Saviour, are instruments of healing for their neighbour with their word and their knowledge, with kindness and with prayer," he continued. "Frailty and illness are experiences we all have in common; all the more, however, we are brothers in the salvation Christ has given us."

POPE FRANCIS' DOCTORS CONSIDERED ENDING TREATMENT, SAID 'THERE WAS A REAL RISK HE MIGHT NOT MAKE IT': REPORT

His remarks then turned to world conflicts, with a focus on South Sudan, where he said "the war continues to claim innocent victims."

"I urge the parties concerned in the conflict to put the safeguarding of the lives of their civilian brothers and sisters first; and I hope that new negotiations will begin as soon as possible, capable of securing a lasting solution to the crisis," he said. "May the international community increase its efforts to address the appalling humanitarian catastrophe."

POPE FRANCIS MAKES FIRST PUBLIC APPEARANCE IN FIVE WEEKS 

The 88-year-old pontiff is still recovering from a respiratory infection, according to the Holy See Press Office. He continues to be weaned off oxygen support during the day and night, and his blood levels are normal. However, his medical team has ordered a strict convalescence period of at least two months following his hospital release last week. 

Francis has shown "a truly surprising improvement," the doctor who coordinated the pontiff’s five-week hospitalization said Saturday.

"I find him very lively," Dr. Sergio Alfieri said, after visiting the pope at his apartment in the Santa Marta Domus on Wednesday, three days after his release from Rome’s Gemelli hospital. "I believe that he will return if not to 100%, 90% of where he was before."

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

JERUSALEM—President Donald Trump’s overtures via a letter to the Islamic Republic of Iran’s supreme leader, Ali Khamenei, to jump-start talks on dismantling Tehran’s illicit nuclear weapons program, were met with rejection by the theocratic state on Sunday, following Trump's latest threat to the regime.

Trump told NBC on Saturday that "If they don't make a deal, there will be bombing," he said. "But there's a chance that if they don't make a deal, that I will do secondary tariffs on them like I did four years ago."

Trump added the U.S. and officials from the Islamic Republic are "talking."

Iran’s President Masoud Pezeshkian said on Sunday "We don’t avoid talks; it’s the breach of promises that has caused issues for us so far," according to the Associated Press. He added, "They must prove that they can build trust." The White House did not immediately respond to Iran's rejection of the talks, the AP reported. 

Pezeshkian still noted that in Iran's response to the letter that indirect negotiations with the Trump administration were still possible.

WALTZ TELLS IRAN TO GIVE UP NUCLEAR PROGRAM OR 'THERE WILL BE CONSEQUENCES'

The apparent return of Iran’s regime to its standard playbook of opaque indirect talks between the U.S. and Tehran’s rulers raises questions about whether Trump would greenlight military strikes to eradicate Iran’s vast nuclear weapons program. 

After Iran launched two massive missile and drone attacks on Israel last year, Trump could also aid the Jewish state in knocking out Iran’s nuclear weapons apparatus. 

Indirect talks between the U.S. and the world’s worst state-sponsor of terrorism, according to Democratic and Republican administrations, have not compelled Iran to abandon its pursuit of nuclear weapons.

Jason Brodsky, the policy director of United Against Nuclear Iran (UANI), told Fox News Digital that the Iranians "do not want to provide President Trump with a casus belli to strike Iran’s nuclear program. There may be indirect and non-public responses through various intermediaries. I think some Iranian officials perceive a fissure among President Trump’s national security team on Iran. This explains Iran’s foreign minister’s comment in recent days that President Trump’s letter to the supreme leader poses challenges as well as opportunities."

TRUMP VINDICATED AS EXPLOSIVE REPORT CONFIRMS IRAN SUPERVISES HOUTHI ‘POLITICAL AND MILITARY AFFAIRS’

Brodsky said, "These Iranian officials seek to bypass experienced hands like President Trump’s national security advisor and secretary of state, who have been demanding the dismantlement of Iran’s entire nuclear program in keeping with President Trump’s long-standing and rightful position on this issue, and cultivate individuals around President Trump who do not have experience with Iran or are considered non-traditional conservatives who would be more receptive to their entrees."

Trump promised that "bad things" would happen to Iran if the regime does not come to the table for nuclear negotiations.  "My big preference is that we work it out with Iran, but if we don’t work it out, bad things are gonna happen to Iran," he said on Friday. 

Iran is enriching uranium to 60%, just shy of the 90% weapons-grade. Experts say it could have a nuclear weapon within weeks if it were to take the final steps to building one. Fox News Digital reported in late March that Iran’s regime has enriched enough uranium to manufacture six nuclear weapons, according to a U.N. atomic agency report.

Alireza Nader, an Iranian-American expert on Iran, told Fox News Digital, "Khamenei may be signaling that he’s not interested in negotiations, but his regime desperately needs economic relief. Otherwise, another popular uprising against him could start. Khamenei doesn’t have the cards."

There is widespread discontent among Iranians against the rule of 85-year-old Khamenei.

TRUMP REINSTATES ‘MAXIMUM PRESSURE’ CAMPAIGN AGAINST IRAN 

Iran’s has upped the ante ever since Trump told FOX Business he sent a letter to Khamenei. Iran has disclosed video footage of its underground "missile city."

Trump also told FOX Business, "I would rather negotiate a deal."

He continued, "I'm not sure that everybody agrees with me, but we can make a deal that would be just as good as if you won militarily. But the time is happening now, the time is coming up.

"Something is going to happen one way or the other. I hope that Iran, and I've written them a letter, saying I hope you're going to negotiate because if we have to go in militarily, it's going to be a terrible thing for them."

Brodsky said, "That means the Islamic Republic may dangle a JCPOA-like deal, with minor modifications from the previous 2015 agreement. Iranian media has been hyping such an arrangement."

In 2018, Trump withdrew from the Obama-negotiated Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action deal because, he argued, that the agreement failed to ensure Iran would not build nuclear weapons and did not codify restrictions against Tehran’s missile program and sponsorship of Islamist terrorism.

IRAN'S LEADER WARNS US COULD RECEIVE ‘SEVERE SLAPS’ FOLLOWING TRUMP'S THREATS TO HOUTHIS

Brodsky said, "These Iranian officials believe they can lure the Trump administration into this arrangement and then President Trump will wave a magic wand and bring the entire Republican Party along with Democrats to support the deal and make it more politically durable than the 2015 JCPOA. This is all despite President Trump’s consistent and strong record in rejecting the JCPOA framework. It reflects desperation in Tehran and a desire to buy time with another failed diplomatic gambit. But it's important to have eyes wide open here as to the games the Iranians will (and are already) playing."

While Trump’s director of national intelligence, Tulsi Gabbard, testified on Tuesday before the Senate Intelligence Committee that the intelligence community "continues to assess that Iran is not building a nuclear weapon and Supreme Leader Khamanei has not authorized the nuclear weapons program he suspended in 2003," she did note that Iran increased its enriched uranium stockpile.

In sharp contrast to U.S. intelligence since 2003, Fox News Digital has previously reported that European intelligence agencies believe Iran is working toward testing an atomic weapon, and sought illicit technology for its nuclear weapons program. 

Counter-proliferation experts, like the prominent physicist and nuclear specialist David Albright, have told Fox News that European intelligence institutions use an updated definition of construction of weapons of mass destruction to assess Iran’s progress in contrast to America’s alleged obsolete definition.

Fox News Digital sent press queries to the U.S. State Department and the National Security Council.

Fox News Digital's Morgan Phillips and the Associated Press and Reuters contributed to this report.

Denmark hit back at the Trump administration’s "tone" regarding Greenland on Friday, saying "this is not how you speak to your close allies."

Danish Foreign Minister Lars Lokke Rasmussen released the message in a recorded video just hours after Vice President JD Vance visited an American military base in Greenland, where the vice president criticized Denmark.

"I have a message for our American friends and all others who are listening," Rasmussen said. "Much is being said these days. Many accusations and many allegations have been made. And of course we are open to criticism. But let me be completely honest: we do not appreciate the tone in which it is being delivered. This is not how you speak to your close allies. And I still consider Denmark and the United States to be close allies."

The Trump administration has argued that Denmark is failing to protect Greenland from Russian and Chinese aggression, with Vance telling American soldiers at the U.S.’s Pituffik Space Base in northwest Greenland that "Denmark hasn't done a good job at keeping Greenland safe."

DENMARK IN TRUMP'S CROSSHAIRS AS VANCE MAKES AMBITIOUS APPEAL TO GREENLAND

"Our message to Denmark is very simple: You have not done a good job by the people of Greenland," Vance said. "You have underinvested in the people of Greenland, and you have underinvested in the security architecture of this incredible, beautiful landmass filled with incredible people. That has to change."

Trump has made it a mission to take over Greenland from Denmark in his second administration.

Rasmussen said that "we respect" the need for the U.S. to have a greater military presence in Greenland, and believes that "much more" can be done within the existing framework of the 1951 defense agreement with the U.S.

"Let us make use of that and let us do it together," the foreign minister said.

US ACCUSES DENMARK OF TREATING GREENLANDERS AS ‘SECOND-CLASS CITIZENS’ DURING VANCE VISIT TO ARCTIC BASE

Rasmussen noted that Vance said that both Denmark and the U.S. have done little in the Arctic. In his message, Rasmussen said both countries have been "harvesting the peace dividend" and acting on the assumption that the Arctic should be "a low-changing area."

"But that time is over," he said. "Status quo is not an option. And that is why we have stepped up as well."

Rasmussen detailed how Copenhagen invested a billion dollars in Arctic security a few weeks ago to provide more drones, ships and personnel in the area. 

The foreign minister also noted that Greenland is a part of NATO and welcomed all allies to play "a greater role in the Arctic," though said Copenhagen would step up to do its part.

"We will shoulder our share of the responsibility. No one should doubt that," Rasmussen said.

Fox News Digital’s Caitlin McFall and Morgan Phillips contributed to this report.

Two people were killed and 35 others were injured after a Russian drone attack struck a military hospital and shopping center in Ukraine late Saturday night, Ukrainian officials say.

Regional Gov. Oleh Syniehubov condemned the attack on Kharkiv in a statement on Sunday, saying a 67-year-old man and a 70-year-old woman were killed. The attack comes as Russia's aggression in Ukraine shows no signs of stopping despite efforts by President Donald Trump's administration to speed along peace talks.

Ukraine says that many of the casualties were servicemen undergoing treatment at the military hospital.

Ukraine's air force says the attack consisted of 111 Russian drones, 65 of which were shot down and another 35 of which were disabled electronically or failed of their own accord.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy predicted late last week that Russian forces would ramp up their attacks in the coming weeks in an effort to bolster their negotiating position for peace talks.

"They’re dragging out the talks and trying to get the U.S. stuck in endless and pointless discussions about fake ‘conditions’ just to buy time and then try to grab more land," Zelenskyy said in a Thursday visit to Paris.

Saturday night's attack came after four people died and 24 were injured Friday evening after Russian drones struck Dnipro in the country’s east, according to regional Gov. Serhii Lysak and Ukraine’s emergency service. At least eight more people were injured when a Russian ballistic missile struck nearby Kryvyi Rih, Zelenskyy’s hometown, Gov. Lysak reported.

Russian President Vladimir Putin himself praised the "strategic initiative" of his forces on Thursday.

"Our troops, our guys are moving forward and liberating one territory after another, one settlement after another, every day," he said at a public forum.

Zelenskyy has pleaded with Trump's administration not to give in to Putin's demands at the negotiating table.

On Thursday, Zelenskyy met with French President Emmanuel Macron ahead of a summit in Paris of some 30 nations about how to strengthen Kyiv’s hand and its military as it pushes for a ceasefire with Russia. Proposals to deploy European troops in the country in tandem with any peace deal are also being discussed.

Fox News' Michael Dorgan and the Associated Press contributed to this report.

A Holocaust survivor murdered at age 91 and a baby killed just 14 hours after birth are among the victims named in the U.K.'s October 7 Parliamentary Commission Report, the most detailed Western investigation to date into the Hamas-led attack on Israel. 

The 318-page report, chaired by British historian and peer Lord Andrew Roberts, documents the deaths of 1,182 people in a 48-hour period and provides extensive evidence of atrocities committed against civilians.

The report describes the assault as "a meticulously planned operation designed not only to kill but to terrorize through extreme brutality, looting and humiliation." It includes testimonies of group rapes of women and girls, some of whom were murdered, as well as evidence of sexual violence committed against corpses. It details the targeting of children, including infants shot in strollers or burned alive.

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

Roberts, one of Britain’s leading historians and a member of the House of Lords, said that meeting Mandy Damari, the mother of hostage Emily Damari, "reduced me to tears." Speaking in an interview with Fox News Digital, Lord Roberts recalled visiting Kibbutz Kfar Aza and hearing from families of victims while the fate of their loved ones was still unknown.

"At that time, of course, she didn’t know whether her 27-year-old daughter, Emily, was going to be released or not, or whether she was going to die in Gaza," he said. "And I have a 25-year-old daughter, and so it was brought home incredibly powerfully to me."

Despite the graphic nature of the material, Roberts emphasized that the report was deliberately limited to verified facts. "We actually made the report much less than it could have been, because we insisted on only putting things in that could be double-checked," he said. "If we had put in things that we truly believe happened but couldn't prove happened, we kept them out."

When asked what motivated him to take on the project, Roberts said, "The denialism that has already cropped up," including attempts to downplay or question the events of October 7. "It’s quite ironic that as well as celebrating and indulging in their most sort of disgusting fantasies by wearing GoPro cameras, they also seek to deny that the whole thing ever happened," he said of Hamas.

HAMAS' OCT 7 MASSACRE HAS LEGAL SCHOLARS CREATING NEW WAR CRIME CATEGORY

"October 7 denial," as the report refers to it, emerged almost immediately after the attacks and mirrors historical patterns of atrocity denial, despite the overwhelming evidence.

"I thought it was really important to get a big, thick, well-documented, irrefutable, fully footnoted document out there that will stand the test of time," Roberts said.

The report includes accounts of mass looting, arson and mutilation. It states that terrorists used victims’ phones to send images to their families, booby-trapped corpses with grenades, and dragged bodies through Gaza. It confirms that "acts of sexual violence" occurred "across all sites" during the attack, and references forensic findings of partially or fully naked bodies.

'I WILL BE HAUNTED FOREVER’: ISRAEL’S HORRIFIC VIDEO OF HAMAS ATROCITIES LEAVES VIEWERS SHOCKED AND SICKENED

Roberts said the attack was "not just spontaneous — it was a premeditated bloodlust." He compared it to historical atrocities like the Rape of Nanjing in 1937. "Once Hamas got into a bloodlust, they were going out of their way to murder and kill absolutely anybody who came anywhere near them," he said.

Despite the horrors, Roberts said the report also includes examples of heroism. For example, of Netta Epstein — a young man who "threw himself on a grenade to save his fiancée's life" — Roberts said such acts "stand up with the great acts of heroism of any age."

"We have the names in it of everybody who was killed ... mostly with the circumstances of their deaths as well," Roberts added: "Speaking as a historian, there are moments when one thinks of 9/11, or Pearl Harbor, various other attacks like this. They become part of history very quickly, but the actual individuals involved tend to get forgotten."

Asked what role democracies should play in countering denialism, Roberts answered, "The first is properly to memorialize the victims," he said. "The second ... is to see this appalling act of barbarism for what it is, which is a complete denial of democracy, a blow struck deliberately against civilization, and ... the most appalling act of racism."

"Britain should be doing everything in its power to help Israel protect itself forever against such another attack," Roberts clarified that he was expressing a personal view: "At the moment, it seems [the British government] is not doing that at all."

In the report’s conclusion, Roberts and his colleagues wrote: "Our report will hopefully permit people to see such denials and justifications for what they really are: a perversion of and rejection of human decency. We owe it to the victims and their grieving families to set down the ghastly unvarnished truth about the sheer barbarism that Hamas and its terrorist allies unleashed on October 7, 2023."

U.S. Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth announced Sunday a plan to upgrade the U.S. military command in Japan, a country he described as indispensable in combating Chinese aggression.

"We share a warrior ethos that defines our forces," Hegseth told Japanese Defense Minister Gen Nakatani in Tokyo, adding that Japan is "our indispensable partner" in "deterring communist Chinese military aggression," including across the Taiwan Strait.

Hegseth said Japan is a "cornerstone of peace and security in the Indo-Pacific" and that the Trump administration would continue to work closely with the Asian country.

HEGSETH SAYS US TO BOOST TIES WITH PHILIPPINES AS DETERRENCE AGAINST CHINA: 'PEACE THROUGH STRENGTH'

Last year, then-President Joe Biden's administration announced a major restructuring of the U.S. military command in Japan to deepen coordination with the country's forces, as the two allied countries called China their "greatest strategic challenge."

The change will place a combined operational commander in Japan, who would be a counterpart to the head of a joint operations command established last week by Japan's Self-Defense Forces.

Hegseth's high praise for Japan contrasts with his criticism of European allies in February, telling them they should not assume the U.S. presence in the region would last forever.

U.S. President Donald Trump has complained that the bilateral defense treaty in which the U.S. government vows to defend Japan is not reciprocal. In his first term, Trump said Japan should fork over more money to host U.S. troops.

Japan hosts 50,000 U.S. military personnel, squadrons of fighter jets and America's only forward-deployed aircraft carrier strike group along a 1,900-mile East Asian archipelago that hems in Chinese military power.

This comes as Japan doubles military spending, including money to purchase longer-range missiles. But the operational scope of its forces is limited by its U.S.-authored constitution – adopted after its defeat in World War Two – which renounces the right to start war.

REPORTERS SAY THEY FOUND WALTZ, GABBARD, HEGSETH PRIVATE INFO ONLINE

Hegseth and Nakatani agreed to accelerate a plan to jointly produce beyond-visual-range air-to-air AMRAAM missiles and to consider working together on the production of SM-6 surface-to-air defense missiles to support a shortage of munitions, Nakatani said.

The Pentagon chief said he asked Nakatani for greater access to Japan's strategic southwest islands, along the edge of the contested East China Sea near Taiwan.

In his first official visit to Asia, Hegseth traveled to Japan from the Philippines.

On Saturday, he attended a memorial service on Iwo Jima, the site of fighting between U.S. and Japanese forces 80 years ago.

Reuters contributed to this report.

Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney is facing allegations that he copied parts of his 1995 doctoral thesis at Oxford University without proper credit. The report comes as he's seeking election to remain the country's PM next month, when Canadian voters head to the polls on April 28.

The National Post reviewed Carney’s thesis, "The Dynamic Advantage of Competition," with three university experts, who found at least 10 instances of apparent plagiarism. 

The experts told the National Post that Carney copied full quotes, paraphrased ideas, and slightly modified sentences from four different sources without giving proper credit.

CANADIAN PRIME MINISTER MARK CARNEY SAYS 'OLD RELATIONSHIP' WITH US 'IS OVER' AMID TENSION OVER TRUMP TARIFFS

"He's just directly repeating without quotations. That’s plagiarism," said Geoffrey Sigalet, a professor at the University of British Columbia who helps handle academic misconduct cases, told the National Post.

Carney’s campaign responded to the National Post with a statement from his former Oxford supervisor, Margaret Meyer, who dismissed the allegations. "I see no evidence of plagiarism in the thesis," she said. "Mark’s work was thoroughly researched and approved by a faculty committee."

Meyer also told the National Post that "it is typical that overlapping language appears" if sources are regularly referenced.

Oxford University defines plagiarism as "presenting work or ideas from another source as your own without full acknowledgment." Another professor, speaking anonymously to the National Post, said Carney’s thesis appears to meet that definition.

Carney’s campaign spokesperson, Isabella Orozco-Madison, called the accusations an "irresponsible mischaracterization" of his work.

CANADA’S NEW PM AND TRUMP CRITIC MARK CARNEY ACCUSED OF BEING OUT OF TOUCH WITH THE 'COMMON MAN’

One of the key examples from the National Post’s report shows Carney closely copying a passage from economist Michael E. Porter’s 1990 book, "The Competitive Advantage of Nations." On page 206 of his thesis, Carney wrote: "First, government intervention can impede international competition and artificially support domestic profits." This is nearly identical to Porter’s original wording.

Carney also reportedly copied sections from Jeremy C. Stein’s 1989 article in The Quarterly Journal of Economics and H.S. Shin’s 1994 article in The RAND Journal of Economics, with only minor wording changes.

The possible plagiarism appears throughout the thesis. "It’s all over the dissertation, not just one part," said Sigalet. Even small wording changes without proper citation are still considered plagiarism.

Oxford University warns that plagiarism is a serious offense that can lead to penalties, including expulsion. "Even when you reword something, you still need to cite the source," Sigalet added.

Carney, a former Bank of Canada and Bank of England governor, has had a high-profile career, including top roles at Goldman Sachs and Brookfield Asset Management. He has faced criticism for his elite background and globalist tendencies.

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However, plagiarism allegations have led to resignations and revoked degrees for politicians and academics in the past.

Last year, Harvard University’s president Claudine Gay stepped down amid plagiarism claims, though she denied wrongdoing.

Carney is an outspoken critic of President Trump amid ongoing tariff battles between Canada and the U.S.

An American woman who had been detained by the Taliban since February has been freed, a source with knowledge of the release told Fox News on Saturday.

American citizen Faye Hall was released on Thursday and received at the Qatari embassy in Kabul. She has been confirmed to be in good health after undergoing a series of medical checks, the source said. Arrangements are currently underway for her return to the United States.

The Taliban agreed to release Hall after President Donald Trump removed multimillion-dollar bounties on senior members of the militant group, according to a report by the Telegraph.

TALIBAN FREES AMERICAN HOSTAGE GEORGE GLEZMANN FOLLOWING NEGOTIATIONS WITH US, QATAR

Trump agreed to remove millions of dollars of bounties on three senior members of the Haqqani network, including Sirajuddin Haqqani, the Taliban government’s interior minister, the outlet reported, noting that Washington was offering a $10 million reward for information leading to his capture.

Fox News Digital wasn't immediately able to confirm the nature of the agreement and has reached out to the White House and the State Department for comment.

Her release was initiated following a court order and with logistical support from Qatar serving in its role as the United States' protecting power in Afghanistan, the Fox News source said. 

Hall, along with the British couple, Peter Reynolds, 79, his wife Barbie, 75, and their interpreter were arrested on Feb. 1, the outlet reported. 

FAMILY OF THIRD AMERICAN HELD BY TALIBAN CALLS FOR HIS IMMEDIATE RELEASE: 'WE ARE CONCERNED'

The Associated Press previously reported that the British couple ran education programs in Afghanistan via Rebuild, an organization that provides education and training programs for businesses, government agencies, educational organizations and nongovernmental groups. 

The Sunday Times said one project was for mothers and children. The Taliban severely restricts women’s education and activities in the country.

It is unclear what relationship Hall had with the couple or their group.

The couple’s detention was not based on any violations of local laws or religious customs, but was a political move by a faction to increase international pressure on the government and Haibatullah Akhundzada, its supreme leader, the Telegraph reported. 

The couple’s children wrote a letter to the Taliban pleading for their release, saying that the couple respected and obeyed the laws.

"They have chosen Afghanistan as their home, rather than with family in England, and they wish to spend the rest of their lives in Afghanistan," the letter reads in part, according to the Associated Press.

Hall’s release comes after the Taliban released American hostage George Glezmann, 65, last week after holding him for more than two years. That deal was also struck after negotiations between the Trump administration and Qatari officials. Glezmann was abducted while visiting Kabul as a tourist on Dec. 5, 2022.

Two other Americans, Ryan Corbett and William McKenty, were released earlier this year in exchange for a Taliban member in U.S. custody in a final-hour deal struck by the Biden administration.

Fox News' Caitlin McFall and the Associated Press contributed to this report.