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Ukraine exchanged over 100 individuals with Russia this week as the country celebrated its third Independence Day since the invasion began.

The two nations swapped an even number of prisoners — 115 soldiers for 115 soldiers — on Saturday, the 55th such exchange of the ongoing conflict.

"Another 115 of our defenders have returned home today. These are warriors of the National Guard, the Armed Forces, the Navy, and the State Border Guard Service," Zelenskyy said in a statement on the exchange. "We remember everyone. We are searching for them and making every effort to bring them all back."

RUSSIA LOOKS TO DOWNPLAY UKRAINE INVASION AS 'NEW NORMAL' WHILE PUTIN FAILS TO STOP WAR ON HOME TURF: REPORT

The agreement was struck via negotiations facilitated by the United Arab Emirates. 

Zelenskyy praised those soldiers responsible for capturing Russian combatants, stating that such successes on the battlefield give the much smaller nation leverage in negotiations for their own men's return.

"I am grateful to each unit that replenishes our exchange fund. This helps to advance the release of our military personnel and civilians from Russian captivity," Zelenskyy said. "I thank our team and partners, the UAE, for bringing our people back home."

UKRAINE TARGETS RUSSIAN BRIDGES IN MOVE AGAINST MOSCOW COUNTEROFFENSIVE IN KURSK

Officials in the Kremlin are scrambling to downplay Ukraine’s invasion into the Kursk region as Russian President Vladimir Putin has failed for a second week to stop Kyiv’s advances on his home turf, according to a report by independent Russian news outlet Meduza.

The report, which first emerged last week, claimed that sources in the Kremlin have begun pushing government-funded media agencies to minimize the severity of the Ukrainian incursion and to start employing a propaganda campaign that encourages Russians to embrace the "new normal."

Fox News Digital could not independently verify the report, which comes as Ukraine continues to tout its success in capturing more than 780 square miles of Kursk, including the town of Sudhza, as well as nearly 100 Russian villages, according to Ukraine’s Commander-in-Chief Oleksandr Syrskyi on Tuesday. 

Fox News Digital's Caitlin McFall contributed to this report.

The family of Amer Fakhoury has spent the past four years pursuing justice and seeking accountability for his death after he passed away from stage 4 cancer in 2020, months after he was freed from prison in Lebanon. 

Now, his four daughters are giving a first-hand account of his detainment and the harrowing rescue operation to bring him back home to the United States in a soon-to-be-released book, "Silenced in Beirut: American Businessman Amer Fakhour’s Six-Month Ordeal as a Hostage In Lebanon."

Guila and Zoya Fakhoury spoke with Fox News Digital about the book ahead of its release on Sept. 12, the fifth-year anniversary of their father’s detainment in Beirut by the General Directorate of General Security, Lebanon's government intelligence agency.

"We wanted this book to just capture the injustice he faced, who was involved in his illegal detention, who are the big players [and] what the U.S. government did to bring him back home," said Zoya.

"This story is very significant, because you actually get to see firsthand what Hezbollah is doing in Lebanon and what it's doing to its people and how America is a part of that as well."

HOW LEBANON'S HEZBOLLAH GROUP BECAME A CRITICAL PLAYER IN THE ISRAEL-HAMAS WAR

Fakhoury returned to his native Lebanon with his wife, Micheline, for the first time in nearly 20 years to see family but was detained soon after his arrival amid allegations from a Hezbollah-backed newspaper that he was the "Butcher of Khiam," who tortured prisoners at the now defunct prison in the 1990s.

The Fakhoury family vehemently denied the claims, saying their father only worked as a logistics officer with the South Lebanon Army (SLA), a Christian-dominated, Israeli-backed militia that was disbanded after Israel withdrew from the country in 2000.

Fakhoury fled Lebanon after receiving threats from Hezbollah after the SLA collapsed, staying in Nahariya, a seaside city in Israel close to the Lebanese border, for a few months before immigrating to the United States.

ISRAEL TARGETS WEAPONS, SUPPLY LINES IN SYRIA AS TENSIONS WITH HEZBOLLAH THREATEN TO BOIL OVER 

His family says the Lebanese government published a list in 2016 indicating that Fakhoury had no outstanding charges prior to his 2019 detainment, and a 2018 amnesty placed their father on a list of SLA members not associated with running Khiam prison.

While Fakhoury was detained in Beirut, he was forced to sign a paper saying he held Israeli citizenship and was an Israeli spy, both baseless accusations, according to his family.

Sen. Jeanne Shaheen, D-N.H., who worked closely with the family, said in a 2020 press release that a Lebanese military court had charged Fakhoury with "unsubstantiated crimes that carry a punishment of death without producing any material evidence to back these allegations."

The Dover, N.H., restaurant owner was beaten, tortured and forced to stay in unsanitary conditions with no sunlight or toilet, according to his family. They believe he acquired lymphoma from the Epstein-Barr virus, which he likely obtained from poor prison conditions.

"We really wanted to honor [Amer’s] legacy and to tell the world about this amazing father, great husband, and what happened to him was not fair. And someone needs to be held accountable," said Guila.

"We lost our father, my kids cannot see their granddad, my mom, you know, he was her soulmate, 37 years of marriage. So, we lost a great man, and to this day, we don't have accountability. So through this book, we want everyone to read his story, read about him, read about what happened to him."

Guila added that her father advocated for democracy in Lebanon, spoke out against Hezbollah and was active in the Republican Party.

"He was an American citizen. He was an advocate. He was in the Republican Party. He had pictures on his Facebook, [he was] close to politics in America. . . .  I think this is the reason why they illegally detained him and put all these charges on him, knowing that none of it is true," she told Fox News Digital.

"I do think, touching on his nervousness, at the end of the day, as much reassurance you can get from a government, I think deep down, he knew that Hezbollah was still in Lebanon, and I think that was his fear because he always. . . . You hear stories of Hezbollah being involved in kidnap cases. So, I think that was always in the back of his mind," said Zoya.

The New York Times reported that Trump administration officials believed that Fakhoury’s arrest was directed by Hezbollah.

Fakhoury was evacuated from the rooftop of the U.S. Embassy in Lebanon on a U.S. Air Force V-22 Osprey after Senator Shaheen and Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, proposed bipartisan sanctions against Lebanese officials involved in the detention of U.S. citizens. 

Seven months after his initial detainment and 75 pounds lighter, Fakhoury returned home and was treated at the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute in Boston, where he passed away five months later. 

"What we're still lacking [from] our U.S. government is accountability. So, unfortunately, it's been four years that we've [been] trying to hold accountable Lebanese officials and the Lebanese government for the killing of an American citizen," Guila told Fox News Digital.

"It's been a very difficult journey. I think we're blessed to have our family, honestly, because that's where we both — we all get energy from each other. When one of us is feeling down, we feed off one another's energy. And I think that's what kept us going strong, because we didn't really have a mourning period, to be honest with you, the minute my father died, we wanted to get to work, because we know the magnitude of his case," said Zoya. "We know what he endured and just the injustice he faced."

The Fakhourys started the Amer Fakhoury Foundation in honor of the late patriarch to advocate for the families of other detained Americans, seek accountability from foreign governments involved in the detention of U.S. citizens and pursue policy changes.

The book is available on the foundation’s website.

The U.S. needs to remain aware of China and Russia’s ambitions to control the Arctic region, even if the public doesn’t realize the full value of the territory, an expert told Fox News Digital. 

"That whole area … it does have, in a purely military context, it has importance," RADM (Ret.) Mark Montgomery explained. 

"So, first, there's an absolute military context to this," Montgomery said. "Probably a close second is the economic context where China is heavily dependent on oil and natural gas deliveries."

"I think they're very concerned about strategic chokepoints like the Straits of Malacca and very aware that the United States has a pretty good capability to sink large-scale amounts of enemy merchants," Montgomery continued. "So they're looking for a path more so than through North America … around Russia through the north is what's called the Northern Sea Route."

MIDEAST OIL POWERHOUSE BANS RUSSIAN ‘SHADOW FLEET’ VESSELS THAT SEEK TO UNDERMINE SANCTIONS

Montgomery highlighted the incident in the week following President Biden’s announcement that he would not seek a second term, during which Russian and Chinese bombers flew near Alaska. U.S. and Canadian fighter jets intercepted and escorted the bombers out of the Alaskan Air Defense Identification Zone (ADIZ) – the first time Chinese bomber aircraft have flown through it.

U.S. Defense Secretary Gen. Lloyd Austin made clear that no plane actually entered U.S. airspace, but they got within 200 miles of the Alaskan coast. The increasing cooperation between Russia and China in recent years continues to trouble the U.S. military. 

The Arctic region has increasingly taken focus as part of that equation, leading the Pentagon to publish policy plans for the region, which labels the Arctic as "critical to the defense of our homeland." 

"Our Arctic strategy will guide the department's efforts to ensure that the Arctic remains a secure and stable region," Deputy Defense Secretary Kathleen Hicks announced upon publication of the policy plan in July. 

HAMAS TO RECEIVE UPDATED CEASE-FIRE PROPOSAL FROM ISRAEL AFTER ‘CONSTRUCTIVE’ TALKS IN EGYPT: REPORT

"Climate change is fundamentally altering the Arctic, and with it, geopolitics and U.S. defense missions," Hicks said. "The readiness of our forces for those missions is always foremost on our minds, and that's why for decades, across Republican and Democratic administrations, the department has been seeking to ensure our military capabilities can meet the mark, even in the face of a changing climate." 

China has increased its presence in the Arctic, matching up with its efforts to expand its presence in the contested South China Sea and Straits of Taiwan, where the U.S. has also moved to contain and counteract Beijing’s ambitions. 

"While not an Arctic state, the PRC seeks greater influence in the region, greater access to the region, and a greater say in its governance," Hicks said. "That's concerning, given that it's the only strategic competitor with the will and increasingly the wherewithal to remake the international order."

Much like in the contested waters around its region, China looks to exploit the land laws to try and exert influence: In the contested seas and straits, China has built artificial islands to expand its reach; in the Arctic, there are no land rights, and that makes it even easier to establish a claim so they control the sea routes and potential trade. 

ITALY, CHINA ANNOUNCE 3-YEAR INDUSTRIAL COOPERATION PLAN AS EU-CHINA TRADE WAR FEARS LOOM

"I think you're going to see really challenging sovereignty claims up there," Montgomery said. "I think all the nations have inappropriate claims, but particularly the Russians — I think the Russians want to claim the North Pole itself as if the other countries didn't exist."

"That Northern Sea route gives you fuel savings, gives you an alternative — right now, it doesn't have payments like the Suez Canal," he argued. "When you do the shorter distance, there's not just less fuel but less payment for people and vessels … there's a real value to it."

Russia, for example, has tried to use the Lomonosov Ridge — the very edge of its continental shelf — to establish a claim over the Arctic, since international claims can vary. The BBC in 2020 reported that Russia, Denmark (via Greenland) and Canada have all tried to lay claim to the ridge and, by extension, part of the Arctic itself. 

The country that manages to establish its claim also gets the rights to a roughly 200-mile exclusive economic zone, under international law as laid out by the U.N. Convention on the Law of the Sea, that gives the country rights to fishing, infrastructure building and extracting natural resources, among other rights. 

Montgomery pointed to reports that companies shipped over two million tons of "transit cargo" in 2023 through the Arctic, hitting a record amount of cargo, but he stressed the fact that companies can’t just push their existing ships into the region. 

"It depends if they build great infrastructure," Montgomery advised. "You’re going to have to have better satellite coverage, better GPS coverage, better communications coverage," Montgomery said. "When you start to see those proliferate, then you're going to be able to expand the infrastructure associated with it."

KAOHSIUNG, TAIWAN - Over the next few years, the People’s Republic of China (PRC) will continue to target democratic, self-ruled Taiwan with "gray zone" tactics and an "anaconda" strategy—slow-strangulation efforts that seek to force Taipei to bow to Beijing without drastic measures such as an invasion. 

Experts say China will escalate its efforts to disrupt the island’s economy by targeting critical industries and infrastructure and scale-up covert cyberwar operations that provide Beijing with just enough cover to maintain plausible deniability. 

A recent U.S. wargame team from the Foundation for Defense of Democracies (FDD), a nonpartisan research institute, visited Taiwan in early August to hold the first-ever tabletop exercise focusing on economic and cybercoercion from China against Taiwan. The FDD team pointed out that the cost of launching a cyberattack, for example, is significantly lower than the cost of defending against it. This asymmetry allows China to exert considerable pressure on Taiwan without triggering a direct U.S. military response. 

TAIWAN REACTS TO TRUMP’S THEY 'SHOULD PAY US FOR DEFENSE' COMMENTS

Local experts agree that Taiwan has its work cut out for it in defending against cyberwarfare and disinformation campaigns, especially at a time when artifical intelligence is making "truth" much harder to define. 

A trailer for a soon-to-be-released Taiwanese television series that dramatizes a People’s Liberation Army attack on Taiwan has surprised some here with its portrayals of deep fake videos, as well as massive cyberattacks that take over electronic billboards across the island and display false info. 

RADM (Ret.) Mark Montgomery, the FDD’s senior director of the Center on Cyber and Technology Innovation, took part in the Taiwan wargames. In an online talk to the media shortly after returning to the United States, he noted Taiwan faces challenges with economic continuity. "How do you keep things going during a series of interlaced critical infrastructure failures? Where electrical power drives a problem with financial services, things like that."

Dean Karalekas, author of "Civil-Military Relations in Taiwan: Identity and Transformation," told Fox News Digital that "The Russian invasion of Ukraine has been something of a double-edged sword in terms of Taiwanese preparedness." Karalekas pointed out that, on the one hand, it has opened many people’s eyes to the realistic likelihood that Chinese President Xi Jinping will follow Russian President Vladimir Putin’s lead and make good on his promises to annex the island, and the Taiwanese have taken it upon themselves to train in preparation. Karalekas was not involved in the tabletop exercise.

On the other hand, Karalekas and other experts agree that many of the skills some in Taiwan are developing are designed to survive kinetic combat of the sort seen in Ukraine – combat, Karalekas and others think, is very unlikely. "It is far more likely that China will begin with a blockade, and soften up the Taiwanese citizenry by depriving them of food, electricity, and all the other imports upon which their economy, and their lives, depend," Karalekas opined. "No one can read Xi’s mind, but this seems more likely—and more likely to succeed—than an all-out invasion of the sort Putin launched."   

FOR CHINA'S MILITARY PLANNERS, TAIWAN IS NOT AN EASY ISLAND TO INVADE

In both Taipei and Washington, there is a consensus that both U.S. political parties are committed to supporting Taiwan’s defense, which poses the largest deterrent to China. However, suggestions for improvements include a more entrepreneurial approach to military hardware and software procurement. 

Taiwan’s defense budget is constrained by the fact that it can – realistically – only purchase equipment from the U.S. However, the experts said, if smaller, innovative companies were added to the list of those supplying Taiwan’s military, the island could receive necessary tools for asymmetric defense faster and perhaps also cheaper. 

A roughly 100-mile stretch of water separates China from Taiwan, and as Matt Pottinger suggested in a recent book, titled "The Boiling Moat," Taiwan and its major ally, the United States, should look for more innovative ways to turn the Taiwan Strait into a death trap for any PRC invasion attempt. 

Put simply, it is easy to neutralize a few submarines, but much harder to kill thousands of small, "kamikaze" drone subs that could swarm Chinese ships and vessels, sending them to the bottom of the shallow Taiwan Strait long before they reach the shores of Taiwan.   

U.S. and Taiwanese experts agree that reforming Taiwan’s military reserves is essential. At present, they are insufficiently trained and sorely ill-equipped. Building a robust reserve force is no easy feat, however, and will require a multi-year plan backed by significant financial resources and political will.

INSPIRED BY UKRAINE, TAIWAN SEEKS TO BOLSTER MILITARY PREPAREDNESS AS CHINA THREAT CONTINUES

Taiwan’s reliance on imported liquefied natural gas (LNG) was also singled out by the FDD team as a potential weakness. Around 40% of Taiwan’s power generation is fueled by LNG, and the country has only a reported 10-plus-day inventory. The fact that Taiwan’s LNG must be transported by sea, means that no matter if it comes from Australia, a U.S. ally, or Qatar, generally seen as more pro-China, LNG shipments are vulnerable to a maritime blockade or "quarantine." 

Complicating matters, the Democratic Progressive Party, which has ruled Taiwan since 2016, refused to extend the life of Taiwan’s existing nuclear energy reactors (the last of which will go offline in 2025) and has instead pledged resources toward wind and solar. However, green power sources may not provide meaningful or resilient power, as FDD China Program Director Craig Singelton pointed out in the same previously-mentioned media briefing, "I think it’s quite clear in every war game I’ve ever participated in … that Chinese pilots use the wind turbines for target practice."

The FDD team noted that some Taiwanese officials are concerned about the potential impact of the upcoming U.S. presidential election and worry about the possibility of a more transactional approach from a second Trump administration. Former President Donald Trump made headlines not long ago for saying that Taiwan should "pay us" for defense and that Taiwan "doesn’t give us anything." 

Trump is known to use hyperbolic statements to help convey his insistence that allies – from Taiwan to NATO – contribute more financially to defense. Members of the U.S. wargame team suggested that Taiwan should proactively address the concerns raised by the former president about its defense budget, essentially "showing the receipts" in a public manner to showcase its previous spending while continuing to commit to increased spending, all while gently reminding the U.S. public and Washington of the benefits of a strong U.S.-Taiwan partnership.

The U.S. Army this week announced steps it is taking to safeguard its troops as it looks to bolster its ability to successfully implement artificial intelligence under a 500-day plan.

The Army’s acquisition, logistics and technology (ALT) office on Wednesday released two new initiatives, "Break AI" and "Counter AI," which will test ever-developing AI technologies for reliable in-field use and provide protection from adversarial employment of AI against the U.S., the Federal News Network reported this week.

The Army is not only looking at how to safely implement AI across the military branch but how to develop it safely in coordination with outside parties. 

HOW ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE IS RESHAPING MODERN WARFARE

"One of the obstacles for the adoption is how do we look at risk around AI? We have to look at issues around poisoned datasets, adversarial attacks, trojans and those types of things," Young Bang, principal deputy to the assistant secretary of the Army’s ALT, reportedly said during a tech conference in Georgia Wednesday.

"That’s easier to do if you’ve developed it in a controlled, trusted environment that [the Department of Defense] or the Army owns, and we’re going to do all that," he added. "But this really looks at how we can adopt third-party or commercial vendors’ algorithms right into our programs, so that we don’t have to compete with them.

"We want to adopt them." 

Bang’s announcement came as the Army wrapped up a 100-day sprint that looked at how to incorporate AI into its acquisitions process. 

The goal was to examine ways the Army could develop its own AI algorithms while also working alongside trustworthy third parties to develop the technology as securely as possible, the Federal News Network reported.

The Army is now using what it learned over the 100-day sprint to test and secure AI implementation across the board and develop systems for Army use alongside bolstering its defense against adversarial AI employment.  

US HOLDS CONFERENCE ON MILITARY AI USE WITH DOZENS OF ALLIES TO DETERMINE 'RESPONSIBLE' USE

The "Break AI" initiative will focus on how AI could evolve under a field known as artificial general intelligence (AGI), which is the development of software that looks to match or surpass human cognitive abilities, a technology that has the potential to employ sophisticated decision-making and learning capabilities.

This technology, which has not been fully realized yet, aims to improve upon current AI software that, for now, can only generate a predicted outcome based on data that is supplied.  

But this next phase means not only developing but protecting against this ambiguous technology, meaning the Army has its work cut out for it. 

"It’s about the notion of how we actually test and evaluate artificial intelligence," Bang reportedly said. "As we move towards AGI, how do we actually test something that we don’t know what the outcome of or what the behaviors are going to be? 

"You can’t test it the way that we test deterministic models, and we need industry’s help here."

The Army’s second part of its 500-day plan is a bit more straight forward, explained Jennifer Swanson, deputy assistant secretary of the Army’s office of Data, Engineering and Software.

WHAT IS ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE (AI)?

"We want to make sure our platforms, our algorithms and our capabilities are secure from attack and from threat, but it’s also about how we counter what the adversary has," she reportedly said. "We know we’re not the only ones investing in this. There’s lots of investment happening in countries that are big adversarial threats to the United States."

The Army officials remained tight-lipped on specific details the military branch will be pursuing to develop AI capabilities due to the sensitive operational security nature of the initiatives. 

Though, Swanson said, "As we start to learn and figure out what we’re going to do, there’s going to be things we share."

U.S. Central Command announced Friday that forces in Syria had successfully killed terrorist group senior leader Abu-'Abd al-Rahman al-Makki.

According to CENTCOM, al-Makki was killed in a "targeted kinetic strike" in Syria.

U.S. MILITARY EXPANDS PRESENCE IN MIDDLE EAST, REPOSITIONS FORCES AS REGIONAL TENSIONS SIMMER

Al-Makki was a council member and senior leader with Hurras al-Din, which is ideologically aligned with Al-Qaeda in Syria. He was responsible for overseeing terrorist operations for the group in the Middle Eastern nation.

"CENTCOM remains committed to the enduring defeat of terrorists in the CENTCOM area of responsibility who threaten the United States, its allies and partners, and regional stability," said Gen. Michael Erik Kurilla, Commander, U.S. Central Command.

PENTAGON SAYS THERE IS A 'DEEPENING COOPERATION AND RELATIONSHIP' BETWEEN RUSSIA AND IRAN

According to CENTCOM, Hurras al-Din and organizations like it stand against the West and her allies, including the United States.

Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin announced earlier in the month that U.S. military forces would be re-positioned across the Middle East in support of ally Israel.

The USS Abraham Lincoln, CVN-72 and the fifth of the Nimitz-class nuclear-powered aircraft carriers, was one of the major resources re-allocated to the region along with its battle group.

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The U.S. officially designated Hurras al-Din as a "Specially Designated Global Terrorist" under Executive Order 13224 in September 2019.

Investigators in the superyacht sinking off the coast of Sicily that left seven people dead earlier this week are considering manslaughter charges in the case, judicial sources told Reuters. 

The public prosecutor's office of Termini Imerese in Sicily is investigating possible negligence on the part of the crew of the yacht when it was besieged by storms while anchored. 

Divers on Friday recovered what is believed to be the body of Hannah Lynch, the final person who had been unaccounted for in the tragedy, the Italian Coast Guard said. 

She was the daughter of Mike Lynch, a British tech magnate who was celebrating his acquittal on fraud charges with friends and family on the boat. His body was found Thursday. 

LUXURY YACHT SINKS: LAST BODY, BELIEVED TO BE TECH MOGUL'S 18-YEAR-OLD DAUGHTER, IS FOUND

The Lynch family was aboard the Bayesian, a 184-foot British-flagged yacht that sank after capsizing in the early hours of Monday amid winds as high as 100 mph. 

Bayesian had 22 people on board — 12 passengers and 10 crew — when it capsized and sank within minutes of being hit by a predawn storm. 

Fifteen people survived the sinking, including Lynch’s wife, Angela Bacares. 

The captain of the yacht and the other survivors have been interviewed by the Italian Coast Guard at the request of the prosecutor's office. 

The prosecutor leading the case is scheduled to hold a press conference Saturday. No one is formally under investigation yet. 

Possible charges could include negligent shipwreck and multiple homicide, sources told Reuters. 

WHO IS MIKE LYNCH, THE TECH BILLIONAIRE MISSING AFTER YACHT SANK

"The Lynch family is devastated, in shock and is being comforted and supported by family and friends," a spokesperson said in a statement for the family. "Their thoughts are with everyone affected by the tragedy. They would like to sincerely thank the Italian coastguard, emergency services and all those who helped in the rescue." 

Investigators are trying to figure out why the yacht sank so quickly. 

Giovanni Costantino, CEO of The Italian Sea Group, which built Lynch’s yacht, blamed the shipwreck on a string of "indescribable, unreasonable errors" made by the crew and ruled out any design or construction failings.

"The impossible happened on that boat ... but it went down because it took on water. From where, the investigators will tell," Costantino said in an interview.

Christopher Morvillo, an American lawyer with Clifford Chance who defended Lynch in the fraud case, also died, as did Morgan Stanley International Chairman Jonathan Bloomer, who testified in Lynch’s defense.

Morvillo’s wife, Neda, and Bloomer’s wife, Judy, were also among the dead. The body of onboard chef Recaldo Thomas, an Antiguan citizen, was recovered Monday.

A nearby sailboat rescued 15 people, including a 1-year-old girl. 

Divers had been searching for the missing in the hull of the Bayesian, which now rests on the seabed 164 feet underwater.

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Civil protection officials said they believe the ship was struck by a tornado over the water, known as a waterspout, sometime around 5 a.m. Monday near the port of Porticello, where it was anchored and then sank quickly. 

Fox News Digital's Michael Dorgan and Reuters contributed to this report. 

A festival in Germany dissolved into chaos after three people were killed in a stabbing spree, local German news agency dpa reported.

The incident happened near the central square of Solingen, Germany, which is located near Cologne and Duesseldorf, at approximately 9:35 p.m. local time. 

The residents in the city were enjoying a festival to mark the town's 650 year anniversary when the attack occurred. 

Witnesses said the perpetrator was at large, the outlet added.

The local agency reported that the weapon was believed to be a knife. 

Photos from the incident showed police standing guard near the town center and ambulances at the scene.

This is a breaking news story.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

At least seven Hezbollah operatives were killed Friday by the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) as the terrorist group fired roughly 100 rockets across northern Israel, according to reports by the Times of Israel.

IDF sources confirmed with Fox News Digital that at least two of the terrorists killed in the day’s strikes had been involved with the group’s Rocket and Missile Unit.

Muhammad Mahmoud Negm, who was described as a "significant" operative, was killed by the Israeli Air Force in the area of Aaita El Zot in southern Lebanon.  

HAMAS LEADER SINWAR REPORTEDLY WANTS GUARANTEE OF SURVIVAL AS GAZA CEASE-FIRE TALKS SAID TO BE FALTERING

The IAF also struck another terrorist by the name of Saeed Mahmoud Daeb in the area of Tyre, according to IDF officials. 

The other four operatives were reportedly killed in separate strikes across southern Lebanon by the IDF, including a hit on a Hezbollah cell, which was allegedly readying rocket fire from the village of Tayr Harfa. 

No Israeli injuries or deaths have been reported in the Jewish state following the day’s events.

Upper Galilee appears to have taken the brunt of the rocket fire where Hezbollah fired some 40 projectiles across the Lebanese border into Israel. 

HAMAS TO RECEIVE UPDATED CEASE-FIRE PROPOSAL FROM ISRAEL AFTER 'CONSTRUCTIVE' TALKS IN EGYPT: REPORT

The IDF said that "some" projectiles had been intercepted, though it did not specify how many. 

The attack comes as Jerusalem has been preparing for an all-out war with Iran following threats made by Tehran earlier this month.

Officials from the U.S., Egypt and Qatar have been attempting to establish a cease-fire agreement between Hamas and Israel in the hopes that it could deter a larger war with Israel, Iran and its proxy forces, including Hezbollah, which is heavily funded by Tehran.

Hamas and Israel have yet to agree to terms that largely revolve around concerns relating to security corridors in Gaza. 

But even if terms can be agreed to, Israeli defense officials have told Fox News Digital that they are highly skeptical it will lead to lasting peace in the region. 

Israeli security experts continue to assess that Hezbollah remains its chief threat. 

Russia's security services shot dead four inmates on Friday who had taken hostages at a penal colony, fatally stabbed four of its staff and posted online videos describing themselves as Islamic State militants, officials said.

"Snipers of the special forces of the Russian National Guard in the Volgograd region, with four precise shots, neutralised four prisoners who had taken prison employees hostage. The hostages have been released," state news agency RIA quoted the National Guard as saying.

AMERICANS FREED FROM RUSSIA IN PRISONER SWAP LAND ON US SOIL

The federal prisons service said all four attackers had been "liquidated". It said four of its staff had died of stab wounds, and others had been treated in hospital. A total of eight prison employees and four convicts had been held hostage, it said.

In one of the videos posted by the attackers, the victims were seen lying in pools of blood, one of them with his throat slashed. One of the prisoners shouted that they were "mujahideen" of Islamic State.

Other videos showed the attackers pacing about in a prison yard where one of their hostages was slumped in a sitting position, his face covered in blood.

The operation to free the captives took place after President Vladimir Putin, addressing a weekly meeting of his Security Council, said he wanted to hear from the interior minister, FSB security chief and head of the National Guard about the incident.

ISLAMIST ATTACKS

Russia, whose defence and security agencies are heavily focused on its war in Ukraine, has seen a recent upsurge in Islamist militant attacks.

In June, a bloody Islamic State-linked prison uprising took place in the southern region of Rostov, where special forces shot dead six inmates who had taken hostages.

Later that month, at least 20 people were killed in shooting attacks on a church, a synagogue and a police checkpoint in Dagestan, a mainly Muslim region of southern Russia.

In March, Islamic State claimed responsibility for an attack in which gunmen raided the Crocus City concert hall near Moscow, sprayed the audience with automatic weapons fire and set the building ablaze, killing more than 140 people.

The latest incident raised major security questions, just two months after the June prison revolt. It was not clear how the men had managed to acquire knives to attack prison staff and mobile phones to film themselves and post multiple videos online.

In the footage, one of them appeared to have an improvised explosive vest and the others were carrying knives and hammers.

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Their demands were not clear, though in rambling monologues they said that Russia "oppresses Muslims everywhere" and that they had acted "without mercy" in response to alleged mistreatment of Muslim prisoners.

Russian news media said the four were citizens of Tajikistan and Uzbekistan, and that three were in jail for drugs offences and the other for murdering someone in a fight.

Cease-fire negotiations between Israel and Hamas took a tentatively hopeful step forward as Egypt passed a new proposal to the terrorist group following "constructive" talks in Cairo this week, according to reports.

"The Philadelphi Corridor ... is the lifeline of Hamas … they smuggled in machinery [to Gaza to make weaponry]," IDF MG (ret.) Yaakov Amidror said during a Jewish Institute for National Security of America (JINSA) situational update. 

"Israel cannot allow this to happen again," Amidror, who also serves as a JINSA Distinguished Fellow, said. "This is imperative … what [is being discussed] is how to square the circle … if a solution can be found … we might have an agreement. I’m not sure Hamas will be ready [to accept this]."

The main points of contention between the two parties remain the handling of the corridors and crossings – Rafah, Netzarim and Philadelphi – as Israel maintains that control of these passages plays a crucial part of Israeli security. 

HARRIS TRIES TO THREAD ISRAEL, GAZA NEEDLE WITH ANTI-ISRAEL AGITATORS A CONSTANT PRESENCE AT DNC

"What the IDF [wants], and what the Prime Minister wants, is to [use Netzarim] to monitor the movement of Palestinians to the north [of Gaza] with checkpoints [and prevent terrorists from moving to northern Gaza]," Amidror explained. 

This, in turn, has raised Palestinian concerns about the ongoing military presence of the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF). The Hamas negotiators have also pushed for prisoner releases as part of the deal to release Hamas terrorists, sources familiar with the talks told Reuters.  

Vice President Kamala Harris in her DNC acceptance speech reiterated her support for both Israel and the Palestinian people. She insisted that she and President Biden are working to end the war and ensure that Israel is secure and "the suffering in Gaza ends and the Palestinian people can realize their right to dignity, security, freedom and self-determination." 

Egypt as well as Hamas want Israel to withdraw from the Philadelphi Corridor, where Israeli troops advanced in May. Israel says Hamas has used the area to bring arms into Gaza. Egypt claims it has shut off smuggling routes.

US MILITARY CONTRACTING VESSELS WILL HAUL BACK ARMY BOATS USED IN GAZA PIER MISSION

"There is a military principle, which is still valid until today: if you have an obstacle, and no one controls it, it's like you don't have an obstacle," Amidror argued. "It doesn't matter if it's above ground or under the ground."

"That's why an Israeli presence [along the Philadelphi Corridor] ... has to be there [in] the day after ... [and should be a] physical and technological presence," he added. 

U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken had attended talks this week, along with CIA chief William Burns, who has led the U.S. team in the negotiations as mediator between the warring sides. However, Blinken failed to achieve a breakthrough and ultimately departed before crunch talks that started Thursday. 

The White House denied reports that the hostage-truce talks had collapsed, insisting that they continued to make progress and that "both sides need to come together and work toward implementation," National Security Council spokesperson John Kirby told reporters. Hamas also earlier this week denied that negotiators had backed away from the talks, according to The Financial Times. 

HAMAS LEADER SINWAR REPORTEDLY WANTS GUARANTEE OF SURVIVAL AS GAZA CEASE-FIRE TALKS SAID TO BE FALTERING

Those talks have reportedly yielded a major development, leading negotiators to close gaps over the Rafah crossing and a proposed arrangement for the Philadelphi Corridor, The Times of Israel reported.

The Israeli outlet cited Army Radio, which reported that Cairo had refused to pass along Blinken’s U.S. bridging offer until after Thursday’s discussions yielded additional concessions that could finally push towards an agreement.  

Army Radio reportedly added that negotiators are trying to bring Hamas representatives more directly into discussions, which will continue on Sunday. 

Israeli Minister of Defense Yoav Gallant spoke overnight Thursday with his American counterpart U.S. Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin to discuss joint preparation and interoperability of their forces in the face of ongoing potential threat from Iran and Hezbollah.

Gallant reiterated Israel’s defeat of the Hamas Rafah brigade, which newly-ascended Hamas Chief Yahya Sinwar argued would prove hugely problematic for the IDF, as well as the destruction of over 150 tunnels in the area. 

Gallant emphasized the importance of the ongoing operation to dismantle Hamas infrastructure, including the tunnels he claims continue to crisscross the Gaza territory, according to a readout of the meeting. 

Despite these military successes, Gallant stressed his commitment to seeing an agreement between Israel and Hamas that would lead to the release of hostages, and he thanked Austin for his commitment to Israel’s security and the ongoing U.S. support since the Oct. 7 attack.

Reuters contributed to this report. 

A 22-year-old college student in Denmark uncovered an ancient find that turned out to be much larger than originally thought. 

This past spring, Gustav Bruunsgaard, an archaeology student from Aarhus University, took his metal detector to a field near Elsted, where previous excavations had uncovered objects dating back to the Viking Age.

While Bruunsgaard was scouring the land, his metal detector went off. He began to dig in the detected area and found a silver arm ring, according to a translated press release published by the Moesgaard Museum. 

ANCIENT TREASURE DATING BACK THOUSANDS OF YEARS UNEARTHED IN BURIAL MOUND

The ancient silver arm ring turned out to be just the start of more findings. Upon returning to the location a few days later, Bruunsgaard found six more pieces of ancient jewelry. 

Since then, Danish and international experts have further investigated the jewelry, which they have dated back to the early days of the Viking Age, around 800 A.D., according to the museum. 

The seven silver pieces found by Bruunsgaard totaled more than half a kilogram in total weight and are thought to have been used as a form of payment during the Viking Age, having been traded for other goods. 

RESEARCHERS UNEARTH FIND DATING BACK 2,400 YEARS IN ANCIENT GREEK CITY 

Kasper H. Andersen, PhD and historian at Moesgaard Museum, called the discovery "a fantastically interesting find from the Viking Age, which connects Aarhus with Russia and Ukraine in the east and the British islands in the west," per the press release. "In this way, the find emphasizes how Aarhus was a central hub in the world of the Vikings, which went all the way from the North Atlantic to Asia."

The Viking Age was a period full of traveling by sea, according to the National Museum of Denmark's website. During that time, the Vikings left Scandinavia, and engaged in raids, trade and conquering land. 

Of the silver pieces recently discovered dating back to this time, three of the band-shaped, heavily stamped rings in particular inspired a very similar design created in Ireland, where the style became popular, the Moesgaard Museum noted in their release. 

One of the rings, which takes the shape of a coil or compacted spring, maintains a similar style to those originally from Russia or Ukraine, according to the museum, whereas the three bangles with a very smooth, simple design are known to have originated in Scandinavia and England. 

Currently, the silver treasure is on display at the Moesgaard Museum and will later be transferred to the National Museum of Denmark. 

Democratic presidential nominee Vice President Kamala Harris has yet to offer a unified foreign policy vision as the rival Trump-Vance campaign increasingly targets her record on the border, Afghanistan and other related issues.

"Kamala Harris and the DNC are turning a total blind eye to national security, a dangerous trend that shows their lack of real policy ideas," Rep. Michael Waltz, R-Fla., told Fox News Digital. "We’ve heard Trump’s name mentioned over 150 times in their speeches, but we’ve hardly heard any mention of the national security threats facing America, and not a single mention of the Afghanistan withdrawal that took place three years ago this very week."

"The world is a more dangerous place under Kamala Harris: Iran is threatening to attack Israel, China is on the march, and ISIS is on the rise again," Waltz said. "Vibes and buzzwords like "weird" won’t deter these threats or rebuild our military. They’re obsessed with slogans instead of offering solutions."

"Contrast this with the RNC, where we dedicated two entire days to making America safe again and strong again," Waltz added. "Biden and Harris have made this country less safe, and yet they offer no plan— and seem to have no interest—in protecting Americans."

HARRIS DODGING FLIP-FLOP ATTACKS AS FACELESS SURROGATES FLIP KEY POSITIONS: ‘PLAYING POLITICS’

The Democrats caused confusion this week with the release of a party platform — timed with the start of the Democratic National Convention (DNC) — that still referred to President Biden and his bid to seek a second term. Mayor Regina Romero of Tucson, Arizona, co-chair of the DNC platform committee, explained that the platform was crafted "prior to the president passing the torch in an act of love and patriotism."

In a statement posted on the Democrats’ website, the party explains that the platform was approved on July 16 — five days ahead of Biden’s historic decision to step back and let the party stand another candidate to face Trump. The party argues that it offers "a vision for a progressive agenda that we can build on as a nation and as a Party as we head into the next four years."

Harris addressed her foreign policy agenda during the speech accepting the Democratic nomination on Thursday: In a speech light on policy, Harris pledged to pass the border security bill Republicans killed in the Senate earlier this year. 

Harris also pledged to lead the way on space-based initiatives and artificial intelligence development, promised to stand up to Iran and Iran-backed terrorists and reiterated her support for Israel while stressing the importance of Palestinian self-determination. She took shots at Trump and his relationship with other world leaders such as North Korea's Kim Jong Un and Vladimir Putin. She also made clear that as president she would "stand strong with Ukraine."

"The record of the last three-plus years has been a disastrous withdrawal from Afghanistan, a green light for Russia to invade Ukraine, maximum deference to Iran, and unprecedented hostility toward Israel," Richard Goldberg, senior adviser at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies and former NSC official, told Fox News Digital. 

"Add in a wide open border for terrorists to cross and a war on American energy that gives our enemies an advantage, and she’s helped oversee one of the worst foreign policies in history."

KAMALA HARRIS SLAMMED FOR REFUSING TO SPEAK TO PRESS, NOT RELEASING POLICY POSITIONS

Republicans have repeatedly argued that Harris’ foreign policy plans are clear based on her record as vice president and tying Harris closely to Biden’s own policies. Her lack of a published platform that clearly outlines her plans for a first term has made it difficult for her to argue against that. 

Harris earlier this week told Fox News in a statement that "re-entering that deal is not our focus," referring to the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) "Iran nuclear deal" — a seeming break with the Biden administration’s major push to get such a plan enacted in its first two years, though that push has gone soft in the past year.

Harris did roll out a comprehensive, if criticized, economic plan ahead of the DNC in Chicago this week, and she is expected to continue revealing parts of her policy plan in a similar manner now that the convention has ended. 

Harris in recent statements has reiterated her support for certain policies enacted under the Biden administration, such as how the administration handled its exit from Afghanistan. 

Republicans have decried the administration’s full drawdown from Afghanistan, which the Harris campaign has said the vice president "strongly supported" by asking "probing questions" during deliberations, although a former military official told The Washington Post he didn’t recall Harris "playing any role of significance."

Positioning herself as a vice president who is closely involved in the administration’s key matters, Harris confirmed to CNN in 2021 that she was the "last person in the room" with Biden before his decision to withdraw U.S. troops and effectively end more than 20 years of war in Afghanistan. 

KAMALA HARRIS' ECONOMIC PLAN IS ABOUT TAKING ON ‘NEFARIOUS ACTORS’: GENE SPERLING

The Los Angeles Times in 2021 reported that Harris was "at least visually" front and center of Biden’s plans in Afghanistan, attending "most of his security briefings" and attending urgent intelligence sessions as the Taliban swept into power in the wake of America’s exit from the country. 

The Times argued that Harris walked a tightrope in trying to "erase daylight" between her and Biden on policies at the time, which would mean that ultimately "the execution of the withdrawal will also be added to Harris’ résumé." 

Harris has also stated her support for a cease-fire deal between Israel and Gaza, reportedly telling Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu that he needs to agree a deal and bring home hostages. 

"I've said it many times, but it bears repeating. Israel has a right to defend itself and how it does so matters," Harris said following her meeting with Netanyahu the same week she announced her bid for the presidency in July. 

"It is time for this war to end and end in a way where Israel is secure, all the hostages are released, the suffering of Palestinians in Gaza ends and the Palestinian people can exercise their right to freedom, dignity and self-determination," she said, according to Axios. 

"As I just told Prime Minister Netanyahu, it is time to get this deal done. Let's get the deal done," she said. "So we can get a cease-fire to end the war. Let's bring the hostages home. And let's provide much needed relief to the Palestinian people." 

PRO-TRUMP GROUP LAUNCHES $500K AD CAMPAIGN HITTING KAMALA HARRIS ON BORDER CRISIS AHEAD OF DNC SPEECH

The subject that has proven the most contentious and cumbersome for Harris remains her role in dealing with mass immigration on the southern border: Harris has stressed during her stump speeches that she "prosecuted" transnational gangs, drug cartels and human traffickers and "won," while she claimed Trump "does not walk the walk."

The Trump-Vance campaign targeted Harris for her work as the "border czar" and failing to make major impact on mass migration over the southern border and the significant fentanyl trade that still occurs in the country. 

The Harris campaign and surrogates have stressed that Harris never held the role of border czar and instead focused on working with countries south of the border to tackle the causes of that mass migration. 

The campaign claims that there are now fewer people crossing the border than before, and the figures released by Customs and Border Protection appear to corroborate: While the numbers of land border encounters peaked at around 300,000 by the end of 2023, the figure dropped to just over 100,000 in July, marking the lowest number since February 2021. 

Harris also declared that she will "bring back the border security bill that Donald Trump killed" and sign it into law, referring to the bill that Senate Republicans blocked earlier this year. Republicans claimed the bill was "worse than doing nothing" while criticizing their counterparts for failing to pass a House-backed border bill addressing Republican priorities. 

Democrats have accused the Republicans of blocking the bill at Trump’s urging, with Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., telling reporters that they did it so "he could exploit the issue on the campaign trail." 

Fox News Digital's Danielle Wallace contributed to this report. 

Afghanistan’s Taliban rulers have issued a ban on women’s voices and bare faces in public under new laws approved by the supreme leader in efforts to combat vice and promote virtue.

The laws were issued Wednesday after they were approved by supreme leader Hibatullah Akhundzada, a government spokesman said. The Taliban had set up a ministry for the "propagation of virtue and the prevention of vice" after seizing power in 2021.

The ministry published its vice and virtue laws on Wednesday that cover aspects of everyday life like public transportation, music, shaving and celebrations.

They are set out in a 114-page, 35-article document seen by The Associated Press and are the first formal declaration of vice and virtue laws in Afghanistan since the takeover.

GOLD STAR DAD SAYS BIDEN-HARRIS 'DENIED' SON'S SERVICE AS FALLEN AFGHANISTAN SOLDIERS HONORED IN CALIFORNIA

"Inshallah we assure you that this Islamic law will be of great help in the promotion of virtue and the elimination of vice," said ministry spokesman Maulvi Abdul Ghafar Farooq on Thursday.

The laws empower the ministry to be at the frontline of regulating personal conduct, administering punishments like warnings or arrest if enforcers allege that Afghans have broken the laws.

Article 13 relates to women. It says it is mandatory for a woman to veil her body at all times in public and that a face covering is essential to avoid temptation and tempting others. Clothing should not be thin, tight or short.

Women are obliged to cover themselves in front of non-Muslim males and females to avoid being corrupted. A woman’s voice is deemed intimate and so should not be heard singing, reciting, or reading aloud in public. It is forbidden for women to look at men they are not related to by blood or marriage and vice versa.

Article 17 bans the publication of images of living beings, threatening an already fragile Afghan media landscape.

Article 19 bans the playing of music, the transportation of solo female travelers, and the mixing of men and women who are not related to each other. The law also obliges passengers and drivers to perform prayers at designated times.

According to the ministry website, the promotion of virtue includes prayer, aligning the character and behavior of Muslims with Islamic law, encouraging women to wear hijab, and inviting people to comply with the five pillars of Islam. It also says the elimination of vice involves prohibiting people from doing things forbidden by Islamic law.

Last month, a U.N. report said the ministry was contributing to a climate of fear and intimidation among Afghans through edicts and the methods used to enforce them.

It said the ministry’s role was expanding into other areas of public life, including media monitoring and eradicating drug addiction.

"Given the multiple issues outlined in the report, the position expressed by the de facto authorities that this oversight will be increasing and expanding gives cause for significant concern for all Afghans, especially women and girls," said Fiona Frazer, the head of the human rights service at the U.N. mission in Afghanistan.

The Taliban rejected the U.N. report.

The U.S. Army boats involved in the Gaza humanitarian pier mission are slated to be hauled back to the U.S. by civilian contractors, Fox News Digital has confirmed. 

Though the timeline remains unclear, a defense official said the U.S. Army will be contracting Float-On/Float-Off vessels because it is safer and more cost-effective entering hurricane season. 

The three boats are flat-bottomed with low sides, which makes for unsafe conditions for the crew traveling in rough waters, the official said. It’s not clear how much the contract will cost. 

The three U.S. Army boats — the Monterrey, Matamoros and Wilson Wharf — are docked in Souda Bay in Crete, Greece. 

AOC SLAMS DEM CONVENTION FOR NOT BEING MORE SYMPATHETIC TO ANTI-ISRAEL AGITATORS

Deputy Pentagon press secretary Sabrina Singh said earlier Thursday that around 6 million pounds of aid remains on the MV Cape Trinity, which recently left Cyprus and is moving to Ashdod. 

"We’re hoping within the next couple days, you’re going to see a roll-off," Singh said. "And when that happens, the Cape Trinity will be redeployed." 

The U.S. military quietly started shutting down the humanitarian pier in Gaza last month. The $230 million operation was plagued with difficulties, with distribution cited as a key factor in shutting it down.

President Biden outlined his plan for the humanitarian operation during his State of the Union speech in March. The president pledged to establish a temporary pier off the coast of the Gaza Strip to increase the delivery of humanitarian aid to the territory as millions remain displaced while Israel continues to hunt Hamas. 

The Pentagon announced that the completion of the piers, one that would remain several miles offshore while the other acted as a causeway onto the Gazan shore, was completed around May 9 but faced difficulty during deployment over the following week.

The Pentagon estimated the cost of the pier's construction at roughly $230 million, and many congressional members publicly criticized the effort. 

Humanitarian aid will now be delivered through a maritime corridor in Cyprus to Ashdod before going into Gaza, a fully civilian-run operation. 

Fox News Digital’s Peter Aitken contributed to this report. 

In an unsurprising ruling, the regime-dominated Venezuelan Supreme Court has sided with President Nicolás Maduro’s claims he won last month’s election and said voting tallies published online showing he lost by a landslide were fake.

In a courtroom packed with Maduro supporters, the decision was read Thursday in response to a request made by Maduro to review vote totals showing he had won by more than 1 million votes.

The court’s ruling certifying the results contradicts the findings of experts from the United Nations and the Carter Center who were invited to observe the election and who both determined the results announced by authorities lacked credibility.

The main opposition coalition has accused Maduro of trying to steal the vote.

VENEZUELA'S MADURO FACES POLITICAL MELTDOWN: RIVALS CLAIM ELECTION 'FRAUD' PROOF, POLICE CRACKDOWN ON PROTESTS

Venezuela's government officials have claimed a foreign cyberattack staged by hackers from North Macedonia delayed the vote counting on election night and publication of the results, but they have not provided any evidence. 

Gabriel Boric, the leftist president of Chile and one of the main critics of Maduro’s election scam, blasted the high court’s certification.

"Today, Venezuela’s TSJ has finally consolidated the fraud," he said on his account, referring to the initials of the high court. "The Maduro regime obviously welcomes with enthusiasm its ruling… there is no doubt that we are facing a dictatorship that falsifies elections."

The ruling is the latest attempt by Maduro to blunt protests and international criticism that erupted after the contested July 28 vote in which the self-proclaimed socialist leader was seeking a third, six-year term, The Associated Press reported. 

Maduro is widely believed to have fraudulently won his country's election last month. Numerous regional governments cast doubt on the official vote tally, which showed Maduro with 51.2% of the vote with 80% of polling stations reporting.

The opposition contends the results are not accurate and claims that it won the election with 70% of the vote. 

"In Venezuela, an occupied territory of the Axis of Evil, the judicial system is essentially non-existent due to the complete absence of the rule of law," Isaias Medina III, a former U.N. Security Council diplomat and Harvard Mason fellow, told Fox News Digital. 

VENEZUELAN PRESIDENT NICOLAS MADURO CLAIMS ELECTION VICTORY, REFUSES TO PUBLISH RESULTS

"The separation of powers was effectively dismantled when Chavismo took control, resulting in ‘courts’ with unqualified personnel that are merely extensions of Maduro's regime, parroting his dictates without independent judgment or integrity. The courts are a third-rate play, directed by Maduro, who pays their bills."

Polls taken over the course of the summer consistently showed opposition candidate Edmundo González winning by double-digit margins.

González was the only one of ten candidates who did not participate in the Supreme Court’s audit, a fact noted by the justices, who in their ruling accused him of trying to spread panic, the AP reported. 

When the National Electoral Council announced around midnight that Maduro had received 51% of the vote compared to main opposition candidate González's 44% support, National Electoral Council President Elvis Amoroso said the results were based on 80% of voting stations and represented an irreversible trend.

"For the past two decades, the socialists completely destroyed the division of powers in Venezuela. Just like the former Soviet Union, Maduro controls and leads not only the executive branch but also the parliament, electoral commission and Supreme Court," Jorge Jraissati, a Venezuelan and president of the Economic Inclusion Group, told Fox News Digital.

"This process began in the 2000s, when former President Hugo Chavez (who died in 2013) packed the Supreme Court with loyalists. In fact, there are shocking videos of Supreme Court judges chanting songs that belong to the Venezuelan Socialist Party. Ultimately, it shows that the Venezuelan crisis cannot be resolved using the institutions of the country, as these are completely loyal to Maduro and are responsible for the political crisis we live in today." 

TOP VENEZUELAN PROSECUTOR LAUNCHES CRIMINAL INVESTIGATION INTO MADURO OPPOSITION

Despite Maduro being declared the winner for a third term, the opposition claimed victory, setting up a showdown with the government over the results.

Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla., condemned the result and criticized the policies of the Biden administration.

"Another foreign policy fiasco from the Biden-Harris team," he wrote on X. "They gave Maduro relief from Trump oil sanctions and released his top money launderer & his two convicted drug dealer nephews in exchange for a ‘promise’ to hold fair elections monitored by neutral international observers."

Officials and lawmakers in the U.S. and elsewhere expressed concern about the legitimacy of Venezuela's presidential election results after Maduro was declared the winner. 

A bipartisan group of congressional leaders also alleged that Maduro's victory was fraudulent. 

STATE DEPARTMENT CRIES FALSE OVER WSJ REPORT CLAIMING US OFFERED VENEZUELA’S MADURO AMNESTY

"To no one’s surprise, dictator Nicolás Maduro has once again stolen a presidential election. However, what the narco-regime will never steal is the Venezuelan people’s desire to return to democracy and live in freedom after decades of tyranny.

"We must prioritize uniting the free world in rejecting these sham election results and securing the release of the more than 300 Venezuelans that remain arbitrarily detained in torture centers as political prisoners."

U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken previously said the Biden administration has "serious concerns" about the results and insisted they do not "reflect the will or the votes of the Venezuelan people." 

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Protests broke out across the country on both sides after the announcement last month. 

Venezuelans took to the streets to protest what is widely believed to be a rigged election. The protests started peacefully, but riot gear-equipped police escalated the matter, leading to violence both from the protesters and the police. 

Protesters threw objects, including stones, at the police, while police used tear gas on the crowds in an effort to make them disperse. 

Maduro dismissed the pushback against his victory as an "attempt … to impose a coup d’etat in Venezuela," adding that "we already know this movie, and this time, there will be no kind of weakness." Maduro added that Venezuela’s "law will be respected."

Fox News Digital's Landon Mion, Peter Aitken, and The Associated Press contributed to this report.

Scientists in Italy have announced stunning new results regarding the age of a controversial relic believed by many of the faithful to be the death shroud of Jesus Christ.

The Institute of Crystallography in Italy shared its findings this week regarding the famous Shroud of Turin, which skeptics have historically called a forgery. It is arguably the most studied relic in history, according to a 2023 Harvard study.

According to the Institute, their dating process involved WAXS, or Wide-angle X-ray scattering. WAXS helped determine that the Shroud appears to consistently date as a 2000-year-old plus relic.

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"The experimental results are compatible with the hypothesis that the T[urin Shroud] is a 2000-year-old relic, as supposed by Christian tradition," said the Institute of Crystallography on their website.

"We obtained one-dimensional integrated WAXS data profiles for the T[urin Shroud] sample, which were fully compatible with the analogous measurements obtained on a linen sample whose dating, according to historical records, is 55–74 AD, Siege of Masada (Israel)," the Institute added.

The Institute of Crystallography's 2024 findings contradict the results of a dating test conducted on the Shroud in 1988, which found that it only dated back to about 1350. During the 1988 dating, the Shroud was analyzed by three separate labs. Those results bolstered serious doubts over the Shroud's authenticity.

The Institute's new results indicate that "the T[urin Shroud] fabric is much older than the seven centuries proposed by the 1988 radiocarbon dating."

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The Institute notes that its findings are "experimental," but that they are compatible with "13 centuries of unknown history, in addition to the seven centuries of known history in Europe." 

Beyond the scientific world, the faithful worldwide have taken great interest in the Shroud of Turin as potential proof of the life, death, and resurrection of Christ.

Fox News Digital reached out to Bishop Robert Barron, founder of Word on Fire ministry, regarding the findings.

"I have had a long fascination for the Shroud of Turin. It first came to my attention when I was 16 and I read everything I could about the Shroud- its history and provenance, arguments regarding its authenticity, and the scientific research," said the Bishop.

"As such the recent news that the use of new technology had led to a different conclusion than a carbon dating test conducted in 1988.  It seems that there is now new evidence that strengthens the hypothesis that the cloth of the Shroud is contemporary to the time of Christ."

The Bishop clarified, "our faith in Christ's resurrection is in no way dependent on the Shroud but its uncanny power to capture our attention and many other mysteries have strengthened the faith of many."

"I believe the continued fascination people have for the Shroud is an indication of the continued relevance of Christ to even a culture as secular as our own. But it also reveals that in the midst of a prevailing secularism people remain drawn to the uncanny, spiritual aspects of our existence and desire to experience for themselves the mysteries of God."

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The Institute of Crystallography did not return Fox News Digital's request for comment.

An attempt to use an extendable robot to remove a fragment of melted fuel from a wrecked reactor at Japan’s tsunami-hit Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant was suspended Thursday due to a technical issue.

The collection of a tiny sample of the debris inside the Unit 2 reactor’s primary containment vessel would start the fuel debris removal phase, the most challenging part of the decades-long decommissioning of the plant where three reactors were destroyed in the March 11, 2011, magnitude 9.0 earthquake and tsunami disaster.

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The work was stopped when workers noticed that five 1.5-meter (5-foot) pipes used to maneuver the robot were placed in the wrong order and could not be corrected within the time limit for their radiation exposure, the plant operator Tokyo Electric Power Company Holdings said.

The pipes were to be used to push the robot inside and pull it back out when it finished. Once inside the vessel, the robot is operated remotely from a safer location.

The robot can extend up to about 22 meters (72 feet) to reach its target area to collect a fragment from the surface of the melted fuel mound using a device equipped with tongs that hang from the tip of the robot.

The mission to obtain the fragment and return with it is to last two weeks. TEPCO said a new start date is undecided.

"It seems to me a basic mistake," TEPCO spokesperson Kenichi Takahara said of the pipe setup problem. He said officials are investigating and the retrieval mission will resume only after they find the cause and have preventive measures "so a problem like this should never be repeated."

TEPCO President Tomoaki Kobayakawa said the priority was safety rather than rushing the process.

The goal of the operation was to bring back less than 3 grams (0.1 ounce) of an estimated 880 tons of fatally radioactive molten fuel. The small sample will provide key data to develop future decommissioning methods and necessary technology and robots, experts say.

Better understanding of the melted fuel debris is key to decommissioning the three wrecked reactors and the entire plant.

The government and TEPCO are sticking to a 30 to 40-year cleanup target set soon after the meltdown, despite criticism it is unrealistic. No specific plans for the full removal of the melted fuel debris or its storage have been decided.

A big explosion triggered a fire at a pharmaceutical plant in southern India, killing at least 18 workers, police said Thursday.

The death toll rose from 15 as three of the 40 injured in the fire Wednesday in the chemical reactor of the plant in Andhra Pradesh state died in hospital on Thursday, police officer M. Deepika said, adding that some of the injured were in critical condition.

AT LEAST 9 DEAD IN INDIA AFTER FIRE AT CHEMICAL FACTORY, AUTHORITIES SAY

The Press Trust of India news agency reported distressing scenes with the skin of several workers peeling off. Ambulances transported them to the hospital.

Officials suspect the fire was caused by an electrical fault at the plant, according to media reports. State authorities have ordered an investigation.

The explosion occurred at the Escientia Company in the Anakapalle district. The plant is about 350 kilometers (220 miles) northeast of Amaravati, the capital of Andhra Pradesh.

The 5-year-old company manufactures intermediate chemicals and active pharmaceutical ingredients.

As the news of the blast spread, hundreds of people from families of workers rushed to the plant to find out what happened to their loved ones.

Around 380 employees work two shifts at the plant. Many escaped because they were on lunch break when the explosion started the fire.

The plant is in the state's special economic zone at Atchutapuram village, which was established in 2009 with over 200 companies. Anakapalli is adjacent to the port city of Vishakhapatnam, a highly industrialized area with many mishaps, including hazardous chemical leakages.

In the most extensive industrial mishap in the region, 22 people were killed when a blast occurred in the refinery of Hindustan Petroleum Corporation in Visakhapatnam in 1997.

Fires are common in India, where builders and residents often flout building laws and safety norms. Some don’t even install firefighting equipment.

In 2019, a fire caused by an electrical short circuit in a New Delhi factory producing handbags and other items killed 43 people.

An ancient Greek city in modern-day western Turkey was the setting for the finding of gold coins dating back thousands of years. 

Researchers led by University of Michigan archaeologist Christopher Ratté discovered a hoard of gold coins in a small pot buried in the city of Notion. The team dated the ancient coins to the fifth century B.C., according to a news release on Aug. 4.

Excavations of Notion began in 2022, with the gold coins being discovered the following year. The Turkish Ministry of Culture and Tourism recently gave their permission for the discovery to be made public.

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The discovered gold coins display a kneeling archer, which is a "characteristic design of the Persian daric," per the news release. 

This type of gold coin was one distributed by the Persian Empire, likely produced at Sardis, a location about 60 miles northeast of the ancient Greek city, according to Ratté, who is also director of the Notion Archaeological Project, the group responsible for the coins' discovery.

The design of the coins, which were made from the late fifth century B.C. up until the conquest of the Persian Empire by Alexander the Great in 330 B.C., remained fairly similar to each other with only slight differences, according to the news release.

The slight changes between coins are paramount to putting the coins in chronological order. The coins found in modern-day Turkey can be dated based on other artifacts that were found along with them, which included fragments of pottery.

"This hoard will provide a firm date that can serve as an anchor to help fix the chronology of the (entire sequence of coins)," Ratté said, per the news release.

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Findings such as this one help historians gain a better grasp on the chronological timeline of the Persian daric and more about its history, though archaeologists aren't always so lucky with their finds. Sometimes, looters get to the ancient treasure first.

"An archaeological find without contextual information is like a person suffering from amnesia – a person without memories," Ratté said. "It is still interesting and important, but the loss of knowledge is incalculable."

This was the case during the excavation of three burial mounds in the Turkish region of Kazakhstan that was announced in May 2024. Archaeologists found that two of the burial mounds were looted, but the third revealed ancient treasures, including gold jewelry. 

Luckily, the discovery of the gold coins provided a lot of valuable information to researchers.

"In the case of this hoard, we know precisely where it was found, and we have a great deal of circumstantial evidence for when it was deposited, probably in the late fifth century B.C.," Ratté said.

The use of these coins thousands of years ago is thought to be as a means to pay mercenary troops.

"According to the Greek historian Xenophon, a single daric was equivalent to a soldier’s pay for one month," Ratté said.

The exact series of events that led to the hoard of coins being left behind by its owner is unknown, but many theories suggest an extreme sense of urgency to bury the precious metal and the inability to regain it back. 

"The discovery of such a valuable find in a controlled archaeological excavation is very rare," Ratté said, according to the press release. "No one ever buries a hoard of coins, especially precious metal coins, without intending to retrieve them. So only the gravest misfortune can explain the preservation of such a treasure."

The hoard was found in the corner of a room, "presumably stored there for safekeeping and for some reason, never recovered," according to the archaeologist. 

Military conflict is one theory that could point to the forgotten coins. One event in particular that could have been the reason for the coins being left behind happened between 430 B.C. and 427 B.C., when Persian sympathizers and Greek mercenaries occupied Notion.

During this time, an Athenian general killed pro-Persian mercenaries in the city and Notion fell under Athenian control.

Another event that could explain the gold coins being left in the house is the 406 B.C. naval battle during the conflict between Athens and Sparta. This battle was fought off the cost of the ancient Greek city.

Events such as these could explain why the hoard was never retrieved, according to Ratté.

As of now, the coins are being further studied at the Ephesus Archaeological Museum in Turkey.