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The United States has imposed sanctions on an additional 21 allies of President Nicolás Maduro, accusing them on Wednesday of perpetrating some of the repression with which officials in Venezuela responded to July's disputed presidential election.

The security and cabinet-level officials sanctioned by the Department of the Treasury include the head of the nation's corrections agency, the director of an intelligence service and the minister of Maduro’s Office of the President. They joined a list of dozens of sanctioned Venezuelans that includes the head of the country’s high court, ministers and prosecutors.

BIDEN URGED TO CRACK DOWN ON OIL COMPANIES DOING BUSINESS WITH VENEZUELA AFTER MADURO'S REFUSAL TO CEDE POWER

The Biden administration last week recognized Venezuelan opposition candidate Edmundo González as that nation’s "president-elect." The U.S. also on Wednesday placed visa restrictions on additional individuals it accused of repressing Venezuelans after the July 28 election.

While Maduro declared victory in the election, he and his government have refused to show vote tallies backing his claim.

González left Venezuela in September for exile in Spain after a warrant was issued for his arrest in connection with an investigation into the publishing of vote tallies. The former diplomat, who represented the main opposition parties, claimed to have won the presidential election by a wide margin.

In September, the U.S. government imposed sanctions against 16 allies of Maduro, accusing them of obstructing the vote and carrying out human rights abuses.

The effect of the individual sanctions and visa restrictions announced Wednesday is unclear. Previously punished Maduro loyalists still hold power in Venezuela’s government.

Venezuelan lawmakers on Tuesday continued the debate over a bill that would catalogue economic sanctions as a crime against humanity and allow the prosecution of anyone who expresses support for the measures.

A police officer who shocked a 95-year-old nursing home resident with a Taser was found guilty of manslaughter in an Australian court Wednesday.

A jury found Kristian James Samuel White guilty in the trial in Sydney after 20 hours of deliberation. White, who is on bail, could get up to 25 years in prison when he is sentenced later.

Clare Nowland, a great-grandmother who had dementia and used a walker, was refusing to put down the steak knife she was holding when the officer discharged his Taser at her in May 2023. Nowland fell backward after White shocked her and died a week later in hospital.

GRANDMOTHER, 95, DIES AFTER POLICE SHOCK HER WITH STUN GUN: 'COMMUNITY IS OUTRAGED'

Police said at the time that Nowland sustained her fatal injuries from striking her head on the floor, rather than directly from the device’s debilitating electric shock.

White's employment is under review and is subject to legal processes, NSW Police Commissioner Karen Webb told reporters after the verdict.

"The court has found Claire Nowland died as a result of the actions of a police officer. This should never have happened," Webb said, as she offered her "deepest condolences" to Nowland's family. The state's police reviewed its Taser policy and training in January and no changes to it were made, she added.

In video footage played during the New South Wales Supreme Court trial, White was heard saying "nah, bugger it" before discharging his weapon, after the officers told Nowland 21 times to put the knife down. White, 34, told the jury he had been taught that any person wielding a knife was dangerous, the Guardian reported.

ALABAMA POLICE OFFICER ON LEAVE AFTER VIDEO SHOWS HER USING STUN GUN ON HANDCUFFED MAN

But after an eight-day trial, the jury rejected arguments by White's lawyers that his use of the Taser was a proportionate response to the threat posed by Nowland, who weighed about 100 pounds.

The prosecutor argued that White's use of the Taser was was "utterly unnecessary and obviously excessive," local news outlets said.

The extraordinary case provoked debate about how officers in the state use Tasers, a device that incapacitates using electricity.

Nowland, a resident of Yallambee Lodge, a nursing home in the town of Cooma, was survived by eight children, 24 grandchildren and 31 great-grandchildren, the Australian Broadcasting Corporation reported.

A fig dating back 2,000 years ago was found during excavations of Drumanagh in Dublin. The finding shines light on the foods that were traded between the Roman Empire and Ireland thousands of years ago. 

The 2,000-year-old fig is one of many items that have been unearthed during excavations in the area. Among other finds include metal and ceramic objects, as well as additional food remains, according to University College Dublin's release about the ancient find. Food remains were able to stay preserved due to their burned condition. 

The ancient fig provides new insights into the goods traded between the Roman Empire and Ireland. 

2,000-YEAR-OLD ROMAN ROAD DISCOVERED BY ARCHAEOLOGISTS IN LONDON

"Fig seeds dating to as far back as the 13th century have been recovered from excavations of medieval Dublin, Cork and other towns," Professor Merial McClatchie, director of the UCD Ancient Foods research group at UCD School of Archaeology, said per the news release. 

The ancient find is a first-of-its kind for Ireland. 

"An actual fruit has never been found in Ireland until now, but what is most important about the Drumanagh fig is its antiquity. It is without parallel in Ireland and is by far the oldest example of an exotic fruit found here," McClatchie said. 

Trade routes between the Roman Empire and Ireland allowed for the exchange of food. Before this find, it was unknown by researchers that figs made their way to Ireland thousands of years ago. 

NEW SUBWAY SYSTEM IN GREECE PUTS ARCHAEOLOGICAL FINDS DISCOVERED DURING CONSTRUCTION ON DISPLAY FOR PASSENGERS

"It’s thrilling to imagine someone enjoying such an exotic food here in Ireland so long ago," McClatchie said, per the news release. 

The excavations of Drumanagh have been led by Christine Baker, Heritage officer and archaeologist at Fingal County Council. 

She and her team were able to unearth many ancient objects beyond food remains. All the finds together have helped researchers better understand how people in Ireland lived thousands of years ago. 

"Our excavations have revealed more of the story of those living and working at Drumanagh," said Baker per the news release. "We now know there was an importation, not just of goods but of lifestyle. By these windswept cliffs people were consuming spelt bread, olive oil and figs, drinking from glass vessels and fine ceramic cups while wearing brooches and glass beads. The evidence so far points to a connection with Chester/Wirral area of Roman Britain during the first 200 years of the Roman conquest." 

Ireland has been a location full of food-related finds through the years. Another recent example of an ancient find in Ireland came from County Donegal, where a farmer found a 60-pound slab of bog butter on his land by means he called "pure luck." 

He found the bog butter after discovering a "cheesy" scent in the air. While bog butter is not considered an incredibly rare find in the area, with around 500 finds recorded in Ireland, it was more unique in its size. 

The 60-pound slab was described as one that could be "one of the biggest chunks of bog butter found in Ireland to date," according to Paula Harvey, an archaeologist who visited the site, per The Irish News. 

"It was just by pure luck that we came across it," Micheal Boyle, who found the bog butter said, per the Irish Examiner, explaining that he saw something in the ground, and was surrounded by a "cheesy smell," leading him to quickly conclude what he had discovered. 

China is releasing three Americans Wednesday who the White House says were "wrongfully detained," Fox News has confirmed.

"We are pleased to announce the release of Mark Swidan, Kai Li, and John Leung from detention in the People’s Republic of China," a National Security Council spokesperson said. "Soon they will return and be reunited with their families for the first time in many years. Thanks to this Administration’s efforts and diplomacy with the PRC, all of the wrongfully detained Americans in the PRC are home."

Mark Swidan of Texas was 38-years old when he went to China on business looking for flooring for construction work in November 2012. He was arrested after his driver and translator were allegedly found with drugs, the Texas Tribune has reported. 

A United Nations report determined that Swidan was not in possession of drugs on his person or in his hotel room, and records show he was not in China at the time of the alleged offense. 

CHINA FREES US PASTOR AFTER NEARLY 20 YEARS OF WRONGFUL DETAINMENT

The U.N. report said that the 11 other people arrested with Swidan as part of the alleged trafficking ring were unable to identify him and that the conviction was based on his visiting a factory that had once been used to manufacture methamphetamine. 

His mother Katherine Swidan told Fox News last year that she wanted President Biden to demand Mark's release.

"I want him to say his name. I want him to be strong and make some demands. Diplomacy is important, I understand that, but this has been going on too long," Katherine Swidan said at the time. "He is not well at all. He's lost 100 pounds."

CHINA DETAINS SUSPECT ACCUSED OF SPYING FOR BRITAIN'S SECRET INTELLIGENCE SERVICE 

Harrison Li, the son of Kai Li, told Fox News around a year ago that his father was detained in China while traveling there for a memorial service for his own mother.

"He was not allowed to get off the plane. As soon as he landed at Shanghai Pudong Airport, agents from the Ministry of State Security whisked him away and nobody has been able to see him outside of the prison ever since," Li said.

A website set up to raise awareness for Li said he had been held in China "since September 2016 on politically motivated charges of espionage and stealing state secrets. 

"He is currently serving a 10-year prison sentence at Shanghai’s Qingpu Prison," it added.

Leung, who has permanent residency in Hong Kong, was also sentenced on espionage charges in 2023, according to The Wall Street Journal.

He was first detained in April 2021. A friend of Leung told the newspaper that he was involved in charity work supporting low-income elderly people and students in Jiangsu province and has organized tours between the U.S. and China for musicians.  

Fox News’ Kate Sprague, Andrew Mark Miller and Kristine Parks contributed to this report. 

Unidentified drones have been spotted over joint U.S.-U.K. bases in the United Kingdom for nearly a week.

Fox News’ Jennifer Griffin reports that four U.S. military bases in the U.K. that house the American F-15 Strike Eagle and F-35 fighter jets have been targeted by "swarms of small drones" since Wednesday, Nov. 20. 

Military officials say they are "alarmed" at what appears to be a coordinated effort to test security at RAF Lakenheath, RAF Mildenhall and RAF Feltwell in eastern England, as well as RAF Fairford in southwestern England.

The U.K. military has sent around 60 personnel to protect the bases being targeted by multiple drone incursions.

RUSSIAN FORCES CAPTURE FORMER BRITISH SOLDIERS FIGHTING FOR UKRAINE IN KURSK: REPORT

A senior U.S. official told Fox that the drones do not appear to be those of "hobbyists." Witnesses say they are small quadcopters and octocopters and are more sophisticated than those that can be bought off the shelf. 

Pentagon press secretary Maj. Gen. Pat Ryder said earlier Tuesday that none of these drone incursions have impacted the base residents, the facilities or U.S. assets on the bases. 

US LAWMAKERS REACT TO CEASE-FIRE DEAL BETWEEN ISRAEL AND HEZBOLLAH

"We, of course, always maintain the right to defend ourselves if we deem something to be a threat," Ryder said. 

U.S. officials have not revealed the origin of the drones, but the coordinated nature suggests an aggressive state actor that began a day after Ukraine used long-range American ATACMs to target Russia after President Biden lifted restrictions on the use of longer-range missiles. 

Soon after, President Vladimir Putin said his country had the right to strike nations that allow their weapons to be used against Russia.

The U.K. Defense Ministry said it is working closely with U.S. and local police to find out what these drones are doing and whether a foreign adversary is involved. 

"The number of systems has fluctuated, and they have ranged in sizes and configurations," U.S. Air Forces Europe said in a statement. "Our units continue to monitor the airspace and are working with host-nation authorities and mission partners to ensure the safety of base personnel, facilities and assets."

The incursion of drones comes a month after Fox first reported that surveillance drones flew for 17 days near Langley Air Force Base in Virginia last December. Those drones were large but pose a similar challenge to base commanders. 

Lakenheath is home to the 48th Fighter Wing, which the U.S. Air Force describes as the foundation of its combat capability in Europe. Mildenhall hosts the 100th Air Refueling Wing, and Feltwell is a hub for housing, schools and other services. Fairford is home to the 501st Combat Support Wing Headquarters and the 420th Air Base Squadron.

A yearslong construction project for a new subway system in Thessaloniki, Greece, has unveiled thousands of ancient artifacts, many of which have been incorporated into the metro station's design in a unique way. 

Construction of the Agias Sofias metro station in Thessaloniki, the second-largest city in Greece behind the capital city of Athens, began in 2003. 

Since construction commenced on the 9.6-kilometer line over a decade ago, excavations have led to thousands of significant ancient finds being unearthed. 

FLORIDA PROFESSOR FINDS EVIDENCE THAT ANCIENT EGYPTIANS DRANK HALLUCINOGENIC COCKTAILS

Ancient finds that were discovered varied from Roman-era roads and water and drainage systems to Greek burial sites, mosaics and more. 

Many of the ancient discoveries made through excavations of the area are being incorporated into the design of the subway system by being displayed at the 13 underground stations along the route. 

"This project offers a remarkable blend of the ancient and modern, integrating archaeological heritage with metro infrastructure," Christos Staikouras, the transport and infrastructure minister, told reporters Friday, according to The Associated Press. 

12-YEAR-OLD BOY STUMBLES UPON STUNNING ANCIENT FIND WHILE WALKING DOG IN ENGLAND: ‘RELATIVELY RARE’

The discovery of these ancient treasures led the project to be more expensive, and has also caused several delays in order to preserve the archaeological finds. 

"The project faced substantial delays and many challenges, including over 300,000 archaeological finds, many of which are now showcased at various stations along the main line," Staikouras explained. 

At this point, the brand-new metro, featuring driverless trains and platform screen doors, cost $3.1 billion to complete. 

The first line of the subway system is set to open on Nov. 30, 2024, with the second line on its way in a year. 

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

This subway system will become one on a long list of archaeological sites throughout Greece. 

Greece is home to the National Archaeological Museum in Athens, which is widely considered to be one of the world's most important archaeological museums, and is also the largest museum in Greece. 

The city of Thessaloniki is home to its own archaeological sites, including the Archaeological Museum of Thessalonki, as well as the Polycentric Museum of Aigai. 

The White Tower, the Museum of Byzantine Culture and the Agios Dimitrios Church are among the other historical destinations throughout Thessaloniki. 

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu publicly backed a cease-fire agreement with Hezbollah terrorists that would end nearly 14 months of fighting, but the deal, brokered by the U.S. and France, has yet to be formally approved by his cabinet.

Netanyahu’s security Cabinet convened earlier Tuesday, when ministers had been deliberating for more than three hours over the proposed cease-fire. 

At a press conference while deliberations were ongoing, Netanyahu laid out three reasons in support of the deal: to focus on the Iranian threat; provide an opportunity to refresh the Israeli forces; and separate Hamas from the northern front. 

THUNE THREATENS INTERNATIONAL CRIMINAL COURT WITH SANCTIONS IF IT DOESN'T DROP NETANYAHU WARRANT FOR ARREST

By ending the conflict with Hezbollah, Netanyahu said Hamas would stand alone, clearing the way for Israeli forces to recover the remaining Oct. 7 hostages. 

Netanyahu said he would present the agreement to the Cabinet for a vote later Tuesday. 

"How long it will be will depends on what will happen in Lebanon," Netanyahu said. "If Hezbollah doesn't follow the agreement, we'll attack." 

Under the proposed terms of an initial two-month cease-fire, Hezbollah is required to move its forces north of the Litani River – a significant focal point which in some places is 20 miles from the Israeli border – and Israeli forces must withdraw from southern Lebanon as well. The Lebanese armed forces are to deploy to the border region within 60 days, and a five-country committee chaired by the U.S., and including France, would monitor compliance of the terms of the deal, Reuters reported. 

A peacekeeping mission by observers from the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon will also continue, according to the Israeli news agency Tazpit Press Service (TPS-IL). 

ISRAEL 'MOVING FORWARD' ON POSSIBLE HEZBOLLAH CEASE-FIRE, OFFICIAL SAYS

Among the remaining issues was Israel's demand to reserve the right to take military action should Hezbollah violate its obligations under the emerging deal.

The Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) said earlier Tuesday that its ground troops have reached parts of Lebanon’s Litani River – considered a longtime Hezbollah stronghold. 

In a statement, the IDF said its troops had reached the Wadi Slouqi area in southern Lebanon and "raided Hezbollah strongholds, uncovering and confiscating hundreds of weapons, dismantling dozens of underground facilities, and neutralizing numerous rocket launchers that were prepared for imminent use." 

The IDF said the clashes with Hezbollah took place on the eastern end of the Litani, just a few miles from the border. It is one of the deepest places Israeli forces have reached in a nearly two-month ground operation.

The Israeli military said troops "conducted intelligence-based raids based on terrorist infrastructure concealed in the complex terrain." 

TRUMP, CONGRESS LOOKING TO PUT SUFFOCATING SANCTIONS ON 'KANGAROO' ICC OVER NETANYAHU ARREST WARRANT

"The soldiers raided several terrorist targets, engaged in close-quarters combat with terrorists, located and destroyed dozens of launchers, thousands of rockets and missiles, and weapons storage facilities hidden in the mountainside," the IDF said. 

Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., praised the deal, saying it would allow Israelis displaced in the north to return to their homes and ensure Israel's security against Hezbollah. 

"As this agreement shows, when terrorists are beaten back both militarily and through dogged diplomacy, the likelihood of peace increases. Hezbollah said they would never give up as long as there was fighting in Gaza, but today’s ceasefire agreement should show Hamas they are as isolated as ever," Schumer said in a statement. "Now, Hamas must release all the remaining hostages and come to a negotiated ceasefire. Carrying on their failed strategy will lead only to further suffering and SENSELESS bloodshed in Gaza. Hamas must recognize that there’s no future without a strong and secure state of Israel."

"The Israel-Hezbollah ceasefire agreement also provides an enforcement mechanism to help ensure Hezbollah remains weakened and allows displaced Lebanese and Israeli civilians to return to their homes," he added. "I applaud the Biden administration for this agreement and for continuing to work to negotiate a ceasefire and the return of all the hostages in Gaza."

Hezbollah began attacking Israel on Oct. 8, 2023, a day after Hamas terrorists killed more than 1,200 people and took more than 250 hostages from southern Israel into Gaza, setting off more than a year of fighting. That escalated in September with massive Israeli airstrikes across Lebanon, and an Israeli ground incursion of the country’s south. Hezbollah has fired thousands of rockets into Israeli military bases, cities and towns, including some 250 projectiles on Sunday.

More than 68,000 Israelis have been displaced from their homes along the Lebanese border, TPS-IL reports.

An Israeli strike on Tuesday leveled a residential building in the central Beirut district of Basta — the second time in recent days warplanes have hit the crowded area near the city’s downtown. 

The Israeli military also issued warnings for 20 more buildings in Beirut’s Hezbollah-controlled suburbs to evacuate before they too were struck — a move carried out in the final moments before any cease-fire took hold.

Speaking on the sidelines of a Group of Seven meeting in Italy, the European Union’s foreign policy chief, Josep Borrell, said Tuesday there were "no excuses" for Israel to refuse a cease-fire with Hezbollah, warning that without it, "Lebanon will fall apart."

The Times of Israel reported that Minister of Defense Israel Katz met with the U.N. Special Envoy for Lebanon Jeanine Hennis-Plasschaert on Tuesday, when he said Jerusalem would have "Zero tolerance" for any violation of the truce, warning that "If you don't do it, we will … and with great force."

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

Supporters seeking the release of imprisoned Pakistani former Prime Minister Imran Khan broke through a ring of shipping containers blocking off the capital on Tuesday, and battled security forces despite a government threat to respond with gunfire. Six people have died in the violence.

Thousands of security forces have poured into central Islamabad in an attempt to quell protests in support of Khan that have gripped the capital and its surrounding areas since Sunday. The popular politician has been in jail for over a year and faces more than 150 criminal cases that his party says are politically motivated.

Authorities say only courts can order the release of Khan, who was ousted in 2022 through a no-confidence vote in Parliament. He has been imprisoned since his first conviction in a graft case, in August 2023.

FORMER PAKISTANI PRIME MINISTER IMRAN KHAN SENTENCED TO 10 YEARS IN PRISON IN CIPHER CASE

On Tuesday, Pakistan’s army took control of D-Chowk, a large square in downtown Islamabad’s Red Zone, which houses key government buildings and is where visiting Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko is staying. Paramilitary rangers and police were also out in force and some fired warning shots into the air.

Still, Khan’s wife, Bushra Bibi, who is leading the protests, made slow progress toward the square in a heavily guarded convoy, surrounded by well-wishers.

Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi threatened that security forces would respond with live fire if protesters fired weapons at them.

"We have now allowed police to take any decision according to the situation," Naqvi said later while visiting the square.

IMPRISONED FORMER PAKISTANI PM IMRAN KHAN ADDRESSES IMF IN ELECTION AUDIT PUSH

Protester Shahzor Ali said people were on the streets because Khan had called for them to be there. "We will stay here until Khan is among us. He will decide what to do next," Ali said.

"If they again fire bullets, the bullet will be responded with the bullet," he said.

Protester Fareeda Bibi, who is not related to Khan’s wife, said people have suffered greatly for the last two years.

"We have really suffered for the last two years, whether it is economically, politically or socially. We have been ruined. I have not seen such a Pakistan in my life," she said.

Police so far have used tear gas in an attempt to disperse the crowds. The dead include four members of the security services and one civilian who were killed when a vehicle rammed them on a street overnight into Tuesday. Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif denounced the attack, saying an "anarchist group" was deliberately targeting law enforcement personnel. There was no claim of responsibility for the ramming. A police officer died separately.

Scores of people have also been injured, including journalists who were attacked by demonstrators. Dozens of Khan supporters beat a videographer covering the protest for The Associated Press and took his camera. He sustained head injuries and was treated in a hospital.

VISITATION PRIVILEGES REVOKED FOR IMPRISONED EX-PAKISTANI PM IMRAN KHAN AFTER REPORTS OF POSSIBLE ATTACK

Pakistani media have mostly stopped filming and photographing the rally, instead focusing on the security measures and the city’s deserted streets.

By Tuesday afternoon, fresh waves of protesters made their way unopposed to their final destination in the Red Zone. Most demonstrators had the flag of Khan’s party, Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf, around their shoulders or wore its tricolors on accessories.

Naqvi said Khan’s party rejected a government offer to rally on the outskirts of the city.

Information Minister Atta Tarar warned there would be a severe government reaction to the violence.

He said the government did not want Bushra Bibi to achieve her goal of freeing Khan. "She wants bodies falling to the ground. She wants bloodshed," he said.

In a bid to foil the unrest, police have arrested more than 4,000 Khan supporters since Friday and suspended mobile and internet services in some parts of the country and messaging platforms were also experiencing severe disruption in the capital.

Khan’s party relies heavily on social media to demand Khan’s release and uses messaging platforms such as WhatsApp to share information, including details of events. The X platform, which is banned in Pakistan, is no longer accessible, even with a VPN.

On Thursday, a court prohibited rallies in the capital and Naqvi said anyone violating the ban would be arrested. Travel between Islamabad and other cities has become nearly impossible because of shipping containers blocking the roads. All educational institutions remain closed.

JERUSALEM — The scandal-plagued International Criminal Court’s decision to issue arrest warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and the Jewish state’s former defense minister has brought the court into the crosshairs of a potent American sanctions regime.

The ICC last week slapped arrest warrants on Netanyahu and ex-Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant for their war plans involved in rooting out Hamas terrorism in the Gaza Strip.

Hamas slaughtered nearly 1,200 people on Oct. 7, 2023, in southern Israel, including over 40 Americans. 

Israeli news outlet Kan said President-elect Trump’s administration plans to initiate sanctions against the ICC judges who issued the warrants, including the court’s chief prosecutor, Karim Khan.

THUNE THREATENS INTERNATIONAL CRIMINAL COURT WITH SANCTIONS IF IT DOESN'T DROP NETANYAHU WARRANT FOR ARREST

The British chief prosecutor, Khan, is currently the subject of a probe based on allegations that he committed sexual misconduct, something that he has vigorously denied, noting that there was "no truth to suggestions" of such behavior, according to reports.

Avi Bell, a professor of law at the University of San Diego and Bar Ilan University in Israel and founding dean of the Israel Law and Liberty Forum's annual program on law and democracy, told Fox News Digital, "Several years ago, the ICC threatened to charge American soldiers for alleged crimes in Afghanistan. The fact that the ICC lacked jurisdiction did not cause the ICC to pause even for a second. It was only President Trump’s sanctions against the ICC (during his first term) that forced the ICC to obey the law and drop its threat to prosecute Americans. Sanctions against the ICC will work; persuasion will not."

Trump’s nominee for national security adviser, Mike Waltz, announced on X, "You can expect a strong response to the antisemitic bias of the ICC and U.N. come January."  

One of Trump’s key Senate partners, Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., upped the ante in a recent Fox News interview, saying, "To any ally, Canada, Britain, Germany, France, if you try to help the ICC, we’re going to sanction you."

Rabbi Abraham Cooper, the associate dean for the L.A.-based Simon Wiesenthal Center, warned democratic states that they could face persecution from the judicial activism of the world’s top war crimes court based in The Hague, Netherlands.

ISRAEL CONFIRMS DEATH OF MISSING ABU DHABI RABBI: ‘ABHORRENT ACT OF ANTISEMITIC TERRORISM’

He told Fox News Digital, "The warrant from a kangaroo court makes a mockery of justice and is a victory for Iran and its terrorist lackeys. Israeli leaders are guilty of defending their citizens from genocidal terrorists. France and the Netherlands were the first to confirm they would arrest PM Netanyahu and the list could reach 124 nations. Democracies beware you could be next."

Both the Clinton and George W. Bush administrations branded the ICC a defective judicial system for Americans and rejected joining the international body.

"The arrest warrants against Netanyahu and Gallant are legally a joke, but they constitute a very serious development," Bell said. "Under Karim Khan’s predecessors as ICC prosecutor, the ICC was merely ineffective. Khan has ushered in an era of political buffoonery in which the court devotes the bulk of its resources to political grandstanding. With the new indictments, the court is grandstanding on behalf of terrorists and some of the world’s worst criminals."

When approached for a comment about Bell’s criticism, ICC spokesperson Fadi El Abdallah told Fox News Digital, "We don’t comment on such declarations."

The legal scholar urged countries to walk away from the ICC, saying, "The ICC will only desist from its course if it is forced to pay a heavy price. Countries should withdraw from the Rome Statute and cease paying dues. They should impose sanctions on the ICC and forbid cooperation with the ICC. And so long as the ICC persists in issuing warrants for persons over whom it has no jurisdiction on trumped-up charges, ICC personnel should face criminal sanctions for attempted kidnapping and support for terrorism."

The ICC, which commenced operations in 2002, bases its authority on the signatories of the Rome Statute, which outlines four core international crimes that the court will prosecute: genocide, crimes against humanity, war crimes and crimes of aggression, all of which are "not subject to any statute of limitations" but limited to only crimes that occurred after the statute came into force.

When asked if anti-Jewish sentiments animated the ICC warrants, Bell said, "I do not get the impression that the warrants are due to the ICC judges’ personal antisemitism. The ICC has always preyed on the politically weak: formerly African countries and now the Jewish state. It is widespread antisemitism in the West, especially among progressives, that makes Israel politically weak and vulnerable. The ICC may be bigoted, but the ICC’s attempt to prosecute Israelis despite their legal innocence is really a sign of a much greater institutional moral depravity than mere bigotry."

BIDEN REVERSES TRUMP, LIFTS SANCTIONS ON INTERNATIONAL CRIMINAL COURT

Gabriel Noronha, a former U.S. Department State adviser on Iran who is now a fellow at the Jewish Institute for National Security of America, told Fox News Digital the ICC has known that it could face penalties for its legal action against the Mideast’s only democracy, Israel, but the ICC "decided to ignore diplomacy and face the repercussions of the United States." 

He added that U.S. sanctions would mean that affected ICC personnel will not be able to secure visas to enter the U.S. and their property and bank accounts will be frozen in America. 

"The sanctions could be pretty broad and include family members," Noronha noted.

Noronha echoed Graham's remarks. A second Trump administration, he said, could implement a "Diplomatic strategy to impose penalties on countries that cooperate with these particular ICC warrants."

Some European countries have already slammed the ICC decision. Austrian Foreign Minister Alexander Schallenberg wrote on X, "The ICC decision to issue arrest warrants for Benjamin Netanyahu and Yoav Gallant is utterly incomprehensible. International Law is non-negotiable and applies everywhere, at all times. But this decision is a disservice to the Court‘s credibility."

He continued, "It is absurd to create an equivalence between members of a democratically elected government and the leader of a terrorist organization."

The ICC also issued an arrest warrant for the already dead Hamas terror leader Muhammad Deif.

Czech Prime Minister Petr Fiala flatly dismissed the International Criminal Court’s decision to issue arrest warrants against Israeli leaders.

"The ICC’s unfortunate ruling undermines authority in other cases by equating the elected representatives of a democratic state with the leaders of an Islamist terrorist organization," he wrote on X.

Conservative Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán accused the ICC of "interfering in an ongoing conflict for political purposes," saying the decision to issue the warrant for Netanyahu over his conduct of the war in Gaza undermined international law and escalated tensions.

The U.S. and the European Union have classified Hamas as a foreign terrorist organization.

The Associated Press and Fox News' Peter Aitken contributed to this article.

Russian forces captured a former British Army soldier who was fighting with Ukrainian troops in the Kursk region, according to reports on Monday.

In a video, the prisoner of war was sitting on a bench with his hand restrained as he identified himself as 22-year-old James Scott Rhys Anderson.

Russia’s Tass news agency reported on Monday that Russian security officials confirmed a British mercenary had been captured in the Kursk area.

"I was in the British Army before, from 2019 to 2023, 22 Signal Regiment," Anderson told Russian authorities while being recorded. "Just a private. I was a signalman. One Signal Brigade, 22 Signal Regiment, 252 Squadron."

RUSSIA TRICKS YEMENI MEN TO FIGHT IN UKRAINE UNDER HOUTHI SCHEME

He expressed regret for joining Ukraine in its fight against Russia, explaining he had nearly lost everything.

When he left the military, he got fired from his job and applied on the International Legion (of Ukraine) webpage.

"I had just lost everything. I just lost my job. My dad was away in prison. I see it on the TV," Anderson said while shaking his head. "It was a stupid idea."

RUSSIA IS SUPPLYING HOUTHIS WITH SATELLITE DATA TO ATTACK SHIPS IN THE RED SEA: REPORT

The International Legion for Defense of Ukraine was created at the request of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy after Russia’s full-scale invasion of the country in February 2022.

The Associated Press reported that the Legion is a unit of Ukraine’s ground forces that mainly consists of foreign volunteers.

Anderson reportedly served as an instructor for Ukrainian troops and was deployed to the Kursk region against his will.

In the video, he said his commander took his stuff — passport, phone and other items — and ordered him to go to the Kursk region.

UKRAINE TO ANALYZE FRAGMENTS OF MISSILE FIRED BY RUSSIA CAPABLE OF CARRYING NUCLEAR WARHEADS

"I don’t want to be here," Anderson said. 

The AP could not independently verify the report, but if confirmed, it said this could be one of the first publicly known cases of a Western national getting captured on Russian soil while fighting for Ukraine.

The U.K. Embassy in Moscow told the wire officials were "supporting the family of a British man following reports of his detention" though no other details were provided.

Anderson’s father, Scott Anderson, told Britain’s Daily Mail that his son’s Ukrainian commander informed him the young man had been captured.

The senior Anderson also said his son served in the British military for four years, worked as a police custody officer, and then went to Ukraine to fight. He told the paper he tried to convince his son not to join the Ukrainian military, and now fears for his safety.

"I’m hoping he’ll be used as a bargaining chip, but my son told me they torture their prisoners, and I’m so frightened he’ll be tortured," he told Britain’s Daily Mail.

While being questioned, the younger Anderson talked about how he got to Ukraine from Britain, saying he flew to Krakow, Poland from London Luton. From there, he took a bus to Medyka in Poland, which is on the Ukrainian border.

Anderson’s capture comes amid reports Russia is recruiting hundreds of Yemeni men to fight in its war in Ukraine by luring them to Russia under false pretenses in coordination with the Houthi terrorist network, as reported by the Financial Times.

A senior Ukrainian defense official told Fox News that Moscow is trying to involve as many foreign mercenaries as possible in its war against Ukraine, whether from its allies or proxies in poor, impoverished countries.

The Ukrainian Ministry of Defense similarly confirmed the report to Fox News and said, "Russi[a] has escalated this war twice recently. First, when they brought North Korean fighters, and second, when they used [a] ballistic missile in Ukraine."

Fox News Digital’s Caitlin McFall and Nana Sajaia, as well as The Associated Press contributed to this report.

At least 16 people are missing after an Egyptian yacht carrying international tourists sank in the Red Sea on Monday.

Forty-four people, including 13 crew members and 31 tourists, were aboard the Sea Story when it sank near Marsa Alam, a resort town in southeastern Egypt. The ship was carrying tourists for a multi-day diving trip.

Egyptian media outlet Al-Dostor reported that two American tourists were on board, but it is unclear if they are among those missing. Authorities were alerted to the incident at around 5:30 a.m. on Monday.

"Immediately, [authorities] informed the Naval Base and the Armed Forces, where search and rescue teams began operations using a helicopter and a marine unit moving from Bernice Harbor towards the rescue site," the Red Sea Governorate explained in a Facebook post.

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"The [Egyptian] Control Center and Operations Room continue to coordinate and follow up around the clock to ensure all necessary actions are taken and situation is reassured."

The search is ongoing and the number of deaths have not been officially announced.

Egyptian officials reported that 28 people have been rescued. Among that group, minor injuries like scrapes and bruising were reported, but no victims were hospitalized.

FLORIDA PROFESSOR FINDS EVIDENCE THAT ANCIENT EGYPTIANS DRANK HALLUCINOGENIC COCKTAILS

The group of missing people includes 12 foreign nationals. The ship carried citizens of the U.S., Belgium, Spain and Germany, along with citizens of the United Kingdom, China, Finland, Ireland, Poland, Slovakia and Switzerland.

While the cause of the sinking has not been determined, officials believe that a massive wave capsized it. The vessel sank within five to seven minutes.

"Some passengers were in their cabins, which is why they were unable to escape," Red Sea Governor Amr Hanafi said in the statement.

Authorities are actively investigating the incident. No additional information is known at this time.

Reuters contributed to this report.

A top military official with NATO warned businesses on Monday to be ready for a wartime scenario, which could entail adjusting production and distribution lines to be less vulnerable to blackmail from Russia and China.

Dutch Admiral Rob Bauer, the chairperson of NATO’s military committee, told attendees at an event of the European Policy Center think tank in Brussels that all available instruments could be used during a time of war, according to a report from Reuters.

"If we can make sure that all crucial services and goods can be delivered no matter what, then that is a key part of our deterrence," Bauer said.

He also said NATO is seeing a growing number of sabotage acts while Europe has seen the same when it comes to its energy supply.

UKRAINE TO ANALYZE FRAGMENTS OF MISSILE FIRED BY RUSSIA CAPABLE OF CARRYING NUCLEAR WARHEADS

"We thought we had a deal with Gazprom, but we actually had a deal with Mr. Putin. And the same goes for Chinese-owned infrastructure and goods. We actually have a deal with [Chinese President] Xi [Jinping]," Bauer told the group.

The west, Bauer explained, depends on supplies from China, as 60% of all rare earth materials are produced, and 90% of those are processed there.

Also coming from China are chemical ingredients for sedatives, antibiotics, anti-inflammatories and low blood pressure medications, he further explained.

‘NEW’ RUSSIAN MISSILE USED AGAINST UKRAINE NOT HYPERSONIC, DEFENSE OFFICIALS SAY

"We are naive if we think the Communist Party will never use that power," Bauer said. "Business leaders in Europe and America need to realize that the commercial decisions they make have strategic consequences for the security of their nation."

"Businesses need to be prepared for a wartime scenario and adjust their production and distribution lines accordingly," he continued to stress. "Because while it may be the military who wins battles, it's the economies that win wars."

Bauer’s message comes as tensions between Ukraine and Russia continue to escalate.

1,000 DAYS OF WAR IN UKRAINE AS ZELENSKYY DOUBLES DOWN ON AERIAL OPTIONS WITH ATACMS, DRONES AND MISSILES

Last week, Russia launched an intermediate-range ballistic missile (IRBM) capable of carrying conventional or nuclear warheads, into Ukraine.

Ukrainian officials said the missile called Oreshnik — Russian for Hazel Tree — reached speeds of Mach 11 when it struck a factory in the city of Dnipro on Thursday.

While two U.S. officials told Fox News the missile was not hypersonic, deputy Pentagon press secretary Sabrina Singh told reporters on Thursday the attack was concerning and that it was the first time the missile had been used on the battlefield.

North Korea also sent at least 11,000 soldiers to fight in Ukraine alongside Russian soldiers, further escalating tensions.

Reuters contributed to this report.

Israel is "moving forward" on a possible cease-fire deal with Hezbollah terrorists in Lebanon, one Israeli official said Monday. 

The Israeli prime minister's office told Fox News on Monday that they have no update on the cease-fire talks for now. Israeli media is also reporting that the Israeli Security Cabinet will convene on Tuesday to discuss the matter.

"We have not finalized it, but we are moving forward," Israeli Ambassador to the United Nations Danny Danon told reporters outside the U.N. Security Council.

A senior U.S. official told Axios on Monday that Israel and Lebanon reached a cease-fire deal, but neither party has formally announced any finalized agreement. 

The Israeli Security Cabinet is expected to vote on the agreement Tuesday, the U.S. official told Axios.

"We have clearly made significant progress, however, we're not there yet," a spokesperson for the White House National Security Council told Fox News when asked about the Axios report. "We continue to work to reach a diplomatic resolution to allow civilians on both sides of the Blue Line to be able to safely return to their homes." 

HEZBOLLAH FIRES BARRAGE OF ROCKETS INTO ISRAEL AFTER IDF TARGETS HEZBOLLAH COMMAND CENTERS IN BEIRUT

Meanwhile, the Pentagon's top Middle East policy official, Dan Shapiro, traveled to Israel and met with Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz in Tel Aviv on Monday, according to Axios and the Times of Israel.

Israel’s military has killed nearly all of Hezbollah's top leaders, but the terrorist group continues to fire missiles into Israel. Tens of thousands of Israelis who were evacuated from the border months ago are pressuring their government in order to go home. 

"Israel went to war in the north with the goal of bringing its residents back, while Hezbollah’s goal was to force Israel into a cease-fire in Gaza," Amit Segal, the chief political analyst for Israel Ch. 12, told Fox News Digital. "If Israel succeeded and Hezbollah failed, it means that Israel won the battle. I anticipate that Netanyahu will present the agreement to his voters as a temporary cease-fire for the purposes of rearming, regrouping, and waiting for a Trump administration." 

UAE ARRESTS 3 IN DEATH OF MISSING ABU DHABI RABBI, ISRAEL DECRIES 'ABHORRENT ACT OF ANTISEMITIC TERRORISM’

Following the latest visit to the region by a U.S. mediator, Israel hit central Beirut over the weekend, and Hezbollah responded with its biggest barrage in weeks as each applied pressure to reach a deal.

The recent meeting between Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and U.S. envoy Amos Hochstein was reportedly complicated by news that the International Criminal Court (ICC) decided to issue arrest warrants for Netanyahu and his former defense minister, Yoav Gallant. Lebanon had wanted France to mediate the agreement, but negotiations soured when the French Foreign Ministry announced it would comply with the ICC ruling. 

President Biden spoke to French President Emmanuel Macron, warning him against trying to mediate a deal while simultaneously pledging to arrest the head of state of one of the involved parties, a U.S. official told Axios. 

Israel and Hezbollah have exchanged fire almost daily since the day after Hamas terrorists attacked Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, setting off the war in Gaza.

Israel launched a widespread bombardment of Lebanon two months ago, then a ground invasion. More than 3,500 people in Lebanon have been killed, according to The Associated Press. 

The proposal under discussion to end the fighting between Israel and Hezbollah calls for an initial two-month cease-fire during which Israeli forces would withdraw from Lebanon and Hezbollah would end its armed presence along the southern border south of the Litani River.

The withdrawals would be accompanied by an influx of thousands more Lebanese army troops, which have been largely sidelined in the war, to patrol the border area along with an existing U.N. peacekeeping force.

An international committee would be set up to monitor implementation of the cease-fire agreement and of U.N. Security Council resolution 1701, which was passed in 2006 to end a month-long war between Israel and Hezbollah but never fully implemented. Hezbollah never ended its presence in southern Lebanon, while Lebanon said Israel regularly violated its airspace and occupied small patches of its territory.

It is not clear whether a new deal would be any more successful than the one in 2006.

Michael Herzog, Israel’s ambassador to Washington, told Israeli Army Radio on Monday that the deal aimed to improve surveillance and enforcement of the previous resolution. While he said there were still certain points that needed to be finalized, a deal was close and could be secured "within days."

A U.S. official told the AP that negotiations continued to progress on Sunday, but the parties still needed to work out some outstanding issues to close the deal. 

The official, who insisted on anonymity to discuss the private talks, declined to detail the outstanding issues.

Fox News' Pat Ward and the Associated Press contributed to this report.

Russia is recruiting hundreds of Yemeni men to fight in its war in Ukraine by luring them to Russia under false pretenses in coordination with the Houthi terrorist network, a report by the Financial Times found.

The Yemeni recruits who were transferred to Russia under a "shadowy trafficking operation" were originally told they would receive high-paying jobs and Russian citizenship.

However, after arriving with the help of a Houthi-linked company, many have apparently been coerced into the Russian military, forced to sign fighting contracts at gunpoint and sent to the front lines in Ukraine.

RUSSIA IS SUPPLYING HOUTHIS WITH SATELLITE DATA TO ATTACK SHIPS IN THE RED SEA: REPORT

A senior Ukrainian defense official told Fox News that Moscow is trying to involve as many foreign mercenaries as possible in its war against Ukraine, whether from its allies or proxies in poor, impoverished countries.

"Before reporting on the troops from North Korea, which [North Korean leader Kim Jong Un] has sent to assist Putin, we had already reported on mercenaries from Africa, Asia, and the Middle East."

"We can confirm that Yemen is also among these countries. Moscow is indeed recruiting Yemeni Houthis to participate in hostilities against Ukraine," the official added. "However, the current numbers are extremely low – serving as ‘cannon fodder’ rather than a force the Kremlin would consider sufficient. Nevertheless, Russia is continuing its recruitment process."

The Ukrainian Ministry of Defense similarly confirmed the report to Fox News and said, "Russi[a] has escalated this war twice recently. First, when they brought North Korean fighters, and second, when they used [a] ballistic missile in Ukraine."

"Regarding mercenaries, for some time now, Russia has been working with mercenaries from all around the world and all we can say for now is they are working with new countries," the ministry added. 

It is unclear if any of the Yemeni men are Houthi terrorists or how many have been sent to fight in Ukraine, though the Financial Times report on Sunday suggested that recruitment is believed to have begun in July. At least 200 Yemeni men were reportedly a part of just one group forcibly conscripted into the Russian military in September – most of whom had little training before they were then sent to Ukraine to fight. 

A video posted by the London-based news outlet depicted at least five Yemeni men, four in the video along with the cameraman, explaining their dire situation and noting that one of their fellow conscripts attempted to commit suicide but was taken to a hospital before being reinstated into service one day later.

"We are now under bombardment," said the man holding the camera, who expressed their exhaustion and showed a group of men holed up in a Ukrainian forest. "Mines, drones, digging bunkers, we are carrying lumber."

U.S. diplomats told the news outlet that the scheme coordinated between the Houthis and Russia shows how far Moscow is willing to go to beef up its forces amid the high casualty rates.

Ukraine’s Ministry of Defense on Monday assessed that Russia has seen more than 730,000 casualties in the nearly three-year-long war, though U.S. assessments in early October suggested this number was closer to 600,000, which includes some 115,000 deaths and roughly 500,000 wounded. 

UKRAINE TO ANALYZE FRAGMENTS OF MISSILE FIRED BY RUSSIA CAPABLE OF CARRYING NUCLEAR WARHEADS

Though the report by the Financial Times suggests there could be hundreds, if not more, Yemeni men forced to fight in Ukraine, they are not the only foreign fighters being pulled into Russia’s war machine. 

North Korea has sent some 12,000 troops to aid Russia, and reports earlier this year suggested that men from India and Nepal had been lured into fighting for Moscow under false pretenses, again having been promised lucrative jobs before being shipped off to the war in Ukraine. 

It is unclear how many Indian men have been conscripted into Russia’s military, though a report by Time in August said that Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi apparently raised the subject with Russian President Vladimir Putin during a July visit to Moscow. Modi was allegedly assured Russia would do what it could to return all Indian mercenaries, though the status of that agreement remains unclear. 

CNN similarly reported earlier this year that some 15,000 men from Nepal had also been recruited to fight for Russia – depicting a trend that shows Russia has been targeting impoverished nations to falsely lure fighters into its ranks. 

Russia has been bolstering its ties with Iran, and in extension, Iran’s proxy forces like the Houthis, since Putin launched his "special military operation" in Ukraine in 2022.

It is unclear what, if anything, Russia has promised the Houthi’s in exchange for their help in Moscow’s latest conscription scheme, and security officials have yet to confirm any arms sales from Russia to the terrorist network. 

Russia is known, however, to have aided the group by providing targeting data, which the group uses in its attacks against Western ships in the Red Sea. 

The Houthis have also sent at least two delegations to Russia this year to meet with senior Kremlin officials. 

The U.S. State Department did not respond to Fox News Digital's questions.

Russia is recruiting hundreds of Yemeni men to fight in its war in Ukraine by luring them to Russia under false pretenses in coordination with the Houthi terrorist network, a report by the Financial Times found.

The Yemeni recruits who were transferred to Russia under a "shadowy trafficking operation" were originally told they would receive high-paying jobs and Russian citizenship.

However, after arriving with the help of a Houthi-linked company, many have apparently been coerced into the Russian military, forced to sign fighting contracts at gunpoint and sent to the front lines in Ukraine.

RUSSIA IS SUPPLYING HOUTHIS WITH SATELLITE DATA TO ATTACK SHIPS IN THE RED SEA: REPORT

Fox News Digital could not immediately reach the U.S. State Department or the Ukrainian Ministry of Defense for comment on Russia’s increasing use of foreign fighters to aid its war machine in Ukraine.

It is unclear if any of the Yemeni men are Houthi terrorists or how many have been sent to fight in Ukraine, though the Financial Times report on Sunday suggested that recruitment is believed to have begun in July. At least 200 Yemeni men were reportedly a part of just one group forcibly conscripted into the Russian military in September – most of whom had little training before they were then sent to Ukraine to fight. 

A video posted by the London-based news outlet depicted at least five Yemeni men, four in the video along with the cameraman, explaining their dire situation and noting that one of their fellow conscripts attempted to commit suicide but was taken to a hospital before being reinstated into service one day later.

"We are now under bombardment," said the man holding the camera, who expressed their exhaustion and showed a group of men holed up in a Ukrainian forest. "Mines, drones, digging bunkers, we are carrying lumber."

U.S. diplomats told the news outlet that the scheme coordinated between the Houthis and Russia shows how far Moscow is willing to go to beef up its forces amid the high casualty rates.

Ukraine’s Ministry of Defense on Monday assessed that Russia has seen more than 730,000 casualties in the nearly three-year-long war, though U.S. assessments in early October suggested this number was closer to 600,000, which includes some 115,000 deaths and roughly 500,000 wounded. 

UKRAINE TO ANALYZE FRAGMENTS OF MISSILE FIRED BY RUSSIA CAPABLE OF CARRYING NUCLEAR WARHEADS

Though the report by the Financial Times suggests there could be hundreds, if not more, Yemeni men forced to fight in Ukraine, they are not the only foreign fighters being pulled into Russia’s war machine. 

North Korea has sent some 12,000 troops to aid Russia, and reports earlier this year suggested that men from India and Nepal had been lured into fighting for Moscow under false pretenses, again having been promised lucrative jobs before being shipped off to the war in Ukraine. 

It is unclear how many Indian men have been conscripted into Russia’s military, though a report by Time in August said that Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi apparently raised the subject with Russian President Vladimir Putin during a July visit to Moscow. Modi was allegedly assured Russia would do what it could to return all Indian mercenaries, though the status of that agreement remains unclear. 

CNN similarly reported earlier this year that some 15,000 men from Nepal had also been recruited to fight for Russia – depicting a trend that shows Russia has been targeting impoverished nations to falsely lure fighters into its ranks. 

Russia has been bolstering its ties with Iran, and in extension, Iran’s proxy forces like the Houthis, since Putin launched his "special military operation" in Ukraine in 2022.

It is unclear what, if anything, Russia has promised the Houthi’s in exchange for their help in Moscow’s latest conscription scheme, and security officials have yet to confirm any arms sales from Russia to the terrorist network. 

Russia is known, however, to have aided the group by providing targeting data, which the group uses in its attacks against Western ships in the Red Sea. 

The Houthis have also sent at least two delegations to Russia this year to meet with senior Kremlin officials. 

Uruguay ousted its conservative government that had been in charge for the past five years, as leftist opposition candidate Yamandú Orsi claimed victory in a tight presidential runoff Sunday.

Even as the vote count continued, Álvaro Delgado, the presidential candidate of the center-right ruling coalition, conceded defeat to his challenger.

"With sadness, but without guilt, we can congratulate the winner," he told supporters at his campaign headquarters in the capital of Montevideo. 

Orsi, 57, a working-class former history teacher and two-time mayor from Uruguay's Broad Front coalition, was mentored by former President José "Pepe" Mujica, an ex-Marxist guerilla who became world renowned for driving Uruguay’s legalization of abortion, same-sex marriage and sale of marijuana a decade ago. Orsi thanked his supporters as crowds flocked to greet him.

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"The country of liberty, equality and fraternity has triumphed once again," he said, vowing to unite the nation of 3.4 million people after such a tight vote.

"Let's understand that there is another part of our country who have different feelings today," he said. "These people will also have to help build a better country. We need them too."

"I will be the president who calls for national dialogue again and again, who builds a more integrated society and country," Orsi said.

"Starting tomorrow, I'll have to work very hard, there's a lot to do," he told the Associated Press from the glass-walled NH Columbia hotel, thronged friends and colleagues embracing and congratulating him.

With nearly all the votes counted, electoral officials reported that Orsi won just over 49% of the vote, ahead of Delgado’s 46%. The rest cast blank votes or abstained in defiance of Uruguay's enforced compulsory voting. Turnout reached almost 90%.

After weeks in which the rivals appeared tied in the polls, Delgado's concession ushers in Orsi as Uruguay’s new leader and cuts short the center-right Republican coalition's shot at governing. 

The 2019 election of President Luis Lacalle Pou spelled an end to 15 consecutive years of rule by the Broad Front.

"I called Yamandú Orsi to congratulate him as President-elect of our country," Lacalle Pou wrote on social media platform X, adding that he would "put myself at his service and begin the transition as soon as I deem it appropriate."

Orsi's victory made the South American country the latest to rebuke the incumbent party in the wake of post-pandemic economic malaise.

The win contrasts with that of populist Javier Milei, who won the presidency in Argentina in 2023 by promising to overhaul the establishment to deal with soaring inflation and poverty. Milei reportedly has grown close to President-elect Trump. 

Orsi has been described as a moderate with no radical plans for change. He largely agrees with his opponent on key voter concerns like driving down the childhood poverty rate, now at a staggering 25%, and containing an upsurge in organized crime that has shaken the nation long considered among Latin America's safest. 

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Despite Orsi's promise to lead a "new left" in Uruguay, his platform resembles the mix of market-friendly policies and welfare programs that characterized the Broad Front’s tenure from 2005-2020.

Mujica, now 89 and recovering from esophageal cancer, turned up at his local polling station before balloting even began on Sunday to praise Orsi’s humility and Uruguay’s proud stability.

"This is no small feat," he said of his nation's "citizenry that respects formal institutions."

With inflation easing, and the economy expected to expand by some 3.2% this year, Delgado had promised to continue pursuing his predecessor’s pro-business policies. 

Lacalle Pou, who constitutionally cannot run for a second consecutive term, has enjoyed high approval ratings. But the official results trickling in on Sunday showed that mounting complaints in Uruguay about years of sluggish economic growth, stagnant wages and the government’s struggle to contain crime after five years helped swing the election against Delgado.

Specific proposals by Orsi include tax incentives to lure investment and revitalize the critical agricultural sector, as well as social security reforms that would lower the retirement age but fall short of a radical overhaul sought by Uruguay’s unions that failed to pass in the Oct. 27 general election during which neither front-runner secured an outright majority. 

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He is also likely to put an end to a trade agreement with China that Lacalle Pou had pursued to the chagrin of Mercosur, an alliance of South American nations promoting regional commerce.

His government will take office on March 1, 2025.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

Israel is reportedly moving towards a ceasefire agreement with Hezbollah in Lebanon after nearly a year of fighting escalated into an all-out war in September. 

Israeli media outlets including YNET and Haaretz have reported that Israel has tentatively agreed to a U.S.-backed proposal for a ceasefire. No final deal has been reached, according to the reports. 

Lebanon and the militia group Hezbollah reportedly agreed to the deal last week but both sides need to give the final okay before it can materialize. 

The reported ceasefire deal comes after Hezbollah launched one of its largest rocket attacks on Israel in exchange for Israeli forces striking Hezbollah command centers in Beirut. 

This is a developing story. Check back for updates. 

Hezbollah fired a barrage of missiles and other projectiles into Israel Sunday in response to deadly IDF strikes on the militant group’s command centers in Beirut. 

The Israeli military said Hezbollah fired about 250 rockets and other projectiles Sunday, with some intercepted – marking one of the militant group’s heaviest barrages in months. Some of the rockets reached the Tel Aviv area in the heart of Israel.

Meanwhile, an Israeli strike on an army center killed a Lebanese soldier and wounded 18 others in the southwest, Lebanon's military said. The Israeli military said the strike occurred in an area of combat against Hezbollah and that the military's operations are directed solely against the militants.

Israeli airstrikes also pounded central Beirut on Saturday, killing at least 29 people and wounding 67, according to Lebanon's Health Ministry.

RABBI FEARED KIDNAPPED, KILLED BY TERRORISTS AFTER GOING MISSING, PROMPTING INVESTIGATION

Smoke billowed above Beirut again Sunday with new strikes. Israel's military said it targeted command centers for Hezbollah and its intelligence unit in the southern suburbs of Dahiyeh, where the militants have a strong presence.

Hezbollah began firing rockets, missiles and drones into Israel after Hamas' Oct. 7, 2023, attack out of the Gaza Strip ignited the war there. Hezbollah has portrayed the attacks as an act of solidarity with the Palestinians and Hamas. Iran supports both armed groups.

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Israel launched retaliatory airstrikes at Hezbollah, and in September the low-level conflict erupted into all-out war as Israel launched airstrikes across large parts of Lebanon and killed Hezbollah's top leader, Hassan Nasrallah.

Israeli attacks have killed more than 3,700 people in Lebanon, according to the Health Ministry. The fighting has displaced about 1.2 million people, or a quarter of Lebanon's population.

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On the Israeli side, about 90 soldiers and nearly 50 civilians have been killed by bombardment in northern Israel and in battle following Israel's ground invasion in early October. Around 60,000 Israelis have been displaced from the country's north.

Israeli strikes have killed over 40 Lebanese troops since the start of the war between Israel and Hezbollah, even as Lebanon's military has largely kept to the sidelines.

Lebanon's caretaker prime minister, Najib Mikati, condemned the latest strike as an assault on U.S.-led cease-fire efforts, calling it a "direct, bloody message rejecting all efforts and ongoing contacts" to end the war.

Four men in Spain were convicted for their role in what is being considered a homophobic murder on Sunday in connection to the killing of a young nursing assistant, which sparked protests in cities across Spain and abroad.

Reuters reported that 24-year-old Samuel Luiz died in a hospital in July 2021 after he was assaulted by a group of people outside a nightclub in A Coruña, which is located in the northwestern Galicia region of Spain.

Three of the men involved who committed the fatal assault – Diego Montaña, Alejandro Freire and Kaio Amaral – were each found guilty of aggravated murder. The fourth man, Alejandro Míguez, was convicted of complicity. A fifth person, a woman, was tried and acquitted of charges against her.

Evidence presented in court showed that Montaña led the efforts after concluding that Luiz was gay based on his speech and clothing.

FIRE KILLS AT LEAST 10 PEOPLE IN SPANISH RETIREMENT HOME

Montaña then reportedly started shouting homophobic insults and slurs at Luiz before the attack and made anti-gay comments to the other accused individuals afterward.

The trial lasted nearly four weeks before the case was placed on the jury to decide the fate of Montaña, Freire, Amaral and Míguez. Ultimately, the jury found them guilty of the charges.

Sentencing is expected to take place at a later date, and the prosecution has asked the judge for jail terms between 22 and 27 years.

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"Today, 4 attackers have been sentenced for the murder of Samuel Luiz," Irene Montero, former minister of equality in Spain, wrote in a translated post on X, explaining that the men shouted a derogatory term at the victim. "I hope it helps to make amends for Samuel’s family and friends. Let’s not look the other way: the [LGBTQ-phobia] that kills begins with comments or ‘jokes’ that are hateful, harmful and must be stopped."

Reuters reported that in 2023, there were more than 360 hate crimes related to sexual orientation or gender identity reported in Spain. Of those crimes reported, 184 arrests were made, Interior Ministry data shows.

The European Union Agency for Fundamental Rights also reported that only a fraction of hate crimes are reported.

Reuters contributed to this report.

Investigators in Ukraine are analyzing the debris of a new intermediate-range ballistic missile (IRBM) fired by Russia at the city of Dnipro on Thursday, marking the first time the weapon had been used on the battlefield.

On Sunday, Ukraine’s Security Service showed the remaining fragments of the IRBM called Oreshnik – Russian for Hazel Tree – that struck a factory to The Associated Press.

Russian President Vladimir Putin confirmed the attack on Thursday evening in an address to the nation and said it was in direct response to the U.S. and the U.K. jointly approving Ukraine’s use of Western-supplied long-range missiles to target Russia.

The Pentagon has said the missile is based on Russia’s RS-26 Rubezh intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM), though the wreckage has not yet been analyzed, according to security officials on site in an undisclosed location in Ukraine.

‘NEW’ RUSSIAN MISSILE USED AGAINST UKRAINE NOT HYPERSONIC, DEFENSE OFFICIALS SAY

The AP and other media were permitted to view the fragments before being taken over by investigators.

The wire service showed images of what it described as mangled and charred wires, along with an ashy airframe about the size of a large snow tire. The remains were all that were left of the IRBM, which can carry nuclear or conventional warheads.

"It should be noted that this is the first time that the remains of such a missile have been discovered on the territory of Ukraine," a specialist with Ukraine’s Security Service said. The specialist only identified himself by his first name Oleh because he was not authorized to discuss the issue with the media.

1,000 DAYS OF WAR IN UKRAINE AS ZELENSKYY DOUBLES DOWN ON AERIAL OPTIONS WITH ATACMS, DRONES AND MISSILES

Ukraine’s Main Intelligence Directorate said the missile was launched from the 4th Missile Test Range, Kapustin Yar, in Russia’s Astrakhan region. Once launched, Ukrainian officials said, it flew for 15 minutes before striking Dnipro. The missile was carrying six warheads, each carrying six subunitions, and its speed was Mach 11.

Last week, Deputy Pentagon press secretary Sabrina Singh confirmed to reporters during a press briefing that Russia had launched the IRBM, noting that it was a "new type of lethal capability that was employed on the battlefield."

She also said the U.S. was notified briefly before the launch through nuclear or risk reduction channels.

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Putin also said last week that the missile attacked targets at a speed of Mach 10.

Despite Ukraine’s and Putin’s claim that the rocket reached speeds greater than Mach 10, two U.S. defense officials told Fox News on Thursday the missile was not hypersonic, which, according to NASA, is a speed greater than 3,000 mph and faster than Mach 5.

Along with launching the IRBM for the first time on the battlefield, Putin signed a law to grant debt forgiveness to those who enlist in Russia’s army to fight in Ukraine.

US BRIEFED UKRAINE AHEAD OF PUTIN'S ‘EXPERIMENTAL INTERMEDIATE-RANGE BALLISTIC’ ATTACK

The AP reported that the measure highlights the country’s need for military personnel as it continues its war against Ukraine.

Russian state news agency Interfax said the new legislation allows new recruits enlisting for a one-year contract, to write off debts up to 10 million rubles, or about $96,000.

The law reportedly applies to debts in which a court order for collection was issued, and enforcement proceedings had commenced before Dec. 1, 2024. The legislation also applies to spouses of new recruits.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.