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A mural of Holocaust survivors in Italy has been defaced in a "demented act" of vandalism.

The Milanese mural by artist aleXsandro Palombo features Holocaust survivors Liliana Segre and Sami Modiano, whose faces and Stars of David were scratched out. The Auschwitz-Birkenau survivors were portrayed in striped camp uniforms and bulletproof vests.

SENATORS VOW TO BAN PRO-HAMAS MIGRANTS FROM ENTERING US WITH BIPARTISAN PUSH

The artwork, unveiled on September 28, aimed to emphasize Holocaust remembrance as antisemitism rises in Europe.

The defacement came just after a pro-Palestinian rally in Milan where some demonstrators targeted Segre, a 94-year-old Italian senator, labeling her a "Zionist agent." Palombo, outraged by the rhetoric, responded with the mural.

The vandalism has drawn a backlash across Italy. Mario Venezia, head of Italy’s Holocaust memorial museum, called it a "demented act" that "damages walls but not history." Italian Democratic Party official Piero Fassino also condemned the act, calling it a "cowardly assault on Holocaust memory."

Palombo’s murals frequently tackle hot-button issues. Last year, he created a mural showing Holocaust victim Anne Frank next to a young Palestinian girl. 

ISRAELI LEADER TELLS PRESIDENT BIDEN 'WE HAVE TO GET HOSTAGES BACK'

His mural portraying Vlada Patapov, the "girl in red" who survived the Hamas attack during the Nova festival on October 7, 2023, was also defaced almost immediately after being completed.

"The antisemitic fury unleashed by Hamas is overwhelming Jews in every part of the world, this horror that re-emerges from the past must make us all reflect because it undermines freedom, security and the future of us all," Palombo told EuroNews.

"Terrorism is the very denial of humanity and has nothing to do with resistance, it uses people with aim [the] to divide and drag them into the abyss of its evil, into an infernal vortex that has no end. There can be no peace until terrorism is eradicated; [legitimizing] it means condemning to death the whole humanity," Palombo added.

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Rome’s Shoah Museum condemned the vandalism in a statement, saying "these acts not only harm art but undermine the value of Memory, which is fundamental for building a conscious and just society". 

Brazil's Supreme Court was evacuated after two nearby explosions on Wednesday night that left one dead in a square near Congress and the presidential palace, police said, stirring security concerns shortly before the country hosts the G20 summit.

The blasts come five days before global leaders from the Group of 20 major economies meet in Rio de Janeiro, followed by a state visit to Brasília by Chinese President Xi Jinping.

The first explosion came on Wednesday in a parking lot near the court building. The Supreme Court justices had just ended a plenary session and were quickly evacuated safely, the court said in a statement.

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Federal police said they had deployed a bomb squad to the square in the heart of the Brazilian capital to investigate the blasts. The country's solicitor general on social media described the explosions an "attack".

A police officer told local television that the dead man found in the square had an explosive device on him, so his body would be carefully inspected in case of another explosion.

The explosions were heard around the Plaza of the Three Powers, an iconic square in Brasília connecting the principal buildings of Brazil's three branches of federal government.

It was the scene of riots on Jan. 8 last year when supporters of former President Jair Bolsonaro ransacked the buildings to protest his electoral defeat.

President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva had left the executive palace on Wednesday night shortly before the explosions.

A 60-year-old American tourist was found "beaten to death" at a lavish five-star hotel in Ireland, police said.

According to a release from Ireland’s national police and security service, Garda Síochána, an unidentified American citizen was found unconscious in his hotel room at Ballyfin Demesne, a luxurious hotel in Laois, Ireland, Tuesday.

The victim was later pronounced dead by police.

OREGON NURSE MURDERED WHILE ON EUROPEAN VACATION BY SUSPECT SHE MET AT NIGHTCLUB: POLICE

Police in Ireland arrested and detained a 30-year-old man in the assault.

The suspect and victim traveled together, The Irish Times reported. The outlet noted that the suspect is also an American.

A senior investigating officer has been appointed to lead the investigation, and an incident room has been established at Portlaoise Garda Station, police said. A family liaison officer will be appointed to support the family of the deceased.

Police said the investigation is ongoing.

The Ballyfin Demesne is a five-star hotel in Ireland that has hosted celebrities like Kim Kardashian and Kanye West, who stayed there for their honeymoon in 2014. 

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Actor George Clooney and his wife, Amal, have also stayed there.

Local independent councilor James Kelly told local outlet RTE that nearby communities were "shocked" to hear about the incident at the distinguished hotel.

"There would be a lot of staff from the area, and they're totally shocked by what has happened here," he said. "It's something we didn't think we'd be waking up to this morning."

Fox News Digital has reached out to the Garda Síochána and the Ballyfin Demesne for comment.

New storms in Spain caused school closures and train cancellations on Wednesday, two weeks after flash floods in Valencia and other parts of the country killed more than 220 people and destroyed thousands of homes.

Coastal areas of Valencia were placed under the highest alert on Wednesday evening. Forecasters said up to 7 inches of rain could fall there within five hours.

Cleanup efforts in parts of Valencia hardest hit by the Oct. 29 storm were still continuing, and there were concerns over what more rain could bring to streets still covered with mud and debris.

AT LEAST 63 DEAD IN DEVASTATING FLASH FLOODS ACROSS EASTERN SPAIN, OFFICIALS SAY

In southern Malaga province, streets were flooded, while 3,000 people near the Guadalhorce river were moved from their homes as a preventive measure. Schools across the province were closed, along with many stores. Train service was canceled between Malaga and Madrid, and between Barcelona and Valencia.

Valencia's regional government also restricted the use of private vehicles until Thursday in areas hit by the October storm, when tsunami-like floods caused severe car pile-ups.

There were no reports of deaths due to the new storms.

Spanish weather forecaster AEMET put Malaga on red alert, saying roughly 3 inches of rain had accumulated in an hour. Parts of Tarragona province in the east also faced heavy rain and remained under red alert.

The forecast in Malaga delayed the start of the Billie Jean King Cup tennis finals between Spain and Poland, which was set for Wednesday.

The storm system affecting Spain is caused by warm air that collides with stagnant cold air and forms powerful rain clouds. Experts say that drought and flood cycles are increasing with climate change.

U.S. President Joe Biden will meet Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping for likely the final time on Saturday, senior administration officials said, as Beijing prepares for a potentially more confrontational period with Washington under Donald Trump.

The two leaders are expected to hold talks spanning a range of global hot spots, including heightened tensions between Washington and Beijing, on the sidelines of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation forum in Lima, Peru.

BIDEN REPEATS DEBUNKED CLAIM HE TRAVELED 17,000 MILES WITH CHINA'S XI JINPING

It will be their first known interaction since an April phone call.

"The conversations are not easy," said one of the officials, who spoke on condition of anonymity. "That frankness has been important in managing the relationship."

Biden and Xi have tried to keep tensions at bay over issues ranging from Taiwan to the South China Sea, North Korea and Russia, and American demands for more Chinese help to stem the flow of the ingredients for fentanyl, the leading cause of U.S. drug overdoses.

Biden and Xi restored leader-level talks last November that produced more cooperation on counter-narcotics efforts but little movement on bigger issues like a potential conflict over Taiwan, the democratically governed island that China claims as its own territory.

The Democratic administration finalized rules last month restricting U.S. investment in artificial intelligence, quantum computing and semiconductors in China that are set to take effect in January. That followed Biden raising tariffs on more goods from China.

Both steps were rejected by China as counterproductive.

Trump, a Republican, has vowed to adopt blanket 60% tariffs on U.S. imports of Chinese goods as part of a package of "America First" trade measures. Beijing opposes those steps.

The president-elect's early personnel choices have included several hawkish voices on China in senior positions, such as U.S. Representative Mike Waltz as national security adviser.

Xi reportedly called Trump last week to congratulate him on his Nov. 5 election victory. Trump takes office on Jan. 20.

Several international airlines canceled flights to and from Indonesia’s tourist island of Bali on Wednesday as an ongoing volcanic eruption left travelers stranded at airports.

Tourists told The Associated Press that they have been stuck at Bali’s airport since Tuesday after their flights were suddenly canceled.

"The airline did not provide accommodation, leaving us stranded at this airport," said Charlie Austin from Perth, Australia, who was on vacation in Bali with his family.

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Another Australian tourist, Issabella Butler, opted to find another airline that could fly her home.

"The important thing is that we have to be able to get out of here," she said.

Media reports said that thousands of people were stranded at airports in Indonesia and Australia, but an exact number wasn't given.

Indonesia’s Mount Lewotobi Laki Laki volcano on the remote island of Flores in East Nusa Tenggara province spewed towering columns of hot ash high into the air since its initial huge eruption on Nov. 4 killed nine people and injured dozens of others.

The 5,197-foot volcano shot up ash at least 17 times on Tuesday, with the largest column recorded at five and a half miles high, the Center for Volcanology and Geological Disaster Mitigation said in a statement.

Authorities on Tuesday expanded the danger zone as the volcano erupted again to five and a half miles as volcanic materials, including smoldering rocks, lava, and hot, thumb-size fragments of gravel and ash, were thrown up to five miles from the crater since Friday.

The activity at the volcano has disturbed flights at Bali’s I Gusti Ngurah Rai international airport since the eruption started, airport general manager Ahmad Syaugi Shahab said. Over the past four days, 84 flights, including 36 scheduled to depart and 48 due to arrive, were affected.

Shahab said that at least 26 domestic flights and 64 overseas ones were canceled on Wednesday alone, including airlines from Singapore, Hong Kong, Qatar, India and Malaysia. For these cancelations, the airlines were offering travelers a refund, or to reschedule or reroute, he said.

Three Australian airlines have also canceled or delayed a number of flights. Jetstar has paused its flights to Bali until at least Thursday, it said on its website, saying it was "currently not safe" to operate the route.

Virgin Australia’s website showed 10 services to and from Bali were canceled on Wednesday. Qantas said it has delayed three flights. Some airlines are offering fare refunds for upcoming Bali flights to passengers who don't want to travel.

Air New Zealand canceled a flight to Denpasar scheduled for Wednesday and a return service to Auckland due to depart Bali on Thursday. Passengers would be rebooked and the airline would continue to monitor the movement of ash in the coming days, Chief Operating Officer Alex Marren said.

Korean Air said two of its flights headed to Bali were forced to turn back because of volcanic ash caused by the eruption.

The airline said Wednesday that the two flights — carrying about 400 passengers combined — that departed South Korea’s Incheon international airport on Tuesday turned back toward the origin departure a few hours later, following forecasts that said Bali’s Ngurah Rai airport could be affected by the volcanic ash. The two planes arrived in Incheon early Wednesday.

About 6,500 people were evacuated in January after Mount Lewotobi Laki Laki began erupting, spewing thick clouds and forcing the government to close the island’s Fransiskus Xaverius Seda Airport. No casualties or major damage were reported, but the airport has remained closed because of seismic activity.

Three other airports in neighboring districts of Ende, Larantuka and Bajawa have been closed since Monday after Indonesia’s Air Navigation issued a safety warning because of volcanic ash.

Lewotobi Laki Laki is one of a pair of stratovolcanoes in the East Flores district of East Nusa Tenggara province, known locally as the husband-and-wife mountains. "Laki laki" means man, while its mate is Lewotobi Perempuan, or woman. It’s one of the 120 active volcanoes in Indonesia, an archipelago of 280 million people.

The country is prone to earthquakes, landslides and volcanic activity because it sits along the "Ring of Fire," a horseshoe-shaped series of seismic fault lines around the Pacific Ocean.

In an ominous warning on Wednesday, Secretary of State Antony Blinken said that North Korea’s military involvement in Russia’s war against Ukraine poses a threat beyond the immediate conflict with Kyiv, and it could mean Moscow is aiding Pyongyang in its nuclear development.

"The fact is, the relationship between Russia and North Korea is a two-way street," Blinken said while speaking alongside Ukraine’s Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha from NATO’s headquarters in Brussels. "North Korea is helping Russia and its aggression against Ukraine. 

"At the same time, the support that Russia is providing to North Korea, potentially including support for its nuclear and missile programs, poses a threat to civility and security in the Korean peninsula as well," he added.

UKRAINE, NORTH KOREAN TROOPS CLASH FOR FIRST TIME; ZELENSKYY WARNS OF ESCALATION

Blinken’s comments coincided with the Wednesday announcement from South Korean intelligence that North Korean troops had begun combat operations against Ukrainian forces in Kursk – just weeks after the U.S. warned that some 8,000 North Korean soldiers had been moved to the region where Ukraine opened offensive operations in August.  

Blinken called the development "very significant and very negative" as it "increases the threat to security and stability in Europe, but also in the Asia Pacific region."

The secretary argued North Korea’s direct combat operations against Ukraine indicates that adversarial nations like Russia, North Korea and Iran are increasingly becoming jointly embroiled in malign activity across the globe.

"I think we see increasingly the indivisibility and security between the Euro-Atlantic Theater, the Indo-Pacific, Asia-Pacific theaters, even the Middle East, with the role that Iran plays," Blinken said, noting the U.S. and its NATO allies are "very focused on this."

Ukraine’s foreign minister echoed Blinken’s warnings and argued "the future of Transatlantic and global security is being decided in Ukraine."

Sybiha highlighted Russia’s latest strike against Kyiv overnight on Tuesday, in which a combination of drones and missiles targeted the capital city for the first time since August. Though civilians were forced to seek shelter in the underground train stations, no causalities have been reported. 

ZELENSKYY WARNS NORTH KOREA, RUSSIA ALLIANCE COULD SPELL TROUBLE FOR ASIA: CHINA'S 'SILENCE IS STRIKING'

"Russia is using Iranian drones…and North Korean troops to attack Ukraine. It provides assistance to those regions in return," Sybiha said. "This is how this war undermines security in Southeast Asia and the Middle East. This is all linked together. 

"If you want to ensure a long-term peace and stability in Europe, Asia and the Middle East, we must force Russia to end its aggression," he added. 

Blinken’s time as secretary of state – when he navigated one of the tensest geopolitical periods between the West and its chief adversaries since World War II – is drawing to a close as the incoming Trump administration is set to take the reins come January.

Uncertainty has mounted over how President-elect Donald Trump will handle these complex security situations, in particular, whether Trump will continue military aid to Ukraine, and Blinken said the Biden administration will use its remaining time to bolster defensive aid to Kyiv.

Blinken said the Biden administration will "use every day to continue to do what we have done these last four years, which is strengthen this alliance."

The secretary further pledged to "continue to shore up" aid for Ukraine to ensure it can effectively fight Russian advances over the next year or to position itself to effectively negotiate peace with Moscow.

British writer Samantha Harvey won the Booker Prize for fiction on Tuesday with "Orbital," a short, wonder-filled novel set aboard the International Space Station that ponders the beauty and fragility of Earth.

Harvey was awarded the $64,000 prize for what she has called a "space pastoral" about six orbiting astronauts, which she began writing during COVID-19 pandemic lockdowns. The confined characters loop through 16 sunrises and 16 sunsets over the course of a day, trapped in one another’s company and transfixed by the globe’s ever-changing vistas.

"To look at the Earth from space is like a child looking into a mirror and realizing for the first time that the person in the mirror is herself," said Harvey, who researched her novel by reading books by astronauts and watching the space station's live camera. "What we do to the Earth we do to ourselves."

13 NOVELISTS ANNOUNCED AS BOOKER PRIZE SEMIFINALISTS

She said the novel "is not exactly about climate change, but implied in the view of the Earth is the fact of human-made climate change."

She dedicated the prize to everyone who speaks "for and not against the Earth, for and not against the dignity of other humans, other life."

"All the people who speak for and call for and work for peace — this is for you," she said.

Writer and artist Edmund de Waal, who chaired the five-member judging panel, called "Orbital" a "miraculous novel" that "makes our world strange and new for us."

Gaby Wood, chief executive of the Booker Prize Foundation, noted that "in a year of geopolitical crisis, likely to be the warmest year in recorded history," the winning book was "hopeful, timely and timeless."

Harvey, who has written four previous novels and a memoir about insomnia, is the first British writer since 2020 to win the Booker. The prize is open to English-language writers of any nationality and has a reputation for transforming writers’ careers. Previous winners include Ian McEwan, Margaret Atwood, Salman Rushdie and Hilary Mantel.

De Waal praised the "crystalline" writing and "capaciousness" of Harvey’s succinct novel — at 136 pages in its U.K. paperback edition, one of the shortest-ever Booker winners.

"This is a book that repays slow reading," he said.

He said the judges spent a full day picking their winner and came to a unanimous conclusion. Harvey beat five other finalists from Canada, the United States, Australia and the Netherlands, chosen from among 156 novels submitted by publishers.

American writer Percival Everett had been the bookies’ favorite to win with "James," which reimagines Mark Twain’s "Huckleberry Finn" from the point of view of its main Black character, the enslaved man Jim.

The other finalists were American writer Rachel Kushner’s spy story "Creation Lake"; Canadian Anne Michaels’ poetic novel "Held"; Charlotte Wood’s Australian saga "Stone Yard Devotional"; and "The Safekeep" by Yael van der Wouden, the first Dutch author to be shortlisted for the Booker.

Harvey is the first female Booker winner since 2019, though one of five women on this year’s shortlist, the largest number in the prize’s 55-year history. De Waal said issues such as the gender or nationality of the authors were "background noise" that did not influence the judges.

"There was absolutely no question of box ticking or of agendas or of anything else. It was simply about the novel," he said before the awards ceremony at Old Billingsgate, a grand former Victorian fish market in central London.

Founded in 1969, the Booker Prize is open to novels originally written in English published in the U.K. or Ireland. Last year’s winner was Irish writer Paul Lynch for post-democratic dystopia "Prophet Song."

Lynch handed Harvey her Booker trophy at the ceremony, warning her that her life was about to change dramatically because of the Booker publicity boost.

Harvey said she was "overwhelmed," but remained down-to-earth about spending her prize money.

She said she'd disburse "some of it on tax. I want to buy a new bike. And then the rest — I want to go to Japan."

Attacks against the U.S. by Iran-linked actors have skyrocketed in the last year with a 630% increase in malign acts since the Hamas terror attack in southern Israel on Oct. 7. 2023, according to a report by the Jewish Institute for National Security of America (JINSA) obtained exclusively by Fox News Digital. 

The number of malign attacks against the U.S. – incidents that include projectile strikes, maritime aggression, major cyber intrusions and hacking, kidnappings or wrongful detentions, and terrorist attacks – began to increase after the U.S. 2018 withdrawal from the Iran nuclear deal under the first Trump administration, then throughout President Biden’s term. 

After the Oct. 7, 2023, attack on Israel and the subsequent wars against Hamas in Gaza and Hezbollah in Lebanon, Iran-backed groups have not only levied increasing fire at Washington’s top ally in the Middle East, but also its troops in Iraq and Syria as well as U.S. naval vessels targeted by Houthi terrorists in Yemen. 

NETANYAHU SIGNALS TEHRAN’S NUCLEAR PROGRAM COULD BE NEXT TARGET AS IRAN PLANS FUTURE ATTACK

"Iran-backed groups in Iraq and Syria have launched at least 204 attacks involving over 330 rockets, missiles, and drones against U.S. personnel since October 17, 2023," Ari Cicurel, JINSA assistant director of foreign policy, said in his report released Tuesday. 

As Israel continued to ramp up its offensive against Hezbollah in Lebanon and prepare for its promised retaliatory attack against Tehran in late October, Iran-backed groups in turn increased their attacks against U.S. troops in neighboring nations. 

"As it has done in the past, Iran could also further escalate its proxies’ attacks against U.S. forces in Iraq and Syria to try to convince Washington to exert pressure on Israel so that it stops degrading these terrorist groups," Cicurel told Fox News Digital.

Militia groups in Syria more than doubled the number of attacks levied at U.S. personnel in 15 separate incidents compared to the seven attacks Iran-backed groups carried out in September. Though the figure is still just half the number of attacks levied in January when some 34 strikes targeted U.S. personnel in Syria along with 19 in Iraq.

Cicurel clarified for Fox News Digital that these strikes are by organizations like the Islamic Resistance in Iraq, which is an "umbrella mechanism for Iran’s proxies" and includes terrorist groups likes Kataib Hezbollah, Kataib Sayyid al-Shuhada, Asaib Ahl al-Haq, Ansar Allah al-Awfiya and Harakat Hezbollah al-Nujaba, to claim attacks against Israel and U.S. forces."

The attacks outlined in JINSA's latest report do not include strikes levied at the U.S. in Iraq and Syria from ISIS, nor does it include the most recent attacks carried out against the U.S. this week.

Pentagon Press Secretary Maj. Gen. Pat Ryder confirmed on Tuesday that Iran-backed Houthi's in Yemen attacked three U.S. destroyers in the Bab al-Mandab strait on Monday. In addition, two other attacks were carried out in northeast Syria by Iran-proxy groups on Sunday.

Neither the ships nor the base sustained any damage and no U.S. servicemembers were injured in the attacks. 

The U.S. continues to target weapons storage facilities as well as Iran-backed militant target locations, confirmed the Pentagon press secretary.

"These strikes will degrade the Iranian-backed groups' ability to plan and launch future attacks on U.S. and coalition forces who are in the region to conduct defeat ISIS operation," confirmed Ryder. 

US FORCES STRIKE 9 IRAN-LINKED MILITIA TARGETS IN SYRIA: 'OUR MESSAGE IS CLEAR'

In response to Fox News Digital's questions regarding the rising threat posed by Iran-backed groups in the Middle East, a defense official said that "due to operational security concerns, we do not comment on the number of threats and/or strikes."

But according to the JINSA report, prior to the October 2023 attacks by Hamas, Iran-sanctioned militant groups opted to target U.S. troops over Israeli positions because "Iranian-linked groups determined that the U.S. responses would be less forceful than Israel’s."

That strategy halted after the Hamas attack on Israel, and in October this year alone Iran-backed groups launched more than 110 unmanned aerial vehicles (UAV), missiles and rockets at Israel from Iraq.

"Leveraging its Iraqi proxies to fire at Israel was likely a means for Iran to increase fire against the Jewish state without triggering the retaliation on Iranian territory that its direct attacks have incurred," Cicurel said. 

Security experts have told Fox News Digital they believe the international community can expect to see increased fighting in Iraq and Syria between Israel and Iran-backed militias as Tehran looks to prevent strikes on its own homeland from becoming normalized.

"With Israel having dismantled Hamas and neutralized much of Hezbollah’s capabilities, Iran will likely increasingly target Israel by using its proxies in Iraq and Syria, which it has similarly armed with Iran-made rockets, missiles and drones," Cicuerl said.

Just as the U.S. has seen an increase in Iran-backed attacks levied at it since last year, so, too, has Israel.

Not only has Iran directly fired some 320 ballistic missiles, 170 cruise missiles and 30 UAVs during its April and October attacks on the Jewish state, its top proxy fighting force, Hezbollah, has fired a reported 16,170 projectiles at Israel since October 2023, nearly 40% of which were fired last month when 6,340 rockets, missiles and UAVs targeted the Levant nation.

Israel also saw at least 111 UAVs, missiles and rockets thrown at it from Iran-backed groups in Iraq last month, which is more than 2.5 times the number of attacks from Iraq than in September and likely a strong motivator for the strike that Israel carried out in Iraq and Syria during its retaliatory strike against Tehran late last month.

KAOHSIUNG, Taiwan - President-elect Donald Trump’s nominees to serve as United Nations ambassador, national security adviser, and most importantly, secretary of state are regarded by many as "China Hawks." 

Their appointments are being mostly welcomed in Taiwan, even by some who did not support the former and future president.

Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla., likely to be tapped to become Trump’s chief diplomat, made his position clear during the Republican National Convention in mid-July, when he said that he expected a re-elected Trump to, "continue to do what he did in his first term and that is … continue to support Taiwan." Rubio, however, has been in lockstep with Trump on insisting Taiwan increase defense spending, a view shared by security experts, but not necessarily the majority of Taiwanese people. 

As of yet, no official statement has come from Taiwanese President William Lai, but in 2019, when Lai was vice president to then-President Tsai Ing-wen, Taiwan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs offered its gratitude to Sen. Rubio and former Sen. Cory Gardner, R-Colo., for rejecting Chinese President Xi Jinping’s proposal (or demand) that Taiwan accept "one country, two systems." 

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This same formula was supposed to apply to Hong Kong for 50 years after the handover in 1997 but lasted only until roughly 2020, when China imposed draconian new laws. Today, people in Hong Kong can be jailed for non-violent acts of protest, such as wearing a shirt with the words "Liberate Hong Kong." An overwhelming majority in Taiwan reject China’s "one country, two systems," and any other plan that gives authoritarian China control of democratic Taiwan. 

Rubio is blunt on China, writing on X, for example, "Communist China is not, and will never be, a friend to democratic nations." In May 2022, Rubio introduced the "Taiwan Peace Through Strength Act," a bill that would fast-track U.S.-Taiwan military coordination. Rubio stated in connection to the bill that, "Putin’s invasion of Ukraine is not the first time an authoritarian regime invaded its neighbor and, unfortunately, it won’t be the last. An invasion of Taiwan could happen within this decade. Taiwan needs our support, and my bill will make Xi Jinping and the Chinese Communist Party think twice before launching a foolish invasion. We must do all we can to deter an attack on Taiwan, or we risk losing the Indo-Pacific region to the Chinese Communist Party."

Rubio as a potential secretary of state is a problem for China, as the Florida Republican is blacklisted, or in more diplomatic terms, "sanctioned." Rubio was among the 11 U.S. senators China sanctioned in 2020 for their "wrong U.S. behaviors … who have behaved egregiously on Hong Kong-related issues." 

CHINA OFFICIALLY 'DOESN'T CARE' ABOUT TRUMP WIN; UNOFFICIALLY, EXPERTS SAY BEIJING IS RATTLED

How to have "meaningful dialogues" with a person banned from China remains to be seen. Any option – including rescinding the sanctions – could make China look weak. However, Wu Xinbo, Fudan University professor and director at the Center for American Studies, told Fox News Digital via email from Shanghai that he has some doubts. "These China hawks will surely push the envelope on the Taiwan question as hard as they can," said Wu, "but it may backfire, and the U.S. will get burned. I'm not sure if this is what Trump wants."

So far, however, Trump seems to be sending clear signals that his administration will not be all bark and no bite. Rep. Michael Waltz, R-Fla., Trump’s choice for national security adviser, is at least as strident as Rubio. Writing in The Economist earlier this month, Waltz, opined that conflicts in Ukraine and the Middle East need to be "urgently" ended, so the U.S. can "finally focus strategy attention where it should be: countering the greater the threat from the Chinese Communist Party." 

Trump has also nominated his loyal ally, New York Rep. Elise Stefanik, R-NY., to be his ambassador to the United Nations. Senior Adviser to the think-tank Foundation for the Defense of Democracies Richard Goldberg wrote that, aside from enthusiastically vetoing anti-Israel U.N. resolutions, he expects Stefanik to work toward "leveraging American financial assistance across the U.N. system to root out Chinese malign influence…"

Rather predictably, netizens on China’s censored internet went with the "who cares?" line that has become common. Ross Darrell Feingold, a Taipei-based lawyer and rare American in Taiwan who is active on TouTiao, a Chinese social media platform, told Fox News Digital that the comments he received in response to the likely Rubio nomination included, "Doesn't matter. All U.S. politicians are anti-China," and, "No such thing as ‘anti-China, pro-Taiwan.’ There's only ‘anti-China’ and the U.S. isn't serious about being pro-Taiwan." 

These bland remarks may not represent genuine feelings, as the level of internet control in China is impressive and even minor deviations from the party line can result in complete bans. However, one TouTiao user did highlight one of the major hurdles China has with Rubio, "He won’t be able to visit because we sanctioned him." 

Depending on who you ask, China’s youth unemployment rate is anywhere from 17-20%, and Trump’s tariffs aren’t going to help create new jobs in China. Over the weekend, Chinese authorities stopped a trend that saw tens of thousands of students ride bicycles on a 30-mile nighttime adventure to an ancient city in central China’s Henan Province. Flocks of students went on chilly rides with friends that did not appear to have any overt political motives. Some even carried large PRC flags while others were filmed singing China’s national anthem. 

However, as many have pointed out, what turned into the Tiananmen Square "Incident" also began with crowds of cheerful students – some of whom also sang patriotic songs.

With the re-election of former President Donald Trump to the White House and the collapse of the coalition government under German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, Germany is bracing for an economically and politically dubious time. 

From the campaign trail, Trump pledged to increase import tariffs on friends and foes alike under the "Trump Reciprocal Trade Act" which would increase all U.S. tariffs to match the taxes enforced by each corresponding country.  

"If India, China, or any other country hits us with a 100 or 200 percent tariff on American-made goods, we will hit them with the same exact tariff," he outlined in his campaign agenda. "If they charge US, we charge THEM—an eye for an eye, a tariff for a tariff, same exact amount."

GERMANY’S SCHOLZ REJECTS CALLS FOR NO-CONFIDENCE VOTE AS COALITION GOVERNMENT COLLAPSES

However, it is unclear if the president-elect still plans to push these specific tariff increases, as he has also suggested there should be a 10% tariff on imports from all countries, as well as 60% duties on imports from China, according to a Reuters report. 

China was not the only country in Trump’s crosshairs, as the now president-elect also referred to the European Union (EU) as a "mini China" and warned the bloc would have to pay up.

"They don't take our cars. They don't take our farm products. They sell millions and millions of cars in the United States," he told supporters at an October rally in Pennsylvania. "No, no, no. They are going to have to pay a big price."

Some economic experts have warned that increasing tariffs – which are paid by companies importing the goods, not by government entities – could lead to rising costs worldwide, including in the U.S., as well as further inflation.

A report earlier this month by the German Marshall Fund (GMF) pointed to findings by Germany’s Institute for Economic Research in Cologne that said the promised Trump tariffs are estimated to cost the country roughly $127 billion over the next four years. 

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"Trump’s victory does not bode well for a Germany that is dependent on U.S. security and thrives on open markets," the GMF said in its report on how the U.S. election will impact Germany. "And uncertainty in Europe’s largest economy is not ideal when the EU needs to find its place in a world in which the U.S. president is not expected to support the traditional, rules-based international order."

However, it is not only Germany’s flagging economy that could spell uncertainty for Berlin’s international standing, as Scholz faces a vote of no confidence in January after he fired his Finance Minister Christian Lindner and his coalition government collapsed. 

A confidence vote is now set to be held in Germany on December 16 – which Scholz, given his minority status, is expected to lose. 

The most likely next step will be for German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier to dissolve the parliament and call for elections which are not expected to be held on Feb. 23, 2025.  

The EU now stares down a potential trade war with the Trump administration while one of its leading nations, both geopolitically and economically, will essentially sit as a lame duck while Berlin waits to see who will be next to lead the country. 

German opposition leader Friedrich Merz – who could find himself the next German chancellor – said he intends to cut a deal with Trump.

In an interview with Stern magazine, Merz reportedly said, "In Germany, we have never really articulated and enforced our interests well enough, and we have to change that.

"The Americans are much more on the offensive. It shouldn’t end with only one side profiting, but rather with us making good arrangements for both sides," Merz said according to a Bloomberg report on the interview. "Trump would call it a deal."

Aid entering Gaza declined during the month of October, particularly in the northern Gaza Strip where a military offensive against Hamas is underway. The United Nations and Israel are increasingly blaming one another over the reasons for and extent of the problem. 

Stéphane Dujarric, spokesperson for U.N. Secretary-General António Guterres, stated on Oct. 27 that "repeated efforts to deliver humanitarian supplies" were being "denied by the Israeli authorities." 

Brig. Gen. Elad Goren, head of the Coordination of Government Activities in the Territories (COGAT) that oversees the humanitarian-civil effort in Gaza, told Fox News Digital that the accusation is "100 percent pure, complete lie." Goren said that "there will be a time that people will write books about what has happened during this war. Not just in the battlefield, but also the fight over narratives, the false narratives by the international community." 

Goren emphasized the lack of "logistical capacity, lack of trucks, lack of manpower, lack of resources," and overall lack of commitment in the U.N. effort. "If this is the most important humanitarian logistical operation," Goren asked why the U.N. only brought 69 personnel and 40 trucks to distribute aid. "We feel that the U.N. does not want to be excellent in their job, because they believe that if they do their job, it will ease pressure on Israel," Goren said. 

BIDEN ADMIN ISSUES WARNING TO NETANYAHU AS ISRAEL HOLDS EMERGENCY MEETING ON GAZA AID

Seeming to reinforce Goren’s observation is data from COGAT showing that the number of aid trucks awaiting collection at the Kerem Shalom crossing rose from 450 on Oct. 1 to 700 on Oct. 30. COGAT shared exclusive footage of the overstocked Kerem Shalom loading area with Fox News Digital. 

Goren said that COGAT "sat down with the U.N. several times in order to find solutions" to issues impeding aid deliveries, like looters continuing to attack humanitarian convoys. According to Goren, COGAT offered "alternative roads in order to bypass" looters, proposed "allowing the Palestinian trucks to move on defense roads from the Israeli side of the security fence," and escorted trucks along their routes. 

Dujarric refuted COGAT’s claims of offering alternative routes for trucks. He said that with pre-approved supplies only able to transit through three border crossings - Kerem Shalom, Gate 96 and Erez West – as of November, "our humanitarian colleagues…access these border areas by highly dangerous routes, exposed to hostilities, with many alternative roads being banned by the Israeli authorities. The routes available are often in poor condition and prone to armed looting resulting," Dujarric continued. "Commercial supplies are virtually banned."

In response to questions about aid backing up at Kerem Shalom, Dujarric said that "letting supplies be placed at barely accessible entry points cannot be considered as facilitating humanitarian efforts." Only when "supplies and services have reached the people who need them, in sufficient quantities" are they considered facilitated, Dujarric added. 

According to Dujarric, "there are 80 international staff, 13,000 national staff employed with UNRWA, and 208 national staff employed by other U.N. agencies," who are "working in the most dangerous conditions to provide life-saving assistance for the over two million people of Gaza." He said that "to accuse them, and their national colleagues, of lacking motivation is insulting to say the very least."

Dujarric also noted additional concerns, including humanitarian workers being "held at Israeli checkpoints for hours, shot at, harassed and put in danger," with one World Food Programme convoy "struck 10 times by IDF gunfire." Dujarric said that only 35 of the 351 truck drivers WFP has submitted for clearance to COGAT were cleared.

ISRAELI PRIME MINISTER BENJAMIN NETANYAHU FIRES DEFENSE MINISTER YOAV GALLANT

An Israel Defense Forces (IDF) spokesperson responded to Dujarric’s claims by telling Fox News Digital that the IDF "takes all operationally feasible measures to mitigate harm to civilians, including aid convoys and workers," and "has never, and will never, deliberately target aid convoys and workers." The spokesperson also explained that the IDF is "working proactively with international aid organizations to update driver lists, subject to strict security checks due to the drivers’ proximity to the Israeli border," and wants to "expedite driver approvals."

The IDF directly refuted Dujarric’s assertions about Kerem Shalom, saying that Israel "has taken proactive steps to improve accessibility at the crossings," including carrying out road expansions, adding "dozens of empty trucks, forklifts, and additional logistical equipment," and allowing "daily tactical pauses to enable and ease the transfer of aid."

The IDF spokesperson said that Israel has been sending "humanitarian aid, blood supplies, food boxes, fuel, and medical equipment" and medical teams into northern Gaza through Erez and two additional locations. Israeli officials did announce last week that they will soon add a new humanitarian aid crossing in Kissufim in order to facilitate more deliveries to the southern portion of the Gaza Strip.

On Nov. 1, Reuters alleged that the situation in northern Gaza was "apocalyptic," with all Gazans "at imminent risk of dying from disease, famine and violence." On Nov. 8, the Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC) Famine Review Committee issued a similar warning, explaining that there was "a strong likelihood that famine is imminent" in parts of northern Gaza.

David Adesnik, a senior fellow and director of research at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies, has tracked dire warnings of famine in Gaza during the conflict there. He talked with Fox News Digital about prior predictions of doom which did not come to pass, largely because of COGAT’s efforts to allay hunger. 

Adesnik explained that the IPC has "downplayed the good news aggressively" of the "long term trend" of lowering the number of Gazans in the worst phases of hunger. The IPC found in December 2023 that 17% of Gazans faced catastrophic phase-five hunger conditions. By March, 30% of the population had reached phase five, with onlookers predicting famine was imminent. The next report, however, found that just 15% of Gazans were in phase five. The most recent IPC snapshot from October shows that just 6% of Gazans are in phase five, though the IPC warns that this number is "expected to nearly triple in the coming months". The IPC proclaimed that the "risk of famine persists." 

With a new U.N. FAO-WFP report that likewise raises alarms about possible famine, Adesnik said that "the U.N. is doing its best to obscure the improvements in food security made possible by a surge of aid into Gaza this past spring and summer." He added that the report fails to mention how, according to U.N. data, there was an 80% decline in "the number of Gaza residents facing the most severe deprivation" between March and October.

ISRAELI FORCES SEIZE DOCUMENTS THAT REVEAL HAMAS PLAN FOR MORE ELABORATE ATTACKS: REPORT

Professor Aron Troen, of the Faculty of Agriculture, Food and Environment at Hebrew University in Jerusalem, performed an analysis of the quantity of calories reaching Gazan civilians through humanitarian aid efforts. In May, Troen’s report found that the "quantity and nutritional composition of the food that has been delivered over the past four months complied, and even exceeded" an "internationally-recognized benchmark for humanitarian response."

Troen told Fox News Digital that his team recently updated its figures and found that aid entering Gaza was "enough up until September." Troen added that COGAT is "doing a heroic job in very tough times" but that "there really is immense suffering in Gaza."

COGAT’s online portal shows that since the war began in October, more than 1,115,000 tons of aid have entered Gaza.

Goren admitted that aid quantities were low in October due to the High Holidays, memorials for the Oct. 7 anniversary, and the closing of the two Erez aid crossings for two weeks while troops moved into northern Gaza to battle "the heart of Hamas." While many in the media supposed that the so-called "General’s plan" to evacuate northern Gaza and cut off aid was the culprit for diminished aid, Goren said that General’s plan has never "even been discussed in the army." He also emphasized that "we are not in a war against civilians, but against Hamas." 

As a part of that war, COGAT ended private sector aid during the month of October. Goren said that Hamas was "trying to take advantage and use the private sector" as a way to collect taxes and steal aid. "So we closed it," he explained. "There is no way that we will allow Hamas to empower itself from humanitarian assistance."

TRUMP NAMES STEFANIK UN AMBASSADOR

Secretary of State Antony Blinken stated on Oct. 16, 2023 that "if Hamas in any way blocks humanitarian assistance from reaching civilians, including by seizing the aid itself, we’ll be the first to condemn it, and we will work to prevent it from happening again." President Biden emphasized two days later that "if Hamas diverts or steals the assistance, they will have demonstrated once again that they have no concern for the welfare of the Palestinian people and it will end."

Fox News Digital asked the State Department whether Blinken would condemn Hamas’ aid theft and aid taxation, but received no response.

Adesnik told Fox News Digital that "from early on, at least last November or December, the administration has ramped up criticism of Israel, but with a couple of exceptions, continues to provide the weapons that Israel needs." As Adesnik explained, "neither side thinks the U.S. is pursuing a principled middle ground."

American officials’ frustration with Israel peaked last month, evidenced by a leaked letter from Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin to Israeli officials on Oct. 13. In it, U.S. officials warned that they will need to reassess whether to allocate foreign military funds to Israel. They provided a list of improvements they expect to see before Nov. 13. This included enabling the delivery of 350 truckloads of aid each day, a benchmark not yet achieved. 

As of Nov. 4, Department of State spokesperson Matthew Miller stated that while the U.S. had not finalized its assessment, the "situation had not improved sufficiently in the 21, 22 days, whatever it is since we sent that letter."

After Austin conveyed a "sharp" message to his Israeli counterpart last Friday, Israel is said to believe that the U.S. "intends to go ‘all the way’ in pressing Israel on the issue" of aid, the Times of Israel reported.

The world's largest slithering snake is sure to send a tingle down your spine. 

There are over 3,000 snake species found around the world, according to National Geographic, that all have their own unique characteristics. 

The world's longest snake is the reticulated python, according to the National History Museum, not to be confused with the world's heaviest, the green anaconda.

WORLD'S BIGGEST SPIDER COMES FROM NORTHERN SOUTH AMERICA, CAN MEASURE AS LARGE AS A DINNER PLATE

Read more about the reticulated python below. 

The longest snake, a reticulated python, was found in 1912, and was a whopping 32 feet, 9.5 inches, according to Guinness World Records. 

As for the longest snake that was ever in captivity, that would be a reticulated python named Medusa. 

Medusa was owned by Full Moon Productions Inc. in Kansas City, Missouri, according to Guinness World Records.

7 OF THE GROSSEST WORLD RECORDS INVOLVING FOOD, INSECT CONSUMPTION

Medusa was measured on Oct. 12, 2011, and was 25 feet, 2 inches long. 

Reticulated pythons live in Southeast Asia, according to the National History Museum. 

The snakes have been found in habitats in Indonesia, India and China, per the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission. 

A wet, tropical climate is what reticulated pythons prefer, according to the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission. They are usually found near rivers, streams and other bodies of water, per the source. 

MOST CHALLENGING FISHING WORLD RECORDS AND HOW TO BEAT THEM

Reticulated pythons are non-venomous, according to the Vanderbilt Museum. 

The diet of a reticulated python includes rodents for younger snakes, and pigs, civets and birds for older ones, per the source. 

Pythons capture prey by squeezing tightly and suffocating their victims, according to San Diego Zoo Animals & Plants.

PYTHON SWALLOWS WOMAN WHO IN INDONESIA

Pythons then swallow their prey whole, per the source. 

The title of the world's heaviest snake goes to green anacondas, according to the National History Museum. 

Green anacondas can be 20 to 30 feet in length, and can weigh over 550 pounds, according to National Geographic.

Marshes, swamps and streams in tropical rainforests are where green anacondas are typically found, with wild pigs, deer, birds, turtles, capybara, caimans and jaguars all on their menu, per the source. 

Archbishop of Canterbury Justin Welby, head of the Church of England and spiritual leader of the global Anglican Communion, resigned Tuesday after an investigation found that he failed to tell police about serial physical and sexual abuse by a volunteer at Christian summer camps as soon as he became aware of it.

Pressure on Welby had been building since Thursday, when release of the inquiry’s findings kindled anger about a lack of accountability at the highest reaches of the church.

"It is very clear that I must take personal and institutional responsibility for the long and retraumatizing period between 2013 and 2024," Welby said in the statement announcing his resignation. "I believe that stepping aside is in the best interests of the Church of England, which I dearly love and which I have been honored to serve."

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Helen-Ann Hartley, the bishop of Newcastle, said Monday that Welby's position was "untenable" after some members of the church’s national assembly started a petition calling on him to step down because he had "lost the confidence of his clergy."

But the strongest outcry had come from the victims of the late John Smyth, a prominent attorney who abused teenage boys and young men at Christian summer camps in Britain, Zimbabwe and South Africa over five decades. Andrew Morse, who was repeatedly beaten by Smyth over a period of five years, said that resigning was a chance for Welby to start repairing the damage caused by the church’s handling of historical abuse cases more broadly.

"I believe that now is an opportunity for him to resign,’’ Morse told the BBC before Welby stepped down. "I say opportunity in the sense that this would be an opportunity for him to stand with the victims of the Smyth abuse and all victims that have not been treated properly by the Church of England in their own abuse cases."

Welby’s resignation comes against the backdrop of widespread historical sexual abuse in the Church of England. A 2022 report by the Independent Inquiry Child Sexual Abuse found that deference to the authority of priests, taboos surrounding the discussion of sexuality and a culture that gave more support to alleged perpetrators than their victims helped make the Church of England "a place where abusers could hide."

MISSOURI CATHOLIC CHURCH FINDS PRIEST GUILTY OF SOLICITING SEX DURING CONFESSION: 'GRAVE FORM OF ABUSE'

Welby’s supporters had argued that he had been instrumental in changing the culture of the church since he became Archbishop of Canterbury in 2013.

But it was an investigation into crimes that began long before that date that ultimately led to his downfall.

The church on Thursday released the results of an independent investigation into Smyth, who sexually, psychologically and physically abused about 30 boys and young men in the United Kingdom and 85 in Africa beginning in the 1970s.

The 251-page report of the Makin Review concluded that Welby failed to report Smyth to authorities when he was informed of the abuse in August 2013, soon after he became Archbishop of Canterbury.

Welby last week took responsibility for not ensuring that the allegations were pursued as "energetically" as they should have been after he learned of the abuse, but said he had decided not to resign.

On Monday, Welby’s office issued a statement reiterating that position and expressing his "horror at the scale of John Smyth’s egregious abuse."

Church officials were first made aware of the abuse in 1982, when they received the results of an internal investigation into Smyth. The recipients of that report "participated in an active cover-up" to prevent its findings from coming to light, the Makin Review found.

Smyth moved to Zimbabwe in 1984 and later relocated to South Africa. He continued to abuse boys and young men in Zimbabwe, and there is evidence that the abuse continued in South Africa until he died in August 2018.

Smyth’s abuse wasn’t made public until a 2017 investigation by Britain’s Channel 4 television station, which led police in Hampshire to start an investigation. Police were planning to question Smyth at the time of his death and had been preparing to extradite him.

Stephen Cherry, dean of the chapel at King’s College Cambridge, said that Welby could no longer represent the people.

"There are circumstances in which something happens whereby a person in a position of prominent leadership essentially loses the trust and the confidence and the capacity to do that really wonderful thing that someone like an archbishop does, which is represent everyone at a certain moment publicly,’’ Cherry told the BBC before Welby resigned.

"And the pain in the victim community and the history of not listening to people and not responding to people who are profoundly hurt by those in positions of power means that this is no longer a person who can carry the representative role of that office."

Dozens of people exercising were killed, and 43 others were injured after a man drove a small off-road vehicle into a large group of people outside a sports center in Zhuhai, China, on Monday evening.

The 62-year-old suspect, who is only identified by police by his family name of Fan, was upset over his divorce settlement, authorities said. He was apprehended by police at the scene after allegedly killing 35 people at 7:48 p.m. and attempting to flee.

The southern Chinese city of Zhuhai is hosting the People’s Liberation Army's annual aviation exhibition, which opened Tuesday. The sports complex is regularly used by hundreds of residents to run, play soccer or dance.

Chinese authorities appeared to be tightly controlling information about the incident. Internet censors tend to take extra care to scrub social media ahead of and during major events, such as the aviation exhibition or the annual meeting of the National People’s Congress.

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For almost 24 hours after the attack, it was unclear what the death or injury toll was. On Tuesday morning, a search on the Chinese social media platform Weibo for the sports center turned up just a few posts, with only a couple referring to the fact something had happened, without pictures or details. Articles by Chinese media from Monday night about the incident were taken down.

Searches for what happened were heavily censored for users behind China's Great Firewall. Outside the controls, however, videos circulated on the social media platform X. In several posts, dozens of people could be seen lying down on the running track at the sports complex.

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In one video shared by news blogger and dissident Li Ying, a woman says, "My foot is broken." That same video showed a firefighter performing CPR on a person, as others were told to leave. Li, who is known on X as Teacher Li, posts daily news based on user submissions

Fan was unconscious after being found in his car with a knife and wounded. Investigators say he had self-harmed using a knife, causing severe neck injuries.

Chinese President Xi Jinping called for the "strict" punishment of the perpetrator according to law in a statement Tuesday evening.

The Associated Press and Reuters contributed to this report. 

Dozens of people armed with sticks and firecrackers set a tram on fire in Amsterdam on Monday, police said, while the city is facing tensions following violence last week targeting fans of an Israeli soccer club.

Police said the fire was quickly extinguished and riot officers cleared the square. Images online showed people damaging property and setting firecrackers.

Police said it was not clear who started the unrest and whether it was related to what happened last week. But they noted the tense atmosphere since five people were treated in the hospital and dozens detained Thursday following a Maccabi Tel Aviv-Ajax match. Youths on scooters and on foot went in search of Israeli fans, punching and kicking them and then fleeing to evade police, according to Amsterdam’s mayor.

Dutch police announced five new arrests Monday in their investigation into that earlier violence. The suspects are men aged 18 to 37 and are from Amsterdam or surrounding cities. Four are still in custody; the fifth has been released but remains a suspect.

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Earlier, police said that four other men who had been arrested last week would remain in custody while the investigation continues. Two of those are minors, a 16-year-old and a 17-year-old from Amsterdam. The other two men are from Amsterdam and a nearby city.

Police said they have identified over 170 witnesses and have taken forensics evidence from dozens. Prime Minister Dick Schoof said they were also examining videos posted to social media.

Reports of antisemitic speech, vandalism and violence have been on the rise in Europe since the start of the war in Gaza, and tensions mounted in Amsterdam ahead of Thursday night’s match.

Pro-Palestinian demonstrators were banned by local authorities from gathering outside the stadium. Before the match, Maccabi fans also tore a Palestinian flag off a building in Amsterdam and chanted anti-Arab slogans on their way to the stadium. There were also reports of Maccabi fans starting fights.

The mayor has banned all demonstrations in the city and declared several parts of Amsterdam risk zones where police can stop and check anyone. Dozens were detained on Sunday for taking part in a pro-Palestinian demonstration in central Amsterdam that had been outlawed.

Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Saar rushed to the Netherlands on Friday and offered Israel’s help in the police investigation. He met on Saturday with the Dutch prime minister and said in a statement that the attacks and demands to show passports "were reminiscent of dark periods in history."

The U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM) recently announced that U.S. forces conducted retaliatory strikes against Iran-associated targets on Monday.

In a statement obtained by Fox News, CENTCOM said that the strikes were in response to "several attacks" against U.S. forces.

"Today, U.S. CENTCOM forces conducted strikes against nine targets in two locations
associated with Iranian groups in Syria in response to several attacks on U.S. personnel in Syria over the last 24 hours," the statement read.

"These strikes will degrade the Iranian-backed groups' ability to plan and launch future attacks on U.S. and Coalition forces who are in the region to conduct D-ISIS operations," CENTCOM added.

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In the press release, CENTCOM commander Gen. Michael Erik Kurilla said that the attacks sent a "clear" message.

"Attacks against U.S. and coalition partners in the region will not be tolerated," the military official said. "We will continue to take every step necessary to protect our personnel and coalition partners and respond to reckless attacks."

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The strikes came as the tensions between Israel and Iran continue to escalate. On Nov. 3, U.S. bombers arrived in the Middle East in support of Israel.

CENTCOM said last week that B-52 Stratofortress strategic bombers from Minot Air Force Base's 5th Bomb Wing had arrived in the region, but did not specify exactly where the weapons were sent.

Last week, an Iranian asset was charged with attempting to assassinate President-elect Trump. The Iranian Foreign Ministry has denied the allegations.

IRAN CLAIMS IT IS CAPABLE OF BUILDING NUCLEAR WEAPONS AS AYATOLLAH VOWS ‘TOOTH-BREAKING’ RESPONSE TO ISRAEL, US

"There are few actors in the world that pose as grave a threat to the national security of the United States as does Iran," Attorney General Merrick Garland said in a statement. "The Justice Department has charged an asset of the Iranian regime who was tasked by the regime to direct a network of criminal associates to further Iran’s assassination plots against its targets, including President-elect Donald Trump."

Fox News Digital's Greg Norman and Stephen Sorace contributed to this report.

An emperor penguin found malnourished far from its Antarctic home on the Australian south coast is being cared for by a wildlife expert, a government department said Monday.

The adult male was found on Nov. 1 on a popular tourist beach in the town of Denmark in temperate southwest Australia — about 2,200 miles north of the icy waters off the Antarctic coast, according to a statement from the Western Australia state’s Department of Biodiversity, Conservation and Attractions.

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The largest penguin species has never been reported in Australia before, University of Western Australia research fellow Belinda Cannell said, though some had reached New Zealand, nearly all of which is further south than Western Australia.

Cannell said she had no idea why the penguin traveled to Denmark.

Cannell is advising seabird rehabilitator Carol Biddulph who is caring for the penguin, spraying him with a chilled water mist to help him cope with his alien climate. The penguin is 39 inches tall and initially weighed 51 pounds.

A healthy male can weigh more than 100 pounds.

The department said its efforts were focused on rehabilitating the penguin. Asked if the penguin could potentially be returned to Antarctica, the department replied that "options are still being worked through."

Taiwan is considering a massive $15 billion military package in a show to the incoming Trump administration that it is serious about defending itself against the threat posed by China. 

Officials from Taipei are already engaged in "informal" talks with the incoming Trump team, according to a report by the Financial Times on Monday; although, as President-elect Donald Trump has yet to fill his cabinet, it is unclear who is engaging in these alleged discussions.

According to the report, Taiwan is considering the purchase of an Aegis-class destroyer – a system described by defense contractor Lockheed Martin as "the most capable multi-mission combat system deployed in the world today" as it integrates air and missile defense.

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Taipei is also eyeing other sophisticated equipment when it comes to beefing up its war capabilities, including Northrop Grumman’s E-2D Advanced Hawkeye aircraft, which has been deemed a "game changer in how the Navy conducts battle management command and control."

Fox News Digital could not immediately reach the Trump transition team for comment on the "informal" talks reportedly taking place. 

However, unnamed sources close to the Trump team reportedly said that up to 60 F-35 fighter jets, 10 retired warships and 400 Patriot missiles could make up the substantial package requested by Taiwan.

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"Taiwan is thinking about a package to show that they are serious," one former Trump administration official apparently told the Financial Times. "Assuming they follow through, they will go to the U.S. national security advisor when they are named and present a very aggressive package of American hardware."

Fox News Digital could not immediately reach the Taiwanese government for comment, but according to a report by Reuters, Taipei denied that there were ongoing talks with the U.S. about an arms package. 

"There has been a period of consolidation and discussion between Taiwan and the United States on military needs, but there is no new stage of discussion at this time," an official told the outlet.

From the campaign trail, Trump threatened to expand the trade war with China, but it is unclear where he stands when it comes to U.S. defense priorities, particularly in the waters off of mainland China.

Beijing has made it clear it intends to "reunify" Taiwan with mainland China, and U.S. security experts have been sounding the alarm that this could happen as soon as 2027.

China has built a land-based prototype nuclear reactor for a large surface warship, in the clearest sign yet Beijing is advancing toward producing its first nuclear-powered aircraft carrier, according to a new analysis of satellite imagery and Chinese government documents provided to The Associated Press.

China’s navy is already the world’s largest numerically, and it has been rapidly modernizing. Adding nuclear-powered carriers to its fleet would be a major step in realizing its ambitions for a true "blue-water" force capable of operating in seas far from China in a growing global challenge to the United States.

"Nuclear-powered carriers would place China in the exclusive ranks of first-class naval powers, a group currently limited to the United States and France," said Tong Zhao, a senior fellow at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace in Washington, D.C. "For China’s leadership, such a development would symbolize national prestige, fueling domestic nationalism and elevating the country’s global image as a leading power."

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Researchers at the Middlebury Institute of International Studies in California said they made the finding while investigating a mountain site outside the city of Leshan in the southwest Chinese province of Sichuan, where they suspected China was building a reactor to produce plutonium or tritium for weapons.

Instead they concluded that China was building a prototype reactor for a large warship. The project at Leshan is dubbed the Longwei, or Dragon Might, Project and is also referred to as the Nuclear Power Development Project in documents.

Neither China’s Defense Ministry nor Foreign Affairs Ministry responded to requests for comment.

There have long been rumors that China is planning to build a nuclear-powered aircraft carrier, but the research by the Middlebury team is the first to confirm that China is working on a nuclear-powered propulsion system for a carrier-sized surface warship.

"The reactor prototype at Leshan is the first solid evidence that China is, in fact, developing a nuclear-powered aircraft carrier," said Jeffrey Lewis, a professor at Middlebury and one of the researchers on the project. "Operating a nuclear-powered aircraft carrier is an exclusive club, one that China looks set to join."

Drawing on satellite images and public documents including project tenders, personnel files, environmental impact studies — and even a citizen’s complaint about noisy construction and excessive dust — they concluded a prototype reactor for naval propulsion was being built in the mountains of Mucheng township, some 70 miles southwest of Sichuan's provincial capital Chengdu.

The reactor, which procurement documents indicate will soon be operational, is housed in a new facility built at the site known as Base 909, which houses six other reactors that are operational, decommissioned or under construction, according to the analysis. The site is under the control of the Nuclear Power Institute of China, a subsidiary of the China National Nuclear Corporation, which is tasked with reactor engineering research and testing.

Documents indicating that China’s 701 Institute, formally known as China Ship Research and Design Center, which is responsible for aircraft carrier development, procured reactor equipment "intended for installation on a large surface warship" under the Nuclear Power Development Project as well as the project’s "national defense designation" helped lead to the conclusion the sizable reactor is a prototype for a next-generation aircraft carrier.

Satellite mages from 2020 to 2023 have shown the demolition of homes and the construction of water intake infrastructure connected to the reactor site. Contracts for steam generators and turbine pumps indicate the project involves a pressurized water reactor with a secondary circuit — a profile that is consistent with naval propulsion reactors, the researchers say.

An environmental impact report calls the Longwei Project a "national defense-related construction project" that is classified "secret."

"Unless China is developing nuclear-powered cruisers, which were pursued only by the United States and the Soviet Union during the Cold War, then the Nuclear Power Development Project most certainly refers to a nuclear-powered aircraft carrier development effort," researchers wrote in a detailed 19-page report on their findings shared exclusively with the AP.

Jamie Withorne, an analyst at the Oslo Nuclear Project who was not involved in the research and reviewed the findings, said Middlebury's team made a "convincing argument."

"From the identifying reports, co-location with other naval reactor facilities, and correlating construction activity, I think it can be said that it is likely the Longwei Project is housed at Base 909, and it could potentially be located at the identified building," she said.

The research does not, however, provide clues as to when a Chinese nuclear-powered carrier could be built and become operational, she said.

Sarah Laderman, a senior analyst with Open Nuclear Network, a program of the U.S.-based NGO PAX sapiens foundation, said the findings were "carefully conducted and thoroughly researched."

"Given the evidence presented here, I see a compelling case made that China seems to be working towards building a nuclear propulsion system for its naval surface ships (likely aircraft carriers) at this location," said Laderman, who is based in Vienna and was not involved in Middlebury’s research.

China’s first carrier, commissioned in 2012, was a repurposed Soviet ship, and its second was built in China but based upon the Soviet design. Both ships — named the Liaoning and the Shandong — employ a so-called "ski-jump" type launch method, with a ramp at the end of a short runway to help planes take off.

The Type 003 Fujian, launched in 2022, was the country's third carrier and its first to be indigenously designed and built. It employs an electromagnetic-type launch system like those developed and used by the U.S. Navy. All three carriers are conventionally powered.

Sea trials hadn’t even started for the Fujian in March when Yuan Huazhi, political commissar for China’s People’s Liberation Army Navy, confirmed the construction of a fourth carrier. Asked if it would be nuclear-powered, he said at the time that would "soon be announced," but so far it has not been.

There has been speculation that China may begin producing two new carriers at once — one Type 003 like the Fujian and one nuclear-powered Type 004 — something that it has not attempted before but that its shipyards have the capacity to do.

Matthew Funaiole, senior fellow at the Center for Strategic and International Studies’ China Power Project, said he doubts China's next carrier will be nuclear-powered. Instead, he said, he would expect the People's Liberation Army Navy's fourth carrier to focus on optimizing the existing design of the Fujian carrier with "incremental improvements."

Nick Childs, senior fellow for naval forces and maritime security at the International Institute for Strategic Studies, said the Chinese "have taken an incremental approach to their carrier development with a number of ambitions that will evolve over time."

"For now, their deployments have been relatively cautious, remaining largely within range of shore support, but projecting influence and to some extent coercion within their near waters."

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Eventually, however, "larger carriers more akin to their U.S. counterparts will give them more options to project power," Childs said.

It takes several years to build a carrier and bring it into operation, but developing nuclear propulsion for its next generation of warships would eventually give China more power to run advanced systems, such as electromagnetic launchers, radars and new technology weapons, Childs said.

"As well as obviating the need for the ship to refuel regularly and therefore giving it much greater range, nuclear power means that without the need to carry fuel oil for the ship there will be room aboard for fuel and weapons for its aircraft, extending their capabilities," Childs said.

"Much will depend on what overall size the next carrier is, but the addition of nuclear power will represent a significant step further in China’s carrier development with a vessel more comparable to the U.S. Navy’s carriers."

Zhao, of the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, said nuclear-powered carriers would provide the Chinese military "with greater flexibility and endurance to operate around strategic hotspots, especially along the First Island Chain, where most territories disputed by China are located," said Zhao.

The First Island Chain includes the self-governed island of Taiwan, which China claims as its own and vows to annex it by force if necessary.

The U.S. is obligated by a domestic law to supply Taiwan with sufficient weapons to deter invasion, and it could provide assistance to the island from its bases in the Pacific in the event of an invasion or blockade. Tensions also have risen in the South China Sea between China and neighboring nations over territorial disputes and maritime claims.

"These carriers could also extend Chinese operations deeper into the Western Pacific, further challenging the U.S. military’s ability to ‘intervene’ in regional matters that China views as best resolved by countries from the region only," Zhao said.

Chinese President Xi Jinping has tasked defense officials with building a "first-class" navy and becoming a maritime power as part of his blueprint for the country’s rejuvenation.

The country’s most recent white paper on national defense, dated 2019, said the Chinese navy was adjusting to strategic requirements by "speeding up the transition of its tasks from defense on the near seas to protection missions on the far seas."

The People's Liberation Army Navy is already the world’s largest navy with more than 370 ships and submarines. The country also boasts powerful shipbuilding capabilities: China’s shipyards are building many hundreds of vessels each year, whereas the U.S. is building five or fewer, according to a U.S. congressional report late last year.

However, the Chinese navy lags behind the U.S. Navy in many respects. Among other advantages, the U.S. currently has 11 carriers, all nuclear powered, allowing it to keep multiple strike groups deployed around the world at all times, including in the Indo-Pacific.

But the Pentagon is growingly increasingly concerned about China’s rapid modernization of its fleet, including the design and construction of new carriers.

That aligns with China's "growing emphasis on the maritime domain and increasing demands" for its navy "to operate at greater distances from mainland China," the Defense Department said in its most recent report to Congress on China's military.

And China's "growing force of aircraft carriers extend air defense coverage of deployed task groups beyond the range of land-based defenses, enabling operations farther from China’s shore," the report said.