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A former British Conservative minister and current MP renewed his push in Parliament last week for legislation that bans first-cousin marriage, prompting opposition from the ruling Labour party, Prime Minister Keir Starmer and a British-Muslim MP.

The Conservative MP Richard Holden said during a parliamentary debate, "A marriage between first cousins carries significant health issues, many of which aren't even knowable until post-birth." He added, "When practiced generation after generation, there is a significant multiplier effect."

Adverse health effects on the children of first cousin marriages have been established in medical research. Holden added that "the real impacts on the openness of our society and women’s rights in our country are significant. After all, there are significant dynamics in sharing the same set of grandparents."

Holden urged Starmer to "think again" about blocking his legislation from moving forward. Starmer responded to Holden, stating "We've taken our position on that Bill, thank you." 

'TRUMP EFFECT' ON DISPLAY AS UK'S STARMER BOOSTS DEFENSE SPENDING ON EVE OF US VISIT

The Daily Mail reported that nearly 46% of females from the Pakistani community in Bradford, England had a "common ancestor," according to a 2024 study. A government study showed that the number was at 62% 10 years earlier.

While the prime minister's office did not say why they are against the bill's codification into law, a spokesman for Starmer told Fox News Digital, "Expert advice risks on first-cousin marriages are clear. In terms of legislation and what the government set up in the King’s Speech after the election, so of course we do not want people to enter in cousin marriages."

He continued, "We are focused on making sure every part of the govt is focused on delivering on issues that matter to the British public. We set out our legislative priorities in the King’s Speech."

Given the large influx of migrants from the Middle East and North Africa to Scandinavian countries, the BBC reported that Norway has banned cousin marriage while a ban is expected to come into effect in Sweden next year.

The failure to codify a ban on interfamily marriage among first cousins has outraged many prominent conservative voices in the United Kingdom.

Ben Habib, chairman of the Great British Political Action Committee, told Fox News Digital, "Liberalism in the U.K. is out of control. In the pursuit of allowing people to do whatever they like, sanity is being set aside. It matters not whether that which you wish to do is deeply damaging. If you’re a minority, you have a protective blanket put around you and encouraged to continue."

BRACE FOR A 'POLITICAL REVOLUTION' IN EUROPE, UK'S NIGEL FARAGE SAYS AFTER VANCE'S SPEECH IN MUNICH

Habib added that "marrying cousins was a practice which exited Western culture over a hundred years ago. It’s now back with a vengeance. Why? Because we’ve had mass immigration from cultures which haven’t kept pace with ours. Instead of requiring them to adopt our approach, the British government allows them to continue this debilitating practice. Liberalism is reversing cultural advancement. And our government is in on the act. This insanity must stop."

During one of the parliamentary debates on the bill, Independent MP Iqbal Mohamed, who rejects a legislative prohibition on first-cousin marriage, admitted "there are documented health risks with first-cousin marriage." He said this is an issue that "needs greater awareness." He, however, said the way to address this "is not to empower the state to ban adults from marrying each other." He does not think a ban would be "effective or enforceable." 

According to medical experts, the children of first-cousin marriages are highly vulnerable to contracting an autosomal recessive genetic disorder, 

Mohamed said, "The matter needs to be approached as a health awareness issue and a cultural issue where women are being forced against their will to undergo marriage."

According to Mohamed, an estimated 35% to 50% of all sub-Saharan populations prefer or accept first-cousin marriage, and it is common in the Middle East and South Asia. In July 2024, British voters pulled the plug on the Conservative Party’s 14-year reign and voted in Starmer’s leftist Labour Party.

OTTAWA – Mark Carney has never held elected office, but for years has been touted as a future leader of the Liberal Party of Canada, and if the polling goes as expected, he is the favorite to win his party's leadership race on Sunday.

Carney, the former governor of both the Bank of Canada and the Bank of England, and Goldman Sachs executive, is expected to win the race to succeed Justin Trudeau as both the 14th Liberal leader and 24th Canadian prime minister by the party’s nearly 400,000 members.

Carney recently criticized President Donald Trump as a "bully" in a statement he released in response to American tariffs being put on the northern neighbor. "Canada will not bow down to a bully. We won’t stand by as illegal U.S. tariffs hurt our workers and their families. As Canadians, we need to face this challenge as one united team."

Canada's CBC reported Carney compared Trump to Harry Potter's Voldemort in reaction to the president's comments on making Canada the 51st state.

"When you think about what's at stake in these ridiculous, insulting comments of the president, of what we could be, I view this as the sort of Voldemort of comments… Like I will not even repeat it, but you know what I'm talking about."

CANADA PUNCHES BACK AGAINST TRUMP WITH MAJOR TARIFFS OF ITS OWN AS TRADE WAR SET TO BEGIN ON TUESDAY

More than half of the Liberals’ 153-member caucus in the House of Commons has endorsed him for leader over former Cabinet ministers Chrystia Freeland and Karina Gould, as well as past member of Parliament (MP) Frank Baylis – all three of whom served in Trudeau’s government.

On fundraising, Carney has amassed the most campaign contributions with $1.3 million – or more than double what Freeland, a former foreign affairs minister, collected last month.

Polls have also shown that Carney is the frontrunner to become the next Liberal leader. Should he hold that job and automatically become Canadian prime minister as Trudeau’s successor, he would help boost his party’s fortunes at the ballot box.

A survey by the Angus Reid Institute, released on March 5, found that a Carney-led Liberal Party was only three points (37%) behind the official opposition Conservative Party, at 40%. 

The results of a Leger poll, released on March 3, reported a slightly wider margin, with the Conservatives at 41% and the Liberals, with Carney as leader, at 33%.

However, the same recent Angus Reid poll also found that 43% of Canadians believe Carney would be best suited, as prime minister, to deal with Trump, compared to Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre, at 34%.

Even Poilievre has acknowledged that he will face the frontrunner in the Liberal race in the next general election, regularly calling him "Carbon Tax Carney," with reference to the Canadian government’s consumer tax on carbon emissions that Carney initially supported. During his leadership run, the former central bank governor said he would replace it with an incentive program that rewards Canadians for "making greener choices," such as purchasing an energy-efficient appliance.

In a Jan. 26 open letter to Carney, Poilievre asked him whether he would be "any different than the man you are trying to replace" and commit to "banning any prior Trudeau minister from serving in your Cabinet" or "pursue the same Trudeau agenda?"

TRUMP EXEMPTS MEXICO FROM TARIFFS FOR USMCA GOODS UNTIL APRIL 2 

Norman Spector, who served as chief of staff to former Progressive Conservative Prime Minister Brian Mulroney, views Carney’s political-rookie status as serving him well as prime minister when dealing with the White House.

"He doesn’t start out with any baggage with Trump, and I think that’s very, very important," said Spector. He suggested that Carney meet with the president as soon as possible to address areas where Canada and the U.S. can closely collaborate, such as on continental security.

Carney cannot appear to be "Justin Trudeau in a different set of clothes or with a different resume," John Manley, a former Canadian Liberal deputy prime minister and finance minister, told Fox News Digital.

"He’s got to be a candidate for change and be seen as the serious dude who can take on Donald Trump," while noting that the ballot-box question in Canada has shifted from the unpopularity in Canada of Trudeau to Trump.

No longer a member of Canada's Liberal Party, Manley said Carney has "promised to move the party back toward the center and make the economy his focus, and those would both be welcome."

Last Wednesday, Carney said he would remove domestic trade barriers between the 10 provinces and three territories that would expand the Canadian economy by up to $140 billion.

On the same day, Trudeau and the provincial and territorial premiers agreed to do the very same to reduce reliance on trade with the U.S. in response to the Trump administration’s tariffs on Canada.

Manley said the Liberals "have got to stop focusing on identity politics," which he said is only "important to a small band of people."

"We can’t keep fighting cultural wars. It badly hurt the Democrats in the U.S."

He also said Carney needs to quickly call a general election before Parliament is scheduled to resume on March 24. 

Should he become Liberal leader on Sunday, Carney would also automatically become the prime minister-designate since the Liberals lead the government under Trudeau. 

The formal transition date for Carney to assume office has yet to be determined, but he would be the first Canadian prime minister to have never held elected office and would need to win a seat in the House of Commons. Therefore, the need for a national vote is also personal as it would enable Carney to run in a yet-to-be-determined riding (district) to become a member of Parliament.

TRUMP TELLS TRUDEAU FENTANYL CRACKDOWN ‘NOT GOOD ENOUGH’ TO STAVE OFF TARIFFS

Manley, who ran for the Canadian Liberal leadership in 2003, won by former prime minister Paul Martin, said Carney will need new faces in his Cabinet.

He also sees Carney – a Harvard and Oxford universities graduate with a doctorate in economics – as holding an advantage over Poilievre in the next election.

Born in Canada’s Northwest Territories, 59-year-old Carney was also a longtime Goldman Sachs executive, who additionally served as the United Nations special envoy for climate action and finance.

By contrast, 45-year-old Poilievre has "done nothing but politics for his adult life," said Manley.

The opposition leader was first elected as a Conservative MP for an Ottawa riding in 2004 when he was 24.

But Manley said, "Poilievre is a very effective communicator," and Carney has to "prove that he can relate to the ordinary man on the street."

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"Can he appeal to people who elect governments, many of whom don’t particularly read books – and may not even read newspapers?"

"Being a successful politician today requires a different skill set than it was even in my time," he said.

It is one of the most dangerous places in the world to be a woman – or a Christian. Disease is rampant, and children as young as 4 are being forced to work in mines.

The Democratic Republic of Congo is 95% Christian, yet the faithful are being targeted by jihadists. Just last month, Islamist ADF terrorists, who want the eastern part of the country to become a Muslim Caliphate, rounded up 70 Christians and beheaded them – in a church.

Women are under threat too. According to the U.N., 895 cases of rape were reported in the last two weeks of February alone – an average of more than 60 a day.

In the east, "Sexual violence and human rights abuses remain rampant, as is the looting and destruction of civilian homes and businesses," Patrick Eba, deputy director of UNHCR’s Division of International Protection, said this week.

70 CHRISTIANS BEHEADED IN AFRICAN COUNTRY BY ISIS-ALIGNED MILITANTS, GROUPS SAY; WORLD MOSTLY SILENT

Eba added that "hundreds of thousands of people (are) on the move", fleeing the violence, with many crossing into neighboring countries.

Over 150 women inmates were raped, and many of them then burned to death, in Goma in October last year. As M23 rebels advanced on the city, prison guards at the local jail fled. Hundreds of male inmates are said to have jumped over a wall and raped the women, before escaping.

The sick are also at risk. Earlier this week, the U.N. humanitarian affairs coordination office (OCHA) reported that armed men had raided at least two hospitals in North Kivu’s capital Goma, abducting dozens of patients. 

Disease also stalks people – with three mystery "outbreaks" in the past six months in the DRC. In the latest, the World Health Organization stated late last month that 60 have died and a further 1,318 have shown symptoms of suffering from an as yet unidentified serious illness in Equateur Province.

The agency said the disease spreads through the body fast "with a median time from onset of symptoms to death of one day." Tests for Ebola and the Marburg virus have come back negative so far.

In the Eastern Kivu provinces of the DRC, hundreds of thousands have been displaced, as rebel groups, often foreign-backed, push back government troops in a war "playing out in one of the poorest regions of earth," analyst Frans Cronje told Fox News Digital, adding, "Thousands have been killed, disease pandemics are commonplace, (and) women live under the constant fear of rape and abuse." 

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"The conflict in the DRC is essentially about control of critical minerals", Cronje, an advisor for the Yorktown Foundation for Freedom, continued. "Scores of rebel groups and some state actors are engaged in the conflict. The two Kivu provinces contain vast deposits of these minerals that could be used in applications from defense and AI to green energy."

Bill Roggio, senior fellow at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies (FDD) and editor of the Long War Journal, told Fox News Digital, "I would argue that the minerals are only partially, or even tangentially, related. The main violence plaguing Congo runs from regional political issues, like Rwanda/M23 (rebel group), to ethnic like CODECO, (an association of militia groups) to religious, like Islamic State Central Africa Province, aka ADF, (rebel group) to just general localized banditry. And some groups do control and make money from artisanal mines, but not all."

And, for more than a decade, children in some DRC areas have faced extreme exploitation and abuse, reportedly from China, forced to mine deep underground in its quest for metals such as cobalt. An estimated 70% of the world’s cobalt is produced in the DRC, according to Michigan State University’s Global Edge Research Organization. China is said to either own, or co-own with the DRC’s government, 80% of the DRC’s cobalt mines.

This modern-day child slavery continues despite outcry. A report to a joint House and Senate Committee in November 2023 stated that the DRC "is a country that has been brutally pillaged throughout history, fueled by corrupt men’s unquenchable thirst for power, riches, land, rubber, copper, palm oil, and now cobalt, all at the expense of innocent women, men, and children." 

"Children as young as 4 are forced to mine cobalt, "Jason Isaac told Fox News Digital last year. Isaac is the founder and CEO of the American Energy Institute. 

The FDD’s Bill Roggio told Fox News Digital there are steps the Trump administration could take, "from counter-terrorism against one of IS' most active global branches (ISCAP) to walking back a potential massive regional war, or even to improving good governance, a more stable, secure and prosperous Congo would do wonders for the global economy and regional security."

The mother of Alon Ohel, a hostage taken from the Nova Music Festival Oct. 7, 2023, who remains in Hamas captivity, is pleading for her son’s release after the first phase of the ceasefire concluded last week, but no new deal for a second phase has yet been reached. 

"I think every mother in this world, if they just stopped for a second, would [they] even be able to breathe, knowing that their son or daughter have eaten dinner, are not getting any food – they're being starved, chained and in bad condition," Idit Ohel  told Fox News Digital. 

"Would they be able to just do anything?  It's unbearable. It's just unbearable." 

AFTER TRUMP THREAT, HAMAS REFUSES TO RELEASE MORE HOSTAGES WITHOUT PHASE 2 CEASEFIRE DEAL

Alon and 58 others, including one individual taken separately from the Oct. 7 attacks, remains a hostage after 518 days since the October 2023 Hamas attacks on Israel.

During the attack, Alon hid in a bomb shelter outside the Nova music festival and was injured when shrapnel hit his right eye. 

Footage shared with Fox News Digital showed the harrowing state he and others were in during the attack and their subsequent abduction. 

TRUMP STICKING TO GAZA RELOCATION PLAN, AS WHITE HOUSE SEEMS TO DISMISS EGYPTIAN PROPOSAL

According to Israelis who were held hostage with Alon, his injury was never properly treated, and he is now at risk of going blind in both eyes, Idit explained.

Alon was confirmed last month to still be alive after the release of three hostages who were held with him. He is now believed to be held on his own.

"I have no idea where Allen is right now, but I do know as a mother that I'm frightened for him, and I know that he needs to be back as soon as possible. It's urgent," Idit explained to Fox News Digital. 

President Donald Trump this week met with hostages released from Gaza who told the president they believed he had "been sent by God" to secure their release.

Idit, who is Israeli, has not heard from either the Trump administration or from Netanyahu’s office.

But she believes Trump will help to return her son.

"I know that Trump can bring my son home. I know this because he has the power to do it. And when he wants something, he does it," Idit said. "I'm rooting for him.

"I came all the way from Israel to D.C. to make sure that I’m heard, that Alon is heard," she added. "I'm advocating for him. Alon is being held. He can't speak."

News this week revealed the Trump administration was directly communicating with Hamas to secure the release of five American hostages still held in Gaza, including the only surviving American, Edan Alexander.

Reports also noted that the administration was directly negotiating with the terrorist organization, an unprecedented move that has reportedly frustrated Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, to try to secure a 60-day ceasefire in exchange for the release of 10 hostages.

But there are 25 hostages still believed to be alive, including Ohel.

In a direct message to her son, Idit said, "We pray for you, and I am doing everything in my power to make sure that you are not forgotten. 

"You are not forgotten," she added. "People here think about you every day, and they want to save you and want to bring you back home. 

"Your father and I, and your sister and your brother, are with you all the time."

Pope Francis continued his therapy and prescribed diet, which now includes eating solid foods, the Vatican said in an update on Sunday.

The Vatican said he did respiratory and motor physiotherapy and his condition "appears stable, with slight gradual improvements."

"However, the overall situation remains complex, prompting doctors to maintain a guarded prognosis," the Vatican also warned in its update.

Earlier on Sunday, the Vatican said the pope was responding well to treatment and had shown a "gradual, mild improvement" in recent days as he remains in the hospital recovering from double pneumonia.

POPE FRANCIS SHOWS 'SLIGHT IMPROVEMENT' DURING FOURTH WEEK IN HOSPITAL, VATICAN SAYS

The night was quiet; the Pope is resting," the Vatican said in its earlier statement.

Francis, 88, was admitted to Rome's Gemelli Hospital on Feb. 14 after a week-long bout of bronchitis worsened. Doctors first diagnosed the complex viral, bacterial and fungal respiratory tract infection and subsequently the onset of pneumonia in both lungs.

This is the fourth Sunday in a row that the pope will not appear for his weekly noon blessing, but the Vatican plans to distribute the message he would have delivered.

The pope's condition has remained stable, as he has had no fever and good oxygen levels in his blood for several days, doctors said. The doctors said that his stability "as a consequence testifies to a good response to therapy."

This marks the first time doctors have reported that Francis, who has chronic lung disease and had part of one lung removed when he was younger, was responding well to the prescribed therapies since he was admitted to the hospital more than three weeks ago.

Despite Francis' absence, the Vatican’s daily operations continued alongside celebrations of its Holy Year, the once-every-quarter-century Jubilee that brings pilgrims from around the world to Rome. The Holy Year is celebrating volunteers this weekend, and many are extending their pilgrimage to pray for Francis outside the hospital.

POPE FRANCIS CONTINUES TO REST IN HOSPITAL AS VATICAN'S HOLY YEAR PROCEEDS WITHOUT HIM

Canadian Cardinal Michael Czerny will preside over the Holy Year Mass on Sunday for the volunteers.

The pope has been using high flows of supplemental oxygen to help him breathe during the day and a noninvasive mechanical ventilation mask at night.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

Pope Francis is responding well to treatment and has shown a "gradual, mild improvement" in recent days as he remains in the hospital recovering from double pneumonia, the Vatican said Sunday.

"The night was quiet; the Pope is resting," the Vatican said in a statement.

Francis, 88, was admitted to Rome's Gemelli Hospital on Feb. 14 after a week-long bout of bronchitis worsened. Doctors first diagnosed the complex viral, bacterial and fungal respiratory tract infection and subsequently the onset of pneumonia in both lungs.

POPE FRANCIS SHOWS 'SLIGHT IMPROVEMENT' DURING FOURTH WEEK IN HOSPITAL, VATICAN SAYS

This is the fourth Sunday in a row that the pope will not appear for his weekly noon blessing, but the Vatican plans to distribute the message he would have delivered.

The pope's condition has remained stable, as he has had no fever and good oxygen levels in his blood for several days, doctors said. The doctors said that his stability "as a consequence testifies to a good response to therapy."

This marks the first time doctors have reported that Francis, who has chronic lung disease and had part of one lung removed when he was younger, was responding well to the prescribed therapies since he was admitted to the hospital more than three weeks ago.

But his prognosis remains "guarded," doctors said, meaning he is not yet out of danger.

Despite Francis' absence, the Vatican’s daily operations continued alongside celebrations of its Holy Year, the once-every-quarter-century Jubilee that brings pilgrims from around the world to Rome. The Holy Year is celebrating volunteers this weekend, and many are extending their pilgrimage to pray for Francis outside the hospital.

POPE FRANCIS CONTINUES TO REST IN HOSPITAL AS VATICAN'S HOLY YEAR PROCEEDS WITHOUT HIM

Canadian Cardinal Michael Czerny will preside over the Holy Year Mass on Sunday for the volunteers.

The pope has been using high flows of supplemental oxygen to help him breathe during the day and a noninvasive mechanical ventilation mask at night.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

Iran Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said Saturday he will not negotiate a nuclear deal with the U.S., citing demands about the country's missile range and influence.

In a series of posts on X, Khamenei called the U.S. government "coercive," claiming negotiations are only a means to impose new demands.

"Such negotiations aren't aimed at solving issues," Khamenei wrote. "Their aim is to exert their dominance and impose what they want."

He added the "demands" relate to the country's defense and international capabilities.

TRUMP REINSTATES ‘MAXIMUM PRESSURE’ CAMPAIGN AGAINST IRAN 

"Telling us not to do this, not to meet that person, not to go there, not to produce this, and to limit the range of our missiles to a certain extend," Khamenei wrote. "How could anyone accept such things?"

Khamenei posted one day after President Donald Trump said he had sent a letter to Khamenei pushing for a nuclear agreement with Tehran, suggesting there could be military consequences if a deal is not reached.

Trump told reporters Friday the U.S. is "down to the final moments" negotiating with Iran, and he hoped a military intervention would not be necessary.

TRUMP'S LATEST HIRES AND FIRES RANKLE IRAN HAWKS AS NEW PRESIDENT SUGGESTS NUCLEAR DEAL 

In a statement Saturday, National Security Council spokesman Brian Hughes said the administration hopes Iran "puts its people and best interests ahead of terror."

"President Trump said it clearly that there are two ways Iran can be handled: militarily or by making a deal," Hughes wrote. 

Behnam Ben Taleblu, director of the Foundation for Defense of Democracies' Iran program, wrote in a statement that Trump should "be careful" in discussions with Tehran.

"Tehran has set a trap for him, hoping to lure him into endless diplomacy that is used to blunt maximum pressure and dampen the credibility of an American or Israeli military option while buying time to creep towards a nuclear weapon," Ben Taleblu wrote in a statement.

While Trump said in February he believed Iran was "close" to developing a nuclear weapon, he noted the U.S. would prevent the action.

IRAN'S WEAKENED POSITION COULD LEAD IT TO PURSUE NUCLEAR WEAPON, BIDEN NATIONAL SECURITY ADVISER WARNS

He also signed an executive action ordering the Department of Treasury to execute "maximum economic pressure" on Iran through a series of sanctions that would devastate the country's oil exports. 

The "maximum pressure" initiative against Tehran, which was enacted during the first Trump administration, issues greater sanctions and harsher enforcement for violations.

The president's comments and Khamenei's subsequent posts came days before Sunday's 18th anniversary of the abduction of retired FBI Special Agent Robert "Bob" Levinson from Kish Island, Iran.

The FBI Washington Field posted Friday on Facebook, saying it "remembers Bob and his family every day" ahead of the anniversary and National Hostage and Wrongful Detainee Day.

The FBI is still offering up to a $5 million reward for information that leads to Levinson’s location, recovery and return, according to the post.

The State Department's Rewards for Justice program is offering a reward of up to $20 million for information leading to his location, recovery and return and information leading to the arrest or conviction of anyone responsible for his alleged abduction.

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"As part of our ongoing efforts to resolve Bob's case and hold the Iranian regime responsible for its role in Bob's disappearance, we recently released seeking information posters featuring Mohammad Baseri and Ahmad Khazai, two senior Iranian intelligence officers who worked for Iran's Ministry of Intelligence and Security at the time of Bob's abduction," the agency wrote in the post.

Fox News Digital's Diana Stancy contributed to this report.

Pope Francis has apparently shown "slight improvement" and is responding well to ongoing oxygen therapy, according to a statement from the Vatican. 

The 88-year-old pontiff has been in the hospital since Feb. 14, when he was admitted for respiratory issues that were later found to be bilateral pneumonia.

Doctors are keeping the pope’s prognosis under wraps as they continue to evaluate his condition.

On Thursday, the pope recorded a message thanking those who had been praying for his recovery. The recording was "clearly an effort for him," Vatican sources said, pointing out that the noise from the pope’s oxygen machine could be heard in the audio.

POPE FRANCIS SUFFERS 2 ACUTE RESPIRATORY CRISES, VATICAN SAYS 

"We could hear yesterday that he was getting oxygen through the nose during audio, clearly he won't read Angelus," Vatican sources told Fox News.

Ash Wednesday also looked different this year, as the pope was unable to lead mass. Instead, Cardinal Angelo De Donatis read the pope’s homily aloud at Rome’s Santa Sabrina Basilica.

POPE FRANCIS BELIEVES ‘PAPACY IS FOR LIFE,’ HISTORIAN-BIOGRAPHER SAYS 

The pope has had a long history of respiratory issues. When he was just 21 years old, Pope Francis had part of his lung removed after developing pleurisy, which is an inflammation of the membranes that cushion the lungs. Now, according to Vatican sources, he is continuing therapy for bilateral pneumonia.

Catholics across the globe have prayed for Pope Francis since he was first hospitalized in February. This includes Vice President JD Vance, who offered a prayer for the pope during last month’s National Prayer Breakfast.

"Every day me and my children have said a prayer for the Holy Father, and we pray for his health, and we pray for his comfort as he deals with what appears to be a pretty serious health crisis," Vance said.

President Donald Trump’s highly acclaimed Turnberry golf resort in Scotland was vandalized with graffiti overnight Friday by pro-Palestine activists who also dug holes into one of the course's fairways.

Drone footage shows the resort's clubhouse splattered with red paint while giant white letters reading "Gaza Is Not For Sale" were painted on an area next to a green.

The lamp post at the resort’s entrance was also damaged while graffiti reading "Free Gaza" and "Free Palestine" were sprayed on the entrance’s wall.

The group Palestine Action took responsibility following Trump’s plans for the future of Gaza, which could see millions of Palestinians displaced. 

GAZA PLAN CRITICIZED BY US AND ISRAEL GETS EUROPEAN SUPPORT

"To make that clear, we have shown him that his own property is not safe from acts of resistance," the group said in a statement.

Trump received heavy criticism last month when he suggested the U.S. take over Gaza during a press conference with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netnayahu. His proposal would involve the relocation of Palestinians and turning the enclave into what he describes as the "Riviera of the Middle East." 

Trump’s Turnberry golf course and hotel is located in southwest Scotland and has three courses – two 18-hole courses and one 9 hole course -- with the venue previously hosting four Open Championships. However, it hasn’t staged the event since Trump bought the course in 2014 and renovated several holes.

ANTI-ISRAEL GROUPS SPRAY-PAINT COLUMBIA UNIVERSITY BUILDING, 'CEMENTED' SEWAGE SYSTEM

It wasn’t immediately clear which course had been vandalized.

The Alisa Course, its signature course, is named after an uninhibited volcanic island, Ailsa Craig, set across from the property that is half a billion years old. The course consistently ranks among the world's top 10 golf courses.

"Yesterday, it was ranked #3 golf course in Europe. Today, it's shut," Palestine Action wrote on X.

The resort is one of two that Trump, via the Trump Organization, operates in Scotland, with the second being Trump International Scotland in Aberdeen. The president is an avid golfer and his mother hailed from Scotland. 

Police in Scotland said they are investigating the incident. 

"Around 4.40 a.m. on Saturday, 8 March, 2025, we received a report of damage to the golf course and a premises on Maidens Road, Turnberry," a Police Scotland spokesperson said, adding that investigations were ongoing.

Fox News Digital has reached out to the Trump Organization for comment. 

Separately on Saturday, a man waving a Palestinian flag climbed the Elizabeth Tower - commonly known as Big Ben - at London's Palace of Westminster.

Fox News’ Rachel Wolf, Reuters and the Associated Press contributed to this report. 

SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — North Korea unveiled for the first time a nuclear-powered submarine under construction, a weapons system that can pose a major security threat to South Korea and the U.S.

State media on Saturday released photos showing what it called "a nuclear-powered strategic guided missile submarine," as it reported leader Kim Jong Un’s visits to major shipyards where warships are built.

The Korean Central News Agency, or KCNA, didn't provide details on the submarine, but said Kim was briefed on its construction.

TRUMP MUST NOT REPEAT HIS KIM JONG UN MISTAKE WITH IRAN, SECURITY EXPERT WARNS

The naval vessel appears to be a 6,000-ton-class or 7,000-ton-class one which can carry about 10 missiles, said Moon Keun-sik, a South Korean submarine expert who teaches at Seoul’s Hanyang University. He said the use of the term "the strategic guided missiles" meant it would carry nuclear-capable weapons.

"It would be absolutely threatening to us and the U.S.," Moon said.

A nuclear-powered submarine was among a long wishlist of sophisticated weaponry that Kim vowed to introduce during a major political conference in 2021 to cope with what he called escalating U.S.-led military threats. Other weapons were solid-fueled intercontinental ballistic missiles, hypersonic weapons, spy satellites and multi-warhead missiles. North Korea has since performed a run of testing activities to acquire them.

North Korea obtaining a greater ability to fire missiles from underwater is a worrying development because it’s difficult for its rivals to detect such launches in advance.

Questions about how North Korea, a heavily sanctioned and impoverished country, could get resources and technology to build nuclear-powered submarines have surfaced.

Moon, the submarine expert, said North Korea may have received Russian technological assistance to build a nuclear reactor to be used in the submarine in return for supplying conventional weapons and troops to support Russia’s war efforts against Ukraine.

SOUTH KOREA'S IMPEACHED PRESIDENT YOON SUK YEOL FREED FROM PRISON AFTER CANCELED ARREST

He also said North Korea could launch the submarine in one or two years to test its capability before its actual deployment.

North Korea has an estimated 70-90 diesel-powered submarines in one of the world’s largest fleets. However, they are mostly aging ones capable of launching only torpedoes and mines, not missiles.

In 2023, North Korea said it had launched what it called its first "tactical nuclear attack submarine," but foreign experts doubted the North’s announcement and speculated it was likely a diesel-powered submarine disclosed in 2019. Moon said there has been no confirmation that it has been deployed.

North Korea has conducted a slew of underwater-launched ballistic missile tests since 2016, but all launches were made from the same 2,000-ton-class submarine which has a single launch tube. Many experts call it a test platform, rather than an operational submarine in active service.

In recent days, North Korea has been dialing up its fiery rhetoric against the U.S. and South Korea ahead of their upcoming annual military drills set to start Monday.

During his visits to the shipyards, Kim said North Korea aims to modernize water-surface and underwater warships simultaneously. He stressed the need to make "the incomparably overwhelming warships fulfill their mission" to contain "the inveterate gunboat diplomacy of the hostile forces," KCNA reported Saturday.

Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard's warning of a terrorist takeover in Syria looks to be coming true amid reports that al Qaeda-linked terror forces aligned with Syria’s interim new president—a former al Qaeda terrorist—are being accused of massacring Alawites as well as members of the country's dwindling Christian community. 

Syrian security forces and affiliated gunmen have killed more than 340 civilians, the vast majority of them from the Alawite minority, over the last two days, Rami Abdulrahman of the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights told Reuters on Saturday.

At Gabbard's Senate confirmation hearing she said "I have no love for Assad or any dictator. I just hate al-Qaeda. I hate that our leaders cozy up to Islamist extremists, calling them "rebels", as Jake Sullivan said to Hillary Clinton, "al Qaeda is on our side in Syria." Syria is now controlled by al-Qaeda offshoot HTS, led by an Islamist Jihadist who danced in the streets on 9/11, and who was responsible for the killing of many American soldiers."

An Alawite woman from the region of Al-Ghab plain, where there is a majority Alawite population, told Fox News Digital that the forces said, "Alawites are pigs, and they have to execute all of them and the small children before the elderly people." 

TRUMP URGES US TO STAY OUT OF SYRIAN CIVIL WAR, BLAMING OBAMA FOR FAILURE AS ISLAMISTS CLOSE IN ON CAPITAL

The witness spoke on the condition of anonymity for fear of reprisal from the authorities. She said that two militias had entered her house on Thursday and searched her residence for weapons. One of the members "put a gun to my head and asked for all my money. They took all the money and took money from our neighbors."

She confirmed reports that the Islamist forces murdered the prominent Alawite 86-year-old cleric Shaaban Mansour and his son Hussein Shaaban. Reuters reported that Mansour was killed on Friday with his son in the village of Sahlab in western Syria. Residents there accused fighters aligned with Damascus of killing them.

A sizable Christian population living in the area has also reportedly been under attack. Greco-Levantines Worldwide media reported that a young family, including their infant child, was killed on Friday.  A father and son, Tony and Fadi Petrus, were also executed by Islamists.

The witness said that in other Alawite towns—Nahr al-Bared and Deir Shamil—the Islamist militias "are entering houses and killing people and stealing everything. They are covering their faces." 

"I feel there is no safety. There is no homeland. There is nowhere to escape to, and no one to defend us. I feel fear and horrifying feelings."

The witness added that the Islamists are Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) and other such groups affiliated with HTS, who stormed her region. She said HTS terrorists were Syrian Arabs, because of their spoken Arabic.

TRUMP CONGRATULATES US MILITARY AFTER AIRSTRIKE THAT KILLED OFFICIAL OF AL-QAEDA AFFILIATE: 'DEALT JUSTICE'

Ahmed al-Sharaa and his group, Hayat Tahrir al-Sham, a U.S.-designated Sunni terrorist organization, toppled the former Syrian President Bashar Assad in December. Assad is a member of the Alawite minority, an offshoot of Shiite Islam. The Alawites comprise roughly 10% of the Syrian population.

The Alawite source told Fox News Digital that the community is seeking support from the U.S., noting that the Islamists "want to kill all of us. They don’t want us in Syria. We have to flee Syria. They are seeking revenge from the former regime. I am asking for protection and to live in dignity, because we can be killed at any moment." 

One Alawite, who asked to remain anonymous, and who lives in Europe and is in constant contact with her community in Syria, claimed that in the coastal region and Alawite, more than 4,000 people are estimated to have been killed. She claimed to have received lists of people from Alawites who have documented the mass murder.

She and her group wrote on Telegram that al-Sharaa's "fighters have unleashed a wave of terror against civilians in Syria’s coastal cities. Reports from Alawite community sources indicate hundreds of casualties, with Christians also among the victims."

In his first comments on the violence, interim President al-Sharaa said that government forces would pursue "remnants" of the ousted Bashar Assad government.

UNCOVERING THE ATROCITIES OF THE ASSAD REGIME AT ITS 'DEATH FACTORY' ON THE HILL

"We will continue to pursue the remnants of the fallen regime. . . . We will bring them to a fair court, and we will continue to restrict weapons to the state, and no loose weapons will remain in Syria," Sharaa added in a pre-recorded speech.

The U.N. Secretary-General António Guterres, European politicians and diplomats from the former Biden administration have sought to woo Sharaa with sanctions relief and diplomatic relations since December. Critics argue that a former Islamic State and al-Qaeda terrorist, Sharra, can’t simply sport a suit and pretend he has abandoned his terrorist ideology and methods.

Just two days before the slaughter of Alawites, Guterres met with Sharaa on Tuesday in Cairo where they discussed views about a new course for Syria.

While an official statement has yet to come from the U.N. chief, his special envoy for Syria, Geir Pedersen, said he was "deeply concerned" by the reports of killings.

A group of Alawite clerics, the Alawite Islamic Council, blamed the violence on the government, saying that fighters had been sent to the coast "with the pretext of (combating) 'regime remnants,' to terrorize and kill Syrians." It called for the region to be put under U.N. protection.

Syrian authorities said the violence began when remnants loyal to Assad launched a deadly and well-planned attack on their forces on Thursday.

The violence has shaken Sharaa's efforts to consolidate control as his administration struggles to get U.S. sanctions lifted and grapples with wider security challenges, notably in the southwest, where Israel has said it will prevent Damascus from deploying forces.

The violence spiraled on Thursday when the authorities said groups of Assad-aligned militias had targeted security patrols and checkpoints in the Jableh area and surrounding countryside, before spreading.

ISRAEL DEPLOYS PARATROOPERS TO SYRIA IN 'DEFENSE ACTIVITIES' AFTER FALL OF ASSAD

Moussa al-Omar, a Syrian media figure close to the country's new leadership, told Reuters that tens of thousands of fighters in Syria's newly constituted security forces had been deployed to the coast in the operation and that order had been largely restored as of Friday night.

He said the crackdown was "a message to anyone in the south or east of Syria that the state . . . is capable of a military resolution at any time, even as it seeks peaceful solutions."

Alawite activists say their community has been subjected to violence and attacks, particularly in rural Homs and Latakia, since Assad was overthrown in December after decades of repressive family rule and civil war.

Saudi Arabia condemned "crimes being undertaken by outlaw groups" in Syria and their targeting of security forces.

Turkey, a close ally of Syria's new government, also stated its support for Damascus, saying, "The tension in and around Latakia, as well as the targeting of security forces, could undermine the efforts to lead Syria into the future in unity and solidarity."

Israel’s Defense Minister Israel Katz blasted Syria’s Islamist rulers on Friday for their campaign to smash a nascent insurgency by fighters from ousted President Assad’s Alawite group.

"[Abu Mohammed] al-Julani switched his robe for a suit and presented a moderate face," Katz said in a statement on X, using the nom de guerre of Ahmed al-Sharaa. "Now he’s taken off the mask and exposed his true face: A jihadist terrorist of the al-Qaeda school who is committing horrifying acts against a civilian population."

Katz added, "Israel will defend itself against any threat from Syria. We will remain in the security zones and Mount Hermon and protect the communities of the Golan and Galilee. We will ensure that southern Syria remains demilitarized and free of threats, and we will protect the local Druze population—anyone who harms them will face our response."

The Syrian Alawite source in Europe told Fox News Digital that the Alawites want Israel to protect them like Israel’s offer of aid to the Syrian Druze population, who are also being targeted by the Islamist government in Damascus.

Reuters contributed to this report.

A $53 billion Arab-backed plan for the reconstruction of Gaza has garnered support from France, Germany, Italy and the U.K., after receiving pushback from the U.S. and Israel. 

"The plan shows a realistic path to the reconstruction of Gaza and promises – if implemented – swift and sustainable improvement of the catastrophic living conditions for the Palestinians living in Gaza," the foreign ministers wrote in a joint statement. 

The foreign ministers called for a post-war plan based on "a solid political and security framework," but reiterated the need for Hamas to not be able to govern Gaza. Additionally, the European leaders said that they are supportive of the Palestinian Authority’s (PA) "central role" in a post-war Gaza and "the implementation of its reform agenda."

TRUMP STICKING TO GAZA RELOCATION PLAN, AS WHITE HOUSE SEEMS TO DISMISS EGYPTIAN PROPOSAL

The $53 billion Egyptian plan was meant as a counter to President Donald Trump’s U.S. takeover idea and comes after Cairo rejected the idea of accepting displaced Gazans for "national security" reasons. While Trump’s plan would resettle Palestinians outside the Strip, Egypt’s proposal focuses on Palestinian-led reconstruction efforts. 

Both the U.S. and Israel have rejected the Arab-backed plan for Gaza reconstruction. Israeli Ministry of Foreign Affairs Spokesperson Oren Marmorstein said in a statement that the plan "fails to address the realities of the situation following October 7th, 2023, remaining rooted in outdated perspectives."

PRESSED BY TRUMP’S GAZA PLAN, ARAB COUNTRIES MEET IN EGYPT TO DISCUSS ALTERNATIVE PROPOSAL

Marmorstein’s statement also criticized the plan for its reliance on the Palestinian Authority (PA) and the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA). He says that both the PA and UNRWA "have repeatedly demonstrated corruption, support for terrorism, and failure in resolving the issue."

While U.S. Special Envoy to the Middle East Steve Witkoff called the plan a "good faith first step," State Department Spokesperson Tammy Bruce told reporters that it "does not fulfill the requirements, the nature of what President Trump is asking for."

Additionally, National Security Council spokesperson Brian Hughes expressed concerns about the plan in a statement provided to Fox News Digital.

"The current proposal does not address the reality that Gaza is currently uninhabitable, and residents cannot humanely live in a territory covered in debris and unexploded ordnance. President Trump stands by his vision to rebuild Gaza free from Hamas."

Trump received heavy criticism last month when he suggested the U.S. take over Gaza during a press conference with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netnayahu. Trump’s proposal would involve the relocation of Palestinians and turning the enclave into the "Riviera of the Middle East." 

Fox News’ Efrat Lachter contributed to this report.

A group of bipartisan House lawmakers are introducing legislation to redesignate Turkey as a Near Eastern country at the State Department, rather than a European country, as Ankara has moved away from the U.S. and NATO allies.

The group of lawmakers, led by Reps. Brad Schneider, D-Ill., and Gus Bilirakis, R-Fla., introduced the Turkey Diplomatic Realignment Act, which looks to formally move Turkey’s designation at the U.S. State Department from the Bureau of European and Eurasian Affairs to the Bureau of Near Eastern Affairs, reflecting Ankara’s deepening ties with Russia, China, Iran, and Hamas, which are fundamentally at odds with Western security interests.

"Turkey is at a crossroads, but Erdogan has made his choice," Schneider said in a statement.

TURKEY'S CONFRONTATIONAL FOREIGN POLICY CHALLENGES GREECE, EUROPEAN UNION AMID RISING MARITIME TENSIONS

"His government harbors Hamas operatives, props up Putin’s war machine, and obstructs NATO unity—while still demanding the privileges of a Western ally. It’s time for American diplomacy to stop pretending that Turkey is still part of Europe," Rep. Schneider added.

Bilirakis said that Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan repeatedly acts contrary to American interests, with dangerous behavior contributing to the instability of the region. 

"The time has come for official U.S. foreign policy to more accurately reflect the realities of this hostile regime’s conduct and for Erdogan to be held accountable," he said in a statement.

The Turkish government took issue with how members of Congress are characterizing its foreign policy and European orientation.

"Türkiye’s European identity is an undeniable historical and geostrategic fact. As a strong member of NATO, the Council of Europe, OSCE and an associate EU member, Türkiye is part and parcel of European institutional framework and universal values that these institutions represent," an official from the Turkish embassy in Washington told Fox News Digital.

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

"The government of Turkey has become a headache for U.S. policymakers. If Ankara maintains its current trajectory, that headache will soon become a migraine," Jonathan Schanzer, Executive Director at the Foundation for the Defense of Democracies, told the House Foreign Affairs Subcommittee on Europe during a hearing on the future trajectory of Turkey between the West and the East.

He told the subcommittee that Turkey behaves too often like an adversary, pursuing malign domestic and foreign policies that fly in the face of U.S. interests. He cited Turkey’s established track record of supporting Middle East terrorist groups and rogue states, including Hamas and other groups.

He also said that Turkey used its NATO platform to undermine American interests. Turkey held Washington hostage by demanding the sale of F-16 fighter jets in exchange for its approval in admitting Sweden and Finland into the alliance. 

TURKISH LEADER CLAIMS US BASES IN GREECE POSE DIRECT 'THREAT' AMID SPAT WITH ATHENS OVER NATO EXPANSION

Erdogan has deepened Turkey’s relationship with Russia and Vladimir Putin during the war in Ukraine, purchasing the Russian-made S-400 missile defense system. And while much of the NATO alliance imposed stifling economic sanctions on Russia and looked to move away from energy dependence on Russia, Turkey maintained close trade and energy ties with Russia.

The proposed legislation requires the State Department to reassign Turkey’s diplomatic status within 90 days and submit a five-year congressional review on the consequences of Turkey’s realignment away from Europe. 

Endy Zemenides, Executive Director of the Hellenic American Leadership Council and whose organization supports the legislation, told Fox News Digital that he applauds the bipartisan group of legislators for requiring the State Department to deal with Ankara realistically. 

"An honest evaluation of the U.S .foreign policy bureaucracy reveals that we have unwittingly granted Turkey a "lobby" within multiple State Department bureaus, the size of which is wholly undeserved by a country that has, at best, become "neither friend nor foe," Zemenides told Fox News Digital.

The United Nations' annual report on children in conflict zones isn’t set to come out until June, but the draft report obtained by Fox News Digital is already causing concern. The report excludes several examples of Israeli victims of the ongoing war, while lobbing accusations at the Jewish state.

Throughout the section of the report on Israeli and Palestinian children, there are instances of the U.N. conflicting verified and unverified data. Though the report admits that there is unverified data, it does not give any information on who was responsible for verifying the other figures. This lack of transparency leaves room to doubt the report’s accuracy.

"We will not cooperate with a report that serves as a platform for baseless slander against Israel," Israeli U.N. Ambassador Danny Danon said in a statement sent exclusively to Fox News Digital. 

FORMER HAMAS HOSTAGE BRIEFS UN SECURITY COUNCIL ON THE 'PURE HELL' THAT WAS CAPTIVITY IN GAZA

The report claims that the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) kidnapped a Palestinian girl. While it is stated that the incident was verified, the U.N. provides no information on who did the verification. There are also no details about the incident in the report. It does not say where the child was allegedly abducted or whether she is alive.

In one of its more egregious claims, the report accuses IDF soldiers of using 27 Palestinian children as human shields in the West Bank and Gaza. Once again, the report claims these cases have been verified but does not say who confirmed them. The use of human shields is not a known IDF practice, but it is something Hamas has been accused of doing for years.

ISRAEL'S AMBASSADOR SLAMS UN'S SILENCE ON HAMAS: 'HAS NO RESOLUTIONS'

"There are reports of the use of human shields by Hamas’ Izz al-Din Qassam Brigades and other Palestinian armed groups in the Gaza Strip," the draft of the report reads.

There is another Hamas tactic that the U.N. appears to pin on Israel in its report — the use of schools and hospitals as military outposts. Both Israel and the U.S. have verified that Hamas used hospitals in Gaza for military purposes. 

In November 2023, just weeks after the war began, IDF Lt. Col. Jonathan Conricus posted a video tour of al-Shifa Hospital in Gaza showing weapons caches, Hamas paraphernalia and ammunition scattered throughout the facility.

Israel is also slammed in the report for denying Palestinians humanitarian aid. However, there is no mention of Hamas and Palestinian armed groups looting aid trucks. The United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) said in November 2024 that of the 109 aid trucks that crossed from Israel into Gaza, 97 were "violently looted."

What the U.N. left out of the report is also telling. While it does say that two Israeli boys were killed in captivity in Gaza, it does not name Kfir and Ariel Bibas, nor does it mention that they were killed by their captors. Additionally, the draft report contains no mention of the 12 Druze children killed by Hezbollah rocket fire while playing soccer in northern Israel.

"The secretary-general once again chooses to blatantly ignore the violence and harm done to Israeli children. Based on this report, Israeli lives do not matter and are not worthy of attention. Israel will not let diplomatic terrorism prevail," Ambassador Danon told Fox News Digital.

South Korea’s impeached President Yoon Suk Yeol was freed from prison on Saturday after a court canceled his arrest to allow him to stand trial for rebellion without being physically detained.

This comes after Yoon was arrested and indicted by prosecutors in January over his martial law decree on Dec. 3 — leading to political turmoil in the country — that the National Assembly voted to reverse just hours later. The National Assembly also voted to impeach him, resulting in his suspension from office.

Yoon was seen on Saturday waving his hand, clenching his fists and bowing to his supporters who were shouting his name and waving South Korean and U.S. national flags. He entered a black van to travel to his residence in Seoul.

COURT ORDERS SOUTH KOREAN PRESIDENT YOON FREED FROM JAIL FOR MARTIAL LAW TRIAL

In a statement, Yoon said he "appreciates the courage and decision by the Seoul Central District Court to correct illegality," in what appeared to be a reference to questions over his arrest. He also thanked his supporters and urged people who are on hunger strike against his impeachment to end it.

The Constitutional Court has been deliberating whether to formally dismiss or reinstate Yoon as president. If the court upholds his impeachment, an election for a new president will be held within two months.

The Seoul Central District Court said Friday it accepted Yoon’s request to be freed from prison, pointing to the need to address questions over the legality of the investigations of the president.

SOUTH KOREAN PROSECUTORS INDICT IMPEACHED PRESIDENT WHO DECLARED MARTIAL LAW

Yoon’s lawyers have argued that the investigative agency that detained him prior to his formal arrest lacked legal authority to probe rebellion charges.

The court in Seoul also said the legal period of his formal arrest expired ahead of his indictment.

Yoon’s release from prison came after prosecutors opted against appealing the ruling by the Seoul Central District Court. South Korean law allows prosecutors to continue to hold a suspect in custody as they pursue an appeal, even after the arrest is canceled by a court.

The main liberal opposition Democratic Party, which led Yoon’s impeachment in December, criticized the prosecutors for their decision not to appeal, labeling them as "henchmen" of Yoon, who is a former prosecutor general.

Democratic Party spokesperson Cho Seung-rae called on the Constitutional Court to dismiss Yoon as soon as possible to avoid further public unrest.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

Pope Francis remained in the hospital on Saturday recovering from double pneumonia as the Vatican’s Holy Year proceeded without him.

"The night passed quietly, the pope is resting," the Vatican said Saturday morning.

Three weeks have now passed since Francis, 88, was admitted to Rome's Gemelli Hospital on Feb. 14 after a week-long bout of bronchitis worsened. Doctors first diagnosed the complex viral, bacterial and fungal respiratory tract infection and subsequently the onset of pneumonia in both lungs.

POPE FRANCIS STILL RECEIVING OXYGEN THERAPY, WILL NOT READ SUNDAY PRAYERS: VATICAN

The pontiff's condition stabilized following acute respiratory crises.

The Vatican proceeded with its Jubilee celebrations, the once-every-quarter-century Holy Year that is bringing pilgrims from around the world to Rome. The Holy Year is celebrating volunteers this weekend, and many are extending their pilgrimage to pray for Francis outside the hospital.

Canadian Cardinal Michael Czerny will preside over the Holy Year Mass on Sunday for the volunteers.

Francis spent 20 minutes on Friday in the Gemelli hospital chapel praying and doing some work in between rest and respiratory and physical therapy, the Vatican said.

POPE FRANCIS SHARES FIRST AUDIO MESSAGE SINCE HOSPITALIZATION: 'MAY GOD BLESS YOU'

The pope has been using high flows of supplemental oxygen to help him breathe during the day and a noninvasive mechanical ventilation mask at night.

Earlier this week, Francis, who has chronic lung disease and had part of one lung removed when he was younger, suffered acute respiratory failure and underwent bronchoscopies to suction mucus from his lungs.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

A shooting Friday at a pub in Toronto, Canada, left a dozen people wounded, as police continue to search for the suspect.

Toronto Police responded at about 10:40 p.m. to the shooting in the area of Progress Avenue and Corporate Drive in eastern Toronto. The shooting happened near Scarborough Town Centre.

There were reports of gunfire and an active shooting inside a Scarborough pub, Toronto Fire Services said, according to CBC.

ONE POLICE OFFICER KILLED, ANOTHER INJURED IN NEWARK, NEW JERSEY SHOOTING

The 12 victims were transported to a hospital for treatment. Police said four of the victims suffered non-life-threatening injuries but the extent of the injuries of the remaining eight is unclear.

Police said the suspect was wearing a black balaclava mask and was seen driving away in a silver car, CBC reported.

CANADA'S FOREIGN MINISTER OFFERS BLUNT EXPLANATION FOR NATIONAL ANTHEM BOOING: 'WE'RE INSULTED'

Toronto Mayor Olivia Chow said on X she "is deeply troubled to hear reports of a shooting at a pub in Scarborough."

The mayor said she spoke to Toronto Police Chief Myron Demkiw and he assured her "all necessary resources have been deployed."

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"This is an early and ongoing investigation - police will provide further details. My thoughts are with the victims and their families," Chow said.

Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk said Friday that his government is working on a plan to prepare large-scale military training for every adult male in response to the changing security situation in Europe.

The military training would create a reserve force that is "adequate to possible threats," Tusk said in a major speech on security to Poland’s lower house of parliament, or Sejm.

He said that there's a need for an army of 500,000 soldiers, which would include reservists.

Last year, the Polish government said that the military was made up of around 200,000 soldiers and was to grow to 220,000 this year with the objective of increasing it to about 300,000.

EU WEIGHS $840 BILLION PLAN TO 'REARM EUROPE' AFTER US PAUSES UKRAINE AID

But security fears have grown far more dramatic in recent weeks, as Russia continues to pound Ukraine with missiles and drones, and as the Trump administration has withdrawn military and intelligence support for Ukraine while putting its commitments to NATO in question.

"Today we are talking about the need for a half-million army in Poland," Tusk said.

After his speech, Tusk explained to reporters that he wasn't considering a return of universal military service, but rather a reserve system based on the model in Switzerland. In that country, every man is obliged to serve in the military or an alternative civilian service, while women can volunteer if they choose.

Poland, with a population of 38 million people, is located along NATO’s eastern flank and is deeply concerned by the war in Ukraine. There are fears that if Ukraine is defeated, Russia will turn its imperial ambitions next to countries like Poland, which Moscow controlled during the 19th century and during the Cold War.

Jaroslaw Kaczyński, the head of Poland’s largest opposition party, the conservative Law and Justice, said that a mental shift in society would also be needed in addition to the military training of men.

"We will have a return to the chivalric ethos and to the fact that men should also be soldiers, that is, be able to expose themselves, even to death," Kaczyński said.

Concern has grown in Poland and across most of Europe as U.S. President Donald Trump has signaled a dramatically shifting stance in Washington to one that includes support for Russia's position — even though on Friday he issued a stern warning to Russia after it attacked Ukrainian energy facilities with dozens of missiles and drones.

"If Ukraine loses the war or if it accepts the terms of peace, armistice, or capitulation in such a way that weakens its sovereignty and makes it easier for (Russian President Vladimir) Putin to gain control over Ukraine, then, without a doubt — and we can all agree on that — Poland will find itself in a much more difficult geopolitical situation," Tusk said.

President Andrzej Duda said Friday that he was submitting an amendment to the Polish Constitution for consideration which would oblige the country to spend at least 4% of its gross domestic product each year on defense.

Poland is already NATO's top spender on defense as a percentage of its overall economy, spending above 4% of its GDP this year. But Duda said that he wanted to take advantage of the consensus on the political scene in Poland today on the matter to enshrine it in the highest law.

Trump has suggested that the U.S. might abandon its commitments to the alliance if member countries don’t meet defense spending targets.

Infighting between factions of a gang vying for control over territory in Ecuador's largest city Guayaquil, left nearly two dozen people dead, authorities said on Friday.

Gun battles broke out across the northern neighborhood of Nueva Prosperina on Thursday afternoon between members of criminal group Los Tiguerones, local police chief Pablo Davila told reporters.

"Yesterday criminals killed each other in these certain parts of town," Davila said. "The problem is that they know each other, they know where they live, and they're fighting over who has power over that territory."

ECUADOR'S PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION GOES TO RUNOFF BETWEEN CONSERVATIVE INCUMBENT, LEFTIST LAWYER

Police launched an offensive in response, carrying out around 200 searches and seizing guns and ammunition. Fourteen people, including two minors, were arrested in the area.

Several of those killed and arrested had criminal records, according to authorities, with charges ranging from robbery to drug trafficking.

The government in recent weeks has doubled down on its response in Ecuador's most violent regions, as part of President Daniel Noboa's war on drug-trafficking gangs.

Los Tiguerones and other gangs are considered terrorist groups by the government.

Noboa, who is seeking re-election in an April runoff vote, has said military and police officers will be allowed to respond to the Guayaquil violence without fear of being punished for acting with a heavy hand.

"Defend the country, I will defend you," he wrote on X.

A tropical cyclone weakened to a tropical low weather system on Saturday as it approached Brisbane, Australia’s third-most populous city, bringing flooding rain to the coastal region.

Tropical Cyclone Alfred had been expected to become on Saturday the first cyclone to cross the east Australian coast near the Queensland state capital since 1974.

On Friday, it was moving west toward Brisbane with sustained winds near its center of 59 mph and gusting to 81 mph.

SECRETARY DUFFY TOURS HELENE DAMAGE, SAYS RESIDENTS FEEL 'FORGOTTEN' AFTER HISTORIC STORM

But it had weakened early Saturday to a tropical low, which is defined as carrying sustained winds of less than 39 mph.

The system was expected to cross the coast north of Brisbane between Bribie Island and the Sunshine Coast region later Saturday, the Bureau of Meteorology said.

Cyclones are common in Queensland’s tropical north but are rare in the state’s temperate and densely populated southeast corner that borders New South Wales state.

"Despite its weakening and moving inland, heavy rainfall and coastal surf impacts are expected to continue over southeast Queensland and northeast New South Wales during the weekend," the bureau said in a statement.

Rivers were flooding in Queensland and New South Wales after days of heavy rain, the bureau said. In New South Wales, 39 people had been rescued from flood waters and a man remained missing after being swept down a river on Friday, officials said.

More than 19,000 people have been evacuated from low-lying homes.

More than 250,000 homes and businesses had lost power in the region, mostly in Gold Coast city south of Brisbane.