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The Office of the Prime Minister of Israel said Sunday it has agreed to a limited reopening of the Rafah Crossing under President Donald Trump’s 20-point peace plan.

In a series of posts on X, the Prime Minister’s Office said the crossing would reopen only for pedestrian traffic and would remain subject to a full Israeli inspection process.

The Prime Minister’s Office said the reopening was contingent on the return of all living hostages and what it described as a "100 percent effort" by Hamas to locate and return the remains of all deceased hostages.

"The IDF is currently conducting a focused operation to exhaust all of the intelligence that has been gathered in the effort to locate and return the fallen hostage, Master-Sgt. Ran Gvili, of blessed memory," the Prime Minister’s Office wrote. "Upon completion of this operation, and in accordance with what has been agreed upon with the US, Israel will open the Rafah Crossing."

"The State of Israel is committed to the return of Israeli hero Master-Sgt. Ran Gvili and will spare no effort to bring him home for a proper Jewish burial."

This is a breaking news story. Please check back for updates.

A video showing a Syrian militiaman holding what he claims to be a severed braid belonging to a Kurdish fighter killed in Raqqa has sparked outrage as Damascus moves to assert control in northeastern Syria amid a fragile ceasefire.

In the video, the man holds up what appears to be a cut braid. He is said to tell the person filming that he took it from a woman he claims was affiliated with the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF). 

When asked why, he responds, "She’s already gone, what will she do?" according to London-based news outlet New Arab.

The video prompted an online campaign and protests where Kurdish women braided their hair in solidarity.  Outrage continued to grow as control in northeastern Syria began to shift, AFP reported.

TURKEY SAYS SYRIA USING FORCE IS AN OPTION AGAINST US-BACKED FIGHTERS WHO HELPED DEFEAT ISIS

"The video highlighted the fears many Kurds have about what Syrian government control could mean for their communities," Syria analyst Nanar Hawach told Fox News Digital.

"The Damascus-affiliated fighter held up a severed braid, claiming he cut it from a YPJ fighter killed in Raqqa, but he later claimed it was ‘artificial’ and ‘a joke.’ The woman’s identity and fate remain unverified," Hawach, of International Crisis Group, said

"The response matters more than the video though," he added, noting that the braid carries "cultural significance in Kurdish tradition and has become a symbol of women’s resistance."

US STRIKE ELIMINATES AL QAEDA OPERATIVE CONNECTED TO ISIS AMBUSH THAT KILLED 3 AMERICANS IN SYRIA

The incident comes as Damascus, under President Ahmed al-Sharaa, pushes to expand its reach and authority into areas long governed by the SDF, the U.S.' main partner in the fight against ISIS in Syria.

Raqqa, once the Islamic State group’s de facto capital, has also seen fighting emerge across the region between Syrian government forces and Kurdish units, prompting a U.S.-brokered cease-fire on Jan. 18.

The truce followed diplomatic efforts by U.S. envoy Tom Barrack, who met SDF commander Mazloum Abdi and Kurdish leader Masoud Barzani in Erbil on Jan. 17 before traveling to Damascus to meet al-Sharaa, Reuters reported.

"This new 15-day ceasefire extension has created a real diplomatic window, but postpones rather than resolves the fundamental dispute," Hawach said.

ISIS FIGHTERS BREAK FREE FROM SYRIAN JAIL AMID CHAOTIC GOVERNMENT HANDOVER

"For Syria’s Kurds, the extension offers temporary relief but perhaps little certainty about what comes next," he said. "The fundamental disagreement remains: Damascus insists on individual integration, while the SDF views organizational dissolution as political erasure."

The ceasefire extension was also tied to security concerns surrounding ISIS prisoners held in northeastern Syria.

Damascus has taken control of several detention sites. As previously reported by Fox News Digital, prisoners escaped amid the transfer of control before U.S. Central Command began moving detainees to Iraq on Jan. 21, with the operation ongoing.

ISIS FIGHTERS STILL AT LARGE AFTER SYRIAN PRISON BREAK, CONTRIBUTING TO VOLATILE SECURITY SITUATION

"Washington is racing to transfer detainees before the security situation deteriorates further," Hawach said.

"Washington’s goal is to prevent this standoff from producing two outcomes: violence against Kurds, or an Islamic State resurgence from detention facilities," he said.

"The U.S. is trying to ensure this transition doesn’t end in violence along ethnic lines or an Islamic State resurgence," Hawach added.

"The fundamental dispute over integration between the SDF and Damascus remains unresolved. If they cannot bridge that gap, renewed fighting is possible when this new 15-day ceasefire expires," he said.

Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni on Saturday called President Donald Trump's comments about NATO allies’ role in Afghanistan "unacceptable," pushing back against suggestions they "stayed a little back" from the front lines.

"Following the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, NATO activated Article 5 for the first and only time in its history: an extraordinary act of solidarity toward the United States," Meloni wrote on X.

"In that massive operation against those who fueled terrorism, Italy responded immediately alongside its allies, deploying thousands of troops and taking full responsibility for Regional Command West, one of the most significant operational areas of the entire international mission," she said.

Meloni explained that Italy’s nearly two decades of involvement in Afghanistan came at a significant cost, with 53 Italian soldiers killed and more than 700 wounded during combat operations, security missions and training programs for Afghan forces.

TRUMP SAYS US SHOULD HAVE TESTED NATO BY INVOKING ARTICLE 5 OVER BORDER SECURITY

"For this reason, statements that minimize the contribution of NATO countries in Afghanistan are unacceptable, especially if they come from an allied Nation," she added. 

"Italy and the United States are bound by a solid friendship, founded on a shared community of values and historical collaboration, which is even more necessary in the face of the many current challenges. But friendship requires respect, a fundamental condition for continuing to ensure the solidarity at the heart of the Atlantic Alliance."

Trump has repeatedly questioned NATO allies’ reliability, including whether they would come to the United States’ aid if ever called upon.

NATO CHIEF PRAISES TRUMP AT DAVOS, SAYS HE FORCED EUROPE TO ‘STEP UP’ ON DEFENSE

He unsettled U.S. allies across Europe, including U.K. Prime Minister Keir Starmer and Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen, after downplaying their contributions in Afghanistan during an interview with FOX Business host Maria Bartiromo at the World Economic Forum.

"We’ve never needed them. We have never really asked anything of them," Trump said of NATO. "You know, they’ll say they sent some troops to Afghanistan, or this and that. And they did, they stayed a little back, a little off the front lines."

Trump later appeared to soften his remarks in a Saturday post on Truth Social, praising the sacrifices of British troops in Afghanistan.

"The GREAT and very BRAVE soldiers of the United Kingdom will always be with the United States of America! In Afghanistan, 457 died, many were badly injured, and they were among the greatest of all warriors. It’s a bond too strong to ever be broken. The U.K. Military, with tremendous Heart and Soul, is second to none (except for the U.S.A.!). We love you all, and always will!" he wrote.

Sen. Thom Tillis, R-N.C., also highlighted the broader international toll of the war, citing the sacrifices of 31 allied nations that fought alongside U.S. forces in Afghanistan.

He thanked those countries for answering the call after Sept. 11, noting that 159 troops from Canada, 90 from France, 62 from Germany, 44 from Poland and 43 from Denmark were among those killed in the conflict.

France is moving toward banning social media for children under 15, with President Emmanuel Macron urging lawmakers to rush the legislation as countries worldwide tighten controls on kids’ screen time.

In a video released late Saturday by broadcaster BFM-TV, Macron said he has directed his government to use an accelerated legislative process so the bill can clear Parliament and be approved by the Senate by the start of the next school year in September.

"The brains of our children and our teenagers are not for sale," Macron said. "The emotions of our children and our teenagers are not for sale or to be manipulated. Neither by American platforms, nor by Chinese algorithms."

Macron’s push comes days after the British government said it is considering similar restrictions as it tightens rules to protect children from harmful online content and excessive screen time.

PROTECTING KIDS FROM AI CHATBOTS: WHAT THE GUARD ACT MEANS

France’s health watchdog reports that one in two teenagers spends between two and five hours a day on a smartphone. A December report found about 90% of children ages 12 to 17 use smartphones daily to access the internet, with 58% using them for social media.

The agency warned of links between heavy social media use and reduced self-esteem, as well as increased exposure to content tied to risky behaviors, including self-harm, drug use and suicide.

Several French families have sued TikTok, alleging the platform exposed teens to harmful content connected to suicides.

LAWMAKERS UNVEIL BIPARTISAN GUARD ACT AFTER PARENTS BLAME AI CHATBOTS FOR TEEN SUICIDES, VIOLENCE

Macron’s office told The Associated Press the video message was addressed to lawmaker Laure Miller, who is sponsoring the bill set for public debate Monday.

"We are banning social media for under-15s, and we are going to ban mobile phones in our high schools," Macron said. "I believe this is a clear rule. Clear for our teenagers, clear for families, clear for teachers, and we are moving forward."

The move would follow Australia’s lead after the country introduced a world-first ban on social media for children under 16 years old in December, restricting access to platforms such as Facebook, TikTok and YouTube.

Fox News Digital’s Bonny Chu and The Associated Press contributed to this report.

EXCLUSIVE: As Israeli bulldozers razed structures at the UNRWA headquarters on Tuesday after Israel enacted legislation last year banning the agency’s operations on Israeli territory, a new documentary sheds light on the controversial U.N. agency for its close relationship with Hamas terrorists, and its lax controls of allowing antisemitism to be taught to generations of its students.

UNRWA Commissioner-General Philippe Lazzarini condemned the move against the UNRWA buildings, calling it a violation of international law, while Israeli officials said the compound had not been in active use and that the demolition was carried out in accordance with Israeli law.

The development comes weeks after the United Nations General Assembly voted to renew UNRWA’s mandate through 2029, despite growing opposition and abstentions from several Western countries. The renewal followed months of controversy surrounding the agency after Israeli authorities provided videos that show UNRWA employees participating in the Hamas-led Oct. 7, 2023 massacre. Those allegations remain under investigation, and UNRWA has said it dismissed several staff members following the claims.

TRUMP ADMIN WEIGHS TERRORISM SANCTIONS AGAINST UN PALESTINIAN AID AGENCY OVER HAMAS ALLEGATIONS

During the war in Gaza, the Israeli military has also discovered weapons, tunnel shafts and other Hamas infrastructure in UNRWA facilities, including schools.

Fox News Digital reported last week that UNRWA USA acknowledged reports that the Trump administration is considering designating UNRWA as a foreign terrorist organization and that agency officials urged congressional staffers to oppose the move.

Last October, Secretary of State Marco Rubio, talking to reporters in Israel, reiterated the Trump administration's policy to the U.N. and UNRWA. "The United Nations is here. They’re on the ground. We’re willing to work with them if they can make it work, but not UNRWA. UNRWA became a subsidiary of Hamas."

The new documentary titled "UNraveling UNRWA" is now drawing renewed attention to the agency’s structure, history and political role.

The film examines UNRWA from its establishment in 1949 to its operations today. It features interviews with refugees, Arab and Israeli voices, as well as former UNRWA officials.

Participants in the film argue that UNRWA has long promoted U.N. General Assembly Resolution 194, a 1948 measure Palestinians interpret as granting refugees and their descendants the right to return to homes inside Israel, an idea the documentary shows has helped perpetuate refugee status rather than resolve it.

Zlatko Zigic, former director of the U.N. migration agency from 1997 to 2017, says in the film that "the problem of UNRWA is the concept of endless struggle of Palestinians to return," adding that maintaining a right of return to Israel has "become a tool to perpetuate the conflict."

The documentary also includes scenes filmed inside UNRWA schools, showing classroom lessons in which children are taught that they will one day return to land inside Israel. In one scene presented in the film, Jews are referred to as "the wolves," and a teacher asks elementary school students, "What did the Jews do to us?" before telling them they were expelled and deported, that their families were killed, and they should be grateful to UNRWA, who built refugee camps for them.

In an interview with Fox News Digital, former UNRWA legal adviser James Lindsay, who also appears in the film, said that dynamic lies at the heart of what he believes is a systemic problem.

"The main problem in oversight has to do, I’m pretty sure, likely at the ground level where the local authorities, in this case we’re talking about Gaza, so we’re talking about Hamas," Lindsay said. "The people who work for UNRWA are subject, yes, to UNRWA, but they are even more importantly subject to the local authorities," in this case Hamas.

RUBIO SLAMS UNRWA AS A 'SUBSIDIARY OF HAMAS,' VOWS IT WILL NOT 'PLAY ANY ROLE' IN DELIVERING AID TO GAZA

Lindsay said that while donor governments may see detailed paperwork and reporting, the reality on the ground can look very different.

He said UNRWA leadership historically did not attempt to bar Hamas members from employment, arguing that the organization viewed Hamas as part of Palestinian political life.

"UNRWA has made no effort to keep Hamas out," Lindsay said. "The position for the commissioners-general has been that UNRWA does not have a problem with Hamas."

He described an environment in which local staff and contractors faced severe pressure from Hamas, creating incentives to comply with demands rather than risk retaliation.

ISRAEL SAYS UN MISLEADS WORLD AS GAZA AID STOLEN AND DIVERTED FROM CIVILIANS

"If Hamas comes to you and says, we would like maybe 5% of the concrete you’re using, or maybe you need to show 5% more food was distributed than actually was, you’re not going to say no," he said. "If you don’t do what Hamas says, you’re not going to get fired. You’re going to have very bad things happen to you."

Lindsay said those realities rarely reach senior international staff, who make up only a small fraction of UNRWA’s workforce in Gaza.

"In Gaza you’re talking about maybe 12,000 -13,000 total staff members, of whom maybe 25 are actual internationals," he said.

He said that over time, many humanitarian workers developed what the U.S. State Department refers to as "clientitis," a phenomenon in which aid organizations begin to identify politically with the populations they serve.

"Humanitarian organizations have begun to identify with the people to whom they’re providing humanitarian aid," Lindsay said. "In that case, that means identifying with one strain of the Palestinian political scene, which is Hamas."

Lindsay said he initially believed UNRWA could be reformed but later concluded the agency’s structure made meaningful reform impossible.

"It can’t be reformed in the sense that it’s not allowed to reform by the governmental people in charge," he said. "It’s also difficult to reform UNRWA because the members of UNRWA have become what the State Department calls clientitis."

He also criticized the agency’s handling of educational content, saying teachers in UNRWA schools were subject to the same threats and coercion as other staff.

"What are people going to do under a murderous totalitarian government like Hamas?" Lindsay said. "They’re not going to take their chances."

Following the General Assembly’s recent vote to renew UNRWA’s mandate, Lindsay said the agency views the outcome as a vote of confidence but noted that opposition is growing.

"In 2022, there was one vote against renewing the mandate and 10 abstentions," he said. "Most recently, there were 10 votes against and 18 abstentions. The movement is against UNRWA because of the things that have been brought out over the last few years, particularly since Oct.7 of 2023."

He added that while UNRWA enjoys broad support among U.N. member states, those countries are not the agency’s primary funders.

"The vast majority of countries in the U.N. are anti-West and are certainly pro-UNRWA," Lindsay said. "But donors are the ones that count because the money all comes from voluntary donations, largely by Western countries, the same countries that are becoming nervous. And that is, I think, a real threat to the continuation of UNRWA."

FIRST ON FOX: In Nigeria, Fox News Digital has been told terrorists are ‘on the run’ following U.S. strikes last month aimed at stopping the killing of Christians in Africa’s most populous country, this as a senior official from U.S. Africa Command visited Nigeria this week.

According to the recently released persecution watchdog Open Doors World Watch List, three out of every four Christians killed for their religion worldwide have been murdered in Nigeria. It is said to average out that one Christian is killed there every two and a half hours.

Thursday in Davos, Switzerland, President Trump confirmed, "In Nigeria we’re annihilating terrorists who are killing Christians. We’ve hit them very hard. They’ve killed thousands and thousands of Christians."

CHRISTIANS TARGETED IN SYSTEMATIC KIDNAPPING CAMPAIGN IN NIGERIA BY JIHADI HERDSMEN, EXPERTS SAY

This past week, the second-highest-ranking officer at U.S. Africa Command, a former U.S. Special Forces leader who served in Iraq, Syria, and Afghanistan, Lt. Gen. John Brennan, U.S. Army, was as a key member of a U.S. delegation to Nigeria. Speaking exclusively to Fox News Digital from Abuja, the capital of Nigeria, Brennan detailed U.S. moves on the ground to combat Islamic State and other jihadi terror groups.

Brennan gave Fox News Digital insight into the U.S. military’s role now in Nigeria: "We are continuing to provide them (the Nigerians) intelligence support, airborne ISR, (intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance), things that will make them more accurate. And they had some success in Sokoto post-strike because of the activity that the strike generated across the network."

The general continued, "A lot of terrorists decided to flee the area, and it allowed the Nigerians the opportunity to arrest them." But he added, "We're all about enabling Nigerians to solve Nigerian problems. We want to ensure that they remain a security anchor for all of West Africa and they do too. And so it's in our mutual interest that we work together."

"They have a terrorist problem, Brennan said. "So we're trying to help create effects that will stop them and their borders from getting incurred by terrorist organizations," he concluded.

US LAUNCHES WAVE OF STRIKES IN SOMALIA TARGETING ISIS, AL-SHABAB TERROR THREATS

"I definitely have a good reason to believe that the target was hit," Illia Djadi, persecution analyst for sub-Saharan Africa at Open Doors, told Fox News Digital. He added, "and (when) I say target, I mean these armed men, people or groups, their camps have been hit, and eventually afflicting damage to them. They are on the run now. Fleeing in different directions. Some sources say some have fled, maybe to neighboring Niger and others south and in different locations across Nigeria."

Djadi continued, "All these years, they have been acting and attacking with relative total impunity. But this has changed now. They are scared now. They are hit, and they realize they can be hit again. So this is the symbolism."

He said, "The bombing resonated even beyond Nigeria's borders," Djadi added, "even across Nigeria’s neighbors, like Niger, Mali and other countries. People are watching because of what happened, (thinking) if this can happen to Nigeria, it can happen to countries like Mali, Niger or elsewhere. They are watching. They are taking note of that."

NIGERIA NAMED EPICENTER OF GLOBAL KILLINGS OF CHRISTIANS OVER FAITH IN 2025, REPORT SAYS

On Thursday, in a plenary session with Brennan present, U.S. and Nigerian officials met to discuss cooperation following President Trump’s designation of Nigeria as a country of Particular Concern.

At the meeting, Under Secretary of State for Political Affairs Allison Hooker told those present, "Today we are here to  determine how we can work together to deter violence against Christian communities, prioritizing counterterrorism and insecurity, investigating attacks, holding perpetrators accountable and reducing the number of killings, forced displacements and abductions of Christians."

The meeting took place in Abuja. Just over 80 miles away, four days earlier, the abduction of Christians continued, with over 160 worshipers kidnapped from three churches in northern Kaduna state, it is believed, during Sunday services.

In an interview with The New York Times earlier this month, President Trump said more strikes could be made against Nigeria, "If they continue to kill Christians, it will be a many-time strike."

This week, when asked if further strikes are possible, a U.S. defense official told Fox News Digital, "That's a question for the White House. But I can tell you our Nigerian partners are asking for more of our help. And so we're going to give it to them."

There are some American boots on the ground, but their numbers are not significant, Brennan said, adding, "a lot of assessment (is) going on. So we have a small team that the Nigerians invited in, and we're working with them to assess their needs, and to create opportunities that we can both capitalize on together."

ANOTHER CHRISTIAN COMMUNITY AT RISK IN AFRICA AS EXTREMISTS AND WAR TAKE THEIR TOLL

Some military equipment is being shipped in from the U.S., Brennan said, but "it's nothing out of the ordinary. It's things they (the Nigerians) had already purchased, as far as ammunition, things that make to help them be more accurate in their operations against ISIS, West Africa Province and Boko Haram."

Rabiu Ibrahim, Nigeria’s special assistant to the minister of information and national orientation, told Fox News Digital, "Nigeria’s primary and unwavering stance is that terrorism, in all its forms, is a global scourge that requires a collective, yet sovereignly respectful, response. The U.S. military actions in our region are viewed through this lens. We acknowledge that any action which genuinely degrades the capability of terrorist groups threatening the stability of the Sahel and our own national security is a tactical component in a much larger strategic picture."

Ibrahim added, "We have noted, through our own intelligence and battlefield evidence, that such external kinetic actions can disrupt command structures, degrade logistics and create atmospherics of uncertainty among the remnants of groups like ISWAP and Boko Haram." "Our cooperation with the United States is robust, multifaceted and transcends mere rhetoric," Ibrahim continued, saying it is focused on key areas, including "capacity building and training: Nigerian units, particularly in intelligence, aviation and special operations, have received advanced training that directly enhances their operational effectiveness in theater."

Ibrahim said Nigeria also benefits from the U.S. through intelligence sharing and material and technical support, including night-vision capabilities, claiming "it is not a patron-client relationship, but a partnership where Nigerian leadership on the ground is augmented by specific, requested external support."

China's top general has been removed and placed under investigation for misconduct in Chinese President Xi Jinping's latest purge of leading military commanders.

Gen. Zhang Youxia is being investigated for allegedly committing severe violations of party discipline and state laws, China's Defense Ministry announced Sunday. The general served as vice-chairman on China's Central Military Commission and was second only to Xi in military authority.

Another member of the commission, Liu Zhenli, has also been placed under investigation by China’s ruling Communist Party. Liu is the chief of staff of the commission’s Joint Staff Department.

Their removal is the latest military purge since October, when the Communist Party one of the commission's previous vice chairs, He Weidong. He was replaced by Zhang Shengmin, a Xi loyalist who survived the latest round of removals.

IRAN STRIKES COULD SIGNAL LIMITS OF BEIJING, MOSCOW’S POWER AS US FLEXES STRENGTH

The staff changes come after President Donald Trump's administration released a new National Defense Strategy on Friday. The document shifts U.S. focus toward dominance in the Western Hemisphere rather than a longtime goal of countering China.

US TRADE REP SHRUGS OFF WORLD LEADERS’ SWIPES AT TRUMP AMID DAVOS BACKLASH

"This does not require regime change or some other existential struggle," the document reads. "Rather, a decent peace, on terms favorable to Americans but that China can also accept and live under, is possible."

The document also reflects Trump's ongoing frustration with U.S. allies for failing to adequately contribute to their own defense. It says the U.S. will increasingly expect allied nations to handle their own security.

CANADIAN PM CARNEY FIRES BACK AT TRUMP OVER CLAIM THAT ‘CANADA LIVES BECAUSE OF THE UNITED STATES’

"We will engage in good faith with our neighbors, from Canada to our partners in Central and South America, but we will ensure that they respect and do their part to defend our shared interests," the strategy says. "And where they do not, we will stand ready to take focused, decisive action that concretely advances U.S. interests."

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on Saturday described recent trilateral talks between the United States, Russia and Ukraine in Abu Dhabi as "constructive," saying the meetings marked the first format of their kind in some time and focused on potential parameters for ending Moscow’s war.

Zelenskyy said the talks, which were hosted by the United Arab Emirates over two days, involved political and military representatives from all three sides and addressed security-related issues, including the need for American monitoring and oversight.

"A lot was discussed, and it is important that the conversations were constructive," he wrote on X, noting the delegations could have further meetings as early as next week. "As a result of the meetings held over these days, all sides agreed to report back in their capitals on each aspect of the negotiations and to coordinate further steps with their leaders."

The Abu Dhabi talks followed a meeting in Moscow on Thursday between Russian President Vladimir Putin, U.S. special envoy Steve Witkoff, President Donald Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner and Josh Gruenbaum, the head of the Federal Acquisition Service.

RUSSIA ALLEGES ATTACK ON PUTIN RESIDENCE AS UKRAINE DENIES CLAIM AHEAD OF TRUMP TALKS

Putin aide Yuri Ushakov said the "extremely frank" discussions lasted roughly four hours and included U.S. officials updating Moscow on their recent conversations with Ukrainian and European leaders.

"Importantly, the participants in the conversation between the President of Russia and the Americans reaffirmed the fact that bringing about a lasting settlement would be unlikely without addressing the territorial issue based on the formula as agreed in Anchorage," Ushakov said, according to a summary of the meeting from the Kremlin.

Territorial issues remain a key obstacle in the negotiations, with Moscow pressing Kyiv to relinquish parts of eastern Ukraine’s Donbas region that Russian forces do not fully control.

RUSSIA, UKRAINE TO DISCUSS TERRITORY AS TRUMP SAYS BOTH SIDES ‘WANT TO MAKE A DEAL’

The diplomatic efforts come as Russia continues its strikes across Ukraine, targeting the country’s energy sector, critical infrastructure and residential areas.

UKRAINE-RUSSIA AT A CROSSROADS: HOW THE WAR EVOLVED IN 2025 AND WHAT COMES NEXT

Zelenskyy said on Sunday that Russian forces launched more than 1,700 attack drones, over 1,380 guided aerial bombs and 69 missiles in the past week alone.

The European Commission, the EU’s executive body, said ahead of the trilateral talks that it was deploying 447 emergency generators to help restore power to hospitals, shelters and critical services, as more than one million Ukrainians face outages amid freezing temperatures.

"The EU will not let Russia freeze Ukraine into submission and will continue helping Ukrainians get through this winter," the commission said.

A 12-year-old Australian boy has died following a brutal shark attack in Sydney Harbor, his family confirmed Saturday. 

Nico Antic had been fighting for his life since Jan. 18, when he was attacked while swimming at a popular cliff-jumping spot known as Jump Rock near Shark Beach in the eastern Sydney suburb of Vaucluse. 

His family announced Saturday that he had died.

"We are heartbroken to share that our son, Nico, has passed away," Nico’s parents, Lorena and Juan, said in a statement. "Nico was a happy, friendly, and sporty young boy with the most kind and generous spirit. He was always full of life and that’s how we’ll remember him."

SURFER SAYS SHARK ATTACK FELT 'LIKE BEING HIT BY A CAR' AS BOARD BITTEN IN HALF: REPORTS

They also thanked first responders and medical staff at Sydney Children’s Hospital in Randwick for their efforts, as well as members of the community for their support.

A GoFundMe campaign launched by a family friend had raised more than $266,000 as of Saturday evening.

FOURTH SHARK ATTACK IN THREE DAYS ROCKS AUSTRALIA AS AUTHORITIES CLOSE BEACHES AND DEPLOY DRUMLINES

According to police, the attack took place at around 4:20 p.m. on Jan. 18, after Antic jumped from a 20-foot ledge into the water. He suffered severe injuries to both legs, believed to have been caused by a large shark.

His three friends immediately jumped into the water, pulled him to shore and called for help. Antic was rushed to the hospital in critical condition. 

Local media reported at the time that he had lost both legs.

SURFER SAYS SHARK ATTACK FELT "LIKE BEING HIT BY A CAR" AS BOARD BITTEN IN HALF: REPORTS

The tragedy comes amid a surge in shark incidents across Australia. Dozens of beaches were closed this week after four shark attacks in mere days.

Australia averages roughly 20 shark attacks a year, with fewer than three proving fatal, according to Reuters.

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

Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., and former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo both issued dire warnings about the pressing need to protect the endangered Syrian Kurdish population under attack by government forces in the war-torn nation.

Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa, who earlier this month ordered his army, which reportedly has a large jihadist element in it, to conquer territory controlled for more than a decade by the U.S.-allied Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF.)

Writing on the social media platform X on, Graham declared, "There is strong and growing bipartisan interest in the U.S. Senate regarding the deteriorating situation in Syria. There is strong consensus that we must protect the Kurds who were there for us in destroying the ISIS caliphate, as well as many other groups."

Pompeo responded to Graham’s post, stating, "Turning our backs on our Kurdish allies would be a moral and strategic disaster."

CHAOS IN SYRIA SPARKS FEARS OF ISIS PRISON BREAKS AS US RUSHES DETAINEES TO IRAQ

The Trump administration is facing criticism from its long-standing ally, the Syrian Kurds, who played a crucial role in the defeat of the Islamic State in the heartland of the Middle East, following a U.S. government announcement on social media that seemed to hint that the partnership had ended this past week with the Kurdish-run SDF in northern Syria.

The SDF formed as a bulwark against the rapid spread of the Islamic State’s terrorist movement in 2013. ISIS created a caliphate covering significant territory in Syria and Iraq. Al-Sharaa was a former member of the Islamic State and al Qaeda.

Fox News Digital reached out to the State Department regarding U.S. Ambassador to Turkey, Tom Barrack, who also serves as the Special Envoy for Syria, for a response to his recent statement on X wrote that indicated the U.S. partnership with the SDF was over.

Barrack wrote, "The Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), led by Kurds, proved the most effective ground partner in defeating ISIS’s territorial caliphate by 2019, detaining thousands of ISIS fighters and family members in prisons and camps like al-Hol and al-Shaddadi. At that time, there was no functioning central Syrian state to partner with — the Assad regime was weakened, contested, and not a viable partner against ISIS due to its alliances with Iran and Russia."

He added, "Today, the situation has fundamentally changed. Syria now has an acknowledged central government that has joined the Global Coalition to Defeat ISIS (as its 90th member in late 2025), signaling a westward pivot and cooperation with the U.S. on counterterrorism."

TURKEY SAYS SYRIA USING FORCE IS AN OPTION AGAINST US-BACKED FIGHTERS WHO HELPED DEFEAT ISIS

Iham Ahmed, a prominent Syrian Kurdish politician, told Fox News Digital that, "We really wished to see a firm position from the U.S. The Kurdish people are at the risk of extermination. The U.S. does not give any solid or tangible guarantees."

Ahmed cast doubt on statements like Barrack’s, warning the "Syrian army is still consisting of radical factions that no one can trust. Alawites, Christians, Sunnis and Druze cannot trust these factions. We could face massacres, which happened in other Syrian cities."

When asked by Fox News Digital if the SDF wants Israel to intervene to aid the Kurds as it did to help the Syrian Druze and other minorities last year, Ahmed said, "Whoever wants to help us should do so – today is the day." She said that "the Islamic State is showing itself in the image of an official army. Everyone is threatened now."

She urged a "special status for the Kurdish region" in northeastern Syria.

Ahmed accused the Erdoğan government of nefarious involvement. "Turkey stands behind the attacks on our region. Turkish intelligence and small groups are leading attacks. Statements from Turkey are encouraging the extermination of our people," she claimed.

Fox News Digital sent a press query to the Turkish embassy spokesman in Washington D.C.

ISRAELI OFFICIAL ISSUES STARK WARNING AFTER CHILLING SYRIAN MILITARY WAR CHANTS SURFACE

The influential president of the Family Research Council, Tony Perkins, wrote on X that, "Sen. Graham is right. I’ve been discussing the situation in NE Syria with Republican House leaders.  It is not in America’s interest for Islamist forces to seize territory once governed by trusted U.S. allies who protected minorities and advanced religious freedom. Yet this is happening as Syrian leader Ahmed al-Sharaa’s forces move into northeast Syria, displacing the Syrian Democratic Forces — our partners in the fight against ISIS, who lost thousands of fighters, guarded U.S. bases, and detained ISIS prisoners."

He continued, "Before we place trust in al-Sharaa, a former al Qaeda insurgent who fought U.S. forces in Iraq and was held at Abu Ghraib, he has to show he is trustworthy.  So far, he is failing the test."

Sinam Mohamad, the representative of the Syrian Democratic Council to the U.S., had harsh words for the administration, telling Fox News Digital, "American officials continue to describe the SDF as a reliable partner in that narrow mission. Washington avoids framing the relationship as a political alliance. The U.S. never intended a long-term political commitment to the Syrian Kurds. It was a military partnership without political guarantees. From Washington’s view, that’s consistency. From the Kurdish view, that’s betrayal."

She added there has been an announcement of a 15-day extension of a ceasefire, "But both the SDF and outside observers noted continued [Syrian] government troop buildups near Kurdish-held areas, signaling that conflict could resume." She added, "The Kurds want to have peace and stability through negotiations."

The head of the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) warned the U.S. on Saturday that the paramilitary force is "more ready than ever, finger on the trigger" as American warships head towards the Middle East. The warning comes after weeks of pressure from President Donald Trump amid widespread anti-regime protests and a violent government crackdown in which the IRGC played a key role.

"The Islamic Revolutionary Guard and dear Iran stand more ready than ever, finger on the trigger, to execute the orders and directives of the Commander-in-Chief," IRGC chief Gen. Mohammad Pakpour said, The Associated Press reported, citing Nournews, a news outlet close to Iran’s Supreme National Security Council.

Pakpour also reportedly warned the U.S. and Israel "to avoid any miscalculation," according to the AP. This warning comes after another last week from an Iranian ambassador who said that the U.S. and Israel were responsible for "political destabilization, internal unrest and chaos."

Both Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu have expressed their support for the Iranian protesters. Netanyahu said that his country was "closely monitoring" the situation. He also vowed that once Iran was "liberated from the yoke of tyranny" Israel would be prepared to be a partner in peace.

IRAN WILL RETALIATE 'WITH EVERYTHING WE HAVE' IF US ATTACKS, SENIOR DIPLOMAT WARNS

On Tuesday, Iran warned Trump not to take action against its Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.

"Trump knows that if any hand of aggression is extended toward our leader, we not only cut that hand, but also we will set fire to their world," Gen. Abolfazl Shekarchi, a spokesman for Iran’s armed forces, said, according to the AP.

On Thursday, Trump told reporters aboard Air Force One that he was moving warships toward Iran "just in case" he wants to take action.

"We have a massive fleet heading in that direction and maybe we won’t have to use it," Trump said, the AP reported.

A U.S. Navy official told the AP that the aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln and other warships traveling with it were in the Indian Ocean.

WORLD ECONOMIC FORUM BOOTS IRANIAN FOREIGN MINISTER FROM DAVOS SUMMIT AMID DEADLY CRACKDOWN ON PROTESTERS

Anti-regime protests started on Dec. 28 as Iranians took to the streets to voice their displeasure with the economic woes facing the country, which has become more isolated internationally. Since then, despite an internet blackout, reports of violence against protesters have emerged.

When the protests began, Trump warned the regime that the U.S. was "locked and loaded" and ready to act if it used violence against protesters.

Trump previously put out a Truth Social post on Jan. 16 in which he claimed that the Iranian regime had cancelled over 800 scheduled hangings. However, Iran’s top prosecutor, Mohammad Movahedi, said Friday that, "This claim is completely false; no such number exists, nor has the judiciary made any such decision," the AP reported.

The U.S.-based Human Rights Activists News Agency (HRANA) reported on Friday that the confirmed death toll had reached 5,137, while 7,402 people were seriously injured. HRANA also said that the total number of arrests had risen to nearly 28,000.

On Wednesday, the Iranian government offered its first death toll, saying that 3,117 people had been killed. It said 2,427 were civilians and security forces, and labeled the rest as "terrorists," according to the AP.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

Christians in Sudan are daily facing hunger, misery and terror. The new Open Doors World Watch List for 2026, which ranks the worst countries in the world for the persecution of Christians, placed the country at No. 4, up one place from last year’s report. 

There are an estimated 2 million Christians in the conflict-ridden northeastern African country. Sudan’s civil war has raged past the 1,000- day milestone with 150,000 people reported to have been killed and more than 13 million displaced. Christians have lived in Sudan since the late first century.

Many of Sudan’s Christians live in the Nuba Mountains, part of the Kordofan region. Rafat Samir, general secretary of the Sudan Evangelical Alliance, told Fox News Digital that the "Nuba Mountains now, where the majority of our church members are  coming from, is under siege and  bombing every day for the last six months or seven months. Last week, after Christmas, they bombed our church, hospital and school."

NIGERIA NAMED EPICENTER OF GLOBAL KILLINGS OF CHRISTIANS OVER FAITH IN 2025, REPORT SAYS

Adding to the misery, a report by MEMRI, citing Christian Daily international, said 11 Sudanese Christians were killed, as they took part in a procession to their church for a religious celebration on Christmas Day by a drone operated by the government’s Sudanese Armed Forces. 18 others were injured in the attack. MEMRI reported the SAF are backed by the Muslim Brotherhood.

A State Department spokesperson told Fox News Digital, "Since the April 2023 outbreak of conflict in Sudan, we have witnessed significant backsliding in Sudan’s overall respect for fundamental freedoms, including religious freedom. This backsliding especially impacts Sudan’s oppressed ethnic and religious populations, including Christians." 

In a Fox News Digital report last year, Christians were said to be eating grass to survive. Samir says the position is even more bleak in 2026: "even the grass is gone now."

"The conflict is accelerating the erasure of ancient Christian communities and sacred heritage," Mariam Wahba, research analyst at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies (FDD), told Fox News Digital. "These losses will be far harder to reverse than the rebuilding of roads or ministries once the guns fall silent," she said.

CHRISTIANS TARGETED IN SYSTEMATIC KIDNAPPING CAMPAIGN IN NIGERIA BY JIHADI HERDSMEN, EXPERTS SAY

Ideologically, Sudan’s Christians face a hostile future, Samir of the Evangelical Alliance said. "Both sides in the civil conflict are daughters of the Islamist movement in Sudan, and the Islamic ideology of both of them is to not have tolerance for others. They consider everyone different from them is against them. The Christian is considered their enemy as part of their religious ideology, and opposing them their religious duty."

He continued, "So whoever does something to harm Christians is considered favorable to the law or to Allah." Samir went on to say, "the country is getting back to the dark ages."

Repeated and continuing attempts at getting the government’s Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) and the opposing militia, the Rapid Support Forces (RSF), to reach a ceasefire have failed. Both sides admit they are still fighting and, it’s clear, killing civilians with sustained energy, particularly in the central Sudanese region of Kordofan, home to many Christians.

"The United States is committed to ending the horrific conflict in Sudan," a State Department spokesperson told Fox News Digital, adding, "Under President Trump’s leadership, we are working with our allies and others to facilitate a humanitarian truce and bring an end to external military support to the parties which is fueling the violence. President Trump wants peace in Sudan."     

The spokesperson continued, "The suffering of civilians has reached catastrophic levels, with millions lacking food, water and medical care. Every day of continued fighting costs more innocent lives. The war in Sudan is an enduring threat to regional stability."

The U.N. says fighting is increasing in Kordofan, with U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Türk telling reporters in Port Sudan on Jan. 18, "I am very worried that the atrocity crimes committed during and after the takeover of El Fasher are at grave risk of repeating themselves in the Kordofan region, where the conflict has been rapidly escalating since late October."

US AMBASSADOR MICHAEL WALTZ DECLARES ATROCITIES AGAINST CHRISTIANS IN NIGERIA 'GENOCIDE'

"The Kordofan states are extremely volatile," he continued, "with relentless military engagements, heavy shelling, drone bombardments and airstrikes causing widespread destruction and collapse of essential services."

Wahba said that "while the United States remains kinetically active across neighboring theaters, it is unlikely to wade directly into Sudan’s civil war."

"President Trump", Wahba added, "has signaled a clear desire to see the conflict resolved —  an objective echoed by both Egypt and Saudi Arabia — but translating that consensus into outcomes on the ground has proven far more difficult than the rhetoric suggests."

"For now," Wahba continued, "U.S. policy is centered on convening regional stakeholders and pressing for alignment among them, while prioritizing humanitarian corridors, aid delivery and coordination with partners willing to host talks. Washington is acting as a facilitator, not an enforcer."

"This posture reflects both constraint and caution. Sudan presents few reliable leverage points, no unified opposition partner, and (there’s) little appetite in Congress or the White House for another open-ended entanglement in a fragmented civil war. The result is a policy that remains fluid and reactive, and is shaped less by strategy than by crisis management," she said.

Despite everything, the Sudan Evangelical Alliance’s Samir has hope, "The Holy Spirit is moving and God's hand is working in our country. I can tell you through this evil, this darkness, the light of love of our God is lighting in many hearts. The devil is stealing people to death every day. We pray that let us Christians live for one day more, for one day more to proclaim Jesus’s message."

The U.S., Russia and Ukraine are meeting in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates (UAE), to discuss one of the major sticking points stopping a deal to end the nearly four-year war: territorial disputes. The talks in Abu Dhabi are the first trilateral talks since 2022.

The trilateral sit-down comes after Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy's meeting with Trump in Davos and Russian President Vladimir Putin's meeting with Special Envoy Steve Witkoff and the president's son-in-law, Jared Kushner.

Witkoff and Kushner traveled to the UAE for the talks after their meeting with Putin in Moscow on Thursday.

ZELENSKYY BLASTS GLOBAL INACTION ON IRAN, CLAIMS EUROPE STUCK IN ‘GREENLAND MODE’

Zelenskyy and Putin are under increasing pressure to reach a peace deal as the fourth anniversary of Moscow's invasion approaches and President Donald Trump pushes to end the war.

While Russia has demanded Ukraine cede the Donbas, Zelenskyy has stood firm in his opposition to making land concessions, though the discussions in Abu Dhabi suggest that he could be ready to negotiate. Putin is demanding Ukraine surrender the 20% it holds of the Donetsk region of the Donbas, according to Reuters.

UKRAINIAN AMBASSADOR SAYS PEACE TALKS ARE ‘GOING IN THE RIGHT DIRECTION,’ TRILATERAL TALKS PLANNED IN UAE

"The question of Donbas is key. It will be discussed how the three sides... see this in Abu Dhabi today and tomorrow," Zelenskyy told reporters via WhatsApp, according to Reuters. The outlet added that an aide for Zelenskyy said the talks are expected to continue Saturday.

The envoys are meeting as Ukrainians face below-freezing temperatures after Russian strikes damaged the country's power supply.

Maxim Timchenko, the head of Ukraine's top private power producer, told Reuters that the situation was nearing a "humanitarian catastrophe."

While speaking with reporters on Air Force One, Trump was asked if the trilateral meeting could lead to one with himself, Putin and Zelenskyy. He would not commit but said that "any time we meet, it's good." He also expressed doubts about whether Putin wanted to take over all of Ukraine.

"What's happened here is there were times when Putin didn't want to make a deal, times when Zelenskyy didn't want to make a deal, and it was opposite times. Now, I think they both want to make a deal. We'll find out," Trump said.

The president also acknowledged that the topics of the discussions that were happening had been debated for months.

Iran’s top prosecutor pushed back Friday on a recent announcement from President Donald Trump that Iran canceled more than 800 executions, alleging that the president’s remarks are "completely false." 

Trump wrote on Truth Social last week, "I greatly respect the fact that all scheduled hangings, which were to take place yesterday (Over 800 of them), have been cancelled by the leadership of Iran. Thank you!" 

However, Iran’s top prosecutor, Mohammad Movahedi, said Friday that, "This claim is completely false; no such number exists, nor has the judiciary made any such decision," according to The Associated Press. 

"We have a separation of powers, the responsibilities of each institution are clearly defined, and we do not, under any circumstances, take instructions from foreign powers," Movahedi reportedly added in comments published by the Iranian judiciary’s Mizan news agency.

TRUMP CREDITS HALTED IRAN EXECUTIONS FOR DELAYING MILITARY STRIKES

When asked for reaction Friday, a White House official told Fox News Digital that Trump is monitoring the situation in Iran very seriously and that all options remain available if the regime in Tehran executes protesters. 

The official added that following Trump’s warnings to Iran, demonstrators who were set to be sentenced to death there were not. 

The White House official also said Trump believes this is good news and is hoping the trend continues.

IRANIAN SOLDIER SENTENCED TO DEATH FOR REFUSING TO FIRE ON PROTESTERS DURING NATIONWIDE UNREST

"What I will say with respect to Iran is that the president and his team have communicated to the Iranian regime that if the killing continues, there will be grave consequences," White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt told reporters last week. 

As of Friday, there have been 5,032 deaths during the crackdown against anti-government protesters in Iran, the AP reported, citing the U.S.-based Human Rights Activists News Agency.

Iran’s government offered its first death toll Wednesday, saying 3,117 people had been killed. It claimed that 2,427 of the dead in the demonstrations that began Dec. 28 were civilians and security forces, with the rest being "terrorists." 

The Associated Press contributed to this report. 

Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney has rejected President Donald Trump's assertion that "Canada lives because of the United States."

"Canada and the United States have built a remarkable partnership in the economy, in security, and in a rich cultural exchange," Carney said on Thursday while speaking in Plains of Abraham, Québec, during a cabinet retreat. 

"But Canada doesn’t ‘live because of the United States’," he said, referencing Trump's remark. "Canada thrives because we are Canadian. We are masters in our own house. This is our country. This is our future. The choice is ours."

In response to Fox News Digital's request for comment, the White House pointed to Trump's Truth Social post.

TRUMP SNUBS CANADA BY WITHDRAWING COUNTRY’S INVITE TO JOIN ‘MOST PRESTIGIOUS BOARD OF LEADERS EVER’

On Thursday, Trump published an open letter to Carney informing him that Canada's invitation to join the Board of Peace — a U.S.-led council tasked with managing Gaza's post-war future — had been rescinded.

"Please let this Letter serve to represent that the Board of Peace is withdrawing its invitation to you regarding Canada’s joining, what will be, the most prestigious Board of Leaders ever assembled, at any time. Thank you for your attention to this matter!" Trump wrote on Truth Social.

The board was inaugurated in Davos, Switzerland, on Thursday, though Carney had already left, according to The Associated Press.

Tensions between Carney and Trump flared as world leaders met in Davos for the annual World Economic Forum. Both Trump and Carney took swipes at each other in their respective speeches.

US TRADE REP SHRUGS OFF WORLD LEADERS’ SWIPES AT TRUMP AMID DAVOS BACKLASH

During his address on Tuesday, Carney did not mention Trump by name, but rather he said that "rules-based order is fading," referencing the U.S.

He admitted that there were benefits to US. leadership on the world stage, but painted the entire concept of a rules-based international order as a falsity that is actively failing. Additionally, in his address, Carney urged middle powers, like Canada, to assert themselves and take the opportunity to "build a new order that embodies our values."

When delivering his address on Wednesday, Trump did not shy away from taking aim at Carney. He said that Canada "should be grateful" because the country gets "a lot of freebies" from the U.S., though he did not say what he was referring to.

"I watched your prime minister yesterday, he wasn't so grateful," Trump said. "Canada lives because of the United States. Remember that, Mark, the next time you make your statements."

The friction between Trump and Carney underscored a growing rift between the two. In his address to a cabinet retreat, Carney framed it as a moment for Canada to assert its own power and build a future based on its own values.

Fox News Digital reached out to Carney's office for comment.

The French navy intercepted a Russian oil tanker in the Mediterranean suspected of operating as part of Moscow’s shadow fleet, a network of falsely-flagged vessels used to export oil and avoid Western sanctions, according to reports.

President Emmanuel Macron said Thursday that French forces had boarded and searched the tanker, which is subject to international sanctions. 

The ship was reportedly sailing from Murmansk, in northern Russia, under the Comoros flag.

Writing on X, Macron said the operation took place on the high seas in the Mediterranean with the support of several allied countries.

‘GHOST SHIPS’ FERRYING ILLICIT OIL HAVE SAILED INTO TRUMP’S CROSSHAIRS

The French president added that the vessel had been diverted for further checks.

The tanker, identified as the Grinch, was intercepted between the southern coast of Spain and the northern coast of Morocco in the western Mediterranean, French maritime police said. 

The Associated Press reported the interception.

France and the U.K. gathered and shared intelligence on the vessel, according to French military officials who spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity.

TRUMP ADMINISTRATION FILES SEIZURE WARRANTS TARGETING SHIPS TIED TO VENEZUELAN OIL TRADE: REPORT

The interception is the latest in a growing number of Russian-linked vessels stopped by U.S. and European authorities in recent months as Western powers intensify efforts to disrupt Russia’s oil exports.

As previously reported by Fox News Digital, in early January, U.S. forces seized another sanctioned tanker in the Atlantic Ocean.

U.S. European Command (EUCOM) announced the seizure of the Russian-flagged Marinera oil tanker in the North Atlantic Sea.

France’s Mediterranean Maritime Prefecture said the team that boarded the Grinch Thursday had inspected the vessel and decided documents raised doubts about the regularity of the vessel’s flag.

US MILITARY SEIZES ANOTHER FUGITIVE OIL TANKER LINKED TO VENEZUELA

The tanker is being escorted by the French navy to an anchorage for additional verification.

The European Union has imposed 19 rounds of sanctions on Russia since its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022. 

Despite those measures, Russia has continued to export millions of barrels of oil, mainly to China and India and often at discounted prices.

What has become known as a "shadow fleet" consists of hundreds of old and poorly regulated tankers that change names, ownership structures and flags to avoid detection and sanctions.

Maritime data firm Lloyd’s List Intelligence estimates the global shadow fleet at about 1,400 tankers, many of which are subject to U.S., British or European sanctions, Reuters reported.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy criticized European countries for not doing more to stop the transport of Russian oil using sanctioned vessels and which he says helps fund the war in Ukraine.

"Why can [U.S. President Donald Trump] stop tankers of the ‘shadow fleet’ and seize their oil, while Europe can’t?" Zelensky asked at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, Thursday.

"Russian oil is transported right along the European coast. This oil funds the war against Ukraine. This oil helps destabilize Europe."

An Arizona OnlyFans star with alleged ties to a Mexican cartel was abducted at gunpoint by multiple armed men in Mexico on Tuesday, according to footage that captured the terrifying incident.

The reported kidnapping of 20-year-old Mexican-American Nicole Pardo Molina, known for driving a distinctive lilac Cybertruck, was captured by her vehicle’s cameras.

According to Spanish outlet El Pais, the incident took place outside a shopping center in Culiacán, Sinaloa, where she was selling merchandise bearing the image of cartel leader Joaquín "El Chapo" Guzmán. The area where she lived, and where her father is from, is reportedly controlled by a rival faction of the Sinaloa Cartel, suggesting the kidnapping is possibly linked to cartel rivalry.

In the footage, Molina, who has more than 180,000 Instagram followers, was approached by a white Toyota Corolla and multiple attackers, who reportedly used tire spikes to bring her vehicle to a halt before pulling up alongside her, El Pais said.

DEA, FBI SEIZE $10 MILLION IN CRYPTOCURRENCY 'DIRECTLY LINKED TO THE SINALOA CARTEL'

"According to initial investigations, three armed men in a stolen white vehicle threw tire spikes at the SUV the victim was traveling in, intercepted it, and then forced the victim into the car," authorities said, El Pais reported.

Chaos erupted as she struggled, desperately trying to slam the Toyota’s rear passenger door shut and scramble back into her own car, according to the footage. 

The men appeared to eventually overpower her and force her into the back of the car, while a third man in the driver’s seat sped away.

US OFFICIALS WARN SNOWBIRDS OF 'VIOLENT CRIME' IN WINTER DESTINATION HOT SPOT

El País reported that Molina was well-known in Culiacán for her customized lilac Cybertruck, a vehicle that made her instantly recognizable.

Authorities have confirmed Molina’s disappearance and opened a missing persons case to locate the 20-year-old. They are investigating possible links to the ongoing turf war between rival cartels.

According to the Attorney General's Office of the State of Sinaloa, the authorities currently have no information regarding her whereabouts and said, "it is considered that her safety may be at risk, as she could be a victim of a crime."

MEXICO TO EXTRADITE 26 TOP CARTEL LEADERS TO US IN TRUMP ADMINISTRATION DEAL

Molina was born and raised in the U.S., and her parents live in Phoenix, Arizona, El País reported. She frequently travels between Culiacán and Phoenix, where her family still resides.

El Pais added that Molina reportedly dropped out of school in the U.S. after the COVID-19 pandemic to pursue business ventures in Mexico.

While there were no confirmed criminal links prior to the kidnapping, authorities and media reports suggest the incident may be tied to cartel rivalries

In 2025, hundreds of women were kidnapped or disappeared in Sinaloa alone, according to official figures. A growing number of influencers have also been threatened or killed for promoting or alluding to specific cartel factions. In May 2025, for instance, influencer Valeria Marquez was murdered during a TikTok livestream. 

Some ISIS prisoners who escaped from a prison in northeastern Syria on Jan. 19, are still unaccounted for after the ensuing chaos made tracking some of the fighters "impossible," an analyst familiar with the situation has claimed.

And as U.S. forces move to transfer thousands of male militants from the region to Iraq, the wives of ISIS fighters have been left behind in what he described as "fragile" detention camps.

"Damascus claims most of the escapees were recaptured, but some remain at large," Syria analyst Nanar Hawach told Fox News Digital.

"The exact number unaccounted for is unclear because the chaos made tracking them all impossible," said Hawach, of the International Crisis Group.

IRAN EXPANDS IT ‘SHADOW EMPIRE’ ACROSS MIDDLE EAST AS TRUMP PULLS TROOPS FROM IRAQ, SYRIA

"The U.S. transfer to Iraq covers male detainees from prisons, but those detained in camps remain in Syria under Damascus’ control."

U.S. Central Command confirmed Jan. 21 that it had begun transferring ISIS prisoners to Iraqi-controlled facilities as an emergency effort to prevent a resurgence of the terror group amid deteriorating security conditions.

The move followed the prison escape at a detention facility in Hasakah province during clashes between Syrian government forces and the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces.

Militants broke out during the unrest, and while many were later recaptured, the full scope of the escape remains unclear.

U.S. forces have already transported roughly 150 ISIS fighters from a detention facility in Hasakah to secure locations in Iraq, according to CENTCOM, which said as many as 7,000 detainees could ultimately be transferred.

TRUMP ORDERS ISIS STRIKES IN SYRIA AFTER IOWA NATIONAL GUARD SOLDIERS KILLED

An Iraqi intelligence general told The Associated Press on Jan. 21 that Iraqi authorities received an initial batch of 144 detainees, with additional transfers planned by aircraft.

"The U.S. is facilitating transfers to Iraqi custody as an emergency measure because of the unstable security situation in northeast Syria," Hawach said, noting that Iraq’s secure prisons "reduce the risk of further mass breakouts."

"Human rights organizations have raised concerns about trial procedures in Iraq, but the priority right now is preventing escapes, and Iraq can deliver that."

Hawach emphasized that the transfers apply only to male fighters held in prisons — not to women and children confined in camps such as the notorious al-Hol.

TURKEY SAYS SYRIA USING FORCE IS AN OPTION AGAINST US-BACKED FIGHTERS WHO HELPED DEFEAT ISIS

Al-Hol camp has held tens of thousands of ISIS-affiliated women and children since the group’s territorial defeat in 2019.

"Women and children are held in camps, not prisons, and are processed differently than male fighters," Hawach said.

"The long-term solution for women and children is repatriation to their home countries, but most governments have been reluctant," Hawach said.

"Some women are ideologically committed; some are not. Distinguishing between them requires case-by-case assessments that haven’t happened at scale." Still, Hawach warned, the deeper problem remains unresolved.

"The detention system was always fragile, always underfunded, always a temporary solution waiting for permanent answers," he said.

"The transfers to Iraq address the immediate crisis but don’t solve the underlying problem of what to do with this population long-term."

U.S. Special Envoy for Syria Tom Barrack said this week that "the original purpose of the SDF as the primary anti-ISIS force on the ground has largely expired, as Damascus is now both willing and positioned to take over security responsibilities, including control of ISIS detention facilities and camps."

The Trump administration has stepped up pressure on Sir Keir Starmer after imposing sanctions on a Britain-based activist accused by U.S. intelligence of working on behalf of Hamas, according to reports.

The U.S. Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) announced Jan. 21 that it was "taking action against Hamas’s covert links to nonprofit organizations." 

The statement went on to name six Gaza-based groups and the Popular Conference for Palestinians Abroad (PCPA).

U.S. officials said the PCPA operates as a front for Hamas overseas. OFAC also designated Zaher Birawi, 64, accusing him of being a "senior official" in Hamas through his leadership role in the PCPA.

UK PRIME MINISTER SLAMMED FOR WELCOMING HOME FREED EGYPTIAN PRISONER AFTER SOCIAL MEDIA POSTS RESURFACE

The Treasury Department said Birawi is a founding member of the organization and part of its general secretariat, alleging the group was used to "clandestinely expand" Hamas’ international influence and fundraising.

This included backing flotillas that attempted to reach Gaza. Some have received public backing from prominent activists, including Greta Thunberg.

"Hamas continues to show a callous disregard for the welfare of the Palestinian people," John K. Hurley, the U.S. Undersecretary for Terrorism and Financial Intelligence, said in a statement.

Hurley added that "the Trump administration will not look the other way while Hamas leadership and enablers exploit the financial system to fund terrorist operations."

TRUMP ADMIN WEIGHS TERRORISM SANCTIONS AGAINST UN PALESTINIAN AID AGENCY OVER HAMAS ALLEGATIONS

The sanctions have put pressure on the U.K., which has been reviewing possible counterterror measures against Birawi for weeks, according to The Times.

U.K. Shadow Home Secretary Chris Philp said it was "good to see" the U.S. take action, adding, "Under no circumstances should Britain be a place of sanctuary for anyone involved in or supportive of terrorist (organizations) like Hamas."

Alex Hearn of Labour Against Antisemitism said Birawi continued to broadcast from London and organize flotillas despite the U.S. designation.

Lord Austin of Dudley has urged the U.K. to examine the intelligence "very carefully."

Birawi, who lives in Barnet in north London, has been in the U.K. for more than 30 years.

He chairs the Palestine Forum in Britain and is a prominent organizer of pro-Palestinian demonstrations in the city.

He has been named in Parliament as a security concern, and Israel designated him a Hamas member in 2013, allegations he has consistently denied.

In 2023, Birawi said he is a "law-abiding British citizen" and rejected claims of links to Hamas, saying his work focuses on "defending the national and human rights of Palestinians who survive under occupation."

Fox News Digital has reached out to Birawi and Sir Keir Starmer's office for comment.

Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen is insisting that Denmark will not negotiate on its sovereignty despite President Donald Trump announcing a "framework" of a deal on Greenland has been reached.

In a statement, she indicated that the nation is open to discussions with allies as long as the engagement respects Denmark's "territorial integrity."

"Security in the Arctic is a matter for the entire NATO alliance. Therefore, it is good and natural that it is also discussed between NATO's Secretary General and the President of the United States. The Kingdom of Denmark has long worked for NATO to increase its engagement in the Arctic," Frederiksen noted in the statement, which was written in Danish.

"We have been in close dialogue with NATO and I have spoken to NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte on an ongoing basis, including both before and after his meeting with President Trump in Davos. NATO is fully aware of the position of the Kingdom of Denmark. We can negotiate on everything political; security, investments, economy. But we cannot negotiate on our sovereignty," she asserted. 

TRUMP UNLOADS ON BIDEN POLICIES FROM DAVOS, WARNS EUROPE TO DROP THE OLD PLAYBOOK

The Danish prime minister noted that "only Denmark and Greenland themselves can make decisions on issues concerning Denmark and Greenland. The Kingdom of Denmark wishes to continue to engage in a constructive dialogue with allies on how we can strengthen security in the Arctic, including the US's Golden Dome, provided that this is done with respect for our territorial integrity."

Her comments come after Trump announced on Truth Social that, "Based upon a very productive meeting that I have had with the Secretary General of NATO, Mark Rutte, we have formed the framework of a future deal with respect to Greenland and, in fact, the entire Arctic Region."

"This solution, if consummated, will be a great one for the United States of America, and all NATO Nations," Trump wrote in the post. "Based upon this understanding, I will not be imposing the Tariffs that were scheduled to go into effect on February 1st. Additional discussions are being held concerning The Golden Dome as it pertains to Greenland."

TRUMP TELLS DAVOS US ALONE CAN SECURE GREENLAND, INSISTS HE WON'T ‘USE FORCE’

During a speech at the World Economic Forum annual meeting in Switzerland on Thursday, Trump seemed to indicate that he would not use force to seize Greenland.

While discussing NATO, he said, "We probably won't get anything unless I decide to use excessive strength and force, where we would be frankly unstoppable. But, I won't do that."

"I won't use force. All the United States is asking for is a place called Greenland," Trump said.

TOP NATO OFFICIAL REVEALS DETAILS OF STUNNING MEETING WITH TRUMP THAT PRODUCED GREENLAND DEAL ‘FRAMEWORK’

In a post on X, Denmark's Foreign Minister Lars Løkke Rasmussen, said, "We welcome that POTUS has ruled out to take Greenland by force and paused the trade war. Now, let’s sit down and find out how we can address the American security concerns in the Arctic while respecting the red lines of the KoD."