Fox World News

Antisemitism in Canada has exploded in the aftermath of Hamas’ Oct. 7, 2023, massacre, reaching record numbers last year and becoming a central issue for the country’s Jewish community ahead of an April 28 federal election.

Last week, Conservative Party leader Pierre Poilievre, the main challenger to Prime Minister Mark Carney accused pro-Hamas protesters of staging "hate marches" and vowing to deport antisemitic foreigners from Canada.

"The rampaging chaos that we see in our streets, the targeting of synagogues and Jewish schools with hate, vandalism, violence, fire bombings ... these things were unheard of 10 years ago," Poilievre said. 

He also had a warning for foreign agitators. "Anyone who is here on a visitor visa who carries out lawbreaking will be deported from this country," Poilievre said.

SENATE APPROVES PETER HOEKSTRA AS NEXT US AMBASSADOR TO CANADA

"To Canada's Jewish community," Poilievre added, "you are not alone, you have friends. Canadians stand with you. You have the right to wear your Star of David, your kippah, and have your mezuzah on your door. You should feel proud to be Jewish and should never have to hide your Jewishness in order to stay safe."

On Friday, Poilievre shared on X the Montreal Jewish Community Council’s call for Jewish voters to endorse him. In the video, the group's executive director, Rabbi Saul Emanuel, referencing Poilievre's support for the community, stated, "We remember who stood with us when it mattered most, and now we can all make a difference."

Emanuel noted that Jewish voters could play a decisive role in as many as 14 districts in Canada. "Our vote matters, our voice matters. That’s why I am proud to support Pierre Poilievre and I urge you to do the same," he said.

Carney has also used social media to condemn antisemitism. In a tweet wishing Jewish Canadians a happy Passover, he condemned the growing incidents, stating in part, "Together, we must confront and denounce the rising tide of antisemitism, and the threat it poses to Jewish life and safety in communities across Canada."

Yet despite his strong words against antisemitism, Carney recently faced criticism following a campaign rally in Calgary, where someone yelled at the Liberal Party leader, "There’s a genocide happening in Palestine."

"I’m aware," Carney replied. "That’s why we have an arms embargo [on Israel]."

The next day, Carney, who in March replaced longtime Premier Justin Trudeau, claimed he had not heard the anti-Israel demonstrator correctly.

His backtracking did not stop Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu from entering the fray. He posted on X that "Canada has always sided with civilization. So should Mr. Carney.

"But instead of supporting Israel, a democracy that is fighting a just war with just means against the barbarians of Hamas, he attacks the one and only Jewish state," Netanyahu posted.

According to an annual audit released this month by B’nai Brith Canada, the total number of reported cases of Jew hatred in the country hit 6,219 in 2024, a 7.4% increase over 2023 and the highest number since the survey’s inception in 1982.

Antisemitic incidents in Canada have skyrocketed by 124.6% since 2022.

NORTHERN BORDER 'QUIET CRISIS' BREWS AS EXPERT FLOATS UNCONVENTIONAL SOLUTION TO COMBAT HUMAN SMUGGLING

"Over the last 18 months, a new baseline has been established for antisemitism in Canada, and it's having a detrimental effect on the lives of Jewish people," Richard Robertson, director of research and advocacy at B'nai Brith Canada, told Fox News Digital. "We are seeing an increase in certain forms of antisemitism, specifically anti-Zionism."

Irwin Cotler, a former justice minister and attorney general of Canada for the Liberal Party, told Fox News Digital "antisemitism has become mainstream, normalized and legitimized in the political, popular, academic, media, entertainment and sport cultures. All this happened in the absence of outrage," he said.

"I hope that whichever party gets elected, we will see deliverables in combating specific hate crime, hate speech, harassment, assault, vandalism and all the things you find reported in the [B’nai Brith] annual report. From my experience, even those statistics are not telling the true story. They are underreported."

"The community of democracies must act because the security of our collective freedom is at stake," Cotler warned.

Israeli Ambassador to Canada Iddo Moed told Fox News Digital many local Jews "feel vulnerable, unsafe and unprotected by law enforcement bodies, governments and education systems that have stood by as antisemitism reached crisis levels." 

He noted that Israel, the homeland of the Jewish people, is obligated to act when Jews in the Diaspora are in distress.

"Equipping teachers with the resources to teach about antisemitism and the Holocaust is essential to ensure future generations understand the dangers of hatred and continue to embrace peace, tolerance and equality," he added.

TRUMP TAKES CENTER STAGE IN CANADA’S PRIME MINISTER ELECTION DEBATE

The antisemitism survey highlighted numerous incidents, ranging from Quebec daily La Presse publishing a cartoon depicting Netanyahu as Nosferatu, a vampire associated with Jews in Nazi-era propaganda and a pro-Hamas protester at the University of Toronto shouting at a Jewish student that Hitler should have "murdered all of you."

In May, an arsonist ignited a fire at the entrance to the Schara Tzedeck Synagogue in Vancouver as prayers concluded. The same month, shots were fired at the Bais Chaya Mushka girls’ school in Toronto, and the school has since been targeted twice more by gunfire. In August, a bomb threat affected Jewish institutions across the country. In December, a firebomb struck Congregation Beth Tikvah in Montreal, the second such attack since Oct. 7, 2023.

Thereafter, Israeli President Isaac Herzog called on the Canadian government to take action to "stamp out" antisemitism. 

"The world must wake up. Words are not enough. Synagogues burned. Jews attacked. Never again is now," he said, employing the adage stressing a commitment to preventing another Holocaust.

Anthony Housefather is the MP in the House of Commons for Mount Royal, an area with a large Jewish population held by the Liberals since 1940 being viewed as a bellwether for where the community stands.

"The alarming numbers [of antisemitic incidents] make it clear as to why every level of government in the country needs to work together to implement all the recommendations set out in the justice committee report of last December and the commitments made at the national summit on antisemitism in March," Housefather told Fox News Digital.

Trudeau, who was widely panned for failing to adequately address the groundswell of antisemitism, had announced the summit within hours of Herzog’s condemnation.

Neil Oberman, the Conservative Party candidate running against Housefather, told Fox News Digital that in Mount Royal "personal safety and security have become serious issues.

"It's a stark reminder of the urgent need for a federal government consisting of adults implementing actions instead of putting together summits and position papers and blaming everybody else to combat hate and protect vulnerable communities," Oberman said.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy expressed skepticism over Russian President Vladimir Putin’s announcement Saturday that Russia would observe a temporary ceasefire during the Easter holiday. 

After the announcement, Zelenskyy posted on X that air raid alerts were ringing out across Ukraine, adding that Russian attack drones were detected in the skies. 

"Shahed drones in our skies reveal Putin’s true attitude toward Easter and toward human life," he wrote.

The Kremlin on Saturday shared a video in which Putin said, "Guided by humanitarian considerations, today from 18:00 to 00:00, from Sunday to Monday, the Russian side declares an Easter truce.’" 

TRUMP SAYS US WILL 'TAKE A PASS' ON UKRAINE PEACE EFFORTS IF RUSSIA REFUSES TO PLAY BALL

He later added that Russia had "ignored" the United States' proposal for a 30-day truce after Ukraine "responded positively."

"If Russia is now suddenly ready to truly engage in a format of full and unconditional silence, Ukraine will act accordingly — mirroring Russia’s actions," Zelenskyy said. "Silence in response to silence, defensive strikes in response to attacks."

He said if an Easter ceasefire actually takes hold, he proposes extending it. 

"That is what will reveal Russia’s true intentions, because 30 hours is enough to make headlines, but not for genuine confidence-building measures," he said. "Thirty days could give peace a chance."

FORMER CIA STATION CHIEF SAYS HE DOESN'T SEE PUTIN STOPPING ‘ONSLAUGHT’ AGAINST UKRAINE 

Zelenskyy later added on X, "As of now, according to the Commander-in-Chief reports, Russian assault operations continue on several frontline sectors, and Russian artillery fire has not subsided. Therefore, there is no trust in words coming from Moscow. We know all too well how Moscow manipulates, and we are prepared for anything. 

"Ukraine’s Defense Forces will act rationally — responding in kind. Every Russian strike will be met with an appropriate response."

Late Saturday, Zelenskyy wrote that the "Easter statements by Putin did not extend to" the Kursk and Belgorod regions of Ukraine, where he said "hostilities continue, and Russian strikes persist. Russian artillery can still be heard in certain directions of the front, regardless of the Russian leader's promise of silence. Russian drones are in use."

He acknowledged, "In some areas, the situation has become quieter."

Zelenskyy said the "proposal for a full and unconditional 30-day silence remains on the table — the answer to it must come from Moscow. Ukraine, together with our partners, is ready to move toward peace as constructively as possible, but same readiness is required from Russia."

The war has raged for more than three years and cost the lives of tens of thousands of people on both sides after Russia invaded the sovereign country in February 2022. 

The announcement of a temporary ceasefire comes after President Donald Trump on Thursday said an 80-page minerals deal will be signed with Ukraine in one week. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent later said it would likely be signed April 26. 

Details on the agreement still remain relatively unknown, though recent reporting by Bloomberg has suggested the U.S. has eased back its demands for repayment for its aid in Ukraine’s fight against Russia from $300 billion to $100 billion. 

On Friday, Trump said the U.S. will "just take a pass" at peace efforts for Ukraine if Russian President Vladimir Putin refuses to agree to ceasefire terms. 

CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP

"If, for some reason, one of the two parties makes it very difficult, we're just going to say, 'You're foolish, you're fools, you're horrible people,' and we're going to just take a pass," Trump told reporters. "But hopefully we won't have to do that."

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

At least 148 people were found dead in the Democratic Republic of Congo after a motorized wooden boat caught fire and capsized, media reports citing local officials said on Friday.

The boat was carrying as many as 500 passengers, including women and children, when it overturned in the Congo River located in the country’s northwest region on Tuesday, as per the reports.

27 DEAD IN NORTHWEST CONGO AFTER BOAT CAPSIZES

Boating accidents are common in Congo, where old, wooden vessels are the main form of transport between villages and are often loaded far beyond capacity.

Officials estimate hundreds of people to still be missing, the reports added. The number of dead was previously estimated at 50.

The boat, called HB Kongolo, caught fire near the town of Mbandaka, having left the port of Matankumu for the Bolomba territory.

About 100 survivors were taken to an improvised shelter at the local town hall, while those with burn injuries were taken to local hospitals, Sky News reported.

The incident occurred when a fire started as a woman was cooking on board the vessel, Compétent Loyoko, the river commissioner, told the Associated Press.

Several passengers, including women and children, died after jumping into the water without being able to swim, the report added.

In 2024, at least 78 people drowned when a boat with 278 passengers capsized in Lake Kivu, eastern Congo. In a separate incident, at least 22 people died after a river boat sank in December in western Congo.

American pastor Josh Sullivan released a statement after he was rescued from captivity following a deadly shootout in South Africa's Eastern Cape Province.

"I want to begin by thanking God for delivering me from what was undoubtedly the worst experience of our life," Sullivan wrote in a press release. He said that his "personal relationship with Jesus" gave him the strength he needed to survive.

AMERICAN PASTOR KIDNAPPED IN SOUTH AFRICA RESCUED AFTER DEADLY POLICE SHOOTOUT

"I am deeply grateful to the thousands of people who prayed for me while I was in captivity. It was because of these prayers that God performed a miracle a few nights ago."

Sullivan also expressed his gratitude for the Directorate for Priority Crime Investigation (HAWKS), the FBI, Diplomatic Security Service (DSS) special agents and the South African police. He also said he was thankful for his wife, "whose strength and resilience made her the strongest woman in the world last week."

AMERICAN PASTOR'S KIDNAPPING IN SOUTH AFRICA FUELED BY SOARING ARMED ROBBERY INCIDENTS IN RECENT YEARS

Sullivan asked for privacy, but said he would tell his "miraculous" story "when the time is right."
HAWKS said an operation led by the agency "resulted in the successful rescue" of an American citizen, "reportedly a local pastor who had allegedly been kidnapped and held at a safe house in KwaMagxaki, Gqeberha, on 15 April 2025."

CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP

Sullivan was abducted when four men broke into his church and dragged him from the pulpit, according to the Associated Press, which added that his truck was found hours later. The outlet reported that Sullivan has been based in the Motherwell township branch of the Fellowship Baptist Church since 2018. 

Elizabeth Pritchett contributed to this report.

Russian President Vladimir Putin has announced a temporary Easter ceasefire in his country’s war with Ukraine, the Kremlin said Saturday.

The war has raged for more than three years and cost the lives of tens of thousands of people on both sides. 

"Guided by humanitarian considerations, today from 18:00 to 00:00 from Sunday to Monday, the Russian side declares an Easter truce,’" Putin said in a video posted by the Russian ministry of Foreign Affairs.

TRUMP SAYS MINERALS DEAL WITH UKRAINE TO BE SIGNED NEXT THURSDAY

"I order that all military actions be stopped for this period."

In the video, Putin is joined by Chief of the General Staff Valery Gerasimov.

The move appeared to be scoffed at by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy who said shortly after the announcement that air raid alerts were ringing out across Ukraine.

"As for yet another attempt by Putin to play with human lives—at this moment, air raid alerts are spreading across Ukraine," Zelenskyy wrote on X while giving an update on troop positions. It wasn’t entirely clear of he was addressing the truce.

TRUMP SAYS US WILL 'TAKE A PASS' ON UKRAINE PEACE EFFORTS IF RUSSIA REFUSES TO PLAY BALL

"At 17:15, Russian attack drones were detected in our skies. Ukrainian air defense and aviation have already begun working to protect us. Shahed drones in our skies reveal Putin’s true attitude toward Easter and toward human life."

Zelenskyy wrote that Ukrainian forces were battling in the Kursk region and holding their positions. 

"In the Belgorod region, our warriors have advanced and expanded our zone of control," he wrote.

Russia’s Defense Ministry, however, said its forces pushed Ukrainian troops from one of their last remaining footholds in Russia’s Kursk region, where Ukrainian troops staged a surprise incursion last year.

The temporary ceasefire comes after President Donald Trump on Thursday said an 80-page minerals deal will be signed with Ukraine in one week. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent later amended that it would likely be signed on April 26. 

Details on the agreement still remain relatively unknown, though recent reporting by Bloomberg has suggested the U.S. has eased back its demands of repayment for its aid in Ukraine’s fight against Russia from $300 billion to $100 billion. 

On Friday, Trump said the U.S. will "just take a pass" at peace efforts for Ukraine if Russian President Vladimir Putin refuses to agree to ceasefire terms. 

"If for some reason, one of the two parties makes it very difficult, we're just going to say 'you're foolish, you're fools, you're horrible people,' and we're going to just take a pass," Trump told reporters. "But hopefully we won't have to do that."

Fox News’ Caitlin McFall and The Associated Press contributed to this report. 

An escaped California inmate wanted for killing the leader of an elite Mexican police unit while on the run was arrested in Tijuana, Mexico.

Cesar Hernandez, 34, was arrested Thursday by Mexico’s State Investigation Agency.

Hernandez was wanted in connection with the shooting death of 33-year-old Abigail Esparza Reyes, the leader of the Mexican police unit known as the "Gringo Hunters," which aims to capture U.S. suspects who are fugitives in Mexico.

ESCAPED CALIFORNIA PRISON INMATE CONVICTED OF MURDER KILLS POLICE COMMANDER IN MEXICO: REPORT

Esparza Reyes was killed during a shootout on April 9 in Tijuana while the unit was attempting to arrest Hernandez.

"These actions reflect the outstanding intelligence and investigative work carried out by personnel from the State Attorney General's Office, whose coordinated efforts, tactical analysis strategies and data collection made it possible to accurately locate the person arrested today," the Baja California prosecutor's office said in a statement Friday following the arrest.

"The State Prosecutor General's Office reiterates its commitment to act firmly, legally, and reaffirms its commitment that in Baja California, whoever does it, pays for it," the statement added.

Mexican officials said Hernandez is facing criminal proceedings and "his legal situation will be determined as set out by law."

DANGEROUS MAN IN CUSTODY IN CALIFORNIA FOR MURDER ESCAPES, MANHUNT UNDERWAY

Hernandez was serving 80 years to life with the possibility of parole in California for first-degree murder before escaping from custody on December 2. He was being transported to the Kern County Superior Courthouse in Delano for a court appearance when he jumped out of the van and ran away.

He was held at Kern Valley State Prison in Delano before his escape. He was handed over to Kern County from Los Angeles County in 2019.

Saturday's talks in Rome between the Trump administration and the Islamic Republic of Iran over the rogue regime’s failure to dismantle its illicit nuclear weapons program have raised pressing questions about whether Tehran will adhere to a new deal.

Speaking on "The Story with Martha MacCallum," retired Gen. Jack Keane, a Fox News senior strategic analyst, said Iran is reintroducing its "playbook" that [was] used to secure the JCPOA from Obama and termed its strategy a "bold-faced lie" that led to the "disastrous 2015" agreement.

Keane said Iran is repackaging the lie that it will reduce highly enriched uranium down to a low percentage and not use it for a nuclear weapon. Instead, it will employ it for civilian commercial nuclear power. Kean added that the Iranians "think the Trump administration is going to buy this. After all, in 2018, Trump pulled out of that very deal."

In 2018, President Trump withdrew from the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), the formal name for the 2015 nuclear deal brokered by the Obama administration, because, he argued, it failed to stop Iran’s ambitions to construct an atomic bomb. 

AHEAD OF TRUMP ADMIN-IRAN TALKS, NEW REPORT SAYS IRAN NUCLEAR THREAT RISES TO 'EXTREME DANGER'

Fox News Digital sent a detailed press query to the State Department regarding the Islamic Republic’s history of cheating and lying when dealing with its previous pledges to not build a nuclear weapon.

A spokesperson for the State Department told Fox News Digital, "This, along with many other issues, will be decided at the negotiating table. The president has been clear: Iran cannot have a nuclear weapon or enrichment program. As we continue to talk, we expect to refine a framework and timetable for working towards a deal that achieves the president’s objectives peacefully."

Speaking Friday, President Trump told reporters, "I'm for stopping Iran very simply from having a nuclear weapon. They can't have a nuclear weapon."

Enrichment of uranium is the key process that enables Iran’s regime to advance its work on a deliverable nuclear weapon. 

"Iran’s enrichment is a real, accepted matter," Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said Wednesday. "We are ready to build confidence in response to possible concerns, but the issue of enrichment is non-negotiable."
 

Mark Wallace, the CEO of United Against Nuclear Iran (UANI) and a former U.N. ambassador to the United Nations under President George W. Bush, told Fox News Digital, "Under the Bush administration, zero enrichment was enshrined in U.N. Security Council resolutions. The Obama administration changed that position, allowing enrichment up to 3.67%, and this paved the way for the failed JCPOA that has allowed Iran to extort the international community ever since."

The Obama administration's concession to Iran to permit it to enrich uranium to 3.67% has created new problems for Trump to halt Tehran's drive to build a weapon. Iran has exploited the right to enrich uranium to speed up its weapons program. The U.N.’s International Atomic Energy Agency announced in February that Iran has produced dramatically more uranium that can be used in six atomic bombs and stressed that Tehran has made no progress on resolving outstanding issues.

Trump said in late March he would launch military strikes against Iran if it failed to agree to his demands for a new nuclear pact.

Prior to Trump’s withdrawal from the JCPOA, Fox News Digital reported in 2017 that Iran tried to obtain illicit technology that could be used for military nuclear and ballistic missile programs, raising questions about a possible violation of the 2015 agreement intended to stop Tehran’s drive to become an atomic armed power, according to three German intelligence reports.

TRUMP HAS A TIMELINE IN MIND FOR IRAN NUKE DEAL, TAPS ISRAEL TO LEAD ANY POTENTIAL MILITARY ACTION

The Trump administration has outlined a two-month framework to reach a deal with Iran, John Hannah, a senior fellow at JINSA, said during a briefing about Iran’s nuclear weapons program Thursday.

Hannah served in senior advisory roles with former Vice President Dick Cheney and was intimately involved in developing U.S. strategy toward talks with Iran over Afghanistan, Iraq and the Islamic Republic’s nuclear program throughout President George W. Bush’s two terms in the White House.  

Traditionally, military pressure has influenced the Islamic Republic of Iran’s recalcitrant and anti-American leaders to make concessions. The U.S. invasion of Iraq in 2003 reportedly compelled the clerical regime’s Supreme Leader, Ali Khamenei, to briefly pause his country’s work on nuclear weapons.  

Khamenei feared American military action at the time.

Hannah said Trump’s "military threat is what brought Supreme Leader Khamenei to the table" because it "put his own regime at risk." Hannah outlined what dismantlement "with a capital D" would mean for Iran. He said "all of their enriched uranium leaves the country," and the centrifuges are destroyed and taken out of the country. Hannah said Iran’s secretive underground Fordow nuclear fuel enrichment plant and Natanz nuclear site were where Iran was caught digging tunnels in the mountains.

Hannah's organization, JINSA, released an infographic Wednesday that focused in on Trump administration officials' comments on verification and dismantlement.

According to a Reuters report, a senior Iranian official said Friday that Iran told the United States in talks last week it was ready to accept some limits on its uranium enrichment but needed watertight guarantees President Donald Trump would not again ditch a nuclear pact.

Tehran's red lines "mandated by Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei" could not be compromised in the talks, the official told Reuters, describing Iran's negotiating position on condition of anonymity.

He said those red lines meant Iran would never agree to dismantle its centrifuges for enriching uranium, halt enrichment altogether or reduce the amount of enriched uranium it stores to a level below the level it agreed in the 2015 deal that Trump abandoned.

It would also not negotiate over its missile program, which Tehran views as outside the scope of any nuclear deal.

Top U.S. negotiator Steve Witkoff, in a post on X on Tuesday, said Iran must "stop and eliminate its nuclear enrichment" to reach a deal with Washington.

Reuters contributed to this report.

Power was restored to more than 98% of customers Friday after an island-wide blackout hit Puerto Rico earlier this week, authorities said.

More than 1.45 million customers had electricity less than 48 hours after the outage hit, according to Luma Energy, which oversees the transmission and distribution of power on the island.

PUERTO RICO NO LONGER SAFE BET FOR ILLEGAL MIGRANTS AS TRUMP CRACKDOWN EXPANDS TO US TERRITORY

Luma warned that "some customers may continue to experience temporary outages due to limited generation."

Gov. Jenniffer González said that all those affected by the blackout had power restored, and that the more than 21,400 customers without electricity on Friday was a result of other unidentified issues.

"Obviously, Luma still has work to do," she said. "It is a shame for our people ... that we have such an insufficient, mediocre system."

Normally, a couple thousand customers are temporarily without power every week in Puerto Rico for various reasons.

González noted that more than 98% of customers also had water.

"We have overcome, thank God, a great crisis this week," she said.

The blackout that hit Wednesday afternoon occurred after a transmission line failed and then caused generators across the island to protectively shut down, officials have said. It also left more than 400,000 customers without water at the time.

It wasn’t immediately clear what caused the failure, although authorities are investigating whether a series of breakers failed or if overgrown vegetation is to blame.

González said she expected to receive a preliminary report in upcoming days.

It’s the second massive blackout to hit Puerto Rico in less than four months. The previous one happened on New Year’s Eve.

President Donald Trump on Friday said the U.S. will "just take a pass" at peace efforts for Ukraine if Russian President Vladimir Putin refuses to agree to ceasefire terms. 

"If for some reason, one of the two parties makes it very difficult, we're just going to say 'you're foolish, you're fools, you're horrible people,' and we're going to just take a pass," Trump told reporters. "But hopefully we won't have to do that."

The president’s comments echoed those made by Secretary of State Marco Rubio early Friday morning following a meeting in Paris with special envoy Steve Witkoff and French President Emmanuel Macron, as well as officials from Ukraine, Germany and the U.K. — the first meeting of its kind, which signaled greater European involvement in U.S. efforts to secure a Ukraine-Russia ceasefire.

RUBIO SAYS US READY TO 'MOVE ON' WITHIN DAYS IF NO PROGRESS MADE ON RUSSIA-UKRAINE PEACE DEAL

While Ukraine has agreed to both full and interim ceasefire proposals, Russia has delayed any agreement for weeks, though it is for the most part still believed to be adhering to a 30-day ceasefire on Ukraine’s energy infrastructure.

"If we're so far apart this won't happen, then the president is ready to move on," Rubio told reporters in Paris following his talks, which he described as "very positive."

"We’re not going to continue to fly all over the world and do meeting after meeting after meeting if no progress is being made," Rubio said. "We’re going to move on to other topics that are equally if not more important in some ways to the United States."

It remains unclear where the U.S. would stand in not only aiding Ukraine, should Russia refuse to end its illegal invasion, but whether Trump would go through with his previous threats to enact more sanctions on Russia. 

POLAND SAYS MOSCOW IS 'MOCKING' TRUMP WITH DEADLY UKRAINE STRIKE

Last month, during an interview with NBC News, Trump said he was "very angry" and "pissed off" after Putin first showed signs of being unwilling to engage in a ceasefire with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.

"If Russia and I are unable to make a deal on stopping the bloodshed in Ukraine, and if I think it was Russia’s fault — which it might not be — but if I think it was Russia’s fault, I am going to put secondary tariffs on oil, on all oil coming out of Russia," he said.

"That would be that if you buy oil from Russia, you can’t do business in the United States," he added. "There will be a 25% tariff on all oil, a 25- to 50-point tariff on all oil."

Trump would not comment on the "specific number of days" Russia has before he determines whether it's serious about ending the war, but he told reporters on Friday it needs to happen "quickly — we want to get it done."

Amid Israel’s ongoing military campaign against Hamas terrorists in Gaza, the terror group is reportedly facing an unprecedented financial crisis.

Earlier this week, the Wall Street Journal reported that salary payments to many Hamas government employees have ceased, and even senior officials received only half of their usual pay during Ramadan. Terrorists, who once earned $200 to $300 a month, are struggling to get paid as the IDF tightens its grip, and the flow of humanitarian aid has been cut off since the collapse of the ceasefire.

Dr. Michael Milstein, head of the Forum for Palestinian Studies at Tel Aviv University, said that while financial difficulties are mounting, Hamas operatives are motivated more by ideology than money. "It’s not just about a paycheck," Milstein said. "Hamas provides essential supplies like food, water and medical care to families, which is crucial in today’s Gaza." Despite the squeeze, Milstein noted that Hamas has weathered similar financial crises in the past without collapsing.

ISRAEL LAUNCHES NEW GROUND OPERATION IN GAZA

"Two days ago, the IDF killed the battalion commander of the Sajia area for the fifth time. Today, there’s a new battalion commander. They fill the ranks. Hamas had 25,000 military operatives on October 7, and today it has a similar number, even though it lost twenty thousand. They manage with fewer experienced operatives, including children recruited from refugee camps, but manpower is always available in Gaza. As for weapons other than rockets, there is no problem—RPGs, explosives, and rifles are available," Milstein added.

Mkhaimar Abusada, a Gazan political analyst and currently a visiting scholar at Northwestern University, emphasized that Hamas will likely find ways to recover. "Hamas has survived despite external financial pressures for nearly two decades," Abusada said. "They’ve bypassed sanctions and continue to exploit black market activities and taxes on merchants." While money may not drive Hamas fighters, Abusada suggested that the financial squeeze would complicate their operations but not lead to the group's collapse.

Before the war, according to the same Wall Street Journal article, Qatar provided Hamas with monthly transfers of $15 million, helping to build a stockpile of around $500 million, much of it stored in Turkey. However, Israel’s tightened blockade has limited access to these funds, forcing Hamas to rely on new income sources, such as black-market activities and taxes. "Still, Hamas continues to manage through illicit financial flows, circumventing Israel, U.S., and international sanctions with relative ease," Abusada said.

Amid the financial crisis, protests against Hamas have started to gain traction. Initially small, demonstrations in Gaza City and surrounding areas have called for an end to Hamas’ rule, with some protesters shouting, "Hamas out!" Abusada noted that these protests, originally anti-war and anti-Israel, have taken on anti-Hamas slogans. However, Hamas has responded violently. "Hamas has made it clear that dissent will be crushed," he said, adding that some protesters have been tortured to death for their involvement.

HOW ISRAEL'S WAR AGAINST HAMAS TERRORISTS WILL BE DIFFERENT UNDER TRUMP

"The amount of hatred Gazans have has increased a thousandfold since October 7," said Milstein, "and it’s all directed toward Israel and Hamas, both regarded as evil."

Milstein said that while protests show unrest, they lack leadership and organization. "Hamas has violently suppressed protests, and if this continues, they may die out," he said, pointing to a recent protest in Beit Lahiya that quickly dwindled.

Recent reports indicate that more Palestinians, including hundreds with dual citizenship, are leaving Gaza through Ramon Airport for Europe. This is part of Israel Katz’s Ministry of Defense plan to encourage those who wish to permanently relocate, aligning with President Trump’s vision for the relocation of Gazans.

"The destruction of homes, schools, and hospitals, along with a lack of basic needs, has driven many to leave Gaza," Abusada said. "But options are limited—Europe is not open to large numbers of refugees from Gaza."

Abusada further explained that many of those who are leaving Gaza are dual nationals or have European residency. "This is not voluntary migration," he said. "Living in a war zone for 18 months with no infrastructure has forced many Palestinians to seek a better life elsewhere."

The State Department has accused a Chinese firm of directly aiding Iran-backed Houthi rebels in Yemen by providing satellite imagery used to target U.S. and international vessels in the Red Sea.

The news comes as U.S. airstrikes targeting an oil port held by Yemen’s Houthi rebels killed 74 people and wounded 171 others on Thursday, the group said.

State Department spokesperson Tammy Bruce said that Chang Guang Satellite Technology Company Limited is helping the Houthis, who have been attacking commercial and military ships in the area since late 2023 as a means of showing solidarity with Palestinians amid the war in Gaza. The Houthi attacks have included missile strikes, drone assaults and attempted hijackings.

Chang Guang Satellite Technology Company Limited is a commercial group with ties to the People’s Liberation Army.

TRUMP ADMIN IMPOSES SANCTIONS AGAINST BANK OF YEMEN FOR SUPPORTING HOUTHIS

"We can confirm the reporting that Chang Guang Satellite Technology Company Limited is directly supporting Iran-backed Houthi terrorist attacks on U.S. interests," State Department spokesperson Tammy Bruce told a regular news briefing.

"China consistently attempts ... to frame itself as a global peacemaker ... however, it is clear that Beijing and China-based companies provide key economic and technical support to regimes like Russia, North Korea and Iran and its proxies," she said.

"The fact that they continue to do this is unacceptable," she said, adding that the U.S. "will not tolerate anyone providing support to foreign terrorist organizations such as the Houthis."

Bruce said the assistance by the firm to the Houthis had continued even though the United States had engaged with Beijing on the issue.

President Donald Trump has  prioritized addressing instability in the Red Sea, citing ongoing concerns that the Houthis remain a threat to the global economy.

The news comes as U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM) launched strikes on the Houthi controlled Ras Isa Fuel Port in Northwest Yemen on Thursday, marking the 34th consecutive day of U.S. strikes on Houthi targets in Yemen. 

TRUMP TAKES SWIPE AT BIDEN, SAYS US WILL SUPPORT SOMALIA AGAINST HOUTHIS

The strikes were aimed at eliminating the Houthis' fuel, a key source of revenue for the group. 

The strikes, which sent massive fireballs shooting into the night sky, represented a major escalation for the American campaign by hitting oil facilities for the first time.

CENTCOM said that "U.S. forces took action to eliminate this source of fuel for the Iran-backed Houthi terrorists and deprive them of illegal revenue that has funded Houthi efforts to terrorize the entire region for over 10 years."

"The Houthis, their Iranian masters, and those who knowingly aid and abet their terrorist actions should be put on notice that the world will not accept illicit smuggling of fuel and war material to a terrorist organization," Central Command said. 

"This strike was not intended to harm the people of Yemen, who rightly want to throw off the yoke of Houthi subjugation and live peacefully," it added. It did not acknowledge any casualties from the attack or offer any damage assessment.

Satellite images from Planet Labs PBC and analyzed by The Associated Press Friday showed destroyed tanks and vehicles at the port as oil leaks into the Red Sea.

The Iranian-backed Houthis later Friday launched a missile toward Israel that was intercepted, the Israeli military said. Sirens sounded in Tel Aviv and other areas.

Reuters and the Associated Press contributed to this report.

Three tourists were among four people who were killed when a cable car crashed south of Naples, an Italian official said Friday.

A British woman and an Israeli woman were among the three foreign victims identified since the accident on Thursday, said Marco De Rosa, the spokesperson for the mayor of Vico Equense. The fourth victim was the Italian driver of the cable car.

FSU STUDENT RECOUNTS MOMENTS SHOTS RANG OUT

According to initial information, a traction cable snapped and one car crashed after both the upward and a downward-going cable cars came to a halt as they traversed Monte Faito, in the town of Castellammare di Stabia.

A fifth person, who is also believed to be a foreign tourist, was seriously injured and is being treated in hospital in Naples, officials said. Sixteen passengers were helped out of the other cable car that was stuck mid-air near the foot of the mountain following the incident.

The accident happened just a week after the cable car, popular for its views of Mount Vesuvius and the Bay of Naples, reopened for the season.

Local prosecutors have opened an investigation into possible manslaughter, which will involve an inspection of the cable stations, the pylons, the two cabins and the cable, local officials said Friday,

The emergency services, including Italy’s alpine rescue, more than 50 firefighters, police and civil protection personnel, worked into the evening in severe weather conditions, which made the rescue operations difficult.

"The traction cable broke. The emergency brake downstream worked, but evidently not the one on the cabin that was entering the station," Luigi Vicinanza, the mayor of Castellammare di Stabia, said on Thursday. He added that there had been regular safety checks on the cable car line, which runs 3 kilometers (1.8 miles) from the town to the top of the mountain.

SCHOOL BUS FLIPS ON SOUTH CAROLINA HIGHWAY

The company running the service, the EAV public transport firm, stressed that the seasonal cable car had reopened with all the required safety conditions.

"The reopening had taken place a week ago after three months of tests every day, day and night," said EAV President Umberto De Gregorio. "This is something inexplicable."

De Gregorio said technical experts believed there was no connection between the severe weather and the cause of the crash. "There is an automatic system. When the wind exceeds a certain level, the cable car stops automatically," he said.

The Monte Faito cable car opened in 1952. Four people died in 1960 when a pylon broke.

Italy has recorded two similar fatal accidents involving cable cars in recent years.

A cable car crash in May 2021 in northern Italy killed 14 people, including six Israelis, among them a family of four. In 1998, a low-flying U.S. military jet cut through the cable of a ski lift in Cavalese, in the Dolomites, killing 20 people.

Authorities at the Philip S.W. Goldson International Airport (P.G.I.A.) say they were alerted to a U.S. man who was hijacking a small plane in Belize on Thursday.

The man stabbed two passengers and a pilot, before one of the stabbed passengers fatally shot him, according to officials in Belize and the United States. The passenger was licensed to carry a firearm and later turned his weapon over to the police.

"We are praying for him," Chester Williams, Belize police commissioner, told reporters. "He’s our hero."

YOUNG AMERICAN TOURISTS' CAUSE OF DEATH REVEALED AFTER THEY WERE FOUND 'MOTIONLESS' AT BEACH RESORT

Williams identified the hijacker as Akinyela Taylor and said he was a U.S. military veteran, a report by The Associated Press said. U.S. officials could not confirm the Belize police commissioner’s statement that Taylor was a military veteran.

The air flight Cessna Caravan V3HIG from Corozal to San Pedro had 14 passengers and 2 crew members onboard, the statement from P.G.I.A. said.

A full emergency was declared immediately after the incident started and the aircraft circled in random directions for approximately two hours until finally landing safely at the P.G.I.A., according to a statement by the Belize Airport Concession Company.

ATLANTA BUS HIJACKING SUSPECT HAD 19 PRIOR ARRESTS, MENTAL ILLNESSES, FAMILY SAYS

U.S. State Department spokesperson Tammy Bruce said at a news briefing in Washington that officials were still gathering information about what occurred.

"Horrifying," she said. "We are grateful, I think all of us are, that it did not turn into a mass casualty event with, I believe, over a dozen people on the plane. Clearly we know a few details. We don’t know much more."

U.S. officials said they did not know the motive for Taylor’s hijacking but were working with Belizean authorities to determine what happened.

Pope Francis spent Holy Thursday visiting those serving time in a Rome prison.

Despite recovering from a bout of pneumonia, Francis met with dozens of inmates at Regina Coeli prison as he kept an Easter season appointment among the less fortunate. 

Francis offered words of encouragement and gifted inmates with a Rosary and pocket-sized Gospel, according to Vatican News.

"I have always liked coming to prison on Holy Thursday to do the washing of the feet like Jesus," the pontiff said. "This year, I cannot do it, but I want to be close to you. I pray for you and your families."

POPE FRANCIS MAKES APPEARANCE AFTER PALM SUNDAY MASS AT THE VATICAN

Francis' visit lasted about half an hour.

"Every time I enter a place like this, I ask myself: Why them and not me?" Francis said to journalists outside the prison. 

POPE FRANCIS DENOUNCES WAR IN SUDAN, SUGGESTS LIVING LENT 'AS A TIME OF HEALING'

The fact that the 88-year-old pope kept the appointment, while under doctors’ orders to take it easy and avoid crowds, was a clear sign of the importance he places on prison ministry and the need for priests to serve those who are most on the margins. That is all the more true during the 2025 Holy Year, which both opened and will close with special papal events for prison inmates.

Francis is expected to make at least some other Easter-time appearances over the coming days, even as cardinals will preside in his place during Holy Week's busy events.

On Sunday, Francis wished a "Happy Palm Sunday and Happy Holy Week" to the faithful gathered in Saint Peter's Square following the conclusion of a mass presided over by Cardinal Leonardo Sandri on his behalf. It was his first public appearance since being discharged from a hospital, where he was not receiving oxygen via a small hose under his nose.

Fox News Courtney Walsh and The Associated Press contributed to this report. 

President Donald Trump is the greatest challenge Canada is facing, Prime Minister Mark Carney said during a Wednesday night electoral debate with conservative challenger Pierre Poilievre.

"This election [is about] the question of who will succeed, and who will face up to Trump," Carney said in French, according to a Reuters translation.

His comments came in retort to Poilievre, who moments prior, had accused him of being too similar to Justin Trudeau, who stepped down from the top job earlier this year following a rapid decline in approval ratings. 

SENATE APPROVES PETER HOEKSTRA AS NEXT US AMBASSADOR TO CANADA

"We are in a crisis. The most serious crisis of our lives," Carney reportedly added. "We have to react with strength, which will allow us to succeed with Trump."

Carney, who was voted into the role by the governing Liberal Party last month in a landslide win, is believed to be the favored candidate to win the prime minister's seat in a nationwide election later this month, though recent polling suggests polling margins could be narrowing.

Just prior to Trudeau’s exit, the Liberal Party was expected to take a nosedive in the federal election against Poiliervre’s Conservative Party – but Trump appears to have changed all that. 

Immense concern over a trade war with the U.S. and Trump’s threats to annex Canada as the 51st state have rallied support once again for the Liberal Party under Carney. 

HERE’S A CLOSER LOOK AT TRUMP’S TARIFF PLAN: WHAT TO KNOW ABOUT THE NEW DUTIES

Reports suggest that Carney is now viewed as the candidate more equipped to take on the tough negotiations that Canada will face to ease the steep tariffs Trump implemented this year. 

Poilievre has also reportedly faced a drop in support for his Canada First message, which some reports suggest may be too similar a message to Trump’s America First agenda. 

The conservative candidate has also reportedly faced criticism within his own party for not responding fast enough to the threat posed by the U.S. president. 

Some reporting has suggested the race to be Canada’s next prime minister could be narrowing between Poilievre and Carney. 

Canadians concerned by cost-of-living tend to back Poilievere, according to a Politico report, while voters concerned with the economy and relations with the U.S. tend to back Carney.

Poilievere has been in the political sphere since 2004, when he entered Canada's Parliament.

Carney’s background is in running first the Bank of Canada in 2008 and then the Bank of England in 2013 – prompting some to believe he may be best suited to take on the financial crisis looming over Canada amid Trump’s tariff war. 

Israeli troops will not leave the buffer zones in Gaza, even after the war ends, according to Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz. 

On Wednesday, Hamas appeared to reject an Israeli-proposed ceasefire deal that would see the return of nearly a dozen hostages who have been held captive for more than 550 days. Israel resumed combat operations in the strip last month after a previous ceasefire agreement fell apart before Israel and Hamas could reach phase two.

HAMAS REJECTS ISRAELI CEASEFIRE, HOSTAGE RETURN DEAL OVER DISARMAMENT DEMANDS

"Unlike in the past, the IDF is not withdrawing from areas that have been cleared and captured. The [Israeli Defense Forces] IDF will remain in the security zones as a buffer between the enemy and Israeli communities under any temporary or permanent arrangement in Gaza — just as it does in Lebanon and Syria," Katz said in a statement on Wednesday.  

The buffer zones that Israel established along the Gaza border make up 30% of the strip, according to the Times of Israel. The outlet also reported that Israeli troops have been working to create the Morag Corridor, which would cut off the southern city of Rafah from Khan Younis.

Hamas reportedly said that any deal that does not have "real guarantees for halting the war, achieving full withdrawal, lifting the blockade, and beginning reconstruction will be a political trap," according to Reuters.

WITH TRUMP'S BACKING ISRAEL PUSHES DEEPER INTO GAZA AS PRESSURE BUILDS FOR HOSTAGE DEAL

Since it resumed operations in March, Israel has been condemned by leaders of international institutions who have called for an immediate ceasefire.

U.N. Secretary-General António Guterres said in a statement that he was "very concerned" about the situation and the lack of humanitarian aid going into the strip. Katz confirmed on Wednesday that humanitarian aid was being blocked in order to put pressure on Hamas, which has been accused of stealing aid. 

Israeli U.N. Ambassador Danny Danon condemned Guterres’ statement, saying "The U.N. secretary-general has no problem explicitly condemning Israel’s defensive war in Gaza and unequivocally calling for a ceasefire. Yet his statements, once again, fail to mention the hostages and fail to mention Hamas, whose barbaric actions on October 7, 2023, triggered this war."

"This war Hamas started will not be over until all of our remaining 59 hostages are returned home from brutal captivity," Danon added.

A massive island-wide blackout hit Puerto Rico on Wednesday as residents were looking ahead to the Easter weekend. 

A spokesman for Luma Energy, which oversees the transmission and distribution of power for the U.S. territory, told The Associated Press that all 1.4 million customers were affected, including the main international airport and several hospitals. At least 328,000 customers were without water.

Power had only been restored for around 175,000 customers – or 12% – by Wednesday.

Hotels were near capacity, with thousands of tourists celebrating Easter vacations on the island. Tourism officials rushed to reassure them that many hotels and other businesses were operating with generators.

NEW JERSEY WOMEN IDENTIFIED AS ONE OF 200 DOMINICAN REPUBLICAN NIGHTCLUB COLLAPSE VICTIMS 

"There are no words that can ease the frustration we feel as a people in the face of another massive blackout," Gov. Jenniffer González, who cut her vacation short and flew back to Puerto Rico, wrote on X. "I’m with you because the people of Puerto Rico deserve their officials to respond in times of crisis, and that’s why I’m here."

It was not immediately clear what caused the shutdown, which is the latest in a string of major blackouts on the island in recent years. 

In December, another massive blackout left nearly 1.3 million in the dark as residents were beginning preparations to celebrate New Year’s Eve. 

The governor pledged she would cancel the contract with Luma but noted that while government officials have started analyzing the contract and finding possible replacements, it wouldn't be a quick process.

González also said that she has requested an in-depth investigation into the blackout, noting that officials have already warned there won't be enough generation of power for this summer, when demand peaks.

"Puerto Rico can't be the island where the power goes out all the time," González said. "We're going to take action. Let people have no doubts."

Officials said 90% of clients would likely have electricity 48 to 72 hours after the blackout occurred.

MLB LEGEND PEDRO MARTINEZ REVEALS FAMILY MEMBERS MISSING AFTER ROOF COLLAPSE IN DOMINICAN REPUBLICAN

The latest blackout has left thousands of Puerto Ricans fuming, with many renewing their calls that the government cancel the contract with Luma and Genera PR, which oversees generation of power on the island.

Reggaeton superstar Bad Bunny echoed the collective rage, writing on X: "When are we going to do something?"

Dozens of people were forced to walk on an overpass next to the rails of the rapid transit system that serves the capital, San Juan, while scores of businesses were forced to close. 

Professional baseball and basketball games were canceled as the hum of generators and smell of smoke filled the air. Traffic became snarled as police officers were deployed to busy intersections.

Those without generators crowded around grocery stores and other businesses to buy ice across Puerto Rico.

The island of 3.2 million residents has a more than 40% poverty rate, and not everyone can afford solar panels or generators. 

Roughly 117,000 homes and businesses on the island have solar rooftops. Meanwhile, petroleum-fired power plants provide 62% of Puerto Rico's power, natural gas 24%, coal 8% and renewables 7%, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration.

EARTHQUAKE SHAKES SAN DIEGO AREA

Daniel Hernández, vice president of operations at Genera PR, said at a news conference that a disturbance hit the transmission system shortly after noon on Wednesday, during a time when the grid is vulnerable because there are not many machines regulating frequency at that hour.

Verónica Ferraiuoli, Puerto Rico's acting governor and secretary of state, said the White House reached out to local officials and said they are available if needed.

Pablo José Hernández, Puerto Rico's representative in Congress, said he would work to ensure that "Washington understands the real and urgent situation Puerto Ricans face every day."

"The electric grid crisis is frustrating, and after years of blackouts, it feels like it's going from bad to worse," he said.

A doctor in Berlin has been charged with murder over the deaths of 15 patients under palliative care, prosecutors said Wednesday. He is also accused of trying to cover up the evidence by starting fires in their homes.

The doctor was part of a nursing service’s end-of-life care team and was initially suspected in the deaths of just four patients. That number has crept higher since last summer, and investigators now say they've found evidence linking him to the deaths of 15 people between September 22, 2021, and July 24 last year.

2 PEOPLE ARE KILLED IN A KNIFE ATTACK IN GERMANY; SCHOLZ SAYS THERE MUST BE CONSEQUENCES

The victims' ages ranged from 25 to 94. Most died in their own homes.

He allegedly administered an anesthetic and a muscle relaxer to the patients without their knowledge or consent. The drug cocktail then allegedly paralyzed the respiratory muscles. Respiratory arrest and death followed within minutes, prosecutors said.

The doctor — a 40-year-old man whose name hasn't been released, in line with German privacy rules — has been in custody since Aug. 6. Prosecutors said Wednesday that he has not yet responded to the case against him.

The charges were filed to the Berlin state court, which will now have to decide whether to bring the case to trial and if so, when.

Murder charges carry a maximum sentence of life in prison. Prosecutors said they aim to ask the court to establish that the suspect bears particularly severe guilt, meaning that he wouldn’t be eligible for release after 15 years as is usually the case in Germany. They also want him to be banned from his profession for life.

A former Albanian ambassador to the U.S. says the country's upcoming election will be more like a runoff between the policies of President Trump and George and Alex Soros as opposition parties call foul over corruption by the ruling socialists. 

"Albania is now effectively a one-party system pretending to hold elections," Agim Nesho, former Albanian ambassador to the United States and the United Nations, told Fox News Digital. Nesho said May's election "is a clash between ‘Trump-ists’ and ‘Soros-ists,’ with the latter fighting to keep their grip on corruption and the state in Albania."

Amid accusations of corruption and the recent arrests of major Albanian political candidates, some critics are voicing concern over the integrity of upcoming elections for the country's 140-member Parliament, now scheduled for May 11. 

Nesho claimed the country's ruling socialists "led by Prime Minister Edi Rama, is undemocratic and deeply rooted… for over 12 years, it has been supported by rich left-wing donors like Alex Soros, Rama’s close friend, and by projects like the USAID and Open Society [Foundations] judicial reform, which Rama co-opted and twisted to attack the center-right, conservative opposition." He claimed the prime minister "also oversees a powerful narco-state that spreads fear and exerts controls over elections."

ALBANIANS RALLY BY THE THOUSANDS AGAINST RULING SOCIALIST GOVERNMENT

President Trump's former campaign manager, Chris LaCivita, joined the campaign of Sali Berisha, the leader of Albania's right-wing Democratic Party in February, according to Politico. LaCivita told the publication that Berisha would be "a true friend of the United States and... will successfully work with President Trump and the United States." He called Rama a "puppet of George Soros." 

Berisha, formerly president and prime minister of Albania, told Fox News Digital that Rama’s government "banned my name and the name of the party in the voting list" during May 2023 elections. "When they failed with these measures," he said they went further. 

Parliament stripped Berisha’s legal immunity in December 2023 and placed him on house arrest under the accusation that he had used his position to help his son-in-law acquire private land. Berisha says that "official documents proved" the land belonged to his son-in-law’s grandfather, and had been confiscated by the former Communist regime. 

Last November Berisha was released from house arrest. He was formally charged with corruption in September, the Associated Press reported.

Berisha’s spokesperson, Alfred Lela, told Fox News Digital that Berisha is now awaiting trial.

In addition to Berisha, Centrist Freedom Party leader and former Albanian President Ilir Meta was arrested on corruption charges in October 2024 in what one source told Fox News Digital was a "weaponization of the judiciary and law enforcement agencies." Once an ally of Rama, Meta has frequently noted the increasing corruption and authoritarianism of the Rama government. 

6 POPULIST LEADERS FACING LAWFARE AROUND WORLD

George Soros’ Open Society Foundations (OSF) has invested more than $131 million in Albania between 1992 and 2020, effectively "supporting Mr. Rama’s rise to power," the European Center for Law & Justice reported in 2023. The center alleges that OSF helped to allocate some of the $60 million that USAID spent on judicial reform in Albania between 2000 and 2015, explaining that Rama’s opposition has "denounced this reform as aimed at enabling the government to take control of the judiciary."

OSF offices in Albania and the U.S. did not respond to numerous inquiries from Fox News Digital about allegations placed by its opponents against it. 

According to an OSF website, the group has "earmarked $600,000 to support the process to overhaul Albania’s judicial system" in 2015 as part of Albania’s preparations to join the European Union. OSF claims "the money was used to fund a 20-strong expert panel, conduct public outreach and opinion surveys, establish a dedicated website, and organize conferences."

NewsNation reported that Alex Soros often travels to Tirana, and calls it his "second home." In July 2021, Soros posted a selfie with Rama on Instagram, identifying the prime minister as his "good friend."

Berisha says he asked eight years ago for the U.S. Congress and European Parliament "to ban [George] Soros’ political activity in Europe because he is an enemy of democracy."

In a December speech, Berisha said he would ban the OSF from Albania, calling the group a "real national threat," according to Euronews Albania. Berisha said the Rama government’s mismanagement of resources and failure to mitigate poverty had forced the emigration of 45% of Albanians. 

FORMER ALBANIAN PRESIDENT ARRESTED ON CORRUPTION CHARGES, OPPOSITION CLAIMS CHARGES ARE POLITICALLY MOTIVATED

Another impediment to Berisha’s run is the sanctions that former Secretary of State Antony Blinken announced against Berisha, his wife, and his children in May 2021. Blinken said Berisha had been "involved in corrupt acts, such as misappropriation of public funds and interfering with public processes, including using his power for his own benefit and to enrich his political allies and his family members at the expense of the Albanian public’s confidence in their government institutions and public officials."

Berisha claimed that the sanctions against him were "entirely based on corrupted lobbying" by George Soros and Rama. He also said members of the Biden administration "turned [the] U.S. Embassy in Tirana into a huge prosecutorial office," urging supporters, journalists and business people to stop supporting Berisha and his party, and that the State Department "asked other countries to sanction and to isolate me."

Berisha said sanctions have hindered his campaign. "Of course it hurts me, because I’m not able to meet with Albanian Americans, which are so numerous, and in this election, for the first time, they have the right to vote for the party and candidate they prefer in their country of origin." 

A State Department spokesperson said they had no comment about Berisha’s claims that U.S. entities turned supporters against him. The State Department did not respond to questions from Fox News Digital about whether sanctions against Berisha should be upheld, or if they impede free and fair elections in Albania. 

A spokesperson for former President Joe Biden did not respond to questions on whether his administration had a role in turning supporters against Berisha.

Nesho noted that sanctions "lack… evidence and had been rejected by Albanian public opinion. It looks like a political move, driven by Rama's big money allies such as Alex Soros, who benefit both commercially and in influence from keeping Rama in power." Nesho called on the Trump administration to "lift this ban immediately. It’s stirring anti-American feelings and clashes with the values of democracy and fairness," he added. 

Nesho claimed that "the last three elections were unfair, full of intimidation and theft. The upcoming May 11, 2025, election shouldn’t just be a fake show – it needs to be truly free and fair. The U.S. and EU must push for this or ask that the vote is delayed until it can meet proper standards."

Fox News Digital also reached out multiple times to Albanian Prime Minister Rama, the OSF, a member of the Albanian Foreign Ministry, and the Albanian Embassy in Washington, D.C., for comment about accusations of corruption and OSF election interference but received no response.
 

The Supreme Court of the United Kingdom unanimously ruled Wednesday that a woman is someone born biologically female, a move that now excludes transgender women from the legal definition of a woman.

Trans women can be excluded from some single-sex spaces and groups under the U.K. Equality Act, the five judges of the top court ruled. These spaces and groups include changing rooms, homeless shelters, swimming areas and medical or counseling services provided only to women.

The ruling means that even a transgender person with a certificate that recognizes them as female should not be considered a woman for equality purposes.

But Justice Patrick Hodge said its ruling "does not remove protection from trans people," who are "protected from discrimination on the ground of gender reassignment."

TRANSGENDER ACTIVIST CLAIMS ‘SCIENCE IS ON OUR SIDE’ WHILE PUSHING DEMOCRATS TO FIGHT BACK ON THE ISSUE

"Interpreting ‘sex’ as certificated sex would cut across the definitions of ‘man’ and ‘woman’ ... and, thus, the protected characteristic of sex in an incoherent way," Hodge said. "It would create heterogeneous groupings."

Women’s rights groups celebrated the ruling outside the court.

"Everyone knows what sex is and you can’t change it," said Susan Smith, co-director of For Women Scotland, which brought the case. "It’s common sense, basic common sense and the fact that we have been down a rabbit hole where people have tried to deny science and to deny reality and hopefully this will now see us back to, back to reality."

FEDERAL JUDGE RULES AGAINST PARENTS SEEKING TO PROTEST TRANSGENDER ATHLETES WITH WRISTBAND

Hannah Ford, an employment lawyer, said that while the judgment will provide clarity on the controversial issue in the U.K., it would be a setback for transgender rights and there would be "an uphill battle" to ensure workplaces are welcoming places for trans people.

"This will be really wounding for the trans community," Ford told Sky News.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.