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A popular Egyptian TV host on Saturday was sentenced to death by hanging in a major drug case that accused dozens of suspects of forming an organized criminal group to manufacture and traffic synthetic drugs.

Sarah Khalifa is among 12 defendants facing execution for their alleged roles in the operation, including importing materials used to produce narcotics, according to state-backed media Ahram Online. Capital punishment in Egypt is carried out by hanging for civilian convictions.

Khalifa is a media personality, beauty clinic owner and former TV host who has appeared on several Egyptian television channels. Local outlet Masrawy reported that she previously hosted the Egyptian crime show "Mission Impossible."

Khalifa, who currently has more than 2.5 million followers on Instagram, was reportedly arrested in Cairo in April 2025 as part of the investigation.

DOCTOR AND SON ACCUSED OF RUNNING DANGEROUS SIDE-BUSINESS SCHEME IN NEW YORK

The case involved a total of 28 defendants who were charged with forming an organized criminal group, as well as possessing unlicensed firearms and ammunition, Ahram Online said. Twelve were sentenced to death, nine received life sentences and seven were acquitted of all charges.

TRUMP ADMINISTRATION CRACKS DOWN ON BRAZIL'S BIGGEST DRUG GANGS WITH ‘GLOBAL TERROR’ DESIGNATION

The group allegedly operated like a production and distribution network, with members assigned different roles. Some were responsible for importing raw materials, while others manufactured and distributed the synthetic drugs, the prosecution said, according to reports.

The group was also accused of storing materials and manufacturing drugs in a residential property.

More than 750 kilograms, or roughly 1,653 pounds, of synthetic narcotics and raw materials were seized during the investigation, prosecutors said, according to reports.

The case against Khalifa and the other defendants relied on statements from 20 witnesses, along with technical and digital evidence, including messages, photographs and videos that prosecutors said documented the alleged criminal activity, according to Ahram Online.

Authorities also placed the defendants' assets and bank accounts under precautionary measures and ordered those already in custody to remain detained, Ahram Online reported.

Russia’s quieter new-generation nuclear-powered submarines are pressuring NATO’s northern defenses as the alliance races to secure Arctic and North Atlantic approaches to North America, a former NATO commander warned, citing President Vladimir Putin’s emerging "new super weapons and super capabilities" amassing in the region.

The rising challenge, he said, also includes Russia’s heavily militarized Kola Peninsula, where Moscow has expanded military infrastructure, including airfields and ports, as it seeks to strengthen its position along the Northern Sea Route, as well as the waters leading to the Greenland-Iceland-United Kingdom Gap, known as the GIUK Gap.

NATO’s Allied Joint Force Command Brunssum highlighted Sept. 2 that an expanding Russian submarine threat in the region was "serious."

"Something is moving beneath the surface," NATO Allied Joint Force Command Brunssum posted on X.

ARCTIC POWER PLAY GIVES TOP US ADVERSARY NEW OPENING WITH RUSSIA AS US STAKES GROW

"Russia is expanding and modernising its submarine force, with the Kola Peninsula remaining a key hub for the Northern Fleet. Among them: new-generation nuclear-powered SSGNs, bringing serious long-range strike and sea-denial capabilities into the High North," NATO Allied Joint Force Command Brunssum said.

"They may be invisible beneath the waves. But not for us. We see them, we watch the developments closely and yes, we take these developments seriously," the Joint Force Command added.

The combination of quieter nuclear submarines and Russia's growing military infrastructure across its Arctic coastline means NATO is confronting an increasingly difficult undersea surveillance challenge, retired Gen. Philip Breedlove told Fox News Digital.

"Submarines are one of the toughest threats that we have to deal with — they're very hard to find and track," he explained.

"Submarines can get well within striking distance of any nation in the Atlantic. From the United States to our NATO allies, submarines can get close enough to the shore to fire submarine-launched ballistic missiles and cruise missiles, which are a major problem," the former supreme allied commander Europe for NATO and commander of U.S. European Command added. 

REPORT WARNS RUSSIA USING SHADOW FLEET TO PROBE NATO DRONE DEFENSES

Today, countries such as Russia and China are developing similar fleets, posing a growing threat to any nation with a significant coastline, Breedlove said.

"We've taken very capable measures in the past to understand what Russia is doing in those waters, and we will now be adapting to the possibility of a quieter submarine," he said. "Any increase in stealthiness or noise suppression by a Russian submarine is, of course, a problem for NATO."

Russia's Yasen-M-class nuclear-powered submarines include advanced acoustic-quieting and sonar technology, according to Military Watch and Russian news agency, TASS.

According to the U.S. Naval Institute, the 13,800-ton submarines can carry 1,000-mile-range cruise missiles, anti-ship missiles and hypersonic anti-ship cruise missiles, with Russian officials stating they remain "invisible."

"Yasen-M-class nuclear-powered submarines are capable of accomplishing all of the Navy’s objectives in any part of the World Ocean while remaining invisible," Russian Navy Commander-in-Chief Fleet Adm. Alexander Moiseyev said in a June 17 statement, according to TASS, after Russia's Sevmash shipyard started building the ninth Yasen-M submarine.

NATO'S EASTERN FLANK RACES TO REARM AS TRUMP PRESSURE EXPOSES WESTERN EUROPE'S DEFENSE GAP

"As is often the case when Putin is in trouble — and he's in trouble now in his war in Ukraine — one of the ways he diverts attention is to start announcing new super weapons and super capabilities that NATO and the West can't contend with," Breedlove warned.

"Putin is creating a stir about a new class of submarines that he wants to deploy from what we call the bastion waters in the Far North," he said before stating that NATO would "have to adapt our measures and our ability to see and track them."

"We've taken excellent measures in the past." 

Breedlove characterized the GIUK Gap as a critical gateway for Russian naval forces moving from their northern bases toward the Atlantic.

"All the Russian ships have to come out through the GIUK Gap to make it into the Atlantic," Breedlove said, warning that the seven other Arctic nations, including the United States, are concerned about what Russia is doing.

A UKRAINIAN HACKER'S TALE OF HOW HE IS AIDING THE LAND WAR BY BATTLING RUSSIA FOR THE CLOUD

NATO has also been strengthening its northern posture amid the renewed Russian military activity and the growing strategic importance of the Arctic.

In February 2026, the alliance launched Arctic Sentry, a multidomain military initiative led by Joint Force Command Norfolk and designed to better coordinate allied land, air and maritime activity across the Arctic and High North.

NATO further strengthened its northern flank in June with Forward Land Forces Finland, a Swedish-led multinational force designed to bolster deterrence and defense along the alliance's northeastern flank, with Finland serving as the host nation, according to a release.

"The Arctic region has been a concern for some years now as ice in the area is receding in the north, and what that has done is created the Northern Passage that allows European trade to happen with Asia much faster," Breedlove said, stating that for most types of ships, the trips are up to 14 days quicker.

"This is a tremendous economic opportunity, but Russia sees this as an economic opportunity in that they want to control those northern waters.

DENMARK VOWS TO DEFEND GREENLAND AFTER TRUMP REITERATES US SHOULD CONTROL TERRITORY

Russia has been upgrading airfields, ports and radar systems along the Arctic coast as Moscow seeks greater control over the Northern Sea Route and its commercial traffic, Breedlove said.

The recent NATO buildup however, has drawn strong pushback from Moscow, with Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov warning Aug. 30 that increased Western military activity risks destabilizing the Arctic region.

"Such military activity in the Far North poses a direct threat to Russia’s security," Lavrov wrote in a public essay.

"It also increases the risk of incidents that could trigger an armed confrontation with potentially disastrous consequences," he said, according to Reuters.

Another European nation has stopped funding the U.N. agency that aids the Palestinians. Finland has followed the U.S. and Sweden in halting donations to the terror-tainted agency.

The United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA), is presently being investigated for ties to the terrorist rulers of Gaza. Recently, organizations including the USAID Office of Inspector General (OIG) and NGO UN Watch have uncovered further evidence of what they allege is Hamas infiltration of UNRWA and its members’ participation in the Oct. 7, 2023 terror attacks in southern Israel. 

Finland announced it would discontinue funding to the organization at the end of 2026. Finland’s Ministry for Foreign Affairs confirmed to Fox News Digital that the agreement with UNRWA would conclude at the end of 2026 but that "As of yet, no decision has been made on what are the international partners through which Finland’s support will be channeled next year to meet the acute needs in the region." 

Finnish officials did not respond to Fox News Digital’s questions about what prompted the change to the country’s funding for UNRWA.

US URGES DONORS TO ABANDON UNRWA FUNDING AS UN DEFENDS AGENCY'S MISSION

While other nations still continue to fund UNRWA, President Donald Trump fully banned funding to the organization in February 2025 and Sweden ended funding to UNRWA in December 2024. Sweden redirected aid to other U.N. bodies for its Gaza response.

The future of aid provision in Gaza matters for the Trump administration-backed Board of Peace as it seeks to shape a conflict-free future for the region.

An official affiliated with the Board of Peace reconstruction effort told Fox News Digital that "the international community’s concern about UNRWA in Gaza continues to rise and is supported by damning evidence. The Board of Peace has been clear: New Gaza will be both demilitarized and deradicalized, and we will only be working with trusted, credible delivery partners to achieve our goals. We anticipate responsibly replacing UNRWA with vetted partners who will deliver for the people of Gaza."

WATCHDOG DEMANDS APOLOGY AFTER UN MEMORIAL ERRONEOUSLY HONORS HAMAS TERRORIST

The USAID OIG is investigating about 1,500 members of UNRWA for terror participation, and has referred 108 UNRWA staff to the State Department to suggest they be suspended or excluded from further work with organizations in receipt of U.S. funds.

A senior U.S. official briefed on USAID OIG’s ongoing investigation told Fox News Digital that the USAID OIG’s "independent findings are prompting several other countries to reassess the stale and conventional thinking that UNRWA is the best and only option to provide aid to civilians in Gaza." The official said that the USAID OIG’s "findings also will prevent Hamas and October 7 affiliated staff from circulating across future, more responsible, aid organizations operating in Gaza."

WORLD'S HUMANITARIAN SYSTEM BUCKLING, 'NO LONGER FIT FOR PURPOSE,' US-BASED RESEARCHERS SAY

UN Watch’s Terror Network report claims that about 12% of UNRWA staff in Gaza are members of terror organizations, based on "cross-checking UNRWA employee rosters with Hamas records seized by the [Israel Defense Forces.]"

Executive director of UN Watch Hillel Neuer told Fox News Digital that "Finland’s principled decision to defund terror-infested UNRWA will not deprive Palestinians of aid, as it will be redirected through genuine humanitarian agencies such as the World Food Programme that are not systemically infiltrated by Hamas."

He said that "other democracies should follow" the examples of Finland, Sweden, and the U.S. "Contrary to what UNRWA supporters claim, the agency is not ‘indispensable’ — assistance can and must be delivered through responsible alternatives."

Stéphane Dujarric, spokesperson for U.N. Secretary-General António Guterres, told Fox News Digital that "UNRWA has taken note of the announcement, and they are grateful to Finland for the disbursement of the 2023–2026 funds under the multi-year agreement. UNRWA looks forward to continuing our discussions with the government." He explained that "the Secretary-General continues to encourage member states to support UNRWA's vital work." 

Finland's four-year funding was around $23.23 to UNRWA and will now end after this year. UNRWA did not respond to Fox News Digital questions about Finland’s decision.

Neuer said "defunding UNRWA is a prerequisite for deradicalization, the first step in the Gaza peace plan. Far from harming the prospects for peace, dismantling UNRWA is essential to achieving it. For decades, the agency has perpetuated the conflict by teaching generations of Palestinians that their future lies not in building their own society, but in a so-called ‘right of return’ that would eliminate Israel."

He concluded by noting that USAID OIG and UN Watch’s exposes on UNRWA prove that "the agency is unreformable. Nations that genuinely want peace should stop financing this machinery of hate, and invest instead in humanitarian relief, deradicalization and Palestinian self-reliance."

Travel restrictions have been placed on U.S. government employees in the Mexican border city of Nogales, Sonora, according to officials.

The U.S. Embassy and Consulates in Mexico on Saturday issued a warning restricting government activity over an unspecified threat in Nogales, Sonora, in Mexico.

"Due to threat information, U.S. government activities in, and travel to, Nogales have been restricted to essential movement during daylight hours only," the U.S. Consulate General in Nogales said in a statement.

STATE DEPARTMENT URGES AMERICANS TO AVOID MEXICAN CITY JUST ACROSS TEXAS BORDER

"We are alerting U.S. citizens of this threat and change in posture," the statement continued.

Sonora's State Security Board said it contacted U.S. consular officials after the alert was issued but did not provide information identifying a specific threat. State authorities said they had no information establishing a concrete risk to the public, though they would continue preventive security operations in Nogales.

The alert also reminded Americans that the U.S. Travel Advisory designates Sonora as a Level 3 "Reconsider Travel" area.

Anyone in the area is urged to exercise increased caution and be aware of their surroundings, seek shelter in the event of an incident, notify friends and family of their safety in the event of an incident, follow instructions from Mexican law enforcement, and monitor local media for updates.

U.S. lawmakers also encouraged people in the area to pay attention to the warnings issued by the U.S. government.

"For Americans in or near Nogales - or who may have family members or friends there: please heed the guidance and warnings from the U.S. government," Rep. Andy Biggs, R-Ariz., said on X.

"We are praying for the safety of U.S. citizens and personnel who may be in harm's way," he added.

AMERICANS WARNED POPULAR TRAVEL ROUTES THIS SUMMER COULD CARRY CRIME AND KIDNAPPING RISKS

It remains unclear what threat in Nogales triggered the security warning.

The far-right party Alternative for Germany, or AfD, was projected to win a strong victory in a regional election on Sunday, in a major blow to German Chancellor Friedrich Merz's center-right party, the Christian Democratic Union.

Merz's party was projected to be hit with a disastrous result in the eastern state of Saxony-Anhalt.

AfD had sought to form the country’s first far-right state government since the end of World War II in 1945, although it was not immediately clear whether it would be able to fulfill that ambition.

Ulrich Siegmund, AfD's anti-migration candidate for governor, said that "we have written history."

ANTI-MIGRANT AFD SEEKS TO BREAK GERMANY'S POLITICAL 'FIREWALL' IN HISTORIC STATE ELECTION

Siegmund, 35, told public broadcaster ARD that voters had sent a message that "things cannot carry on like this," adding that it was "also a signal toward Berlin."

"A very good campaigner for us in this election campaign was Friedrich Merz. Every day this man is in the chancellery is one too many," he said of Germany's unpopular leader.

The election comes amid widespread public discontent with the national government, which has yet to convince many voters it can get the country's sluggish economy back on track.

AfD aimed for an absolute majority in the state legislature to govern on its own and overcome the so-called firewall of mainstream parties’ refusal to work with it. But it was unclear long after polls closed whether that goal would become reality.

"AfD is a right-wing extremist party. It wants to leave the euro; that would be economic downfall ... it works closely together with Russia, it wants a completely different social model," said Franziska Hoppermann, the national general-secretary of Merz's party. "We will not work with them."

Achieving its first state government would be the biggest victory in the anti-migration party’s 13-year history.

Regardless of whether AfD forms its own government, the projected result is still a blow to Merz, whose center-right party has led Saxony-Anhalt for 24 years. Unlike several other European countries, modern Germany has not had a far-right or right-wing populist party leading a national, state or major-city government.

AfD is the largest opposition party in Germany’s national parliament and is strongest in the formerly communist and less prosperous east, where Saxony-Anhalt sits.

Its regional branch in Saxony-Anhalt is one of several classified as a confirmed right-wing extremist group by the domestic intelligence agency, which cites members' disparagement of migrants from Muslim countries among other things.

The party promotes "remigration," which pushes for the deportation of immigrants.

Siegmund has said his top priorities include "a deportation offensive" and ending incentives for people to come to Germany and "exploit our social system." He also wants to initiate a process to pull Saxony-Anhalt from the regional public broadcaster over allegations of "disinformation."

Germany’s 16 states have extensive powers, including overseeing security matters and running the education system.

An AfD leader in a neighboring state appealed two convictions for knowingly using a Nazi slogan.

The party has pushed back on accusations of extremism as politically motivated.

GERMANY BLAMES RUSSIA AFTER EXPLOSIVE-LADEN DRONE FOUND NEAR UKRAINIAN CARGO PLANES AT MAJOR AIRPORT

Projections for ARD and ZDF public television, based on exit polls and partial counting, have AfD at just over 44% of the vote, more than double its showing five years ago in the region of 2.1 million people west of Berlin.

Merz's Christian Democratic Union was significantly behind, polling 18% and losing about half its support. The Left Party, the center-left Social Democrats and Greens were seen polling around 9% each.

It was unclear whether the BSW party would reach the 5% of the vote needed to win seats. The projections put AfD at least marginally short of an absolute majority for now, but that could change.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

Rome has declared a "red zone" around the Colosseum after predatory crime, drug dealing and a violent confrontation involving roughly 50 people turned one of the world’s most famous tourist destinations into a security flashpoint.

The "enhanced-control zone" covers the Colosseum, Imperial Forums and Colle Oppio and allows authorities to remove certain people whose violent, threatening or persistently disruptive behavior creates a public safety risk, according to a six-page order issued by Rome Prefect Lamberto Giannini.

The measure took effect Aug. 24 and will remain in place for four months, through Christmas Eve.

FIREWORKS REPORTEDLY TRIGGER MASS HORSE STAMPEDE THROUGH ROME STREETS, INJURING SEVERAL SOLDIERS

Officials said the area has experienced a "resurgence of disorder" that was "predominantly attributable to groups of young people of non-EU origin," according to the order.

The document cited predatory crimes, fights and fireworks near the ancient amphitheater, warning that the explosives may have been used to distract potential crime victims.

Officials said the trouble reached a breaking point July 1, when Rome Capital police officers responded after fireworks were set off near the Colosseum. A group of approximately 50 non-EU nationals allegedly resisted responding officers and damaged police property, according to the order.

The group surrounded local police officers and left two with minor injuries during what news agency ANSA described as an unauthorized gathering in Piazza del Colosseo.

Authorities also singled out Largo Gaetana Agnesi, a terrace overlooking the Colosseum and situated above the Colosseo subway station, as a regular gathering place for the groups at the center of the security concerns.

The nearby Colle Oppio park was also described as a problem area because of people officials said may be engaged in conduct harmful to public safety and public order.

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The newly designated zone stretches through some of the most recognizable areas of central Rome, including Piazza Venezia, Via dei Fori Imperiali, Piazza del Colosseo, the Arch of Constantine and Piazza del Campidoglio.

Giannini issued the order following a proposal from Rome’s police chief and discussions by the Provincial Committee for Public Order and Security.

The order says the opening of the Metro C station serving the Colosseum has also contributed to the security challenges by creating a direct connection between the historic center and neighborhoods in eastern Rome.

The station and another subway stop inside the designated area draw large numbers of commuters and tourists who could be exposed to criminal activity, officials said.

TOURIST HOT SPOT SLAPPED WITH US TRAVEL WARNING RENEWAL DUE TO CRIME AND TERROR

Under the order, authorities may remove people who engage in violent, threatening or persistently disruptive behavior and who were reported during the previous five years for specified offenses. Those include intentional crimes against people or property, certain drug offenses, weapons violations and crimes carrying a particular hate-crime aggravating circumstance.

The order is part of a broader push to protect residents and a flood of tourists visiting the Italian capital. Officials described Rome as facing an unusually complex security situation because of major international and historic events, the heightened geopolitical threat environment and the continuing influx of visitors.

AMERICAN TOURISTS STABBED OUTSIDE ATHENS' ACROPOLIS AS POLICE DETAIN SUSPECT IN APPARENT RANDOM ATTACK

Authorities said ordinary patrols, surveillance systems, fixed security posts and joint "High Impact" operations had produced results but had not stopped repeated criminal conduct or fully restored public spaces to residents and visitors.

Officials also extended a separate security zone in Esquilino, covering streets around Rome’s main Termini train station and the Basilica of Santa Maria Maggiore.

ITALY SHUTS DOWN EFFORT LINKED TO GAZA FLOTILLA GROUP TO TRACK JEWISH, ISRAELI TOURISTS

Officials said demonstrations around Termini continue to require close attention. They also cited the increased number of visitors and pilgrims traveling to Santa Maria Maggiore, where Pope Francis is buried, warning that large crowds can become targets for predatory crimes.

An earlier enhanced-control designation covering the Valle Aurelia area, including the Battistini and Cornelia subway stations, was discontinued after authorities determined that continuing the special measures there was no longer useful.

Anyone who violates the order could face criminal charges under Italian law.

Fox News Digital reached out to Rome police for additional information.

The Trump administration’s push to compel the new Iraqi Prime Minister Ali al-Zaidi to dismantle pro-Iran terrorist militias is moving forward — even with some setbacks.

As Mideast experts are taking a wait-and-see approach tinged with mild optimism, a senior Iraqi official announced in late August that Baghdad will not treat Sept. 30 as a deadline to disarm the pro-Iran groups known as the Popular Mobilization Units (PMU), also called the Popular Mobilization Forces.

The Iraqi government is seeking to exercise control over the rogue state-affiliated militias with a strategy to integrate them into the state apparatus. The radical Iraqi Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr, who leads Saraya al-Salam armed group, said in May that he favored integration. Some of the more hardline pro-Iranian regime militias, like Kataeb Hezbollah and Harakat Hezbollah al-Nujaba, declared that they will not disarm or integrate into the state.

The official, Qasim al-Araji, security advisor to the prime minister, told Al Iraqiya on Aug. 23, "Sept. 30 is the date for the international coalition to depart, not the deadline to hand over weapons." The international coalition is the U.S.-led force that defeated the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria during President Trump’s first term. It is unclear why Iraq’s government is walking back the disarmament deadline for the PMU.

IRAN'S WAR ON AMERICANS BEGAN DECADES AGO. THESE FAMILIES STILL CARRY THE SCARS

A spokesman for the Iraqi embassy declined to comment on the mixed messaging from Iraq’s government and on the timetable for dissolving or integrating the PMU.

Just days before al-Araji’s announcement, a representative of the Iraqi government sent Fox News Digital a statement: "Prime Minister Ali Faleh Al-Zaidi: All political forces fully agree on moving forward with restricting weapons to state control, and work is underway on mechanisms for surrendering weapons and bringing this issue to a complete end."

Al-Zaidi told the Baghdad Dialogue Conference at the same time that "all political forces agree on moving forward to ensure that all arms remain under state authority and on developing mechanisms for the handover of weapons. There are no intentions or prospects of any military confrontation, and we will not allow Iraq’s enemies to exploit any opportunity. The presence of weapons outside state authority creates an environment that discourages investment, which is unacceptable because it does not serve the interests of Iraqis."

In May, the U.S. Treasury Department sanctioned Ali Maarij Al-Bahadly, Iraq’s deputy minister of oil, because he, according to the designation, "abuses his position to facilitate the diversion of oil to be sold for the benefit of the Iranian regime and its proxy militias in Iraq." Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said at the time, "Like a rogue gang, the Iranian regime is pillaging resources that rightfully belong to the Iraqi people," adding "Treasury will not stand idly by as Iran's military exploits Iraqi oil to fund terrorism against the United States and our partners."

In late August, the UAE's The National paper reported that "Iraq's anti-corruption body announced that deputy oil minister, Al-Bahadly, was sentenced to seven years in prison and fined millions of dollars for corruption.

Reacting to reports that Iran approved passage of Iraqi oil tankers via the Strait of Hormuz, Alberto Fernandez, former U.S. ambassador and Mideast analyst, claimed that "the profit from that Iraqi oil goes, in part, to pay for Iran’s own Iraqi militias/death squads on the Iraqi government’s payroll." 

An Iraqi government spokesman dismissed Fernandez's comments, telling Fox News Digital, "That is not accurate."

TRUMP’S COUNTERTERRORISM STRATEGY SCORES BIG WINS AGAINST GLOBAL TERROR THREATS

A State Department spokesperson told Fox News Digital, "Iraq has embarked on a new direction under the leadership of Prime Minister Al-Zaidi in full partnership with the United States. As President Trump made clear when he hosted Prime Minister Al-Zaidi’s historic July 14 visit, the United States strongly supports his vision to ensure a brighter future for all Iraqis free from terrorism, to prevent attacks in and from Iraqi territory, and to deliver a strong and mutually beneficial U.S.-Iraq partnership."

Entifadh Qanbar, a former spokesman for the deputy prime minister of Iraq during the George W. Bush administration, told Fox News Digital: "We were all hoping that Prime Minister Ali al-Zaidi would take decisive action against the militias, especially after his visit to the White House and the widespread praise he received from President Trump. I was always skeptical, very skeptical, but I believed he deserved a chance."

Qanbar added, "Initially, some militias such as Asaib Ahl al-Haq and Kataib Imam Ali (sanctioned by the U.S.) merely issued statements claiming they would hand over their weapons. There has been no credible evidence that they have actually disarmed."

IRAN’S GUTTED RANKS LEAVE LOYALISTS FILLING CRITICAL POSTS — WITH ONE GLARING PROBLEM

Qanbar claimed that "any remaining hope was further diminished after IRGC [Islamic Republic Guard Corps] Quds Force commander Esmail Qaani visited Baghdad. According to multiple reports, he instructed militia leaders to slow down any discussion of disarmament, reject the September 30 deadline, and maintain their weapons as part of Iran’s broader regional deterrence strategy."

When asked about Iraqi state efforts to dismantle the PMU, Elizabeth Tsurkov, a senior non-resident fellow at the New Lines Institute in Washington, D.C., told Fox News Digital, "The Iraqi government is trying. It genuinely carried out some moves. Unfortunately, because the militias are extremely willing to use force against their own people, including against security forces, the government finds itself in a position of backing down in the face of these militias."

She noted, "The militias have penetrated most state institutions… and you see repeated situations of the state backing down." Kata’ib Hezbollah, an Iran-backed group designated by the U.S. as a terrorist organization, kidnapped Tsurkov in 2023 and held her hostage for nearly two years. The Trump administration secured her release in 2025.

The power of the PMU was demonstrated in a recent setback for the Iraqi government.

Both Qanbar and Tsurkov cited the case of the Iraqi Counter Terrorism Service (CTS), which arrested Abbas al-Yaqubi, the head of intelligence for the Popular Mobilization Forces’ Baghdad Belt Operations Command.

A few days after al-Yaqubi’s arrest, he was transferred to the PMU intelligence branch. Qanbar said: "Al-Yaqubi has long been involved in violence against Iraqi activists, and many viewed his arrest as an important signal that the government was finally willing to confront powerful militia figures. What seemed like a significant step forward turned into a major setback."

A political earthquake is brewing in Germany's east as working-class and young voters appear set to deliver an unprecedented victory for the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) party in Sunday’s state elections in Saxony-Anhalt.

The AfD, which was famously backed by Elon Musk in last year’s national election, has been criticized for being pro-Russia and was accused of being a "right-wing extremist endeavor" by Germany’s domestic intelligence office, has the chance to become the first party outside the mainstream center-left Social Democratic Party (SPD) or center-right Christian Democratic Union and their Bavarian sister party, the Christian Social Union (CDU/CSU), to win an outright majority in a German state parliament, or Landtag, since World War II.

"The reason Saxony-Anhalt matters," foreign policy expert and author Daniel Schatz, who holds a doctorate in political science from Berlin's Humboldt University, told Fox News Digital, "is that the AfD is no longer just knocking on the door of power. It may be close to kicking it open."

TENS OF THOUSANDS OF FAR-LEFT PROTESTERS CLASH WITH POLICE IN ANTI-CONSERVATIVE PARTY RIOTS

Other minor parties have led governing coalitions in German states, but no party outside the SPD or the CDU and the CSU has ever held a single-party governing majority in Germany since the Federal Republic was re-established in 1949.

Janek Treiber, a political science researcher at Dresden University of Technology, told Fox News Digital that if the AfD does win outright in Saxony-Anhalt, their policy influence would be limited due to the German federal system, but warned "you must not underestimate the political symbol this would give. That a single party, and a right-wing party, could rule a German state… The symbol that these parties, that have been ruling Germany since 1949 or the East since 1990, they now lose control. They now lose power. I think this is a much more important symbol than just saying, OK, (the) AfD will change this or that in its local school system or university system."

Schatz described the AfD "a nationalist, anti-immigration party on the far right that has become a powerful vehicle for voter anger at Germany’s political establishment — especially in the former East Germany. It campaigns for much tighter immigration, a stronger emphasis on German national identity, rejection of much of the green agenda and a softer line toward Russia."

An outright win for the AfD, even in Germany’s 6th smallest state, would break through the political establishment’s so-called "Brandmauer," or "firewall." Simply put, other parties refuse to work with the AfD, which is currently the second-largest party in the Bundestag, officially the opposition party, after winning 20.8% of the vote in the February 2025 federal election.

'SEND THEM BACK' CHANTS ROCK EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AFTER LANDSLIDE VOTE TO SPEED UP DEPORTATIONS

In an interview on German broadcaster ZDF, the AfD’s national co-chair, Alice Weidel, advocated for closing Germany’s borders and exiting Europe’s Schengen treaty, saying, "Illegal migration, unchecked open borders, anyone can get in. Our internal security is suffering. People are honestly fed up with this situation."

Weidel added, "All Syrian refugees must have their protected status revoked because the reason for their flight no longer exists. These people must return to their homeland. If they don't leave voluntarily, then they must be deported by force." Adding that many of the 1.3 million Syrians in Germany are being naturalized, "we must stop naturalizing these people who should actually be leaving our country. We have Islamization."

GERMAN OFFICIALS WANT TO KNOW WHY BERLIN ATTACK SUSPECT WAS FREE DESPITE ALLEGED ISIS SUPPORT

In May 2025, Germany's Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution (BfV) classified the AfD as a "confirmed right-wing extremist" group, citing "anti-migrant positions and an ancestry-based definition of German identity." This past February, according to Deutsche Welle, that classification was put on hold by a German court after "Judges found that while there was evidence of potentially unconstitutional statements and policies within the AfD… it said that there was not sufficient evidence to characterize the party as a whole as extremist."

German Chancellor Friedrich Merz recently told state broadcaster ARD, "I cannot imagine international investors attending a ground-breaking ceremony with an AfD Minister-President to set up new plants and establish new businesses in Saxony-Anhalt… However, that is a decision for ​the voters in Saxony-Anhalt to make. The state will suffer ⁠considerable damage if things turn out as we now fear they ​might."

This has done little to damage the popularity of the AfD’s lead candidate in Saxony-Anhalt, Ulrich Siegmund. In a state of just over 2 million people, he has a TikTok following of over 700,000.

A Center for Strategic & International Studies (CSIS) report said Siegmund’s "polished appearance and professional tone lend respectability, and radical demands blend with footage of a community-oriented politician responding to audience questions… The AfD’s physical presence in the streets and omnipresence in the media helps to push the common populist ‘us versus them’ narrative: The AfD is here for you, the other parties are not."

NEW GERMANY SEX-CRIME FIGURES REIGNITE MIGRATION FIGHT AS EXPLOITATION PROBE EXPANDS

According to the independent, non-partisan German website Wahlrecht.de, which tracks federal and state election polling, ahead of Sunday’s vote in Saxony-Anhalt, the AfD holds a 41%-23% lead over the CDU, followed by three leftist parties. A party or a coalition needs at least half of the seats to control parliament and name a state Minister-President, essentially a governor. So how can a party with only 43% win an election outright? That comes down to Germany’s unique election system.

"German voters cast two ballots," Schatz says, "One for a local candidate — like voting for your congressman - and one for a party. That second vote, the party vote, is the one that counts. It decides how many seats each party gets in parliament." But there is a caveat: "Any party that falls below 5% gets nothing — zero seats — and those votes are effectively thrown out. Right now, several smaller parties are hovering right at that line. If they miss it, 42% or 43% of the vote can translate into more than half the seats. So Saxony-Anhalt could wake up to an AfD majority government even though a clear majority of voters chose someone else. That would be a first in postwar Germany."

The CSIS report said voters are drawn to the AfD "because, or despite of, its extremist ideology. 60.5% of AfD voters hold a right-wing extremist worldview… At the same time, more than two in five AfD voters think that the party does not sufficiently distance itself from right-wing extremist positions." The report also found that AfD’s "strongest recent gains have been among voters 18–25 years old, where the party tripled its results compared to the 2021 national election."

Treiber said economics is pushing younger voters to the AfD, due to rising expenses and unemployment. He also said that younger voters are "kind of polarized because the other part of the youth in Germany is voting for the left party (Die Linke)."

Saxony-Anhalt may just be the beginning for the anti-establishment parties. Voters in neighboring Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania, where former Chancellor Angela Merkel grew up and began her political career, go to the polls in two weeks. Polling data from Wahlrecht.de shows the AfD leading the ruling SPD 35%-32% there. 

Conversely, in Berlin, where voters in the capital also go to the polls in two weeks, the average of recent polling has the far-left Die Linke in a dead heat with the CDU at 20%, followed by the AfD at 18%, with the Greens and the SPD each around 15%. While the majority of the AfD’s support does come from the former East Germany, the party is represented in 14 of Germany’s 16 state legislatures and holds 15 of Germany’s 96 seats in the European Parliament.

A day at the air show turned fatal on Saturday when a Greek air force jet crashed north of Athens as thousands of spectators watched.

Both pilots were killed in the crash at Tanagra air force base but no civilians were hurt.

The twin-seat Phantom F4 jet flew into the ground during a low-altitude maneuver just meters above the ground.

EIGHT BELIEVED DEAD AFTER B-52 CRASHES SHORTLY AFTER TAKEOFF FROM EDWARDS AIR FORCE BASE

"The sense of grief is widespread, and our thoughts are with the families of the two pilots we lost," Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis said. "It is a reminder of the daily danger faced by Greece’s aviators, who remain on constant standby to protect Greece's skies."

The jet burst into flames on impact, sending up a large plume of black smoke, prompting 11 water-dropping planes and helicopters to assist 85 firefighters in extinguishing the blaze.

11 SKYDIVERS, ONE PILOT KILLED IN MISSOURI PLANE CRASH NEAR AIRPORT

Video of the crash showed a second ball of fire nearby as the plane broke apart.

The bodies of the pilots were eventually recovered.

"We were all stunned. It hadn't been airborne for more than three minutes," an eyewitness told ERT, Greece’s state-owned broadcaster.

The crash happened during the country’s annual Athens Flying Week.

The organizers canceled the rest of the events following the incident and the area was evacuated.

"It is with deep sadness that I learned of the death of the two officers of the Hellenic Air Force, who lost their lives in the tragic accident that occurred during the air show at Tanagra Air Base," Cyprus' Defense Minister Vasilis Palmas said, adding that he had called Nikos Dendias, Greece’s Minister of National Defense.

AIR FORCE IDENTIFIES 8 CREW MEMBERS KILLED IN B-52 STRATOFORTRESS CRASH AT EDWARDS AIR FORCE BASE

The air force has declared three days of mourning in the country.

In May, two jets collided during an air show in Idaho, but the pilots were able to safely eject.

The Associated Press and Reuters contributed to this report. 

The United Nations on Friday was one vote shy of unanimously adopting a new map of the world that shows Africa's true size, making the continent appear far larger than it does on traditional maps.

The United States was the only one of the 165 member nations to vote against the UN General Assembly resolution to accept the Equal Earth map projection, which depicts countries and continents in their true relative sizes, according to the map creator's website.

Six nations abstained, including Estonia, Georgia, Lithuania, Moldova, Serbia and Ukraine.

Yaryna Ferencevych, the deputy U.S. representative to the U.N. Economic and Social Council, said the resolution was presented as "an anodyne effort to update cartographic proportions" but was, in her view, part of a "much larger and more radical ideological project."

TRUMP ADMINISTRATION REJECTS UN MIGRATION DECLARATION, SAYS 'MASS MIGRATION WAS NEVER SAFE'

"Instead of focusing on genuine problems of international peace, prosperity, or good relations, this body is debating map projects from the 16th century and their role in promoting reparations and cognitive justice," Ferencevych said Friday during the 114th Plenary meeting.

"Resolutions like this one and the ideological agenda they promote are barnacles on our work here and the reason this institution is losing its credibility," she added.

Ferencevych was referring to the Mercator projection, created in 1569 to aid maritime navigation. To this day, it is seen as the traditional world map and is used in many school textbooks and atlases.

It enlarges land masses near the poles and reduces the apparent size of those near the equator, making Africa appear far smaller relative to Greenland and Europe than it is in reality.

AFRICAN AND CARIBBEAN LEADERS CALL FOR PAYMENTS, DEBT CANCELLATION, FORMAL APOLOGIES OVER SLAVERY

Togo Foreign Minister Robert Dussey, who introduced the resolution on behalf of the African Group, said that adopting the new map would "promote projections that better preserve the true proportions of continents."

"A fair map does not change the geography of the world; it changes how we see the world," he said. "And when our perspective becomes more just, it paves the way for greater understanding, respect and peace among nations."

The measure does not require countries or companies to abandon the Mercator projection, but it establishes the U.N.'s official backing for equal-area maps as the preferred way to depict the world.

The Mercator projection largely fell out of favor among cartographers in the 20th century because of its distortions. However, it saw a resurgence after Google Maps adopted the Web Mercator projection in 2005, with virtually every major online mapping service following suit.

Web Mercator became the standard for online maps because it allowed for smooth panning and zooming across the globe, making it well suited for interactive digital maps, according to a 2014 Cartographica study.

The United States Mission to the United Nations and the ECOSOC did not immediately respond to Fox News Digital's requests for comment.

U.S. special envoy Steve Witkoff and President Donald Trump's son-in-law and adviser, Jared Kushner, are visiting Moscow and Kyiv over the weekend in an effort to end the war between Russia and Ukraine.

"We have an idea for peace," Trump told reporters on Friday. "I sent Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner, two great negotiators. They've done a great job, and we sent them over to see whether or not we can get something done. And there may be a good chance that we'll do it," he said.

Ukrainian President Volodomyr Zelenskyy confirmed the news in a post on X.

"Today, it has been clearly established that U.S. envoys will be in Ukraine and Russia in the coming days. We have the details from the U.S. President’s team. We discussed today that Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner will visit Moscow and then Kyiv on Sunday. We are preparing for the visit," Zelenskyy wrote.

TRUMP ANNOUNCES SURPRISE THREE-DAY CEASEFIRE IN RUSSIA-UKRAINE WAR

The pair will visit Russia first on Saturday and, according to Russian state-affiliated media outlet Tass, have already landed in Moscow. 

Photos showed Kushner and Witkoff greeted by Russian presidential envoy Kirill Dmitriev shortly after landing in Moscow.

Kushner and Witkoff are expected to later travel to Kyiv on Sunday, Zelenskyy confirmed. Zelenskyy also said that Ukraine will work to keep Russian airspace safe during the Americans’ visit.

CIA DIRECTOR JOHN RATCLIFFE MET WITH RUSSIAN INTELLIGENCE OFFICIALS IN VISIT TO MOSCOW, KREMLIN SAYS

"Just as we did during previous diplomatic visits by the American side, we will ensure the normal functioning of Russian airspace so that the negotiators can arrive safely. We are looking out for them, not for Russia. There will be no air strikes from our side, and Russia must do the same, ensuring there are no air strikes from its side for the time needed to hold these talks and handle the logistical matters related to this American visit," he wrote on X.

ZELENSKYY CONGRATULATES TRUMP ON TURNING 80 IN BIRTHDAY CALL, VOWS MORE UKRAINE PEACE TALKS AT G7 ON TUESDAY

"Our goal is to make the visit and the talks with the U.S. side as constructive and substantive as possible. We need to look for real options for how to move this war toward an end. We will see what proposals Steve and Jared bring and what they are told in Moscow in response," the Ukrainian president concluded.

Zelenskyy, in a subsequent Saturday morning post on X, said he had already communicated with Witkoff and Kushner ahead of their planned Sunday meeting.

"I have just spoken with the U.S. President’s envoys. They have already begun working with the Russian side today. From the moment of this conversation, we are ready to observe a ceasefire in airstrikes against the cities involved in the negotiation process. From now through the end of Saturday, as well as on Sunday and Monday, Ukraine is ready to refrain from strikes on Moscow, and we expect the Russians to do the same regarding Kyiv," he wrote.

"Today, I also received reports from Defense Minister Yevhenii Khmara and Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of Ukraine Mykhailo Drapatyi on the situation at the front, the dynamics of threats in Ukraine’s airspace, our steps, and active defensive operations. I am grateful to every one of our warriors for effectively defending Ukraine’s positions," Zelenskyy's post continued. 

"On the diplomatic track, our actions must be, and will be, just as strong and effective – one hundred percent. The plan for tomorrow’s diplomatic engagements in Kyiv, involving the U.S. team, has been approved. We are waiting for Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner and are ready for a substantive conversation. Thank you to everyone who stands with Ukraine!" Zelenskyy concluded. 

Zelenskyy’s Friday message came the same day that a Russian drone strike targeted the Security Service of Ukraine’s headquarters in Ukraine, Zelenskyy wrote in a public message on the app Telegram.

RUSSIA LAUNCHES BALLISTIC MISSILE ATTACK ON KYIV HOURS AFTER ZELENSKYY WARNS OF MAJOR STRIKE

Zelenskyy alleged the strike directly targeted the head of the Security Service's office.

He also wrote that he was directing the head, Oleksandr Poklad, to prepare a retaliatory strike. "I gave Poklad the task of adequately, noticeably and, if possible, mirroring the Russians' response to this attack, when everything is prepared. Our military will support this response. Glory to Ukraine!" he wrote.

PUTIN UNLEASHES NEW FURY ON UKRAINE AS REPORT EXPOSES FEAR HANGING OVER WAR’S END

At least nine people were injured in the explosion, Kyiv mayor Vitali Klitschko also wrote on Telegram.

The visit also comes just one day after German officials formally accused Russia of attempting an explosive drone attack on a major airport in Germany.

RUSSIA’S STRIKES NEAR MOLDOVA RAISE ALARM OVER PUTIN’S PLANS FOR EUROPE’S EASTERN FLANK

"The attack on the aircraft in Leipzig was concrete; it could have triggered a catastrophe had it succeeded. The attacker was, at most, covert, but even here there is now certainty: The German government has named Russia as the mastermind. Patterns of attack, police investigations, and intelligence findings prove Russian responsibility for the drone attack," Stefan Kornelius, a spokesperson for the German federal government, wrote Friday.

Fox News Digital contacted the White House and the foreign ministries for Russia, Ukraine and Germany for further comment.

Germany is pushing European partners to create a rapid-response task force in the Baltic Sea region as Berlin confronts what it says is an escalating campaign of Russian hybrid warfare, including an attempted explosives-laden drone attack on one of the country's most important cargo airports.

The initiative, proposed by German Interior Minister Alexander Dobrindt following an Aug. 28 meeting in Flensburg, is intended to allow Baltic Sea countries to rapidly exchange information and coordinate responses to hybrid threats ranging from drones and sabotage to cyberattacks, disinformation and attacks on critical infrastructure.

"We want to turn this shared threat environment into a shared security environment," Dobrindt said, warning that hybrid threats were becoming more frequent and sophisticated.

The proposal has taken on new urgency after Germany formally accused Russia this week of responsibility for an attempted Aug. 4 attack at Leipzig/Halle Airport involving a drone carrying explosives.

EXPLOSIVE DRONE FORCES SHUTDOWN AT MAJOR GERMAN AIRPORT SERVING NATO, UKRAINE FLIGHTS

German officials said police findings, intelligence information and the methods used in the attack led Berlin to conclude Russia was responsible. The government said aspects of the drone, explosives and detonation technology were consistent with methods seen in previous Russian hybrid operations and in Moscow's war against Ukraine.

Germany has not publicly released much of the underlying evidence, saying details including information about suspected perpetrators, travel routes, surveillance footage and DNA evidence are being withheld to protect the investigation.

Latvia characterized the Leipzig attack in even stronger terms.

"The attack in Leipzig confirms once again that Russia poses a direct threat to the security of all of Europe. This was not merely a hybrid attack, but state-sponsored terrorism on German soil," Latvian Foreign Minister Baiba Braže said in a statement published by Latvia's Foreign Ministry.

Braže also called for continued efforts to strengthen Ukraine's defense capabilities and for additional sanctions aimed at limiting Russia's ability to produce missiles, drones and other weapons.

US INTEL WARNS RUSSIA COULD LAUNCH LIMITED ATTACK ON NATO ALLY IN EFFORT TO FRAGMENT ORGANIZATION: REPORT

Retired Air Force Lt. Gen. Richard Newton told Fox News Digital that the episode reflects what he described as a widening pattern of hostile activity.

"We are clearly seeing an escalation in the scope and intensity of Russian gray-zone hostile actions across Europe," Newton said. "Russia has long used a variety of non-military, covert, and hybrid tactics – cyberattacks, information operations, sabotage, other covert means – to create disruption while staying just below the threshold of open conflict with NATO."

Newton called Germany's attribution of the Leipzig plot "particularly serious," saying it "demonstrates how dangerous these operations are becoming."

Germany responded by announcing the closure of Russia's consulate general in Bonn and ending the arrangement governing the Russian House cultural center in Berlin. Berlin also said it would tighten entry controls for Russian nationals and increase pressure on Russia's so-called shadow fleet.

Russia has denied responsibility for the Leipzig incident, calling Germany's accusations "entirely fabricated" and accusing Berlin of escalating tensions, according to Reuters.

The heightened concern comes as German police separately investigate a cluster of suspected sabotage incidents targeting the country's electricity infrastructure this week.

REPORT WARNS RUSSIA USING SHADOW FLEET TO PROBE NATO DRONE DEFENSES

Authorities were investigating a suspicious device found near a substation in Dormagen, North Rhine-Westphalia, on Friday, following incidents in Bergheim and Brandenburg.

In Bergheim, deliberate interference temporarily forced lignite-fired generating units representing about 4,200 megawatts of capacity offline, though no broader blackout occurred.

German authorities have not publicly connected those power-grid incidents to Russia, a distinction Newton said was important.

"We need to be careful when attributing these hostile acts and ensure we have indisputable intelligence information that clearly leads to the source of these belligerent actions," Newton said.

"The incidents involving Germany’s power infrastructure are still under investigation and have not been publicly attributed to Russia, or any other source for that matter," he added.

The German government nevertheless said Friday that the country faces a persistent hybrid threat.

"Germany is not at war, but it is a daily target of hybrid warfare," the government said, citing attacks on communications systems, disinformation and arson targeting the defense industry.

EUROPE BANKROLLS PUTIN'S WAR MACHINE EVEN AS NATO RACES TO BOLSTER DEFENSES

Retired Gen. Philip Breedlove, former NATO Supreme Allied Commander Europe, told Fox News Digital that Moscow has increasingly sought to pressure Western countries while avoiding conventional conflict.

"We do know that Russia is trying to fight the Western world below the line of kinetic conflict and their methods are getting ever bolder, whether through cyber operations, sabotage, drones and other forms of pressure across Europe," Breedlove said. "We’re even becoming aware of things they are doing inside the United States."

Breedlove said Russian President Vladimir Putin has long sought to exploit divisions within NATO, "especially between the United States and Europe."

"The Western world has got to step up to counter the Russian threat," he said.

The Baltic initiative comes amid broader efforts by NATO and regional governments to protect an area increasingly associated with threats to undersea cables, pipelines, shipping and other critical infrastructure.

NATO already operates Baltic Sentry, an enhanced vigilance activity launched in 2025 to strengthen protection of critical undersea infrastructure in the Baltic Sea.

In February, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Germany, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland and Sweden agreed to accelerate the acquisition and integration of new technologies for Baltic naval operations. NATO said that initiative built on testing involving roughly 70 aerial and maritime drones in 2025.

Breedlove said Germany's proposed task force could help bridge intelligence, law-enforcement and military responses among regional partners.

"Germany’s Baltic initiative makes sense," he said. "The value is also for partner countries to share information faster, connect the intelligence, law-enforcement and military pieces, and make decisions before Russia can take advantage of confusion or delay."

Newton similarly said the task force could complement NATO's existing military activity by improving governments' ability to rapidly share intelligence and coordinate security responses.

Breedlove warned that Moscow would continue searching for opportunities to exploit uncertainty.

"Without question, the Russians will keep looking for places where they can create uncertainty and hesitation," he said. "We need to get better at recognizing their actions with speed – and responding forcefully with the strength of our allies."

Fox News Digital reached out to the German Embassy in Washington, D.C., and the Russian Embassy in Washington, D.C., for comment but did not receive responses by publication time.

A motley crew of scientists was honored this week for its unusual contributions, which included studying cockroach milk, the evolutionary history of kissing and testing soil health by using underwear.

The satirical Ig Nobel ceremony, which honors unusual but real studies, took place in Zurich Thursday and was presented by the digital magazine, the Annals of Improbable Research.

The awards, which were founded in 1991, took place outside the U.S. for the first time this year over the concern that the honorees wouldn’t be able to get a visa.

Other winners included researchers who found upper-class people were more likely to engage in unethical behavior, such as stealing candy from a baby, a study on proper nose blowing and gently stepping on snakes to see what provokes them into biting people.

WASHINGTON HOMEOWNER HEARS MYSTERIOUS BANGING CALLS 911 BEFORE POLICE FIND GROWLING BOBCAT AT TOP OF STAIRS

"The general pattern seems to be that, with wealth and rising power, you become less engaged with the needs of others and less burdened by the needs of social relationships," Dr. Paul Piff, a social psychologist at the University of California, Irvine said, according to the Guardian. 

"Taking candy from children might be the least of our worries, but it’s emblematic of the tendency to prioritize one’s own needs over those of others."

The final four honorees included those studying the power of having mutual enemies, attempts at a splash-free urinal, using dead mosquitos for 3D printing and research that found parents love the smell of their newborn babies but not teenage children.

In case you’re wondering, the team studying the history of kissing has defined it as "a non-agonistic interaction involving directed, intraspecific, oral-oral contact with some movement of the lips/mouthparts and no food transfer." Romantic.

COUPLE PUBLICLY CANED AFTER ALLEGED TIKTOK KISS SPARKS OUTRAGE IN INDONESIA

"Next time you kiss someone, you can think, 'This is a 21.5 million-year-old tradition that I'm honoring here," evolutionary biologist Matilda Brindle of the University of Oxford said, according to NPR. "It's not just a modern human behavior. It's really ancestral.' And to us, that suggests that it probably has quite a useful evolutionary function."

Brindle said her team believes that Neanderthals not only kissed each other. They may have also kissed early humans.

CAVE DISCOVERY PUSHES BACK EVIDENCE OF HUMAN ANCESTORS USING FIRE TO 1.79M YEARS AGO

All the honorees receive a trophy that looks like a cross between a mushroom and a human foot while the audience throws paper airplanes at them.

The Ig Nobel has no relation to the actual Nobel Prize, which will announce its honorees in October.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

Migrants in the North African Spanish enclave of Ceuta were captured on video hitting a young dolphin and possibly killing it while celebrating.

Video circulating online shows a group of men and boys triumphantly lifting what appeared to be a baby bottlenose dolphin calf above their heads as onlookers gleefully cheered. 

The dolphin swam too close to shore when a group of men allegedly pulled it from El Trampolin beach.

The celebration appeared to enrage local residents, who tried to stop the group's actions during a confrontation.

ONE OF WORLD’S OLDEST ORCA WHALES FOUND WITH POSSIBLE SHOTGUN WOUNDS AS OFFICIALS LAUNCH INVESTIGATION

One of the men reportedly struck the dolphin with a stick, mortally wounding it. Some people were heard shouting "no" in the video, and some men were cheering. Others appeared concerned at the treatment of the marine mammal.

Someone eventually took the mammal and placed it back in the water. The incident has sparked outrage among Ceuta residents.

BOATER'S STUNT TO AWAKEN SLEEPING POLAR BEAR BACKFIRES AFTER BRAZEN HORN BLAST

"On Wednesday, September 2, 2026, a disoriented dolphin calf swimming near the shore at Trampolin Beach, in Ceuta, was brutally pulled from the water," Nadia Garcia Gomez wrote in a social media post announcing a petition to have those involved arrested. 

"Eyewitnesses and local media reported that the animal was handled as if it were an object and violently struck on the head with a stick, causing its immediate death."

Gomez called the migrants' actions an act of "extreme and unjustifiable cruelty" that cannot go unpunished. She noted that dolphins are a protected species under Spanish and European laws.

LOCALS TORCH MIGRANT SHELTERS AS SPAIN'S PM POINTS BLAME BEYOND THE BORDER

Other Ceuta residents have called for the migrants involved to be prosecuted and expelled from the country.

Ceuta has been gripped by an influx of migrants from neighboring Morocco. In July, more than 70,000 migrants stormed the tiny enclave's border defenses. Although most of the migrants returned home shortly afterward, thousands have remained.

TENS OF THOUSANDS FLOOD STREETS TO PROTEST SPAIN BORDER CRISIS

Some residents have called for deportations and tougher action from the central government in Madrid. Last week, angry locals tore down migrant tents and shelters at the beach.

Rescue teams in Nepal pulled two workers alive from a hydropower tunnel nine days after catastrophic floods swept through the country, leaving more than 1,000 people dead and thousands more missing.

Nepalese lawmaker Shri Ram Neupane told The Associated Press that searchers first heard men's voices in the tunnel on Friday morning. Images distributed by the Nepal Army showed a rescuer carrying one of the workers on his back while soldiers on either side helped.

The breakthrough has raised hopes that the dozens of others believed to be trapped will be rescued. One of the rescued men said more people are alive inside the tunnel, according to Brig. Gen. Raja Ram Basnet, who said the search is ongoing.

SON REALIZES MISSING AMERICAN DAD WAS IN PATH OF NEPAL DISASTER AFTER WATCHING VIRAL VIDEO

"I can’t explain what we are feeling at the moment. We are just grateful to God," Amir Maharjan, the brother of one of those rescued, told the AP.

Both men were flown to a hospital in Kathmandu, and one of them was in critical condition, the AP reported, citing a statement from the prime minister's office.

Officials identified them as a mechanical foreman and a mechanical supervisor at the Trishuli 3A plant.

TERRIFYING VIDEO CAPTURES PEOPLE FLEEING INCOMING MUDSLIDE AT NEPAL-CHINA BORDER

The AP reported that about 115 people are believed to remain trapped in the Trishuli 3A tunnel alone, citing the Independent Power Producers Association of Nepal.

In total, authorities say there are about 900 workers missing from 12 hydropower plants in Nepal, with about 500 of them believed to be trapped in tunnels.

Nepal’s Communication Minister Bikram Timilsina wrote on his Facebook page that officials "are waiting for the rescue of more and more people."

"A heartfelt thank you to everyone who worked tirelessly day and night to rescue two people alive!" Timilsina added.

The AP reported that at least 1,287 people have been killed and more than 5,000 remain missing after the Aug. 26 floods, which scientists believe were likely triggered by a glacier collapse.

China said on Wednesday that on the Tibet side of the border, 21 people were killed and 541 are missing.

Nepal's disaster agency chief told Reuters on Friday that the flooding has likely caused at least 387.5 billion Nepalese rupees (about $2.5 billion) in damage to infrastructure and property.

The Associated Press and Reuters contributed to this report.

China is racing to build the data centers and energy infrastructure needed to power artificial intelligence, raising concerns that Beijing’s ability to rapidly construct massive projects could help it get closer to America’s commanding lead in the physical infrastructure underpinning the AI race.

The U.S. remains far ahead in sheer numbers. The Stanford Institute for Human-Centered Artificial Intelligence’s 2026 AI Index, using Cloudscene data, counted 5,427 U.S. data centers in 2025 compared with 449 in China. Stanford cautioned that the count does not account for differences in facility size, computing capacity or utilization.

But China is moving quickly.

AMERICA IS FIGHTING YESTERDAY’S AI WAR. TOMORROW’S WAR IS ON THE WAY

"We know that China is far behind, but we also know that they are moving at great speed," China expert Gordon Chang told Fox News Digital.

Chang argued that Beijing understands the U.S. advantage will be difficult to erase if America continues building at the same pace and said growing opposition to data-center development could slow that expansion.

President Donald Trump made a similar argument this week, warning communities fighting new projects that China stands to benefit.

"China could not be happier with this anti Data Center movement," Trump wrote on Truth Social. "Actually, they can’t believe it is happening!" Trump also argued that communities embracing data centers would gain jobs and tax revenues.

Vice President JD Vance sharpened that warning Thursday, telling Fox Business there was "a very good chance" the U.S. could lose the AI race to China if Democrats regain control of Congress.

Vance said the broader problem is America’s ability to build enough power to support data centers and other major infrastructure. "We cannot be a country that says we’re not going to build more power," Vance said, arguing that the administration is trying to make it easier to construct power plants alongside data centers while protecting residential ratepayers from higher electricity costs.

AI BOOM: DEMAND FOR DATA CENTERS DRIVES INNOVATION BY ENERGY, TECH INDUSTRIES TO PRODUCE NEW POWER SOURCES

He also pointed to the widening US-China electricity gap, saying China now generates roughly three times as much power as the United States. "We’ve got to build more power plants. We’ve got to make the regulatory state easier to work with."

Asked about China’s rapid infrastructure expansion, the Chinese Embassy in Washington rejected the premise that AI should primarily be viewed as a geopolitical contest.

"AI should not be owned by major countries, still less dominated by contests and rivalry," Embassy spokesperson Liu Chang told Fox News Digital.

Liu pointed to China’s 2025 Global AI Governance Action Plan, which calls for accelerating construction of clean power, next-generation networks, computing capacity and data centers. He said China advocates cooperation with the U.S. and wants AI development to benefit both countries and the broader international community.

Behind that diplomatic message, Beijing is undertaking a massive geographic reorganization of its computing infrastructure.

Under China’s "East Data, West Computing" initiative, Beijing is directing more computing capacity toward western regions where land is available and wind and solar resources can help reduce energy costs.

Five of China’s eight national computing hubs are located in western China, according to a June 25 report from the government-backed Digital China initiative. More than 30 data centers were under construction within a three-kilometer area in Horinger, Inner Mongolia, while intensive construction was also underway in Zhongwei, Ningxia.

That buildout caught the attention of members of the bipartisan US-China Economic and Security Review Commission during a recent fact-finding trip to China.

"I left with an intense belief that the Chinese see this as the frontier in terms of competition," Commission Vice Chairman Mike Kuiken told Fox News Digital, describing AI as increasingly intertwined with robotics, biotechnology, advanced materials and manufacturing.

Kuiken said China has one significant advantage when it comes to constructing the infrastructure needed to support that technology.

"The Chinese, because they write the rules as they go, and the rule of law largely does not exist, are able to just move faster in terms of building things," he said.

But Kuiken also identified a major Chinese weakness: access to the most advanced chips.

"The constraints that are real though, the Chinese do not have the ability to procure advanced chips," he said, while describing Beijing’s ability to rapidly construct coal plants and other infrastructure as "quite incredible."

THE WAR ON DATA CENTERS JEOPARDIZES OUR ECONOMY AND NATIONAL SECURITY

The U.S. retains major advantages beyond its data-center lead. The Stanford Institute for Human-Centered Artificial Intelligence’s 2026 AI Index found that America produced 59 notable AI models in 2025 compared with 35 from China, and U.S. private AI investment reached $285.9 billion, compared with $12.4 billion in China. Stanford cautioned that private investment figures understate Beijing’s overall spending because of Chinese government-backed funds.

At the same time, Chinese models have rapidly narrowed the performance gap. Stanford’s 2026 AI Index found that as of March 2026, the top U.S. model led the top Chinese model by just 2.7%.

Chang also alleged that Beijing is seeking to exploit American opposition to data centers and claimed China-linked networks have helped support protests against projects in the US. "These protests are not entirely organic," Chang told Fox News Digital.

Kuiken was cautious about portraying those local disputes as part of a broader anti-China fight, saying genuine U.S. opposition to data-center projects has also emerged over concerns including electricity costs, water use, noise and land development.

"We are building things in the U.S. faster than we have in a long time," he said, adding that policymakers are working through infrastructure constraints. "Usually there are local issues that are driving those things."

The emerging competition, therefore, is not simply over who develops the smartest AI model.

It is increasingly a race over who can build the electricity, data centers, chips and networks needed to run those models at enormous scale — and how quickly they can build them.

Regime leaders in Iran are more content to see continued confrontation with the United States and its Gulf neighbors rather than pursuing peace in an effort to keep their disenchanted population at bay, one expert says.

U.S. forces have launched airstrikes against Iran in recent days following a brief pause in hostilities amid renewed flare-ups in the Strait of Hormuz.

Tehran isn't as concerned about military action against the country, but rather discontent among Iranians, Dr. Majid Sadeghpour, a human rights activist and the political director of the Organization of Iranian-American Communities, told Fox News Digital.

TRUMP RETALIATES AFTER IRAN ATTACK AS EXPERT WARNS REGIME IS GROWING MORE DANGEROUS

Sadeghpour noted that U.S. officials offered guarantees to Tehran that provided a pathway to peace for Iran.

"You get America to give you a guarantee that it wouldn't seek regime change. Nevertheless, they still attacked ships afterward," Sadeghpour said. "They still attacked our bases in Jordan and Bahrain. So that speaks to the fact that the real threat to the regime is not the bombs from outside, but rather the population uprising."

INSIDE TEHRAN: IRANIANS DESCRIBE IRGC'S BRUTAL RULE, POVERTY — ASK TRUMP TO 'STAY THE COURSE'

"For a regime that's militarized and requires friction, its survival now depends on that friction," he added.

Iran has experienced major uprisings in recent years driven by economic collapse, high inflation, and deep discontent with the regime's strict religious interpretation of Islam. In addition, the Iranian government has suppressed anti-government riots and protests with deadly force and arbitrary arrests and detention, according to human rights observers.

The war with the U.S. helps the regime, Sadeghpour said, by refocusing the Iranian public's attention elsewhere.

Meanwhile, Iran has continued to target commercial ships in the strait in violation of an agreement not to do so, Vice President JD Vance said Thursday.

IRAN ACCELERATES EXECUTION CAMPAIGN AGAINST ANTI-REGIME ACTIVISTS AMID INTERNET CENSORSHIP

"The Iranians are doing what the Iranians do," Vance said. "I think that they're losing their capabilities by the day. I think they're realizing… that their control over the Strait of Hormuz is effectively gone, and it's a diminishing asset."

In order to effect regime change, the U.S. should focus its efforts on the Iranian population, said Sadeghpour, because Iranian leaders will likely drag out the conflict with the U.S. for as long as they can.

"The regime is thinking about the day, the hour after the exhausted population gets calm, and will immediately look around, 'how am I going to get rid of this regime? And who's going to help me do that?' And so that is what the regime is afraid of," he said.

TRUMP REVIVES IRAN REGIME CHANGE SPECULATION WITH CRYPTIC CALL FOR PEOPLE TO 'RISE UP'

Meanwhile, President Donald Trump on Wednesday said he isn't focused on bringing Tehran to the bargaining table, saying he "couldn't care less" if Iran signs a "worthless" agreement.

"They are just playing out the inevitable," Trump wrote on Truth Social. "When are the Iranian people going to rise up and fight?"

Tens of thousands of people took to the streets across Spain to protest the government's handling of a mass crossing of migrants into Spain in July.

Authorities say 50,000 protesters were on the streets in Madrid alone, furious at Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez as the migrant crisis in Spain's north African city of Ceuta continues.

Violence continued for hours after the major protests ended, with gunshots and explosions audible throughout the night on Wednesday.

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The protesters bore signs reading, "A united Ceuta will never be defeated," "Sánchez to prison," and "Invaders — go home!"

Spain is still dealing with the fallout after over 70,000 foreign migrants surged across its border from neighboring Morocco in late July.

AT LEAST 72 DEAD AMID MASS MIGRANT RUSH TO STORM SPANISH ENCLAVE OF CEUTA SPARKING BORDER CRISIS

Thousands of those migrants remain in Spanish territory even now.

"What happened to us was not a migratory crisis," Ceuta's regional leader, Juan Jesús Vivas, said Wednesday. "What happened was the violation of Spain's territorial integrity."

SOCIALIST SPANISH PM BLASTS MELONI OVER RESTORED BORDER CONTROLS AFTER CEUTA SURGE, DEMANDS EMERGENCY MEETING

The protests came days after Ceuta residents tore down and burned makeshift migrant shelters found in their city.

Demonstrators carrying Spanish flags moved toward beachside migrant camps last week, destroying shelters and setting fires as police attempted to keep protesters and migrants apart, according to Spain’s public broadcaster RTVE and news agency EFE.

SPAIN DEPLOYS MILITARY AFTER THOUSANDS OF MIGRANTS OVERWHELM BORDER ENCLAVE, AT LEAST 18 DEAD

Meanwhile, Sanchez has blamed Russia and Israel for amplifying the migrant crisis via social media, saying the July surge across the border was due to a misinterpretation of a Spanish Supreme Court ruling.

Sánchez told radio station SER that research by the European Union’s diplomatic service, the European External Action Service, indicated Russian and Israeli networks had participated in spreading disinformation alongside far-right networks, Reuters reported Aug. 31.

"Without facts, without materials backed up by numbers, dates, names, there is simply nothing to talk about," Russia's Foreign Ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova told reporters.

Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Sa'ar accused Sánchez of "lying shamelessly," and said in a post on X that the Spanish leader was attempting to divert attention from domestic policy failures.

Fox News' Efrat Lachter and the Associated Press contributed to this report.

The Trump administration is ramping up economic sanctions on Iran through "Operation Economic Outcast," while also threatening dire secondary sanctions against countries that continue Iran-related business.

The new policy puts countries like India and other close U.S. partners in an awkward situation.

New Delhi remains a critical U.S. partner in the Indo-Pacific, but it also has commercial, energy and strategic interests in Iran that it won't likely discard, potentially putting it at odds with the Trump administration.

TRUMP THREATENS 'UNPRECEDENTED' ECONOMIC CONSEQUENCES FOR ANY NATION AIDING IRAN

On Monday, exactly a week after the Trump administration launched its new sanctions campaign, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi met with Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian on the sidelines of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization summit in Kyrgyzstan. It was their first meeting since the war broke out six months ago.

According to an Iranian readout, Pezeshkian asked Modi "to use India’s extensive contacts" to help steer the involved parties away from war and back toward dialogue, while thanking Modi for standing by Tehran. Modi reiterated that New Delhi wants to strengthen its "long-standing friendship" with Tehran and "expand and diversify" the two countries’ trade basket.

"That was for Modi to signal to a domestic audience that he is not kowtowing to Trump," Council on Foreign Relations Senior Fellow Sadanand Dhume told Fox News Digital. "India-Iran relations have already been largely hollowed out by previous rounds of sanctions, so there is no question of India trying to balance between the U.S. and Iran," he added.

Secretary of State Marco Rubio was asked by Fox News' Brian Kilmeade on "The Brian Kilmeade Show" Tuesday about Modi's meeting with the Iranian president.

Rubio said he didn't think there was a trade deal between India and Iran — noting many countries around the world talk to Tehran — and stated, "What ultimately happens, though, is – and the President’s been very clear – is no country should be helping Iran evade sanctions. No country should be out there helping them create mechanisms by which they can generate revenue that they will then use to sponsor terrorism and try to build a nuclear weapon. And if countries decide to do that, then we’re going to have to sanction them too."

A U.S. official echoed Rubio's comments and told Fox News Digital that, "the Administration continues to have positive discussions with our economic partners to ensure Iran never possesses a nuclear weapon."

India has been among Iran’s top five trading partners in recent years, though bilateral trade has dropped dramatically since its 2018-19 peak.

IRAN LOSES KEY ECONOMIC LIFELINE IN MIDDLE EAST THAT TRUMP'S SANCTIONS COULDN'T REACH AS DEADLOCK PERSISTS

New Delhi’s exports to Iran are concentrated on goods that can carry humanitarian exemptions, including pharmaceuticals. Iran is also the second-largest overseas market for Indian rice, with India exporting more than $383 million worth in the first six months of the year.

Conversely, India resumed importing Iranian crude oil for the first time in seven years in April, after the Trump administration temporarily lifted sanctions to soften the Middle East conflict’s impact on global energy. Iranian oil shipments to India were valued at roughly $707 million in the first half of the year.

India has already come into the Treasury Department's crosshairs, with the U.S. sanctioning four India-based companies and three Indian nationals over alleged links to Iranian petroleum and petrochemical trade.

The Treasury Department says countries will receive a defined timeline to shut down Iran-related activity as identified by Washington. That puts banks, shippers, insurers and trade intermediaries on notice before any further penalties are imposed. The United Arab Emirates’ suspension of commercial and financial dealings with Iran has already squeezed Indian exporters, as Dubai has long served as a key hub for trade with Iran.

IRAN DEAL CLOCK HITS ZERO AS TRUMP DEMANDS ‘WHITE FLAG’ WITH NEW PRESSURE CAMPAIGN LOOMING

So far, Washington’s initial actions have stopped short of targeting India’s wider commercial relationship with Iran.

Iran, meanwhile, has warned of "grave consequences" for countries that cooperate with what it calls illegal U.S. behavior.

India's interests in Iran also run beyond commerce. The Chabahar port, Iran’s only deep-water oceanic port, provides maritime routes linking India to Russia and Europe. It also gives India an access route to Central Asia that bypasses Pakistan. But U.S. sanctions uncertainty has repeatedly complicated India’s operations there.

India, the world's third-biggest oil importer and consumer, has already faced the cost of the Middle East conflict, through energy disruptions, higher import costs and inflation. It has also shown it will resist U.S. pressure when core interests are at stake. 

For instance, it has defended ties with Russia, despite Moscow’s adversarial relationship with Washington. But experts argue Iran no longer carries the same weight.

"The Russian example is strikingly different. New Delhi shares close military and diplomatic ties with Moscow that are much more important to India than its ties with Iran, notwithstanding lip service to the latter," Dhume said. "Higher global oil prices hurt India, but India weaned itself off Iranian oil imports a while back."

For the U.S., squeezing major economies like India over their ties to Tehran could pose a diplomatic risk. U.S. national security officials stress the need for a workable strategic relationship with India, especially to counterbalance Chinese power.

Under President Trump’s second term, once-blooming U.S.-India relations have been under strain. Trump and Modi sought to reset the relationship just months ago, but the latest Iran sanctions could test it again.

But the U.S. retains enormous leverage over India, particularly when it comes to trade.

"If forced to choose, New Delhi will obviously and emphatically choose its valuable commercial relationship with the U.S. over its skimpy trade ties with the Islamic republic," Dhume said.

The timing is notable, with Chinese President Xi Jinping reportedly set to visit India for next week’s BRICS summit. Russian President Vladimir Putin and Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian are also expected to attend.

Analysts say the impact will ultimately depend on how aggressively Washington moves from warnings and diplomacy to actual secondary sanctions. That is particularly true with India, where more aggressive enforcement risks further straining U.S. relations with a strategically important partner.

"The U.S. should learn from its own past success in quietly persuading India to generally kick its Iran oil habit," Dhume said. "Quiet diplomacy works better with India than bluster. This is the key lesson from the past that the Trump administration appears to be forgetting."

The Indian government did not respond to Fox News Digital requests for comment.

As the war in neighboring Ukraine moves closer to its border, the former Soviet republic of Moldova, which just marked 35 years of independence, faces growing pressure from Russia. 

In exclusive comments to Fox News Digital, national security advisor to Moldova’s President Maia Sandu, Stanislav Secrieru, said Russia’s recent strikes against Ukrainian-Moldovan border infrastructure pose a major threat to Ukraine’s economy and access to European markets.

Secrieru told Fox News Digital that, "In August, Russia began striking Ukraine’s border infrastructure along the Moldovan frontier. With Ukrainian grain exports through the Black Sea ports under sustained attack, Moldova has become a transit route for that grain towards Romania’s ports — and the Moldovan government cut rail transit tariffs by half to keep it moving." 

US WARNS RUSSIAN-LINKED ACTORS SEEKING TO 'FOMENT MANUFACTURED INSURRECTION' IN EUROPEAN COUNTRY

These routes, Secrieru said, are a lifeline for Ukraine’s exports and for its economy. "Russia’s strikes are meant to sever them. Russia has also stepped-up violations of Moldova’s airspace in August, to intimidate us into withdrawing our support. Moldova stays the course. We will continue to provide civilian support to Ukraine and to keep the corridors that sustain its economy open," Secrieru told Fox News Digital.

President Maia Sandu reported five Russian drones violated its airspace just hours before the country celebrated its independence, in what the president called an attempt at "intimidation."

"We have repeatedly warned about the unacceptable risks posed by Russia’s war against Ukraine. Yet another Russian attack on Ukraine has once again resulted in violations of Moldova’s airspace," the foreign ministry posted on X. 

Secrieru told Fox News Digital that Russia violated Moldovan airspace on 17 occasions in August, the highest number of violations in a month since Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy recently visited his Moldovan counterpart in Chișinău, taking part in Independence Day celebrations and emphasizing the shared struggle of Ukrainians and Moldovans in the face of the threat posed by neighboring Russia.

"Russia is doing a lot to ruin our lives in Ukraine, to ruin your lives in Moldova, and to make it as difficult as possible for Romania. This is the ‘Russian world.’ It spoils. It destroys. But we will win. I am sure," Zelenskyy told a large Independence Day gathering.

ZELENSKYY PRESSURES US AND EUROPE FOR MORE 'AIR DEFENSE' ASSISTANCE AMID ONGOING WAR WITH RUSSIA

RUSSIA USES AMMO DEPOT IN TRANSNISTRIA TO SMUGGLE WEAPONS ACROSS UKRAINIAN BORDERS

Both Moldova and Ukraine applied for EU membership on the same day, shortly after Russia’s invasion in 2022. Russia’s invasion and its destabilization efforts in Moldova complicate both countries' path forward to EU membership, a central goal of Putin’s Russia as Moscow has tried to stymie the countries of the former Soviet republic from moving closer to the West and EU institutions.

Russia’s new threats against its neighbors come on the heels of CIA Director John Ratcliffe’s surprise visit to Moscow, fueling speculation Russia intends to escalate conflict with NATO members, particularly the Baltic nations of Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania.

Along with its kinetic actions in Ukraine and incursions into Moldova’s airspace, Moscow uses influence operations in the former Soviet space to aid pro-Russian actors and push pro-Russian points of view.

"Russia has been interfering in Moldova for years, and these latest reports fit the broader pattern of Moscow using hybrid warfare to test how far it can push Europe without triggering a serious response," Ivana Stradner, research fellow with the Foundation for Defense of Democracies, told Fox News Digital.

Moldova remains a prime target for Russian influence operations over 30 years after declaring independence from the Soviet Union. Russia maintains around 1,500 troops in the breakaway territory of Transnistria, which split away from Moldova after the declaration of independence from the Soviet Union in 1991.

Stradner, who focuses on Russian disinformation campaigns, said Putin is counting on Western risk aversion and betting that if a country isn’t under the NATO umbrella, the West will decide it’s safer to look away.

"That’s exactly why Moldova matters. This could be a rehearsal for how Moscow tests the Baltics," Stradner warned.

The Baltic countries are taking notice of what’s happening in Moldova and there are growing fears that Russia may escalate the conflict beyond Ukraine.

Estonian Foreign Minister Margus Tsahkna stated on X that while Estonia’s threat assessment has not changed, "Russia’s threat and possible provocations against NATO must be taken seriously." Other Baltic leaders including Latvia’s Prime Minister Andris Kulbergs reiterated that the threat of a Russian invasion remains low but warned of an increased risk of Russian actions.

Since independence, Moldova has set its sights on moving closer to the West, with recent elections and a referendum on becoming a member of the European Union gaining significant support.