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May Day demonstrations across Europe and Asia on Friday revealed how International Workers’ Day is increasingly transforming from a traditional labor rights event into a broader political battleground, where demands over wages, inflation and worker protections are now frequently intertwined with anti-war activism, anti-Israel rhetoric and wider ideological struggles over global power.

From Paris to Istanbul, Madrid, Manila and Seoul, protests often expanded far beyond workplace grievances, with demonstrators linking rising living costs and social inequality to war in the Middle East, U.S. foreign policy and broader anti-capitalist narratives.

Nile Gardiner, senior fellow at the Heritage Foundation, told Fox News Digital that the demonstrations reflected what he described as a ‘troubling moral inversion’.

600 GROUPS WITH $2B IN REVENUE MOBILIZE 3,000 MAY DAY PROTESTS IN ‘RED-BLUE’ ALLIANCE, PROBE FINDS

"These May Day protesters should be demonstrating against the brutal tyranny in Tehran instead of protesting against U.S. military action, and this is an illustration of the complete moral vacuum that exists in Europe today," Gardiner said.

In Paris, May Day protests reportedly escalated into clashes as police used tear gas grenades and forceful arrests after projectiles were thrown during demonstrations, according to publicly circulated social media footage.

Earlier, French labor leaders had focused on inflation, wages and social protections, but parts of the protests also featured anti-war slogans, Palestinian symbolism and criticism of military spending.

MAY DAY PROTESTS TO TAKE PLACE FRIDAY AS AGITATORS ACROSS THE US PUSH 'WORKERS OVER BILLIONAIRES' MOTTO

In Madrid, thousands marched under banners reading "Capitalism should pay the cost of their war," while demonstrators protested stagnant wages, housing shortages and militarism. Placards targeting President Donald Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu highlighted how international conflict featured prominently alongside domestic labor concerns.

Germany also saw unrest in Munich, where publicly circulated reporter footage showed riot police using batons to disperse radical leftist protesters after pyrotechnics were repeatedly ignited during a revolutionary May Day demonstration. 

Emma Schubart, Research Fellow at the Henry Jackson Society, a London-based think tank, warned that May Day demonstrations increasingly serve as platforms for ideological movements extending beyond labor activism.

"The May Day demonstrations across Europe increasingly feature Islamist elements. Militant anti-war, anti-capitalist rhetoric is now routinely accompanied by Palestinian flags and explicit anti-Israel slogans," Schubart said, adding that far-left activism and Islamist-linked networks are increasingly converging under broader anti-Western narratives.

In Istanbul, police blocked leftist groups from marching to the banned Taksim Square, the historic center of Turkey’s labor movement, where demonstrations have long carried symbolic political weight. Protesters attempted to break through barricades and clashed with police as authorities detained some of the protesters.

MORE KEY US ALLIES BLOCK MILITARY FLIGHTS AS IRAN WAR RIFT WIDENS WITH TRUMP

Outside Europe, similar themes emerged across Asia.

In Manila, workers clashed with police near the U.S. Embassy while protesting higher fuel and commodity prices, demanding wage increases and calling for an end to war in the Middle East.

A left-wing labor group paraded a giant effigy depicting Trump, Netanyahu and Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. as a three-headed monster, symbolically tying domestic hardship to both local and international political leadership.

In South Korea, thousands gathered near Seoul’s Gwanghwamun Square for major labor rallies centered on collective bargaining and worker rights, but speeches also incorporated broader geopolitical messaging. 

Korea Confederation of Trade Unions Chairman Yang Kyung-soo called on demonstrators to "unite with the Iranian and Palestinian workers and people suffering from American imperialist aggression," explicitly connecting labor solidarity to anti-American and Middle East political narratives.

While local priorities varied, from wages in France to labor rights in Seoul, May Day 2026 demonstrated a growing global pattern: labor demonstrations are increasingly becoming arenas for broader ideological and geopolitical confrontation.

"The United States is fighting to defend the free world against tyranny, and yet across Europe and beyond we are seeing protesters direct their outrage at America and its allies instead of the brutal regimes driving so much of this global instability," Gardiner said. "That should deeply concern anyone who cares about the future of Western civilization."

Reuters and the Associated Press contributed to this report.

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North Korean dictator Kim Jong Un has publicly praised soldiers who killed themselves rather than be captured while fighting Ukrainian forces in Kursk region, offering the clearest confirmation yet of what officials and intelligence agencies have long described as one of Pyongyang’s most extreme battlefield policies.

In remarks published Monday by North Korean state media KCNA and first reported by Reuters, Kim honored troops who "unhesitatingly chose the path of self-destruction and suicide" rather than surrender, as he addressed Russian officials and bereaved families during a memorial ceremony for North Korean soldiers killed in combat.

"It is not only the heroes who unhesitatingly chose the path of self-destruction and suicide to defend great honor, but also those who fell while charging at the forefront of assault battles," Kim said.

The comments mark the first time Kim has directly acknowledged the lengths North Korean troops fighting for Russia have gone to in attempts to avoid capture by Ukrainian forces.

BATTERED IN UKRAINE, RUSSIA RACES TO REARM — BUT QUESTIONS LINGER OVER ITS MILITARY STRENGTH

North Korea deployed an estimated 14,000 troops to Russia’s western Kursk region to support Moscow’s war effort, according to South Korean, Ukrainian and Western officials cited by Reuters. Those same officials say the forces suffered staggering losses, with more than 6,000 North Korean soldiers believed killed in some of the war’s most intense fighting.

For months, intelligence reports, battlefield evidence and defector testimony have pointed to a grim directive: North Korean troops were expected to detonate grenades or otherwise take their own lives rather than risk capture.

That policy appears to have extended even to the few who survived. According to The Guardian, two North Korean soldiers captured by Ukrainian forces and now held as prisoners of war in Kyiv both reportedly attempted to blow themselves up but were unable to do so because of severe injuries. One of the captured soldiers has reportedly expressed guilt over failing to carry out those orders.

NORTH KOREA VOWS 'TOUGHEST' US POLICY IN VAGUE ANNOUNCEMENT

Kim’s latest speech appears to transform those reports from battlefield allegations into publicly praised state doctrine.

"Those who writhed in frustration at failing to fulfill their duty as soldiers rather than suffering the agony of their bodies being torn apart by bullets and shells — these too can be called the party’s loyal warriors and patriots," Kim added.

The statement underscores the ideological intensity imposed on North Korean forces, whose loyalty to the regime appears to extend beyond combat to self-destruction.

The revelation also highlights the deepening military relationship between Pyongyang and Moscow.

According to South Korean intelligence assessments, North Korea has provided not only troops but also munitions to Russia, while receiving economic aid and military technology in return.

Reuters contributed to this report.

As the Trump administration escalates its campaign against Iran through sanctions, naval pressure and financial enforcement, a central question is emerging: Can unprecedented economic strain truly weaken the regime, or will Iran’s rulers once again absorb the pain, suppress unrest and survive?

Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said in a Tuesday post on X that the "Economic Fury" campaign already has disrupted "tens of billions of dollars in revenue" that would otherwise support terrorism, while arguing Iran’s inflation has doubled and its currency has sharply depreciated under the current maximum pressure campaign.

Bessent also warned that Kharg Island, Iran’s primary oil export terminal, is nearing storage capacity and could soon force production cuts, which he said may cost the regime an additional roughly $170 million per day in lost revenue.

IRAN IS 'TRYING TO GIVE THE GLOBAL ECONOMY A HEART ATTACK' BY CLOSING STRAIT OF HORMUZ, UAE MINISTER SAYS

The escalating pressure campaign marks one of the most aggressive U.S. efforts in years to economically isolate Iran. But the central question is whether this strategy can force meaningful concessions from a regime that has historically absorbed economic pain, or whether it risks triggering broader instability — from energy market shocks to regional escalation — before Iran is pushed to a breaking point.

A senior administration official told Fox News Digital that Treasury is aggressively expanding "Economic Fury" beyond traditional sanctions by targeting Iran’s ability to generate, move and repatriate funds across oil, banking, cryptocurrency and covert trade networks.

The official said Treasury has disrupted billions in projected Iranian oil revenue in recent days alone, including freezing $344 million in regime-linked cryptocurrency, while also escalating pressure on Chinese "teapot" refineries, foreign banks and sanctions-evasion networks facilitating Tehran’s trade.

The Treasury also has warned financial institutions in China, Hong Kong, the United Arab Emirates and Oman that continued facilitation of Iranian illicit commerce could trigger secondary sanctions, while signaling that foreign companies — including airlines — may also face penalties if they support prohibited Iranian activity.

But Alireza Nader, an Iranian independent analyst based in Washington, is skeptical that economic pressure alone will force a strategic breaking point. 

"It looks like a game of chicken and I think the regime thinks that it can win this game of chicken with President Trump," he told Fox News Digital.

"I don’t see this economic blockade … leading to some sort of breaking point for the regime," Nader added, arguing that Iran’s leadership has repeatedly shown it is willing to let ordinary citizens bear extraordinary suffering to preserve power.

"The regime cares about staying in power," he said, warning that public hardship does not necessarily translate into vulnerability.

"The economic clock is moving much faster on Iran than on its adversaries."

That skepticism stands in stark contrast to Miad Maleki, a former Treasury sanctions analyst, who argues Washington may now hold its greatest leverage over Iran since the 1979 revolution.

"We’ve never had the level of leverage that we have today with Iran in the history of our conflict … since 1979," Maleki said.

NEXT MOVE ON IRAN: SEIZE KHARG ISLAND, SECURE URANIUM OR RISK GROUND WAR ESCALATION

For Maleki, what makes this moment different is not sanctions alone, but the convergence of sanctions, naval blockade and aggressive secondary enforcement.

He said Iran’s already fragile economy — marked by 104% food inflation and a roughly 90% collapse in purchasing power — could face roughly $435 million in daily economic losses if maritime restrictions hold.

"Iran’s economy relies on the Strait of Hormuz more than any other economy," Maleki said, arguing that disruption around the strait may ultimately hurt Iran faster than its adversaries.

If restrictions are fully enforced, Maleki warned, "crude onshore storage shortages in about 7 to 14 days, then they can buy a few weeks with filling up a dozen tankers already in the Persian Gulf, but they have to start dropping oil extraction now in anticipation of running out of storage. They are also facing gasoline shortages in matters of days or a few weeks, forced oil-production cuts, and eventually banking or salary strain."

Independent shipping intelligence from from shipping intelligence firm Kpler suggests Iran’s oil bottleneck may already be intensifying, though perhaps on a slightly longer timeline than some sanctions advocates predict.

Before the conflict, Iran exported roughly 2 million barrels of oil per day, Court Smith, Kpler’s head of engagements and partnerships, told Lauren Simonetti at FOX Business, but current exports appear closer to 1 million barrels daily, leaving an estimated 1 million barrels per day accumulating in storage.

Smith estimated Iran may have roughly 30 days before shoreside storage faces severe capacity constraints under current conditions, while warning that older fields or marginal wells could already be facing early shut-in pressures.

To buy time, Iran has reportedly begun pulling decades-old tankers out of storage for temporary floating capacity, a sign of mounting logistical strain. 

Former Israeli national security adviser Yaakov Amidror argues the blockade should not be judged by whether it forces immediate capitulation, but by whether Washington has the patience to let time erode Iran’s strength.

"Blockade is one of the oldest forms of warfare," Amidror said. "Blockade equals time."

In his view, the strategy’s advantage is precisely that it imposes relatively low costs on the United States while gradually exhausting Iran’s economy.

"The siege does its work. It weakens Iran," he said, describing it as one of the cheapest long-term methods of pressure available.

Amidror also pushed back forcefully against claims that modern enforcement is unrealistic.

"I don’t buy the idea that the U.S. Navy in the 21st century can’t monitor the 35 kilometers of blockade" he said, arguing that American surveillance, satellites and naval assets are more than capable of controlling the choke point over time.

Danny Citrinowicz, a nonresident fellow with the Atlantic Council’s Middle East Programs, offers a far more skeptical view.

"The blockade won’t force Iran to capitulate," Citrinowicz said.

BLOCKADE 101: AMERICAN SEA POWER ON DISPLAY AS TRUMP CORNERS IRAN AND WARNS OFF CHINA

"This country is under sanctions since 1979 … they know how to make adjustments," he added.

"The regime isn't just dependent on oil and energy exports to survive, it has other means of income," Nader argued, "Oil and natural gas are its biggest sources of income, but I think this regime has made a calculation that it can withstand even months of economic siege because it may think that the Trump administration is more vulnerable to political pressure."

"Look," he added, "American voters vote in the president and vote out the president. In Iran, nobody's voted in and out. The regime maintains power through brutal force. If there are public disturbances, if there are new uprisings, the regime will try to deal with them as it has in the past to mass violence, killing thousands of people. That's how this regime stays in power."

Citrinowicz warned that Iran may escalate regionally or exploit global energy vulnerabilities long before economic collapse forces surrender, potentially driving oil prices sharply upward and creating international political pressure before Tehran truly breaks.

"In the pain game … the world will feel that before," he said.

That leaves the administration facing a strategic endurance contest: Can economic warfare degrade Iran faster than the regime can adapt, repress and weaponize global pain?

Nader believes Iran’s rulers may still calculate that they can outlast U.S. patience through repression and resource management.

Maleki believes the economic "clock is moving much faster" on Iran than on its adversaries.

Amidror argues time itself may be Washington’s greatest weapon.

And Citrinowicz warns that if the United States expects quick capitulation, it may be underestimating both Iran’s resilience and its willingness to escalate.

Fox News Digital has reached out to the Iranian mission to the U.N., CENTCOM and the Pentagon for comment. 

Analysts warn global famine fears are rising as food prices climb and fragile supply chains are strained during the Strait of Hormuz crisis, raising the risk of a prolonged, Suez-scale, eight-year disruption.

As the conflict entered Day 62, the U.S. maintained its naval blockade of traffic entering and exiting Iranian ports, while Iran continued to effectively close the Strait.

"Best case, there is an agreement between the U.S. and Iran within the next few weeks, and the Strait reopens," Lars Jensen, CEO and partner at Vespucci Maritime, told Fox News Digital.

"And it has to be a deal where there is trust that Iran is sufficiently satisfied with the deal such that they do not suddenly close the strait again.

AIRLINES MAY CUT FLIGHT SCHEDULES AS IRAN TENSIONS DRIVE UP FUEL COSTS, EXPERTS WARN

"Even in that case, it will still take months for the supply chains to revert back to normality."

President Donald Trump announced April 21 he would delay renewed strikes on Iran until it presents a proposal for long-term peace, effectively extending a 14-day ceasefire indefinitely. 

Trump said Washington’s blockade of Iranian ports has been effective, urging Tehran to "just give up" as tensions escalate over the waterway.

"Worst case, we can look at the eight-year closure of the Suez Canal from 1967 to 1975," Jensen said.

ISRAELI OFFICIALS REPORTEDLY WARN IRAN'S BALLISTIC MISSILES COULD TRIGGER SOLO MILITARY ACTION AGAINST TEHRAN

"Despite its importance to the global economy, it proved impossible to reopen the canal for those eight years," he said.

The Suez Canal, shut from 1967 to 1975 after the Arab-Israeli conflict, has faced recurring disruption, including Red Sea attacks since 2023, driving up insurance costs, creating a "shadow blockade" and curbing traffic.

For Hormuz, Jensen says fertilizer, which is central to agricultural production, is the most critical factor, and any sustained disruption could quickly ripple through global food systems.

"Fertilizer is the most important element. Thirty percent of the world’s seaborne fertilizer comes from the Persian Gulf," Jensen said. "Fertilizer prices are already rising fast," he warned.

IRAN FIRES LIVE MISSILES INTO STRAIT OF HORMUZ AS TRUMP ENVOYS ARRIVE FOR NUCLEAR TALKS

"In wealthy countries, it means more expensive food come harvest season, and, in poor countries, it means that farmers right now cannot afford fertilizer," Jensen added.

"This will lead to the harvest being lower later in the season, leading to rapid increases in food prices in very poor countries. And such a situation increases the risk of famine and conflict."

Diplomatic efforts remained fragile between the U.S. and Iran as of Thursday, with limited signs of progress.

According to reports, a giant banner hangs on a building in Tehran’s central Enqelab Square declaring, "The Strait of Hormuz will remain closed; the entire Persian Gulf is our hunting ground."

"Cargo vessels are not going through for the simple reason that commercial companies do not want to see their seafarers potentially killed," Jensen added.

Following a two-week manhunt, authorities have arrested the suspected fugitive mother-in-law accused of killing a former Mexican beauty queen, Mexican officials announced Thursday.

Authorities said 27-year-old Carolina Flores Gómez, who was crowned Miss Teen Universe Baja California in 2017, was fatally shot on April 15 inside her apartment in one of Mexico City’s most affluent neighborhoods, according to local outlet El Pais.

Erika María was captured in Venezuela after Mexican authorities obtained an arrest warrant and worked in coordination with Interpol to issue a Red Notice, enabling Venezuelan law enforcement to locate and detain her following the alleged murder, Mexican officials said. 

"The detained individual is currently in the custody of authorities in that country, while the necessary procedures are carried out to formalize her extradition to Mexico," the Mexico City Attorney General’s Office said.

VIRGINIA NANNY’S JAILHOUSE LETTERS REVEAL CONFLICTING LOYALTIES IN LOVE TRIANGLE MURDER TRIAL

Maria was identified as a lead suspect in the murder investigation, according to local reports, as video evidence later surfaced on social media showing the mother-in-law at the scene.

The victim was found with 12 gunshot wounds, including six to the head and six to the chest, inside a Polanco neighborhood apartment she shared with her son, Alejandro, and the couple’s 8-month-old child, Mexican outlet Record reported. 

The son is also under investigation after reports indicated he allowed his mother to flee the scene before reporting the shooting the following day, raising the possibility of a cover-up, El Pais added.

CALIFORNIA MAN ACCUSED OF KILLING WIFE AND FLEEING WITH KIDS NABBED IN SOUTH AMERICA

Video recorded by a baby monitor, released by local outlet Reforma, appeared to capture the moments leading up to the alleged killing, all while the son was nearby caring for the baby.

In the clip, the mother was seen following Flores into a room before multiple gunshots were heard, followed by a scream.

In response, the son appeared to walk into the frame holding his child to confront his mother, asking what had happened.

CONNECTICUT MAN ALLEGEDLY KILLED A MOTHER, HER INFANT SON OVER $400 SHE OWED HIM FOR RENTING CAR

In a baffling turn, Maria appeared to respond callously to her son.

"Nothing, she just made me angry," the mom said as she walked away.

"What are you doing? She is my family," he said. 

The mother was then heard explaining, "You are mine and she stole you."

Flores’ mother, Reyna Gomez Molina, told Univision News that the son allegedly delayed reporting the incident out of fear that the child would be placed in foster care.  

"Thinking that if he was arrested, the baby would go to a children’s home. He made sure to record videos so they would know how to feed the child while he was away taking care of all the paperwork. That’s what he told me," she said, adding that her offer to take care of her grandson was declined.

She had also pressed the son to clarify whether he had been next to the victim the entire time before reporting the incident but did not provide further details, according to the outlet. 

Britain raised its national terror threat level to "severe" on Thursday in the wake of the antisemitic stabbing attack in Golders Green, warning that another terrorist attack is now considered "highly likely" in the next six months.

The Joint Terrorism Analysis Centre (JTAC) increased the U.K. National Threat Level from "substantial" to "severe" a day after two people were stabbed in north London in what police have formally declared a terrorist incident.

Officials said the decision was not based solely on the Golders Green attack, but reflects a broader rise in extreme right-wing terrorism in Britain.

Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood called Wednesday’s violence an "abhorrent, antisemitic attack" and said the elevated threat level would be a source of concern for many, "particularly amongst our Jewish community, who have suffered so much."

BELGIUM DEPLOYS MILITARY TO PROTECT JEWISH SITES AFTER ANTISEMITIC SYNAGOGUE EXPLOSION

Police said officers were called to Highfield Avenue in the Barnet borough at about 11:16 a.m. Wednesday following reports of multiple stabbings.

Two men, ages 76 and 34, were treated at the scene for stab wounds before being taken to a hospital, where they remain and are "being looked after," Assistant Commissioner Laurence Taylor said.

On Thursday, police identified the suspect as 45-year-old Essa Suleiman. Suleiman is a British national born in Somalia who had a "history of serious violence and mental health issues", police say.

NEW TERROR GROUP WITH REPORTED IRAN TIES CLAIMS 4 ATTACKS ACROSS EUROPE

The Home Office said the threat-level increase comes against a backdrop of rising terrorism in the U.K.

On Thursday, protesters gathered on Downing Street to voice concerns that not enough has been done to protect the Jewish community.

In response to the attack and a recent rise of antisemitic arson attacks in London, the government announced an additional £25 million in funding to protect Jewish communities, bringing total support this year to £58 million. Officials said the money will be used to boost police patrols and protective security at synagogues, schools and community centers.

RECORD ANTISEMITIC INCIDENTS IN CANADA FUEL CRITICISM OF CARNEY GOVERNMENT RESPONSE

The funding will also support an expansion of Project Servator, which deploys specialist and plainclothes officers trained to spot suspicious behavior and identify people preparing to commit serious crimes.

Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Saar said the British government cannot credibly claim to be combating antisemitism unless it also confronts what he described as "explicit incitement against the Jewish state."

"Hate slogans and anti-Semitic marches in the streets of London aren’t 'free speech'. They are incitement," he wrote on X. "They bring terror directed against Jews.
They must be banned. The phrase 'Globalise the Intifada', means killing Jews everywhere. It must be banned."

"This is what the British government must immediately do to fight antisemitism. Otherwise, it’s just more empty words."

Taylor said the attack has now been formally classified as terrorism and that counterterrorism officers are working with security services to establish the full circumstances and develop a complete intelligence picture.

"Whilst I must stress this investigation is at an early stage, we are working quickly to understand exactly what happened," Taylor said.

BOULDER TERROR ATTACK LATEST IN ANTISEMITIC INCIDENTS RISING ACROSS US IN 2025

A statement posted on X by Shomrim, a volunteer neighborhood watch group in Orthodox Jewish communities, said the suspect was seen "armed with a knife" on Golders Green Road and was detained by members before police arrived.

Detective Chief Superintendent Luke Williams said officers "swiftly Tasered and arrested the suspect before he could cause further harm," adding that investigators are "considering all possible motives" and will maintain a visible police presence in the area.

The U.K. was last at the "severe" threat level in November 2021, following the Liverpool Women’s Hospital bombing and the killing of lawmaker Sir David Amess, before it was lowered to "substantial" in February 2022.

British Prime Minister Keir Starmer condemned the violence, calling attacks on Jewish residents "an attack on Britain," while London Mayor Sadiq Khan said there is "no place for antisemitism" in the city.

Fox News' Bradford Betz and The Associated Press contributed to this report.

Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz warned Thursday that Israel may soon resume military action against Iran, signaling that despite what he described as devastating setbacks to Tehran, Israel views the broader campaign as potentially unfinished.

Speaking at a ceremony promoting the incoming Israeli Air Force commander, Katz said Iran had been pushed "years backward" in the past year but suggested Israel may soon need to act again to secure long-term strategic goals.

"Iran has suffered extremely severe blows over the past year, blows that set it back years in every field," Katz said.

Still, Katz’s sharpest warning suggested that despite the current ceasefire, Israeli leaders do not see the confrontation with Iran as resolved. 

ISRAELI OFFICIALS REPORTEDLY WARN IRAN'S BALLISTIC MISSILES COULD TRIGGER SOLO MILITARY ACTION AGAINST TEHRAN

Instead, his remarks mirror President Donald Trump’s insistence that pressure on Iran will continue until its capacity to rebuild is curtailed. 

"The blockade stays until there’s a real deal," Trump said Thursday, according to Axios, signaling that Washington intends to maintain pressure until Iran addresses U.S. demands over its nuclear program and broader security concerns.

"We support this effort and provide the necessary backing, but it is possible that soon we will be required to act again to ensure the achievement of those goals," Katz said.

The warning came as Israel’s Defense Ministry announced a dramatic military resupply surge, with two cargo ships docking in Ashdod and Haifa and multiple transport aircraft arriving within 24 hours, carrying roughly 6,500 tons of military equipment, including thousands of air and ground munitions, military trucks and combat vehicles.

Since the start of Operation Roaring Lion military campaign against Iran, Israel says more than 115,600 tons of military equipment have arrived through 403 flights and 10 maritime shipments, underscoring what Israeli officials describe as preparations for sustained or expanded conflict. 

IRAN’S NUCLEAR CAPABILITIES CRUSHED, BUT REGIME’S DESIRE FOR THE BOMB MAY PERSIST

Maj. Gen. (ret.) Yaakov Amidror, former Israeli national security advisor, told Fox News Digital that Washington and Jerusalem are now seriously preparing for two possible paths: a prolonged blockade designed to economically exhaust Iran, or renewed military action.

"Israel and the United States are seriously preparing for two real options, and the decision, when it comes, could be made very quickly," Amidror said. "One is to continue the siege, a blockade that can slowly exhaust Iran. The other is war."

Amidror, who is currently a distinguished fellow at the Jewish Institute for National Security of America, said the extensive U.S. logistical buildup suggests Washington is preparing for either path.

"The Americans are building logistics, moving forces, and preparing very seriously," he said. "At some point, they may feel they are so ready that leadership says, ‘We are prepared, let’s go.’"

But he emphasized that for Israel, resuming military action would likely be easier and faster.

"For Israel, it is easier," Amidror said. "We need less logistics. We are already in the region, rebuilding strength, improving intelligence and accumulating power while Iran’s capabilities are being weakened."

Iran’s U.N. mission declined to comment.

Secretary of State Marco Rubio warned China that "the sovereignty of our hemisphere is non-negotiable" after the U.S. and regional allies accused Beijing of detaining Panama-flagged ships in a dispute tied to canal port control.

In a joint statement with Bolivia, Costa Rica, Guyana, Paraguay and Trinidad and Tobago, the U.S. said China’s actions targeting Panama-flagged vessels were a "blatant attempt to politicize maritime trade" and infringe on regional sovereignty, framing the dispute as a broader strategic test over control of one of the world’s most critical commercial arteries.

While the Panama dispute centers on shipping detentions rather than a physical blockade, critics increasingly view it alongside battles over other strategic choke points, such as the Strait of Hormuz, as part of a widening contest over whether Beijing or Washington will shape the rules governing global trade and energy corridors.

IRAN’S $800M OIL SMUGGLING SCHEME USES TANKERS POSING AS IRAQI SHIPS TO DODGE BLOCKADE

The confrontation follows Panama’s Supreme Court decision earlier in 2026 to invalidate the legal framework behind Hong Kong-based CK Hutchison’s long-held control of the Balboa and Cristobal terminals flanking the Panama Canal, a choke point that handles roughly 5% of global maritime trade. 

U.S. regulators have monitored nearly 70 Panama-flagged vessels detained by Chinese authorities since March 8, according to Reuters — a surge American officials say appears designed to retaliate against Panama and pressure global shipping.

"China has used Iran to destabilize the Middle East. In effect, Iran has been China’s proxy," China expert Gordon Chang told Fox News Digital, arguing Beijing’s actions in Panama fit a broader global pattern in which China uses economic leverage, trade pressure and regional partners to expand influence while condemning similar tactics from Washington.

Chang said Beijing is now facing growing resistance as the U.S. increasingly moves not only against China directly, but also against governments and geopolitical flash points he argues have strengthened Beijing’s hand.

"Trump apparently decided that he would counter this sly tactic by taking China’s proxies — Venezuela, Cuba and Iran — off the board," Chang said.

HOUSE REPUBLICANS INTRODUCE BILL TO REPURCHASE PANAMA CANAL AFTER TRUMP RAISES CONCERNS OF CHINESE CONTROL

He also framed pressure on Iran and threats to the Strait of Hormuz as part of a larger strategic effort aimed at both Tehran and Beijing.

"Closing the Strait of Hormuz is a two-fer, starving Iran’s regime and shaking China’s already fragile economy," Chang said. "Trump is using energy to reorder the world."

Chang also accused Beijing of hypocrisy over trade.

"China’s Communists invented hypocrisy. Nobody does hypocrisy better than the Chinese Communists," he said, arguing that China long benefited from a global trading system it increasingly weaponized for geopolitical purposes.

"The elemental truth is that China started this cycle of action and retaliation," Chang said. "If China had not threatened America, America would not have leaned on Panama. If America had not leaned on Panama, China would not have detained Panamanian vessels."

China has rejected accusations that it is politicizing trade, with its foreign ministry arguing U.S. criticism reflects Washington’s own strategic ambitions around the canal.

China's Foreign Ministry called the statement on Wednesday "entirely baseless and misleading", said it would take steps to safeguard China's interests in Panama, and accused the United States of politicizing ports, according to Reuters.

"China also urges the relevant countries not to be deceived or exploited by malevolent forces," added Lin Jian, a Foreign Ministry spokesperson.

Fox News Digital reached out to the Chinese Embassy in Washington, D.C., for comment but did not receive a response in time for publication.

Reuters contributed to this article.

As the leader of President Barack Obama’s negotiating team on the nuclear agreement with Iran, Wendy Sherman launched a no-holds-barred attack on President Donald Trump’s Iran strategy over the weekend.

Sherman, who served as undersecretary of state for political affairs during the Obama administration and as deputy secretary of state under President Joe Biden, took aim at Trump’s Iran policy in recent interviews.

Sherman’s assault on the Trump administration’s war strategy in a Bloomberg News interview raised eyebrows because it comes at a time when the administration is inflicting enormous economic pressure on Tehran’s rulers via the U.S. blockade of the Strait of Hormuz.

TRUMP UNLEASHES ON OBAMA'S 'DISASTER' IRAN NUCLEAR DEAL, SAYS HE WAS 'HONORED' TO RIP IT APART

Having played a key role in sealing the widely criticized 2015 nuclear deal with Iran, which Trump withdrew from in 2018, she slammed Trump’s Iran plan in the Bloomberg interview. "He doesn’t have a strategy. He’s very tactical [and] very transactional — as he was as a developer. In this case, I don’t think that approach will work."

She added, "He has cost our alliances, American taxpayers, 13 American lives, our inventory of weapons, our ability to project power abroad."

In response to her controversial comments, State Department spokesperson Tommy Pigott strongly pushed back, telling Fox News Digital, "She was literally part of the team that handed the Iranian regime billions of dollars and a roadmap to a nuclear weapon. She has no credibility. The facts: Under the previous administration, wars broke out, and our enemies grew stronger. Under President Trump, historic peace deals have been signed — including an unprecedented peace plan for Gaza — and the Iranian regime will never obtain a nuclear weapon."

NUCLEAR EXPERTS WARN IRAN’S URANIUM ‘RIGHT’ IS A MYTH, SAY TRUMP IS RIGHT TO HOLD FIRM

Harvard Law professor Alan Dershowitz, who just dropped his Democratic Party membership by registering as a Republican, told Fox News Digital: "She is the primary villain of the deal that gave Iran a nuclear bomb. She has no credibility. If Iran develops a bomb, it should put her name on it."

Adding to the growing anti-Israel sentiment among Democrats, Sherman also attacked Israel in the interview. She said, without giving any evidence, "I also believe that Prime Minister [Benjamin Netanyahu] has led us down a road — and we have been part of it — that has, in essence, created a genocide in Gaza that has destabilized the Middle East."

When asked about Sherman’s criticism of Israel, Dershowitz said, "She is a bigot and anti-Israel. She sees everything through the lens of Barack Obama."

Obama faced criticism during his tenure for his alleged anti-Israel policies, including allowing an anti-Israel U.N. Security Council resolution to pass in the last days of his presidency.

In a Wall Street Journal opinion article last week, Dershowitz wrote: "The Democratic Party has become the most anti-Israel party in U.S. history. Last week, all but seven Senate Democrats voted for an arms embargo against the Jewish state… There is no denying that the hard left, anti-Israel wing of the Democratic Party has moved from the fringe to the mainstream."

Asked to respond to the criticism of her remarks on Iran, Israel and Dershowitz’s comments, Solveig Reeker, a representative for Sherman, told Fox News Digital, "I'm sorry Ambassador Sherman is not available at this time and must decline."

Sanctioned tankers disguised as Iraqi vessels are moving hundreds of millions of dollars in Iranian crude as President Donald Trump doubled down on the port blockade to squeeze Tehran’s oil lifeline, according to maritime intelligence.

Windward AI claimed Wednesday that a group of U.S.-sanctioned tankers are falsifying their location data to come off as anchored off Iraq while secretly loading Iranian oil at Iranian ports.

"Among the tankers spoofing their location in the area identified by Windward are four VLCCs: Alicia (IMO 9281695), RHN (IMO 9208215), Star Forest (9237632), and Aqua (IMO 9248473), using various flags, including fraudulent registries from Curacao and Malawi," the firm told Fox News Digital.

"For the four VLCCs, each VLCC can hold about 2 million barrels, so four of them would hold 8 million barrels, worth about $800 million at $100 per barrel," Windward said.

TRUMP CASTS MADURO’S OUSTER AS ‘SMART’ MOVE AS RUSSIA, CHINA ENTER THE FRAY

This came as Trump said Wednesday he will keep Iran under a naval blockade until it agrees to a deal addressing U.S. concerns about its nuclear program.

The U.S. administration has demanded that Iran dismantle its uranium enrichment program, while Tehran maintains that enrichment is a sovereign right and nonnegotiable, leaving little room for compromise.

Windward AI noted a "cluster" sanctioned tankers spoofing locations and sighted to the West of the Strait of Hormuz.

"A cluster of 10 Iran-trading, U.S.-sanctioned tankers is now spoofing its AIS location to falsely appear at anchorages off Basrah, Iraq, as the blockade continues to constrict Iranian ports," Windward explained.

"The vessels identified by Windward Multi-Source Intelligence are manipulating their signals to create a digital alibi," the intelligence firm claimed.

"By broadcasting fake destination messages to Iraqi ports, the tankers appear to be in Iraqi waters while covertly sailing to Iran to load sanctioned oil.

US AND UKRAINE TARGET 1,000-VESSEL 'DARK FLEET' SMUGGLING SANCTIONED OIL WORLDWIDE

"Once loaded, the vessels re-emerge on AIS to suggest a legitimate Iraqi origin for the cargo."

The U.S. blockade on Iranian ports began April 13 as part of a broader effort to pressure Iran into renegotiating limits on its nuclear program.

The blockade has unfolded in stages, starting with naval deployments and restricted maritime enforcement to limit Iran’s oil exports and economic activity.

Windward said more than two dozen tankers are currently confined west of Hormuz as of Wednesday, with the blockade cutting Iranian oil loadings and exports by more than half.

"This deceptive practice is under intensified scrutiny as the vessels are part of a larger group of more than two dozen tankers currently confined west of Hormuz," the firm said.

"The handysize tanker Paola and Long Range One tanker Adena, both signaling ‘Iraqi owner’ but linked to a sanctioned network."

TRUMP DECLARES 'VENEZUELAN REGIME' A FOREIGN TERRORIST ORGANIZATION, ORDERS OIL TANKER BLOCKADE

The firm claimed three medium-range tankers, including Aqualis, Kush and Charminar, and the LPG carrier Royal H (IMO 9155341), which was newly sanctioned in February, are currently displaying "erratic voyage trails to suggest a loading at the Iraqi port of Khor Al Zubair."

"The tell-tale spoofing signs, including erratic patterns and fake port signals, highlight the shifting tactics used by the dark fleet as the blockade more than halves Iranian oil loadings and exports," the firm said.

Meanwhile. Iran’s Mohammad Ghalibaf slammed U.S. policymakers Wednesday, including Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, over the impact of the U.S. blockade of Iranian ports.

The parliamentary speaker cited "junk advice" and blamed the Treasury for pushing up oil prices.

"Three days in, no well exploded," Ghalibaf said in a post shared on X.

Russia has built what human rights investigators describe as a global pipeline recruiting vulnerable foreign nationals into its war against Ukraine, drawing tens of thousands from more than 130 countries through what groups allege are coercive, deceptive and in some cases trafficking-like practices.

After suffering major battlefield losses and seeking to avoid another politically risky domestic mobilization, Moscow institutionalized a worldwide recruitment system targeting some of the world’s most vulnerable populations to sustain its war machine, a new report by the International Federation for Human Rights (FIDH), Truth Hounds and the Kazakhstan International Bureau for Human Rights argues. 

Russia has recruited at least 27,000 foreign nationals since February 2022 from countries across Central and South Asia, Africa, the Middle East and Latin America, according to the report. Ukrainian authorities cited in the report project that Russia could recruit another 18,500 foreign nationals in 2026 alone, which would mark the highest annual total since the full-scale invasion began.

AS WAR LOSSES NEAR 2 MILLION, RUSSIA ACCUSED OF TRAFFICKING FOREIGN RECRUITS FROM AFRICA, ASIA

"This report highlights something fundamental: that the use of foreign fighters by Russia is neither a marginal nor a spontaneous phenomenon. Russia has built a global recruitment system that deliberately targets the most vulnerable populations — undocumented migrants, detainees, precarious workers, or even foreign students — across dozens of countries in Asia, Africa, and Latin America," said Alexis Deswaef, president of the International Federation for Human Rights. 

"Many of these men knew in some capacity what they were signing up for. But some were also deceived or coerced. But in all cases, it is a State that has instrumentalised them as part of its war machine and sent them to the most dangerous positions on the frontline."

The report’s central allegation is that Russia’s recruitment apparatus extends far beyond traditional mercenary networks and instead functions as a state-enabled global system that exploits poverty, legal vulnerability and migration insecurity.

Investigators say recruitment evolved from relying primarily on ideologically motivated volunteers early in the war to a broader institutionalized model by mid-2023, after Russia expanded legal eligibility for foreign nationals, eased language and residency requirements, and offered citizenship and financial incentives in exchange for service.

NORTH KOREAN LABORERS DESCRIBE BRUTAL FORCED LABOR IN RUSSIA: "WORKING LIKE A COW, EARNING NOTHING"

In some cases, according to the report, migrants inside Russia were allegedly pressured to enlist through raids, detention threats, document confiscation, fabricated criminal charges and abuse. Outside Russia, recruits were often allegedly lured through promises of civilian jobs, noncombat positions or pathways to Europe, only to be routed into military contracts they often could not read.

Of 16 prisoners of war interviewed for the report, 13 said they were told they would not be required to fight, but were later deployed to frontline positions, often within weeks.

The report also alleges many foreign recruits were funneled into so-called "meat assaults" — high-risk frontal attacks associated with severe casualty rates. Ukrainian estimates cited in the report say at least 3,388 foreign fighters have been killed, with some estimates suggesting one in five recruits may not survive deployment.

HEGSETH WARNS RUSSIA AS SIGNS POINT TO MOSCOW SHARING INTEL WITH IRAN 

"Despite the fact that many states are taking measures to curb recruitment, and although Russia claims it is no longer recruiting citizens from certain countries, the predatory recruitment continues. Ukrainian authorities predict that in 2026 Russia will engage more 18,500 foreign nationals, marking the highest annual figure since 2022," said Maria Tomak, associated researcher and advocacy expert at Truth Hounds.

"This underscores the continued relevance of our report. Our primary objective remains clear: to halt recruitment and to compel Russia to repatriate those already recruited."

The report stops short of claiming every foreign fighter was trafficked, noting some enlisted voluntarily for financial gain, but concludes there are reasonable grounds to believe at least some cases meet international definitions of trafficking in persons through deception, coercion and exploitation.

For investigators, the broader concern is that Russia’s war effort may now depend in part on a transnational manpower pipeline that weaponizes global inequality, drawing economically desperate men from around the world into one of Europe’s deadliest conflicts.

The report calls on governments, international organizations and Ukraine’s allies to crack down on recruitment networks, pressure Moscow diplomatically and push for repatriation of foreign nationals already caught in Russia’s military system.

Fox News Digital reached out to the Russian Embassy in Washington, D.C., and Russia’s Defense Ministry for comment but did not receive a response.

Leaked remarks from Britain’s ambassador to the U.S. suggesting Washington’s "one true special relationship" is with Israel — not the United Kingdom — have sparked political backlash in London.

Sir Christian Turner reportedly told a group of British students earlier in 2026 that the United States’ one true "special relationship" is "probably Israel," not the United Kingdom, according to leaked audio first reported by the Financial Times. 

The remarks, made privately but leaked publicly during King Charles III and Queen Camilla’s high-profile visit to Washington and New York amid efforts to repair strained relations, have placed fresh scrutiny on Britain’s standing in Washington at a particularly sensitive diplomatic moment.

Turner reportedly stressed that Britain’s ties with the U.S. remain deeply intertwined, particularly on defense and security. 

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

"There is a deep history and affinity between us. Particularly on defence and security, we are intertwined," according to leaked audio cited by British media. "The relationship will carry on, if you want, being ‘special,’ but I think it’s going to have to be different." 

Turner also said, according to the transcript, that Britain and Europe must "work to redefine" their relationship with Washington, particularly in terms of defense, rather than relying on a U.S. security umbrella. 

The leak comes after recent strains between Trump and British Prime Minister Keir Starmer, including disagreements over Britain’s posture toward U.S.–Israeli military action against Iran. Trump previously criticized Starmer publicly, saying he was "not Winston Churchill."

An embassy spokesperson and a U.K. Foreign Office spokesperson sought to distance the government from the leaked remarks, telling Fox News Digital: "These were private, informal comments made to a group of U.K. sixth-form students visiting the U.S. in early February. They are certainly not any reflection of the U.K. government’s position."

The wide-ranging informal discussion, the spokesperson explained, focused on diplomacy and the political issues of the day that students asked questions about, stressing that the remarks were clearly never intended as on-record statements of government policy.

PRINCE WILLIAM VIEWS TRUMP RELATIONSHIP AS KEY TO MONARCHY'S FUTURE: EXPERT

Still, the controversy raises broader questions that extend beyond diplomatic optics: whether the symbolic "special relationship" between Washington and London has been eclipsed by more immediate U.S. strategic priorities, particularly Israel’s central role in American Middle East security calculations.

Barak Seener, senior fellow at the London-based Henry Jackson Society, said Turner’s remarks reflected a hard strategic reality rather than a diplomatic blunder.

"Ambassador Christian Turner was giving a realistic assessment that echoed President Trump’s criticism of NATO, calling it a ‘paper tiger’ for not contributing to joint U.S.-Israel-led operations against Iran," Seener told Fox News Digital.

Seener pointed to his recent report, "Israel 2048: A Blueprint for an Asymmetric Geopolitical Power," arguing that Israel’s expanding military capabilities increasingly function as a force multiplier for U.S. regional interests. By contrast, Seener argued, Britain’s modern strategic value has weakened despite its historic rhetoric.

"King Charles, in his recent speech to the U.S. Congress, was forced to emphasise the U.K. and U.S.’s shared culture and history rather than recent military contributions simply because the U.K.’s naval and military capabilities have been completely hollowed out," Seener said.

He added that Charles’ invocation of past joint sacrifices "does not bear any relevance to today" given Britain’s reported refusal to allow U.S. use of Royal Air Force bases for strikes on Iran.

The White House, however, emphasized continuity over controversy, telling Fox News Digital that, "President Trump has enjoyed welcoming Their Majesties to the White House this week, including yesterday morning, when he highlighted the historic, special relationship between the United States and the United Kingdom," White House spokesperson Anna Kelly said.

"The events of this visit are unprecedented in scope and spectacle, and the President enjoyed hosting a beautiful State Dinner yesterday evening," she added.

Two people were stabbed in north London on Wednesday in an attack that police have now formally declared a terrorist incident, prompting a major emergency response and an ongoing counterterrorism investigation.

Assistant Commissioner Laurence Taylor, the Metropolitan Police’s counterterrorism chief, said the attack has been officially classified as terrorism as investigators work to determine the motive and whether the Jewish community was deliberately targeted.

Officers were called to Highfield Avenue in the Barnet borough at about 11:16 a.m. following reports of multiple stabbings, according to the Metropolitan Police. Local and armed officers responded alongside the London Ambulance Service.

A 45-year-old man was arrested on suspicion of attempted murder and remains in custody, police said. Authorities are working to determine his nationality and background.

Two men, ages 76 and 34, were treated at the scene for stab wounds before being taken to a hospital, where they remain and are "being looked after," Taylor said.

SYNAGOGUE IN LONDON TARGETED IN ATTEMPTED 'ANTISEMITIC HATE CRIME,' UK POLICE SAY

Police said the suspect also attacked responding officers before he was subdued with a Taser. No officers were injured.

Counterterrorism officers are leading the investigation, working with security services to establish the full circumstances and develop a complete intelligence picture, Taylor said.

"Whilst I must stress this investigation is at an early stage, we are working quickly to understand exactly what happened," Counter Terrorism Policing head Laurence Taylor said.

NYC POLICE HUNT SUSPECT ACCUSED OF STABBING JEWISH MAN IN CHEST WHILE MAKING ANTISEMITIC STATEMENTS

The stabbing unfolded in the Barnet area, near Golders Green, which is known for its large Jewish community. Authorities have indicated the case is being treated as a potentially antisemitic incident, though motive has not been confirmed.

The stabbing unfolded in the Barnet area, near Golders Green, which is known for its large Jewish community, and police said one line of inquiry is whether the attack deliberately targeted London’s Jewish community, though a motive has not been confirmed.

A statement posted on X by Shomrim, a volunteer neighborhood watch group in Orthodox Jewish communities, said a man was seen "armed with a knife" on Golders Green Road and was detained by members before police arrived. The group claimed the suspect attempted to target Jewish members of the public — a detail police have not independently confirmed.

GUILTY VERDICTS IN ISIS PLOT POLICE SAY COULD HAVE BEEN 'THE DEADLIEST TERRORIST ATTACK IN UK HISTORY'

Shomrim said two victims were treated by Hatzola, a volunteer emergency medical service.

Detective Chief Superintendent Luke Williams said officers "swiftly Tasered and arrested the suspect before he could cause further harm," adding that investigators are "considering all possible motives" and will maintain a visible police presence in the area.

ANTISEMITISM WATCHDOG SLAMS UK GOVERNMENT RESPONSE TO 70K RALLY AGAINST JEW-HATRED

Williams said police are "aware of the significant distress and concern this incident is likely to cause," and will remain in the area to carry out inquiries and reassure residents.

The attack comes amid heightened concern over antisemitic incidents across the United Kingdom. Authorities are examining recent incidents in London but have not established any direct connection.

‘ACT OF VIOLENCE’: NEW JERSEY RABBI INJURED IN SUSPECTED HATE CRIME BEFORE JEWISH HOLIDAY

British Prime Minister Keir Starmer condemned the violence, calling attacks on Jewish residents "an attack on Britain," while London Mayor Sadiq Khan said there is "no place for antisemitism" in the city.

Conservative MP Kemi Badenoch said, "Jewish people in our country are under constant attack. This is no longer a growing pattern. There is an epidemic of violence against Jewish people. It is now a national emergency and needs to be treated as such by the Government and public authorities."

Dov Forman, a Golders Green resident and Holocaust educator, described the attack as part of what he sees as a broader and deeply concerning trend.

UK STABBING, VEHICLE ATTACK INJURES 4 OUTSIDE SYNAGOGUE, POLICE SAY

"Yet again, terror has been brought to our doorstep here in Golders Green, in the heart of London’s Jewish community," Forman said. "Earlier today, two visibly Jewish men were stabbed in what is being described as an antisemitic attack. For many, this is not being seen as an isolated act of violence, but as part of a broader and deeply troubling pattern. There is growing concern that extemist rhetoric and Islamist extremism, including calls to ‘globalize the intifada,’ has helped fuel an environment in which hatred against Jews is increasingly normalized, unchecked, and dangerously emboldened."

Israeli President Isaac Herzog said he was "horrified by yet another violent attack on Jews in broad daylight on the streets of London" and called for urgent action.

"No Jew anywhere in the world should be a target because of their faith," Herzog said, adding that authorities must act "before the next antisemitic attack occurs."

Authorities urged anyone with information to contact police as the investigation continues.

The number of antisemitic incidents reported across the U.K. has soared since the Oct. 7, 2023, attack by Hamas on Israel and the subsequent Gaza war, according to the Community Security Trust. The group recorded 3,700 incidents in 2025, up from 1,662 in 2022.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

The Canadian government led by Prime Minister Mark Carney is facing renewed criticism that it is not doing enough to curb antisemitism as a new report shows record numbers of hate crimes against the nation's Jewish population. 

On Monday, human rights organization B’nai Brith Canada’s League for Human Rights released a report showing that 6,800 antisemitic incidents took place in the country in 2025, representing a 9.4% increase over 2024. On average, this represented 18.6 incidents a day, and was the "highest volume" the group has recorded since it began tracking incidents.

Just last week, Canada’s Standing Senate Committee on Human Rights released a report on the rise of antisemitism in Canada following the Hamas attacks of Oct. 7, 2023. The committee issued 22 recommendations for the Canadian government to address the tide of anti-Jewish hate.

FROM AUSCHWITZ, HOLOCAUST SURVIVOR ISSUES URGENT WARNING OVER RISING ANTISEMITISM IN CANADA

The recommendations span the gamut of expanding research into hate crime data, improving security funding, addressing the display of hate symbols, expanding social media and digital literacy, and increasing educational resources for professionals teachers and students.

In one recommendation, the report addressed the prime minister directly, asking that he reinstate the position of a Special Envoy on Preserving Holocaust Remembrance and Combating Antisemitism. Carney eliminated this position in February along with the combating Islamophobia position, integrating them into a different office. His office did not respond to Fox News Digital’s inquiry about whether he intends to follow the recommendation.

While some welcomed the report, several Jewish Canadians expressed concern whether it accurately identified drivers of antisemitism.

The report does not mention Islamic extremism, and only occasionally mentions anti-Zionist fervor, often describing it using the words of other institutions and respondents.

VIOLENT MOB ATTACKS PRO-ISRAEL GATHERING IN TORONTO DAYS AFTER MAYOR’S ‘GENOCIDE IN GAZA’ REMARKS

"It is deeply troubling and bewildering that the Senate report doesn’t even reference religious radicalism as a problem," Rabbi Elchanan Poupko, host of The Jewish World podcast, told Fox News Digital.

"The reluctance to identify the radicals is itself evidence of ignorance and bias," he said. "By their silence, politicians are implying that they think the broad Muslim community is supportive of the radicals and therefore fear alienating that community by denouncing the radicals. Truth be told, it is often that moderate Muslims are the first who suffer at the hands of radical elements."

Poupko added that it "is notoriously difficult to quantify with any degree of certainty what percentage of Canadian Muslims support the radicals," but said "it is certainly far from a majority."

CANADA’S CARNEY UNDER PRESSURE TO ACT AFTER SYNAGOGUES SHOT AT IN LATEST ANTISEMITIC INCIDENTS

The Canadian Muslim Public Affairs Council raised concerns of its own about the Senate’s recommendations. Though it "reaffirm[ed] that combating antisemitism is essential to protecting all communities in Canada," the group stated on X that "certain recommendations… raise serious concerns about potential impacts on Charter-protected freedoms, including protest and expression" and suggested "efforts to address hate" should "not inadvertently limit civil rights, restrict lawful advocacy or disproportionately marginalize communities."

Aviva Klompas, CEO and co-founder of Boundless Israel, told Fox News Digital that she applauds the report’s recommendations of "creating safety zones around religious institutions and community spaces, strengthening hate crime enforcement and education," but does not "think it fully accounts for the multiple dimensions driving this immediate surge, including Islamic extremism and the ways anti-Zionism is used as a cover to target Jews."

There are concerns about whether the Senate’s recommendations are sufficient to address the current climate of anti-Jewish hate. Poupko said, "Antisemitism is too generic a term to describe what is now the problem," adding that the "‘old’ solutions, like education, police training and Holocaust awareness are clearly insufficient to meet the challenge."

Klompas says she "appreciate[s] that a plan is being put into place" but is concerned "that it doesn’t meet the urgency of the moment. Jewish schools have been shot at, synagogues repeatedly targeted and Jewish-owned businesses vandalized."

She questioned whether anyone would "gamble on a new task force or education training programs to keep your family and friends safe at a moment when they are actively under attack?"

Ian McLeod, senior media relations advisor at the Canadian Department of Justice, told Fox News Digital, "The Government of Canada is taking concrete action to counter hate in all its forms, including antisemitism, and reinforce that our society will not tolerate anyone being made to feel afraid because of who they are, how they worship or where they gather." The spokesperson noted that many of the Senate’s recommendations "reflect these actions."

Among the initiatives McLeod said were already underway is Canada’s Action Plan on Combating Hate (CAPCH), launched in September 2024, "which brings new and existing initiatives together to foster greater coordination and collaboration among federal organizations to prevent and address hate."  

During the same year, McLeod said the Canadian government "announced over $273 million to support community safety, improve responses to hate crimes, help victims, and counter radicalization."

SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — A South Korean appeals court on Wednesday sentenced ousted President Yoon Suk Yeol to seven years in prison for resisting arrest and bypassing a legitimate Cabinet meeting before his brief imposition of martial law in December 2024.

The conviction for obstruction of justice and other charges comes on top of a life sentence he has already received on rebellion charges stemming from his baffling authoritarian push, which triggered the most serious crisis for the country’s democracy in decades.

Judge Yoon Sung-sik of the Seoul High Court said the conservative former president sidestepped a legally mandated full Cabinet meeting before declaring martial law, falsified documents to conceal the lapse, and deployed security officials "like a private army" to resist law enforcement efforts to arrest him in the weeks following his impeachment. Former President Yoon stood quietly as the verdict was delivered and made no comment.

SOUTH KOREAN COURT RULES EX‑PRESIDENT YOON SUK YEOL GUILTY IN INSURRECTION TRIAL

Yoo Jeong-hwa, one of Yoon’s lawyers, called the verdict "very disappointing" and said the legal team would appeal to the Supreme Court. Yoon has also appealed his life sentence.

A lower court in January sentenced Yoon to five years in prison but partially cleared him of abuse-of-power charges tied to the Cabinet meeting ahead of the martial law declaration, finding he was not responsible for the failure to attend of two members who were invited.

The Seoul High Court reversed that acquittal, finding him guilty on all counts and ruling that he violated the rights of those two as well as seven other Cabinet members who weren’t notified by convening only a select few to simulate a formal meeting.

SOUTH KOREAN PROSECUTOR SEEKS DEATH PENALTY FOR EX-PRESIDENT YOON OVER MARTIAL LAW DECLARATION: 'SELF-COUP'

Though brief, Yoon’s Dec. 3, 2024, martial law decree threw the country into a severe political crisis, paralyzing politics and high-level diplomacy and rattling financial markets. The turmoil eased only after his liberal rival, Lee Jae Myung, won an early presidential election in June.

Yoon was suspended from office on Dec. 14, 2024, after being impeached by the liberal-led legislature and was formally removed by the Constitutional Court in April 2025.

Following his suspension from office, he refused to comply with a Seoul court's warrant to detain him for questioning, setting up a standoff in which dozens of investigators arrived at the presidential residence in early January 2025 but were blocked by presidential security forces and vehicle barricades. He was detained later that month, released by another court in March, and was then re-arrested in July.

He remained in custody after that as a series of criminal trials, which are continuing, began.

Wednesday’s ruling came a day after the same court increased to four years the sentence of Yoon’s wife, Kim Keon Hee, for charges including accepting luxury gifts from the Unification Church, which sought political favors from Yoon’s government, and involvement in a stock price manipulation scheme.

Prosecutors in a separate trial last week also requested a 30-year prison term for Yoon over allegations that he deliberately tried to escalate tensions with North Korea in 2024 by ordering drone flights over Pyongyang as he sought to create justifiable conditions for martial law at home.

EXCLUSIVE: A surge in online claims warning of famine in Gaza is gaining traction across social media and international outlets, but newly surfaced data reviewed by Fox News Digital from the United Nations, the Board of Peace and the Israeli military tells a sharply different story. 

The figures were shared at a meeting of the Ad Hoc Liaison Committee (AHLC), a forum that coordinates international aid to the Palestinians, by the Board of Peace and described as based on reporting from the U.N.

Children aged 6 to 59 months admitted for acute malnutrition treatment rose from 2,807 cases in January 2025 to a peak of 17,384 in August 2025 before declining steadily to 3,043 in March 2026, an approximately 83% drop, according to the data. 

EYEWITNESS TO FIGHTING HAMAS TERRORISTS IN GAZA'S DEADLY NETZARIM CORRIDOR: 'THE CHALLENGES ARE CONSTANT'

The figures challenge a rapidly spreading narrative that Gaza is facing widespread famine, a claim gaining traction across global media and shaping international pressure on Israel.

The dataset also indicates that most remaining cases are now classified as "moderate" or linked to chronic medical and genetic conditions requiring sustained support.

Separate figures presented at the same meeting, collected by the Board of Peace, show a sharp increase in humanitarian aid delivery following the establishment of the Civil-Military Coordination Center (CMCC) in October 2025. The U.S.-led, multinational hub, located in Israel, is designed to manage post-war Gaza stabilization. 

The Civil-Military Coordination Center oversees aid delivery, monitors a U.S.-brokered ceasefire, and coordinates efforts with 60 nations and organizations.

The figures show weekly truck deliveries into Gaza rose from approximately 1,300 to 4,200, while the percentage of trucks diverted en route dropped from roughly 90% to just 1% post-Civil-Military Coordination Center. 

The number of people reached with food assistance increased from about 400,000 before the Civil-Military Coordination Center was established to approximately 2.1 million post-coordination center. 

And yet, April has seen a spike in messaging alleging "engineered starvation" in Gaza, according to HonestReporting, a U.S.-based pro-Israel media watchdog, with the narrative spreading from Hamas-linked channels to mainstream platforms in a matter of days. 

"On April 13, our team began seeing posts about soda and Nutella entering Gaza at the same time that Doctors Without Borders accused Israel of trying to ‘destroy the conditions of life,’" said Jacki Alexander, CEO of HonestReporting. "We used our proprietary AI tool to identify whether this was part of a broader pattern, and that analysis formed the basis of our memo."

"Since then, we’ve seen continued use of famine-related language across social media and ideologically aligned outlets," Alexander said. "Content claiming mass starvation has reached millions of views, and the narrative has expanded to include allegations about blocked medical supplies."

The HonestReporting report said the messaging quickly escalated, with viral posts claiming bakeries were shutting down, food supplies were critically low and an "entire generation" of children faced irreversible harm. The narrative, claimed the report, was further reinforced by coverage in outlets including Drop Site News, Middle East Eye, Mondoweiss and Al Jazeera English.

"Hamas understands that its best leverage exists in the information war," Alexander said. 

"That’s why we developed these tools — to document narrative warfare and create a blueprint to dismantle it," Alexander told Fox News Digital. 

ISRAEL ANNOUNCES IMMEDIATE RESUMPTION OF GAZA AID AIRDROPS AMID GROWING HUNGER CRISIS

In an interview with Fox News Digital, Richard Goldberg, a senior advisor at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies nonprofit, said, "What we’re seeing is a recurring pattern in this conflict where the humanitarian narrative is being weaponized."

Goldberg argued that the timing of the famine claims is tied to growing pressure on Hamas to disarm and to broader diplomatic efforts involving the United States, Arab states and international partners.

"One of those weapons is trying to resurrect a narrative of famine," he said.

Hamas is seeking to "undermine" a coalition involved in shaping Gaza’s post-war future, according to Goldberg, and prevent consensus around next steps. 

"Hamas is the isolated party, and they do not want to disarm," he said.

Goldberg said that, unlike earlier stages of the war, the current environment makes it harder for such claims to take hold. 

"You now have months of ceasefire, and the U.N. and other partners have been directly involved in the humanitarian effort," he said.

"They all have the data… and they are all in a position where there’s a brick wall Hamas is going to find for its disinformation tactics," he added.

WARFARE EXPERT CALLS GAZA REBUILDING PLAN 'DISNEYLAND STRATEGY' TO DEFEAT HAMAS

"What worked against just Israel a year ago cannot work as well against an entire coalition," Goldberg said.

A senior Israeli military official told Fox News Digital that during the ceasefire, humanitarian throughput into Gaza averaged roughly 600 trucks per day, far above what the official said U.N. planning models estimated was required to meet baseline food needs.

"According to the U.N., it’s somewhere between 115 to 130 trucks a day," the official said, while emphasizing that recent aid levels have significantly exceeded that threshold.

The official said that despite temporary disruptions during the Iran conflict, crossings quickly reopened and aid volumes returned to high levels, arguing that current famine allegations are "completely false."

"It’s impossible with the amount of aid that is going in," the official said. "There is no shortage of food in the Gaza Strip for an extended period."

Israel's Coordinator of Government Activities in the Territories (COGAT) similarly told Fox News Digital that Israel’s defense establishment believes Hamas is attempting to exploit global attention shifting toward Iran and Lebanon by pushing renewed humanitarian collapse narratives about Gaza.

Hamas has repeatedly sought throughout the war to portray "a deliberately false narrative of the collapse of the humanitarian system" in Gaza in order to increase international pressure on Israel and shape negotiations, according to COGAT. 

A security official said Hamas intensifies such campaigns whenever diplomatic pressure rises.

"Hamas is trying to stall for time and is using all means to maintain its grip on power," the official said. "Whenever negotiations over an agreement take place, Hamas intensifies false campaigns about the humanitarian situation in the Gaza Strip in order to secure international support through fabricated crises."

Fox News Digital has reached out to the United Nations and the World Food Programme for comment. 

A German tourist has died after a venomous cobra featured in a snake show reportedly slithered up his pants and bit him on the leg, authorities said.

The freak accident occurred early April at a luxury resort destination in Egypt, according to the Bavarian State Police in Germany, which released details Monday.

"During the snake charmer's performance, one of the snakes crawled into the trousers of a 57-year-old man, resulting in a bite to the German tourist's leg," officials said. 

Police said the victim, whose identity was not released, was on vacation with two family members from the Unterallgäu region of Germany.

BILLIONAIRE'S DEATH AFTER SWALLOWING BEE RAISES QUESTIONS ABOUT RARE CARDIAC REACTION

Authorities said the snake charmer event was part of a hotel entertainment program in the resort city of Hurghada, a popular Red Sea destination known for its upscale all-inclusive packages, as well as nearby desert and water excursions.

Two snakes, believed to be cobras, were used in the show, officials said. 

Investigators indicated that it is not uncommon for performers to allow snakes to interact closely with audience members, as some of the snakes were reportedly placed around guests’ necks during the act.

However, during one segment of the performance, a snake reportedly bit the German tourist after crawling into his clothing.

"He subsequently exhibited clear symptoms of poisoning and required resuscitation," officials said. 

He reportedly died shortly after arriving at a local hospital.

LAW STUDENT KILLED BY ELEPHANT DURING VACATION TO THAILAND: OFFICIALS

The results of a toxicological examination are still pending, Bavarian police said.

The investigation is being handled by Germany’s Memmingen Criminal Police Inspectorate under the direction of the Memmingen Public Prosecutor’s Office (MPPO).

Cobras are known for being highly venomous snakes. Their bite can lead to rapid respiratory failure and paralysis without prompt medical treatment.

Fox News Digital has reached out to MPPO for more information.   

A dangerous dissident republican group, the New IRA—linked to Iran and Hezbollah—claimed responsibility Tuesday for a car bomb outside a Belfast police station before warning of further attacks, according to reports.

The blast targeted a Police Service of Northern Ireland station in Dunmurry, with police increasing patrols after the group threatened to target officers at their homes.

A 66-year-old man was also arrested Tuesday under terrorism laws following the explosion, Reuters reported.

In a statement attributed to the "leadership of the IRA," the group said the bomb was meant to kill officers leaving the station. It warned that anyone cooperating with police "will be severely dealt with."

LAWMAKER SAYS IRAN TARGETED HIM IN PHISHING ATTACK DISGUISED AS TV INTERVIEW

A 2020 report by The Times, citing information from an MI5 informant, alleged connections among the New IRA, Lebanon-based Hezbollah, and Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC).

The report said individuals linked to the group signed a book of condolences following the 2020 killing of Iranian Gen. Qassem Soleimani in a U.S. drone strike in Baghdad, raising concerns about possible external support, including weapons and funding.

"The New IRA–Hezbollah link is a useful data point in a much larger pattern: the operationalization of the so-called axis of resistance," former Defense Department intelligence officer Andrew Badger told Fox News Digital.

TRUMP VINDICATED AS EXPLOSIVE REPORT CONFIRMS IRAN SUPERVISES HOUTHI 'POLITICAL AND MILITARY AFFAIRS'

"This joins Russia, Iran, China, North Korea and an expanding bench of aligned non-state actors—into a working logistical and tradecraft network across the globe," Badger said.

"What we are watching is the maturing of a hybrid warfare model, pioneered and led by Russia and Iran, in which adversaries of the Western-led order increasingly share tactics, techniques and procedures (TTPs) across geographies and ideologies," said Badger, the co-author of "The Great Heist."

The New IRA’s latest bombing also follows a similar attempted car bomb attack on another police station outside Belfast just weeks ago. It is one of several militant groups that oppose the 1998 Good Friday Agreement and want to end British rule in Northern Ireland and establish a united Ireland.

BRITAIN DRAGS FEET ON IRGC TERROR DESIGNATION AS IRAN-LINKED CENTER ALLEGEDLY SELLS EXTREMIST MERCHANDISE

It has carried out a series of attacks in recent years targeting police and security forces.

"The real challenge for local Irish police and security services is that these groups now compound each other’s learning," Badger added.

"A tactic battle-tested in one theatre can be in the hands of a dissident cell in another within months—and Western counter-terror structures simply aren’t wired to track that kind of cross-pollination," he said.

"A Lebanese Shia militia training a hard-left Irish republican faction would have looked exotic 10 years ago," he added.

"Today it is consistent with a wider pipeline including Russian sabotage cells using local criminal proxies in Europe and Iranian-directed assassination plots on U.K. and U.S. soil."

"The playbook of these actors—proxies, dual-use logistics, weapons-and-finance pipelines, exploitation of grievance movements in the target country—appear to be converging," Badger added.

EXCLUSIVE: As Iran’s opposition struggles to find a unifying figure amid war, repression and near-total internet blackouts, the husband of jailed Nobel Peace Prize laureate and Iranian human rights activist Narges Mohammadi says his wife remains physically battered but politically unbroken, even as she sits in prison after what he describes as a brutal arrest and beating.

"Narges is a human rights activist and an advocate for civil society," her husband, Taghi Rahmani, told Fox News Digital in an exclusive interview from Europe in exile. "In mobilizing society, and in organizing and shaping civil institutions, she is an active and courageous woman."

At a moment when Iran’s ruling establishment is reeling from the aftermath of U.S. and Israeli strikes, a fragile ceasefire, economic collapse and intensified crackdowns, Mohammadi’s name is emerging in a new light: Not only as a global symbol of resistance, but potentially as one of the few opposition figures whose legitimacy comes from suffering inside the system rather than exile, dynasty or factional politics.

INSIDE TEHRAN AFTER STRIKES: IRANIAN WOMAN DESCRIBES FEAR, CHECKPOINTS AND PEOPLE USED AS ‘HUMAN SHIELDS’

Mohammadi, awarded the 2023 Nobel Peace Prize while imprisoned, has spent decades as one of Iran’s most prominent women’s rights and human rights activists. 

Trained as an engineer and later a journalist, she served as vice president of the Defenders of Human Rights Center, founded by fellow Nobel laureate Shirin Ebadi and became internationally known for campaigning against compulsory hijab laws, solitary confinement, prisoner abuse and the death penalty.

Now, according to her husband, her condition has worsened dramatically.

"Narges is currently detained in Zanjan prison," he said. "She was arrested in Mashhad during the month of Dey (around January) and was severely beaten. During her arrest, she received numerous blows, resulting in severe injuries to her chest, head, body and lungs."

Rahmani said prison medical authorities determined she should be transferred for treatment under her own physician’s supervision in Iran, but that Iran’s Ministry of Intelligence is refusing the transfer and insisting she remain in Zanjan.

"Spiritually and mentally, Narges remains steadfast," he said. "She believes the Islamic Republic is not desirable for the Iranian people, and advocates for a system based on freedom, human rights and open relations with the world. Physically, however, she has sustained severe trauma and urgently requires medical attention."

Rahmani said the last time he spoke with his wife was the night before she left for Mashhad, Iran, where she was later arrested.

His account offers a rare inside look into the life of one of Iran’s most internationally recognized dissidents at a moment when questions over who could realistically lead opposition to the regime are intensifying.

"We hear a great deal about the Iranian opposition, yet media in the free world often lack a precise definition and a full understanding of what the Iranian opposition actually is," Iranian anti-regime activist Maryam Shariatmadari told Fox News Digital.

Shariatmadari, one of the most recognizable faces of Iran’s "Girls of Revolution Street" movement, a wave of anti-regime protests that began in 2017 when Iranian women publicly removed their hijabs and stood in defiance of the country’s mandatory veiling laws, was sentenced to prison in 2018 after publicly removing her hijab in protest.

WHAT'S NEXT FOR IRAN'S TERROR ARMY, THE IRGC, AFTER DEVASTATING MILITARY SETBACKS?

According to Shariatmadari, one camp consists of Iranians who view the 1979 Islamic Revolution itself as the foundational national disaster, believing Iran’s trajectory was derailed when the Shah fell. The second includes former revolutionaries, reformists, communist factions and groups such as the Mujahedin-e Khalq (MEK), many of whom emerged from or once supported the revolutionary system before later opposing it. 

"The first group considers the 1979 revolution a disaster and seeks a return to Iran’s previous path," she said, while the second includes "those who participated in the revolution but later became opposition figures after being excluded from power."

That distinction, she argues, helps explain why Reza Pahlavi, the exiled son of Iran’s last shah, remains uniquely recognizable among many anti-regime Iranians despite spending decades outside the country.

Lisa Daftari, foreign policy analyst and editor-in-chief of The Foreign Desk news platform, told Fox News Digital, "Inside Iran, Pahlavi remains one of the only opposition figures with broad name recognition, and his message clearly resonated during the January protests, which is why his name still carries weight for many Iranians both inside the country and in the diaspora."

Pahlavi himself sharpened that message Friday after a series of European appearances, accusing both European politicians and journalists of ignoring the scale of Iranian suffering.

"I spent the past several weeks traveling across Europe, speaking to members of parliaments, governments, and the press," Pahlavi said in a video statement on his official X account. "My visit had one objective: to give a voice to the millions of Iranians held hostage by the Islamic Republic ... But I can now say with confidence that silencing, that censorship is not just happening at the hands of the regime in Iran, but by the international and particularly the European media."

EXILED IRANIAN CROWN PRINCE REVEALS 6-STEP PLAN TO EXERT PRESSURE ON TEHRAN'S REGIME

He went on to condemn what he described as European indifference to the mass killing of protesters and political executions, saying that across two press conferences in Stockholm and Berlin attended by more than 150 journalists, "not a single one" asked about the tens of thousands he says were killed during January’s crackdown or the political prisoners facing execution.

"Whether or not Europe stands with us ... I will fight for my people and my country," Pahlavi said. "We will fight until Iran is free."

Still, even some supporters acknowledge why the administration has hesitated to openly embrace him as a transitional figure.

Daftari warned that overt Western backing could backfire by making him appear externally imposed rather than domestically legitimized.

"The Trump administration’s decision not to more openly embrace him as a transitional figure likely reflects several factors: a deep wariness of making regime change the explicit end goal or appearing to engineer it after Iraq and Afghanistan, concern that overt U.S. backing could put an even bigger target on his back and a strategy that is currently focused less on anointing a successor and more on degrading the regime’s capacity to threaten its own people, the region and the United States," she said.

If Pahlavi represents dynastic memory and explicit regime-change politics, Mohammadi represents something profoundly different.

AS AIRSTRIKES RAIN DOWN ON THE IRANIAN REGIME, CAN A FRACTURED OPPOSITION UNITE TO LEAD IF IT FALLS?

Mohammadi’s place within that landscape is distinct due to her unique kind of legitimacy at a time when many Iranians are searching not only for opposition to the regime, but for a figure who embodies endurance under it.

For now, however, Rahmani warns that Iran’s domestic conditions may make any mass uprising extraordinarily difficult. 

"As you know, war serves as an excuse to suppress domestic forces within a country," he said. "This war has now increased the intensity of the regime’s actions against the opposition."

He argued that despite internal divisions, the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps has effectively consolidated power, militarized the streets and severely weakened civil society.

"The Islamic Republic has practically taken control of the streets during wartime and has severely weakened Iran’s civil society, which is the guarantor of democracy. In our opinion, this war, under these conditions, is not to the benefit of Iran, nor to the benefit of the Iranian people."

That may be the defining challenge for Iran’s opposition today: not simply finding a leader, but surviving long enough under extraordinary repression for one to emerge.

Whether Mohammadi can become that figure remains uncertain. But from prison, her husband says, she has not stopped believing Iran’s future can be different.

The Iranian mission to the United Nations did not respond to a request for comment in time for publication.

An 89-year-old gunman allegedly opened fire inside two Athens government buildings Tuesday, wounding at least four people in a rare outbreak of violence that rattled Greece’s tightly controlled gun landscape and ended with his arrest hours later.

Police said the suspect first stormed a social security office, went up to the fourth floor and fired, striking an employee in the leg. Officials said the gunman warned one worker to duck before pulling the trigger, though he didn't appear to specifically target the employee he hit.

"He went in, went up to the fourth floor, raised his shotgun, told an employee to duck and hit another one," Alexandros Varveris, head of Greece’s National Social Security Fund, told state broadcaster ERT radio.

The wounded man was treated at the scene, but the suspect fled and later opened fire again inside a courthouse in another part of the city, where several people were wounded.

NINE DEAD, 13 IN SECOND TURKISH MASS SHOOTING IN TWO DAYS

Authorities said at least three women, all court employees, suffered minor injuries from ricocheting pellets, while media reported that a fourth woman was taken to a hospital as a precaution.

Surveillance video aired by local media showed a man calmly walking down the street carrying what appeared to be a short-barreled shotgun.

SYNAGOGUE IN LONDON TARGETED IN ATTEMPTED 'ANTISEMITIC HATE CRIME,' UK POLICE SAY

Police later arrested the suspect near the city of Patra, about 130 miles west of Athens, and recovered the weapon.

The motive remains unclear, though state media reported the man left documents behind at the courthouse outlining his grievances.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.