World
Around 170 people executed in Burkina Faso attacks, regional official says
The West African Sahel nation has been struggling to contain armed groups for a decade.
Around 170 people were “executed” in attacks on three villages in northern Burkina Faso a week ago, a regional prosecutor has said, as violence flares in the country.
Aly Benjamin Coulibaly said in a statement on Sunday that he had received reports of the attacks on the villages of Komsilga, Nodin and Soroe in Yatenga province on February 25, with a provisional toll of “around 170 people executed”.
The attacks left others wounded and caused material damage, the prosecutor for the northern town of Ouahigouya said, without apportioning blame to any group.
He said his office ordered an investigation and appealed to the public for information.
Ongoing violence
Survivors of the attacks told news agency AFP that dozens of women and young children were among the victims.
Local security sources cited by AFP said the attacks were separate from deadly incidents that happened on the same day at a mosque in the rural community of Natiaboani in eastern Burkina Faso and a church in the northern village of Essakane.
Authorities have yet to release an official death toll for those attacks, but a senior church official said at the time that at least 15 civilians were killed in the Natiaboani attack.
About half of Burkina Faso is outside government control, as armed groups have ravaged the country for years.
The violence has killed almost 20,000 people and displaced more than two million people in one of the world’s poorest countries in a region wracked by instability.
Anger at the state’s inability to end the insecurity played a major role in two military coups in 2022.
Current head of state Captain Ibrahim Traore has prioritised a strong security response in reclaiming land from the rebel groups.
Ali Kabre, an independent journalist based in the capital, Ouagadougou, told Al Jazeera that the attacks were likely an attempt by armed groups to show they are “still relevant in the country” after being put on the back foot by the military who have targeted them with regular air strikes.
Coordinated attacks
There were a number of attacks on February 25, notably against a military detachment in Tankoualou in the east, a rapid response battalion in Kongoussi in the north and soldiers in the northern region of Ouahigouya.
In response, the army and members of the Volunteers for the Defence of the Fatherland (VDP), a civilian force that supports the military, launched operations that were able “to neutralise several hundred terrorists”, according to security sources cited by AFP.
At the beginning of the week, Security Minister Mahamadou Sana described the wave of attacks as “coordinated”.
“This change in the enemy’s tactical approach is because terrorist bases have been destroyed as well as training camps, and actions were carried out to dry up the enemy’s source of financing, as well as its supply corridors,” said Sana.
Mosques and imams have in the past been the target of attacks blamed on armed groups.
Churches in Burkina Faso have also at times been targeted and Christians have been kidnapped.
The Armed Conflict Location & Event Data Project (ACLED) says that 439 people were killed in such violence in January alone.
World
Hyun Bin, Jung Woo-sung Crime Thriller ‘Made in Korea’ Sets Disney+ Debut
Hyun Bin and Jung Woo-sung go head-to-head in “Made in Korea,” a 1970s crime noir that launches Dec. 24 on Disney+ with a two-episode premiere.
The series stars Hyun Bin (“Crash Landing on You,” “Confidential Assignment”) as Baek Kitae, an ambitious KCIA agent in 1970s South Korea who leads a dangerous double life. By day, he works as a government operative, while by night he runs an illegal operation, using his underworld connections to consolidate power, protect his brother and generate substantial revenue for the agency.
Jung Woo-sung (“Tell Me That You Love Me,” “12.12: The Day”) co-stars as Jang Geonyoung, an incorruptible prosecutor determined to bring Kitae down. Woo Dohwan (“Bloodhounds,” “Mr. Plankton”) plays Kitae’s brother Baek Kihyun.
The series is written by Park Eunkyo (“Mother,” “A Normal Family,” “The Silent Sea”) and Park Joonseok (“A Normal Family”), directed by Woo Minho (“The Man Standing Next,” “Inside Men,” “Harbin”), and produced by Hive Media Corp (“Inside Men,” “The Man Standing Next,” “12.12: The Day”).
Following the two-episode premiere, “Made in Korea” will release two additional episodes on Dec. 31, with the final two episodes rolling out weekly through Jan. 14. The series has already been renewed for a second season, which is currently in production.
The thriller joins Disney+’s expanding slate of Korean drama content that launched in 2025, including “Unmasked,” “Nine Puzzles,” “Hyper Knife,” “Low Life,” “The Murky Stream” and “Tempest.”
The streamer has additional Korean series slated for 2026, including “Gold Land” starring Park Boyoung, “Perfect Crown” starring IU and Byeon Wooseok, and the return of “A Shop for Killers” for a second season with Lee Dongwook and Kim Hyejun.
World
Pope Leo XIV says he’s ‘very disappointed’ after Illinois approves assisted suicide law
Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker meets with Pope Leo XIV
Illinois Democratic Gov. Jay Robert “JB” Pritzker met with His Holiness Pope Leo XIV, a fellow native of the Land of Lincoln, at the Vatican this week. (Credit: REUTERS — No use Fox Weather/Outkick)
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Pope Leo XIV said Tuesday he was “very disappointed” after his home state of Illinois approved a law allowing medically assisted suicide.
Leo, who grew up in Chicago, said he had spoken “explicitly” with Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker while the legislation was on his desk and urged him not to sign the bill into law, saying the measure undermines respect for human life from “the very beginning to the very end.”
“Unfortunately, for different reasons, he decided to sign that bill,” Leo told reporters outside Rome. “I am very disappointed about that.”
The Medical Aid in Dying Act, also referred to as “Deb’s Law,” was signed into law by Pritzker on Dec. 12 and allows eligible terminally ill adult patients to obtain life-ending medication after consultation with their doctors.
NY GOV. HOCHUL TO SIGN BILL TO LEGALIZE PHYSICIAN-ASSISTED SUICIDE: ‘WHO AM I TO DENY YOU?’
Pope Leo XIV met with Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker during an audience at the Apostolic Palace on Nov. 19 in Vatican City, Vatican. (Simone Risoluti – Vatican Media via Vatican Pool/Getty Images)
The measure was named after Deb Robertson, a lifelong Illinois resident with a rare terminal illness who had pushed for the bill’s approval.
The law takes effect in September 2026, giving participating healthcare providers and the Illinois Department of Public Health (IDPH) time to implement required processes and protections.
Leo said Chicago Cardinal Blase Cupich also urged Pritzker not to sign the bill, but his efforts were unsuccessful.
BISHOPS, CATHOLIC GROUPS SLAM CARDINAL CUPICH’S PLAN TO HONOR PRO-ABORTION SEN DICK DURBIN: ‘GREAT SCANDAL’
Pope Leo XIV said he was very disappointed” that Illinois passed a law allowing medically assisted suicide. (Alberto Pizzoli/AFP via Getty Images)
“I would invite all people, especially in these Christmas days, to reflect upon the nature of human life, the goodness of human life,” Leo said. “God became human like us to show us what it means really to live human life, and I hope and pray that the respect for life will once again grow in all moments of human existence, from conception to natural death.”
The state’s six Catholic dioceses have also criticized Pritzker’s decision to sign the bill, saying it puts Illinois “on a dangerous and heartbreaking path.”
Illinois joins a growing list of states allowing medically assisted suicide. Eleven other states and the District of Columbia allow medically assisted suicide, according to the advocacy group, Death with Dignity, and seven other states are considering allowing it.
After signing the bill, Pritzker said the legislation would allow patients with terminal illnesses to “avoid unnecessary pain and suffering at the end of their lives,” and said it would be “thoughtfully implemented” to guide physicians and patients through deeply personal decisions.
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Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker signed the Medical Aid in Dying Act on Dec. 12, allowing eligible terminally ill adult patients to obtain life-ending medication after consultation with their doctors. (Jacek Boczarski/Anadolu via Getty Images)
Fox News Digital has reached out to Pritzker’s office for comment.
Fox News Digital’s Alexandra Koch and The Associated Press contributed to this report.
World
Europeans show solidarity with Denmark after Trump’s Greenland threat
Published on
Exactly one year after Donald Trump first announced his intention to integrate Greenland into US territory on grounds of “national protection”, he’s back for more.
The US president has appointed Governor of Louisiana, Jeff Landry, as the new US special envoy for Greenland with the stated objective of “integrating Greenland into the United States” and repeated the US needs the territory for its national security.
His comments have been taken seriously by EU heads of state and government, who are presenting a united front against what they describe as American expansionist ambitions towards the autonomous territory, which is part of the Kingdom of Denmark.
France’s President Emmanuel Macron and his Minister for Europe and Foreign Affairs, Jean-Noël Barrot, both responded to the announcement by reaffirming their support for the integrity of Denmark’s territory.
“Greenland belongs to its people. Denmark stands as its guarantor. I join my voice to that of Europeans in expressing our full solidarity.”
On Tuesday, Trump told reporters the United States “needs Greenland for national security, not for minerals or oil, but national security. And if you take a look at Greenland, there are Russian and Chinese ships all over the place. So, we need this for protection.”
He also chastised Denmark for what he described neglecting the territory, “they have spent no money, they have no military protection, they say Denmark arrived there 300 years ago with boats – we were there with boats too, I’m sure. We’ll have to work it all out.”
Adding to the European voices pushing back on the US ambitions and the criticism of Denmark, Commission Ursula von der Leyen insisted that “territorial integrity and sovereignty are fundamental principles of international law”. Despite the tone coming out of Washington, she appeared to refer to the US as an ally in arctic security.
Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez echoed those remarks. “Respecting sovereignty and territorial integrity is central to the EU and to all nations of the world,” he wrote on X. “Security in the Arctic is a priority in which we seek to work with allies and partners.”
The US and Denmark are part of NATO, which is supposed to ensure mutual defence in the event of aggression against one of its members. That principle has never been tested by conflict between members of the alliance if one were to seize territory from another.
NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte has so far remained silent on the issue. During a press conference with Trump in the White House’s Oval Office in March, he also chose not to comment after a question from a journalist.
“When it comes to Greenland, if it joins the US or not, I will leave that outside of me in this discussion because I don’t want to drag NATO into that,” he said.
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