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Poland says Netanyahu won't be arrested if he attends Auschwitz event

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Poland says Netanyahu won't be arrested if he attends Auschwitz event

Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk says Israel’s Benjamin Netanyahu will not be detained despite the International Criminal Court (ICC) arrest warrant.

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The Polish government has guaranteed that Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu will not be arrested if he attends the 80th anniversary of the liberation of the Auschwitz-Birkenau death camp, despite the International Criminal Court (ICC) warrant against him.

Poland’s President Andrzej Duda, from the opposition Law and Justice party (PiS), this week wrote to the government requesting that Netanyahu not be arrested if he decides to attend the Auschwitz commemoration on 27 January, according to a presidential aide.

The office of Prime Minister Donald Tusk published a resolution on Thursday saying it would ensure the “safe participation of the leaders of Israel in the commemorations”.

“I confirm, whether it is the prime minister, the president or the minister — as it is currently declared — of education of Israel, whoever will come to Oswiecim for the celebrations in Auschwitz will be assured of safety and will not be detained,” Tusk said.

Tusk made clear that the resolution was “precise” and only applied to the Auschwitz commemorations.

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“It is also very important for us that Poland is not among those countries that openly and demonstratively want to disregard the decisions of international tribunals,” he added.

The ICC issued arrest warrants in November for Netanyahu and his ex-defence minister, as well as a Hamas leader, Ibrahim Al-Masri, for alleged war crimes and crimes against humanity during the 15-month war in Gaza.

Member countries of the ICC, such as Poland, are required to detain suspects facing a warrant if they set foot on their soil, but the court has no way to enforce that. Israel is not a member of the ICC and disputes its jurisdiction.

The court has more than 120 member states, although some countries, including France and Hungary, have already said that they would not arrest him. Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán even said he would defy the warrant by inviting Netanyahu to Budapest.

It is unclear whether Netanyahu plans to attend the commemoration later this month, although he has been present at previous anniversary events at Auschwitz.

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Poland’s Foreign Ministry, in response to an email query, said on Thursday that “it has not received any information so far indicating that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is going to attend the celebration of the 80th anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz.”

The commemoration will be attended by international officials and elderly survivors. It is to take place in Oswiecim, a town that was under German occupation during World War II where the Nazi German forces operated the most notorious of their death camps.

More than 1.1 million people were murdered at Auschwitz. Historians say that most of them, about a million, were Jewish, but the victims also included Poles, Roma, Soviet prisoners of war, and others.

At least 3 million of Poland’s 3.2 million Jews were murdered by the Nazis, accounting for about half of the Jews killed in the Holocaust.

Additional sources • AP

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Rescue Workers and Aid Arrive in Venezuela, Official Says

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More than 1,600 rescue workers have arrived and 25 flights filled with aid will land over the next day in Venezuela after earthquakes devastated the country on Wednesday, according to Venezuela’s vice minister of foreign affairs, Oliver Blanco.

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American rescue teams pull infant alive from rubble in Venezuela days after devastating twin earthquakes

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American rescue teams pull infant alive from rubble in Venezuela days after devastating twin earthquakes

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American search-and-rescue teams pulled an infant alive from beneath the rubble in Venezuela days after the country’s devastating earthquakes, the U.S. Department of State said Saturday.

The State Department shared video on social media showing U.S. personnel pulling the infant from the rubble as rescue crews continued searching for survivors more than 72 hours after two powerful earthquakes struck the South American country.

The infant was 9 months old and was rescued along with her mother, the State Department told Fox News Digital. Both suffered only minor injuries, according to the rescue team.

“This heroic rescue was carried out in Catia La Mar by the Fairfax County Urban Search and Rescue team (USA-01), which deployed to Venezuela on June 26 following activation by the State Department,” a State Department spokesperson said.

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TRUMP SAYS VENEZUELA EARTHQUAKES LEFT ‘DEVASTATING NUMBER OF DEATHS’ AS US READIES AID

American search-and-rescue teams rescued an infant trapped beneath the rubble following this week’s deadly earthquakes in Venezuela, according to the State Department. (Department of State)

The rescue comes as emergency crews race against time to locate survivors before the critical rescue window closes.

“Against impossible odds, hope endures,” the State Department posted on X.

“American search and rescue teams rescued an infant from beneath the rubble following the earthquake in Venezuela,” the post continued. “Every life saved is a victory.”

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The White House also shared the video, calling it “America at its best.”

“Thank you to the American search and rescue teams providing assistance in Venezuela,” the White House wrote.

PLAYERS, FANS FLEE STADIUM AS POWERFUL EARTHQUAKES STRIKE DURING VENEZUELA BASEBALL GAME

Rescue workers search through the rubble three days after earthquakes struck Catia la Mar, Venezuela. (AP Photo/Fernando Vergara)

Round-the-clock rescue efforts have continued since magnitude 7.2 and 7.5 earthquakes struck Venezuela’s northern coast Wednesday.

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As of Saturday evening, officials said the death toll from the twin earthquakes had reached 1,430.

Earlier Saturday, officials reported that 243 people had been rescued.

FORMER METS PITCHER NARROWLY ESCAPES DEATH IN VENEZUELA EARTHQUAKES THANKS TO ELEVATOR MALFUNCTION

Rescue personnel with a rescue dog assist in rescue efforts after earthquakes hit the country, in La Guaira, Venezuela, Saturday. (REUTERS/Leonardo Fernandez Viloria)

According to The Associated Press, more than 68,000 people remain missing across the country.

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Aid groups consider the first 48 to 72 hours after a disaster to be the most critical window for finding survivors, though access to food and water can extend that period.

Venezuelan officials said 17 flights carrying more than 1,600 rescue personnel had arrived Saturday to assist with search-and-rescue efforts.

US RESCUE TEAMS TO DESCEND ON HARD-HIT CARIBBEAN AFTER CATASTROPHIC HURRICANE MELISSA’S IMPACT

Members of the County of Los Angeles Fire Department’s international urban search and rescue team (USA-2) prepare to leave for Venezuela, in Pacoima, Calif., on Thursday. (Blake Fagan/AFP via Getty Images)

Urban Search and Rescue (USAR) teams from Virginia, California and Florida were dispatched to Venezuela on Friday to help search collapsed buildings.

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According to the State Department, the three USAR teams include 312 personnel and 18 canine teams, including firefighters, physicians, structural engineers and canine search specialists. The teams also deployed more than 200,000 pounds of specialized rescue equipment.

The Los Angeles County team includes 73 members equipped with concrete-breaking equipment and specialized listening devices used to detect survivors trapped beneath debris.

COLORADO AVALANCHE VICTIM RESCUED IN DRAMATIC VIDEO

Responders search for victims in a demolished building in Caracas, Venezuela, after a magnitude 7.2 earthquake and a 7.5 aftershock struck the region. (Jesus Vargas/Getty Images)

Rescuers have fanned out across La Guaira, where the worst destruction occurred, and parts of Caracas, where families and volunteers have spent days pulling survivors and victims from the rubble.

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The United States has pledged $150 million in emergency assistance and support for international relief organizations responding to the disaster.

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Fox News Digital has reached out to the State Department for additional information on the rescue.

Fox News Digital’s James Cirrone, and The Associated Press and Reuters contributed to this report.

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Serbian Vučić says he will resign in weeks and calls early elections

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Serbian Vučić says he will resign in weeks and calls early elections

Serbian President Aleksandar Vučić announced on Saturday that he will resign in the coming weeks and called for early presidential and parliamentary elections.

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“I will be president for only a few weeks, and then I will resign,” Vučić told supporters at a rally in Belgrade. His second and final term was due to expire in mid-2027.

His remarks followed recent comments suggesting he could step down, amid speculation that he may seek a return as prime minister, a position he held from 2014 to 2017

It also follows a year and a half of student-led anti-corruption protests, triggered by the collapse of a railway station canopy in Novi Sad that killed 16 people. The protesters have been demanding early elections.

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During his speech, Vučić said he would support his Serbian Progressive Party in the upcoming elections, including snap parliamentary polls originally scheduled for next year.

He did not provide a specific timeline for his resignation or for the dissolution of parliament, which is required before early legislative elections can be held.

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