16-year-old boy killed by crocodile after boat breaks down: police

A 16-year-old boy in Australia died after being attacked by a large crocodile in the Torres Strait, authorities say.

The incident occurred off the waters of Saibai Island, a relatively-remote island of around 500 people, on Thursday morning. While Saibai Island is geographically close to Papua New Guinea, it is part of the Australian state of Queensland, and is around 560 miles north of the city of Cairns.

According to the Brisbane Times, the victim was swimming with a 13-year-old boy before he was killed. The pair had been using a dinghy when its engine suddenly stopped working properly, and the teenagers decided to brave the waters and swim to shore. 

Queensland Police’s Far North District Senior Sergeant Greg Giles told journalists that the 16-year-old vanished after the boys went into waist-deep water. The boat breakdown happened around a third of a mile away from land.

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"Unfortunately the older boy’s body was located in the mangroves," Giles explained. "We are working with the coroner to identify that person."

According to the police spokesman, the 13-year-old boy did not see a crocodile before the 16-year-old went missing.

"He’s pretty shaken up as you could imagine," Giles said, according to the Brisbane Times.

"He was very close to the other boy when he went missing so no doubt it would have affected him."

A Queensland Police wildlife officer confirmed that the victim's injuries were consistent with a crocodile attack. Authorities believe the reptile that killed the teenager was nearly four yards long.

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"Injuries sustained are consistent with a large crocodile in the vicinity of 3.5 metres in size, possibly slightly larger," officer Simon Booth explained.

Local residents have asked authorities to find the crocodile that killed the boy.

"Wildlife officers will survey the waters off Saibai Island by helicopter this afternoon in an attempt to locate the crocodile involved," a Department of Environment, Science and Innovation statement obtained by the Brisbane Times read.

"The local community has requested the animal involved in the incident be removed from the wild. "[DESI] extends its condolences to the family and friends of a teenager who died in waters off Saibai Island."

Fox News Digital reached out to the Queensland Police Service for comment, but did not immediately hear back.

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Biden admin sanctions Israel national security minister ally, reportedly weighs expanding to IDF unit

The Biden administration could announce sanctions against an Israel Defense Forces (IDF) battalion for alleged human rights violations in the West Bank before the Oct. 7 attack on Israel by Hamas-led terrorists, according to reports.

Axios reported that U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken could announce the sanctions against IDF battalion "Netzah Yehuda" within days, marking the first time the U.S. will have placed sanctions on military units operated by Israel.

If sanctions are imposed, the battalion and its members would no longer receive any type of training or assistance from the U.S. military, sources reportedly told the publication.

The U.S. is prohibited under the Leahy Law, from providing any sort of foreign aid or defense department training to countries responsible for alleged human rights violations based on credible information.

WHITE HOUSE ANNOUNCES NEW SANCTIONS ON IRAN FOLLOWING ATTACK AGAINST ISRAEL: ‘THE PRESSURE WILL CONTINUE’

Fox News Digital reached out to the U.S. State Department and White House but did not immediately hear back.

While speaking to reporters on Friday, Blinken was asked about Israel’s violations of human rights in the West Bank and recommendations made by his department to cut military aid to certain Israeli units.

Blinken started by saying the Leahy Law was important and applied across the board.

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"When we’re doing these investigations, these inquiries, it’s something that takes time, that has to be done very carefully both in collecting the facts and analyzing them – and that’s exactly what we’ve done," he said. "And I think it’s fair to say that you’ll see results very soon. I’ve made determinations; you can expect to see them in the days ahead."

On Friday, the U.S. imposed sanctions on an ally of Israel’s national security minister and two entities that raised money for Israeli men who allegedly committed settler violence. The new sanctions came in addition to others placed on five settlers and two unauthorized outposts earlier this year. The increased sanctions also show growing frustration of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu by the U.S.

Friday’s sanctions will reportedly freeze U.S. assets held by those targeted while also barring Americans from dealing with them.

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Right-wing members of Netanyahu’s governing coalition that is pushing to expand Jewish settlements along with the annexation of the West Bank are reportedly upset with the Biden administration for making moves against the Israeli settlers.

Also adding fuel to the fire is the tension between Israel and Washington caused by the latter urging Israel to restrain themselves from attacking Iran.

One of the individuals sanctioned by the U.S. was Ben-Zion Gopstein, the founder and leader of the right-wing group Lehava. The group does not support Jewish assimilation with non-Jews and has about 5,000 members.

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"Under Gopstein’s leadership, Lehava and its members have been involved in acts or threats of violence against Palestinians, often targeting sensitive or volatile areas," State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller said in a statement obtained by Reuters.

Miller warned that additional steps would be taken if Israel does not act to prevent extremist attacks as violence continues to escalate in the West Bank.

The European Union also agreed to impose sanctions against Lehava and other groups.

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But the U.S. is not just targeting Israel. In fact, last week, White House National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan announced sanctions would be placed against Iran after its regime attacked Israel last Saturday.

The sanctions were announced as Republicans criticized the Biden administration for not being tough enough on Iran, pointing to a waiver extended by the White House in November 2023 that released $10 billion of previously escrowed funds to Iran.

Sullivan said that the actions the U.S. is taking will "continue a steady drumbeat of pressure to contain and degrade Iran’s military capacity and effectiveness and confront the full range of its problematic behaviors."

"Over the last three years, in addition to missile and drone-related sanctions, the United States has sanctioned over 600 individuals and entities connected to terrorism, terrorist financing and other forms of illicit trade, horrific human rights abuses, and support for proxy terrorist groups, including Hamas, Hezbollah, the Houthis, and Kataib Hezbollah," the statement added.

"The pressure will continue. We will not hesitate to continue to take action, in coordination with allies and partners around the world, and with Congress, to hold the Iranian government accountable for its malicious and destabilizing actions."

Fox News Digital's Andrea Vacchiano and Reuters contributed to this report.

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Iranian foreign minister dismisses Israeli strike as 'toys,' says there'll be no retaliation

Iran's top foreign affairs official dismissed weapons launched against the country by neighboring Israel as "toys" and said there was no plan to retaliate.

Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian downplayed the Israeli strike during an interview on Friday, hours after the impact.

"What happened last night wasn’t a strike," Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian told NBC News. "They were more like toys that our children play with — not drones."

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"As long as there is no new adventurism by Israel against our interests, then we are not going to have any new reactions," he added.

Amir-Abdollahian also stated that the Iranian regime is not completely convinced the strike came from Israel, though he failed to offer alternative theories.

"If Israel takes a decisive action against my country and this is proven to us, our response will be immediate and to the maximum and will cause them to regret it," the foreign minister said.

IRANIAN 'NUCLEAR ENERGY MOUNTAIN' IS 'FULLY SAFE' AFTER ISRAELI STRIKE: STATE MEDIA

Israel carried out limited strikes in Iran early Friday in retaliation for Tehran firing a barrage of missiles and drones at Israel last Saturday. A well-placed military source told Fox News that the strike was "limited."

There have been no reports of large-scale damage or casualties.

Explosions were reported in the Isfahan province, which is where Natanz, one of Iran's nuclear facilities, is located. 

Following the attack, Iranian state media stated that the nation's atomic sites were "fully safe" and had not been struck by the missiles.

The International Atomic Energy Agency, a United Nations affiliate watchdog organization, later confirmed "there is no damage to Iran’s nuclear sites."

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Japanese autoworkers narrowly escape suicide bomber in Pakistani port city

A suicide bomber detonated his explosive-laden vest near a van carrying Japanese autoworkers in Pakistan's port city of Karachi on Friday, police said. They narrowly escaped the attack but three bystanders were wounded.

Separately, an Afghan Taliban religious scholar was killed in an attack in the southwest of Pakistan the previous day.

The attack on the van happened when it was heading to an industrial area where the five Japanese nationals worked at Pakistan Suzuki Motors, local police chief Arshad Awan said. He said police escorting the Japanese returned fire after coming under attack, killing an accomplice of the suicide bomber whose remains were found at the scene of the attack.

12 ARRESTED IN CONNECTION TO PAKISTAN SUICIDE BOMBING THAT KILLED 5 CHINESE NATIONALS

"All the Japanese who were the target of the attack are safe," Awan said.

Pakistani President Asif Ali Zardari and Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif denounced the attack. In separate statements, they praised police for quickly responding and foiling the attack. They also vowed to eliminate terrorism and prayed for the speedy recovery of the wounded.

Images on local news channels showed a damaged van as police officers arrived at the scene. Awan said the three passersby who were wounded in the attack were in stable condition at a hospital.

Police were escorting the van after receiving reports about possible attacks on foreigners who are working in Pakistan on various Chinese-funded and other projects, said Tariq Mastoi, a senior police officer. He said a timely and quick response from the guards and police foiled the attack and both attackers were killed.

No one immediately claimed responsibility, but suspicion is likely to fall on a small separatist group or the Pakistani Taliban who have stepped up attacks on security forces in recent years. Insurgents have also targeted Chinese who are working in Pakistan on projects relating to the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor, which includes a multitude of megaprojects such as road construction, power plants and agriculture.

In March, five Chinese and their Pakistani driver were killed when a suicide bomber in northwest Pakistan rammed his explosive-laden car into a vehicle when they were heading to the Dasu Dam, the biggest hydropower project in Pakistan, where they worked.

However, Japanese working in Pakistan have not been the target of any such attacks.

Karachi is the largest city in Pakistan and the capital of southern Sindh province.

Separately, an Afghan Taliban religious scholar, Mohammad Omar Jan Akhundzada, was killed by gunmen inside a mosque in Quetta, the capital of Pakistan's southwestern Baluchistan province, a local police officer Akram Ullah said Friday.

No one claimed responsibility for the attack, which happened on Thursday.

Chief Afghan Taliban spokesperson Zabihullah Mujahid denounced the killing of Akhundzada on Friday, saying Akhundzada taught at a jihadi seminary in Afghanistan's Kandahar province and was a member of the Taliban oversight committee of Islamic scholars.

Many Afghan leaders and scholars had lived in Quetta and elsewhere in Pakistan before the Afghan Taliban seized control of Afghanistan in mid-August 2021 as U.S. and NATO forces withdrew. Most then went back and it was unclear why Akhundzada was still in Pakistan.

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Olympic torch makes Acropolis overnight stop a week before handover to Paris organizers

ATHENS, Greece (AP) — The flame that will burn at the Olympics is spending the night at the ancient Acropolis in Athens, a week before its handover to Paris 2024 organizers.

During a lull in heavy rain late Friday, a torchbearer lit a cauldron in front of the 2,500-year-old Parthenon temple, on the citadel that dominates the Athens skyline and is Greece’s top tourist draw.

OLYMPIC STAR KATIE LEDECKY WELCOMES COMPETITIVE ACTION IN POOL AHEAD OF PARIS GAMES

The flame will stay there until Saturday morning, when the champagne-colored torch travels to Delphi, an important ancient Greek religious center, before reaching the town of Volos in central Greece.

Ceremoniously lit on Tuesday at the ruined birthplace of the ancient Games, Olympia in southern Greece, the flame is being carried around Greece by a string of torchbearers. Parts of the relay are being made by ferry or plane.

The flame will be delivered to French officials next Friday at the renovated ancient marble stadium where the first modern games were held in 1896. At Athens' port of Piraeus it will board the Belem, a French three-masted sailing ship — built in 1896 — to be transported to France.

The flame is due to reach the southern French port city of Marseille on May 8, and will travel through France in the buildup to the July 26 opening ceremony in Paris.

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Israel strikes site in Iran in retaliation for weekend assault: source

Israel reportedly struck a site in Iran early Friday in retaliation for Tehran firing a barrage of missiles and drones at Israel late Saturday. 

Fox News Digital has confirmed there have been explosions in Isfahan province where Natanz is located though it is not clear whether it has been hit. Natanz is the site of one of Iran's nuclear facilities. 

A well-placed military source has told Fox that the strike was "limited." 

Pentagon officials have not confirmed the strike. 

Commercial flights, meanwhile, began diverting their routes early Friday morning over western Iran without explanation as one semiofficial news agency in the Islamic Republic claimed there had been "explosions" heard over the city of Isfahan, Reuters reported.

The semiofficial Fars news agency reported on the sound of explosions over Isfahan near its international airport. It offered no explanation for the blast. However, Isfahan is home to a major airbase for the Iranian military, as well as sites associated with its nuclear program.

Iran attacked Israel over the weekend in retaliation for Israel's deadly strike on Iran's consulate earlier this month that killed a dozen people, including a top general. 

ISRAEL'S ADVANCED MILITARY TECHNOLOGY ON FULL DISPLAY DURING IRAN'S ATTACK

The weekend attack by Iran marked a major escalation of violence. Despite decades of hostilities between the two nations, Iran has never directly attacked Israel, instead relying on proxy forces in Iraq, Lebanon and elsewhere. 

This is a developing story. Check back for updates. 

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Zimbabwe grants clemency to over 4,000 prisoners, some of whom were sentenced to death

Zimbabwe President Emmerson Mnangagwa granted clemency to more than 4,000 prisoners, including some who were on death row, in an independence day amnesty on Thursday.

Zimbabwe marked 44 years of independence from white minority rule, which ended in 1980 after a bloody bush war. The country’s name was changed from Rhodesia to Zimbabwe.

The presidential amnesty, the second in less than a year, benefits female, older and juvenile inmates, the terminally ill and some who were originally sentenced to death.

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Those once on death row but who had their sentences commuted to life terms in previous clemency orders or through court appeals are to be freed provided they have been in prison for at least 20 years, according to the clemency order, which was announced Wednesday and due to take effect on Thursday.

All female prisoners who had served at least a third of their sentence by independence day are being freed, as are juvenile inmates who have served the same period.

Prisoners age 60 and older who have served one tenth of their sentences will also be released. Mnangagwa also pardoned the blind and others with disabilities who have served a third of their sentence.

The prisoners are being released in batches across the country.

However, those jailed for "specified" offences that include sexual offences, robbery, public violence, unlawful possession of firearms, human trafficking and theft or vandalism of electricity and telecommunications infrastructure won't benefit from the amnesty.

All death row prisoners who have been in jail for at least 10 years had their sentences commuted to life in prison under the amnesty.

Zimbabwe has more than 60 inmates on death row. It wasn't immediately clear how many of those had their sentences commuted to life under the amnesty.

Zimbabwe is one of more than a dozen countries in Africa and more than 50 across the world that have the death penalty, although the country's last hanging was in 2005. Mnangagwa says he supports abolishing the death penalty, a move which was backed by the Cabinet in February and is now awaiting approval from Parliament.

Mnangagwa freed more than 4,000 prisoners in another clemency order last May aimed at decongesting the southern African nation's overcrowded prisons, where conditions are usually harsh. At the time, Zimbabwe had about 22,000 prisoners crammed into prisons with a capacity of 17,000.

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