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Russia has grounds to seize Western assets after US legislative move, top lawmaker says
Russia now has grounds to confiscate Western assets after the U.S. House of Representatives passed legislation that would allow the potential transfer of seized Russian assets to Ukraine, a top Russian lawmaker said on Monday.
"Washington has passed a law on the confiscation of Russian assets in order to provoke the EU to take the same step, which will be devastating for the European economy," Vyacheslav Volodin, the Duma speaker and close ally of President Vladimir Putin, said.
"Our country now has every reason to make symmetrical decisions in relation to foreign assets," said Volodin.
BLINKEN RETURNS TO CHINA WITH WARNING OVER RUSSIAN MILITARY AID
Volodin said that of the $280 billion of Russian assets frozen abroad, only $5 to $6 billion was in the United States.
About $224 billion was in the European Union.
The House passed the "REPO Act" which would allow the administration of U.S. President Joe Biden to confiscate billions of dollars’ worth of Russian assets sitting in U.S. banks and transfer them to Ukraine for reconstruction.
3 Germans arrested after allegedly spying for China, transferring info on potential military tech
Three people suspected of spying for China and arranging to transfer information on technology with potential military uses were arrested in Germany on Monday.
Prosecutors said the three German citizens are accused of having acted for Chinese intelligence since some point before June 2022. They are also suspected of violating German export laws by exporting a special laser without permission.
One of the suspects, identified only as Thomas R. in line with German privacy laws, was allegedly an agent for an employee of China's Ministry of State Security and procured information in Germany on "militarily usable innovative technologies" for that person, federal prosecutors said in a statement.
FORMER HEAD OF GERMANY'S DOMESTIC SPY AGENCY FACES SCRUTINY FOR ALLEGED EXTREMISM
To do that, prosecutors said, he used Herwig F. and Ina. F, a couple who own a company in Duesseldorf that was used to contact and work with German researchers.
The couple allegedly set up a research transfer agreement with an unidentified German university, the first step in which was to draw up a study for a Chinese partner on the technology of machine parts that could be used for powerful ship engines, including those in battleships. Thomas R.'s handler at the MSS was behind the Chinese partner and the project was financed by the Chinese state, prosecutors said.
At the time of the arrests, the suspects were in negotiations on further research projects that could be useful for expanding China's naval combat strength, they added.
2 ARRESTED IN GERMANY FOR ALLEGED PLOT TO SABOTAGE US MILITARY FACILITIES ON BEHALF OF RUSSIA
The suspects also procured with MSS funding a special laser and exported it to China without permission, although it was classified as a "dual-use" instrument under European Union rules, prosecutors said.
The homes and offices of the suspects, who were arrested in Duesseldorf and in Bad Homburg, near Frankfurt, were searched.
The suspects were arrested a week after a three-day visit to China by Chancellor Olaf Scholz, his second since he took office in late 2021.
German officials wouldn't be drawn on whether the government was aware of the case at the time but said the trip hadn't played any role in the timing of the arrests.
In a strategy for relations with China released last year, the German government pointed to a "systemic rivalry" with the Asian power and a need to reduce risks of economic dependency, but highlighted its desire to work with Beijing on challenges such as climate change and maintain strong trade ties.
The document stated that "we take decisive action to counter all analog and digital espionage and sabotage activities by Chinese intelligence services and state-controlled groups, whether these activities be in or directed against Germany."
Interior Minister Nancy Faeser said Monday's arrests were "a great success for our counterespionage."
"We are keeping an eye on the significant danger from Chinese espionage in business, industry and science," she said in a statement. "We are watching these risks and threats very closely and have warned and sensitized people clearly so that protective measures can be stepped up everywhere."
4 arrested for alleged Nazi tribute outside Hitler's birthplace in Austria
Four Germans were caught laying white roses in memory of Adolf Hitler at the house where the Nazi dictator was born in western Austria on the anniversary of his birth, and one gave a Hitler salute as they posed for photos, police said Monday.
Hitler was born on April 20, 1889, in Braunau am Inn. After lengthy wrangling over the future of the house where he was born, work started last year on turning it into a police station — a project meant to make it unattractive as a pilgrimage site for people who glorify Hitler.
Police in Upper Austria province said the four Germans — two sisters and their partners, in their 20s and early 30s — went to the building on Saturday to lay white roses in its window recesses.
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They posed in front of the house for photos and one of the women gave the stiff-armed Hitler salute.
Patrolling officers noticed the group and took them to a police station for questioning. The woman said that she hadn't meant the salute seriously, but officers said they found a chat with the others on her cellphone in which they shared Nazi-themed messages and pictures.
Police said they were reporting all four to prosecutors on suspicion of violating the Austrian law that bans the symbols of Nazism.
Hezbollah claims to shoot down Israeli drone over Lebanon
The Lebanese terrorist group Hezbollah is claiming to have shot down an Israeli drone that was on a combat mission, a report says.
Hezbollah said in a statement that the drone, which was "waging its attacks on our steadfast people," was brought down in the Al Aishiyeh area of southern Lebanon near the country’s border with Israel, according to Reuters.
It reportedly described the drone as a Hermes 450 made by Israel-based weapons manufacturer Elbit Systems.
"A surface-to-air missile was launched at a remote manned aircraft of the air force that was operating in the skies of Lebanon, as a result the vehicle was hit and fell in Lebanese territory," the Israeli Defense Forces later said in a statement. "The incident is being investigated."
More than 240 Hezbollah fighters have been killed in cross-border skirmishes with Israel since the Oct. 7 surprise attack by Hamas that launched the ongoing war in Gaza, Reuters reports.
On the Israeli side, 18 people, including soldiers and civilians, have died, it added.
The reported downing of the drone comes as the head of Israel’s military intelligence directorate has resigned for failing to prevent the Oct. 7 massacre.
"In coordination with the Chief of the General Staff, the Head of the Intelligence Directorate, MG Aharon Haliva, has requested to end his position, following his leadership responsibility as the Head of the Intelligence Directorate for the events of October 7," the IDF wrote on X.
"The Chief of the General Staff thanked Major General Aharon Haliva for his 38 years of service in the IDF, during which he made significant contributions to the security of the State of Israel as both a combat soldier and commander," it added.
In a resignation letter quoted by The Associated Press, Haliva wrote, "The intelligence directorate under my command did not live up to the task we were entrusted with. I carry that black day with me ever since, day after day, night after night. I will carry the horrible pain of the war with me forever."
Fox News’ Lawrence Richard contributed to this report.
Israeli military intelligence chief resigns over failure to prevent deadliest attack in Israel's history
The head of Israel's military intelligence directorate has resigned, the Israel Defense Forces said on Monday.
Maj. Gen. Aharon Haliva announced his resignation after he failed to prevent Hamas' unprecedented Oct. 7 attack, the deadliest terror attack in Israel's history, the military said.
"The intelligence directorate under my command did not live up to the task we were entrusted with. I carry that black day with me ever since, day after day, night after night. I will carry the horrible pain of the war with me forever," Haliva wrote in his resignation letter, according to a translation by the Associated Press.
Haliva is the first senior figure to step down after Hamas terrorists invaded Israel nearly six and a half months ago and rampaged through Israeli communities, killing 1,200 people – mostly civilians – and taking roughly 250 hostages back into Gaza.
ISRAELI LEADERS CONDEMN EXPECTED US SANCTIONS, NETANYAHU VOWS TO FIGHT IT WITH ALL HIS MIGHT
The decision to resign was made with the approval of Israeli Minister of Defense Yoav Gallant. The military chief of staff accepted Haliva’s request to resign and thanked him for his 38 years of service, the IDF said.
Haliva’s resignation could set the stage for additional fallout from Israel's top security brass over Hamas' attack, which triggered a war in Gaza between the Jewish state and Hamas. The war will cross its 200th day this week.
Shortly after the war was initiated, Haliva said publicly that he shouldered blame as the head of the military department for not preventing the assault.
Other military and security leaders are also reportedly expected to resign in response to intelligence failures that did not catch the impending Oct. 7 attack.
The timing of these resignations, however, has been unclear as Israel remains in a war with Hamas, while battling the militant group Hezbollah in Lebanon and Syria.
Tensions in the region remain high after Israel traded direct attacks with Iran last week, leading some military experts to say Israeli resignations are irresponsible while the military is fighting on multiple fronts, according to the Associated Press.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is not among those expected to resign and has indicated that he will not step down, despite growing protests.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
Conservative Brazilians laud Elon Musk at rally in support of Bolsonaro
Conservative Brazilians heaped praise Sunday on Elon Musk at a rally in support of former President Jair Bolsonaro, whose legal troubles are mounting in tandem with the billionaire entrepreneur’s feud with the South American nation’s Supreme Court.
"Brazil Thanks Elon Musk," read one giant sign in English at the rally alongside Copacabana beach in the seaside city of Rio de Janeiro. Thousands of die-hard supporters of Bolsonaro attended.
ELON MUSK TO FUND NEW FIRST AMENDMENT CAMPAIGN TO COMBAT 'RELENTLESS ATTACKS ON FREE SPEECH'
Musk, a self-declared free speech absolutist, is a target in an ongoing investigation over the dissemination of fake news by supporters of Bolsonaro. Musk said the social platform X wouldn’t comply with a high court justice’s order to remove certain accounts accused of spreading disinformation.
Musk, the CEO of Tesla and SpaceX who took over Twitter — now X — in late 2022, accused Justice Alexandre de Moraes of suppressing free speech and violating Brazil’s constitution. He noted on X that users could seek to bypass any shutdown of the social media platform by using VPNs, or virtual private networks.
That prompted de Moraes to include Musk in an ongoing investigation into so-called digital militias and open a new investigation into obstruction, incitement and criminal conspiracy.
Several speakers lauded Musk at Sunday’s rally.
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"What you see here are people who love liberty, who will not give up and will not kneel down to dictators, people who are willing to give their lives for freedom," said Gustavo Gayer, a pro-Bolsonaro congressman.
For his part, the former president lauded Musk for demonstrating "courage" in the face of what he called censorship by de Moraes.
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"He is the man who really preserves true freedom for all of us," said Bolsonaro, who is himself under investigation for a plethora of crimes ranging from aiding an effort to overturn the 2022 election results and plotting a coup against his leftist successor, Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva.
Brazil is an important market for social media companies. About 40 million Brazilians, or about 18% of the population, access X at least once per month, according to the market research group Emarketer.
Israeli leaders condemn expected US sanctions, Netanyahu vows to fight it with all his might
Leaders in Israel criticized potential sanctions that are expected to be imposed by the U.S. as early as this week against an Israel Defense Forces (IDF) military battalion accused of violating human rights back in 2022.
U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken could announce 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 Blinken follows through with the sanctions, it could further strain relationships between the allies, which have already become tense as Israel continues its war in Gaza.
U.S. officials have not identified the sanctioned unit, though Israeli leaders and local media identified it as Netzah Yehuda, a battalion established nearly 25 years ago.
Israeli officials have condemned the expected sanctions, including Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who said he would oppose them.
"If anyone thinks they can impose sanctions on a unit in the IDF, I will fight it with all my might," Netanyahu said.
Some of the battalion’s members have been linked to abuse of Palestinians. The group faced harsh criticism from the U.S. in 2022 after a 78-year-old Palestinian-American man, Omar Assad, was found dead after being detained at a West Bank checkpoint.
An autopsy conducted by Palestinian officials found Assad suffered a heart attack caused by "external violence," adding he had underlying health conditions.
The autopsy also noted that Assad had bruises on his head, redness on his wrists caused by being bound, and bleeding in his eyelids after being tightly blindfolded.
The country’s military also investigated and found Israeli soldiers assumed Assad was sleeping when they cut off the cables binding his hands. When the soldiers saw Assad was unresponsive, they failed to offer medical help and left the scene.
The Israeli military said at the time that one officer was reprimanded, and two others were reassigned to non-commanding roles because of the incident.
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The uproar from the U.S. resulted in Israel relocating Netzah Yehuda to northern Israel in 2022, after it had been stationed in the West Bank. After the attack on Israel on Oct. 7 by Hamas-led terrorists, the battalion was relocated again to the southern border near Gaza. The battalion is now reportedly helping with the war effort in the Gaza Strip, according to the Israeli military.
"The battalion is professionally and bravely conducting operations in accordance to the IDF Code of Ethics and with full commitment to international law," it said. It said that if the unit is sanctioned, "its consequences will be reviewed."
Axios reported that if sanctions were imposed, the battalion and its members would no longer receive any type of training or assistance from the U.S. military, according to sources.
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.
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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.
"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."
Fox News Digital reached out to the State Department for comment.
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The Associated Press reported that Benny Gantz, a member of Israel’s War Cabinet, issued a statement saying he spoke with Blinken on Sunday and told him the decision is a "mistake." Gantz added that sanctions would hurt the country’s legitimacy during a time of war.
The wire service also learned from two U.S. officials familiar with the sanctions that the announcement could come as early as Monday.
The officials reportedly said five units were investigated, and of the five, four acted to remedy violations they were accused of committing.
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.
Friday’s sanctions will reportedly freeze U.S. assets held by those targeted, while also barring American forces from dealing with them.
Fox News Digital's Andrea Vacchiano and The Associated Press contributed to this report.
Tens of thousands of Colombians protest against leftist president's agenda
Thousands of Colombians took to the streets Sunday in the latest rebuke of leftist President Gustavo Petro's reform agenda.
The demonstrations took place in several cities, including the capital. Protesters filled Bolivar Plaza outside the presidential palace in Bogotá.
UN NEWSLETTER EXPOSED FOR SHARING WAYS TO PROTEST IN US AGAINST ISRAEL ON TAX DAY
While protests have been constant since the former leftist guerrilla took office in 2022, they've gained momentum of late. Petro has floated the possibility of rewriting the constitution to spur social reforms that he's been unable to advance in the face of opposition by a hostile congress and conservative business groups.
Petro recently suffered an important defeat when Colombia's congress refused to pass legislation to boost state control of the country's health care system aimed at improving and lowering the cost of medical care.
In response to the defeat, Petro ordered by decree the takeover of two of the country's top medical insurers, on which millions of Colombians depend.
Netanyahu invokes Passover story, vows increased pressure on Hamas: ‘Let our people go’
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu vowed to renew pressure against Hamas in Gaza during his speech ahead of Passover on Sunday.
Netanyahu addressed all of Israel in Hebrew as the country prepares to celebrate the Jewish holiday throughout this week. He mourned the absence of the remaining hostages in Gaza and argued that the remaining Hamas forces can only survive if Israel and its allies fracture.
"On this night, 133 of our dear brothers and sisters are not around the Seder table, and they are still held hostage by Hamas in hellish conditions," Netanyahu said. "We have already freed 124 of our hostages and we are committed to returning them all home – the living and the deceased alike."
"Instead of withdrawing from its extreme positions, Hamas is counting on a rift among us. It draws encouragement from the pressure being directed at the Government of Israel. As a result of this, it has only hardened its conditions for the release of our hostages. It is hardening its heart and refusing to let our people go," he said. Netanyahu's language referenced the Egyptian pharoah's biblical refusal to free the enslaved Israelites, a story Jewish people all over the world will retell during holiday meals.
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Netanyahu went on to praise the men and women serving in the Israel Defense Forces, detailing that operations in Gaza would soon ramp up.
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"Therefore, we will strike it with additional painful blows – and this will happen soon," he said. "In the coming days, we will increase the military and diplomatic pressure on Hamas because this is the only way to free our hostages and achieve our victory."
"Citizens of Israel, on the eve of Passover, when the people of Israel went forth from slavery to freedom, let us remember our fallen heroes, and our wounded fighters, thanks to whose sacrifice, we are free people," he added.
Netanyahu's announcement came less than a day after he thanked U.S. lawmakers in the House of Representatives for passing a bill granting $26 billion in military aid for Israel on Saturday.
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"The US Congress just overwhelmingly passed a much appreciated aid bill that demonstrates strong bipartisan support for Israel and defends Western civilization. Thank you friends, thank you America!" he wrote.
Outrage at pro-Hamas protest as London cop threatens man with arrest for 'openly Jewish' appearance
The Metropolitan Police in London face accusations that they capitulated to radical pro-Hamas activists last weekend by threatening to arrest a British Jew because his presence was deemed provocative to a mob of anti-Israel protesters.
A shocking video published by the British Campaign Against Antisemitism from the pro-Hamas and anti-Israel march shows a Metropolitan Police officer ordering Gideon Falter, the CEO of the Campaign Against Antisemitism, not to cross a street because of his "openly Jewish" appearance. Falter was returning from a Saturday synagogue service and was wearing a kippah, or skullcap.
The London cop even threatened Falter with arrest. He accused Falter of "a breach of peace with all these other people." Falter was with five other people, some of whom were also wearing skullcaps.
LONDON IS THE ‘WORLD’S MOST ANTISEMITIC CITY,’ SAYS ISRAELI MINISTER
Falter told Fox News Digital, "What happened to me was a disgrace. Imagine what it felt like to be told by police officers that being ‘quite openly Jewish’ would ‘antagonize’ people, and so I must leave the area on pain of arrest."
Critics have argued that the Metropolitan Police commissioner, Sir Mark Rowley, is incapable of imposing order on the streets of London and there are now growing calls for his dismissal.
"The time has come for Sir Mark Rowley to go. He must resign or be removed by the mayor of London and the Home secretary," Falter said.
Falter continued, "Nearly a week after the incident, Sir Mark’s assistant commissioner issued a statement calling my presence ‘provocative’ and saying that by making public what had happened, I had put a ‘dent in the confidence of many Jewish Londoners.'"
Falter said, "The ensuing outrage forced the Met to apologize yet again. This time, it was for their appalling, abject victim blaming, which had come from the top and showed that after six months, Sir Mark’s Met still does not get it and is not about to improve unless there is a change of leadership."
Falter continued, "What happened to me was the inevitable conclusion of six months of inertia and contextualizing crimes away by a Met that has curtailed the rights of law-abiding Londoners in order to appease mobs rife with anti-Jewish racists and terrorist sympathizers."
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Rowley told Fox News Digital, "Every member of the Met is determined to ensure that London is a city in which everyone feels safe. We absolutely understand how vulnerable Jewish and Muslim Londoners feel since the terrorist attacks on Israel. Some of our actions have increased this concern. I personally reiterate our apology from earlier this week. Today, as with every other day, our officers will continue to police with courage, empathy and impartiality."
In a Sunday article published in the Times of London, Falter wrote, "The march came towards us and after a few minutes the crowd got thicker, people stopping and shouting abuse at us: ‘Disgusting,’ ‘lock them up,’ ‘Nazis,’ ‘scum,’ There were people there, right there, who were expressing as loudly as they could how much they hated me for looking Jewish, and not a single person was saying: ‘You shouldn’t do that,’ or ‘I disapprove.’"
Falter wrote that the Metropolitan Police have created a "no-go zone" for Jews in central London, adding it is now a "police-enforced Jew-free zone."
Falter told Fox News Digital that Rowley’s "failure to curtail the marches by using his powers under the Public Order Act 1986 has made it impossible to bring them under control and police them properly. As a direct result of that failure, countless antisemitic hate crimes and terrorism offenses have been perpetrated in broad daylight on our streets during marches, and those responsible have walked free as his vastly outnumbered officers are powerless to intervene and some frontline officers have even been hospitalized."
The former British home secretary, Suella Braverman, who previously urged the police to ban the pro-Hamas marches, called for Rowley’s resignation in a Sunday Telegraph article. British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak fired the outspoken Braverman after her calls for the need to rein in the mass antisemitic spectacles unfolding in London.
She wrote in the Sunday Telegraph, "Either this is gross incompetence, or it’s a culture coming from the top, where thugs are free to intimidate and harass while the rest of us have to keep our mouths shut and stay out of the way."
Braverman continued, "If the marches are so peaceful, why was an ‘openly Jewish’ man stopped from walking near them? Despite the apology and then the apology for the apology, the truth is chilling. Over the past six months, we’ve seen failure after failure by the Met."
She said, "If the Met commissioner is incapable of or unwilling to ensure that his officers enforce the law, and [London Mayor] Sadiq Khan is happy with the soft approach to the hate marches, then the prime minister needs to get a grip."
Fox News Digital reported last month that Israel’s minister tasked with combating antisemitism, Amichai Chikli, termed London the "world’s most antisemitic city."
UN NEWSLETTER EXPOSED FOR SHARING WAYS TO PROTEST IN US AGAINST ISRAEL ON TAX DAY
Rabbi Abraham Cooper, the associate dean of the LA-based Simon Wiesenthal Center, told Fox News Digital that London’s "Mayor Sadiq Khan, who has made numerous positive statements against antisemitism, has contributed to an environment where British Jewish taxpayers are viewed as more of a threat to public order than pro-Hamas campaigners."
Cooper, an international expert on antisemitism, added that the persecution of Falter "reflects the failure at the top from the police department and mayor." He urged the mayor and the police to "talk less, and act decisively before it is too late."
A spokesperson for Khan told Fox News Digital last month, "The mayor speaks with members of the Jewish community regularly, and despite their ongoing and real concerns, most don’t agree with the extent of the language used by the minister… The mayor continues to reiterate that with tensions running high, all Londoners have to be conscious of the language we use and how our actions make others feel – not inflaming divisions, but bringing communities together."
The British Home Office – the equivalent of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security – said, "We welcome the Met’s apology, and recognize the complexities of policing fast-moving public protests, but simply being Jewish – or of any other race or religion – should never be seen as provocative."
America First foreign policy ‘profoundly dangerous,' invites multi-front war, eminent historian warns
FIRST ON FOX – The United States needs to maintain its global focus and efforts to stymie the growing cooperation and ambition of "axis of evil states," according to historian and journalist Andrew Roberts, Baron Roberts of Belgravia. Roberts sits in the British House of Lords.
"When it comes to the axis of evil states, frankly, it’s not the worst thing in the world to have a forever war, especially if you will not actually fight," Roberts, a biographer of several British leaders, including Winston Churchill, told Fox News Digital. "It can be done for an amount which is a really very impressive return on investment."
Roberts, along with retired Gen. David Petraeus, wrote "Conflict: The Evolution of Warfare from 1945 to Ukraine," an assessment of U.S. foreign conflict involvement examined through the lens of successful strategic leadership. Roberts is currently working on new chapters for the paperback release, which will focus on the war in Gaza and Chinese President Xi Jinping’s ambitions for Taiwan.
He argued that the United States, as a global superpower, can and should "walk and chew gum" – so to speak – and that American isolationism would prove "a profoundly dangerous force… not just for the rest of the world but for America as well, ultimately."
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"If the United States decides to essentially shrug off the responsibility of a great global superpower that you’ve been really since the Great White Fleet circumnavigated the world in 1909, a long time ago now… one can understand that any titan gets weary," Roberts said. "However, if you were to embrace isolationism, the ultimate response would be from the alliance of anti-democratic nations that we are seeing is working closer and closer… ultimately it will rebound terribly on you."
The desire for an "America First" policy has grown stronger as the U.S. faces down two significant conflicts – first from Russia, now in its third year of invading Ukraine, and from the bubbling tension between Iran and Israel.
Some Republicans particularly have opposed the continued funding of Ukraine without a clear plan as to how the conflict could end, raising fears of another "forever war" like those the U.S. maintained in the Middle East over the past two decades.
House Republicans have worked to condition aid for Ukraine, which has surpassed $113 billion as of March 2024. Freedom Caucus Chairman Bob Good, R-Va., called for any funding to Ukraine to be balanced out by spending cuts elsewhere and for it to be paired with U.S. border policy changes. The House finally passed the $60 billion funding bill for Ukraine on Saturday.
"We cannot continue to borrow and spend money we don’t have for wars overseas while failing to protect Americans from the Biden border invasion here at home," Good told Fox News Digital earlier this month. "At a bare minimum, any package for military aid to Ukraine should be fully offset and must include H.R. 2 with performance metrics to secure our own border."
Roberts argued that the U.S., as a "great superpower… some might argue the only superpower" can protect both itself and support allies in a conflict that has proven an "extremely impressive" return on investment.
"The Ukrainians have taken out well over half of the Russian tank fleet," Roberts noted. "Now, at any stage in American post-war history, if you offer the president that deal, he'd have snapped it up."
"You've got a $825 billion per annum defense budget to spend, [and] less than a 10th of that, take out your opponent's tank fleet, essentially – at least, over half of it – is an amazing return on investment," he added.
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"After 20 years of the forever war in Afghanistan before Biden's, in my view, outrageous scuttle from that country, you'd got it down to the situation where no Americans had died for 18 months, and the whole American cost of this conflict was down to about 20 to $25 billion a year," he said. "That's an amazing thing, to be able to keep the Taliban out of power."
However, Roberts stressed that there should remain limits to the U.S. ambitions overseas, dismissing the idea that Washington should seek Russian regime change as "not our duty, not our job, not our responsibility, and certainly not a very sensible thing."
"The obvious reason is that it would just stoke anti-Western nationalism in Russia," he explained. "No, they can do those things themselves, and I think the point at which they might do that is, as has happened so often in history, when Russian aggression has been shown not to succeed."
Roberts lamented, though, that Russia has made strides in Ukraine’s easternmost territories, with a breakthrough on the front and potentially bigger gains to come "if the West doesn’t help Ukraine more."
Indeed, more and more analysts and commentators have grown increasingly dismal about Ukraine’s potential successes: The BBC, Politico EU and other outlets in the last week have run articles discussing why and how Ukraine could face defeat this year. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy says any victory hinges on continued funding from allies to keep pace with Russia.
Roberts suggested that such doomsday prophecies may prove premature, stressing that "there’s no such thing as inevitability in history."
"So many times in history, you've seen one thing about to happen and then the opposite happens," Roberts mused. "These breakthroughs the Russians are having in certain theaters… not major ones so far, but they are fighting with a shell advantage, and that's because the United States and Europe are not providing the shells."
"It's certainly not inevitable that either the Ukrainians win or lose that war unless, of course, we stopped providing them with the wherewithal to continue to fight," he warned. "It's them that are putting up in the blood, huge amounts of it, but simply because Russia is a bigger country does not mean that it's automatically going to win: If that was the case, you'd have won in Vietnam."
Fox News Digital's Brooke Singman contributed to this report.
UN newsletter exposed for sharing ways to protest in US against Israel on Tax Day
FIRST ON FOX — An April 11 edition of the United Nations Division for Palestinian Rights’ NGO Action News, which provides updates about civil society organizations worldwide "relevant to the Palestine issue," linked readers to the U.S. Campaign for Palestinian Rights (USCPR) list of "5 Ways to Take Action for Tax Day."
Included within the list were instructions about how protesters who did not "want [their] tax dollars to fund genocide" could "disrupt for a free Palestine."
The second item on USCPR’s list was a hyperlink for protesters seeking to engage in a "coordinated multi-city economic blockade to free Palestine," an effort organizers noted was "not affiliated with USCPR."
In the destination page, blockade organizers A15 describe efforts to "identify and blockade major choke points in the economy, focusing on points of production and circulation with the aim of causing the most economic impact," effectively "blocking the arteries of capitalism and jamming the wheels of production."
ANTI-ISRAEL AGITATORS SHUT DOWN TRAFFIC, DISRUPT CITIES ALL ACROSS US IN DEMAND FOR GAZA CEASEFIRE
Anne Bayefsky, president of Human Rights Voices and director of the Touro University Institute on Human Rights and the Holocaust, told Fox News Digital "the U.N. has been caught red-handed aiding and abetting pro-Hamas anarchists in American cities and streets" by "distributing a newsletter, in multiple languages and to a worldwide network, that contains links to radical anti-American and anti-Israel agitators, their agendas and plans."
Fox News Digital reported on the April 15 blockades when anti-Israel protesters stopped traffic outside Washington’s Seattle-Tacoma International Airport, Chicago’s O’Hare Airport, California’s Golden Gate Bridge and on the I-5 in Eugene, Ore. Gatherings also took place outside the New York Stock Exchange and Philadelphia’s City Hall, at San Antonio’s Valero headquarters and in Los Angeles, Oakland, Tampa and Miami.
PRO-PALESTINIAN PROTESTER DERAILS DINNER AT UC BERKELEY LAW SCHOOL DEAN’S HOME, REFUSES TO LEAVE
At an attempted traffic disruption in Detroit, police told Fox 2 Detroit protesting vehicles "ignored multiple traffic control signals," which led to "traffic obstructions" and "nearly caus[ed] accidents."
During the day’s events, dozens around the country were arrested.
The UN’s NGO Action News site contains a disclaimer warning that third-party links "are not under the control of the United Nations and the United Nations is not responsible for the content of any linked site or any link contained in a linked site."
Bayefsky says the U.N. disclaimer "is totally bogus." She claims "it is U.N. staff who produce summaries of activist plans," and that "the inclusion of any announcement or link to a third party must receive prior approval from the U.N."
Fox News Digital reached out to the chair of the Committee on the Exercise of the Inalienable Rights of the Palestinian People, Ambassador Cheikh Niang of Senegal, for comment about whether U.N. staff approve items within and author summaries for NGO Action News. He did not immediately respond.
JEWISH COLUMBIA UNIVERSITY STUDENT TOLD TO ‘KILL YOURSELF’ DURING ANTI-ISRAEL PROTEST: REPORT
The USCPR’s protest guide contains other inflammatory remarks, including referencing President Biden as "Genocide Joe," and alleging that "Israel is mass murdering Palestinian families with [U.S.] tax dollars." To summarize USCPR’s messaging, NGO Action News pulls from the more measured tones within its guide for action, explaining USCPR "urged the public to pressure for the end of U.S. military funding to Israel’s massive violence."
Stéphane Dujarric, spokesman for U.N. Secretary-General António Guterres, told Fox News Digital "the secretary-general does not have the legal authority to label an event as ‘genocide.’ For the United Nations, that determination needs to be made by a competent court."
In its Jan. 26 preliminary ruling, the International Court of Justice did not rule that Israel had committed genocide but urged Israel to allow Gazans access to humanitarian aid and attempt to assist Palestinian civilians.
When asked whether the secretary-general supports NGO Action News’ instructions in an official U.N. publication that protesters engage in civil disobedience, Dujarric stated that NGO Action News "is compiled in accordance with a mandate conferred by the member states of the U.N. General Assembly" and "does not fall under the authority or direction of the Secretary-General."
"You have all this anarchy on the streets of the U.S.," Bayefsky said, which "ought to be a major wake-up call for American lawmakers and the criminal justice system since we are talking about an operation based in New York City itself. It is also a stunning reminder of the U.N.'s history of anti-Israel and anti-Jewish bias and its vicious post-Oct. 7 campaign to deny Israel its lawful right of self-defense."
On April 16, the Anti-Defamation League released its annual Audit of Antisemitic Incidents, which found that antisemitic incidents rose 140% between 2022 and 2023. This included a 45% increase in assaults, a 69% increase in vandalism and a 184% increase in harassment. The ADL noted it "observed explicitly antisemitic and anti-Zionist rhetoric at 1,352 anti-Israel rallies across the United States" after Oct. 7.
When asked if he recognized that anti-Israel protests are among the reasons for the rise in antisemitic incidents in the U.S. following Oct. 7, Dujarric said "the Secretary-General has publicly, and repeatedly, raised his voice against what he believes is the rise of antisemitism in many of our societies, whether that be in Europe, North America and other parts of the world.
"In addition, the secretary-general has also stated publicly that those that call for the destruction of the state of Israel is a form of modern antisemitism."
Both Israel's foreign minister and the United Nations ambassador have called for Guterres to resign over his treatment of Israel.
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.
FLORIDA ALLIGATOR CAUGHT DEVOURING 'INVASIVE' PYTHON AT EVERGLADES NATIONAL PARK
"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.
MAN AIRLIFTED TO HOSPITAL AFTER CROCODILE BITE IN FLORIDA'S EVERGLADES
"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.
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.
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.
BIDEN SILENT AFTER BEING PRESSED ABOUT IRANIAN STRIKE AGAINST ISRAEL: 'WHAT NOW?'
"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.
HOUSE TEES UP 17 BILLS RELATED TO IRAN/ISRAEL FOR THIS WEEK
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.
RADICAL IRANIAN PROVINCE HIT BY ISRAEL HIGHLIGHTS REGIME'S WEAKNESS
"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.
HOUSE OVERWHELMINGLY PASSES $26 BILLION AID TO ISRAEL, GAZA AS TENSIONS WITH IRAN ESCALATE
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.
Radical Iranian province hit by Israel highlights regime's weaknesses
JERUSALEM - Just a week ago, some residents of Iran’s central province of Isfahan - a nuclear weapon and missile production hub of the Islamic Republic - cheered the Iranian rockets fired into Israel.
In the early-morning hours of Friday, the Isfahan authorities were jolted by Israeli strikes that triggered their air defense systems in the cities of Isfahan and Tabriz after three explosions went off near an important military airbase close to Isfahan. It is unclear how much damage Israel’s strikes inflicted. Iran’s regime reported no casualties.
Potkin Azarmehr, a British-Iranian expert on Iran, told Fox News Digital, "What my sources are saying is that there is no damage to the airbase, but Israel proved it can jam Iran’s air defense and bypass it to the extent that they didn’t even manage to sound the alarm despite Isfahan being in the heart of Iranian territory."
He continued that "Isfahan is the epicenter of Iran’s air defense. If they couldn’t detect the attack, serious questions about the reliability of Iran’s air defense must be asked."
IRAN'S 'NUCLEAR ENERGY MOUNTAIN' IS 'FULLY SAFE' AFTER ISRAELI STRIKE: STATE MEDIA
Azarmehr noted, "When the Pakistan Air Force retaliated after Iran missile attack, there was no air defense."
Isfahan is a top-priority strike location for Israeli forces, because the area is one of the central features of the regime’s illicit atomic weapons program. It is where the powerful Shahab medium-range missiles are made. Isfahan was the testing ground back in late October for the country's missile system, which proved capable of reaching Israel last week.
Israeli strikes against Iran’s regime are typically shrouded in ambiguity to avoid any fingerprints on the missions and to leave Tehran’s rulers guessing.
In January, 2023, Israeli drone strikes allegedly hit a weapons factory inside Isfahan. The drone attack last year was said to be executed by Israel’s foreign intelligence service, Mossad.
The Jerusalem Post reported that Friday's response was meant to be internalized as "An eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth. Israel retaliated where they were attacked."
Isfahan is also a hotbed of antisemitism and Holocaust denial. At an April Al-Quds day demonstration, the last Friday of Ramadan, Iran promoted the destruction of Israel. The Imam of Isfahan, Ayatollah Yousef Tabatabainejad, declared, "It is our obligation to support the oppressed Muslims who have been oppressed, and we hope that, with divine providence in this path of resistance, we will be able to wipe the Zionist regime off the face of the earth."
In 2016, the Islamic Association of the University of Isfahan announced a cartoon contest that aims to mock and deny the Holocaust.
Sheina Vojoudi, an associate fellow at the Gold Institute for International Strategy, told Fox News Digital that "Isfahan is of great strategic importance in Iran. There are military and nuclear bases in Isfahan, and it shows how the regime is concentrated in this city and the rockets that were fired at Israel were also fired from one of the bases in Isfahan."
Vojoudi, an Iranian dissident who opposes the Islamic Republic’s government, added that the "attack on Isfahan means that this city is one of the main points where the regime can pose a threat to Israel and, of course, to the Iranian people because of the intense activities of Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps. The regime's nuclear activities have almost ruined the lives of the people of Isfahan and increased the rate of cancer in Isfahan."
While the U.S. and allies seem to be content with Israel's reaction, other experts say an opportunity has been wasted.
"This is a missed opportunity. Israel needed to impose a serious cost on Iran to restore deterrence. I worry that this pin-prick reprisal will instead teach Iran that it can get away with large-scale attacks on U.S. partners without serious consequences," said Matthew Kroenig, vice president and senior director of the Atlantic Council’s Scowcroft Center for Strategy and Security and the Council’s Director of Studies.
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."
IRANIAN PRESIDENT MAKES NO MENTION OF ISRAELI STRIKE DESPITE THREATENING COMPLETE DESTRUCTION
"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."
Ukraine's 1-ton payload drones can help retake Crimea as Kyiv seeks to destroy bridge: report
Ukraine has started mass-producing two sea drones capable of carrying up to one ton of explosives as the military sets its sights on retaking Crimea, a crown jewel in Russian President Vladimir Putin’s ambitions for the neighboring country.
"These are already new generations of drones, on the improvement of which the team of SBU specialists worked and continues to work together with other members of the Security and Defense Forces," Artem Dekhtiarenko, a spokesperson for Ukraine’s security service SBU, said in a press release.
"This means that the SBU can reach a target almost anywhere in the Black Sea," Dekhtiarenko added.
Ukraine has made it a mission to try and destroy the bridges connecting Russian supply chains to Crimea, which continues to serve as a major operational hub for Russia as it perpetuates its invasion, East2West News reported. Additionally, the Ukrainian Navy has made surprising and significant gains against its Russian counterpart, pushing back the Black Sea Fleet from more valuable coastal positions.
UKRAINE ALLEGES RUSSIA INCREASINGLY USING TEAR GAS ILLEGALLY IN BATTLE
"In the ranks of the service, we have raised unique specialists in naval drones in order to further improve and scale up the work of clearing the Black Sea from the enemy," SBU chief Vasyl Malyuk said earlier.
SBU used the drones to take out four enemy warships in Sevastopol Bay and at least half a dozen other vessels in subsequent missions, including a new Russian reconnaissance ship, Interfax-Ukraine reported.
Ukraine has relied on the "Sea Baby" drone as its key tool to achieve these various goals: A specially developed version loaded with nearly a full ton of explosives made a run at the Crimean Bridge and caused structural damage. Despite that hit, and damage from a bomb smuggled onto the bridge in a truck, Russia has continued to use the bridge.
Now, Ukraine has made the destruction of the bridge a top priority. The use of the drones also helps another issue the Ukrainian military has struggled with over the past year: Disproportionate funding that threatens to tip the advantage towards Russia.
The Mamai’s high speeds, mixed with the variable utility of the Sea Baby, have only increased Ukraine’s reliance on drones as the main tool of Ukraine’s counteroffensive.
Dekhtiarenko noted the cost of a drone at just shy of a quarter-million dollars, which has the ability to hit and damage warships worth "tens of millions of dollars." Made of material that is invisible to radar, according to Ukrainian outlet Pravda, the drones help to even out the cost-benefit imbalance of the war.
RUSSIA'S INVASION OF UKRAINE THREATENS GLOBAL SECURITY, GERMAN CHANCELLOR SAYS
Ukraine also employs a "fast" kamikaze surface drone called the Cossack Mamai, which can hit 62 miles per hour, according to Ukrainian outlet EuroMaiden Press.
SBU has touted the Mamai as "the fastest object in the Black Sea," measuring nearly 20 feet long and equipped with observational equipment and bulletproof materials.
Ukraine’s reliance on drones extends to land and air: Kyiv has used drones to carry out direct attacks on Russian personnel, including an attempt to hit the Kremlin itself. While Kyiv did not take credit for the attack, the U.S. said that Ukrainian intelligence or special military was "likely" behind the attack.
No perjury charges for British soldiers accused of lying in Bloody Sunday probe
Fifteen British soldiers who allegedly lied to an inquiry into Bloody Sunday, one of the deadliest days of the decades-long Northern Ireland conflict, will not face perjury charges, prosecutors said Friday.
There was insufficient evidence to convict the soldiers or a former alleged member of the Irish Republican Army about their testimony before an inquiry into the 1972 killings of 13 civilians by Britain’s Parachute Regiment in Derry, also known as Londonderry, the Public Prosecution Service said.
An initial investigation into the slayings on Jan. 30, 1972 concluded the soldiers were defending themselves from a mob of IRA bombers and gunmen. But a 12-year-long inquiry concluded in 2010 that soldiers unjustifiably opened fire on unarmed and fleeing civilians and then lied about it for decades.
FORMER BRITISH SOLDIER TO STAND TRIAL FOR 1972 'BLOODY SUNDAY' KILLINGS IN NORTHERN IRELAND
Families of the victims were outraged by the decision. John Kelly, whose brother Michael was killed by paratroopers, spoke for the group and called it an "affront to the rule of law."
"Why is it that the people of Derry cannot forget the events of Bloody Sunday, yet the Parachute Regiment, who caused all of the deaths and injury on that day, apparently cannot recall it?" Kelly said. "The answer to this question is quite simple but painfully obvious: The British Army lied its way through the conflict in the north."
Although a quarter century has passed since the Good Friday peace accord in 1998 largely put to rest three decades of violence involving Irish republican and British loyalist militants and U.K. soldiers, "the Troubles″ still reverberate. Some 3,600 people were killed — most in Northern Ireland, though the IRA also set off bombs in England.
Only one ex-paratrooper from Bloody Sunday, known as Soldier F, faces prosecution for two murders and five attempted murders. He was among the 15 soldiers who could have faced a perjury charge.
While victims continue to seek justice for past carnage, the possibility of a criminal prosecution could soon vanish.
The British government passed a Legacy and Reconciliation Bill last year that would have given immunity from prosecution for most offenses by militant groups and British soldiers after May 1. But a Belfast judge ruled in February that the bill does not comply with human rights law. The government is appealing the ruling.
Attorney Ciaran Shiels, who represents some of the Bloody Sunday families, said they would not rule out further legal action.
"It is of course regrettable that this decision has been communicated to us only today, some 14 years after the inquiry’s unequivocal findings, but less than two weeks before the effective enactment date of the morally bankrupt legacy legislation designed specifically to allow British Army veterans to escape justice for its criminal actions in the north of Ireland," Shiels said.
Senior Public Prosecutor John O’Neill said the decision not to bring criminal charges was based on three things: accounts given by soldiers in 1972 were not admissible; much of the evidence the inquiry relied on is not available today; and the inquiry's conclusion that testimony was false did not always meet the criminal standard of proof.
"I wish to make clear that these decisions not to prosecute in no way undermine the findings of the Bloody Sunday Inquiry that those killed or injured were not posing a threat to any of the soldiers," O'Neill said.
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.
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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