INTERNACIONAL
Security concerns around Olympic games lead to arrests with French authorities on high alert
France will provide elite police officers to safeguard Israeli athletes throughout the Olympic Games due to security concerns as the opening ceremony gets underway Friday.
«There are those who seek to undermine the celebratory nature of this joyous event,» Israeli Foreign Minister Israel Katz wrote in a letter to his French counterpart.
«We currently have assessments regarding the potential threat posed by Iranian terrorist proxies and other terrorist organizations who aim to carry out attacks against members of the Israeli delegation and Israeli tourists during the Olympics,» Katz added.
European authorities have remained on high alert as the Olympics bring an influx of threats and security concerns, especially with the presence of Israel. Some terrorist and radical groups want to see the country punished for its actions in the Gaza Strip.
2024 PARIS OLYMPICS: EVERYTHING TO KNOW ABOUT THIS YEAR’S SUMMER GAMES
Tensions remain so high that a video of a fake Palestinian threat of attacks on France made the rounds on social media before a security source could tell the AFP that the video likely originated from «a Russian operation under a ‘false flag,’» pointing to «several clues» that betray the authenticity of the video.
Police officers take security measures ahead of a men’s Group D match between Mali and Israel during the Olympic Games Paris 2024 at Parc des Princes July 24, 2024, in Paris. (Mehmet Murat Onel/Anadolu via Getty Images)
French authorities have designated roughly 1,000 elite anti-terrorist officers to provide a «ring of steel» for the Israeli team amid anti-Israel protests, Reuters reported. Officials happily reported that the first competition involving Israeli athletes, a soccer match between Israel and Mali Wednesday, passed a security test.
Israel’s Shin Bet security agency will work with the French police to keep the area and Games safe for their athletes, but other criminal threats remain major concerns as the games get underway.
French military divers patrol on a boat along the Seine River in Paris July 17, 2024, ahead of the Paris 2024 Olympic and Paralympic Games. (Emannuel Dunand/AFP via Getty Images)
ISRAEL NATIONAL ANTHEM JEERED, PLAYERS BOOED DURING OPENING PARIS OLYMPICS SOCCER MATCH
Belgian police on Thursday detained seven people suspected of planning a terrorist attack, with authorities reporting that the individuals may have participated in «the activities of a terrorist group,» including financing and preparing for an attack.
Before the 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris, soldiers of the Opération Sentinelle stand on Place Charles de Gaulle in front of the Arc de Triomphe (Sina Schuldt/picture alliance via Getty Images)
The police explained that «the specific targets of the attack had not yet been determined,» but the threat had risen to the level of requiring police raids on 14 homes across Belgium, according to German outlet DW.
The timing of the raids — just one day before the Games begin — prompted questions of links between the attack and the competition, but Belgian and French authorities did not comment on whether there were any such links.
TEAM USA’S STEPH CURRY, STEVE KERR BACK HARRIS FOR PRESIDENT AT OLYMPICS
The preparation and focus on more international tensions has also allowed other crimes to occur before the Games get underway. French prosecutors earlier this week opened an inquiry after an Australian woman reported that five men allegedly attacked and gang-raped her.
Israeli players walk onto the field ahead of a men’s Group D match against Mali at the Parc des Princes during the 2024 Summer Olympics Wednesday, July 24, 2024, in Paris. (AP Photo/Aurelien Morissard)
An investigative source told The Telegraph the woman was wandering around the northern Pigalle district in Paris over the weekend in an apparent state of distress and disarray. She then reportedly confronted one of her alleged attackers in a kebab shop, but he fled before police could arrive.
CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP
CCTV footage captured the latter confrontation, but Paris prosecutors would not comment on the video while confirming a gang-rape investigation. No arrests have been made, nor have police released any descriptions of the alleged attackers.
INTERNACIONAL
Was a beloved whale suspected of being a Russian ‘spy’ killed in Norway?
Havldimir quickly became a celebrity in Norway, swimming his way into their Nordic hearts.
But this beluga whale’s odd story started in 2019 when he was discovered in northern Norway near the island of Ingoya wearing a harness with «Equipment St Petersburg» written in English connected to a mount for a small camera.
Hvaldimir, as Norwegians dubbed him – mixing together the Norwegian word for whale and Russian President Vladimir Putin’s name – was intelligent, friendly and responded to hand signals, leading Norway’s spy agency to believe he had been held in captivity by Russia and used for research purposes.
Once Hvaldimir was freed from his harness, though, his friendly personality made him beloved in the country.
CRITICALLY ENDANGERED WHALE SEEN OFF CALIFORNIA COAST: ‘EVERY SIGHTING IS INCREDIBLE VALUABLE TO US’
Hvaldimir was found in 2019 wearing a harness with a camera mount on it. (Jorgen Ree Wiig/Sea Surveillance Service/Handout/NTB Scanpix via Reuters/File Photo)
He was fed and monitored by the Norwegian government and dubbed a «free-swimming whale» by the Norwegian Orca Survey, venturing as far as Sweden but always returning home, according to The Telegraph.
Hvaldimir was found dead off southern Norway last weekend.
«It’s absolutely horrible,» marine biologist Sebastian Strand, who worked with Marine Mind, told Norwegian public broadcaster NRK. «He was apparently in good condition as of (Friday), so we just have to figure out what might have happened here.»
BREACHING WHALE CAPSIZES BOAT AFTER LANDING ON TOP OF IT OFF NEW HAMPSHIRE, SHOCKING VIDEO SHOWS
Hvaldimir, being fed here, became beloved in Norway. (orgen Ree Wiig, Norwegian Directorate of Fisheries via AP)
Hvaldimir may have died of natural causes, but conservation groups NOAH and One Whale have filed police reports claiming he was shot, according to the Telegraph.
The Oceanic Preservation Society said that a necropsy will be done on Hvaldimir to determine his cause of death in the next few weeks.
«We’ve been absolutely devastated over the news, and are deeply saddened that humanity failed this beloved whale,» the organization said on social media.
He was fed and monitored by the Norwegian government and dubbed a «free-swimming whale» by the Norwegian Orca Survey, venturing as far as Sweden but always returning home. (Jorgen Ree Wiig, Norwegian Directorate of Fisheries via AP)
Nonprofit Marine Mind said on Facebook that Hvaldimir «bridged the gap» between humans and wild animals in a way «few can.»
CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP
«Hvaldimir was not just a beluga whale; he was a beacon of hope, a symbol of connection, and a reminder of the deep bond between humans and the natural world,» the organization said. «Over the past five years, he touched the lives of tens of thousands, bringing people together in awe of the wonders of nature. His presence taught us about the importance of ocean conservation, and in doing so, he also taught us more about ourselves.»
Reuters and the Associated Press contributed to this report.
-
POLITICA2 días ago
La represión a los jubilados, un espejo en el que duele reconocerse
-
POLITICA2 días ago
“Estúpido” y “exlibertario”: reapareció Cristina Kirchner y cruzó muy duro a Javier Milei
-
POLITICA1 día ago
Milei versus Cristina: el Presidente le responde a la exvicepresidenta en el Congreso del IAEF y habla sobre el dólar y el cepo
-
POLITICA2 días ago
Javier Milei planea exponer el Presupuesto en el recinto de Diputados y ya genera polémica con la oposición
-
POLITICA2 días ago
Argentina – Chile, en vivo
-
CHIMENTOS2 días ago
La versión de Victoria Onetto sobre su «aventura» con Alberto Fernández