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South African police airlift massive crocodile suspected of eating missing local
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Authorities in South Africa carried out a high-risk recovery operation over the weekend, airlifting a massive crocodile suspected of eating a local resident.
The operation followed last month’s disappearance of a 59-year-old businessman from Gauteng, South African Police Service (SAPS) said. Local media Smile FM identified him as Gabriel Batista, the owner of the Border Country Inn located a short drive from the river.
A specialized task force eventually tracked down the reptile Saturday along the Komati River, where it was euthanized and removed from the area, officials reported. Upon examination, they said human remains were discovered in its digestive system.
The operation was also captured on camera and has since spread widely on social media, showing personnel hoisting the massive crocodile from the water by helicopter.
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A wildlife specialist dangles alongside a euthanized crocodile during an aerial relocation in South Africa. (Government Communication and Information System (GCIS) Mpumalanga Provincial Office)
According to the police, the local businessman went missing late last month after his Ford Ranger became stranded at a flooded low-lying river crossing near crocodile-infested waters.
State media SABCNews reported that the vehicle was swept away as he attempted to cross the bridge.
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Following a weeklong search, the team reportedly identified a large crocodile nearby that they believed may have attacked and consumed the victim.
According to officials who monitored the reptile for several days, the reptile appeared to show signs it had recently fed, including prolonged periods of inactivity, South African outlet ENCA said.
A massive crocodile was spotted near a river in South Africa. (Government Communication and Information System (GCIS) Mpumalanga Provincial Office)
«During the search, we saw that this particular crocodile was only about 150 meters away from where the person had washed off the bridge. This crocodile stayed there the whole time. When the helicopter went over it, it wouldn’t move away,» SAPS Captain Johan «Pottie» Potgieter said.
«We know from experience that if crocodiles have had a big meal, they’re not very active, and need to lie in the sun for their digestive system to start working.»
After authorities euthanized the animal with the necessary permissions, Potgieter operated under «extremely dangerous conditions,» being lowered from a helicopter into crocodile-infested waters.
It was then secured with a rope, hoisted from the water, and airlifted away, SAPS said.
Authorities used a helicopter to transport a massive crocodile from a river in South Africa. (Government Communication and Information System (GCIS) Mpumalanga Provincial Office)
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During the examination, officials reportedly discovered human remains, as well as six pairs of sandals inside the animal’s stomach, SABC News reported.
The remains have been submitted for DNA testing to confirm the victim’s identity.
It remains unclear whether the shoes are linked to any missing residents or villagers in the area.
south africa, missing persons, odd news
INTERNACIONAL
9/11 families push to ban Mamdani from 25th anniversary remembrance over ‘hostile’ record
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Families of 9/11 victims are urging organizers to bar New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani from attending this year’s 25th anniversary remembrance ceremony in Lower Manhattan.
Several families of 9/11 victims published a petition urging the National September 11 Memorial & Museum, which organizes the annual remembrance, to reconsider inviting Mayor Zohran Mamdani, citing a laundry list of criticisms of the Uganda-born socialist Democrat.
«Concerns have been raised about Mr. Mamdani’s public positions, associations, and responses to rhetoric that many perceive as hostile to these shared values,» a Change.org petition organized by several victims’ families states.
«Given these concerns, we respectfully ask that the organizers carefully consider whether Mr. Mamdani’s participation would align with the intention of the ceremony and the expectations of the families most directly affected by the tragedy.»
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New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani announces that five upcoming city-owned grocery stores will offer a 30 percent discount on produce, meat, bread, and milk when they open next year. The discount on essential items will potentially save shoppers an estimated $90 a month, or roughly $1,000 a year. Mamdani has pledged one community grocery store for each borough. July 27, 2026, in Brooklyn. (Spencer Platt/Getty Images)
Concerns listed include a «perceived reluctance» by Mamdani to unequivocally condemn phrases like «globalize the intifada» — a slogan associated with calls for the eradication of Jews.
They also expressed concern over Mamdani’s alleged support for or association with individuals either dismissive of American institutions or insufficiently critical of extremist ideologies.
A 2025 release by Rep. Chip Roy, R-Texas, outlined one such association with a radical Bed-Stuy imam who hosted the Blind Sheikh, mastermind of the 1993 World Trade Center bombing, and has made controversial statements about jihad.
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Janlyn Scauso, whose husband was a New York City firefighter killed in the Sept. 11 attacks, holds family photos during a rally near the U.S. Capitol in Washington, D.C., on Monday, July 20, 2026. Groups representing victims of Iranian-linked terrorism urged the U.S. not to release any money to Tehran, underscoring the political risks for President Donald Trump of fulfilling a key demand under a possible peace deal. (Graeme Sloan/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
Siraj Wahhaj, born Jeffrey Kearse, hosted Mamdani at his At-Taqwa mosque during the campaign and received criticism at the time from former FBI agents for failing to condemn the cleric.
The victims’ families also called out Mamdani’s father, Columbia government professor Mahmood Mamdani, whom they cite as authoring a book shortly after the attacks in which he argued suicide bombers should be «understood as a feature of modern political violence rather than stigmatized as a mark of barbarism.»
They wrote that Professor Mamdani’s book – «Good Muslim, Bad Muslim: America, the Cold War, and the Roots of Terror» – also included a passage arguing a moral equivalency between the United States and Al Qaeda.
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Names of victims are read during the commemoration ceremony on the 22nd anniversary of the September 11, 2001, terror attacks in New York City. (AP/Yuki Iwamura)
When the passage was resurfaced in 2025, prominent New York billionaire Bill Ackman quipped on X that the «apple doesn’t fall far from the tree.»
Fox News Digital reached out to both Mamdanis for comment.
While the mayor did not immediately return a request for comment, he told a reporter at an unrelated press conference Monday that he still plans to attend.
«I will proudly honor families the survivors the first resp forever impacted by that horrific terror attack by standing alongside them at this year’s 9/11 commemoration — reaffirming that we will never forget the solemn day…,» he said.
Victims’ families also excoriated the mayor for supporting and standing with socialist candidates they said hold radically anti-American views, including the DSA-endorsed woman who defeated left-wing Rep. Adriano Espaillat in Washington Heights.
The petition noted Darializa Chevalier once tweeted that she nonchalantly wiped soiled hands on an American flag after running out of napkins.
«For 9/11 families, this is not simply a public ceremony—it is a deeply personal day of mourning. The presence of individuals whose words or associations are perceived as conflicting with the solemn purpose of the event risks detracting from that focus and causing additional pain,» the consortium wrote.
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Olga Colon, 65, blows a kiss as she finds the name of her brother, Carlos Rey Lillo, a paramedic killed when the South Tower collapsed, at the south reflecting pool during the annual 9/11 Commemoration Ceremony at the National 9/11 Memorial and Museum on Sept. 11, 2025, in New York City. Government officials joined family, friends and first responders at Ground Zero on the 24th anniversary of the Sept. 11, 2001, terror attacks at the World Trade Center. (Adam Gray/Getty Images)
One organizer told the New York Post that mourning dignitaries from both parties will be welcomed, but emphasized they have all been involved in the healing process for years, citing former mayors Rudolph Giuliani and Michael Bloomberg, former Sen. Hillary Clinton, D-N.Y., and City Council Speaker Julie Menin, D-Upper East Side.
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The memorial museum said it has «intentionally worked to keep the commemoration free of politics because remembering those we lost on 9/11 should never be a partisan issue,» according to a statement to the Post from staffer Julie Wood.
The petition comes amid elevated rhetoric directed at Mamdani as he prepares to take office before his first September 11 commemoration as mayor, as Rep. Randy Fine, R-Fla., and radio host Sidney Rosenberg both recently declared the mayor a «terrorist.»
zohran mamdani, terrorism, new york city, september 11, politics
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El regreso de una figura polémica: François Hollande ya hace campaña para ser presidente de Francia
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Christian persecution concerns rise in Egypt as State Department presses religious freedom
Christianity’s surge in Middle East sees millions of Muslim converts amid conflict
The Middle East experiences a significant spiritual shift as millions of Muslims convert to Christianity, a phenomenon tracked by Open Doors. Pastor Georges Houssney of Horizons International shares his 50 years of experience ministering in the region, detailing how many are disillusioned with Islam due to war and receiving visions of Christ, even risking death in Iran.
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A series of violent attacks on Egyptian Christians, including the incarceration of a man who converted from Islam to Christianity, prompted the U.S. State Department to urge that religious freedom be respected in the Muslim-majority country of Egypt.
The situation of the Christian minority in Egypt has implications for religious freedom in the northern African nation that receives $1.3 billion in annual funding from the U.S.
Raymond Ibrahim, an expert on Christians in the Muslim world, wrote on the website of the Gatestone Institute, that «Said Mansour Rezk Abdelrazek, a Muslim convert to Christianity, has become one of Egypt’s most prominent religious freedom cases.
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«After embracing Christianity in 2016, he endured years of harassment, detention, and abuse. On April 13, prosecutors referred him to a terrorism court, while his lawyers were denied access to the case file. He remains imprisoned, with advocates reporting torture, physical abuse, denial of adequate medical care, and repeated postponements of his trial.»
In another case, the Egyptian Initiative for Personal Rights (EIPR) reported that a mob of Muslims tossed stones at a church in Upper Egypt on July 8, injuring Christians and causing damage to the building and a priest’s car.
Just days later, a group of men attacked Father Matta Roushdy, 49, a priest at the Virgin Mary and Saint Abanoub Coptic Orthodox Church in Dahab, South Sinai Governorate.
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A State Department spokesperson told Fox News Digital that President Trump has stated that «America will always defend the right of every person to live out their faith openly, freely, and without fear.» The spokesperson added that «Religious freedom is a fundamental American value. We aspire for all others to enjoy the same freedom, protection, and benefits.»
However, there has been some progress in combating bias against Coptic Christians. The organization Coptic Solidarity wrote last week that a breakthrough unfolded with respect to the alleged longstanding discrimination against Coptic athletes in soccer.
Egyptian Coptic Christians attend the Resurrection Mass at the Monastery of Saint Simon Al-Kharaz during Holy Saturday services on April 19, 2025 in Cairo, Egypt. The Coptic Church observes the same liturgical calendar as the Eastern Orthodox Church, whose Easter date coincides with that of the Western Christian calendar this year. (Ahmad Hasaballah/Getty Images)
«In an unprecedented move, Egypt’s Ministry of Youth and Sports announced that its investigation found sufficient evidence of misconduct by a coach at Alexandria’s Al-Ittihad Club who allegedly excluded a junior football player, Makari Younan, because of his Christian name,» the organization announced.
It added that, «The decision deserves recognition. Whether motivated by public pressure or a genuine policy shift, the Ministry’s response represents a notable departure from the longstanding official tendency to dismiss such allegations.»
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The organization continued, «It appears to be the first official acknowledgment that discrimination against Copts in Egyptian sport is not merely an allegation raised by disappointed families or human rights organizations, but a matter requiring government intervention.»
Open Doors, a global organization that aids persecuted Christians around the world, said of the attack on the priest that, «These types of attacks are usually committed by members of radical Islamist groups such as the Muslim Brotherhood.»
Their statement added, «Their actions reflect a broader anti-Christian sentiment, especially in rural and village societies across the country where weak law enforcement leaves Christians vulnerable to attack. Though violent cases like this have decreased in the last decade, these attacks will continue until the state takes anti-Christian fanaticism as seriously as it deserves.»
Fox News Digital sent multiple press query emails to the Egyptian embassies in Washington and Tel Aviv and called the embassy in Washington.
Coptic Orthodox Christians gather for an Easter service at the Monastery of Saint Simon the Tanner, located in the Mokattam Mountain area of Cairo on April 19, 2025. Christians believe Holy Saturday is the day Jesus lay in the tomb after His crucifixion, a time of quiet reflection and waiting. It marks the transition between His death on Good Friday and His resurrection on Easter Sunday. (Ahmed Sayed/Anadolu via Getty Images)
Dalia Ziade, an Egyptian Middle East Scholar and Research Fellow at The Institute for the Study of Global Antisemitism and Policy, told Fox News Digital that «These cases represent only a small fraction of what Coptic Christians endure in Egypt every day. We are speaking about a population of more than 20 million Egyptians. On paper, they are labeled a minority. In reality, they are at the essence of Egyptian identity. They are the preservers of the country’s history and cultural memory.»
According to Ziade, «Women and Coptic Christians constitute President El-Sisi’s most important political base. These were the two vulnerable groups that felt most threatened by the Muslim Brotherhood in the aftermath of the Arab Spring. They strongly supported El-Sisi then, and they continue to support him today. Consequently, he must maintain the appearance of protecting and pleasing them by visiting their church on Christmas every year. But beyond that, nothing is actually happening to make them less vulnerable.»
The U.S. State Department 2025 report on Christians depicts a bleak situation for the Egyptian Christian community. The community makes up an estimated 10% of the nation’s 120 million people.
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According to the State Department report on Egyptian Christians, «Despite efforts for greater representation, Christians remain underrepresented in senior positions across the public sector. Currently, only two Christians – the minister of local development and the minister of parliamentary affairs – serve in Egypt’s 31-member cabinet,» wrote the State Department, adding: «Of 27 appointed governors, only one is Christian. In the senate, 24 Christians (17 elected and seven appointed) hold seats, out of 300 senators. One serves as deputy speaker. A Coptic Christian is the head of the constitutional court. No Christian serves as president of any of the country’s 27 public universities. Employment discrimination against Christians – especially within the security services, judiciary, and senior civil service – remains a significant issue.»
According to an April 29 Christian Today report, a Coptic Christian YouTuber, Augustinos Samaan, was sentenced to five years in prison for insulting Islam because he published videos defending the Christian faith.
christianity religion, faith, religion us, human rights, persecutions
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