Taylor Swift concert terror plot suspect had chemical substances, technical devices at his home: Officials
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(VIENNA, Austria) — Chemical substances and technical devices were found at the house of a 19-year-old Austrian suspected of planning an attack on upcoming Taylor Swift concerts in Vienna, Austria, the public security director at Austria’s Ministry of Interior, Franz Ruf, told public broadcaster ORF’s Oe1 program in an interview Thursday.
Ruf added that these are still being evaluated by investigators. He previously confirmed during a press conference on Wednesday that chemical substances had been secured and were being evaluated.
Three of Swift’s concerts scheduled this week in Vienna were canceled after two suspects were arrested Wednesday for allegedly plotting a terror attack, authorities said.
The cancellations came hours after authorities announced a 19-year-old Austrian citizen was arrested Wednesday morning and a second suspect was arrested in the afternoon.
This is a developing story. Please check back for updates.
ABC News’ Aaron Katersky, Felix Franz, Will Gretsky, Emily Shapiro, Josh Margolin and Luke Barr contributed to this report.
A picture taken on Oct. 7, 2017 shows a view of the exterior of the US embassy in the Sudanese capital of Khartoum. (Ashraf Shazly/AFP via Getty Images, FILE)
(LONDON) — A local guard force member who worked at the U.S. Embassy in Sudan died while in the custody of the Rapid Support Forces paramilitary group, the U.S. Bureau of African Affairs said.
Tarig Hassan Ahmed, the guard, who worked at the embassy in Khartoum, was described as a “dedicated” and “respected” colleague and friend to many in embassy community. The U.S. said it was “deeply saddened and disturbed” by Ahmed’s killing.
“We have asked the RSF to provide full details of the circumstances surrounding Mr. Hassan Ahmed’s detention and death and to ensure those responsible are held accountable,” the bureau said in a statement.
ABC News has asked the RSF for comment on the incident.
The death came just a few weeks after the RSF agreed to a code of conduct at U.S.-mediated talks in Geneva, with the paramilitary group committing to enforcing new conduct for its fighters that includes a command directive for its fighters to comply with Jeddah Declaration commitments and international humanitarian law as well as refrain from violence against women.
“These new commitments must be reflected in the actions of RSF troops on the ground, who have committed ethnic cleansing and crimes against humanity since the outbreak of war against Sudanese civilians,” said U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken.
A new report released by the United Nation’s Independent International Fact-Finding Mission for Sudan found that warring parties have “committed an appalling range of harrowing human rights violations and international crimes,” including many that may amount to war crimes or crimes against humanity.
It is the first report by the independent fact-finding mission, Mohamed Chande Othman, the mission’s chair, said the “gravity” of its findings “underscores the urgent and immediate” action needed to protect civilians.
New visual evidence obtained by Lighthouse Reports has also found RSF and allied militias implicated in extrajudicial killings of unarmed civilians, including ethnic massacres that took place in the Western region of Sudan’s Darfur.
Meanwhile the war in Sudan continues, with fighting now ongoing in over 70% of the Northeast African nation’s states. At least 38 people were killed and 116 injured following what local groups say were “indiscriminate artillery and air strikes” by the RSF in Sudan’s Sennar state, Emergency Lawyers, a monitor for civilian casualties and humanitarian violations said in a statement.
The conflict has killed at least 20,000 people as it enters its seventh month, U.N. officials say. Local groups however warn the true toll is likely much higher.
“Much more needs to be done, of course; we’re mindful of that,” said White House national security adviser John Kirby at a White House press briefing last week. “The RSF and the SAF need to uphold their commitments.”
SNCF employees and French gendarmes inspect the scene of a suspected attack on the high speed railway network at Croiselles, northern France on July 26, 2024. (Photo by DENIS CHARLET/AFP via Getty Images)
(LONDON) — Arson attacks on France’s rail network have taken place in what authorities are calling a “massive attack to destabilize the railway system,” just hours before the 2024 Paris Olympic Games opening ceremony is set to take place.
Trains at all major Paris stations have been delayed after fires and at least 800,000 people have been affected in the “arson attacks were set to damage our installations,” according to a statement from rail company, SCNF.
Authorities have not called this a terror attack, but fires began to be reported overnight at 4 a.m. local time and that trackside signal boxes have were set on fire and cables on the lines had been cut, which has caused major disruptions in the north and east of France.
“Coordinated malicious acts targeted several TGV lines last night and will seriously disrupt traffic until this weekend,” said the French transport minister. “I strongly condemn these criminal actions which will compromise the departures on vacation of many French people.”
France’s high-speed rail lines seem to be the intended target, officials said Friday morning, as fires were set along three lines while a fourth fire on another line was stopped.
SCNF says it will take all weekend to repair while Eurostar has already been advising passengers to postpone their trips to Paris.
All this is happening just hours before the opening ceremonies of the 2024 Olympic Games are set to take place in Paris on Friday evening.
“Early this morning, acts of sabotage were carried out in a planned and coordinated manner on SNCF installations, said French Prime Minister Gabriel Attal. “The consequences for the rail network are massive and serious. I express my gratitude to our firefighters who intervened on the affected sites and to the SNCF agents who will carry out the necessary work to restore the network.”
“My thoughts are with all the French people, all the families, who were preparing to go on holiday. I share their anger and salute their patience, their understanding and the civic-mindedness they demonstrate,” Attal continued. “Our intelligence services and our law enforcement are mobilized to find and punish the perpetrators of these criminal acts.”
(NEW YORK) — UN General Assembly President Dennis Francis sat down with ABC News’ Linsey Davis to talk about the dangers to global stability, from conflicts to climate change.
Since 1945, the United Nations has addressed issues that transcend borders, with the world’s problems being debated at the General Assembly Building in New York.
Francis, a diplomat from the Caribbean nation of Trinidad and Tobago, has served as his country’s permanent representative to the United Nations since 2021. He was elected to serve as the UN General Assembly’s 78th president in 2023.
ABC News talked to Francis at the General Assembly Building’s iconic hall about Israel and Palestine, Ukraine and Russia, climate change, South Sudan and his message to the next president of the United States.
ABC NEWS: Every president probably has had their own tumult.
FRANCIS: Yes.
ABC NEWS: But it just feels like on your watch, it’s especially busy. But do you feel that?
FRANCIS: Yes, I do. Folks who have been here for quite some time say they’ve never really seen it quite like this before. So many challenges emerging at the same time; peace and stability is under increased duress. I think there are 55 conflict situations in the world. 55.
ABC NEWS: The UN Security Council approved a ceasefire plan that was backed by the United States. And in the meantime, we’ve seen no change from Hamas or Israel. Does the Security Council have sufficient power?
FRANCIS: The question is power over whom? As critical as Hamas is as a player in the Middle East crisis, Hamas is not a state. The General Assembly, for example, had called long ago, in October of 2023, for a complete ceasefire in Gaza. We cannot police the world. The UN doesn’t have a police force. The UN speaks and tries to change behavior through its positions and principles, its values.
I would like to see, and I think the only one that is really credible, a two-state solution. Where Israel and the Palestinians live side by side in peace and security.
We’ve had wars in the Middle East, between the two sides, repeatedly. Are we going to continue this cycle of death, degradation, pain, suffering indefinitely?
ABC NEWS: UN-backed groups believe that maybe as many as 500,000 Palestinians are on the verge of famine. Do you think enough is being done to provide relief and aid to the Palestinians?
FRANCIS: We, as the UN, have a concern that more can and ought to be done. We’ve watched the people of Palestine suffer in the most heartrending way. And the hope is that those who have the capacity and the power to make a difference, in terms of the delivery of aid and support to those people, will step up and do the honorable thing, consistent with the requirements of international human rights and humanitarian law.
ABC NEWS: You mentioned that there are currently 55 conflicts going on globally.
FRANCIS: Yes.
ABC NEWS: Of course, top of mind: the war in Ukraine, which is now in excess of two years. What do you see as the likely outcome there and the responsibility of the UN?
FRANCIS: What really needs to happen is that the Russian forces need to pull back and remove themselves from the territory of Ukraine. That is the only credible outcome insofar as we at the United Nations are concerned.
ABC NEWS: Do you feel that Russia should have a permanent spot on the UN Security Council with veto power?
FRANCIS: That’s not a decision for me. That’s a decision for the membership of the United Nations.
ABC NEWS: But if it were up to you?
FRANCIS: It isn’t up to me because the president does not have those powers
ABC NEWS: I know you recently returned from Namibia. Namibia and Africa, in general, both extremely vulnerable to climate change.
FRANCIS: Yes.
ABC NEWS: And I’m wondering if you are concerned, with regard to the UN secretary general has described this as a highway to hell, that this is a moment of truth.
FRANCIS: I normally wear a pin, and for some reason today I forgot it. It’s a 1.5 degree pin. That’s the temperature at which we need to keep the increase in global temperature above pre-industrial levels. That is important, because for a number of countries in the global south, particularly small island developing states, low lying coastal areas, anything above that would be utterly cataclysmic.
ABC NEWS: Let’s talk about South Sudan. There are reports that 25 million people are in need of aid, famine is looming, 8 million people have been displaced from their homes. Do you feel that the world is paying enough attention to the atrocities going on there?
FRANCIS: No.
ABC NEWS: And why do you think that is?
FRANCIS: Insufficient attention has been paid to the conflicts in Africa and, in particular, what’s going on in South Sudan. It is in a very desperate situation. And I would urge, I would urge the international development community to pay greater attention and to be more forthcoming in the context of humanitarian aid. Not just for South Sudan, but there are other places as well, for Somalia, Mali, other places, because human suffering is going on at an alarming rate. And those of us who have the capacity to do something about it need to act.
ABC NEWS: How do you feel that the outcome of America’s presidential election in November will impact the UN?
FRANCIS: The UN does not have a political preference for governments. So whomsoever occupies the Oval Office come November, I’m sure the UN will be in a position to interact with, discuss policy with, and come to decisions that are in the best interests of the world in general.
ABC NEWS: Do you have a message for the future president of the United States?
FRANCIS: Let’s join together and take some bold decisions, bold decisions to begin in earnest to repair some of the problems that are daunting us in the international society – climate change, sea level rise, antimicrobial resistance, artificial intelligence. Ensuring that we harvest the best benefits that can advance science and advance human society without necessarily importing the risks and threats that could unravel the social fabric of society.
