Associated Press: 3rd Person In Custody Over Foiled Plot Targeting Now-Canceled Taylor Swift Shows In Vienna

“Austrian authorities on Friday announced a third arrest in connection with the foiled conspiracy to attack three now-canceled Taylor Swift concerts, even as disappointed fans charmed Vienna by trading friendship bracelets and singing the pop star’s songs in the streets. The main suspect, a 19-year-old, planned to target onlookers gathered outside Ernst Happel Stadium — up to 30,000 each night, with another 65,000 inside the venue — with knives or homemade explosives during the concert on Thursday or Friday. The suspect hoped to “kill as many people as possible,” authorities said. The 19-year-old main suspect was taken into custody on Tuesday, along with a 17-year-old, officials said. Both are Austrian citizens. The third suspect, an 18-year-old Iraqi citizen, was arrested Thursday evening, the interior minister said at an unrelated news conference Friday.”

BBC: Far-Right Extremist Convicted Of Terrorism Offences

“A far-right extremist has been convicted of terrorism offences after he shared videos online related to the making of explosives. Police seized books, masks and memorabilia of an extreme right-wing nature, as well as a 3D-printed firearm, from Gabriel Budasz's accommodation in August 2023. The 24-year-old, of Drove Road in Weston-Super-Mare, was found guilty of various terror offences at Winchester Crown Court on Thursday. Police said content shared by Budasz online was "incredibly dangerous to those vulnerable to radicalisation". After a search warrant was executed at Budasz's house, he was asked to turn off his computer with his leg while he was handcuffed, but he refused. Prosecutors seized Budasz's mobile and computer devices and found he used a number of social media sites under different usernames to post extreme right-wing material.”

CEP Mentions

Voice Of America: Houthis Undeterred Despite US Action To Protect Red Sea Shipping

“...The U.S.-led responses have been “meticulously proportionate,” said Fitton-Brown, now a senior adviser for the New York and Berlin-based Counter Extremism Project. “We need to be more determined and creative about what to do about this,” he said. “We are looking at a de facto authority, and a de facto authority has fixed points you can attack “They have military bases that were previously in the hands of the government. They have intelligence headquarters. They have security deployments in [the port city of] Hodeidah,” Fitton-Brown told VOA. “Significant escalation of targeting is possible without changing the legal status of the conflict.”

ElDiario.Es: Hans-Jakob Schindler, Terrorism Expert: “The Enormous Success Of ISIS And Al Qaeda In Africa Will Have Consequences For Europe”

“Austrian police arrested two suspected terrorists on Wednesday who were planning to attack Taylor Swift's concerts in Vienna, scheduled for August 8-10, and other events in the city. One of them had sworn allegiance to the Islamic State and the artist has had to cancel her concerts. Meanwhile, Paris has sealed off during the Olympic Games to prevent any possible terrorist incident. To gauge the level of threat, elDiario.es spoke to one of the leading experts on the subject: Hans-Jakob Schindler, founder and current director of the Counter Extremism Project (CEP) –based in New York and Berlin– and former head of the UN Security Council Sanctions Monitoring Team against the Islamic State (Daesh), Al Qaeda and the Taliban.A diplomat and expert in intelligence and security, Schindler has been studying the evolution and development of organisations considered strategic threats by a large part of the international community since the 1990s.”

NTV: Expert Assesses Terror Threat In Europe

“After the cancellation of the Taylor Swift concerts in Vienna because of an Islamist attack plan, concerns are growing about a further terrorist threat in Europe. But how great is the threat from Islamists? ntv speaks to terrorism expert Hans-Jakob Schindler.”

Welt: “They Are Being Recruited Online And Are Getting Younger And Younger”

“Fearing terrorist attacks, the organizers have canceled the three upcoming concerts of US pop star Taylor Swift in Vienna. Terrorism expert Hans-Jakob Schindler says that we must not give in to the pressure of terrorists.”

Big Issue: Prisons Are Full To Bursting – And The UK Riots Have Thrown Their Usefulness Back In The Spotlight

“The spasm of violent disorder that has gripped England and Northern Ireland over the last week has thrown the issue of prison capability back into the spotlight. Before the brutal murders of three children in Southport, it looked just about possible for our national jail service, running at 99% capacity, to stagger over the line in September when the reduction in time served by the incoming government from 50% to 40% took hold and gave some respite. Now after days of violent disorder from Plymouth to Sunderland, egged on by social media misinformation, hundreds of people are being pushed through the criminal justice system by a government determined to make an example of them. That example will include jail time, sometimes years of it, for the orgy of criminality that has hijacked the grief of families devastated by loss and grief.”

Deutschlandfunk Kultur: Attack On Taylor Swift Concert Would Have Been A Clear Signal

“Taylor Swift concerts in Vienna cancelled - this has put the "Islamic State" in the headlines around the world. This is "a clear signal to sympathizers and donors that we are still active," says Hans-Jakob Schindler from the Counter Extremism Project.”

United States

Reuters: US, Qatar And Egypt Push Urgent Talks With Israel And Hamas On Aug 15

“Leaders of the United States, Egypt and Qatar on Thursday called on Israel and Hamas to meet for negotiations on Aug. 15 in order to finalize a Gaza ceasefire and hostage release deal. The three countries, which have been trying to mediate a deal, said in a joint statement the talks could take place in either Doha or Cairo. "A framework agreement is now on the table with only the details of implementation left to conclude," they said. "There is no further time to waste nor excuses from any party for further delay. It is time to release the hostages, begin the ceasefire, and implement this agreement." The leaders also offered to present "a final bridging proposal" resolving the remaining issues. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Israeli negotiators would be there. The aim, he said, was "to finalize the details and implement the framework agreement." There was no immediate comment from Hamas.”

Associated Press: US And Other Frustrated Mediators Call On Israel, Hamas To Resume Gaza Talks, Saying, ‘No Excuses’

“Leaders of the United States, Egypt and Qatar jointly demanded Israel and Hamas return to stalled talks on the war in Gaza next week, saying that “only the details” of carrying out a cease-fire and hostage release remain to be negotiated. “There is no further time to waste, nor excuses from any party for further delay,” they said in a joint statement. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office said Thursday, “Pursuant to the proposal by the U.S. and the mediators, Israel will — on 15 August — send the negotiations team to a place to be determined in order to finalize the details of the implementation of the framework agreement.” President Joe Biden, Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi and Qatari Emir Tamim al-Thani, mediators in indirect negotiations to end 10 months of devastating war in Gaza, set the talks for Aug. 15, to take place in either Doha, Qatar, or Cairo.”

Turkey

Reuters: Somalia, Ethiopia To Resume Talks On Port Deal Under Turkish Mediation, Ankara Says

“The foreign ministers of Somalia and Ethiopia will meet in Ankara next week to discuss disagreements over a port deal Addis Ababa signed with the breakaway region of Somaliland earlier this year, Turkey's foreign minister Hakan Fidan said. Turkey is now mediating talks between the east African neighbours, whose ties became strained in January when Ethiopia agreed to lease 20 km (12 miles) of coastline from Somaliland, in exchange for recognition of its independence. Mogadishu called the agreement illegal and retaliated by expelling the Ethiopian ambassador and threatening to kick out thousands of Ethiopian troops stationed in the country helping battle Islamist insurgents. Somali and Ethiopian foreign ministers met in Ankara last month along with Fidan to discuss their disagreements, and agreed to hold another round of talks. At a news conference in Istanbul, Fidan said a second round of talks between Somalia and Ethiopia will take place in Ankara next week.”

Afghanistan

Voice Of America: UN Sees Rising Threat Of IS-Khorasan Attacks Outside Afghanistan

“The head of the United Nations counterterrorism office warned Thursday that there is a risk of the Afghanistan-based Islamic State affiliate IS-Khorasan carrying out attacks abroad. “ISIL-K has improved its financial and logistical capabilities in the past six months, including by tapping into Afghan and Central Asian diasporas for support,” Vladimir Voronkov said, referring to the terror organization by an acronym. “The group has also intensified its recruitment efforts.” He told a meeting of the U.N. Security Council on the threat of terrorism that the activity of the self-styled Islamic State and other terrorist groups in Afghanistan “remains a significant concern.” “We must unite to prevent Afghanistan from once again becoming a hotbed of terrorism,” Voronkov said, urging Afghanistan’s neighbors to counter and prevent the threat from IS-K from spreading.”

Voice Of America: Afghan Refugees Worry As Iran Continues Forced Deportation

“When the Taliban overran the northern Afghan city of Mazar-e Sharif in August 2021, Aminullah Ranjbar, a police officer, says he had "no option" but to flee with his family to Iran. The Ranjbars have been living in Tehran as undocumented refugees for the past three years, fearing deportation to Afghanistan, where Aminullah’s life is in danger. "We know that many [former Afghan security officials] were killed by the ruling group in Afghanistan," Ranjbar said. Thousands of former Afghan security forces fled to Iran after the Taliban’s takeover in August 2021 for fear of reprisals. The United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan says it documented "at least 60 instances of arbitrary arrest and detention, at least 10 instances of torture and ill-treatment, verbal threats and at least five killings of former government officials and former ANDSF members" between April 1 and June 30, 2024.”

Pakistan

Reuters: Pakistan Says It Will Support All Efforts To Prevent Middle East Escalation

“Pakistan would support all efforts to prevent war escalating in the Middle East, its foreign ministry said on Friday, as fears grow of a wider conflict involving Israel and Iran. The Middle East is bracing for a possible new wave of attacks by Iran and its allies following last week's killing of senior members of militant groups Hamas and Hezbollah. Tehran has blamed the death of Hamas's political leader on Iranian soil on Israel, which has not confirmed involvement. The United States has been carrying out round-the-clock diplomacy, urging other countries through diplomatic channels to tell Iran that escalation in the Middle East is not in their interest, according to the state department. "Pakistan will support all efforts to prevent a war in the Middle East," said Foreign Ministry spokesperson Mumtaz Zahra Baloch at a media briefing. She did not comment on whether Pakistan had been in contact with Washington over the issue. She denied reports by the Jerusalem Post newspaper that Pakistan was planning to provide Shaheen-III medium-range ballistic missiles to Iran.”

Yemen

Associated Press: 3 Suspected Houthi Attacks Target A Ship Off Yemen, Authorities Say

“Three suspected attacks by Yemen’s Houthi rebels targeted a ship in the strategic Bab el-Mandeb Strait linking the Gulf of Aden to the Red Sea, including one that saw private security guards shoot and destroy a bomb-loaded drone boat, authorities said Friday. The Houthis didn’t immediately claim the assaults, though they follow a monthslong campaign by the rebels targeting shipping through the Red Sea corridor over the Israel-Hamas war in the Gaza Strip. Since November, Houthi attacks have disrupted the $1 trillion of goods that flow annually through the region, while also sparking the most intense combat the U.S. Navy has seen since World War II. After a recent two-week pause, their attacks resumed following the assassination of Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh in Iran, amid concerns of a wider regional war. Iran backs the Houthis as part of what it calls a regional “Axis of Resistance.””

United Kingdom

Politico: Britain’s Far Right Enjoys Unparalleled Impunity On Telegram

“As riots swept the U.K. in recent days, far-right groups plotted attacks on immigration centers and swapped manuals for making petrol bombs on the fringe social network Telegram. Social media platforms have faced intense criticism for hosting extremist rhetoric that has inflamed violent disorder since the killing of three children in Southport in a stabbing attack late July. But while Elon Musk’s provocations on X (formerly Twitter) have grabbed the limelight, right-wing agitators have long enjoyed an unparalleled level of impunity on Telegram. “The far right, fascists and neo-Nazis have long regarded Telegram as a safe space for the exchange of their views,” said Matthew Feldman, a specialist on right-wing extremism who teaches at the University of York. Channels set up on Telegram following the killings in Southport amassed tens of thousands of members and were used to mobilize far-right rioters.”

Europe

Associated Press: Suspects In Foiled Attack On Taylor Swift Shows Were Inspired By Islamic State Group, Officials Say

“Both suspects in a foiled plot to attack Taylor Swift shows in Vienna appeared to be inspired by the Islamic State group and al-Qaida, Austrian authorities said Thursday, and investigators found bomb-making materials at one of their homes. Officials said one of the two confessed to planning to “kill as many people as possible outside the concert venue.” Three sold-out concerts were canceled Wednesday because of the plot, devastating Swifties from across the globe. Many of them had dropped thousands of euros (dollars) on travel and lodging in Austria’s expensive capital city to attend the Eras Tour shows at the Ernst Happel Stadium, which sat empty Thursday morning. Europe is enamored with the American superstar: The German town of Gelsenkirchen renamed itself “Swiftkirchen” before its mid-July concerts. Concert organizers in Austria said they had expected up to 65,000 fans inside the stadium at each concert and as many as 30,000 onlookers outside, where authorities said the suspects planned to strike.”