• Taylor Swift performs at Wembley Stadium in London as part of her Eras Tour. Getty Images
    Taylor Swift performs at Wembley Stadium in London as part of her Eras Tour. Getty Images
  • Swifties, the name given to fans of the US singer, arrive at the stadium. AP
    Swifties, the name given to fans of the US singer, arrive at the stadium. AP
  • London has increased security at the concerts after a terrorist plot was uncovered before Swift's shows in Austria. AP
    London has increased security at the concerts after a terrorist plot was uncovered before Swift's shows in Austria. AP
  • Swift's shows in London will complete the European leg of her tour. Getty Images
    Swift's shows in London will complete the European leg of her tour. Getty Images
  • She is to perform five concerts in the UK capital. Getty Images
    She is to perform five concerts in the UK capital. Getty Images
  • A police officer wears friendship bracelets while patrolling near Wembley. Reuters
    A police officer wears friendship bracelets while patrolling near Wembley. Reuters
  • Fans cheer as Swift performs on stage. PA
    Fans cheer as Swift performs on stage. PA
  • Fans outside Wembley Stadium. The arrival of Swift is set to boost London's hospitality sector. PA
    Fans outside Wembley Stadium. The arrival of Swift is set to boost London's hospitality sector. PA
  • A crowd of Swifties descend on Wembley. AP
    A crowd of Swifties descend on Wembley. AP
  • Swift memorabilia on sale outside the stadium. Getty Images
    Swift memorabilia on sale outside the stadium. Getty Images
  • A fan takes a picture of a Swift-themed Tube map in London. EPA
    A fan takes a picture of a Swift-themed Tube map in London. EPA
  • Fans at a mural outside Wembley Stadium. EPA
    Fans at a mural outside Wembley Stadium. EPA

Austria 'grateful' for CIA's Taylor Swift plot tip-off


Tim Stickings
  • English
  • Arabic

Austria is grateful to US spies who uncovered an ISIS plot against a Taylor Swift concert in Vienna, Chancellor Karl Nehammer has said, after the CIA revealed it provided the tip-off.

CIA deputy director David Cohen said “tens of thousands of people” could have been killed in an alleged plot involving knives and explosives during Swift's record-smashing Eras Tour.

Mr Nehammer is demanding that Austrian agencies be allowed to spy on messenger apps after they relied on the US to alert them to the danger.

Two teenagers were arrested after what Austrian intelligence initially described as a tip-off from “partner agencies”, widely assumed to be American.

Mr Cohen confirmed the US involvement, saying it passed on “information about what this ISIS-connected group was planning to do”.

“They were plotting to kill a huge number – tens of thousands of people at this concert, including I am sure many Americans – and were quite advanced in this,” Mr Cohen said.

Swift's shows were cancelled, to the disappointment of 195,000 fans with tickets.

“There were people who thought that was a really good day for Langley,” Mr Cohen said, referring to the CIA headquarters. “And not just the Swifties in my workforce.”

Mr Nehammer, who is campaigning to be re-elected on September 29, said in a TV interview that the situation in Austria remained tense.

He welcomed what he said was a restoration of Austria's foreign intelligence links after a previous spy agency was bogged down in political scandal.

The Vienna leg of the Eras Tour was cancelled after what detectives said was a thwarted plot by an ISIS-inspired teenager. EPA
The Vienna leg of the Eras Tour was cancelled after what detectives said was a thwarted plot by an ISIS-inspired teenager. EPA

Allies openly doubted whether they could trust Austria with sensitive information after police raids on the now-disbanded Office for the Protection of the Constitution.

“I am very grateful to the international agencies for co-operating with us on an equal footing again. That was not a certainty,” Mr Nehammer told Puls 24.

Monitoring of messenger apps by Austria's own agencies will be a must-have for Mr Nehammer's conservatives in any post-election coalition talks, he said.

He said it should be possible for social media companies such as Facebook and TikTok to remove Islamist content from their sites.

Detectives say the main Vienna suspect, 19-year-old Beran A, planned to launch an attack outside one of Swift's shows, where fans without a ticket typically gather and sing along outside.

According to investigators, he was radicalised online and had recently sworn an oath of loyalty to ISIS. He has partially retracted a confession, according to his lawyer, who said the plot was a fantasy.

Swift's final European concerts in London passed off peacefully after fans were banned from gathering outside, a practice known as “Taylor-gating” or “Tay-gating”.

The distance learning plan

Spring break will be from March 8 - 19

Public school pupils will undergo distance learning from March 22 - April 2. School hours will be 8.30am to 1.30pm

Staff will be trained in distance learning programmes from March 15 - 19

Teaching hours will be 8am to 2pm during distance learning

Pupils will return to school for normal lessons from April 5

COMPANY%20PROFILE
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Boulder shooting victims

• Denny Strong, 20
• Neven Stanisic, 23
• Rikki Olds, 25
• Tralona Bartkowiak, 49
• Suzanne Fountain, 59
• Teri Leiker, 51
• Eric Talley, 51
• Kevin Mahoney, 61
• Lynn Murray, 62
• Jody Waters, 65

Company%20Profile
%3Cp%3ECompany%20name%3A%20EduPloyment%3Cbr%3EDate%20started%3A%20March%202020%3Cbr%3ECo-Founders%3A%20Mazen%20Omair%20and%20Rana%20Batterjee%3Cbr%3EBase%3A%20Dubai%2C%20UAE%3Cbr%3ESector%3A%20Recruitment%3Cbr%3ESize%3A%2030%20employees%3Cbr%3EInvestment%20stage%3A%20Pre-Seed%3Cbr%3EInvestors%3A%20Angel%20investors%20(investment%20amount%20undisclosed)%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
The five pillars of Islam

1. Fasting 

2. Prayer 

3. Hajj 

4. Shahada 

5. Zakat 

Avatar: Fire and Ash

Director: James Cameron

Starring: Sam Worthington, Sigourney Weaver, Zoe Saldana

Rating: 4.5/5

World Cup warm up matches

May 24 Pakistan v Afghanistan, Bristol; Sri Lanka v South Africa, Cardiff

May 25 England v Australia, Southampton; India v New Zealand, The Oval

May 26 South Africa v West Indies, Bristol; Pakistan v Bangladesh, Cardiff

May 27 Australia v Sri Lanka, Southampton; England v Afghanistan, The Oval

May 28 West Indies v New Zealand, Bristol; Bangladesh v India, Cardiff

Common OCD symptoms and how they manifest

Checking: the obsession or thoughts focus on some harm coming from things not being as they should, which usually centre around the theme of safety. For example, the obsession is “the building will burn down”, therefore the compulsion is checking that the oven is switched off.

Contamination: the obsession is focused on the presence of germs, dirt or harmful bacteria and how this will impact the person and/or their loved ones. For example, the obsession is “the floor is dirty; me and my family will get sick and die”, the compulsion is repetitive cleaning.

Orderliness: the obsession is a fear of sitting with uncomfortable feelings, or to prevent harm coming to oneself or others. Objectively there appears to be no logical link between the obsession and compulsion. For example,” I won’t feel right if the jars aren’t lined up” or “harm will come to my family if I don’t line up all the jars”, so the compulsion is therefore lining up the jars.

Intrusive thoughts: the intrusive thought is usually highly distressing and repetitive. Common examples may include thoughts of perpetrating violence towards others, harming others, or questions over one’s character or deeds, usually in conflict with the person’s true values. An example would be: “I think I might hurt my family”, which in turn leads to the compulsion of avoiding social gatherings.

Hoarding: the intrusive thought is the overvaluing of objects or possessions, while the compulsion is stashing or hoarding these items and refusing to let them go. For example, “this newspaper may come in useful one day”, therefore, the compulsion is hoarding newspapers instead of discarding them the next day.

Source: Dr Robert Chandler, clinical psychologist at Lighthouse Arabia

MATCH INFO

Inter Milan 1 (Martinez 18' pen)

Juventus 2 (Dybala 4', Higuain 80')

VEZEETA PROFILE

Date started: 2012

Founder: Amir Barsoum

Based: Dubai, UAE

Sector: HealthTech / MedTech

Size: 300 employees

Funding: $22.6 million (as of September 2018)

Investors: Technology Development Fund, Silicon Badia, Beco Capital, Vostok New Ventures, Endeavour Catalyst, Crescent Enterprises’ CE-Ventures, Saudi Technology Ventures and IFC

Despacito's dominance in numbers

Released: 2017

Peak chart position: No.1 in more than 47 countries, including the United States, the United Kingdom, Australia and Lebanon

Views: 5.3 billion on YouTube

Sales: With 10 million downloads in the US, Despacito became the first Latin single to receive Diamond sales certification

Streams: 1.3 billion combined audio and video by the end of 2017, making it the biggest digital hit of the year.

Awards: 17, including Record of the Year at last year’s prestigious Latin Grammy Awards, as well as five Billboard Music Awards

Timeline

2012-2015

The company offers payments/bribes to win key contracts in the Middle East

May 2017

The UK SFO officially opens investigation into Petrofac’s use of agents, corruption, and potential bribery to secure contracts

September 2021

Petrofac pleads guilty to seven counts of failing to prevent bribery under the UK Bribery Act

October 2021

Court fines Petrofac £77 million for bribery. Former executive receives a two-year suspended sentence 

December 2024

Petrofac enters into comprehensive restructuring to strengthen the financial position of the group

May 2025

The High Court of England and Wales approves the company’s restructuring plan

July 2025

The Court of Appeal issues a judgment challenging parts of the restructuring plan

August 2025

Petrofac issues a business update to execute the restructuring and confirms it will appeal the Court of Appeal decision

October 2025

Petrofac loses a major TenneT offshore wind contract worth €13 billion. Holding company files for administration in the UK. Petrofac delisted from the London Stock Exchange

November 2025

180 Petrofac employees laid off in the UAE

The%20specs
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EEngine%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Dual%20synchronous%20electric%20motors%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EPower%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3E660hp%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ETorque%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3E1%2C100Nm%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ETransmission%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3ESingle-speed%20automatic%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ETouring%20range%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3E488km-560km%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EPrice%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EFrom%20Dh850%2C000%20(estimate)%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EOn%20sale%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EOctober%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
Updated: August 30, 2024, 11:25 AM