Author: Hugh Evan Harper

“They were plotting to kill a huge number, tens of thousands of people at this concert, I am sure many Americans,” CIA Deputy Director David S. Cohen said “Tens of thousands” of fans were the target of a thwarted terrorist attempt at Taylor Swift’s recent Vienna shows, a CIA official told reporters on Wednesday, Aug. 28. CIA Deputy Director David S. Cohen shared new details of the thwarted terror plot that canceled all three of the 34-year-old pop star’s planned Eras Tour concerts in Austria earlier this month during the annual Intelligence Summit just outside Washington, D.C., reports The New York Times and NBC News. “They…

The establishment of the “axis powers” in the 1930s paved the way for the Second World War. Agreements signed between Germany, Italy, and Japan in 1936 united them in their expansionist interests and hatred of Western allies. Amid Russia’s war in Ukraine, the Israel-Hamas conflict, and China’s repeated threats of invading Taiwan – some security and military analysts say we are on a similar path again and that Russia, China, Iran, and North Korea are the “new axis powers”. The last time a similar term was used was in 2002 by former US President George W Bush, describing Iran, Iraq, and North Korea, as…

Brussels (26 June – 17). European political groups on Tuesday agreed to a deal on top European Union posts, selecting Germany’s Ursula von der Leyen for a second term as head of the European Commission, the bloc’s powerful executive body, sources said. The three main centrist groups agreed to the package that would also make Portuguese ex-premier Antonio Costa the chair of meetings of EU national leaders and Estonian Prime Minister Kaja Kallas the EU foreign policy chief, the political sources said. EU leaders are expected to approve the deal at a summit in Brussels starting on Thursday. But von…

The resolution, which failed due to a Russian veto, sought to reaffirm and extend critical norms against placing weapons of mass destruction in space. A proposed United Nations Security Council resolution on weapons of mass destruction (WMD) in outer space failed a few days ago. While 13 members supported the resolution co-sponsored by the United States and Japan, China abstained and Russia voted against the resolution. The negative vote by a permanent member of the U.N. Security Council killed the resolution entirely. Russia called the U.S. and Japanese efforts “yet another propaganda stunt by Washington,” “very politicized,” and “divorced from reality.” The resolution was…

LONDON (AP) — Prince Harry’s victory against Mirror Group Newspapers on Friday over what a British judge called “habitual” illegal activity is a landmark moment in the long and twisting saga of lawbreaking by Britain’s tabloid press. Judge Timothy Fancourt ruled that Mirror newspapers had hired private investigators to snoop for personal information and engaged in illegal phone hacking for well over a decade. It’s the latest chapter in a tale of tabloid power and attempts to tame it stretching back years — but it’s unlikely to be the end of the story. WHAT IS PHONE HACKING? In the pre-digital era, Britain’s…

Conor McGregor has been accused of stoking anti-immigrant sentiment and inciting riots in Dublin after sharing anti-immigrant remarks on social media. “Ireland, we are at war” the UFC fighter said on X—the social network formerly known as Twitter—on Wednesday. The declaration followed a series of posts about Taioseach Leo Varadkar urging migrants to register to vote, a decision that was enacted in 2008. “Imagine a mega power nation allowing this absolute foolishness!!” McGregor (@TheNotoriousMMA) wrote. “A real showing of the lack of care they have for the common Irish citizen.” On Thursday, riots broke out across Dublin after three children and a teacher were…

Geert Wilders is already known to many Europeans beyond Dutch borders for his radical anti-immigration and Islamophobic politics, his staunch Euroskepticism and of course his unmistakable blonde bouffant hairstyle. But after Wilders’ Party for Freedom (PVV) emerged victorious from national elections on Wednesday off the back of a shock last-minute surge in opinion polls, Europeans will be hearing a lot more from him in the months to come as a new Dutch government is built. PVV won by far the most seats in parliament with a projected 37 out of 150, though Wilders is not certain to end up in government. The Netherlands is always governed…

A swelling population of feral “super pigs” in Canada is threatening to spread across the border into northern U.S. states, wildlife experts warn. Threat level: States including Minnesota and Montana are taking preventative measures in case this crossbreed of wild boar and domestic swine that University of Saskatchewan professor Ryan Brook calls “the most invasive animal on the planet” crosses the border, per AP. Of note: The U.S. is already grappling with a feral swine problem. Some 9 million hogs that can carry parasites and diseases such as African swine fever have been reported in at least 35 states. State of play: The hybrid pigs in Canada evolved after…

Asian shares stuttered on Wednesday as a blast at a Gaza hospital dealt a blow to hopes for containing the crisis, while bonds nursed heavy losses as strong U.S. retail data argued for a punishingly long stretch of high rates. Israeli and Palestinian authorities were trading blame for the blast that killed hundreds at the hospital, complicating U.S. President Joe Biden’s already fraught trip to the region. The news contributed to a spike in oil prices as investors worried Iran or other nations could get pulled into the conflict. “We judge the risks are tilted towards escalation and spread of…

The counterterrorism expert and author of “Sri Lanka’s Easter Sunday Massacre: Lessons for the International Community” explains how religious extremism manifested in Sri Lanka’s deadliest terror attack. On April 21, 2019 – Easter Sunday – a coordinated series of bombings ripped through Sri Lanka, targeting churches and luxury hotels. Over 260 people were killed, making it the deadliest terrorist attack ever suffered by Sri Lanka. The attack has continued to resonate in Sri Lankan society and politics, as the public demands to untangle questions of responsibility: Why was the attack not prevented, and what can be done to stop the…