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Thwarted attack at Taylor Swift concert in Vienna: here’s what we know

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Thwarted attack at Taylor Swift concert in Vienna: here’s what we know, Magnate Daily
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Steph Deschamps / August 9, 2024

 
Police have announced the arrest of two people, including a 19-year-old, who were planning a suicide attack at one of American star Taylor Swift’s concerts in Vienna to “kill a large number of people”, intelligence officials in the Alpine country announced on Thursday.
 
“He made a full confession and said he intended to carry out an attack using explosives and bladed weapons,” Director of Intelligence Services (DSN) Omar Haijawi-Pirchner told a press conference. “His aim was to kill himself and a large number of people, either today or tomorrow, during the concert.”
 
The Austrian citizen, who had “pledged allegiance” to the jihadist group Islamic State (EI), was arrested following a special operation in Lower Austria, an hour outside Vienna, according to the Director General of Public Security, Franz Ruf.
 
“We discovered preparatory acts with a focus on Taylor Swift’s concerts in Vienna,” he told the press, adding that ‘chemical substances’ had been ‘seized’ from the suspect’s home.
 
He was in collusion with another person, also “radicalized on the Internet”, who was arrested in Vienna, said Mr. Ruf, without giving further details. The authorities had promised tighter security measures and checks at the stadium entrance, but this was clearly not enough to reassure the organizers.
 
“With the confirmation by the authorities of a planned terrorist attack at the Ernst Happel stadium, we have no choice but to cancel all three concerts for everyone’s safety,” the organizers announced on Instagram in the evening, specifying that tickets would be automatically refunded ‘within 10 days’.
 
The 34-year-old singer was due to perform in Vienna from Thursday as part of her “Eras” tour, the European leg of which kicked off in Paris in May. Taylor Swift’s sixth tour kicked off in the USA in March 2023, and at the end of last year became the first in history to sell over a billion dollars’ worth of tickets. This figure is set to more than double by the time it ends in Canada in December.
 
In Austria, more than 170,000 spectators were expected to attend, generating an estimated 100 million euros in revenue, according to figures provided by the APA news agency.
Austria has stepped up its preventive measures since a jihadist attack on November 2, 2020, which killed four people and was the first to hit the normally safe country of 9.1 million inhabitants.
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World News

Full-Scale Escalation in the Middle East: Washington and Israel Launch Operation “Epic Fury” Against Iran

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March 1, 2026

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Steph Deschamps / February 28, 2026

In what appears to be the most radical shift in regional geopolitics in decades, the United States and Israel launched a massive aerial offensive against the Islamic Republic of Iran on Saturday. Tehran immediately retaliated with a barrage of ballistic missiles targeting Israel and several Gulf nations, plunging the region into open warfare.

The Middle East has tilted into the unknown. This Saturday, February 28, 2026, the joint operation codenamed “Epic Fury” began with a series of devastating explosions rocking Tehran, Isfahan, and Qom. The strikes targeted nuclear infrastructure, missile depots, and Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) command centers.

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The Fate of Ali Khamenei and Iranian Retaliation

Several Israeli sources claim that Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei may have been hit during strikes on his compound in Tehran. While unconfirmed, this news was followed by a message from President Donald Trump urging the Iranian people to “take back your government.”

In response, Iran triggered operation “Honest Promise 4,” launching hundreds of projectiles. While the Iron Dome protected most of Israeli territory, impacts were reported in Tel Aviv. In the Gulf, U.S. bases and civilian infrastructure in Dubai and Abu Dhabi were also targeted.

Canada Backs the Offensive

From Mumbai, where he was attending an economic forum, Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney reacted firmly. In a joint statement with Foreign Affairs Minister Anita Anand, Canada expressed its support for the U.S.-Israeli actions aimed at dismantling Iran’s nuclear program.

“The Islamic Republic of Iran is the principal source of instability and terror in the Middle East,” Carney stated. While clarifying that Canada is not participating militarily and was not involved in the planning, he asserted that Iran must “never be allowed to obtain a nuclear weapon.”

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Ottawa has, however, urged all parties to protect civilian lives and instructed Canadians in Iran to “shelter in place.” Meanwhile, the New Democratic Party (NDP) sharply criticized this stance, denouncing what they called “blind support” for a dangerous escalation.

Transport Chaos

The repercussions are global. Air Canada has already cancelled its flights to the Gulf, and oil prices are skyrocketing. The international community, though divided, now fears a regional conflagration that no one seems able to control.

*** Last updated: February 28, 2026, 7:45 PM.

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China inaugurates the world’s highest bridge

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5 months ago

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October 13, 2025

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Steph Deschamps / October 12, 2025

China inaugurated the world’s highest bridge on Sunday. The Huajiang Canyon Bridge, built in the mountainous province of Guizhou, spans a 625-meter gorge and a river winding below.
The structure, which took three years to build, breaks the record held by the Duge Bridge, also known as the Beipanjiang Bridge, located in the same province. At 565 meters high, it has been relegated to second place.
 
State television footage showed cars driving across the immense structure, its blue pylons fading into the clouds.
 
According to authorities, the bridge will reduce travel time between the two banks from two hours to two minutes. This project should not only facilitate transportation, but also stimulate economic development in the region.
 
The southern province of Guizhou already boasts a series of spectacular bridges. According to the Xinhua news agency, nearly half of the world’s 100 tallest bridges are located there.
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Pinched, slapped, punched, nursery worker convicted of abusing 21 babies in UK

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October 13, 2025

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Sylvie Claire / October 12, 2025

A 22-year-old woman who worked in two nurseries in the UK was sentenced on Friday to eight years in prison for molesting 21 babies, acts that were “gratuitous” and “sadistic”, according to the judge.
 
It’s the kind of story every parent of a toddler fears. Indeed, a young woman, Roksana Lecka, aged 22, was sentenced on Friday to eight years in prison for molesting 21 babies in two British nurseries where she worked. These were “gratuitous” and “sadistic” acts, according to Sarah Plaschkes, the judge in charge of the case. The young woman committed numerous “acts of cruelty” in the two establishments where she was employed between October 2023 and June 2024 on the outskirts of London, Sarah Plaschkes emphasized in her decision. The young woman, who said she was addicted to cannabis, admitted to committing such acts against seven children under the age of 16, and the court in Kingston, south-west of the capital, found her guilty of similar acts against 14 others at her trial.
 
These children were “pinched, slapped, hit, slapped and kicked. You pulled their ears, hair and toes“, listed the judge, ”multiple acts of gratuitous violence” perpetrated when she was out of sight. Surveillance videos from the second nursery, Riverside, show Roksana Lecka pinching and scratching children on the arms, legs and abdomen, or kicking a little boy in the face.
 
Numerous parents were present in the room to witness the verdict, and recounted on the stand the impact of this violence on their children and themselves. “These children were so innocent and vulnerable. They couldn’t speak, they couldn’t defend themselves (…) they were totally helpless and Roksana attacked them”, said an indignant mother.
 
The judge described his behavior as “sadistic”, while the Irwin Mitchell law firm, representing 18 of the families, questioned how Lecka’s assaults could have gone “unnoticed”, before they were discovered in June 2024.
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