Entertainment
19-year-old arrested for planning suicide attack at Taylor Swift concert
A 19-year-old IS sympathiser arrested in Austria was planning a suicide attack at a Taylor Swift concert in Vienna designed to kill many people, the intelligence agency said on Thursday.
Austrian authorities detained two suspects Wednesday for allegedly plotting to attack this week’s Vienna concerts by the US star, which organisers canceled at the last minute.
The 19-year-old main suspect had confessed, saying he “intended to carry out an attack using explosives and knives,” domestic intelligence agency (DSN) head Omar Haijawi-Pirchner told a news conference.
“His aim was to kill himself and a large number of people during the concert… either today or tomorrow,” he added. The concerts were to run from Thursday to Saturday.
The second suspect, a 17-year-old Austrian, was employed at a facility management company which would have “provided services” at the Ernst Happel Stadium where Swift was to perform, said Haijawi-Pirchner.
The younger suspect, who has so far refused to talk to authorities, was “in the area” of the stadium where he was detained, said Haijawi-Pirchner.
According to Interior Minister Gerhard Karner, a “tragedy was averted”. “The situation was very serious”, he added, particularly in view of a recent attack at a Taylor Swift themed event in Britain, where three girls were killed in Great Britain.
Explosives and detonators were found in a search of the main suspect’s apartment, authorities said.
Austria’s top security chief Franz Ruf told reporters the two suspects had recently made changes in their private lives,
The main suspect, an Austrian with Northern Macedonian roots, had changed “his appearance and adapted it to Islamic State propaganda”, while the second, an Austrian of Turkish or Croatian origin, had broken up with his girlfriend, he said.
Ruf earlier confirmed that authorities had received information “from foreign partners” which led to the arrests, but he declined to specify.
Police had promised to ramp up security for the concerts while having minimised any concrete danger, but organisers still canceled Swift’s shows. About 65,000 people were expected at each show.
Taylor Swift did not immediately comment on the decision to cancel the Vienna shows but after the British attack said she was “completely in shock”. Three girls were killed and five people seriously wounded in the mass stabbing at a dance class in Southport inspired by the American singer.
According to Ruf, police “did everything humanly possible to ensure” that the Vienna concerts “could go ahead”, but the cancellation decision was taken by the organisers.
The 34-year-old star was to bring her record-breaking “Eras” Tour, which began its European leg in Paris in May, to Vienna on Thursday.
Following France, the tour stopped in Sweden, Portugal, Spain, the United Kingdom, Ireland, the Netherlands, Switzerland, Italy, Germany and Poland.
In Austria, more than 170,000 spectators were expected to attend the shows, bringing in some 100 million euros, according to estimates by the news agency APA.
By the end of the year, “Eras” had already become the first tour to sell more than $1 billion in tickets and it is on track to more than double that by the time it concludes in Vancouver in December.
Austria experienced its first deadly jihadist attack in November 2020, when a convicted IS sympathiser went on a shooting rampage in Vienna, killing four people and wounding 23 before police shot him dead.
Entertainment
Bimpe Akintunde warns Nigerians against scammers impersonating her on WhatsApp
Bimpe Akintunde, the Nollywood actress, has raised an alarm over a fake WhatsApp account created in her name to scam unsuspecting individuals.
The film star took to her Instagram story to share screenshots of the impersonator, posing as her to solicit money from her followers.
Akintunde expressed her frustration and disappointment, cursing the scammer for attempting to profit from her hard work. She warned the public to be cautious of the impersonator on any media platform.
The actress urged her fans to help report the scammer’s WhatsApp and bank accounts.
She also prayed that God should keep such fraudulent individuals away from her and her loved ones.
“What a morning. Tell me how this country wants to be great, when a lot of people are struggling, working hard to build a name and brand, and boom, one person will take their pictures and name only to be defrauding people up and down,” she wrote.
“Who gave birth to such a child? Useless children, may God keep them away from us.
“Please disregard any message from anyone, either in your DM or WhatsApp, asking you to send money.
“Please, it not me. I do not own this above number. I would appreciate it if we could find a way to report both the WhatsApp and the Opay account.”
Entertainment
Davido advises black Americans not to relocate to Nigeria, says ‘the economy is in shambles’
Davido, the Afrobeats star, has advised black Americans against relocating to Nigeria, citing the country’s economic challenges.
In an appearance on The Big Homies House podcast, the singer shared his thoughts on the struggles bedeviling Nigeria, stating, “It is not cool back home. The economy is in shambles”.
Davido also mentioned Nigeria’s struggles with bad leadership, a high exchange rate, and skyrocketing oil prices, which are negatively impacting the country.
“It is not cool back home. The economy is in shambles. I do my part, I am an ambassador. When I go home and I am filming, I am no going to show the bad parts,” he said.
“I am talking about the situation in the country. Now the exchange rate is messed up, a lot of stuffs are not going well.
“The economy is just not good enough. The oil price is too high. Imagine the country that produces oil, paying more for it than a country importing oil.”
Despite the challenges, Davido emphasised the entertainment industry’s positive impact on Africa’s global image.
“Regardless, entertainment is one of the thing that has made Africa look good. We do not have the best leader, that is a fact,” he said.
Entertainment
US actor Jussie Smollett’s conviction for staged attack overturned
American actor, Jussie Smollett’s conviction for fabricating a racist and homophobic hate crime in Chicago in 2019 was overturned Thursday on due process grounds.
The Illinois Supreme Court ruled that Smollett, 42, should not have been charged again by prosecutors after a prior agreement saw over a dozen original charges dismissed.
It is the latest twist in Smollett’s legal saga, which began with his initial claim in January 2019 that he had been attacked on a Chicago street.
The gay African-American actor, then a cast member of the hit TV series “Empire,” said two masked men assaulted him late at night, shouting slurs and placing a noose around his neck.
Smollett staged the attack after receiving a legitimate piece of hate mail which he felt was not taken seriously by his employers, prosecutors said.
But those charges were suddenly dropped in March 2019, under an arrangement in which Smollett forfeited his $10,000 bond and agreed to do community service.
The dismissal was met with anger by some city officials, including then-mayor Rahm Emanuel, who argued $10,000 was only a fraction of the actual investigation costs.
A special prosecutor eventually took over the case and several charges were reinstated.
Smollett, who has always maintained his innocence, was found guilty in December 2021.
Though he was sentenced to 150 days in prison with 30 months on probation, he was released pending the outcome of his appeal.
He was also ordered to repay $120,106 to the Chicago Police to cover their investigation costs.
The case had initially sent shock waves through a deeply divided country still plagued by racial and sexual discrimination, and the actor had immediately received support from celebrities in political and cultural circles.
The Illinois Supreme Court ruling said that bringing the charges a second time after “the defendant has performed his part of the bargain” represented “a due process violation.”
“We therefore reverse (the) defendant’s conviction,” the ruling said.
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