Third suspect — an 18-year-old Iraqi citizen — arrested in connection with foiled Taylor Swift concert terror plot in Austria

A third suspect — an 18-year-old Iraqi citizen — has been arrested in connection with a foiled Taylor Swift concert terror plot in Austria, ABC News reported.

The third suspect was taken into custody Thursday evening in Vienna after allegedly being in contact with a 19-year-old Austrian citizen — the main suspect — Austrian Interior Minister Gerhard Karner said Friday, according to the news network.

The main suspect 'wanted to carry out an attack in the area outside the stadium, killing as many people as possible using the knives or even using the explosive devices he had made,' Haijawi-Pirchner added to the AP.

A 17-year-old suspected accomplice — another Austrian citizen — also has been arrested, and Karner said “intensive investigations” are continuing, ABC News reported. Authorities detained and interrogated a 15-year-old Turkish citizen, but that individual is not considered a suspect the news network said.

Swift's shows that had been scheduled for Thursday, Friday, and Saturday this week at the Ernst-Happel-Stadion in Vienna were canceled for safety reasons.

What else do we know?

Officials said the 19-year-old Austrian suspect began working on his terror plot in July and just a few weeks ago uploaded to the internet an oath of allegiance to the leader of the Islamic State group militia, the Associated Press reported.

He was “clearly radicalized in the direction of the Islamic State and thinks it is right to kill infidels,” said Omar Haijawi-Pirchner, head of the Directorate of State Security and Intelligence, according to the outlet.

The main suspect "wanted to carry out an attack in the area outside the stadium, killing as many people as possible using the knives or even using the explosive devices he had made," Haijawi-Pirchner added to the AP.

Concert organizers told the outlet they were expecting up to 65,000 Swift fans inside the stadium at each show — and as many as 30,000 onlookers outside the stadium.

Karner told the AP that the foiled attack was planned for Thursday or Friday, and the outlet added that neither the 19-year-old suspect nor the 17-year-old suspect appeared to have a ticket to any of Swift's shows.

Terror suspect, 19, who pledged allegiance to ISIS arrested over alleged attack plot targeting Taylor Swift shows in Austria

A 19-year-old terror suspect who pledged allegiance to ISIS was arrested Wednesday morning in Austria over an alleged attack plot targeting now-canceled Taylor Swift shows this week in Vienna.

A second suspect in the alleged plot, who also reportedly radicalized himself online, was arrested later in the day, ABC News reported.

The 19-year-old has 'North Macedonian roots' and 'lived with his family in Ternitz' and was arrested 'under strong suspicion of terrorism,' according to the Los Angeles Times, which cited Austrian newspaper Kronen Zeitung.

The 19-year-old — an Austrian citizen — allegedly pledged allegiance to the leader of the Islamic State in the beginning of July and was particularly focused on Swift's concerts, ABC News said, citing Franz Ruf, director-general for public safety in the Ministry of the Interior.

Swift's shows scheduled for Thursday, Friday, and Saturday at the Ernst-Happel-Stadion in Vienna were canceled Wednesday, the Associated Press reported. Each show was expected to draw 65,000, ABC News noted. Event organizer Barracuda Music said in an Instagram post that “we have no choice but to cancel the three scheduled shows for everyone’s safety," the AP added.

Amid the 19-year-old's arrest, a bomb squad allegedly found chemical substances, NBC News said, adding that investigators are working to determine whether the substances could have been used to build a bomb.

The 19-year-old has "North Macedonian roots” and “lived with his family in Ternitz" and was arrested “under strong suspicion of terrorism,” according to the Los Angeles Times, which cited Austrian newspaper Kronen Zeitung. Ternitz is around 43 miles south of Vienna, the Times added.

Anything else?

It's far from clear whether there's any connection to Wednesday's arrests, but none of the aforementioned news outlets mentioned the deadly July 29 mass stabbing at a Taylor Swift-themed children's dance class in Southport, England, during which a 17-year-old male killed three and injured numerous other victims.

Officials initially said there was no evidence that terrorism was a motive for the attack, which angered many who accused the government of covering up evidence. Police identified suspect Axel Rudakubana and charged him with three counts of murder and 10 counts of attempted murder. Officials identified him as being from Cardiff but also noted that his parents are Rwandan.

Unrest and violence erupted the day after the stabbings and has spread across the United Kingdom. Prime Minister Keir Starmer denounced the violence and blamed "far-right thuggery."

Radio host Glenn Beck, co-founder of Blaze Media, on Tuesday opined that "two-tier justice" — in which police more or less ignore Muslim immigrant crime but come down hard on non-Muslims — has been laid bare in the U.K. in the wake of the deadly knife attack.

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Famed author Salman Rushdie attacked in New York, stabbed in neck as he was set to deliver lecture

Famed British-Indian author Salman Rushdie was attacked in western New York on Friday as he was about to give a lecture.

Witnesses saw a man storm the stage at the Chautauqua Institution and assault Rushdie as he was being introduced, the Associated Press reported. The 75-year-old author was reportedly stabbed several times and fell to the floor. The assailant was restrained and taken into custody.

Bystanders rushed to the author's aide and held up his legs, presumably to send more blood to his chest, the AP reported.

Hundreds of people in the audience watched in horror during the attack and were then evacuated from the scene.

Rushdie was flown to a hospital. His condition is unknown.

\u201cSalman Rushdie, who was stabbed at an event in New York, is being flown to hospital. No word on his condition\u201d
— BNO News (@BNO News) 1660320074

New York State Police said Rushdie suffered a "stab wound to the neck, and was transported by helicopter to an area hospital."

\u201cUPDATE - Rushdie has suffered a "stab wound to the neck, and was transported by helicopter to an area hospital."\u201d
— Disclose.tv (@Disclose.tv) 1660317694

"On August 12, 2022, at about 11 a.m., a male suspect ran up onto the stage and attacked Rushdie and an interviewer. Rushdie suffered an apparent stab wound to the neck, and was transported by helicopter to an area hospital. His condition is not yet known," New York State Police Major Eugene Staniszewski said in a statement.

"The interviewer suffered a minor head injury. A State Trooper assigned to the event immediately took the suspect into custody. The Chautauqua County Sheriff's Office assisted at the scene," Staniszewski added.

Rushdie's novel, "The Satanic Verses," is highly controversial among Muslims, as some consider it to be blasphemous. In 1988, Iranian Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini issued a fatwa calling for the death of Rushdie and his publishers.

Iran has offered a bounty of over $3 million to anyone who kills Rushdie.

Though the Iranian government has since distanced itself from Khomeini's edict, the fatwa is still in effect to this day. Iranian leadership insists only the person who issued a fatwa may withdraw it, according to journalist Yashar Ali. Khomeini has been dead for more than 30 years.

\u201cNo idea what the motive is here, but everyone should remember that the bounty on Salman Rushdie\u2019s head from the Iranian government remains active and the Twitter account of Iran\u2019s supreme leader was locked a few years ago for reminding people of that.\u201d
— Yashar Ali \ud83d\udc18 (@Yashar Ali \ud83d\udc18) 1660316987

\u201cThe Iranian government largely walked away from it for many years but the Supreme Leader reignited it when he tweeted about it. \n\nThe government will say only the person who issued the fatwa can withdraw it. \n\nThat person, the Ayatollah Khomeini, has been dead for over 30 years.\u201d
— Yashar Ali \ud83d\udc18 (@Yashar Ali \ud83d\udc18) 1660318892

In 2012, an Iranian religious foundation raised the bounty on Rushdie's head from $2.8 million to $3.3 million.

Rushdie downplayed the threat at the time, saying there was "no evidence" anyone was interested in claiming the reward.

That same year, Rushdie published a memoir, "Joseph Anton," about the fatwa. The title was taken from the pseudonym he had used while in hiding.

The Chautauqua Institution, located about 55 miles southwest of Buffalo in a rural part of New York, is known for its summertime lecture series, the AP reports. Rushdie has given lectures there before.

'Seismic shift': Afghanistan replaces North Korea as worst country for Christian persecution after Biden's disastrous withdrawal

Afghanistan sits at the top of a new ranking of the world's worst countries for Christian persecution after President Joe Biden's disastrous military withdrawal and the Taliban's subsequent takeover of the nation.

Open Doors USA, an organization that tracks global religious persecution, has published its 2022 World Watch List ranking the 50 countries where it is most difficult to be a Christian.

In what Open Doors USA CEO David Curry called the "biggest seismic shift" in decades, Afghanistan replaced North Korea as the most repressive and hostile country towards followers of Jesus. The communist North Korean regime had ranked as the worst country for Christian persecution for 20 years.

“This year’s 2022 World Watch List, we think, is the biggest seismic shift in over 20 years because Afghanistan is now the No. 1 country on the World Watch List, supplanting North Korea,” Curry told Faithwire in an interview.

In a bid to finally end the American war in Afghanistan, Biden set a deadline to withdraw U.S. combat forces from the country by the end of August 2020. But his pullout from the country was a colossal failure of planning and execution.

Despite the president's assurances that the Afghanistan government would be able to fight the Taliban on its own, the Islamic terrorist group swiftly took over the country, stunning administration officials. Thousands of U.S. residents and Afghani allies were stranded in the country after U.S. evacuation efforts failed to get everyone out before Biden withdrew troops. Those left behind included Christians who were in grave danger of persecution from the Taliban's Islamist regime.

“Many people are aware of what’s happened since August in Afghanistan,” Curry told Faithwire. “It has emboldened Islamic extremists in other parts of the world. We believe it’s going to have a ripple effect.”

He said that Christians, in particular Christian women, are "targeted" by jihadists.

“The Taliban’s interpretation of Islam considers Christians to be traitors, enemies of the state, enemies of the tribe and community. They are infidels from Islam, and in their mind, the punishment is death,” Curry explained at a press conference announcing the release of Open Doors USA's report. He observed that Taliban extremists obtained a list of prominent Christians in Afghanistan last September and began hunting them. “Every Christian who remains in Afghanistan is either on the run or in hiding.”

He cited reports that Islamic authoritarians are going door to door looking for "unwanted elements" in their country, including anyone who collaborated with Western countries and Christians.

“Progress made over the last two decades on rights and protections for women has dramatically deteriorated since the Taliban took over,” Curry said. “The world must speak out on the horrendous treatment of women in extremist Islamic societies and in particular, wake up to the fact that Christian women are the most vulnerable group in the world today."

Open Doors USA says there are more than 360 million Christians living in fear of violent persecution, numbering 1 in 7 believers worldwide. The group's report counted 5,110 churches or Christian buildings attacked, 6,175 Christians detained for their faith, and 5,989 Christians killed for faith-related reasons last year.

While North Korea fell to number two on the watch list, the group said persecution there "remains absolute in every area of life" and has reached the highest levels recorded in the country.

“For 20 years, North Korea was number one. They have a post-communist … system that has been generational,” Curry told Faithwire. “They have lifted now Kim Jung Un as the dictator. People are forced to worship him.”

“It’s clear that they don’t want any other faith except the worship of their leader and the communist system…they control all the means of life," he added.

Sub-Saharan Africa ranked as the most violent place in the world for Christians, with jihadist violence in Nigeria, the DRC, and the Central African Republic accounting for 79% of the nearly 6,000 Christians martyred for their faith last year.

India, Myanmar, and China were also listed as countries where noteworthy persecution of Christians exists. Hindu nationalists in India have attacked Christians, and the state has advanced anti-conversion laws designed to penalize and even imprison anyone found to have used "force" or "fraudulent" methods to convert others from one religion to another. These laws are abused by false witnesses who claim Christians are violating the prohibitions on conversion.

Open Doors USA said the military coup in Myanmar has led to increased violence against Christians in that nation, as political paranoia has led military leaders to believe churches are gathering places for opposition to the regime.

As for China, though it ranks 17th on the list, the group said its widespread use of censorship and technological repression has harmed the growth of the church and influenced other countries that are hostile to Christianity.

Leftist college students: 9/11 history lessons shouldn't mention terror attacks' 'roots in Islam'; instead teachers should 'focus on America's faults'

Leftist college students at the University of Florida surprised absolutely no one when Campus Reform interviewed them recently about how the world-changing terror attacks against the United States on Sept. 11, 2001, should be taught in the classroom.

In short: Don't focus on who carried out the carnage — and criticize America instead.

What are the details?

One student said some of the more "gruesome" facts about the 9/11 attacks should be kept out of lesson plans.

Another said teachers should "avoid talking about its roots in Islam" since the 9/11 attackers were part of an "extremist group" of Muslims.

One guy — who may have been vying for neo-hippie of the year — offered that 9/11 should be "taught in way that doesn't really target, like, more like, who did it, but, like, more like, how we can, like, move forward and, like, different, like, healing processes that we can go through to, like, to make everything, like, you know, good again."

Or something.

Image source: YouTube screenshot

Another student agreed, saying teachers should "avoid placing blame," since such an action might lead to "Islamophobia" and — gasp! — discussions about "American exceptionalism."

As it turns out, American exceptionalism was a big trigger point for the students when it comes to 9/11 education.

"We don't need more nationalism in this country ... we need more, like, healthcare," one student noted. "I think they should focus on America's faults, not like how amazing we are and how we need to be superior, 'cause we're not."

One student added that "I definitely don't agree that America is the best country on the earth; I think that we still need a lot of, like, fixing."

Another student declared flat-out that "I don't think we should be talking about the greatness of the country" while another pointed out the "colonist and imperialist notions" behind such an idea.

Yet another student said American exceptionalism is "a dangerous mindset to teach young people ... because I think that's the reason why a lot of people grow up to be kind of extremists and, like, really nationalistic."

Students Think 9/11 Lessons Should Omit 'Gruesome' Details, 'Avoid Placing Blame'youtu.be

Taliban allegedly executes Afghan folk singer days after terror group declares 'music is forbidden in Islam'

The Taliban executed an Afghan folk singer just days after the terrorist group declared "music is forbidden in Islam," the New York Post reported, citing the singer's family.

The Post noted that Fawad Andarabi's family told the Associated Press that he was shot dead Friday when "enforcers returned to his home after earlier searching it and even drinking tea with him."

"They shot him in the head on the farm," the folk singer's son, Jawad, said of his father's execution in the Andarabi Valley after which he was named, the paper reported.

"He was innocent, a singer who only was entertaining people," Andarabi's son said, the Post noted, adding that the folk singer also played a bowed lute called a ghichak and sang traditional songs about his country.

Anything else?

Karima Bennoune — the United Nations special rapporteur on cultural rights — said she felt "grave concern" in regard to Andarabi's killing, the Post reported.

"We call on governments to demand the Taliban respect the #humanrights of #artists," she tweeted, according to the paper.

Agnes Callamard, secretary-general of Amnesty International, tweeted in regard to Andarabi's reported execution that "there is mounting evidence that the Taliban of 2021 is the same as the intolerant, violent, repressive Taliban of 2001. 20 years later. Nothing has changed on that front."

Leftist filmmaker Michael Moore likens the Taliban to Southern Baptists: 'They’re religious nuts, but we’ve got those here, too'

Following the Taliban's takeover of Afghanistan — culminating with the fall of the capital of Kabul last weekend — far-left filmmaker Michael Moore gave an interview to Variety and let loose with a particularly jaw-dropping observation.

The bloodthirsty, misogynistic Taliban — who lop off the heads of infidels and torture and rape whomever they please — are comparable to Southern Baptists.

Say what?

At one point in the interview, Moore acknowledged his concern that the Taliban might erase progress for women in Afghanistan — but as leftists often do, he appeared to try his hand at softening that natural observation by emphasizing that America also has problems with "religious fundamentalism," as the magazine termed it.

"They're religious nuts, but we've got those here, too," Moore told Variety. "But [the Taliban] said yesterday in their press conference that girls' schools are going to remain open. Okay. We'll see. They also said they are going to operate under Islamic law. That's exactly how a lot of Southern Baptists want it to be here, too. In a lot of parts of the country, we are following dictates of conservative Christians. It's wrong there, and it's wrong here."

Moore didn't offer examples of Southern Baptists taking over cities from coast to coast and murdering, raping, and pillaging in the process, so the basis for his comparison isn't quite clear.

Anything else?

Elsewhere in the interview, Moore had nothing but praise for President Joe Biden despite his administration's failure in Afghanistan — and added to the magazine that the fellow Democrat made the correct decision.

"Biden will not have one more American soldier die for something that the Afghans don't even want to die for," Moore told Variety. "Ninety-five percent of people agree with what Biden did this week, but if you listen to the reporters in the White House press room, you realize that 95 percent of them seem to be opposed to it."

While Moore campaigned for U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) during the 2020 presidential race, the filmmaker told the magazine he's "pleasantly surprised" with Biden in regard to the child tax credit, increasing food stamps, and other left-leaning causes.

"I am so pleased with Biden," Moore also told Variety.

VIDEO: Rifle-wielding Taliban militant rips Afghan flags from bicyclist, slaps him, and takes flags away. It reminds many of Antifa violence in US.

A cellphone video posted to Twitter on Thursday appeared to show a rifle-wielding Taliban militant jumping out of a pickup truck bed packed with his comrades in arms to confront a man riding a bicycle in the opposite direction.

The militant apparently had one thing on his mind: The flags of Afghanistan that the bicyclist was wearing as a cape and a head covering.

What happened?

The Taliban militant at first raised his rifle to get the bicyclist's attention — and it sure worked.