SYDNEY: Australia has arrested and charged a Sri Lankan man with planning a terror attack after finding “symbolic locations within Sydney” listed as possible targets in his notebook, police said on Friday.
A staunch US ally, Australia has been on heightened alert from 2015 for attacks by home-grown militants returning from fighting in the Middle East, and its intelligence agencies have stepped up scrutiny.
The 25-year-old was arrested on Thursday in Sydney, charged with preparing a terror offense and is in custody while his home and workplace at a university are searched, New South Wales police official Mick Sheehy told reporters.
“From the documentation, he would affiliate with Daesh,” Sheehy added, using an acronym for militant group Islamic State.
“There is a number of locations and individuals named in that document who are potential targets,” Sheehy, a detective acting superintendent, said of the notebook, adding that it needed further analysis.
The man did not have the “capability” to launch an attack, however, he said, and ruled out any threat to the public.
Reuters was not immediately able to trace contacts for the man’s lawyer, or other representatives, to seek comment.
Authorities say Australia’s vigilance has helped to foil at least a dozen plots, including plans to attack downtown Melbourne at Christmas in 2016 and a plot to blow up a flight from Sydney to Abu Dhabi.
In Dec. 2014, two hostages were killed during a 17-hour siege by a “lone wolf” gunman, inspired by Daesh militants, in a cafe in Sydney.
Australian police charge Sri Lankan with terror plotting
Australian police charge Sri Lankan with terror plotting
Russian envoy reports ‘productive meeting’ with US negotiators
- The discussions in Florida come after the United States lifted some sanctions on Russian oil earlier this week
- Trump said this week that Putin wanted to be “helpful” in relation to the Middle East war
WASHINGTON: Russian President Vladimir Putin’s envoy said Wednesday that he had joined a “productive meeting” with US negotiators, the first talks between Moscow and Washington since the start of the Iran war.
The discussions in Florida come after the United States lifted some sanctions on Russian oil earlier this week — imposed because of Moscow’s 2022 invasion of Ukraine — to ease prices as war engulfed the Middle East.
“Thank you, Steve, Jared, and Josh, for a productive meeting,” Russian negotiator Kirill Dmitriev posted on X, referring to US President Donald Trump’s roving global envoy Steve Witkoff, Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner, and White House Senior Adviser Josh Gruenbaum.
“The teams discussed a variety of topics and agreed to stay in touch,” Witkoff posted earlier.
Trump said this week that Putin, to whom he spoke on Monday, wanted to be “helpful” in relation to the Middle East war.
Dmitriev said after the Florida meeting that Washington was “beginning to better understand” the importance of Russian oil.
“We discussed promising projects that could contribute to the restoration of Russian-American relations and the current crisis on global energy markets,” he wrote in a Telegram post.
“Today, many countries, primarily the United States, are beginning to better understand the key, systemic role of Russian oil and gas in ensuring the stability of the global economy, as well as the ineffectiveness and destructive nature of sanctions against Russia.”
