Taylor Swift says filled with ‘fear’, ‘guilt’ after Vienna terror threat

US singer and songwriter Taylor Swift performs on stage at the Groupama Stadium as part of The Eras Tour, in Decines-Charpieu, eastern France, on June 2, 2024. (AFP)
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Updated 22 August 2024
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Taylor Swift says filled with ‘fear’, ‘guilt’ after Vienna terror threat

WASHINGTON: Pop megastar Taylor Swift on Wednesday broke her silence about the cancelation of three Vienna concerts over an alleged suicide attack plot, saying the incident filled her with “fear” and “guilt.”

“Having our Vienna shows canceled was devastating. The reason for the cancelations filled me with a new sense of fear, and a tremendous amount of guilt because so many had planned on coming to those shows,” the American said in a post on social media platform Instagram.

The Vienna shows, part of the European leg of Swift’s record-breaking “Eras” tour, were canceled after authorities warned of a terror plot by sympathizers of Daesh armed group.

Police have detained three suspects over the alleged attack threat, with the United States saying it shared intelligence to assist in the investigation.

The main suspect, a 19-year-old Austrian with North Macedonian roots, had allegedly confessed, saying he “intended to carry out an attack using explosives and knives,” according to Austrian domestic intelligence agency (DSN) head Omar Haijawi-Pirchner.

In the social media post Wednesday, Swift thanked the authorities.

“I was also so grateful to the authorities because thanks to them, we were grieving concerts and not lives. I was heartened by the love and unity I saw in the fans who banded together,” she said.

The European leg of Swift’s sold-out tour began in Paris in May and has taken in Sweden, Portugal, Spain, Britain, Ireland, the Netherlands, Switzerland, Italy, Germany and Poland.

It concluded on Tuesday with five shows at London’s Wembley stadium.


Man charged after defacing Churchill statue in central London

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Man charged after defacing Churchill statue in central London

Metropolitan Police said Caspar San Giorgio was charged early Saturday, some 24 hours after his arrest
He had been detained within minutes of officers being alerted to the incident

LONDON: London police said Saturday a man had been charged with criminal damage for defacing a statue of Britain’s World War II prime minister Winston Churchill with pro-Palestinian slogans.
The monument in the central Parliament Square was smeared with red paint early on Friday and “Zionist war criminal” among the slogans written on it.
The Metropolitan Police said Caspar San Giorgio, 38, of no fixed address, was charged early Saturday, some 24 hours after his arrest.
He had been detained within minutes of officers being alerted to the incident, according to the force.
He was due to appear at a London magistrates’ court later Saturday.
The words “free Palestine” and “stop the genocide” were also sprayed on the statue, which workers cleaned off Friday.
The incident prompted Prime Minister Keir Starmer’s office to call the damage “completely abhorrent” and commend police for the swift arrest.
“Churchill was a great Briton,” a spokesman said.
The 3.6 meter (12-foot) Churchill statue has been vandalized a number of times in recent years, including during Black Lives Matter and Extinction Rebellion climate demonstrations in 2020.