Tag: Vienna

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

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

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

    “Having our Vienna shows cancelled was devastating. The reason for the cancellations 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 cancelled after authorities warned of a terror plot by sympathizers of the Islamic State 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.

  • Which Pakistani city is among the best cities in the world?

    Which Pakistani city is among the best cities in the world?

    The Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU) has released a list of the best cities to live in around the world for 2024.

    Vienna, the capital of Austria in Europe, has been named the best city to live in for the third consecutive year.

    This recognition is attributed to its stable infrastructure, culture, education, medical services, and entertainment.

    Following Vienna, Copenhagen, located in Denmark, holds second place, maintaining its position from last year.

    Zurich, Switzerland, took third place, with Melbourne, Australia, following in fourth.

    Calgary, Canada, and Geneva, Switzerland, shared fifth place, while Sydney, Australia, and Vancouver, Canada, shared seventh.

    Only one Asian city, Osaka in Japan, was ranked 9th, alongside Auckland, New Zealand.

    Karachi, Pakistan, is the only city from the country on the list, maintaining its 169th position from last year out of 173 cities.

    Regarding the least suitable cities to live in, Damascus, Syria, ranks 173rd, followed by Tripoli, Libya (172nd), Algeria (171st), and Lagos, Nigeria (170th), with Dhaka ranking 168th.

    The report stated that the global situation improved somewhat during the last year, but threats to global stability remained.

    According to the report, protests continued throughout the year in different parts of the world due to the increase in interest rates, inflation, and other economic problems.

  • Jalila Haider wins Justitia Award in Vienna

    Jalila Haider wins Justitia Award in Vienna

    Advocate Jalila Haider has won the distinguished Justitia Award in Vienna on Friday, September 15.

    The Justitia Awards are presented to women in law in one of three categories: international leaders / lifetime awards; academia; game changers / pioneers / young achievers.

    Jalila Haider is a human rights attorney and a political activist from Quetta and the first female attorney of the local Hazara community.

    She is the founder of We the Humans – Pakistan which works towards the empowerment of local communities in Balochistan by creating opportunities for women and children.

    The advocate also heads the Balochistan chapter of the Lahore based organisation Women In Law ‘Women In Law Initiative Pakistan’. It works for equality of opportunity and connectivity of female lawyers in Pakistan.

    Among many other achievements, Haider was selected as one of ‘News Women Power 50’ list of Pakistan’s most influential and powerful women in 2015.

    In 2014, she was selected as an Atlantic Council Emerging Leaders of Pakistan Fellow.

    She is not the only Pakistani lawyer to have won this prestigious award.

    In 2021, Nida Usman Chaudhary won the Justitia Award, becoming the first Pakistani woman to be granted the honour.

  • Actor Jamal Shah created the Dr Abdus Salam sculpture in Vienna

    Actor Jamal Shah created the Dr Abdus Salam sculpture in Vienna

    Veteran Actor and Sculptor, Jamal Shah took to his Twitter to reveal that he is the mastermind behind the creation of the sculpture of the first Pakistan’s Nobel Laureate, Dr Abdus Salam. The bust is placed at the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) in Vienna, Austria.

    The sculpture of Dr Abdus Salam was unveiled at the IAEA to mark his 60th birth anniversary in September 2017.

    While talking to The Express Tribune, he revealed, “At IAEA’s headquarter of the atomic energy commission, there were almost all scientists sculptures but not of Dr Abdus Salam so I decided to make a sculpture of him. I handed over this sculpture to them and now it is present there. It is in bronze and it was specifically made to give a tribute to him. I usually don’t make portraits as my sense and style of sculpture making is different but this type of sculpture is just for him.”

  • Young Muslim heroes praised for helping victims during Vienna attack

    Young Muslim heroes praised for helping victims during Vienna attack

    Two young Austrians of Turkish origin have been praised for their courage following Monday’s gun attack in the capital of Vienna. Footage of them rescuing the wounded people, including a policeman, has gone viral on social media.

    Despite gunshots echoing down the street, the video footage shows the pair running to a metro station exit and helping panicked people escape.

    On Tuesday, the interior ministry confirmed, without naming the two friends, that they had helped during the attack late Monday by a radicalised young man from North Macedonia.

    The assailant killed four people before being shot dead by police.

    A young Palestinian man was also praised as a hero for assisting an injured police officer.

    Mikail Ozen and Recep Tayyip Gultekin, both Austrian citizens from Turkish backgrounds, had planned to “drink a last coffee” together at bustling Schwedenplatz before the country’s coronavirus lockdown came into effect, they said in a video posted online immediately after the attack.

    The first shots could be heard even as they arrived at the busy square by the river to find “people lying on the ground covered in blood”, Ozen recalled.

    They went to help a panicked older woman who was looking for a place to hide only to see a wounded policeman lying on the ground.

    “We couldn’t act as if we hadn’t seen him,” Ozen said. “We ran and carried him to the ambulance” by supporting him under his shoulders as the gunfire continued.

    Turkish media reported that President Recep Tayyip Erdogan had called the pair to congratulate them.

    The two young men were also invited to the Turkish embassy in Vienna where Turkey’s ambassador to Austria Ozan Ceyhun praised their conduct, according to BBC.