Fact:
On April 3, 2017, the day Vladimir Putin was due to visit the city, a suicide bombing was carried out in the St. Petersburg metro, killing 15 people and injuring 64. An al-Qaeda affiliate, Imam Shamil Battalion, claimed responsibility.
Eye on Extremism: May 2, 2025
Top Stories
Reuters: German spy agency brands far-right AfD as 'extremist', opens way for closer surveillance
Germany's spy agency on Friday classified the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) as "extremist", enabling it to step up monitoring of the country's biggest opposition party, which decried the move as a "blow against democracy". A 1,100-page report by experts found that the AfD is a racist and anti-Muslim organisation, a finding that grants the security services powers to recruit informants and intercept party communications.
New York Times: India Accuses Pakistan of Supporting Terrorism. Here’s What We Know.
After 26 people, most of them tourists, were killed on April 22 in a terrorist attack in the Indian-administered part of Kashmir, India’s government said there were “cross-border linkages” to Pakistan. India, citing national security concerns, has publicly provided little evidence linking the attack to Pakistan, which denies involvement. Pakistan has also called for an international investigation into the attack.
United States
USA Today: US national charged with operating global child exploitation enterprise
Two men have been arrested and charged for allegedly playing key roles in operating "one of the most heinous online child exploitation enterprises" federal authorities have ever encountered, the U.S. Attorney's Office said. Leonidas Varagiannis, 21, and Prasan Nepal, 20, are accused of leading "764 Inferno," a core subgroup of a U.S.-based criminal online network known as "764," according to the U.S. Attorney's Office for the District of Columbia. The group targeted vulnerable people, specifically children, online and used violent tactics that were designed to induce self-harm, a criminal complaint states.
CBS News: Luigi Mangione's attorneys seek dismissal of New York 1st-degree murder, terrorism charges
Luigi Mangione's defense team wants at least two counts against him in the New York state indictment thrown out. His attorneys filed a motion that includes photos of Mangione's arrest at a Pennsylvania McDonald's. Attorney Karen Agnifilo alleges evidence was illegally obtained, that terrorism charges don't apply, and the concurrent state and federal prosecution violate the double jeopardy clause.
Reuters: Trump says he will strip Harvard’s tax-exempt status
President Donald Trump said on Friday he planned to strip Harvard University of its tax-exempt status, setting up another potential legal fight with the Ivy League school amid his wider crackdown on elite universities and the U.S. education system. "We are going to be taking away Harvard’s Tax Exempt Status. It’s what they deserve!" Trump said in a post on his social media platform, without specifying when he might take action.
As its legal battle over critical federal money plays out in court, two Harvard University task forces have released a pair of long-awaited internal reports: one on how antisemitism and anti-Israeli bias are handled on campus, and another on anti-Muslim, anti-Arab and anti-Palestinian bias. Harvard President Alan Garber announced the task force reports in a letter to the campus community that began with an apology, calling the 2023-24 academic year “disappointing and painful.”
Reuters: Jordanian sentenced to six years in US prison for anti-Israel attacks
A Jordanian national in Orlando, Florida, was sentenced to six years in U.S. federal prison for threats against and attacks on businesses over their perceived support for Israel, the U.S. Justice Department said on Thursday.
NPR: Trump nominee gives misleading testimony about ties to alleged 'Nazi sympathizer'
Ed Martin, President Trump's nominee for U.S. attorney for the District of Columbia, is trying to distance himself from a convicted Jan. 6 Capitol rioter known for his racist and antisemitic rhetoric. Federal prosecutors have described the man, Timothy Hale-Cusanelli, as a "Nazi sympathizer." But NPR's reporting — including a direct email exchange with Martin and a review of a series of podcast interviews he conducted — casts doubt on the accuracy of Martin's sworn testimony to the U.S. Senate. In written answers to the Senate Judiciary Committee, Martin now claims he was unaware of Hale-Cusanelli's past comments until at least August 2024.
An amendment saying that criticism of the Israeli government is not antisemitic was added to the Antisemitism Awareness Act today in a Senate committee hearing. The amendment was proposed by Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders, the Jewish progressive leader, and approved in a 12-11 vote in the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee. The committee adjourned before voting on the bill itself and another piece of legislation, the Protecting Students on Campus Act, which would require schools to share information about how students can file civil rights complaints through the Department of Education.
Jewish Telegraphic Agency: Red paint coats Dartmouth building in pro-Palestinian protestv
As prospective members of Dartmouth’s class of 2029 visited their new campus for the first time Monday morning, they were confronted by a smattering of red paint across Dartmouth Hall’s facade. The person who was allegedly responsible for the paint, which dripped from the building’s windows and doorways, said the act was in protest of the school’s investment in companies affiliated with Israel. The person spoke anonymously with the school’s student paper, The Dartmouth, about their motivations.
A suspect whom authorities have linked to white supremacist movements has been arrested in the March 2019 fire that destroyed an office at a storied Tennessee social justice center. Regan Prater was arrested last Thursday and charged with one count of arson.
ABC 4: High schooler faces terrorism charge after playing ‘Senior Assassination’ game in hospital
An 18-year-old high school student was arrested Wednesday on a felony threat of terrorism charge after he allegedly ran into a hospital carrying a Nerf gun as part of a “Senior Assassination” game. On April 30, two young males allegedly entered Jordan Valley Hospital with what appeared to be a gun and “asked if it was a hospital,” according to court documents. Witnesses said they then took off running.
CBS News: Retired Garland security officer reflects on ISIS-inspired terror attack 10 years later
Ten years ago this Saturday, two armed men pulled up to the Curtis Culwell Center in Garland with plans to unleash terror on more than 150 people gathered inside. The ISIS-inspired terrorists were shot and killed in the parking lot, but not before wounding Garland ISD security officer Bruce Joiner, who is sharing his recollections of that day.
Argentina
The Argentine government announced the release of nearly 1,850 classified documents that show how Nazi fugitives escaped to the country after World War II. The trove of documents were declassified and made available to the public Monday at the urging of the Simon Wiesenthal Center, a Jewish advocacy group named for the famed late Nazi hunter. The group praised the decision on Tuesday.
France
Reuters: French jail attacks no longer being investigated as terrorism
French anti-terrorism prosecutors will no longer handle the investigation into 30 people suspected of involvement in a spate of prison attacks, saying on Friday their alleged actions were "within the framework of major organised crime". Over five separate nights in April, at least 10 French prisons were attacked. Automatic weapons were fired at jails, cars were torched in prison car parks and officers were intimidated in their homes.
Africa News: France: Family of mosque murder victim want case treated as terrorism
22-year-old Aboubakar Cissé was stabbed to death in a mosque in the Gard region in southern France in April. Until now, French authorities have treated his killing as aggravated murder. Cisse's family wants the case to be classified as a terrorist attack. The family's lawyers were due to submit a complaint to the Paris judicial court on Friday, arguing that, Cissé - a Malian student - was the victim of a terrorist attack.
Germany
Reuters: Germany's AfD: why has far-right party been classified as 'extremist'?
Germany's spy agency on Friday classified the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) as "extremist", enabling it to step up monitoring of the country's biggest opposition party, which decried the move as a "blow against democracy". The decision by the Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution (BfV) was based on findings in a 1,100-page confidential report compiled by experts.
Reuters: Germany's Scholz urges careful review of possible far-right party ban
Germany's domestic intelligence agency provided very detailed justification for classifying the far-right Alternative for Germany as extremist but possible proceedings to ban the party must not be rushed, outgoing Chancellor Olaf Scholz said on Friday. "I am against a quick shot, we have to evaluate the classification carefully," he said at a church convention in the northern city of Hanover.
United Kingdom
Reuters: Farage's Reform UK Party wins mayoral and parliamentary post in surge of support
Britain's right-wing Reform UK party won a vacant parliamentary seat, a mayoralty and control of three councils on Friday in early results from elections that its leader Nigel Farage said proved it was now the real opposition. The populist Reform, led by the veteran campaigner for Brexit, hopes Thursday's local elections in England will mark the breakdown of a century of domination of British politics by the governing Labour Party and opposition Conservatives.
Reuters: UK loses appeal over tougher police powers for street protests
Britain's attempt to give police wider powers to impose conditions on street protests was rejected by London's Court of Appeal on Friday, a decision the civil rights group Liberty described as "a huge victory for democracy". Liberty successfully challenged changes to public order laws made by the previous Conservative government, with the High Court ruling last year that the government had exceeded its powers by lowering the threshold for police to impose conditions.
The Times: Father and children accused of inciting racial hatred through music
A father who ran a neo-Nazi record label encouraged terrorism by distributing inflammatory rock music across the UK and Europe and incited racial hatred through the lyrics of a band in which his two children played, a court has heard. Robert Talland, 56, known as Ginger Rob, ran the label, Rampage Productions, from his home in Waltham Abbey, Essex, allegedly using it as a recruitment tool for the “white power” music scene.
Afghanistan
Reuters: Russia says it will help Taliban fight Islamic State in Afghanistan
Russia will help the Taliban authorities in Afghanistan fight against the Afghan branch of Islamic State, Moscow's special representative for the country was quoted as saying on Friday. Zamir Kabulov, a former Russian ambassador to Afghanistan, referred to Islamic State Khorasan (ISIS-K) as the "common enemy" of Moscow and Kabul.
Iran
Reuters: Iran must 'walk away' from all uranium enrichment, Rubio says
Iran has to 'walk away' from uranium enrichment and long-range missile development and it should allow inspectors of military facilities, U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio said on Thursday as a round of nuclear talks was postponed. Rubio's comments underscore the major remaining divisions in talks between the countries to resolve the long-running dispute over Iran's nuclear programme, with U.S. President Donald Trump threatening to bomb Iran if there is no agreement.
Iraq
Scheer Post: Iraqi MP Files Lawsuit Against Syrian President Over ‘Terrorist’ Past
Iraqi Member of Parliament Alaa al-Haidari has filed a lawsuit with the Iraqi Public Prosecution against the new Syrian President, Ahmad al-Sharaa, Shafaq News reported on 29 April. In a video statement from the Supreme Judicial Council building, Haidari said, “I filed the complaint against the terrorist Julani, known as Ahmad al-Sharaa,” who “was part of ISIS organizations in Iraqi territory.” This comes as the Syrian President received an official invitation from Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani on 27 April to attend the Arab League Summit scheduled to be held next month in the capital, Baghdad.
Kurdistan24: Iraq’s Foreign Minister Warns of Resurgence of ISIS Threat, Urges Regional Stability
Iraqi Foreign Minister Fouad Hussein warned that the threat posed by ISIS has resurfaced, cautioning that the extremist group is actively regrouping and planning attacks. His remarks came in a special interview with Sky News Arabia, where he emphasized Iraq’s firm rejection of regional conflict and its ongoing coordination with international partners to preserve peace and stability.
Kurdistan24: PKK Claims Responsibility for Series of Attacks on Peshmerga Forces in Duhok Province
The Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) on Thursday claimed responsibility for a recent series of attacks targeting Peshmerga forces in the Kurdistan Region’s Duhok province, which have left five members wounded. According to the PKK’s statement, the group carried out attacks on a Peshmerga base on both Monday and Tuesday, as well as a separate assault later in the week. The group justified the actions by opposing the establishment of a new Peshmerga base near the border of Amedi district, which they claimed would impede the movement of PKK fighters operating in the area.
Israel
Reuters: Iran-backed Yemeni Houthis launch two missiles towards Israel
Israel launched an interceptor towards a second missile fired from Yemen on Friday, its military said, as the U.S. intensifies its strikes in Yemen against the Iran-backed Houthi group. The militant group claimed responsibility for firing two missiles thousands of kilometres north targeting Israel's Ramat David air base and the Tel Aviv area.
Right-wing activists rioted outside a Reform synagogue that was screening a joint Israeli-Palestinian ceremony on Israel’s Memorial Day, mobbing and harassing one woman as others exited under police protection. Three people were arrested on the scene, according to reports in Israeli media, and several people reported injuries, including police officers.
The body governing the World Zionist Congress election in the United States took the unusual step this week of barring an individual from running, citing his behavior during the campaign period. Ronn Torossian, a combative Jewish public-relations executive and founder of the upstart militant Zionist group Betar USA, can no longer run as a delegate on the ZOA Coalition slate, the body ruled earlier this week. The ruling, which has not yet been made public, was shared with the Jewish Telegraphic Agency.
Lebanon
Reuters: Lebanon warns Hamas not to compromise its national security
Lebanon has warned Palestinian militant group Hamas not to conduct operations that compromise the country's security or sovereignty, Beirut's Supreme Defence Council said on Friday. The announcement came with Lebanon facing growing U.S. pressure to disarm militant groups outside state control following last year's war between Israel and armed Lebanese group Hezbollah, an ally of Hamas.
Naharnet: Aoun says disarmament to happen through dialogue, not force
President Joseph Aoun has stressed that the Lebanese Army is doing a “mighty job” and that its operations are still ongoing in the area south of the Litani River, despite the “geographic challenges and limited capabilities.” In a meeting with the editors-in-chief of Emirati newspapers on the sidelines of his visit to the UAE, Aoun added that the army is now focusing on “defusing the war possibility in the South Litani area.”
Naharnet: Abbas to discuss handover of Palestinian arms during Lebanon visit
Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas will make an official visit to Lebanon on May 21, Kuwait’s al-Rai newspaper reported on Friday. “The protocol arrangements of the visit have practically started, undertaken by Palestinian Ambassador to Lebanon Ashraf Dabbour, amid expectations that the issue of Palestinian weapons will be on the table of discussions as part of the visit’s official agenda,” informed Palestinian sources told the daily.
Naharnet: 2 men who attacked Sunni imam in Baalshmay arrested
The army on Friday announced the arrest of two men who assaulted the imam of the mosque of the Mt. Lebanon town of Chbaniyeh in an incident apparently related to the sectarian violence between Druze and Sunnis in neighboring Syria. An army statement said the two Lebanese citizens had assaulted the Sunni Muslim cleric in the Baabda district town of Baalshmay. Media reports identified the cleric as Sheikh Hussein Hamza, adding that he was with his family members during the incident.
Syria
Reuters: Israel strikes near Syria's presidential palace in 'message' to Sharaa
Israel bombed an area near the presidential palace in Damascus early on Friday in its clearest signal yet of hostility toward the Islamist-led Syrian authorities and a preparedness to ramp up military action in the name of Syria's Druze minority. Israel has escalated military operations in Syria since rebels ousted Bashar al-Assad in December, with bombings across the country and ground forces entering its southwest, while calling for Syria to remain decentralised and isolated.
Defense Post: Israel Vows ‘Significant Force’ if Syria Govt Fails to Protect Druze
Defense Minister Israel Katz warned Thursday that Israel will respond forcefully if Syria’s Islamist-led government fails to protect the Druze minority, after two days of deadly sectarian clashes near Damascus. “Should the attacks on the Druze resume and the Syrian regime fail to prevent them, Israel will respond with significant force,” Katz said in a statement.
Iraqi News: Syria Druze leader condemns ‘genocidal campaign’ against community
Syrian Druze spiritual leader Sheikh Hikmat al-Hijri on Thursday condemned what he described as a “genocidal campaign” against his community, following two days of deadly sectarian clashes that left 73 people dead. The unrest poses a serious challenge to the Islamist authorities who ousted longtime ruler Bashar al-Assad in December, and comes after a wave of massacres last month in Syria’s Alawite coastal stronghold. In a statement, Hijri denounced the violence in Jaramana and Sahnaya, near Damascus, as an “unjustifiable genocidal campaign” and called for immediate intervention by “international forces to maintain peace and prevent the continuation of these crimes.”
Yemen
Jerusalem Post: US forces intercept shipment of Iranian weapons smuggled to Houthis – report
US forces intercepted a shipment of Iranian weapons that were smuggled to the Houthi terror group in Yemen on Friday, according to the Saudi state-owned Al Arabiya news channel, citing US sources. According to the sources, Iranian ships have been sending data and information to the Houthis.
Kurdistan24: U.S. Airstrikes Decimate Houthi Leadership as Red Sea Tensions Escalate
Renewed U.S. airstrikes pummeled Houthi military sites across Yemen late Thursday night, killing and injuring several air defense experts and senior Houthi commanders, according to regional media reports. The intensifying campaign marks one of the most aggressive escalations by the United States since the onset of its military operations in Yemen in response to Houthi threats to international shipping in the Red Sea.
India
The Economic Times: Jammu and Kashmir leaders condemn Pakistan's support for terrorism
Jammu and Kashmir leaders have criticised Pakistan over its history of supporting terrorism. GM Shaheen of JDU and Altaf Thakur of BJP have condemned Pakistan's actions, with Thakur demanding severe punishment and Shaheen highlighting Pakistan's decades-long role in promoting terrorism.
Kenya
The Kenya Times: 5 Police Officers Gunned Down in Al Shabaab Ambush
Five police officers have been confirmed dead following an ambush by suspected Al Shabaab militants in the expansive Boni Forest, Lamu County. Five others were injured in the Tuesday, April 29 attack. Preliminary reports indicate that the officers, all members of the elite Special Operations Group (SOG), were pursuing suspected terrorists in the Lehelo area when they came under heavy gunfire.
Nigeria
Defense Post: Nigeria Governors Urge Army to Rethink Anti-Jihadist Strategy
State governors in northeast Nigeria on Thursday called on government security forces to rethink their counter-insurgency strategy, after more than 100 people were killed last month in jihadist attacks. The region has seen an upsurge in Islamist militant attacks in recent weeks, reigniting a grinding conflict over the last 16 years that has left more than 40,000 dead and displaced two million.
Somalia
A prominent Somali lawmaker has accused President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud of neglecting the fight against Al-Shabaab militants, blaming growing political disputes over constitutional amendments and the electoral process for weakening the government's focus. At a press conference in Mogadishu, MP Abdirahman Abdishakur said internal divisions and widespread corruption had damaged state institutions and lowered the morale of the Somali army, warning that such dysfunction was giving Al-Shabaab a strategic advantage.
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