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 21, 2025
Top Stories
Reuters: Suicide attack on school bus kills five in Pakistan's Balochistan
At least three children were among five people killed when a suicide bomber struck an army school bus in Pakistan's restive Balochistan province, the military said on Wednesday, in an attack Pakistan blamed on Indian proxies. Around 40 students were on the bus that was headed to an army-run school and several sustained injuries, said Yasir Iqbal, the administrator of Khuzdar district, where the incident took place.
Deutsche Welle: 'Extreme' increase in politically motivated crime in Germany
Germany recorded a 40% rise in politically motivated crime in 2024 compared to the year before, according to figures released Tuesday. Of the total figure, 42,788 were right-wing extremist, amounting to nearly 50% of politically motivated crimes. Interior Minister Alexander Dobrindt said the "extreme" increase in figures was "driven by the polarization of our society" and by the rise of antisemitism. Natalie Pawlik, the government commissioner for anti-racism, decried a "dramatic" increase in racist, antisemitic and Islamophobic crimes in Germany. "Hitler salutes, incitement to hatred, punches in the face — a right-wing crime every 12 minutes in our country," she said.
CEP Mentions
Sky News Italy: Germany bans far-right organization
The Reichsbürger are not a single group. For the German secret services they are anti-state extremists. Analyst Hans Jakob Schindler [CEP Senior Director] draws a profile of them. Authorities estimate 2,000 Reichsbürger but the real number may be higher. Many have gun licenses, some are former military or members of the police force and some are ready for battle. This is the case of the group led by the self-styled Prince of Reus, dismantled in December 2022, while preparing an armed coup. 130 searches and 25 arrests, the largest anti-terrorism operation in recent history in Germany. A parallel reality that has become a concrete threat.
ProSieben: Alleged Putin spies in court
CEP Senior Director Dr. Hans-Jakob Schindler interviewed about the start of a trial against Russian saboteurs in Munich. “Three suspected Russian spies are on trial before the Munich Higher Regional Court. They are accused of spying on military facilities and plotting sabotage.”
CEP Senior Director Dr. Hans-Jakob Schindler interviewed about the arrest of a right-wing extremist terror cell in Germany.
Analysis
Washington Institute: Deporting Hamas’s Top Brass: A Path to Ending the War in Gaza
Recently, several senior Hamas figures indicated to U.S. envoys via intermediaries in Qatar that the group may be willing to accept limited deportations of its military commanders and certain other operatives from the Gaza Strip. The same figures also conveyed that Hamas may be ready to discuss a longer-term ceasefire, postwar “security arrangements,” and the handover of administrative tasks to another governing body, though they declined to use the term “disarmament.”
Jerusalem Post: When Hamas applauds you, it's time to rethink your stance
France, Great Britain, and Canada made damning statements on Tuesday that threaten sanctions against Israel if it does not halt its military operations in Gaza and lift aid restrictions. Although they may seem justified in the narrow context of the horrors experienced by the Palestinians in the embattled enclave, they completely ignore the larger context of the reason and push behind Israel being there in the first place: Hamas and Iran. In a joint statement, the governments said, “The Israeli government’s denial of essential humanitarian assistance to the civilian population is unacceptable and risks breaching international humanitarian law.
United States
Jerusalem Post: Classifying Taliban as 'foreign terrorist organization' under review, Rubio says
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio on Wednesday told the House Foreign Affairs Committee that the United States was reviewing whether to designate the Taliban as a "foreign terrorist organization." Asked by Representative Tim Burchett, a Tennessee Republican, whether the US would classify the Taliban as a "foreign terrorist organization," Rubio said: "I believe that classification is now, once again, under review."
Reuters: Rubio may have revoked thousands of visas as crackdown continues
U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio said on Tuesday the number of visas he has revoked was probably in the thousands, adding that he believed there was still more to do.Republican President Donald Trump's administration has sought to ramp up deportations and revoke student visas as part of its wide-ranging efforts to fulfill his hardline immigration agenda. "I don't know the latest count, but we probably have more to do," Rubio told a Senate appropriations subcommittee that oversees foreign affairs. Trump administration officials have said student visa and green card holders are subject to deportation over their support for Palestinians and criticism of Israel's conduct in the war in Gaza, calling their actions a threat to U.S. foreign policy and accusing them of being pro-Hamas.
Jewish children enrolled in K-to-12 private schools across the country are exposed to significant antisemitism or hostility, according to an Anti-Defamation League study released Wednesday. About 25% of parents interviewed in a focus group survey said their kids had seen antisemitic symbols such as swastikas in schools after Hamas’ Oct. 7, 2023, attack on Israel. Nearly half — 45% — reported that their kids had experienced or witnessed some form of Jew hatred.
Washington Post: Trump administration pulls $60M in Harvard grants in third round of cuts
The Department of Health and Human Services is terminating $60 million in federal grants to Harvard University, the latest escalation in the Trump administration’s efforts to force change at some of the nation’s most prominent universities.
Democratic socialist mayoral candidate Zohran Mamdani is being accused of spewing antisemitic tropes — after he falsely claimed taxpayers were footing the bill for New York lawmakers’ trips to Israel. Jewish advocates railed that the Queens state Assembly member was insinuating Jewish pols were swindling New Yorkers to benefit Israel at their expense.
Virginia Mercury: Youngkin signs executive order to combat antisemitism in Va. Schools
Gov. Glenn Youngkin directed state leaders to develop resources to track incidents of antisemitism and anti-religious bigotry at Virginia’s schools through an executive order announced Monday evening. Executive Order 48 expands on his administration’s efforts and work by the legislature to combat prejudice against Jewish students at all levels of Virginia’s education system.
Northwestern University is planning to expand and enhance its Jewish studies and student experience on campus through an anonymous donation, amid ongoing investigations by the Trump administration into allegations the university engaged in “antisemitic harassment and discrimination.”
Germany
Deutsche Welle: Interior Minister Dobrindt calls for 'security offensive'
German Interior Minister Alexander Dobrindt said the new figures on politically motivated crime underlined an urgent need for major security action. "The unprecedented increase in the number of politically motivated crimes is a worrying development that we are combating with the utmost consistency and determination," he said. "The high number of antisemitic crimes, in particular, is unacceptable," he added. The figures released Tuesday showed a nearly 21% increase in antisemitic crimes in 2024 compared to the year before. Dobrindt noted that politically motivated crimes were spreading "fear and terror" and causing volunteers and politicians to cease their work. "The current statistics once again underscore the urgent need for a joint security offensive by the federal and state governments — a true turning point in domestic security."
Deutsche Welle: Evidence to ban AfD is lacking — German interior minister
Germany's interior minister Alexander Dobrindt has said a recent assessment by the country's domestic intelligence agency classifying the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) party as a "right-wing extremist" organization is insufficient to justify a ban on the party. Earlier this month, the BfV upgraded the AfD's status from "suspected" to "confirmed right-wing extremist" because the party "disregards human dignity" and is a threat to German democracy. But Dobrindt argued Tuesday that the intelligence report that underpinned the BvF's assessment primarily focused on whether the AfD violates the principle of human dignity and did not have enough evidence to justify a ban. Banning a political party, Dobrindt said, would also require evidence that it poses a threat to democracy or the rule of law.
Deutsche Welle: Bielefeld knife attack suspect remanded in custody
Prosecutors said their investigations into the motive also include a "possible Islamist background to the offence." Police say there is a "strong suspicion" that the suspect, who has been identified as a 35-year-old man of Syrian origin, tried to kill "at least four people with a knife and a spear-like object" during the knife attack. Later on Tuesday, federal prosecutors said they had opened proceedings against the suspect due to the case's "special significance." "It is suspected that the act was religiously motivated and is to be understood as an attack on the free democratic basic order," a statement said. The attack injured five people aged between 22 and 27, with four of the alleged victims sustaining serious injuries, including two that were life-threatening. Police said Monday that their conditions had since stabilized.
Reuters: Germany arrests minors in strike against far-right 'terrorist' group
German authorities on Wednesday arrested five adolescents suspected of forming a far-right terrorist group and said the charges included attempted murder and severe arson. The arrests, and three earlier similar arrests, follow arson attacks on a community centre in the eastern state of Brandenburg in October and on a migrant shelter in Saxony in January.
Die Sachsen: Left: Right-wing extremism is part of everyday life at schools in Saxony
"The blacks have to die out so that the whites have it better": this is how a CDU politician quotes a Saxon primary school pupil. There are repeated cases of right-wing extremism in schools. Ninth-graders from Görlitz show a neo-Nazi salute in front of the former Auschwitz-Birkenau extermination camp. In Oelsnitz, a secondary school teacher resigns because she is threatened by right-wing extremists. Swastikas on school desks are often no longer a cause for excitement. "Hardly a week goes by in Saxony without an incident with a right-wing extremist background at a school," said Left Party MP Luise Neuhaus-Wartenberg during a debate in the state parliament.
Kurdistan24: German Police Arrest Senior PKK Member in Bremen Raid
German authorities arrested a senior member of the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) on Tuesday, during a targeted police operation in the city of Bremen, as part of ongoing efforts to dismantle networks associated with the group classified as a terrorist organization by both Germany and the European Union.
The anti-Israel BDS movement is now considered unconstitutional. It is listed for the first time in the Berlin Office for the Protection of the Constitution's report. The importance of BDS for the anti-Semitic and anti-Israel scene has increased significantly over the past year, said Michael Fischer, head of the Berlin Office for the Protection of the Constitution, on Monday.
Russia
The Telegraph: The Wagner Group’s dealings are darker than we thought
Lechner’s book covers some similar territory to Downfall, last year’s excellent Prigozhin biography co-written by Mark Galeotti and Anna Arutunyan, but where it adds value is in Lechner’s journalistic shoe-leather. Not only has he interviewed around 30 ex-Wagner members – itself no easy task – but he has conducted extensive ground reporting on Wagner operations in Africa. This would be a hazardous assignment even for the major news outlets, let alone a freelancer such as Lechner. Wagner’s African ventures are, by definition, in places where Western intervention has failed: the jihadist-plagued ex-French colonies of the Sahel, for example. And Wagner doesn’t like scrutiny. In 2018, three Russian journalists were shot dead in the CAR while reporting on the group, a hit that some commentators linked to Prigozhin.
Spain
Reuters: Ukrainian ex-politician shot dead outside elite American school in Madrid
Unidentified gunmen shot dead a former Ukrainian politician on Wednesday outside a school in a wealthy suburb of Madrid, Spain's Interior Ministry said. Andriy Portnov, 51, was previously a senior aide to a pro-Russian former Ukrainian president, Viktor Yanukovich, who was ousted in a 2014 popular uprising.
United Kingdom
Reuters: Britain and Iran summon each other's diplomats after Iranians charged in UK probe
Britain and Iran summoned each other's diplomats in London and Tehran on Monday after British authorities charged three Iranian nationals under a national security law following a major counter-terrorism investigation. Britain said it had summoned Iranian Ambassador Seyed Ali Mousavi to appear at its foreign office, while Iran summoned the British charge d'affaires in Tehran over the arrests of its nationals, calling the accusations "false claims".
The Guardian: Rupert Lowe recorded making antisemitic remark at parliament
Rupert Lowe, the MP for Great Yarmouth, made an antisemitic comment during a meeting in parliament earlier this year, the Guardian can reveal. Lowe, who was suspended from Reform UK earlier this year after a fallout with Nigel Farage, made the remark at a meeting where parliamentary staff were present.
Jerusalem Post: Antisemitic vandals target Jewish areas, businesses in London and Manchester
British Jewish areas in Manchester and London have been targeted by antisemitic graffiti and vandalism over the last few days. On Sunday night, the words "Free Palestine" were sprayed across the road of a Jewish area in North West London, according to photos on social media. Additionally, a sticker reading "antisemitism is a crime, anti-Zionism is a duty" was affixed to the inside of a northern line tube carriage - a line that services much of the London Jewish community. In Prestwich, Manchester, several Jewish-owned buildings were daube d with antisemitic graffiti. The Greater Manchester Police said the incidents were under investigation. Jewish local paper The Manchester Scoop reported that multiple Jewish-owned establishments, including Benny's Bistro and synagogues Beis Mordechai and The Shtieble, were defaced with "vile antisemitic graffiti."
Jerusalem Post: Blade-wielding man in Abbey Road sweatshirt cuts mezuzah from London Jewish home
A man was recorded ripping mezuzahs from the doorposts of houses in Golders Green, a Jewish area of North London, on Tuesday evening. The man - who is wearing an Abbey Road Studios hoodie - can be seen approaching the front door of a private home where he then pulls a knife out from under his clothing and cuts the mezuzah from its place in the doorframe.
Express: Gary Lineker's football podcast dropped by BBC after antisemitism scandal
Gary Lineker's football podcast will have its last episode on the BBC's audio streaming service this week. It comes after the corporation announced the player-turned-pundit's early departure from the broadcaster following a social media row after the 64-year-old shared a post about Zionism which featured a depiction of a rat, historically an antisemitic insult.
The UK imposed sanctions on Tuesday on two illegal settlement outposts and three Israeli settlers, including veteran settler leader Daniella Weiss and her organization Nachala, a company involved in the construction of illegal settlement outposts. The measures, including asset freezes, financial restrictions and travel bans, were announced on the same day that the UK suspended trade talks with Israel, citing the renewed military campaign in Gaza and Israel’s policy on aid restrictions into the territory.
Afghanistan
Amu: Young law graduate killed by unknown gunmen in Kabul, sources say
A 24-year-old man was fatally shot by unidentified gunmen in western Kabul earlier this week, according to local sources who described it a latest in a series of unexplained killings that have heightened public concern over security in the country’s capital.
Afghanistan International: Taliban Calls China One Of Its Most Important Economic Partners
The Taliban has described China as one of its most important economic partners during high-level talks held in Beijing on Wednesday, 21 May. The meeting between Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi and Taliban Foreign Minister Amir Khan Muttaqi focused on strengthening economic cooperation and bilateral relations.
Afghanistan International: World Bank Denies Taliban Claim Over Debt Repayments To Afghan Companies
The World Bank has formally rejected claims made by the Taliban that it has begun repaying outstanding debts owed to Afghan companies. In an official statement, the international financial institution clarified that the debts in question were incurred under the former Afghan Republic government and are not the responsibility of the World Bank.
Yousuf Wafa, the Taliban governor of Balkh province, has declared that all laws from previous Afghan governments have been fully abolished and replaced with the Taliban’s own legal framework. Speaking at a provincial administrative meeting, Wafa instructed all government offices to strictly implement the group’s laws and to follow the directives issued by the Taliban’s supreme leader, Hibatullah Akhundzada.
Afghanistan International: Taliban Publicly Flog 9 In Kabul, Kunduz On Charges Of Sex, Drug Offenses
The Taliban judiciary has announced the public flogging of nine individuals, including two women, in Kabul and Kunduz provinces. The punishments were carried out by the group’s counter-narcotics court in Kabul and its primary court in Qala-e-Zal district, Kunduz.
The Taliban’s primary court in Khidir district of Daikundi province has sentenced six teachers from the Ofuq-e Nowin educational centre to prison, sources told Afghanistan International. The sentences range from three to five months and are reportedly linked to the instructors’ work teaching English and computer skills.
Iran
Reuters: Iran parliament approves strategic pact with Russia
Iran's parliament approved a 20-year strategic partnership on Wednesday between Moscow and Tehran, state media reported. The agreement represents a deepening of bilateral ties including closer defence cooperation. Russian President Vladimir Putin and his Iranian counterpart Masoud Pezeshkian signed the strategic partnership document on January 17.
Reuters: Iran executes man responsible for Azerbaijan embassy attack
A man convicted of a fatal shooting at Azerbaijan's embassy in the Iranian capital, Tehran, was executed on Wednesday, Iran's judiciary news outlet Mizan said. The January 2023 shooting, in which the Azeri embassy security chief was killed, brought relations between Tehran and Baku to a new low, with Azerbaijan branding the shooting an "act of terrorism".
Amu: Taliban mining minister travels to Iran for minerals conference despite UN sanctions
Taliban mining minister Hidayatullah Badri traveled to Iran on Monday to attend an international conference on mineral resources, according to a statement by the Taliban-run Ministry of Mines and Petroleum. Badri, who is subject to United Nations Security Council sanctions, is leading a delegation to participate in the Second International Conference of Mineral Experts and Researchers, being held in Iran this week. The ministry said the trip will also include meetings with representatives and investors from various companies.
An Iranian media outlet affiliated with the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) said on Wednesday that the United States has shifted from diplomacy to military threats after Iran held firm on its nuclear red lines. “They begin with soft diplomacy and end with military threats when faced with Iran’s red lines,” Tasnim said, describing what it sees as a recurring Western approach toward Iran’s nuclear program.
Iran International: Iran’s parliament backs enrichment beyond 20% as Tehran weighs return to talks
Iran’s parliament issued a firm statement on Wednesday defending the country’s nuclear program, saying that Tehran's right to uranium enrichment, including to levels beyond 20%, is non-negotiable. The parliamentary declaration follows Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei's skepticism on Tuesday regarding the success of ongoing indirect nuclear talks with the United States, and Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi's announcement that Iran is assessing its participation in the next round of negotiations.
Israel
The US has obtained new intelligence suggesting that Israel is making preparations to strike Iranian nuclear facilities, even as the Trump administration has been pursuing a diplomatic deal with Tehran, multiple US officials familiar with the latest intelligence told CNN. Such a strike would be a brazen break with President Donald Trump, US officials said. It could also risk tipping off a broader regional conflict in the Middle East — something the US has sought to avoid since the war in Gaza inflamed tensions beginning in 2023. Officials caution it’s not clear that Israeli leaders have made a final decision, and that in fact, there is deep disagreement within the US government about the likelihood that Israel will ultimately act. Whether and how Israel strikes will likely depend on what it thinks of the US negotiations with Tehran over its nuclear program.
Jerusalem Post: Israel agrees to Witkoff deal but Hamas rebuffs proposal, PMO says
Hamas is refusing to agree to a deal based on the Witkoff proposal, despite Israel's agreement to the deal, the Prime Minister's Office said in a statement on Tuesday evening. "Israel agrees to the American proposal for the return of the hostages, which is based on the Witkoff framework," the statement read. "This proposal was recently conveyed to Hamas through the mediators, but so far it continues to cling to its refusal." The statement confirmed that senior-level negotiators will return to Israel, while a working team will remain in Doha. The Jerusalem Post reported that the remaining team in Doha is staying to show that Israel is still willing to make efforts to reach a deal. However, Israeli officials have repeatedly stated that no progress has been made in the negotiations and that there is no indication that Hamas is shifting its position.
Reuters: Trump plan or not, Israel is letting more Palestinians leave Gaza
For more than a year, Israeli authorities prevented Ayed Ayoub from escaping Gaza's hunger and war with his family for an academic fellowship in France. He finally left last month, after Israel unexpectedly eased its tight control of the border. Ayoub, his wife and their four children are among around 1,000 Palestinians who have left Gaza following Israel's relaxation of rules in recent months, bussed from the enclave to board flights to Europe and elsewhere, according to interviews with affected Gazans and foreign diplomats.
State prosecutors have indicted a 16-year-old from Tira after he allegedly tried to break into the Arab city’s police station and stab officers as “revenge” for the ongoing Gaza war. According to the indictment, the minor consulted with ChatGPT to plot the attack. He stormed the station on March 5, attempting to stab a border cop with a knife while shouting “Allahu akbar” (God is greatest).
The IDF and Shin Bet struck over 115 terror targets in the Gaza Strip over the past 24 hours, killing Nukhba terrorists who participated in the October 7 massacre, the military confirmed on Wednesday. IAF aircraft, guided by Division 162, targeted and killed Mohammad Shahin, a Nukhba terrorist from Hamas’s East Jabaliya battalion, in northern Gaza. Shaheen infiltrated Israeli territory and participated in the October 7 attack.
Israel Hayom: Terror's heirs: The organizations vying for control of Gaza in a post-Hamas era
The apparent elimination of Muhammad Sinwar has left Hamas virtually leaderless and paved the way for a fierce power struggle over Gaza. From Hamas' "little brother," to those responsible for the Bibas family murder, to offshoots of the Islamic State and al-Qaida, more than 15 different organizations may compete to fill the vacuum after the war ends, and Israel should start paying attention.
Lebanon
The Lebanese and Palestinian Authority presidents agree that Palestinian factions won’t use Lebanon as a launchpad for any attacks against Israel, and that all weapons will be only under the authority of the Lebanese state. The announcement is made during a meeting between Lebanese President Joseph Aoun and Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas, who arrived earlier in the day, beginning a three-day visit to Lebanon, his first in seven years.
Naharnet: Ortagus to visit Lebanon with list of US conditions for full ceasefire, report says
Deputy U.S. Envoy for the Middle East Morgan Ortagus who is due to visit Lebanon next month will carry with her a list of U.S. conditions for Israel's complete withdrawal from south Lebanon and a halt of its attacks on the country, pro-Hezbollah al-Akhbar newspaper reported.
Naharnet: Palestinian official says Lebanon camps to keep light weapons
The issue of Palestinian arms in Lebanon might be the “last” topic on the agenda of Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas during his visit to Lebanon this week, a Beirut-based Palestinian official said on Tuesday. “This topic is new and is not the priority for the Lebanese and Palestinians,” Haitham Zuaiter, a member of the Palestinian central and national councils, told Al-Jadeed television.
Naharnet: Ortagus says Lebanon has 'more' to do on Hezbollah disarming
Lebanon still has "more" to do in disarming Hezbollah following the war between the Iran-backed group and Israel, Deputy U.S. Envoy for the Middle East Morgan Ortagus said Tuesday. As part of a deal agreed to end 14 months of fighting last November, Hezbollah was to withdraw its fighters north of Lebanon's Litani River, while Israel was to pull all its forces from south Lebanon.
Syria
Reuters: Syrian leadership approved return of dead spy archive to Israel, sources say
Syria's leadership approved the handover of the belongings of long-dead spy Eli Cohen to Israel in a bid to ease Israeli hostility and show goodwill to U.S. President Donald Trump, three sources told Reuters. Israel announced its recovery of the trove of documents, photographs and personal possessions relating to Cohen on Sunday, saying its spy agency Mossad had worked with an unnamed foreign intelligence agency to secure the material. However, a Syrian security source, an adviser to Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa and a person familiar with backchannel talks between the countries said the archive of material was in fact offered to Israel as an indirect gesture by Sharaa as he seeks to cool tensions and build Trump's confidence.
Caliber: Ankara, Washington reaffirm joint commitment to stable and terror-free Syria
Türkiye and the United States have reaffirmed their shared vision for Syria, emphasising the goal of a country that is capable of ensuring internal security, maintaining regional stability, and fostering good neighbourly relations.
Kurdistan24: US-Türkiye Meet to Coordinate on Syria
The U.S.-Türkiye working group on Syria met in Washington on Tuesday under the leadership of U.S. Deputy Secretary of State Christopher Landau and Turkish Deputy Foreign Minister Nuh Yilmaz. The meeting follows on U.S. President Donald Trump’s visit last week to the Middle East, where he stopped in Saudi Arabia, Qatar, and the UAE.
AFP: Rubio says Syria could be weeks away from 'full-scale civil war'
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio warned Tuesday that Syria could be weeks away from a fresh civil war of "epic proportions," as he called for support to the transitional leadership. "It is our assessment that, frankly, the transitional authority, given the challenges they're facing, are maybe weeks -- not many months -- away from potential collapse and a full-scale civil war of epic proportions, basically the country splitting up," Rubio told a US Senate hearing.
Pakistan
Reuters: A look at recent deadly attacks in Pakistan as it battles rising militancy
Following are some recent deadly attacks in Pakistan, where the government is facing insurgencies on two fronts - militant attacks in the northwest and a growing separatist insurgency in the south.
Washington Post: In Pakistani-administered Kashmir, security fears grow after Indian attack
More than a week after a ceasefire between Pakistan and India brought calm to this disputed borderland, the dead have been buried and much of the rubble cleared in Pakistani-administered Kashmir. But the subtler ways in which the fighting has changed the regional status quo are still emerging.
Amu: Pakistan welcomes ‘enhanced diplomatic engagement’ with Taliban in Beijing meeting
Pakistan’s Foreign Minister, Ishaq Dar, met with Amir Khan Muttaqi, the Taliban’s acting foreign minister, in Beijing on Wednesday, where he welcomed what he described as “positive momentum in bilateral ties” and “enhanced diplomatic engagement” between Pakistan and the Taliban, the Pakistani foreign ministry said in a statement.
China
Amu: China hosts trilateral talks with Pakistan and Taliban
Foreign ministers from Pakistan, China and Taliban met in Beijing in an “informal” trilateral dialogue aimed at strengthening regional cooperation on security, economic development, and connectivity, amid renewed tensions between Pakistan and India, the Pakistani foreign ministry said in a statement on Wednesday.
Technology
Experts say an online ecosystem that allows lone actors to latch on to fringe viewpoints is bolstering violent extremism in the US, following an attack over the weekend on a fertility clinic in Palm Springs, California.
The Interpreter: How extremists are manipulating AI chatbots
In an environment where people are feeling increasingly dislocated and disconnected, Artificial Intelligence (AI) chatbots have proven themselves a compelling form of social connection. Chatbots can identify our needs and our biases and, in turn, feed our desires. The more an algorithm tells us what we want to hear, as it is designed to do, the more we return to it. As younger individuals turn towards chatbots for any number of needs, including as a therapist or lover, it is entirely possible for users to develop an addiction to their AI companions, a potentially harmful addiction.
Daily Dose
Extremists: Their Words. Their Actions.
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