The stabbing of two Jewish men in London on Wednesday has been formally declared a terrorist incident, according to London police. Authorities are investigating whether the attack deliberately targeted the Jewish community. Assistant Commissioner Laurence Taylor, head of counter-terrorism policing, stated that highly specialized teams are working to progress the investigation quickly and establish exactly what happened. He added that they are collaborating with partners in the security services to ensure a full intelligence picture, noting that one line of inquiry is whether the attack was deliberately targeting the Jewish community in London.
Colombia FARC Rebels Claim Responsibility for Bomb Attack
Dissident guerrillas from Colombia's defunct FARC rebel army have taken responsibility for a bomb attack that killed 21 people, describing it as a tactical error during an electoral campaign marked by a surge in violence. In a statement, the group expressed profound sorrow and assumed political responsibility for the tactical error, which they said has no justification. The devastating explosion on a highway in the southwestern Cauca department injured another 56 people, marking the biggest single loss of life since FARC blew up a Bogota nightclub in 2003, killing 36 people. The attack, occurring a month before presidential elections on May 31, has fueled fears that violence is rising again, a decade after the FARC agreed to disarm following a half-century conflict with the state.
UK Expels Russian Diplomat in Tit-for-Tat Move
The United Kingdom expelled a Russian diplomat on Wednesday in retaliation for Moscow's recent expulsion of a British official and the subsequent smear campaign. Britain's Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office stated that it summoned the Russian ambassador to inform him of the reciprocal action. The tit-for-tat moves reflect spiraling tensions between Moscow and the West. The Foreign Office said the behavior is wholly unacceptable and that they will not tolerate harassment or intimidation of diplomatic staff. The move followed Russia's expulsion last month of a British diplomat over spying allegations, which the UK rejected as complete nonsense. Russia's Federal Security Service claimed the British diplomat sought to gather sensitive information about the Russian economy in unofficial meetings with Russian experts. The diplomat was ordered to leave Russia within two weeks.
Russian Foreign Minister Lavrov to Attend BRICS Meet in India
Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov will travel to India next month to attend the BRICS foreign ministers' meeting in New Delhi, the foreign ministry announced on Wednesday. During his visit on May 14-15, Lavrov will also hold a bilateral meeting with External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar. Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova stated that the meeting, chaired by India, will provide a valuable platform for substantive discussions on current international issues and prospects for strengthening global governance, particularly regarding countries representing the global majority. Special attention will be given to enhancing strategic partnerships in preparation for the 18th BRICS summit, also scheduled to take place in New Delhi this September.
Sweden to Fine Social Media Sites Over Murder Adverts
Sweden's government announced plans on Wednesday to introduce legislation requiring social media platforms like TikTok and Snapchat to take down criminal gangs' murder adverts within an hour or face hefty fines. Criminal gangs active in Sweden increasingly use social media to recruit people to commit murders and other violent acts amid a surge in crime as a service. The recruits are often children under the age of 15, Sweden's age of criminal responsibility, meaning they cannot be prosecuted and fall under social services, making them valuable assets to the gangs. Justice Minister Gunnar Strommer stated that Sweden will be the first in the European Union with this kind of legislation targeting organized crime's recruitment of children and youths. The minority right-wing government, propped up by the far-right Sweden Democrats, has been pushing through a rash of proposals cracking down on crime and immigration ahead of Sweden's general election on September 13. If adopted by the Swedish Parliament, social media sites would face fines of up to five million kronor ($537,000) from July 15 if they fail to remove the adverts in time.
