Terror Plot on Taylor Swift Foiled, Austrian on Trial

0:00It's April 27th. You're listening to Global News Today, AI-powered coverage from around the world. I'm Cory with the story. A 21-year-old Austrian dude named Baran A is heading to trial in Weiner, Nusstad for plotting a terrorist attack on Taylor Swift's Vienna. Concert back in August 2024. He's spacing charges like belonging to a terrorist group and prepping explosives. Another 21-year-old, Arda Kay, is on trial too, as part of the same Islamic state cell. The podcast shut down thanks to a CIA tip-off, leading to arrest, just a day before Swift's first show at Ernst-Happel Stadium, that forced all three sold-out gigs to cancel, leaving over 195,000 fans out in the cold. Fans hit the street hardbroken, swapping friendship bracelets and singing Swift tunes anyway. Swift herself called it devastating but thanked authorities for preventing a massacre, saying it was her first time fearing for fans after 20. Years on stage, prosecutors say Baran started planning by July

1:0221st, learned to make shrapnel bombs online, and tried buying illegal guns and grenades. They even eyed attacks in Mecca, Istanbul, and Dubai. A Syrian teen in Germany already got an 18-month suspended sentence for helping translate bomb instructions. The trial wraps up late May, with both guys facing up to 20 years if convicted. Swift's massive eras tour still smash records, pulling in over 10 million tickets, and topping $1 billion in sales.