عربي English Türkçe اردو فارسى
Logo
Latest News
World

France Says it Thwarted Attack on Websites from Russian Actors

French Foreign and European Affairs Minister Catherine Colonna. (Photo by KARIM JAAFAR / AFP)
French Foreign and European Affairs Minister Catherine Colonna. (Photo by KARIM JAAFAR / AFP)
TT
TT

France Says it Thwarted Attack on Websites from Russian Actors

French Foreign and European Affairs Minister Catherine Colonna. (Photo by KARIM JAAFAR / AFP)
French Foreign and European Affairs Minister Catherine Colonna. (Photo by KARIM JAAFAR / AFP)

France's foreign minister said on Tuesday that Paris had prevented a hybrid digital attack on her ministry's website likely carried out by Russian state-linked actors, along with attacks on other government websites and French media sites.
According to Reuters, Foreign Minister Catherine Colonna also said France believed there was a broader campaign of spreading disinformation in France by Russian protagonists.
"This campaign is notably based upon creating fake internet pages to hack into the identity of national media and government websites, as well as by creating fake accounts on social media networks," Colonna said in a statement.
Moscow has consistently denied that it carries out hacking operations.
Colonna said Russian embassies and Russian cultural institutes were also involved in this campaign, and reaffirmed France's support for Ukraine in its conflict with Russia.
Many countries around the world that have expressed their support for Ukraine have disclosed similar hits on websites.

Most Viewed

 
 
World

3 Killed in Taiwan Knife Attack, President Vows Full Inquiry

Police collect evidence from a crime scene outside Eslite Spectrum Nanxi store near Zhongshan station as the entrance of the building is cordoned off with yellow crime scene tape, in Taipei, Taiwan, December 19, 2025. REUTERS/Ann Wang
Police collect evidence from a crime scene outside Eslite Spectrum Nanxi store near Zhongshan station as the entrance of the building is cordoned off with yellow crime scene tape, in Taipei, Taiwan, December 19, 2025. REUTERS/Ann Wang
TT
TT

3 Killed in Taiwan Knife Attack, President Vows Full Inquiry

Police collect evidence from a crime scene outside Eslite Spectrum Nanxi store near Zhongshan station as the entrance of the building is cordoned off with yellow crime scene tape, in Taipei, Taiwan, December 19, 2025. REUTERS/Ann Wang
Police collect evidence from a crime scene outside Eslite Spectrum Nanxi store near Zhongshan station as the entrance of the building is cordoned off with yellow crime scene tape, in Taipei, Taiwan, December 19, 2025. REUTERS/Ann Wang

A man with at least one knife and smoke grenades attacked crowds indiscriminately in Taiwan's capital on Friday evening, killing at least three people and injuring 11 others, according to the national news agency and the city government. The suspect later fell to his death from a department store building.

Police said that the suspect was declared dead at a hospital after jumping from the building's sixth floor, the Central News Agency reported.

The suspect, identified as a 27-year-old man named Chang Wen, threw smoke grenades near an underground exit of the Taipei Main metro station, close to the city's main train station, and randomly attacked people with a “sharp object,” sending pedestrians running, according to media reports.

He then headed north to a popular shopping district, where he threw smoke grenades and stabbed multiple people on the first and fourth floors of the Eslite Spectrum Nanxi department store, primarily in the neck, the news agency said, citing police.

Police later revealed that the suspect, between the two scenes, took an underground path to a hotel, where he fetched some “lethal weapon” — or some kind of edged weapon — before showing up at a road outside the Zhongshan metro station, near the department store, according to the news agency.

Police said they were yet to find any accomplice and were investigating possible motives. Police said they recovered some “lethal weapons” in both the suspect's rental home in Taipei and the hotel room where he had stayed for three nights near Zhongshan.

Video footage aired on local television networks showed the suspect, who was wearing a gas mask and clad in black, dropping at least two smoke grenades at the Taipei Main metro station. He was later seen near Eslite and entering the department store while attacking passersby.

Local hospitals reported three deaths from the attacks. CNA reported on Saturday that 11 others were initially hospitalized. Six of them remained in hospitals, with two in the intensive care unit, it said.

Taipei Mayor Chiang Wan-an told local media that a 57-year-old man immediately tried to stop the suspect at the metro station's exit, but was fatally wounded. National Taiwan University Hospital told the news agency that the fatal wound was “a penetrating injury about five centimeters in length caused by a sharp object that reached from the right lung to the left atrium.”

Taipei Metro said that a staffer was hospitalized after he inhaled excessive smoke while responding to the attack.

Another man died after he was attacked near the department store, according to EBC News.

Chang failed to report for reserve military training in November 2024, and he was wanted for violating the law on mandatory military service, the news agency reported. He apparently didn't report a change in household registration, resulting in nondelivery of his reserve military service summons, the news agency reported, citing a district prosecutors' office.

Taiwan's President Lai Ching-te pledged a full public inquiry.

"I want to express condolences to those who tragically lost their lives in last night's horrific, violent attack, and to extend my sympathy to their families," Lai said at one of the hospitals.

He added that he has ordered a "full and thorough investigation" and will "give the public a full account of truth."

World

Turkish Authorities Investigate Drone Crash Days after Shooting Down Another UAV

A Turkish flag with the Bosphorus Bridge in the background, flies on a passenger ferry in Istanbul, Türkiye September 30, 2020. (Reuters)
A Turkish flag with the Bosphorus Bridge in the background, flies on a passenger ferry in Istanbul, Türkiye September 30, 2020. (Reuters)
TT
TT

Turkish Authorities Investigate Drone Crash Days after Shooting Down Another UAV

A Turkish flag with the Bosphorus Bridge in the background, flies on a passenger ferry in Istanbul, Türkiye September 30, 2020. (Reuters)
A Turkish flag with the Bosphorus Bridge in the background, flies on a passenger ferry in Istanbul, Türkiye September 30, 2020. (Reuters)

Authorities on Friday opened an investigation into an unmanned aerial vehicle that crashed in northwest Türkiye, just days after the country shot down another drone that entered its airspace from the Black Sea.

Residents in Kocaeli province discovered the damaged UAV in a field, prompting an official investigation into the wreckage, NTV news channel and other reports said.

An initial assessment indicates the aircraft could be a Russian‑made Orlan‑10 reconnaissance drone, the Interior Ministry said in a statement, adding that an investigation was ongoing, The AP news reported.

On Monday, Turkish F-16 fighter planes intercepted what officials described as an “out of control” drone after it violated the country’s airspace.

The defense ministry said that drone was destroyed in a safe location to protect civilians and air traffic. Türkiye's government subsequently warned both Russia and Ukraine to exercise greater caution over Black Sea security.

That shootdown came after a series of Ukrainian strikes on Russian “shadow fleet” of tankers off the Turkish coast, raising concerns in Türkiye about the risk of the war in Ukraine spilling over into the region.

The defense ministry said the drone that was shot down on Monday likely broke into small fragments that scattered over a wide area, complicating efforts to identify it. Search and technical analysis efforts were still underway, it said.

World

UK Imposes Sanctions on Perpetrators of Violence Against Syrian Civilians

FILE - In this file photo dated Monday, Dec. 14, 2020, the Union Flag flies on the top of 10 Downing Street, the Prime Minister's official residence in London. (AP Photo/Alberto Pezzali, FILE)
FILE - In this file photo dated Monday, Dec. 14, 2020, the Union Flag flies on the top of 10 Downing Street, the Prime Minister's official residence in London. (AP Photo/Alberto Pezzali, FILE)
TT
TT

UK Imposes Sanctions on Perpetrators of Violence Against Syrian Civilians

FILE - In this file photo dated Monday, Dec. 14, 2020, the Union Flag flies on the top of 10 Downing Street, the Prime Minister's official residence in London. (AP Photo/Alberto Pezzali, FILE)
FILE - In this file photo dated Monday, Dec. 14, 2020, the Union Flag flies on the top of 10 Downing Street, the Prime Minister's official residence in London. (AP Photo/Alberto Pezzali, FILE)

Britain ​imposed sanctions on Friday on individuals and organizations it said were linked to violence perpetrated against civilians in Syria, including some who financially supported former president Bashar al-Assad's government.

While Britain ‌has eased some ‌sanctions on ‌Syria ⁠as ​the country ‌seeks to rebuild after the collapse of the Assad regime a year ago, it said it was taking action against those who were trying to undermine peace ⁠in the Middle Eastern country.

The government ‌measures announced on ‍Friday are ‍targeted at individuals involved in coastal ‍violence in Syria in March, as well as historic violence committed during the country's civil war, the statement ​said.

"Accountability and justice for all Syrians is vital to ensure ⁠a successful and sustainable political settlement in Syria," foreign minister Yvette Cooper said.

The sanctions, a combination of asset freezes and travel bans, targeted four individuals and three organisations, while two individuals who gave financial backing to the Assad regime are also being sanctioned.