Seven people have been arrested in Germany on suspicion of founding a terrorist organisation with the aim of carrying out high-profile attacks similar to the ISIS, prosecutors said.
The Turkmen, Tajik and Kyrgyz nationals arrested in the western German state of North Rhine-Westphalia had known each other for a long time and entered the country from Ukraine shortly after the war began in 2022, said prosecutors.
They formed a terrorist organisation in June 2022 and had been considering targets in Germany and trying to procure weapons, but at the time of arrest did not have concrete plans for an attack, according to a statement from prosecutors.
Except for the Kyrgyz national, the suspects arrested in Germany had also been collecting money for the IS since April 2022 and repeatedly transferred it to the group abroad.
Dutch authorities on Thursday arrested two additional suspects connected to the group, a man from Tajikistan and his Kyrgyz wife, who had resided in the Netherlands since 2022.
The man is suspected of being an IS member and receiving the order to plot an attack, although plans were not yet concrete, Dutch prosecutors said in a separate statement.
Twenty-five years after the deadliest attack on US soil, Americans paused on Friday to commemorate the nearly 3,000 people killed when hijacked planes slammed into the World Trade Center, the Pentagon and a field in Pennsylvania.
Nigeria's parliament has suspended official visits to South Africa and ordered lawmakers to boycott South African-hosted legislative activities, citing reports of attacks on Nigerians and other African migrants there.
A shortage of air traffic controllers has caused flight cancellations and major delays at Sydney Airport on Friday morning, the federal agency responsible for managing Australia's air traffic said.
Philippine firefighters on Friday managed to board a burned-out ferry more than a day after the ship caught fire on its way from Manila to the western province of Palawan, killing five people and leaving more than 80 missing.
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Russian President Vladimir Putin began talks in New Delhi on Friday, their second meeting in two weeks, that is expected to focus on trade, energy and defence ties between the two countries, which have long been friends.
UAE President His Highness Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan met with Angela Merkel, former Chancellor of Germany, as part of his state visit to the country.
His Highness Sheikh Khaled bin Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi, has arrived in India for the 18th BRICS Summit, taking place in New Delhi from September 12 to 13.
The UAE's National Centre of Meteorology (NCM) has reassured the public that there is no cause for concern over social media reports warning of severe impacts from the El Nino climate phenomenon, including claims of widespread flooding or unusual rainfall.