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Turkish Airlines flight makes emergency landing in Barcelona after ‘threat’ alert

MADRID (AP) — A Turkish Airlines flight made an emergency landing Thursday at Barcelona’s international airport after a passenger created an in-flight wireless network whose name contained a bomb threat, an airlines spokesperson said.

As the Turkish Airlines TK1853 flight from Istanbul was approaching its destination at Barcelona-El Prat Airport, “it was detected that a passenger established an in-flight internet access point and set the network name to include a bomb threat,” the spokesperson, Yahya Üstün, said. As a result, the plane, an Airbus 321, made an emergency landing.

The airline said the return flight would operate normally.

Spain’s Civil Guard police force said it had investigated the incident, and that no explosive was found on-board. It added that the airport was operating normally.

Australian watchdog files legal action against Telegram, saying it failed to remove violent content

MELBOURNE, Australia (AP) — Australia’s online safety watchdog has filed legal action against messaging app Telegram, saying the platform failed to remove extremist content including videos of white supremacist mass shootings in Buffalo, New York, and the New Zealand city of Christchurch as well as Islamic State group beheadings. The United Arab Emirates-based app, which reports having 1 billion users worldwide, faces a fine of up to 54.6 million Australian dollars ($38 million) if convicted in the Australian Federal Court for “alleged failure to detect and remove pro-terror material,” eSafety Commissioner Julie Inman Grant said Thursday. The civil action is a test of Australia's 2021 law requiring tech platforms to work to keep illegal and pro-terrorism material off their networks. Telegram denied the claims. “We reject these allegations and will contest them in court,” a spokesperson said in a written statement sent on Telegram.
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