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French police said they arrested a suspect early Saturday who allegedly tried to ignite a homemade explosive device outside a Bank of America building in Paris. The incident has now prompted a counterterrorism investigation and raised questions about recruitment via social media apps after the suspect told police he was recruited on Snapchat, Agence France-Presse (AFP) reported. The arrest occurred around 3:30 a.m. local time on Rue de la Boétie after officers intercepted a person placing a five-liter container believed to contain fuel and an ignition device that included approximately 1.5 pounds of explosive powder, the report said. Authorities said a second individual fled the scene, while the arrested suspect claimed to be a minor of Senegalese nationality. Officials said they were still verifying the person’s identity. The Context Laurent Nuñez, France’s interior minister, on Saturday praised the rapid police response and referenced the broader international context of threats against U.S.- and Israeli-linked assets since the outbreak of the Iran war that began late last month, highlighting the government’s emphasis on vigilance. Earlier this week, Nuñez said French authorities have increased personal protection of some figures from the Iranian opposition and stepped-up security around sites that could be a target, including

French police stopped an apparent bomb attack outside a US bank in Paris early Saturday when they arrested a person about to set off a homemade explosive device, officials and sources close to the case told AFP. The incident occurred around 3:30 am (0130 GMT) in front of a Bank of America building in the chic 8th arrondissement, a couple of streets from the Champs-Elysees. Police grabbed the suspect just after he placed a device, made of five litres of liquid (1.3 US gallons), believed to be fuel, and an ignition system, one of the sources said. After his arrest, the suspect claimed to both a minor and a Senegalese citizen, according to a police source, who cautioned that the authorities were still verifying his identity. He was accompanied by a second person, who took flight when officers arrived to arrest the pair.  The ignition component had 650 grams (23 ounces) of explosive powder in it, according to an initial assessment. The whole device was taken to the Paris police's forensics lab for full analysis.  France's counter-terrorism prosecutor's office told AFP it had immediately taken over the investigation, and confirmed the suspect caught was in police custody. It said the

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Health 1 / 5 Kim Osterman shows photos of her son Max, who she says died after taking fentanyl he bought from a dealer on Snapchat, in her living room in Thornton, Colo., on Thursday, March 26, 2026. (AP Photo/Thomas Peipert) A tribute to Max Osterman, whose mother says he died after taking fentanyl he bought from a dealer on Snapchat, is displayed in his mother's living room in Thornton, Colo., Thursday, March 26, 2026. (AP Photo/Thomas Peipert) Kim Osterman, who says her son Max died after taking fentanyl he bought from a dealer on Snapchat, poses for a portrait in her living room in Thornton, Colo., Thursday, March 26, 2026. (AP Photo/Thomas Peipert) A childhood photo of Max Osterman, whose mother says he died after taking fentanyl he bought from a dealer on Snapchat, is displayed in his mother's living room in Thornton, Colo., on Thursday, March 26, 2026. (AP Photo/Thomas Peipert) A photo of Max Osterman, whose mother says he died after taking fentanyl he bought from a dealer on Snapchat, is worn on his mother's blouse at her home in Thornton, Colo., on Thursday, March 26, 2026. (AP Photo/Thomas Peipert) Copyright 2026 The Associated Press. All rights

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The European Union has opened a formal investigation into whether Snapchat has breached Digital Services Act (DSA) regulations regarding the safeguarding of children using its app. Regulators say that the company, whose audience demographic has always skewed young, may not be doing enough to protect minors from grooming and "recruitment for criminal purposes." The EU is also looking into whether Snapchat’s younger users are too easily accessing information on how to buy illegal drugs and age-restricted products. Brussels argues that while Snapchat requires users to be at least 13 years of age to sign up for an account, its self-declaration age assurance system may not be an adequate means of ensuring those younger than the minimum age can’t engage with the platform. The European Commission also says the current measures fail to assess whether users are younger than 17 years old, which it says is necessary for an "age-appropriate experience." It also alleges that adults are able to exploit the current system to lie about their own age and impersonate minors. Investigators believe that the app itself doesn’t allow for other users to report accounts they suspect are being used by people younger than the minimum age requirements. Moreover, they

Published Wed, Mar 25 2026 11:33 AM EDT The U.K. is rolling out a trial social media ban for hundreds of teenagers. The trial will see restrictions ranging from curfews to time caps on certain popular apps like Instagram, TikTok, and Snapchat. Several European countries are considering teen social media bans after Australia banned children under 16 from using the platforms. In this photo illustration a 13-year-old teenage boy looks at an iPhone screen displaying various social media apps on January 12, 2026 in Bath, England. Matt Cardy | Getty Images News | Getty Images The U.K. government is trialing a social media ban for hundreds of teens, after the country's lawmakers rejected a blanket ban on under-16s using the platforms. The U.K.'s Department for Science, Innovation & Technology said Wednesday that it will run a six-week pilot with various bans ranging from curfews to time caps on certain apps on 300 teenagers across the country. View the full site

In this photo illustration a 13-year-old teenage boy looks at an iPhone screen displaying various social media apps on January 12, 2026 in Bath, England. Matt Cardy | Getty Images News | Getty Images The U.K. government is trialing a social media ban for hundreds of teens, after the country's lawmakers rejected a blanket ban on under-16s using the platforms. The U.K.'s Department for Science, Innovation & Technology said Wednesday that it will run a six-week pilot with various bans ranging from curfews to time caps on certain apps on 300 teenagers across the country. The pilot is part of its broader digital wellbeing consultation launched this year, which has already received 30,000 responses from parents and children on the effect of social media on children's wellbeing, and closes on 26 May. It includes four types of interventions, with one set of parents instructed to use parental controls to remove or disable select apps; a second group to impose a one-hour cap per day for teens on the most popular apps, including Instagram, TikTok, and Snapchat; a third set will impose a curfew between 9 p.m. to 7 a.m., and a final group will continue will not restrict social media

A predatory sex offender who used Snapchat to “groom and manipulate” two girls when they were aged ten and 14, whom he later raped, will now serve an additional four-and-a-half years in prison after the State successfully objected to the undue leniency of his original nine-year sentence. After David O'Sullivan was arrested last March, gardaí found 1,629 files of downloaded child sexual abuse material on a mobile phone belonging to him.  This included 915 videos and images of sexual activity involving children and 714 images of sexually explicit exposure. The Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) had sought a review of O’Sullivan’s original term of imprisonment, arguing that his offending was at “such an extreme end” of this type of case that the ultimate sentence imposed had been “incapable of reflecting the gravity” of the crimes. The Court of Appeal has upheld the State’s appeal, finding that the sentence was unduly lenient. Resentencing O’Sullivan to thirteen-and-a half-years in prison, Ms Justice Isobel Kennedy said this was offending of “a very grave nature” by a young man who had “groomed and manipulated these extremely young girls, instilled fear, made threats and sexually assaulted both of them”. O’Sullivan, 23, previously of Ballick Road

Snapchat is doubling down on AI creation with the launch of AI Clips, a new Lens format that transforms a single photo into a short video. Announced as part of Lens Studio, Snapchat’s platform for building AR and AI-powered Lenses, the feature introduces a more structured approach to generative video, one that’s designed for speed, accessibility, and distribution. AI Clips allow users to upload a single photo and instantly turn it into a five-second video. But unlike open-ended text-to-video tools, Snapchat is taking a closed-prompt approach. Instead of typing anything, users interact with pre-designed Lenses created by developers. Each Lens comes with a specific concept or scenario. Think walking down a red carpet, appearing in a stylized cinematic moment or even dropping into a themed environment. Users simply tap the Lens, upload their photo, and Snapchat handles the rest. Built for creators, not just users The real play here is on the creator side. Snapchat says Lens developers, both experienced and new, can build and publish these AI-powered experiences in minutes directly within Lens Studio, without relying on external tools. This lowers the barrier to entry significantly, turning AI video creation into something that’s: Template-driven Repeatable Scalable across audiences More