Explosion reported outside Hellenic Train offices in Athens
Forensics officers investigate the area of a bomb blast outside the Hellenic Train offices, in Athens, Greece, April 11, 2025. PHOTO: REUTERS
Listen to article
An explosion occurred outside the offices of Hellenic Train in Athens, Greek police said on Friday, adding there were no immediate reports of injuries.
Police cordoned off the area after two Greek media organizations received warning calls that an explosive device would go off within 35 minutes, police officials said. A suspicious-looking bag was spotted outside the building which was evacuated.
There was no immediate claim of responsibility.
Hellenic Train is a unit of Italy's Ferrovie dello Stato, which operates passenger and freight routes in Greece. A deadly 2023 train crash, Greece's worst rail disaster, killed 57 people, mostly students, and injured dozens.
Many Greeks view the crash as emblematic of the neglect of the country's railways in recent decades and also of a persistent failure by the state to address safety concerns. The crash has prompted angry protests, fuelled further by a lack of trust in institutions.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Express Tribune
14 hours ago
- Express Tribune
Northern Irish rioters clash with police over assault protest
Listen to article Hundreds of masked rioters attacked police and set homes and cars on fire in the Northern Irish town of Ballymena on Tuesday, in the second successive night of disorder that followed a protest over an alleged sexual assault in the town. Police in Northern Ireland sporadically come under attack when tensions rise in parts of the British region, 27 years after a peace deal ended three decades of sectarian bloodshed there. Officers in riot gear and driving armoured vans responded with water cannon and plastic baton rounds after being attacked by petrol bombs, scaffolding and rocks that rioters gathered by knocking down nearby walls, a Reuters witness said. Calm was restored to Ballymena, located 45 kilometres (28 miles) from the capital Belfast, at around 0100 local time (0000 GMT), police said. Officers in riot gear and driving armoured vans responded earlier with water cannon and non-lethal rounds, known as attenuated energy projectiles, after being attacked by petrol bombs, scaffolding and rocks that rioters gathered by knocking down nearby walls, a Reuters witness said. One house was burned out and a police officer vomited after leaving another in a different part of the town that rioters had attempted to set alight, the witness added. Several cars were set on fire and one lay upside down in flames as police sirens blared throughout the town past midnight. The first night of rioting on Monday saw four houses damaged by fire, and doors and windows smashed in other homes and businesses, in what police said was being investigated as racially motivated hate attacks. Fifteen officers were injured. Hundreds of protesters had gathered in Ballymena earlier on Monday after two teenage boys appeared in court that day, accused of sexually assaulting a teenage girl in the County Antrim town. Local media reported that the charges were read to the teenagers via an interpreter. Separate protests on Tuesday blocked off some roads in Belfast, another Reuters witness said. Police said they also dealt with sporadic disorder in the towns of Newtownabbey and Carrickfergus, as well as some incidents in north Belfast. The British government and local politicians condemned the violence. The terrible scenes of civil disorder we have witnessed in Ballymena again this evening have no place in Northern Ireland. There is absolutely no justification for attacks on PSNI officers or for vandalism directed at people's homes or property. — Hilary Benn (@hilarybennmp) June 10, 2025 "The terrible scenes of civil disorder we have witnessed in Ballymena again this evening have no place in Northern Ireland," Britain's Northern Ireland Minister Hilary Benn said on X.
Express Tribune
2 days ago
- Express Tribune
Russia launches massive drone attack on Ukraine, hits Kyiv and Odesa maternity ward
Listen to article Russia launched another prolonged drone attack on Ukraine, killing two people and damaging swathes of Kyiv as well as striking a maternity ward in the southern port of Odesa, officials said early on Tuesday. The overnight strikes followed Russia's biggest drone assault on Ukraine on Monday - part of stepped-up operations that Moscow said were retaliatory measures for Kyiv's recent brazen attacks in Russia. At least four people were hospitalised in the capital as a result of the hours-long attacks that hit seven of the city's 10 districts, city officials said. "You can't break Ukrainians with terror," Andriy Yermak, President Volodymyr Zelenskiy's chief of staff, said in a Telegram post after the attacks. Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha called for tougher sanctions on Russia and air defence to strengthen Ukraine following the attack. "Russia rejects any meaningful peace efforts and must face new, devastating sanctions. Already now. There is no more time to wait," he said. Air raid alerts in Kyiv and most Ukrainian regions lasted five hours until around 5 a.m. (0200 GMT), according to military data. "A difficult night for all of us," Timur Tkachenko, head of Kyiv's military district, said on Telegram. "Throughout the night, the enemy relentlessly terrorized Kyiv with attack drones. They targeted civilian infrastructure and peaceful residents of the city." The Kyiv attack sparked fires in residential and non-residential neighbourhoods and open space areas, city officials said. Reuters' witnesses heard and saw countless loud explosions shaking the city and lighting the night sky. Photos and videos posted on Telegram channels showed heavy smoke rising in the early hours of the morning in different parts of Kyiv. The scale of the attack was not immediately known. Moscow has stepped up its attacks on Ukraine following Kyiv's strikes on strategic bombers at air bases inside Russia on June 1. Moscow also blamed Kyiv for bridge explosions on the same day that killed seven and injured scores. The attacks come despite pressure from US President Donald Trump on both sides to move towards a resolution on the war. Moscow and Kyiv returned to negotiations for the first time in more than three years, but outside of an agreement on the exchange of war prisoners, there has been no tangible progress. In addition to swarms of drones and missiles launched in recent days, Russia has also been advancing further on the ground along the frontline in eastern Ukraine, claiming on Tuesday to take more territory there. In the southern port of Odesa, a "massive" overnight drone attack targeted an emergency medical building and a maternity ward, as well as residential buildings, Oleh Kiper, governor of the broader Odesa region, said on Telegram. Two men were killed in the attack, and nine people were injured, according to the Ukrainian prosecutors. Patients and staff were safely evacuated from the maternity hospital, Kiper added. He posted photos of broken windows in what looked like a medical facility and of damage to the facade of several buildings. Both sides deny targeting civilians in the war. But thousands of civilians have been killed in the conflict, the vast majority of them Ukrainian.
Business Recorder
2 days ago
- Business Recorder
Russia's latest drone strikes hit Kyiv, maternity ward in Odesa, Ukraine says
KYIV: Russia launched another prolonged drone attack on Ukraine, killing two people and damaging swathes of Kyiv as well as striking a maternity ward in the southern port of Odesa, officials said early on Tuesday. The overnight strikes followed Russia's biggest drone assault on Ukraine on Monday - part of stepped-up operations that Moscow said were retaliatory measures for Kyiv's recent brazen attacks in Russia. At least four people were hospitalised in the capital as a result of the hours-long attacks that hit seven of the city's 10 districts, city officials said. 'You can't break Ukrainians with terror,' Andriy Yermak, President Volodymyr Zelenskiy's chief of staff, said in a Telegram post after the attacks. Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha called for tougher sanctions on Russia and air defence to strengthen Ukraine following the attack. 'Russia rejects any meaningful peace efforts and must face new, devastating sanctions. Already now. There is no more time to wait,' he said. Air raid alerts in Kyiv and most Ukrainian regions lasted five hours until around 5 a.m. (0200 GMT), according to military data. 'A difficult night for all of us,' Timur Tkachenko, head of Kyiv's military district, said on Telegram. 'Throughout the night, the enemy relentlessly terrorized Kyiv with attack drones. They targeted civilian infrastructure and peaceful residents of the city.' The Kyiv attack sparked fires in residential and non-residential neighbourhoods and open space areas, city officials said. Reuters' witnesses heard and saw countless loud explosions shaking the city and lighting the night sky. Photos and videos posted on Telegram channels showed heavy smoke rising in the early hours of the morning in different parts of Kyiv. The scale of the attack was not immediately known. Moscow has stepped up its attacks on Ukraine following Kyiv's strikes on strategic bombers at air bases inside Russia on June 1. Russia fired record 479 drones at Ukraine overnight Moscow also blamed Kyiv for bridge explosions on the same day that killed seven and injured scores. The attacks come despite pressure from U.S. President Donald Trump on both sides to move towards a resolution on the war. Moscow and Kyiv returned to negotiations for the first time in more than three years, but outside an agreement on the exchange of war prisoners, there has been no tangible progress. In addition to swarms of drones and missiles launched in recent days, Russia has also been advancing further on the ground along the frontline in eastern Ukraine, claiming on Tuesday to take more territory there. In the southern port of Odesa, a 'massive' overnight drone attack targeted an emergency medical building and a maternity ward, as well as residential buildings, Oleh Kiper, governor of the broader Odesa region, said on Telegram. Two men were killed in the attack, and nine people were injured, according to the Ukrainian prosecutors. Patients and staff were safely evacuated from the maternity hospital, Kiper added. He posted photos of broken windows in what looked like a medical facility and of damage to the facade of several buildings. Both sides deny targeting civilians in the war. But thousands of civilians have been killed in the conflict, the vast majority of them Ukrainian.
