
Violence mars huge Greece train crash demonstration
ATHENS: Violence on Friday marred a huge demonstration in Athens to mark the second anniversary of the country's worst rail tragedy, as youths threw firebombs and clashed with riot police outside parliament.
Nearly 200,000 people had turned out in peaceful protest to demand justice for the 57 victims of the crash between a freight train and a passenger train near the central city of Larissa on February 28, 2023.
But the crowd, including children and the elderly, were forced to disperse when several hooded attackers threw firebombs and rockets at police, prompting them to respond with teargas and stun grenades.
The ambulance service said five people were taken to hospital, including a photographer hit in the head by one of the grenades.
"The crowd was extremely packed and many panicked," protester Sofia Yianniri said. "We tried to get people with children out."
Police earlier said some 325,000 people had turned out nationwide in demonstrations described by commentators as unprecedented in size and "historic".
In the capital, many were forced to walk several kilometres to join the protest as subway trains heading downtown were already jammed with passengers.
"Today we must send a strong message to punish those responsible for this tragedy," Nikos Lykomitros, a 20-year-old archaeology student, said in Athens. Babis Solakidis, a 44-year-old metalsmith, added: "This was not a simple accident, and there will be more if safety measures are not taken."
Schools, many shops, public services, trains, ferries and most flights were shut down by what is expected to be Greece's biggest mobilisation in recent history.
According to the victims' families, protests and gatherings were being held in over 200 cities and towns in Greece and other European countries, as well as in cities worldwide with large ethnic Greek populations, such as New York and Melbourne.
In a rare move, justice officials held a moment of silence and a one-hour stoppage before midday in memory of the victims.
Several prominent artists joined the walkout, shutting down theatres and music clubs, while many shopowners put signs on their shuttered businesses that read "we demand justice".
Opinion polls indicate that most Greeks believe officials covered up vital evidence following the crash, slowing down an investigation that is still incomplete.
Over 40 people have been prosecuted, including the local station master responsible for routing the trains, but a trial into the tragedy is not expected before the end of the year.
The two trains had travelled towards each other on the same track for miles without triggering any alarms. The accident was blamed on faulty equipment and human error.
The government has rejected accusations by opposition parties that it was behind an "organised plan" to shield senior officials from responsibility.
"Society is angry because society has been misled," government spokesman Pavlos Marinakis said this week. "One of the aims by a large part of the opposition is to lead to tension, to an explosion, through misinformation," he said. - AFP

Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles


Muscat Daily
17 hours ago
- Muscat Daily
Ukraine, Russia begin complex POW Exchange
Kyiv, Ukraine – Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said a prisoner-of-war swap between Russia and Ukraine is underway. He posted pictures online of Ukrainians 'returning home from Russian captivity'. 'Today, an exchange began, which will continue in several stages over the coming days,' Zelenskyy said. Over the weekend, Russia accused Ukraine of delaying the prisoner swap that will also include an exchange of soldiers' bodies. Ukraine, however, said there was no fixed date for the swap and that Russia was not adhering to the agreements about the exchange. 'The process is quite complex, with many sensitive details, and negotiations continue virtually every day,' Zelenskyy said on Monday. Russian strike targets key airfield Ukraine's Air Force has released more details about a large overnight Russian strike, confirming that a military airfield in the west of the country was among the main targets. 'The main strike was targeting… one of the operational airfields. There are some hits,' Air Force spokesperson Yuriy Ihnat told Ukrainian TV, without elaborating on the extent of the damage. According to Ukrainian regional authorities, the airfield is located in Dubno, approximately 60km (40 miles) from Ukraine's border with Poland. Meanwhile, a Ukrainian drone strike deep into Russia forced a temporary suspension of production at an electronics company in the Volga River region of Chuvashia, the head of the region said. 'This morning, Ukrainian attempts to use drones in Chuvashia were detected,' regional governor Oleg Nikolayev wrote on Telegram. Moscow reported that debris from intercepted drones fell on the facility, while Ukraine stated there was a direct hit on the site. The factory is 1,300km (800 miles) from the Ukraine-Russia border and, according to Kyiv, 'specialises in manufacturing navigation equipment used in attack drones, guided aerial bombs, and high-precision weapons'. Russia slams NATO 'aggression' The Kremlin has sharply criticised NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte's proposal to significantly boost the alliance's air and missile defence capabilities, calling the move 'confrontational'. '(NATO) is not an instrument for maintaining stability and security on the continent. It is an instrument created for confrontation and has so far kept its true nature disguised. Now it is showing its real nature,' Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters when asked about the proposal. Peskov also warned that European citizens would bear the financial burden of the plan. 'European taxpayers will spend their money to defuse some threat that they say comes from our country, but it is nothing but an ephemeral threat,' he said. His remarks come despite repeated threats from senior Russian officials toward NATO since Moscow launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022, including warnings about nuclear strikes. Poland scrambles jets Poland scrambled warplanes on Monday to secure its airspace as Russia launched hundreds of drones at Ukraine. 'Due to the intensive air attack by the Russian Federation on the territory of Ukraine, Polish and allied aircraft began to operate in Polish airspace in the morning,' Warsaw's Operational Command said in a statement on Facebook. Poland is one of Ukraine's closest allies and a member of NATO. It has reported breaches of its airspace during previous Russian attacks. In March 2024, Poland reported that a Russian cruise missile had violated its airspace and demanded an explanation from Moscow. A similar incident occurred in December 2023. DW


Observer
7 days ago
- Observer
German Merz defends migration crackdown
BERLIN: German Chancellor Friedrich Merz on Tuesday defended his government's migration crackdown as vital to "protect public safety", a day after a court ruled one of its flagship policies was illegal. The Berlin court said on Monday that German border officials cannot turn away asylum seekers before it is determined which country should process their cases under EU rules. The court decision could "limit our room for manoeuvre a little", he acknowledged in a speech to a gathering of local government officials in Berlin. But he insisted the ruling was "preliminary", adding: "We know that we can continue with pushbacks". "We will do it to protect public safety and order in our country and to prevent cities and municipalities from becoming overwhelmed". He said the policy, which has caused tensions with some of Germany's neighbours, would be carried out "within the framework of existing European law". The measures were temporary until security at the European Union's external borders "is significantly improved", he stressed. — AFP


Observer
01-06-2025
- Observer
Seven killed by bridge blasts in Russian regions
MOSCOW: At least seven people were killed and 69 injured when two bridges were blown up in separate Russian regions bordering Ukraine ahead of planned peace talks aimed at ending the three-year-old war in Ukraine, Russian officials said on Sunday. A highway bridge over a railway in the Bryansk region was blown up at 10:50 pm on Saturday night just as a passenger train carrying 388 passengers to Moscow was passing underneath, Russian investigators said. Just four hours later, a railway bridge over a highway was blown up in the neighbouring Kursk region showering the road with parts of a freight train, the investigators said. Russia's Investigative Committee, which probes serious crimes, linked the incidents and said explicitly that both bridges were blown up. In the Bryansk region, social media pictures and videos showed passengers trying to climb out of smashed carriages in the dark. Part of the passenger train was shown crushed under a collapsed road bridge and wrecked carriages lay beside the lines. "The bridge was blown up while the Klimovo-Moscow train was passing through with 388 passengers on board," Alexander Bogomaz, the region's governor, told Russian television. The Russian regions bordering Ukraine have been subject to frequent attacks by Ukraine since Russia invaded Ukraine in February 2022. Both sides accuse the other of targeting civilians, and both deny such accusations. There was no immediate comment from Ukraine on the incidents, which took place just a day before the United States wants Russia and Ukraine to sit down to direct talks in Istanbul to discuss a possible end to a war which, according to Washington, has killed and injured at least 1.2 million people. Ukraine's HUR military intelligence agency said on Sunday that an explosion had derailed a Russian military train hauling cargo and fuel trucks near the settlement of Yakymivka, in a Russian-controlled part of Ukraine's Zaporizhzhia region. The agency did not claim responsibility or attribute the explosion to anyone, though Ukraine has in the past claimed a series of attacks deep into Russia. Russian politicians lined up to blame Ukraine, saying it was clearly sabotage aimed at derailing the peace talks which the United States has demanded. "This is definitely the work of the Ukrainian special services," the chairman of the defence committee of the lower house of the Russian parliament, Andrei Kartapolov, told the SHOT Telegram channel. "All this is aimed at toughening the position of the Russian Federation and stoking aggression before the negotiations. And also to intimidate people. But they won't succeed." US President Donald Trump has demanded the sides make peace and he has threatened to walk away if they do not - potentially pushing responsibility for supporting Ukraine onto the shoulders of European powers. But as politicians talk of peace negotiations, the war is heating up, with swarms of drones launched by both Russia and Ukraine and Russian troops advancing at key points along the front in eastern Ukraine. Meanwhile, Ukraine attacked Russian nuclear-capable long-range bombers at a military base in Siberia on Sunday, the first such attack so far from the front lines more than 4,300 km away, according to pro-Russian bloggers. Unverified video and pictures posted on social media showed Russian strategic bombers - whose purpose is to drop nuclear bombs on distance targets - on fire at the Belaya air base north of Irkutsk. A Ukrainian intelligence official said that Ukraine's domestic security agency, the SBU, conducted a large drone attack on over 40 Russian military aircraft. The Ukrainian source, speaking on condition of anonymity to Reuters in Kyiv, said the struck aircraft included Tu-95 and Tu-22 strategic bombers, which Russia uses to fire long-range missiles at Ukraine. Igor Kobzev, the governor of Irkutsk, said that there had been a drone attack on a military unit near the village of Sredny in the Usolsky district, but did not mention strategic aviation. In video that he posted on Telegram, drones could be heard flying overhead and a giant plume of smoke rising into the sky. — Reuters