School where teacher was stabbed to death in France evacuated over bomb threat
A high school where a teacher was fatally stabbed in France has been evacuated over a bomb threat. The attack happened at City School Gambetta-Carnot in the town of Arras in the north of the country on Friday at around 11am. Two other people were injured. The prefecture of the northern Pas-de-Calais region said the decision was made to evacuate the school after police received a bomb threat via its website. A bomb disposal team is on site, the prefecture said, adding that “all precautionary and safety measures” are being taken until the site is cleared. France is on heightened alert against feared terror threats following the stabbing incident in which a teacher, named locally as Dominque Bernard, died. Schools across the country will hold a moment of silence after the teacher was killed and three other people were injured last week in the attack by a former student suspected of Islamic radicalisation. Hours following the attack, Emmanuel Macron visited the school, describing the attack as the result of “barbaric Islamist terrorism”, before praising the killed teacher. “The teacher who was killed had come forward to protect others and had without doubt saved many lives,” he said. Counter-terrorism authorities are investigating Friday’s stabbing, and the suspected assailant and several others are in custody, prosecutors said. The suspect had been under recent surveillance by intelligence services for radicalisation. The prosecutor said the alleged assailant was a former student there and repeatedly shouted “Allahu akbar,” or “God is great”, during the attack. Another teacher and a security guard are in a critical condition with wounds from the stabbing, police said. The counter-terrorism prosecutor said a cleaning worker was also injured. More follows on this breaking news story.... Read More French schools hold a moment of silence in an homage to a teacher killed in a knife attack France is deploying 7,000 troops after a deadly school stabbing by a suspected Islamic radical Teacher killed in ‘terror attack’ at French school ‘died protecting others’ from knife rampage
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Tourist accused of vandalising Colosseum in Rome could face trial and up to five years in prison
A UK-based tourist accused of carving his and his girlfriend’s name into a wall of the Colosseum in Rome could face trial and up to five years in prison. Ivan Dimitrov, 27, who is from Bulgaria but lives with his girlfriend in Bristol, is accused of marking “Ivan + Hayley 23” with a key into a wall of the historic building. Footage of the incident was uploaded to YouTube by Californian tourist Ryan Lutz. The video, titled ‘A*****e tourist carves name in Colosseum in Rome 6-23-23,’ has received over 300,000 views. Italian police officer Major Roberto Martina explained that he had since spoken to the man after he was tracked down in Bulgaria during his European holiday. “We explained that he could be jailed for between two and five years and be fined up to 15,000 Euro,” Major Martina told the Mail Online. “He [Ivan] told us he was very upset by what he had done, and he kept apologising for it. I think he was worried about the consequences of any trial. A report of the investigation will be sent to Dimitrov’s home address in the UK before any potential trial proceeds, the news site reported. “We didn’t ask him why he did it, that will be for the judge to hear, we just told him that he was a suspect and part of the investigation,” Major Martina added. The fitness trainer and his girlfriend were said to be holidaying in Rome on a three-week European tour when the incident took place. The Italian culture minister Gennaro Sanguiliano said the act “offended those around the world who appreciate the value of archaeology, monuments and history,” and thanked the police for identifying the alleged suspect. The minister said that the government was considering a law that would impose stringent punishment on those found guilty of defacing or damaging the country’s historical and cultural heritage sites. Read More Tourist who carved name into Rome’s Colosseum ‘is British fitness trainer’ Elon Musk and Mark Zuckerberg could have cage fight in Roman Colosseum Britons warned to ‘avoid’ violence hotspots as riots and looting shake France
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