Symbolic imageBomb hoaxes spread from European flights to broadcasters
Hoax bomb threats hit European flights for a third time this week, and on Friday emails also reached newsrooms in Ireland, Britain and Bulgaria. No explosives were found.
Shortly before 0900 GMT on Friday, 6 November, RTÉ in Dublin received an email warning that a bomb would go off within 45 minutes, and it evacuated its building. Sky, Bulgaria's Nova TV, Newstalk and the Irish Independent also received threats, and Nova's newsroom was evacuated. According to Reuters, as cited by Meduza, the emails to RTÉ and Nova were headed "MESSAGE TO THE WEST" and signed "Mikhail Andropov". The sender claimed the flight threats and wrote that "this is only the beginning". Irish Prime Minister Micheal Martin urged calm, and Le Monde reports that no government can yet say whether individuals, coordinated groups or hostile states are behind it, a week before two summits in Dublin.
Flights targeted again
Czech police registered threats against nine flights at Prague, and a Wizz Air flight to Rome was diverted to Venice and landed safely. France's prime minister's office reported four new threats to aircraft over French territory, all of which landed safely, and Danish police investigated threats concerning Copenhagen airport.
Who is behind it?
ANSA reported that earlier threats were sent in the name of "Male State" fighters, but founder Vladislav Pozdnyakov says the movement no longer exists and he is not involved. Spain's foreign minister José Manuel Albares called it "hybrid aggression and a form of psychological warfare"; no government has named a culprit.