Suspected bomb hoax threats force fresh evacuations at Italian schools

Bomb hoax warnings caused fresh evacuations at schools across Italy on Thursday, marking the second day of alerts. About 3,778 schools from Milan in the north to Sicily in the south reported threats similar to those that sparked chaos on Wednesday, although no explosive devices have been discovered.

The government told schools that, without concrete evidence beyond a simple mass email indicating danger, buildings should not be evacuated. Only 77 schools were cleared out on Thursday, authorities said.

Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni said her administration will issue "sector-specific" advice to help those confronting this type of threat.

Schools in Scotland and Northern Ireland also received threats on Wednesday, but officials said it is unclear whether the incidents are linked. A bomb alert at a Calais rail station on Thursday morning delayed both international and national train services in northern France.

The latest alerts follow a wave of bomb hoaxes last week that targeted airports and airlines in several European countries. An extremist misogynistic group claimed responsibility for some of the warnings but later denied any connection to the false alerts.

Wednesday's email, sent to 6,300 of the 7,476 Italian state schools, was signed by "Mikhail Andropov, leader of Vilayat di Misoginistan". Some officials suggested the message originated in Taiwan. A similar email on Thursday, again signed by Andropov, appears to have been sent from the hacked account of a teacher in the Philippines.