At least 300 schools evacuated in Italy after mass bomb threats; similar alerts hit UK

On Thursday, Italy faced its second day of school bomb threats, with head teachers in various locations receiving alarming emails. Some schools responded by evacuating pupils and staff, while others proceeded with security checks. The origin of these threatening messages remained unclear, signed under the name "Mikhail Andropov".

Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni convened a meeting at Palazzo Chigi in Rome to address the crisis, summoning government representatives and opposition leaders. The leaders were urged to display unity during this emergency. Meloni requested all political parties to cooperate and promised that key ministers Antonio Tajani (Foreign Minister), Guido Crosetto (Defence Minister), and Matteo Piantedosi (Interior Minister) would brief parliament urgently.

The government announced that the Interministerial Committee for the Security of the Republic (CISR) would convene later in the day to establish a unified protocol for dealing with such threats. According to the proposed protocol, schools should only be evacuated if there is definitive evidence of danger, with prefects retaining the authority to order evacuations in cases of specific and concrete risks.

Following the meeting, opposition party leader Elly Schlein cautioned that while the discussion was appreciated, it needed to continue in the proper forums such as parliament and Copasir (the parliamentary committee overseeing intelligence services). Schlein emphasized that while the opposition was willing to cooperate in the face of destabilizing threats, they would not grant the government unrestricted authority in decision-making.