Greek police arrest third suspect over bombing as minister warns of new generation of extremists

Police officers guard near the entrance of a building following an explosion, which police believe was caused by an improvised device, that killed a man and a woman was seriously wounded, in Athens on Nov. 1, 2024. (AP)
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Updated 05 November 2024
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Greek police arrest third suspect over bombing as minister warns of new generation of extremists

  • The intended target and timing of the planned attack remain under investigation. All three suspects – as well as the man killed in the blast – are Greek nationals

ATHENS, Greece: Greek police arrested a third suspect Monday in connection with an explosion in central Athens last week that authorities have blamed on an alleged aspiring domestic extremist group.
The 30-year-old woman surrendered to Greek authorities Monday at Athens International Airport after being located in Switzerland, authorities said.
The Oct. 31 blast gutted a third-floor apartment in the central Ambelokipi neighborhood, killing a 36-year-old man believed to have been assembling an explosive device. A 33-year-old woman was severely injured and remains hospitalized under police guard. A 31-year-old male suspect surrendered to authorities.
“It was a monstrous bomb with concentrated explosive material,” Minister of Citizen Protection Michalis Chrisochoidis told private Skai television. “It would have caused great destruction, because it was very powerful.” The apartment block has been declared uninhabitable due to blast damage.
Chrisochoidis said those allegedly involved were young people who appeared to aspire to become a new generation of domestic terrorists in Greece.
Anti-terrorism units searching the blast site, three additional locations and a vehicle seized two handguns with magazines, digital devices, disguise materials including wigs and rubber masks, and handwritten diagrams.
Greece has a history of far-left extremism dating to the 1970s, with militants carrying out multiple bombings and assassinations, though major groups have been dismantled.
Recent years have seen reduced activity, with the last significant incident occurring in December 2023 when police defused a bomb at riot police headquarters following an anonymous warning.
“I think we are dealing with an attempt of some young people who are aiming to become a third generation of terrorism in Greece,” Chrisochoidis said.
The intended target and timing of the planned attack remain under investigation. All three suspects – as well as the man killed in the blast – are Greek nationals.


Alleged arsonist charged over fire at Australian synagogue

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Alleged arsonist charged over fire at Australian synagogue

MELBOURNE: A man was charged Sunday over an arson attack on a Melbourne synagogue in an apparent escalation of antisemitic violence in Australia’s second-most populous city.
Angelo Loras, 34, appeared in the Melbourne Magistrates’ Court Sunday charged with arson, endangering life and property damage. He was also charged with possessing a “controlled weapon” on Saturday when he was arrested. The charge sheet does not say what that weapon was.
The Sydney resident did not enter a plea or apply to be released on bail. Magistrate John Lesser remanded Loras in custody to appear in court next on July 22.
Flammable liquid was ignited at the door of the East Melbourne Synagogue, also known as the East Melbourne Hebrew Congregation, on Friday night as 20 worshippers shared a Shabbat meal inside.
The congregation escaped without harm via a rear door and firefighters contained the blaze to the entrance area of the 148-year-old building.
It was the first of three apparent displays of antisemitic violence across the city on Friday and early Saturday morning.
Authorities have yet to establish a link between incidents at the synagogue and two businesses.
Antisemitism blamed for attacks on businesses
Also in downtown Melbourne on Friday night, around 20 masked protesters harassed diners in an Israeli-owned restaurant.
A restaurant window was cracked, tables were flipped and chairs thrown as protesters chanted “Death to the IDF,” referring to the Israel Defense Forces. A 28-year-old woman was arrested at the scene and charged with hindering police.
Police are also investigating the spray-painting of a business in Melbourne’s northern suburbs and an arson attack on three vehicles attached to the business before dawn on Saturday. The vehicles had also been graffitied.
Police said there were antisemitic “inferences” at the scene. The business had also been the target of pro-Palestinian demonstrations in the past year.
Political leaders condemn antisemitism
Home Affairs Minister Tony Burke met with Jewish leaders at the damaged synagogue on Sunday.
Burke told reporters that investigators were searching for potential links between the three incidents.
“At this stage, our authorities have not drawn links between them. But obviously there’s a link in antisemitism. There’s a link in bigotry. There’s a link in a willingness to either call for violence, to chant violence or to take out violent actions. They are very much linked in that way,” Burke said.
“There were three attacks that night and none of them belonged in Australia. Arson attacks, the chanting calls for death, other attacks and graffiti — none of it belonged in Australia and they were attacks on Australia,” Burke added.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu called on the Australian government to “take all action to deal with the rioters to the fullest extent of the law and prevent similar attacks in the future.”
“I view with utmost gravity the antisemitic attacks that occurred last night in Melbourne, which included attempted arson of a synagogue in the city and a violent assault against an Israeli restaurant by pro-Palestinian rioters,” Netanyahu said in a statement on Saturday.
“The reprehensible antisemitic attacks, with calls of ‘death to the IDF’ and an attempt to attack a place of worship, are severe hate crimes that must be uprooted,” he added.

France’s Macron to visit UK as Starmer eyes ‘reset’ with EU

Updated 8 min 45 sec ago
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France’s Macron to visit UK as Starmer eyes ‘reset’ with EU

  • Buckingham Palace confirmed that Macron would formally address the British Parliament on Tuesday
  • During the visit, Macron and Starmer will host the 37th Franco-British Summit in London where they are set to discuss opportunities to strengthen defense ties between the two countries in response to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine

PARIS: French President Emmanuel Macron is to begin a state visit to the United Kingdom on Tuesday, where he is set to address the British Parliament and co-chair a meeting on Ukraine as London seeks to strengthen its ties with Europe after Brexit.
King Charles III has invited the French leader and his wife, Brigitte, on a three-day official visit during which Macron is to hold joint discussions with Prime Minister Keir Starmer at the 37th Franco-British Summit on Thursday.
Talks will focus on aid to Ukraine, joint efforts to halt illegal migration crossing the Channel, and strengthening defense cooperation between the two countries.
“This is the first state visit to the United Kingdom by a European Union head of state since Brexit,” the Elysee Palace said on Friday, referring to the UK’s 2016 vote to leave the bloc.
“And, especially, the first since Prime Minister Starmer signalled what he called a ‘reset’ of relations between the United Kingdom and Europe,,” it added.
There were simmering political tensions between Paris and London in the immediate aftermath of Brexit under the previous right-wing Conservative British government.
But there has been a new warmth in relations under the center-left Labour government led by Starmer, and the two countries now lead European efforts to find peace for Ukraine.
Buckingham Palace confirmed on Friday that Macron would formally address the British Parliament on Tuesday, following in the footsteps of his predecessors, Charles de Gaulle and Francois Mitterrand.
The king will host Macron and his wife for a state banquet at his Windsor Castle residence, west of London, where the couple will also stay.
While in Windsor, Macron will privately visit St. George’s Chapel to lay flowers on the tomb of the late Queen Elizabeth II.



During the visit, Macron and Starmer will host the 37th Franco-British Summit in London on Thursday, where they are set to discuss opportunities to strengthen defense ties between the two countries in response to Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine.
The agreements will be “adapted to this profoundly changed strategic reality,” the Elysee Palace said, without offering further details.
Macron and Starmer will also co-chair talks bringing together countries “willing” to strengthen Kyiv’s defenses against Moscow.
The two leaders will speak with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, as well as German Chancellor Friedrich Merz and Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, the French presidency said.
This comes after the United States, Ukraine’s biggest military backer since the launch of Russia’s full-scale invasion in 2022, said Tuesday it was halting some key weapons shipments to Ukraine.
Russia launched its largest-ever drone and missile attack on Ukraine overnight on Friday.
The summit will touch upon the deployment of “a reassurance force” to Ukraine after a ceasefire and how to “increase pressure” on Russia to accept an unconditional ceasefire, the Elysee Palace said.
Another topic high on the agenda is agreeing on a strategy to halt migrants making perilous small boat crossings of the Channel, a key political issue in the UK.
As more small boats land on English shores, and the UK government comes under mounting pressure from the far right to tackle irregular migration, London has pressed Paris to do more.
In recent weeks, France said it is considering stopping migrant boats in its shallow coastal waters, though the move raises safety and legal issues.
And on Friday, the British government said it welcomed footage showing French police stopping a small boat carrying migrants from setting off across the Channel.
The French president’s visit follows King Charles’s state visit to France in 2023, which was widely regarded as a success that helped boost relations.
The last state visit by a French president to the UK was made by Nicolas Sarkozy in 2008.


Japan to export used destroyers to Philippines to deter China, Yomiuri reports

Updated 23 min 12 sec ago
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Japan to export used destroyers to Philippines to deter China, Yomiuri reports

  • Tokyo and Manila say they face challenges from Beijing’s increasingly assertive moves in disputed waters
  • The Abukuma-class destroyer escort is a relatively small type of destroyer with a 2,000-tonne standard displacement

TOKYO: Japan will export used navy destroyers to the Philippines to strengthen its deterrence against China’s maritime expansion, the Yomiuri newspaper reported on Sunday, as the two US allies increase cooperation to counter Beijing.

The export plan involves six Abukuma-class destroyer escorts in service by the Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force for more than three decades, the Japanese daily said, citing multiple unnamed government sources.

Defense ministers Gen Nakatani and Gilberto Teodoro agreed to the destroyer export when they met in Singapore last month, the Yomiuri said, adding the Philippine military is set to inspect the destroyers this summer as part of the final preparations.

A Japanese defense ministry spokesperson declined to comment on the report. A Philippine military spokesperson and China’s foreign ministry did not immediately respond to Reuters requests for comment.

Tokyo and Manila say they face challenges from Beijing’s increasingly assertive moves in waters including the South China Sea for the Philippines and the East China Sea for Japan.

Bilateral military cooperation has included joint exercises, a Japanese radar aid package and a high-level strategic dialogue. Last year they signed a reciprocal access agreement, the first such for Japan in Asia, allowing deployment of forces on each other’s soil.

To clear military equipment export restrictions for the destroyers under Japan’s pacifist mandates, Tokyo will treat the installation of equipment and communication systems requested by Manila as a joint development project, the Yomiuri said.

The Abukuma-class destroyer escort, a relatively small type of destroyer with a 2,000-tonne standard displacement, is operated by a crew of about 120 and is armed with anti-submarine and anti-ship missiles, torpedo tubes and guns, according to a Japanese navy website.

The Philippine Navy does not have destroyers, only frigates and corvettes, which are typically smaller and lighter-armed vessels.


Eyeing early release, prison inmates produce Bulgaria’s coveted dairy products

Updated 24 min 16 sec ago
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Eyeing early release, prison inmates produce Bulgaria’s coveted dairy products

  • The “Gerzovitsa” dairy is the brainchild of former prison director Hristo Solakov, who was looking for ways to produce everything in house while helping inmates to prepare for life outside jail

SMOLYAN: At a prison nestled deep in Bulgaria’s southern Rhodope mountains, Georgi Filyanov stirs a large tank of curdling milk to make traditional feta-like cheese in the facility’s dairy operation.
Filyanov is the latest success story to emerge from the dairy located inside Smolyan prison, where about 15 selected inmates produce some of Bulgaria’s highly sought-after cheese and yogurt.
“Work is interesting — not too hard, not too easy,” said 30-year-old Filyanov, who was handed a two-and-a-half-year jail sentence for drug dealing. He has since been released early after having his sentence reduced by prison labor.
The “Gerzovitsa” dairy is the brainchild of former prison director Hristo Solakov, who was looking for ways to produce everything in-house while helping inmates to prepare for life outside jail.
From tending to herds of goats and cows, to making white cheese, prisoners are involved throughout the entire process.
Coveted by cheese lovers and often sold out at specialty stores outside prison, production has not been able to keep up with demand.


The prison is located about 20 minutes from the nearest town of the same name, in a narrow gorge surrounded by conifer-covered hills.
Once the headquarters of several Communist-run uranium mines, which were shuttered after 1989, the building is now home to around 100 inmates, who serve time in the semi-open prison for drink-driving, theft but also murder.
Prisons are not overflowing in Bulgaria, the poorest country in the European Union, which has seen a considerable exodus by those seeking a better life abroad. According to Eurostat figures, the country has only 86 prisoners per 100,000 inhabitants, trailing far behind France (111).
Nonetheless, poor conditions in Bulgaria’s prisons that have been exacerbated by dilapidated facilities and chronic staff shortages repeatedly drew criticism from the Council of Europe.
Smolyan, however, stands out — not least because of its dairy that opened in 2010.
To date it is Bulgaria’s only such rehabilitation project that enables prisoners to earn early release and a small salary of several hundred euros per month they can spend while they are inside or access upon their release.
“At first, we only kept cows, sheep, and goats — but it wasn’t profitable: the milk sold for less than the costs we had,” said Solakov, who came up with the idea of setting up a dairy in a bid “to close the circle.”
“It’s a job with responsibilities,” prisoner Ivan Patazov, 31, told AFP.
Tasked with cutting, packaging and labelling the cheese, he hopes to continue in this line of work after he gets out.
“He won’t be the first,” said Solakov, 62, adding that a former inmate successfully opened his own dairy after being released.
He praised the prison’s “high-quality” dairy products, which do without “any artificial preservatives or additives.”


With demand soaring and production capacity limited, the dairy products are sold at a higher price than comparable items.
While about half of the production is destined for other Bulgarian jails, the rest is sold at markets and grocery shops.
A few specialty stores across Bulgaria also sell various types of cheese and yogurt from Smolyan prison.
A few kilometers outside the prison, a herd of about 100 goats are grazing on a mountain meadow, where the air is thick with the scent of thyme.
Another prisoner called Pavel, who declined to give his surname, looks after the herd. Even though the meadow is close to the border with Greece, running away has never crossed his mind.
“In the old days, we used to raid dairies — now the dairy is in prison,” Solakov quipped, referring to Bulgarian partisans, who infamously robbed farmers during World War II.
But he hopes to secure funding for a new project to expand the dairy and start producing kashkaval cheese.


‘Simple Buddhist monk’ Dalai Lama marks landmark 90th birthday

Updated 36 min 57 sec ago
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‘Simple Buddhist monk’ Dalai Lama marks landmark 90th birthday

  • Celebrations on Sunday are the culmination of days of long-life prayers for Tenzin Gyatso
  • Followers believe he is the 14th reincarnation of the Dalai Lama

MCLEOD GANJ, India: Calling himself a “simple Buddhist monk” who usually didn’t celebrate birthdays, the Dalai Lama marked his 90th on Sunday by praying for peace after China insisted it would have final say on who succeeded the Tibetan spiritual leader.

Chanting of red-robed monks and nuns rang out from Himalayan hilltop forested temples in India, home to the Dalai Lama since he and thousands of other Tibetans fled Chinese troops who crushed an uprising in their capital Lhasa in 1959.

“I am just a simple Buddhist monk; I don’t normally engage in birthday celebrations,” the Dalai Lama said in a message, thanking those marking it with him for using the opportunity “to cultivate peace of mind and compassion.”

Dressed in traditional robes and a flowing yellow wrap, walking with the aid of two monks while flashing his trademark beaming smile to thousands of followers, he watched dramatic dance troupes with clanging cymbals and bagpipes before the start of prayers.

Beijing condemns the Nobel Peace Prize winner – who has led a lifelong campaign for greater autonomy for Tibet, a vast high-altitude plateau – as a rebel and separatist.

Alongside the celebrations, however, is the worry for Tibetans in exile that China will name its successor to bolster control over the territory it poured troops into in 1950 and has ruled ever since.

That raises the likelihood of rival challengers to the post; one by self-declared atheist Beijing, the other by the Dalai Lama’s office based in neighboring India, a regional rival of China.

The celebrations on Sunday are the culmination of days of long-life prayers for Tenzin Gyatso, who followers believe is the 14th reincarnation of the Dalai Lama, a man whose moral teachings and idiosyncratic humor have made him one of the world’s most popular religious leaders.

“While it is important to work for material development, it is vital to focus on achieving peace of mind through cultivating a good heart and by being compassionate, not just toward near and dear ones, but toward everyone,” he said in his birthday message.

“Through this, you will contribute to making the world a better place.”

The celebrations also included his key announcement that, after being inundated with messages of support from fellow Tibetans both inside and in exile, the spiritual institution will continue after his death.

He said he had received appeals from followers from across the Himalayan region, Mongolia and parts of Russia and China.

The seemingly esoteric matters of reincarnation have real-world political consequences, with Tibetans fearing his death will mark a major setback in his push for more autonomy for the Himalayan region.

The Dalai Lama said his India-based office alone would “exclusively” identify that successor – prompting a swift and sharp reply from China that the reincarnation “must be approved by the central government” in Beijing.

China said the succession would be carried out “by drawing lots from a golden urn,” foreign ministry spokeswoman Mao Ning told reporters on Wednesday.

That urn is held by Beijing, and the Dalai Lama has warned that, when used dishonestly, it lacks “any spiritual quality.”

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi offered effusive birthday greetings on Sunday, calling the Dalai Lama an “enduring symbol of love, compassion, patience and moral discipline.”

India and China are intense rivals competing for influence across South Asia, but have sought to repair ties after a 2020 border clash.

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio also said in a statement that Washington was “committed to promoting respect for the human rights and fundamental freedoms of Tibetans.”

Among the crowds attending the celebrations was Hollywood star Richard Gere, a longtime backer of the Tibetans in exile, who on Sunday said the Dalai Lama “totally embodies selflessness, complete love and compassion and wisdom.”

No details have been released for the future succession.

All so far have been men or boys, often identified as toddlers and taking up the role only as teenagers.

The current Dalai Lama, himself identified in 1937, has said that if there is a successor it will come from the “free world” outside China’s control.

In a speech to followers on Sunday, the Dalai Lama said his practice of Buddhism meant he had dedicated his life toward seeking compassion.

“I’m now 90 and... when I reflect on my life, I see that I have not wasted my life at all,” he said, speaking in Tibetan.

“I would not have regrets at the time of my death; rather I would be able to die very peacefully.”