Summary
3 November 2010
Greece has suspended all foreign airmail for two days after a number of parcel bombs were sent to people across Europe. A plane made an emergency landing when a bomb addressed to the Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi was discovered.
Reporter:
Malcolm Brabant
An explosives expert arrives to detonate a suspicious package
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Report
The cargo plane was en route from Athens to Paris, when officials at a courier company realised it was carrying a parcel for Mr Berlusconi and ordered the pilot to land at Bologna.
The package caught fire when it was examined by Italian authorities. The booby-trapped parcel was one of five that were intended for targets across Europe. One reached the office of the German Chancellor, Angela Merkel, and was neutralised by police. Two others, bound for the Europol headquarters and the European Court of Justice, were destroyed in controlled explosions by the Greek bomb squad at Athens airport. A fifth, intended for the French President, Nicolas Sarkozy, was carried by one of two suspects arrested on Monday.
In all, the left-wing group responsible for the attacks, believed to be the Conspiracy of the Cells of Fire, has despatched more than 13 devices and the Greek authorities fear that some have not yet reached their targets.
The Greek Prime Minister, George Papandreou, says he will be "merciless" to those who are trying to rock social peace and hurt the country's image during a very difficult period.
Malcolm Brabant, 大象传媒 News, Athens
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Vocabulary
- en route
in the middle of a journey or travelling
- courier company
business which collects and delivers letters and parcels
- booby-trapped
hidden device intended to explode
- neutralised
stopped or prevented from exploding
- controlled explosions
managed or forced detonations trying to avoid serious damage or injury
- bomb squad
experts who try to neutralise or stop bombs exploding
- suspects
people who might be responsible for the bombs
- left-wing group
organisation with socialist ideas (literally on the left of the political spectrum)
- merciless
very harsh or unforgiving
- trying to rock social peace
attempting to disrupt daily life for ordinary people
