Cabinet Office

Jan 24, 2025

Today at 2:54 a.m. Minister heading the Prime Minister's Office Gergely Gulyas speaks during the weekly government briefing at the Prime Minister's Cabinet Office in Budapest, Hungary, 23 January 2025, to announce that an investigation had started concerning multiple bomb threats at schools earlier in the day. (Lajos Soos/MTI via AP) Bomb threats sent to schools in Hungary BUDAPEST, Hungary -- Police in Hungary said Thursday they were investigating bomb threats that were sent to more than 240 schools across the country, resulting in classes being canceled at some schools. The threats, which came in the form of emails, were identical in their text and likely sent by a single sender, police said in a statement. Officers were being dispatched to all affected institutions. No explosives or explosive devices were found in the buildings inspected so far, police added. Gergely Gulyás, chief of staff to Prime Minister Viktor Orbán, said that "education in most schools in the country proceeds smoothly," and that school administrators could decide for themselves whether to send students home. He said Orbán on Thursday had consulted repeatedly with the interior minister and the minister in charge of Hungary's secret services. The emails were sent from numerous email providers "including foreign ones," Gulyás said. Hungarian secret services were in consultation with their counterparts in neighboring Slovakia, where similar bomb threats were made last year, Gulyás said. 4 die in Cambodia giveaway crowd crush PHNOM PENH, Cambodia -- Four people died and five others were injured Thursday as a crowd scrambled for a handout of food and cash from one of Cambodia's richest people as a Lunar New Year gift, officials said. The victims were crushed as the crowd of hundreds surged forward when the gates to Sok Kong's walled compound in Phnom Penh opened to start the distribution of $10 in cash and 4.5 pounds of rice, police spokesperson Sam Vichhika said. The victims, who all fainted in the crush and fell to the ground, were taken to a nearby hospital but two women and two men, aged between 37 and 71, could not be saved, he said. It was not immediately clear whether they were killed in the initial crush of the crowd or from injuries they sustained once on the ground. Following the incident, the authorities cleared the crowd and suspended the rest of the giveaway. Sok Kong has multiple investments, including in the hotel, casino and oil industries, and is also known to have a close personal relationship with former longtime Prime Minister Hun Sen. He and other wealthy residents of the capital traditionally give gifts to the poor annually for Lunar New Year, which begins next week. Waitress dies from Turkey ski resort fire ANKARA, Turkey -- A waitress who was in serious condition after jumping out of a burning hotel at a popular ski resort has succumbed to her injuries, officials and reports said Thursday, becoming the latest victim of a tragedy that has shocked the nation and revived concerns over lax safety regulations in the country. Turkish officials early on Thursday revised the number of deaths from Tuesday's blaze at the 12-story Grand Kartal hotel in Kartalkaya, in northwestern Bolu province, from 79 to 78, including Sevval Sahin. The 25-year-old waitress died in the intensive care unit of a hospital late Wednesday. Dozens of others were injured in the blaze. The government has appointed six prosecutors to lead an investigation into the cause of the fire, which came at the start of a two-week winter break for schools, when hotels in the area are filled to capacity. Authorities have detained 11 people for questioning, including the hotel's owner, Bolu's deputy mayor and the acting fire department chief. No charges have been brought yet. The blaze appeared to have started at the restaurant section on the fourth floor of the wooden-clad hotel and spread quickly to the upper floors. Suspect arrested after London stabbing LONDON -- A man has been arrested on suspicion of grievous bodily harm after five people were stabbed on Thursday morning in south London, emergency services said. The Metropolitan Police said a man in his 50s, two men in their 30s and two men in their 20s were taken to a hospital with stab wounds and that their conditions were assessed as not life-threatening. The incident took place in an industrial park in Croydon and near an Asda supermarket. Police also said a 30-year-old man was arrested nearby on suspicion of grievous bodily harm and possession of an offensive weapon. He was also taken to a hospital with injuries that were not life-threatening. "Based on initial enquiries we believe all those involved knew each other," said Chief Superintendent Andy Brittain, local policing commander for south London. "Therefore we do not believe there is any wider risk to the public." The London Ambulance Service said one of the injured was taken to a major trauma center in London. "We sent a number of resources to the scene, including ambulance crews, a paramedic in a fast response car, an incident response officer, members of our Tactical Response Unit and London's Air Ambulance," the service said. -- Compiled by Democrat-Gazette staff from wire reports 1Article Views Remaining