الكاتب: kafej

Greece’s health ministry has asked police to help tackle bedbug hoaxers trying to scare foreign tourists out of some Athens short-term rental apartments.

On Tuesday, the ministry issued a statement that said “absolutely false” posters were put up outside apartment buildings in the city centre, complete with fake ministry and Athens municipality logos.

The posters claimed health authorities had ordered local “private guesthouses” to be evacuated “to protect the public health of permanent Greek tenants.”

Warnings were addressed to visitors and were written in misspelled English.

Referring to a non-existent bedbug infestation, visitors were told to leave their accommodation and threatened with a 500 euro fine (£428) for failure to do so. This was followed by a message wishing visitors a pleasant stay in Greece.

The health ministry has informed the police “to do what is necessary” to combat the hoax, saying “nobody is allowed to terrorise and misinform the public” on public health issues.

Greece has not reported any major bedbug infestations, despite recent outbreaks in France.

An increase in short-term apartments mainly for foreign visitors, coupled with the cost of living crisis, has worsened housing problems in Athens and other parts of Greece.

Many locals have become priced out of residential areas in central Athens, where there has been a surge in long-term rental costs for Greeks.

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Greece’s “golden visa” program, launched in July 2013, offers a five-year residency visa to foreigners in return for an investment in real estate – which has also contributed to spiralling property values.

Tourism plays a key part in driving Greece’s economy and accounts for a fifth of annual output.

Next year is expected to be a record year for arrivals.

A Russian girl has shot dead a classmate and injured five others at a school before killing herself.

The 14-year-old opened fire with a shotgun in Bryansk, a city bordering Ukraine, said Russia‘s Investigative Committee.

One of those wounded was in a serious condition, state news agency RIA Novosti said.

A fellow student told the outlet that the girl brought the gun to the school in a tube for carrying papers.

She also said when the shooting started, the twin sister of the attacker and another girl ran into their classroom.

Video shared by RIA Novosti showed children cowering in a classroom behind a door barricaded with upturned desks and chairs.

The father of the armed girl was taken for questioning as a witness, it added.

Investigators want to know how his daughter was able to get hold of the gun, according to the Telegram channel Shot.

The school’s director was also being questioned about how the girl managed to bring the weapon into the school and about its security systems, state news agency Tass said.

Maria Lvova-Belova, presidential children’s rights commissioner, announced on Telegram she will be overseeing the care of the wounded children.

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Russia’s interior ministry said it is looking into a motive for the shooting, which is the latest in a string of deadly school attacks in the country in recent years.

In September 2022, a gunman opened fire in a school in Izhevsk, central Russia.

In September 2021, a law student carried out a fatal attack at the Perm State University.

In May the same year, a man opened fire at students at his former school in Kazan.

And in 2018, an 18-year-old student in Russian-occupied Crimea carried out a mass shooting at a college.

Footage has emerged appearing to show the Israeli military detaining dozens of Palestinian men in northern Gaza – with some stripped to their underwear.

The video, widely shared on social media, shows those held lined up in rows. Some appear to have their hands tied behind their backs.

A number of Israeli commentators originally incorrectly identified the location as Khan Younis, in the south of the Gaza Strip.

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They also claimed the images showed Hamas fighters surrendering to the Israel Defense Forces (IDF).

Itay Blumenthal, military correspondent for Israel’s Kan News, later reported Israeli troops detained the men before checking if any of them were members of Hamas or Palestinian Islamic Jihad.

According to Qatari news outlet Al Araby, Hamas leader Osama Hamdan said the detainees were unarmed civilians unrelated to military operations.

Sky News cannot independently verify when the images were taken. The IDF has been approached for comment.

The New Arab, a Qatari-owned news outlet based in London, reported that at least one of the detainees was a journalist.

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The images come as 350 more Palestinians died in the last 24 hours, according to the Hamas-run Gaza health ministry.

IDF soldiers moved into Khan Younis as the war enters its third month, while Israel continues its ground operation into the south of Gaza.

US president Joe Biden also spoke over the phone with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Thursday.

Mr Biden “underscored the importance of the continuous and sustained flow of humanitarian aid into Gaza” according to a White House statement.

Mr Biden and Mr Netanyahu “agreed to remain deeply engaged to pursue every possible opportunity to free the remaining hostages”.

The White House later said Israel and Hamas are not close to agreeing a new humanitarian pause.