Hundreds of Italian schools hit by threats in suspected bomb hoax

Some 300 schools across Italy have received bomb threats, according to Education Minister Giuseppe Valditara, who described the incidents as probably a "cyber-attack, not a genuine risk".

Valditara told Italian TV that there was a clear strategy behind the rash of threats in Italy and elsewhere in Europe which had targeted flights, supermarkets and even hospitals.

The emails were sent to schools in Rome, Naples, Vicenza, Florence, Pisa, Trieste and many other Italian cities, and a number of buildings were evacuated as a precaution.

Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni has called a meeting of top ministers and intelligence chiefs.

Meloni said the government was monitoring closely the "numerous reports of bomb threats at educational institutions" although checks so far had not indicated any evidence of "concrete danger".