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WORLD NEWS Thursday 21 March 2019

Italy: Bus driver abducts 51 children, sets vehicle on fire

By COLLEEN BARRY The driver threatened the
Associated Press passengers, telling them
MILAN (AP) — A bus driver “no one would survive
in northern Italy abducted today” as he comman-
51 children and their school deered the bus, De Marchis
chaperones Wednesday, said.
threatening the hostages’ Italian news agency ANSA
lives for 40 minutes and quoted one of the students
setting the bus on fire at a as saying the driver every-
Carabinieri blockade. one’s phones and ordered
Officers from the national the chaperones to bind the
police force broke win- students’ hands with cable
dows at the back of the ties, threatening to spill gas
bus to reach the passen- and set the bus ablaze.
gers and got all of them out ANSA said the chaperones
without serious injuries be- only loosely bound several
fore flames destroyed the students’ hands with the zip
vehicle, authorities said. ties, not everyone’s.
The driver was apprehend- One of the middle school
ed and treated for burns. students described his ter-
Prosecutors described him ror in an interview with La
as a 47-year-old Italian citi- Repubblica TV, his face ob-
zen of Senegalese origin scured due to his age. His
and said he told authorities Firefighters and police officers stand by the gutted remains of a bus in San Donato Milanese, near name was not given.
he wanted to vindicate Eu- Milan, Italy, March 21, 2019. “We were all very afraid
rope-bound migrants who Associated Press because the driver had
have died in the Mediterra- action and with the mes- to extremists, saying it ap- sacre had ignited, and the emptied the gas canister
nean Sea but did not plan sage, “Africa, Rise up,” peared the bus driver act- man was starting to set fire onto the floor (of the bus.)
to hurt anyone. they said. ed alone. to the bus, as he did,” he He tied us up and took all
However, prosecutors said Sy was being investigated Chief prosecutor Frances- said. the telephones so we could
the suspect, identified as on suspicion of kidnap- co Greco praised the Car- Milan’s provincial Carabin- not call the police,” the stu-
Ousseynou Sy, made prep- ping, intention to commit abinieri for moving swiftly to ieri commander, Luca De dent said.
arations that showed his a massacre, arson and re- block the bus and remove Marchis, told broadcaster “One of the telephones,
actions were premediated, sisting law enforcement, the children. Sky TG24 that the bus was belonging to a classmate,
such as buying a canister of with terrorism as an aggra- “They carried out an op- ferrying two middle-school fell to the ground, so I
gasoline and restraints on vating circumstance since eration that we see in classes between school pulled off the handcuffs,
Tuesday. the event caused panic. films with special agents,” and a nearby gym in Cre- hurting myself a bit, and
He also sent a video to Prosecutors said they have Greco said. mona province, some 40 went and picked it up. We
friends in Italy and Senegal found no evidence of Is- “Thank goodness, because kilometers (25 miles) from called the Carabinieri and
indicating plans for a bold lamic radicalization or ties by then the intent to mas- Milan. the police.”q

Exit poll has populist party in the Netherlands making gains

By MIKE CORDER led by flamboyant populist The Party for Freedom of
Associated Press Thierry Baudet, 36, is bat- anti-Islam firebrand Geert
THE HAGUE, Netherlands tling the People’s Party for Wilders, which was forecast
(AP) — A right-wing popu- Freedom and Democracy to drop from nine seats to
list party in the Netherlands to become the biggest six.
emerged from provincial party in the national Sen- Wilders called it “a lim-
elections that also deter- ate. The IPSOS poll had a ited loss” and added, “Of
mine the makeup of the one-seat margin of error. course, we would have
national Senate positioned “What a day,” said Theo wanted more.”
for a big win, according Hiddema, who serves with The voting came just days
to exit poll released late Baudet as one of the two after a shooter opened
Wednesday. Forum lawmakers in the fire on a tram in the cen-
The elections held Wednes- lower house of the nation- tral city of Utrecht, killing
day were for 570 legislators al parliament. “Tomorrow three passengers and se-
in provincial governments. you will wake up to a new riously wounding three
The winners, in turn, will spring, a new sound.” more. Police have arrested
elect the members of the The exit poll showed Rutte’s a 37-year-old man of Turk-
Dutch parliament’s upper four-party coalition losing ish descent and said they
house in May. its majority in the Senate, were investigating a pos-
Results from an IPSOS exit Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte, right, and Justice Minister Ferd meaning he would have to sible extremist motive.
poll published by national Grapperhaus arrive at a makeshift memorial for victims of a seek support from opposi- While major political parties
broadcaster NOS showed shooting incident in a tram in Utrecht, Netherlands, Tuesday, tion parties to push through halted campaigning in the
the euroskeptic, anti-immi- March 19, 2019. legislation. aftermath of the shootings,
gration Forum for Democ- Associated Press Baudet’s success came at Baudet blamed years of
racy party winning 10 seats time. Prime Minister Mark cy dropped from 13 to 12 the expense of major par- what he called failing im-
after fielding candidates in Rutte’s People’s Party for seats, the poll found. ties, but he also took votes migration policies for the
provincial races for the first Freedom and Democra- The Forum for Democracy, from a rival populist party. attack.q