Some media firms evacuated after hoax bomb threats

A number of high-profile media organisations, including Ireland's public service broadcaster RTÉ have been evacuated after threats were made against them. An RTÉ radio presenter told listeners that the organisation had received an email warning that a "bomb was going to go off within 45 minutes". Staff at the Irish Independent newspaper and the Dublin offices of radio stations NewstalkFM and TodayFM, were also advised to leave their buildings and UK broadcaster Sky said it also received a security threat. In a statement, gardaí (Irish police) said they were "aware of a threat made against media organisations here and in Europe". They added they were liaising with the affected Irish media organisations and the threats would be investigated. The Taoiseach (Irish Prime Minister) Micheál Martin described situation as "worrying" and added his government's first priority was the safety of the Irish public. "Yesterday, there appeared to be coordinated efforts to disrupt air travel," he said. He was referring to hoax bomb threats which affected 21 flights across Europe on Thursday, including Ryanair and Aer Lingus planes. Martin told RTÉ it was not yet known if the threats had come from individuals or if it was a "coordinated attack" but said they were being taken seriously. "The gardaí, the defence forces, cyber and aviation authorities are working to establish who's behind this, as are their European counterparts," Martin said. He added: "It just illustrates how relatively simple it can be to cause disruption and to undermine the normal operation of society through unconventional activities of this kind, which are designed to cause disruption, designed to cause fear and anxiety."