LONDON: Britain's two biggest airports, Heathrow and Gatwick, are investing in anti-drone technology following severe disruption at Gatwick caused by drone sightings in the run-up to Christmas, spokesmen said on Friday.
The British army was deployed to London Gatwick on December 20 after the airport grounded all flights, leaving tens of thousands of passengers stranded over some of the busiest days of the year.
"We have invested several million pounds (dollars, euros) in providing ourselves with the equipment and the technology that the armed forces deployed over Christmas," a Gatwick Airport spokesman told AFP.
He said investment was made "in the days immediately after" the disruption but declined to give details, saying only that it had "equivalent capabilities" to the technology used by the military.
A spokesman for London Heathrow, Britain's biggest airport, also said they would be investing in anti-drone technology.
"The safety of our passengers and colleagues remains our top priority. Working closely with relevant authorities including the Met Police, we are constantly looking at the best technologies that help remove the threat of drones," he said.
Two people, a middle-aged couple who lived near Gatwick, were arrested over the suspected "criminal use of drones" but later released without charge.
The police were criticised for their handling of the incident after a detective admitted it was a "possibility" that no drones had actually been in the area - despite the discovery of a damaged device near the airport perimeter.
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Heathrow, Gatwick investing in anti-drone technology
Heathrow, Gatwick investing in anti-drone technology
- The British army was deployed to London Gatwick on December 20 after the airport grounded all flights
- Two people, a middle-aged couple who lived near Gatwick, were arrested over the suspected "criminal use of drones" but later released without charge
Barack Obama compares Minnesota crackdown to behavior seen ‘in dictatorships’
- Thousands of federal agents including ICE agents carried out weeks of sweeping raids and arrests
- ‘The rogue behavior of agents of the federal government is deeply concerning and dangerous’
WASHINGTON: Former US president Barack Obama on Saturday condemned the operations of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officers in Minnesota, comparing their behavior to conduct seen “in dictatorships.”
Thousands of federal agents including ICE agents carried out weeks of sweeping raids and arrests in what the Trump administration claims were targeted missions against criminals, until the operation was ended this week.
Obama had criticized the actions of ICE agents as unlawful last month, but went further in an interview with left-wing political commentator Brian Tyler Cohen released Saturday.
“The rogue behavior of agents of the federal government is deeply concerning and dangerous,” he said.
He called the behavior of federal officers, which included two fatal shootings that sparked mounting pressure on President Donald Trump’s mass crackdown, as the sort that “in the past we’ve seen in authoritarian countries and we’ve seen in dictatorships.”
But Obama, the only Black president in American history, said he had found hope in communities pushing back against the operations.
“Not just randomly, but in a systematic, organized way, citizens saying, ‘this is not the America we believe in,’ and we’re going to fight back, and we’re going to push back with the truth and with cameras and with peaceful protests,” he said.
“That kind of heroic, sustained behavior in subzero weather by ordinary people is what should give us hope.
“As long as we have folks doing that, I feel like we’re going to get through this.”
Trump’s pointman Tom Homan on Thursday announced the end of the aggressive immigration operation in Minnesota that triggered large protests and nationwide outrage.
In the wide-ranging podcast interview, Obama also criticized a lack of shame and decorum in the country’s political discourse, responding for the first time to a post on President Donald Trump’s social media that depicted him and first lady Michelle as monkeys.
Thousands of federal agents including ICE agents carried out weeks of sweeping raids and arrests in what the Trump administration claims were targeted missions against criminals, until the operation was ended this week.
Obama had criticized the actions of ICE agents as unlawful last month, but went further in an interview with left-wing political commentator Brian Tyler Cohen released Saturday.
“The rogue behavior of agents of the federal government is deeply concerning and dangerous,” he said.
He called the behavior of federal officers, which included two fatal shootings that sparked mounting pressure on President Donald Trump’s mass crackdown, as the sort that “in the past we’ve seen in authoritarian countries and we’ve seen in dictatorships.”
But Obama, the only Black president in American history, said he had found hope in communities pushing back against the operations.
“Not just randomly, but in a systematic, organized way, citizens saying, ‘this is not the America we believe in,’ and we’re going to fight back, and we’re going to push back with the truth and with cameras and with peaceful protests,” he said.
“That kind of heroic, sustained behavior in subzero weather by ordinary people is what should give us hope.
“As long as we have folks doing that, I feel like we’re going to get through this.”
Trump’s pointman Tom Homan on Thursday announced the end of the aggressive immigration operation in Minnesota that triggered large protests and nationwide outrage.
In the wide-ranging podcast interview, Obama also criticized a lack of shame and decorum in the country’s political discourse, responding for the first time to a post on President Donald Trump’s social media that depicted him and first lady Michelle as monkeys.
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