Climate activists prompt closure of Berlin airport runways

Climate-change activists of “Letzte Generation” (Last Generation) sit glued to a road to block traffic during morning rush hour in Berlin on November 21, 2022. (Reuters)
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Updated 24 November 2022
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Climate activists prompt closure of Berlin airport runways

  • The activists from the Last Generation environmental group called on the public to stop travelling by air

BERLIN: Berlin Brandenburg Airport on Thursday said it closed its takeoff and landing runways due to unauthorized access of several people, while a climate group said its activists glued themselves to the tarmac.
The activists from the Last Generation environmental group called on the public to stop traveling by air and on the government to stop subsidizing it, the group said on Thursday.
“In an airport area that is not open to the public, we encountered several people who had previously gained unauthorized access and some glued themselves,” Berlin police said on Twitter.
A spokesperson for the airport said police had detained the activists but the runways were closed in order for staff to check for and rule out the presence of further people.
The spokesperson could not say how many flights were affected.


France bans 10 British far-right, anti-migration activists from entering

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France bans 10 British far-right, anti-migration activists from entering

PARIS: France’s interior ministry said on Wednesday it has banned 10 British far-right activists from entering or staying in the country, after they carried out actions deemed to ​incite violence and seriously disturb public order on French territory.
The activists, identified as members of a group called “Raise the Colors” that was involved in a national flag-raising campaign, seek to find and destroy boats used to carry migrants and spread propaganda on France’s northern coast calling on the British public to join the movement to stop ‌migration, according to ‌the French interior ministry.
“Our rule ‌of ⁠law ​is non-negotiable, ‌violent or hate-inciting actions have no place on our territory,” French Interior Minister Laurent Nunez wrote on social media platform X on Wednesday.
The ministry said in a statement it had been informed of the group’s activities in December last year and that it had referred the matter to the relevant authorities, ⁠as the actions were likely to cause “serious disturbances” to public order.
“Raise the ‌Colors” describes itself as a grassroots movement ‍that began in the central ‍English city of Birmingham, when a small group started ‍tying national flags to lampposts in a show of national pride. It says the effort has since spread across the UK.
The widespread display of the red-and-white St. George’s Cross for England and the ​Union Jack for Britain has prompted concern among some migrant communities as a reflection of rising anti-immigration ⁠sentiment in the country, coinciding with a wave of protests outside hotels housing asylum seekers last year.
Neither the group nor the British Foreign Office immediately responded to Reuters requests for comment.
Immigration and the crossings of small boats carrying migrants from France have become a focal point for British voters and has helped propel Nigel Farage’s right-wing, anti-immigration Reform UK party, into a commanding opinion poll lead.
Farage last year in London met the leader of French far-right National Rally (RN) party, Jordan Bardella, ‌who has accused France of being too soft on immigration.