Black Lives Matter protesters close London City Airport runway

Flights at London City Airport were disrupted after protesters gained access to the runway.

The Met Police said it was called to the site at about 05:40 BST after nine protesters erected a tripod and "locked themselves together" on the runway.

The Black Lives Matter UK movement confirmed it was responsible for the protest.

City Airport tweeted that the runway had reopened at lunchtime and flights were resuming.

It advised travellers via Twitter to check with their airlines for the latest flight information.

All nine protesters were removed and arrested. The airport said inbound flights had been diverted.

More on this and other London stories here

Black Lives Matter UK said the action was taken in order to "highlight the UK's environmental impact on the lives of black people locally and globally".

A statement said: "Whilst at London City Airport a small elite is able to fly, in 2016 alone 3,176 migrants are known to have died or gone missing in the Mediterranean.

"Black people are the first to die, not the first to fly, in this racist climate crisis.

"We note, however, that the UK is willing to charter special flights to remove black people from the country based on their immigration status."

Speaking to BBC London, group member Joshua Virasami added: "The community where this airport is is a predominantly black community.

"In Britain, 28% of black people are more likely to be exposed to air pollution... being in closest proximity to the industries causing climate change."

He added the disruption to flights was "a very small inconvenience when you think about the consequences for black communities daily" and the protesters would remain on site "as long as feasibly possible".

Scotland Yard said it was investigating how the protesters got on the runway - including the suggestion that they swam across the River Thames or used a boat.

When asked how the protesters gained access, Mr Virasami said "I'm not in a situation to say... but one can use their imagination".

Casey Collins, who was due to fly to Luxembourg, said customers had initially assumed the delays were related to,

He said: "The problem was that there were only two or three staff there. People were behaving themselves, they know it was not the airport's fault, but for a time it was a bit chaotic."

He said passengers were offered refunds for cancelled flights, while delayed passengers were given refreshment vouchers.

The Met said all nine arrests were on suspicion of aggravated trespass, being unlawfully airside and breaching London City Airport bylaws.

A London City Airport spokesperson added: "We apologise to passengers for any inconvenience to their journey."

The airport is popular with bankers and business professionals due to its proximity to Canary Wharf in London Docklands.

Last year, a record 4.3 million passengers used the airport.

Source by:http://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-london-37283869

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Obama calls off meeting with Philippine leader amid 'whore' jibe

US President Barack Obama has cancelled a meeting in Laos with Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte, who had earlier called him a "son of a whore".

National Security Council spokesman Ned Price said Mr Obama would meet South Korea's president instead.

Mr Obama had said he would raise the issue of drug-related extrajudicial killings in the Philippines.

Mr Duterte said if he did that, "Putang ina (son of a whore) I will swear at you in that forum."

Mr Obama flew to Laos on Monday for an Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean) summit, after attending the G20 meeting in Hangzhou, China.

Duterte: From 'Punisher' to president

Speaking in Manila before he left for Laos, Mr Duterte referred to his anti-drugs campaign that has led to the killing of 2,400 suspected drug dealers and users since he took office in June.

Mr Duterte has sanctioned the killing of drug dealers to try to wipe out the narcotics trade.

"The campaign against drugs will continue. Many will die, plenty will be killed until the last pusher is out of the streets.

"Until the [last] drug manufacturer is killed we will continue."

He said Mr Obama must not disrespect him. "We will be wallowing in the mud like pigs if you do that to me," he said.

Mr Obama had replied that Mr Duterte was a "colourful guy" and that he had asked his team "to find out, is this in fact a time where we can have some constructive, productive conversations".

Mr Price later indicated it was not. "Instead, he will meet with President Park [Geun-hye] of the Republic of Korea this afternoon," he said.

Mr Obama's last scheduled trip to Asia as president has not been without incident, having also been caught up in a protocol row with hosts China over his arrival in Hangzhou.

The UN has repeatedly condemned Mr Duterte's policies as a violation of human rights. The Roman Catholic Church, the dominant religion in the Philippines, has also criticised Mr Duterte.

In August, two UN human rights experts said Mr Duterte's directive for police and the public to kill suspected drug traffickers amounted to "incitement to violence and killing, a crime under international law".

Source by:http://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-37281821

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Storm Hermine regains power to threaten US north-east

Storm Hermine is regaining power as it moves up the US eastern seaboard, threatening the north-east with dangerous coastal surges.

Hermine is forecast to return to the Category 1 hurricane strength it lost as it pummelled Florida.

The storm left a trail of destruction in the south-east, killing two people.

Governors have announced emergency plans along the coast as far north as Connecticut, with many Labor Day weekend events cancelled.

• Hurricane Hermine in pictures

• The storms names that were retired - and why

• What's the difference between hurricanes and typhoons?

The biggest threat, forecasters say, could be from storm surges stretching from Virginia to New Jersey.

They could reach up to 5ft (1.5m) if they hit at high tide, they say.

Senior National Hurricane Center specialist Daniel Brown told Reuters: "[Hermine] is going to sit offshore and it is going to be a tremendous coastal event with a dangerous storm surge and lots of larger waves probably causing significant beach erosion for the next few days."

He predicted rainfall of up to 7in (18cm) from Virginia to Long Island.

Concert postponed

At 09:45 GMT on Sunday, Hermine was about 220 miles (350km) off the coast of Virginia packing winds of 62mph.

The NHC said Hermine could be a slow mover up the coast, and may linger for days off New Jersey.

It is forecast to move to about 100 miles south of Nantucket Island, Massachusetts, by Wednesday evening, and then continue to track north-east.

Another NHC specialist Eric Blake said: "This is not a beach weekend for anyone in the Mid-Atlantic to the north-east."

New Jersey Governor Chris Christie has declared a state of emergency in three coastal counties and Delaware Governor Jack Markell has declared a limited state of emergency for Sussex County.

New York Governor Andrew Cuomo closed Long Island's coastal beaches on Sunday.

Several Labor Day events have been affected, including Saturday's Bruce Springsteen concert in Virginia Beach that has now been moved to Monday.

Virginia Beach resident, Seth Broudy, speaking to Reuters news agency about the coastal conditions on Saturday, said: "Right now it's rough as hell. It's dangerous. It's just out of control. It's like sitting in a washing machine and spinning around."

Some 55,000 homes or businesses were left without power in Virginia as the storm struck.

The two people who died were a lorry driver killed when his vehicle was blown over in North Carolina and a man hit by a falling tree in Florida.

Source by:http://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-37270227

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Record-tying Oklahoma earthquake felt as far away as Arizona

Sandstone bricks from the side of the historic Pawnee County Bank litter the sidewalk after an... Read more

OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) — A record-tying earthquake in the edge of Oklahoma's key energy-producing areas rattled the Midwest from Illinois to the southwest part of Texas on Saturday, and likely will bring fresh attention to the practice of disposing oil and gas field wastewater deep underground.

The United States Geological Survey said a 5.6 magnitude earthquake happened at 7:02 a.m. Saturday in north-central Oklahoma, on the fringe of an area where regulators had stepped in to limit wastewater disposal. That temblor matches a November 2011 quake in the same region.

An increase in magnitude 3.0 or greater earthquakes in Oklahoma has been linked to underground disposal of wastewater from oil and natural gas production.

The Oklahoma Corporation Commission, which since 2013 has asked wastewater-well owners to reduce disposal volumes in parts of the state, is requiring 37 wells in a 514 square mile area around the epicenter of the earthquake to shut down within seven to 10 days because of previous connections between the injection of wastewater and earthquakes.

"All of our actions have been based on the link that researchers have drawn between the Arbuckle disposal well operations and earthquakes in Oklahoma," spokesman Matt Skinner said Saturday. "We're trying to do this as quickly as possible, but we have to follow the recommendations of the seismologists, who tell us everything going off at once can cause an (earthquake)."

Skinner said the commission's "area of interest" includes another 211 square miles in Osage County, but doesn't know how many wells may be involved because the area is under the jurisdiction of the Environmental Protection Agency, and that the commission is working with that agency.

"EPA decides on the wells in Osage County. We don't know anything about Osage County, legally we're not even allowed to ask," Skinner said.

People in Kansas City and St. Louis, Missouri; Chicago; Gilbert, Arizona; Fayetteville and Little Rock, Arkansas; Des Moines, Iowa; Memphis, Tennessee; and Big Lake in southwest Texas, all reported feeling the earthquake. Dallas TV station WFAA tweeted that the quake shook their studios, too.

Pawnee County Emergency Management Director Mark Randell said no buildings collapsed in the town of 2,200 about nine miles southeast of the epicenter. "We've got buildings cracked," Randell said. "Most of it's brick and mortar, old buildings from the early 1900s."

Randell also said a man suffered a minor head injury when part of a fireplace fell on him as he protected a child. The man was treated and released.

Oklahoma Gov. Mary Fallin has declared a state of emergency for the county, allowing state agencies to make emergency purchases related to disaster relief and preparedness. The declaration is also the first step toward seeking federal aid should it be necessary

The damage is not as severe as the 2011 quake near Prague, Oklahoma, about 60 miles south of Pawnee, despite being the same magnitude and approximately the same depth. Saturday's was 3.7 miles deep, compared to 3.1 miles in 2011. Both are shallow quakes, during which shaking is more intense, like setting off "a bomb directly under a city," USGS seismologist Susan Hough has said.

However, hard bedrock beneath the surface in north-central Oklahoma is likely the reason for less damage, Oklahoma Geological Survey geophysicist Jefferson Chang said, adding that the subsurface around Prague is softer.

"It's pretty much comparable to the Prague event," Chang said. "But in harder rock, it won't shake as much."

Pawnee furniture store owner Lee Wills told The Associated Press that he first thought it was a thunderstorm.

"Then it just ... Everything went crazy after that. It just started shaking," said Wills, who lives about 2½ miles outside of town. "It rocked my house like a rubber band. Threw stuff off cabinets and out of cabinets, broke glasses."

___

Associated Press writers Kelly P. Kissel in Little Rock, Arkansas, Erica Hunzinger in Chicago and Ben Thomas in Washington, D.C., contributed to this report.

Source by:http://bigstory.ap.org/article/34f0e22aa7f94ca187d02886167f1903/earthquake-shakes-swath-midwest-missouri-oklahoma

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Florida coast battered by , Hermine

Hurricane Hermine, the first to hit Florida in a decade, has killed one person and caused severe damage along the state's northern Gulf Coast.

As the system pushed into Georgia, it took out power lines in both states, affecting hundreds of thousands.

Gusts of 80mph (130km/h) caused storm surges that flooded part of the Florida coast.

There are concerns over stagnant water in the state, which has been battling with the mosquito-born Zika virus.

In the town of Cedar Key, waters rose more than 9.5ft (2.9 metres), among the highest surges ever seen, according to the National Weather Service.

• Hurricane Hermine in pictures

After making landfall early on Friday, Hermine swept through Florida and Georgia.

Having weakened to a tropical storm, it entered South Carolina, where local officials have reported flooded roads, fallen trees and power outages.

But the National Hurricane Center predicted it would regain hurricane strength after emerging into the Atlantic Ocean, and a tropical storm warning was issued for parts of New Jersey, Connecticut and New York City.

The US Coast Guard also warned boaters and swimmers along the New York and New Jersey coasts to use caution in what is expected to be rough surf and hazardous rip currents this weekend.

Zika fears

There are also fears that the stagnant water caused by the storm surge in Florida could provide a breeding ground for mosquitoes.

There have been 47 cases of Zika in people believed to have contracted the virus through local mosquitoes, according to the Florida Department of Health.

"It is incredibly important that everyone does their part to combat the Zika virus by dumping standing water, no matter how small," Florida Governor Rick Scott told a news conference on Friday.

Police in Taylor County, Florida, that has a population of more than 20,000, said the storm had inflicted "severe damage''

In the state capital Tallahassee, at least 70,000 homes were without power at one point, affecting 60% of people in the region.

---

Hurricanes in the US

• While Florida is prone to storms and storm surges, it has not seen a hurricane in close to 4,000 days
• The last hurricane to strike Florida was Wilma in October 2005, causing five deaths and an estimated $23bn (£17bn) of damage
• Hurricane Katrina hit Louisiana in the same year, killing nearly 2,000 people and displaced one million
• In fact, Hermine is the first hurricane to make landfall in the US since Arthur in July 2014 - no hurricanes touched down in 2010, 2013 or 2015

The storms names that were retired - and why

What's the difference between hurricanes and typhoons?

In Georgia, Governor Nathan Deal also declared a state of emergency, for 56 counties, but the state was spared the havoc it had expected.

"We're having a bit of a sigh of relief," said Jim Butterworth, director of the Georgia Emergency Management Agency.

But 107,000 customers were reported to be without power across the state as crews worked to repair damage.

Hurricane scales

Category one: sustained winds of 74-95mph (119-153 km/h); some damage and power cuts

Category two: winds of 96-110mph (154-177 km/h); extensive damage

Category three: winds of 111-129mph (178-208 km/h); well-built homes suffer major damage

Category four: winds of 130-156mph (209-251 km/h); severe damage to well-built homes, most trees snapped or uprooted

Category five: winds of 157 mph (252 km/h) or higher; high percentage of homes destroyed, area uninhabitable for weeks or months

Source: NOAA

Have you been affected by Hurricane Hermine? You can send us your stories along with any photos or videos you have shot by emailinghaveyoursay@bbc.co.uk.

Source by:http://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-37248359

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SpaceX rocket explodes at Cape Canaveral ahead of launch

A rocket operated by the aerospace company SpaceX has exploded on the launch pad at Cape Canaveral where it was being test-fired ahead of a launch.

The force of the blast shook buildings several miles away.

SpaceX said "an anomaly" had occurred while the rocket was being loaded with fuel. No-one was injured, it said.

The rocket's payload, an Israeli-built communications satellite for Facebook due to launch on Saturday, was also destroyed, it added.

Facebook, in partnership with Eutelsat Communications, had been due to use theAmos-6 satellite to deliver broadband internet coverage for swathes of sub-Saharan Africa as part of its Internet.org initiative.

Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg, who is currently visiting Africa, said he was "deeply disappointed" to hear that the satellite had been destroyed.

"We remain committed to our mission of connecting everyone, and we will keep working until everyone has the opportunities this satellite would have provided," he wrote on his Facebook account.

A leading Israeli space official said the loss of the Amos-6 satellite, valued at more than $200m (£150m) and owned by Spacecom, was a major blow to the industry.

"As far as the Israeli communications satellite industry is concerned, this is a very severe blow which could place the future of the industry in doubt if it is not dragged out of the mud," said the chairman of the Israel Space Agency, Isaac Ben-Isra

                                         SpaceX rocket explodes on launch pad

Cape Canaveral Air Force Station said a "significant" explosion had happened just after 09:00 (14:00 GMT) at Launch Complex 40, which is leased by SpaceX.

SpaceX said in a statement: "The anomaly originated around the upper stage oxygen tanks and occurred during propellant loading of the vehicle.

A history of SpaceX in pictures

"As per standard operating procedure, all personnel were clear of the pad and no-one was injured. We are continuing to review the data to identify the root cause."

SpaceX is aiming to create a new era of reusable rockets and affordable private space travel and has used its Falcon-9 rocket to take supplies to the International Space Station (ISS).

In December last year, the California-based company successfully landed a Falcon-9 back on Earth after a mission to launch orbiting satellites - a first in rocketry.

SpaceX is run out of Hawthorne near Los Angeles by Elon Musk, who made his fortune with internet companies.

As well as being the rocket company's CEO, he also heads up the Tesla electric car company.

Analysis: David Shukman, Science Editor, BBC News

Whatever the details of what went wrong at the launch-pad, this is bad news for one of the most ambitious-ever space programmes.

SpaceX has big dreams for cheap, frequent and distant space travel. This test-firing was meant to be routine, part of an accelerating series of launches.

Beyond it, SpaceX is looking to make history by re-using one of the massive first stages that was returned to Earth intact. The company is also preparing to fly astronauts to the International Space Station.

Most exotic of all, the company's boss, Elon Musk, is due later this month to unveil his plans for a Mars colony, and how that would take effect.

There had been talk of the first SpaceX unmanned mission to the Red Planet in a couple of years' time. All its timetables will now be in jeopardy.

Source by:http://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-37247077

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