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WORLD NEWS Wednesday 26 June 2019

Singapore probes drones at airport that disrupted 63 flights

By ANNABELLE LIANG tems at the Singapore Uni-
Associated Press versity of Technology and
SINGAPORE (AP) — Drones Design.
buzzing around Singa- “It would be possible to
pore’s Changi Airport have identify the operators by
caused 63 flights to be de- analyzing the information
layed or diverted in the stored in the drone” such
past week, triggering an as pictures and flight data,
investigation and raising he added.
questions about the mo- Some observers said the in-
tives of the offenders. cursions, which happened
The Civil Aviation Authority on two occasions and less
of Singapore said Tuesday than a week from each
that 18 flights at the airport other, could signal the in-
were delayed and seven volvement of more sophis-
were diverted the night be- ticated groups.
fore “due to bad weather Mark Yong, chief execu-
and unauthorized drone tive of Garuda Robotics,
activities.” took vast media coverage
It had earlier confirmed on the dangers of flying
drones were seen flying drones around the airport
near the airport last Tues- into account.
day and Wednesday. That In this Oct. 8, 2008, file photo, passengers walk through the departure hall at the Changi Unauthorized drone activ-
caused the intermittent International Airport in Singapore. ity is dangerous around
closure of a runway, delay- Associated Press airports because of the risk
ing 37 flights and diverting tions,” the regulator added. a jammer gun at a “rouge Fi. A jammer gun temporar- of collision with planes that
one arriving plane to Kuala It declined to comment drone” on Facebook. ily disables this connection. are taking off and landing.
Lumpur, Malaysia. Tuesday on the number While the photo wasn’t “In absence of a control Drones cannot be flown
“A multiagency team in- of drones involved or their taken at Changi, it hinted link, most drones are de- within 5 kilometers (3.1
cluding the Civil Aviation likely operators, citing the at the anti-drone technolo- signed to switch into ‘fail- miles) of airports or military
Authority of Singapore, ongoing investigation. gies that may be used to safe’ mode, and may either bases in Singapore without
Changi Airport Group, Shortly after news broke of track down offenders. attempt to return to its origi- a permit.
Singapore Armed Forces the drone activity at the air- Drones are largely con- nal location or immediately The offense carries a penal-
and the Singapore Police port, Singapore’s defense trolled by operators via a land,” said Foong Shaohui, ty of up to a year in jail and
Force was activated for the ministry posted a photo- radio control link, on a fre- an associate professor who a fine of 20,000 Singapore
search and locate opera- graph of a soldier pointing quency that’s similar to Wi- researches unmanned sys- dollars.q

Indonesia military: Use of child soldiers a rights violation

By STEPHEN WRIGHT volves indigenous teenag- “If there are two or more early 1960s. More recently, Nearly 170 countries includ-
Associated Press ers and boys who appear parties in conflict, all parties Amnesty International said ing Indonesia have ratified
JAKARTA, Indonesia (AP) barely adolescent. are obliged to provide pro- in a report last year that a U.N. treaty that obliges
— An Indonesian military The military’s spokesman tection to children, women Indonesia’s police and governments to stop mili-
spokesman said Tuesday in easternmost Papua, and the elderly,” he said. military are responsible for tary recruitment of any-
that any use of child sol- Muhammad Aidi, said in The Indonesian military itself at least 96 unlawful killings one under 18 and to work
diers by Papuan indepen- a statement that if armed has been accused of kill- in the Papua region since toward ending the military
dence fighters would be Papuans have involved ing civilians and other seri- 2010 and condemned a exploitation of children by
a violation of human rights children in the conflict it ous human rights violations near total absence of jus- state and non-state armed
that implicates both the would show they’re a “wild, in Papua since it became tice for the mainly indige- groups. Aidi said last week
rebels and state institutions. uncivilized” group. part of Indonesia in the nous victims. Aidi also said that anyone under 18 who
The Associated Press re- if the state is failing to en- attacked Indonesian secu-
ported last week that the In this photo taken in May 2019, and released by the West force the law against seri- rity forces with arms would
long-simmering armed Papua Liberation Army-Free Papua Organization, men and ous violations within its ter- not be spared.
boys from the West Papua Liberation Army pose with weapons
conflict between Indone- in the Nduga region of the central highlands, Papua province, ritory “it means that state “The threat is the same as
sia’s military and the West Indonesia. institutions have committed adults who can kill us with
Papua Liberation Army in- Associated Press human rights violations.” their guns,” he told AP.q