BERLIN (AP) — An overnight protest by climate activists at Leipzig/Halle Airport in eastern Germany forced a three-hour halt to cargo flights, officials said Thursday.
The protest by the Last Generation group followed demonstrations last week at Cologne-Bonn Airport and then at Frankfurt Airport, Germany's busiest, which significantly disrupted passenger flights.
Federal police said five activists attached themselves to the ground inside the airport perimeter shortly after midnight, and another two were prevented from doing so, German news agency dpa reported. They were removed at about 5 a.m. Last Generation said they didn't set foot on the runways.
Leipzig/Halle is an important air freight hub. Airport spokesperson Uwe Schuhart said air cargo movements had to be suspended for about three hours starting at 12:30 a.m.
There didn't appear to be a significant impact on passenger flights, which don't arrive and depart during the night. The airport's website showed the first plane leaving at 5:41 a.m., about 15 minutes late.
Police said the activists, who had cut a hole in the perimeter fence, were detained.
Last Generation is demanding that the German government negotiate and sign an agreement on a global exit from the use of oil, gas and coal by 2030.
Last month, the German Cabinet approved legislation that would impose tougher penalties on people who break through airport perimeters.
The bill, which still requires approval by lawmakers, foresees punishment ranging up to a two-year prison sentence for people who intentionally intrude on airside areas of airports such as taxiways or runways, endanger civil aviation, or enable someone else to. Currently such intrusions only draw a fine.
Climate activists sit on a tarmac at Leipzig-Halle Airport in Schkeuditz, Germany Thursday, Aug. 1, 2024. Several activists are demonstrating for more climate protection at the airport. (Julius-Christian Schreiner/dpa via AP)
BAKERSFIELD, Calif. (AP) — A man barricaded himself inside a bank building in the Southern California city of Bakersfield with an unknown number of people, police said Tuesday.
Officers responding to a call of a bomb threat arrived at the scene around 1 p.m. at the Chase Bank building in downtown Bakersfield, and discovered a man had barricaded himself inside “with several community members,” the Bakersfield Police Department said in a statement.
Some community members were able to escape, officials say. No injuries were reported and nearby buildings were placed on lockdown, including city hall and the police headquarters.
The department's crisis negotiation team was in contact with the suspect by telephone.
Officers established a perimeter around the building and nearby businesses, authorities said.
“We are on scene at the Chase Bank Building on Chester Avenue and 17th Street for a confirmed bomb threat,” the police department posted on X. “Please stay out of the downtown area. Road closures are in effect and will remain in effect until further notice.”
About a dozen police cars were on scene along with one tactical vehicle and multiple emergency responders, according to media reports.
Jacob Davidson, a livestreamer known as Dad’s Gone Live, was a block from the bank at his family’s tattoo shop when he started getting calls from his subscribers alerting him to the bomb threat.
“I went into the bank’s parking garage and watched the cops enter the back of the bank. This is the biggest police presence I’ve ever seen in this town,” Davidson said. “Now I’m watching them set up the trauma tents with the green, red and yellow tags, and black tags too, along with a command center about a block away.”
Law enforcement agencies often protectively set up trauma tents — which are color-coded to help sort people based on the severity of injuries — just in case they become needed during an emergency situation.
An overhead view shows police and media responding after a man barricaded himself inside a bank on Tuesday, June 2, 2026, in Bakersfield, Calif. (Jacob, Dad’s Gone Live via AP)
An overhead view shows the scene of a standoff after a man barricaded himself inside a bank on Tuesday, June 2, 2026 in Bakersfield, Calif. (Jacob, Dad’s Gone Live via AP)
A law enforcement officer responds near a bank where a man barricaded himself on Tuesday, June 2, 2026, in Bakersfield, Calif. (Jacob, Dad’s Gone Live via AP)
An overhead view shows the scene of a standoff after a man barricaded himself inside a bank on Tuesday, June 2, 2026, in Bakersfield, Calif. (Jacob, Dad’s Gone Live via AP)
Police officers respond after a man barricaded himself inside a bank on Tuesday, June 2, 2026, in Bakersfield, Calif. (Jacob, Dad’s Gone Live via AP)
