Quadcopter drone lands unannounced in the grounds of the White House

#quadcopter #drone #WhiteHouse #UAV The appearance of a quadcopter drone in the grounds of the White House has put a huge question mark on the security system in the White House and has highlighted the growing security threat posed by small Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs). It is believed to be a harmless drone but the fact remains that it had breached security belt.
The incident in the White House has come less than two weeks after a drone flew over the French presidential palace in Paris.
Drones can fly at low altitudes and, hence, detecting these devices poses a challenge to those involved in providing security cover to people who matter.
As the Secret Service has clarified - the drone was a 2-foot-long commercially available "quadcopter." An officer posted on the south grounds of the White House complex had, reportedly, "heard and observed" the device "flying at a very low altitude" shortly after 3 a.m. ET. It was a commercially available device and did not pose any threat.
However, the possible dangers of drones cannot be ruled out. As Caroline Baylon, a cybersecurity researcher at the Royal Institute of International Affairs, Chatham House, in London, has indicated – due to their small size and ability to hover low over the ground, the drones can pose a huge security headache.
Drones have opened up an area that has not been defended before – most of the available radars cannot detect drones that have the ability to fly really low.

Paris to send more guards to Jewish institutions to fight terrorism

#CharlieHebdo #Hollande #terrorism #gendarmes It appears to be a case of locking the stable after the horses have fled and, that is what France is planning to do after the terror attack in Paris offices of the satirical magazine Charlie Hebdo. France would deploy 10,000 troops around the country in order to augment security would be dispatching nearly 5,000 police to protect Jewish sites.
It is, simultaneously, stepping the search for an individual who is believed to be an accomplice to the attackers who killed 17 people last week.
The defense minister of France, Jean-Yves Le Drian, has indicated that the deployment was of troops who would guard potentially vulnerable locations. He made these comments after a national security crisis meeting.
The deployment would be of 700 police officers at the 717 Jewish schools across the country apart from nearly 4,100 gendarmes. It may be recalled that four captives had been killed in the hostage-taking at a Jewish supermarket in Paris.
The French president, François Hollande who chaired the national security crisis meeting, including prime minister, Manuel Valls apart from the heads of police and the security services. It transpires that all efforts would be made to protect Jewish institutions. Parents of a Jewish school to the south of Paris have been assured of soldiers that would be posted as reinforcements.

UN climate talks in Peru - controlling global warming is the need of the hour

Global warming is a matter of concern and 195 nations have committed to finalizing a new climate pact in Paris by the end of 2015. This is the agenda for the UN climate negotiators who would be assembling in Peru to try to advance talks on a new global agreement.
The process has been boosted by recent developments, including a joint announcement on cutting carbon by the US and China.
The discussions would go on for two weeks and the subject would be the record-breaking global temperatures for the year to date.
As per the data of the US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) the global average temperature over land and ocean from January to October was the hottest since records began in 1880.
Of course, the meeting could witness a heat of another kind because the long standing divisions between rich and poor could, once again, hinder progress. In spite of that, the delegates would put their heads together to try and work out a solution to finalize the key negotiating texts that will form the basis of the Paris deal.
Many countries like Canada, Australia, Japan, Russia, South Africa, Brazil and Indonesia have yet to make any commitment (to cut emissions) and it is not known how robust their commitments are. By the end of March 2015, all countries are expected to announce the level of their efforts to cut carbon as part of the Paris deal.
Impacts of global warming are – Accelerating sea level rise and increased coastal flooding, longer and more damaging wildfire seasons, more frequent and intense heat waves, national landmarks at risk, widespread forest death in the Rocky Mountains, costly and growing health impacts, an increase in extreme weather events, heavier precipitation and flooding, more severe droughts in some areas, growing risks to our electricity supply, changing seasons, melting ice, disruptions to food supplies, destruction of coral reefs and plant and animal range shifts.