US officials were posting more police in many airport lobbies and at ticket counters around the country yesterday, in response to the July 4 shooting incident at Los Angeles International Airport.
At Chicago's busy O'Hare International Airport, federal security chiefs moved to add extra police patrols in public areas between entrances and security checkpoints, according to Greg Warren, spokesman of the newly-minted Transportation Security Administration, the body that oversees airline and airport security in the US.
The increase in security followed the fatal shootings Thursday at a ticket counter for Israel's national airline El Al at Los Angeles International Airport.
An armed Egyptian national, identified by authorities as Hesham Mohamed Hadayet, opened fire in front of the ticket counter, killing two people and wounding four before being shot dead by an airline security worker.
El Al's Executive Vice President Yitzchak Amitai said Friday that the airline -- the world's most vigilant in terms of security checking passengers -- would be paying even closer attention to protecting travelers.
"El Al is going to pay a lot more attention to the check-in area," Amitai told CNN, saying the airline would refocus the way it assesses individuals positioned within a specific area of a terminal.
Meanwhile, the FBI said Hadayet went to the El Al counter intending to kill people, but his motive remained unclear.
Israeli officials said they would consider the attack an act of terror unless it was proven otherwise.
But FBI special agent Richard Garcia said it was still not known whether Hadayet was anti-Israel.
"Besides terrorism and such, we are also looking into the possibility of a hate crime. We're also looking into the possibility of the person being despondent," Garcia said.
Hadayet was the fourth person in line at the counter when he opened fire, authorities said. He fired 10 or 11 bullets before he was shot dead. Hadayet was armed with a .45-caliber semiautomatic Glock pistol, a 9mm handgun and a 15cm knife.
DEFENSE: The first set of three NASAMS that were previously purchased is expected to be delivered by the end of this year and deployed near the capital, sources said Taiwan plans to procure 28 more sets of M-142 High Mobility Artillery Rocket Systems (HIMARS), as well as nine additional sets of National Advanced Surface-to-Air Missile Systems (NASAMS), military sources said yesterday. Taiwan had previously purchased 29 HIMARS launchers from the US and received the first 11 last year. Once the planned purchases are completed and delivered, Taiwan would have 57 sets of HIMARS. The army has also increased the number of MGM-140 Army Tactical Missile Systems (ATACMS) purchased from 64 to 84, the sources added. Each HIMARS launch pod can carry six Guided Multiple Launch Rocket Systems, capable of
TRAJECTORY: The severe tropical storm is predicted to be closest to Taiwan on Wednesday and Thursday, and would influence the nation to varying degrees, a forecaster said The Central Weather Administration (CWA) yesterday said it would likely issue a sea warning for Tropical Storm Podul tomorrow morning and a land warning that evening at the earliest. CWA forecaster Lin Ting-yi (林定宜) said the severe tropical storm is predicted to be closest to Taiwan on Wednesday and Thursday. As of 2pm yesterday, the storm was moving west at 21kph and packing sustained winds of 108kph and gusts of up to 136.8kph, the CWA said. Lin said that the tropical storm was about 1,710km east of Oluanpi (鵝鑾鼻), Taiwan’s southernmost tip, with two possible trajectories over the next one
Tropical Storm Podul strengthened into a typhoon at 8pm yesterday, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said, with a sea warning to be issued late last night or early this morning. As of 8pm, the typhoon was 1,020km east of Oluanpi (鵝鑾鼻), Taiwan’s southernmost tip, moving west at 23kph. The storm carried maximum sustained winds of 119kph and gusts reaching 155kph, the CWA said. Based on the tropical storm’s trajectory, a land warning could be issued any time from midday today, it added. CWA forecaster Chang Chun-yao (張竣堯) said Podul is a fast-moving storm that is forecast to bring its heaviest rainfall and strongest
CRITICISM: It is deeply regrettable that China, which is pursuing nuclear weapons, has suppressed Taiwan, which is pursuing peace, a government official said Representative to Japan Lee Yi-yang (李逸洋) yesterday accused Beijing of interference after Taiwan’s official delegation to the Nagasaki Peace Memorial Ceremony in Japan was assigned seating in the “international non-governmental organizations [NGO]” area. “Taiwan is by no means an international NGO, but a sovereign nation that is active on the international stage,” Lee said. Lee and Chen Ming-chun (陳銘俊), head of the Taipei Economic and Cultural Office (TECO) in Fukuoka, attended the ceremony in Nagasaki yesterday, which marked the 80th anniversary of the atomic bombing of the city. That followed Lee’s attendance at the Hiroshima Peace Memorial Ceremony on Wednesday
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