Monday, December 7, 2009

Bomb scare locks out international media at COP15


by Ben O’Halloran
A BOMB scare left hundreds of journalists out in the Danish cold today, one day before the start of the Copenhagen climate change conference.
The scare turned out to be a false alarm after bomb squad police found a suspect bag inside the Bella Center, where up to 15,000 people including delegates and world leaders are expected to attend this week.
The conference has attracted 6000 police from around Denmark, this number due to rise as activists converge on Copenhagen.
With delegates from nearly 200 countries expected to attend the UN conference, today’s bomb scare was a test run for police and security.
Today's scare follows a bomb threat at the French parliament last Wednesday when it was discussing the United Nations climate change conference in Copenhagen.
The parliament was evacuated as bomb experts and sniffer dogs combed the building for explosives. None were found.
The waiting journalists outside the Bella Center were just some of the 3500 registered for the conference, with more than 5000 journalists having applied to attend.
The UNFCCC has had to restrict media numbers due to space constraints at the Bella Center, which can hold up to 15,000 people. The UNFCCC has been inundated with more than 34,000 requests to attend.

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