A UN official later said the mechanism was accidentally triggered by someone from the president’s entourage who had rushed ahead.

The official, speaking anonymously, noted that the White House was also operating the teleprompter for Trump’s speech. Escalator and elevator shutdowns have become familiar at UN offices in New York and Geneva in recent months, as the organisation copes with financial shortfalls linked in part to delayed US payments.

During his address, Trump deviated from his prepared text to remark on the incident, joking about the stopped escalator and a malfunctioning teleprompter, while criticising the UN for delivering little to the United States despite its global role.

A man has been arrested as part of an investigation into an alleged cyber attack that caused disruption at Dublin, London Heathrow and other European airports five days ago.

The incident, which was reported on Friday, September 19, affected flights at the airports. The UK National Crime Agency (NCA) arrested the suspect, in his 40s, in West Sussex on Tuesday evening, September 23. He was held on suspicion of Computer Misuse Act offences and was released on conditional bail.

Deputy director Paul Foster, head of the NCA’s National Cyber Crime Unit, said: “Although this arrest is a positive step, the investigation into this incident is in its early stages and remains ongoing. Cybercrime is a persistent global threat that continues to cause significant disruption to the UK.

“Alongside our partners here and overseas, the NCA is committed to reducing that threat in order to protect the British public.” The alleged cyber attack affected Collins Aerospace and saw check-in and boarding systems disrupted at Dublin, London Heathrow, Brussels and Berlin airports.

The airport disruptions that affected automated check-in systems were caused by a ransomware attack, the European Union Agency for Cybersecurity (ENISA) – the EU’s cyber security agency – said on Monday, highlighting the growing risks of such attacks to critical infrastructure and industries. Hackers knocked out automated check-in systems provided by Collins Aerospace, owned by RTX, affecting dozens of flights and thousands of passengers since Friday.

Dublin Airport was experiencing “minimal impact” and had some manual processes in place to combat the issue, a spokesperson for the EU’s cyber security agency said.

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