World
Ukrainian demonstrators want boycott of Lukoil petrol sales in Belgium
Ukrainian protesters are demanding a boycott of Russian oil firm Lukoil over its connections to the Kremlin, claiming it funds the struggle in Ukraine.
The privately owned petrol firm is the second largest in Russia and operates within the Benelux area by way of its 260 stations as unbiased native entities.
“What number of youngsters did you kill as we speak by shopping for Lukoil’s petrol?” one protester shouted at a buyer filling up his automobile.
“I’ve all the time put petrol in my automobile right here,” the client advised Euronews. “She simply advised me that I finance struggle. For me, I do not finance struggle, I simply put petrol in my automobile.”
Regardless of not being included within the EU’s sanctions, its former CEO, Vagit Alekperov, resigned after being sanctioned by the West.
The NGO Promote Ukraine discovered connections between Lukoil Belgium and its headquarters in Moscow.
“All Lukoil petrol stations in Belgium work beneath a franchise settlement and beneath this settlement the petrol stations entrepreneurs need to pay royalties for utilizing Lukoil model and people royalties on the finish go to Russia Lukoil,” Oksana Bulda from Promote Ukraine advised Euronews.
“This isn’t merely about making enterprise it’s greater than enterprise, it’s about lobbying in Russian curiosity, about Russian disinformation and propaganda and naturally sponsoring the struggle.”
However Lukoil rejects these claims. In March, Lukoil’s board of administrators referred to as “for the soonest termination” of what they referred to as “armed battle”.
“We’re performing right here as an area firm with unbiased individuals, we provide jobs for these native individuals, we pay taxes right here and we provide jobs for a thousand individuals,” Els Ruysen from Lukoil Belgium NV stated. “As you understand, because the oil is coming from Russia, which can be the case with different gas stations it would not matter the place you refill, you all the time can have some Russian gas within the combine.”
Lukoil, in addition to different petrol stations within the EU, has already began on the lookout for options to Russian gas. In a number of months, European sanctions will come into impact, banning the acquisition of Russian oil.
World
Five convicted over Amsterdam clashes with Israeli football fans
Men found guilty of crimes including kicking fans of Maccabi Tel Aviv and inciting violence in chat groups.
A Dutch court has convicted five men for their part in last month’s violence involving Israeli football fans in Amsterdam.
The Amsterdam district court on Tuesday found them guilty of a range of crimes from kicking fans of Maccabi Tel Aviv in the street to inciting violence in chat groups.
The heaviest sentence imposed was six months in prison, for a man identified as Sefa O for public violence against several people.
The violence took place on November 8 during two days of skirmishes in the city, where the Israeli football fans clashed with apparent pro-Palestinian protesters before and after a Europa League football match between their team Maccabi Tel Aviv and Ajax.
Videos shared on social media at the time showed Israeli fans chanting racist, anti-Arab songs, vandalising a taxi and burning a Palestinian flag.
The fighting broke out after that and was instigated by the Israeli fans, witnesses and a local councilman told Al Jazeera at the time.
Police arrested people who had beaten the Israeli fans, as global leaders made accusations of anti-Semitism.
The prosecutor in the case said the beatings had “little to do with football” but added that “in this case, there was no evidence of … a terrorist intent and the violence was not motivated by anti-Semitic sentiment”.
“The violence was influenced by the situation in Gaza, not by anti-Semitism,” said the prosecutor.
The most serious case under consideration by the court on Tuesday was Sefa, who prosecutors said played a “leading role” in the violence.
The court saw images of a man identified as Sefa kicking a person on the ground, chasing targets, and punching people in the head and the body.
Another man identified as Umutcan A, 24, received a sentence of one month for assaulting fans and ripping a Maccabi scarf from one of them.
A 22-year-old, identified as Abushabab M, faces a charge of attempted murder, but his case has been postponed while he undergoes a psychiatric assessment. He was born in the Gaza Strip and grew up in a war zone, his lawyer told the court, while Abushabab sat sobbing as his case was being heard.
A further six suspects are set to appear at a later stage. Three of these suspects are minors and their cases will be heard behind closed doors.
Police said they were investigating at least 45 people over the violence, including that carried out by fans of the Israeli club.
At an emotionally charged news conference the morning after the riots, Amsterdam Mayor Femke Halsema said the city had been “deeply damaged” by “hateful anti-Semitic rioters”.
However, Halsema later said she regretted the parallel she had drawn between the violence and “memories of pogroms”, saying this word had been used as propaganda.
World
Asia shares rise, dollar underpinned by elevated bond yields
World
US military carries out airstrike in Syria, killing 2 ISIS operatives
The U.S. military conducted an airstrike on Monday in Syria, where they killed a pair of ISIS operatives and destroyed a truckload of weapons, according to U.S. Central Command.
A precision airstrike in the Dayr az Zawr Province, which was formerly controlled by the Syrian regime and Russians, killed two ISIS operatives and wounded another, CENTCOM said.
TRUMP COULD FACE RENEWED ISIS THREAT IN SYRIA AS TURKEY GOES AFTER US ALLY
The operatives were driving a truckload of weapons, which was destroyed, when they were targeted in the strike.
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“This airstrike is part of CENTCOM’s ongoing commitment, along with partners in the region, to disrupt and degrade efforts by terrorists to plan, organize, and conduct attacks against civilians and military personnel from the U.S., our allies, and our partners throughout the region and beyond,” CENTCOM said in a statement.
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