LONDON: UK trade union members on Friday blockaded a British military equipment maker in southeastern England, calling for a cease-fire in Israel’s offensive in Gaza.
Demonstrators brandished banners and placards reading “no business as usual” and “taxpayers have blood on their hands” outside the gates of the BAE Systems factory in Rochester.
Organizers said they were aiming to shut down the factory “which provides components for military aircraft currently being used by Israeli forces in the bombardment of Gaza.”
They said it was part of an “international day of action for Palestine” organized in response to a call by Palestinian trade unionists.
Since the Hamas attacks in southern Israel on October 7 — in which Israel says 1,400 people were killed and 240 taken hostage — Israel has bombarded Gaza relentlessly and sent in ground troops.
The Palestinian territory’s Hamas-run health ministry says more than 10,800 people have been killed in Gaza, many of them children.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has said that a cease-fire without the release of the hostages would mean “surrender to Hamas.”
Aid organizations said on Thursday that a full cease-fire is needed to get help to civilians in Gaza wounded in Israeli bombardments, and to transport crucial aid to the 2.4 million people living in the besieged territory, one of the most densely populated in the world.
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Protesters blockade UK defense giant’s factory over Gaza
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Protesters blockade UK defense giant’s factory over Gaza
- Demonstrators brandished banners and placards reading “no business as usual” and “taxpayers have blood on their hands”
- They said it was part of an “international day of action for Palestine”
Russian envoy reports ‘productive meeting’ with US negotiators
WASHINGTON: Russian President Vladimir Putin’s envoy said Wednesday that he had joined a “productive meeting” with US negotiators, the first talks between Moscow and Washington since the start of the Iran war.
The discussions in Florida come after the United States lifted some sanctions on Russian oil earlier this week — imposed because of Moscow’s 2022 invasion of Ukraine — to ease prices as war engulfed the Middle East.
“Thank you, Steve, Jared, and Josh, for a productive meeting,” Russian negotiator Kirill Dmitriev posted on X, referring to US President Donald Trump’s roving global envoy Steve Witkoff, Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner, and White House Senior Adviser Josh Gruenbaum.
“The teams discussed a variety of topics and agreed to stay in touch,” Witkoff posted earlier.
Trump said this week that Putin, to whom he spoke on Monday, wanted to be “helpful” in relation to the Middle East war.
Dmitriev said after the Florida meeting that Washington was “beginning to better understand” the importance of Russian oil.
“We discussed promising projects that could contribute to the restoration of Russian-American relations and the current crisis on global energy markets,” he wrote in a Telegram post.
“Today, many countries, primarily the United States, are beginning to better understand the key, systemic role of Russian oil and gas in ensuring the stability of the global economy, as well as the ineffectiveness and destructive nature of sanctions against Russia.”
The discussions in Florida come after the United States lifted some sanctions on Russian oil earlier this week — imposed because of Moscow’s 2022 invasion of Ukraine — to ease prices as war engulfed the Middle East.
“Thank you, Steve, Jared, and Josh, for a productive meeting,” Russian negotiator Kirill Dmitriev posted on X, referring to US President Donald Trump’s roving global envoy Steve Witkoff, Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner, and White House Senior Adviser Josh Gruenbaum.
“The teams discussed a variety of topics and agreed to stay in touch,” Witkoff posted earlier.
Trump said this week that Putin, to whom he spoke on Monday, wanted to be “helpful” in relation to the Middle East war.
Dmitriev said after the Florida meeting that Washington was “beginning to better understand” the importance of Russian oil.
“We discussed promising projects that could contribute to the restoration of Russian-American relations and the current crisis on global energy markets,” he wrote in a Telegram post.
“Today, many countries, primarily the United States, are beginning to better understand the key, systemic role of Russian oil and gas in ensuring the stability of the global economy, as well as the ineffectiveness and destructive nature of sanctions against Russia.”
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