Foreign News
5 Former Soldiers Handed Life Sentences in Turkey
A court in Ankara on Wednesday sentenced five former senior soldiers to life in prison over their links to the failed 2016 coup by a military faction.
The five were convicted of violating the constitution, among other charges, according to state broadcaster TRT.
Two of them were separately convicted of attempted assassination of the president.
The trial against a total of 497 defendants, including former soldiers from the presidential guard regiment, had been under way since October 2017.
In total, 488 of them have been convicted of violating the constitution, TRT said.
The exact sentences against the remaining defendants were not immediately clear.
Prosecutors had accused the suspects of occupying the TRT headquarters in Ankara on the night of the coup, July 15, 2016, and forcing the news anchorwoman to read out the putschists’ statement.
Ankara blames the U.S. based Islamic cleric Fethullah Gulen for orchestrating the abortive putsch and has designated his movement as a terrorist group.
The cleric, an ally turned foe of President, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, denies the charges.
Out of a total of 289 trials over the coup attempt, 14 are still ongoing, according to Anadolu.
Foreign News
Israel Sends Two Planes to Evacuate Fans after Amsterdam Violence
Israel has sent two planes to evacuate fans from Amsterdam after violent clashes between Israeli supporter and pro-Palestinian demonstrators on the fringes of Ajax versus Maccabi Tel Aviv Europa Cup match.
“The Prime Minister has directed that two rescue planes be sent immediately to assist our citizens,.
“The harsh pictures of the assault on our citizens in Amsterdam will not be overlooked’’ Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office posted on X on Friday morning.
The Israeli leader’s office called the incident horrifying and demanded that the Dutch government and security forces take vigorous and swift action against the rioters, and ensure the safety of our citizens.
This clash was however unclear and yet to be unfolded.
The exact events remain unclear. The violent disturbances occurred around the Europa League football match between Dutch club Ajax Amsterdam and Maccabi Tel Aviv on Thursday evening. Ajax won 5-0.
There were clashes in several locations in the centre of the Dutch capital; though it was not specified which side started the violence.
Around 60 people were detained temporarily on Thursday evening, the police said.
Amsterdam TV station AT5 reported that demonstrators threw chairs at Maccabi fans.
The police’s mobile units reportedly shielded the Israelis and escorted them to their hotels.
There were also clashes in the afternoon between Israeli football fans and security forces in the city centre.
According to police, about a dozen people were arrested for disturbing public order and illegal possession of fireworks.
Even before the match, there were isolated altercations near the stadium in the south-east of the city, the police said.
More than 200 demonstrators attempted to reach the venue, according to the police.
Dutch Prime Minister Dick Schoof condemned these “unacceptable antisemitic attacks on Israelis’’ on X and said he had since spoken with Netanyahu.
Far-right Dutch leader Geert Wilders called it a pogrom.
“We have become the Gaza of Europe,’’ he said, adding that Muslims with Palestinian flags were hunting down Jews.
Israel’s UN ambassador also referred to the incident on X as a pogrom.
Steffen Seibert, Germany’s ambassador to Israel condemned the incident.
“Chasing and beating up Israeli soccer fans is not anti-war protest.
“It is criminal and intolerable and we must all stand against it. As a European I am ashamed to see such scenes in one of our great cities,’’ he wrote on X.
However the Reaction from the United States (U.S.).
In New York, Jonathan Greenblatt, the head of the Anti-Defamation League (ADL), described itself as the world’s largest anti-hate organisation.
He demanded that the Dutch government ensure the safety of Israeli fans, apprehend and prosecute the perpetrators and apologise for the violence.
“This is exactly what ‘globalise the intifada’ looks like,’’ Greenblatt wrote on X, saying there were mobs of hate-filled people who had attacked Israelis who came to Amsterdam to enjoy a football game.
Even New York Attorney General Letitia James chimed in on X, calling the attacks against Jews in Amsterdam “deeply disturbing and horrifying.’’
New York State, particularly metropolitan New York City, has a large Jewish population.
“We must do everything in our power to protect Jews in America and across the world.
“This anti-Semitism and violence must end now,’’ she wrote. (dpa/NAN)
Foreign News
Several Israelis Injured, Missing after Violent Clashes in Amsterdam
Three Israelis are missing following clashes between Israeli football fans and pro-Palestinian demonstrators on the fringes of football club Maccabi Tel Aviv’s match in Amsterdam, according to Israeli authorities.
Ten people were injured in the violence, the Israeli Foreign Ministry said on Friday morning.
The degree of their injuries was initially unclear.
The ministry urged its citizens to use public transport to travel to the airport, after Israel had announced it was sending two planes to evacuate the fans.
Local security forces had been deployed, the ministry said.
The ministry had initially advised fans not to leave their hotels.
It also advised its citizens not to wear Jewish or Israeli symbols in public.
(dpa/NAN)Foreign News
German, French Defence Ministers to Hold Talks Amid Trump Win
German Defence Minister Boris Pistorius is to travel to France for talks with his French counterpart Sébastien Lecornu on Wednesday evening, following Donald Trump’s victory in the US presidential election.
The talks are expected to focus on the consequences of Trump’s victory.
In particular for the future support for Ukraine, which has been fighting for more than two and a half years against Russia, as well as for European defence policy?
Washington has been a central provider of military support to Ukraine, which Trump has long criticized.
During his election campaign, Trump promised to end the war in Ukraine in a very short time and has held Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky jointly responsible for the war.
(dpa/NAN)