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New arrests over violence after Ajax-Maccabi match

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New arrests over violence after Ajax-Maccabi match


Dutch police have made five more arrests over the violence which followed a match involving an Israeli football team in Amsterdam on Thursday night.

The five men, all from the Netherlands and aged between 18 and 37, are suspected of “public violence against persons” before and after the Maccabi Tel Aviv match against local team Ajax.

Prime Minister Dick Schoof said earlier on Monday that “antisemitic attacks against Israelis and Jews” were “nothing short of shocking and reprehensible”.

Unrest flared up again in the city on Monday evening when an empty tram was attacked. Some rioters reportedly shouted “Free Palestine”, according to local media.

On Thursday night, youths on scooters criss-crossed the Dutch capital in “hit-and-run” attacks on Maccabi supporters who were visiting for the Europa League match, authorities said.

Five people were treated in hospital and others suffered minor injuries.

The five new arrests come on top of 63 announced by the authorities since the violence. One of the five was released from custody but remains a suspect.

Police also made several arrests after the new unrest in the city on Monday. No injuries were reported.

Dozens of youths dressed in black damaged cars in a western suburb, where the tram was attacked on ’40-’45 Square. Videos posted on social media show a tram being attacked with fireworks and its windows being shattered.

A fire on the tram was quickly extinguished and riot officers cleared the square, making arrests, German broadcaster DW reports.

Schoof promised that the Netherlands would focus on bringing perpetrators of Thursday’s violence to justice.

“The images and reports for Amsterdam and what we’ve seen this weekend of antisemitic attacks against Israelis and Jews are nothing short of shocking and reprehensible,” he told journalists.

He also commented on reports that Maccabi supporters had attacked a taxi and burnt a Palestinian flag in Amsterdam, as well as chanting anti-Arab slogans.

“We are well aware of what happened earlier with Maccabi supporters but we think that’s of a different category and we condemn any violence as well, but that is no excuse whatsoever for what happened later on that night in the attacks on Jews in Amsterdam,” he said.

Pro-Palestinian protests planned in recent days had been banned, angering activists.

Some have argued that they should be free to voice their disapproval of Israel’s actions in Gaza and the actions of the Maccabi supporters. Police chief Peter Holla has said there had been incidents “on both sides” during Thursday’s clashes.

The violence was condemned by leaders across Europe, the US and Israel. For many, it was especially shocking coming on the eve of commemorations marking Kristallnacht, the 1938 Nazi pogroms against German Jews.

Three-quarters of Jewish people in the Netherlands were murdered during the Holocaust in World War Two.

Reports of antisemitic incidents in Europe have risen since the start of the war in Gaza just over a year ago.



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Sinn Féin’s difficulty over Michael McMonagle

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Sinn Féin’s difficulty over Michael McMonagle


grey placeholderBBC Michael McMonagle walking along the pavement beside a low stone wall with tall black metal railings. He is walking with one hand in his pocket, looking down. He is wearing a brown jacket, blue shirt, and grey suit trousers. BBC

Michael McMonagle pleaded guilty to 14 charges

The events surrounding Michael McMonagle’s departure from Sinn Féin have brought an immense amount of scrutiny to the party and its ability to handle child safeguarding issues.

The former party press officer has now been sentenced to 18 months after pleading guilty to a series of sex offences.

The offences occurred on various dates between May 2020 and August 2021when McMonagle was employed by the party.

Since then, Sinn Féin politicians have been pushed to explain how the party dealt with this case.

During the period in question McMonagle was directly employed in a full-time position by Michelle O’Neill and then Jemma Dolan and paid through the staffing allowance granted to MLAs by the Northern Ireland Assembly.

McMonagle was employed by O’Neill, who was at the time deputy first minister, from 2 March 2020 to 31 May 2020, and then by Dolan from 1 June 2020 to 8 July 2022.

In a previous mandate, McMonagle was employed jointly by former Sinn Féin MLAs Daithi McKay and Mitchel McLaughlin in a full-time position from 6 May 2014 to 31 October 2014.

He also worked as press officer for the party in the north west and at Westminster.

grey placeholderNI Assembly Jemma Dolan speaking in the Northern Ireland Assembly. Behind her the blue benches and a wood-panelled wall. She is wearing a white shirt, black waistcoat and large necklace NI Assembly

Michael McMonagle was directly employed by Sinn Féin MLA Jemma Dolan for two years

In August of 2021 McMonagle was arrested by the Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI) and the next day he informed the party of this and he was immediately suspended from his role.

About a year later in June of 2022, his employment with Sinn Féin was terminated.

In September of 2022 McMonagle got a job with the British Heart Foundation using references provided by Sinn Féin press officers Seán Mag Uidhir and Caolán McGinley.

The charity said neither reference had mentioned the ongoing police investigation nor McMonagle’s suspension from his previous employment.

It was when these references came to light at end of September this year that people started to ask questions of Sinn Féin.

grey placeholderConor Murphy standing at a microphone in the great hall at Stormont wearing a suit and tie. Behind him a grand staircase.

Conor Murphy said it was “inexplicable” the references were provided for Michael McMonagle

When the references they had written were revealed, Seán Mag Uidhir and Caolán McGinley resigned from the party.

Stormont’s Economy Minister Conor Murphy said it was “inexplicable” the references were provided and Sinn Féin had only became aware of them the previous week.

“No one was informed, no permission was sought, no advice was sought in relation to dealing with it,” he said.

Murphy was asked by the BBC why the party had not informed the British Heart Foundation of what it knew about McMonagle.

“Seriously, the BBC asking me these types of questions,” he responded.

He added: “We have a legal responsibility not to interfere with the police investigation.”

Meanwhile, Michelle O’Neill denied knowing that McMonagle had taken up a new job with the charity and said there were lessons in terms of “due diligence for an employer when they take on an employee”.

Sinn Féin’s stance was that it did not know about the references, did not know about his new job, that it was up to the British Heart Foundation to vet their employees and that it could not have alerted the charity to anything without risking prejudicing the case against McMonagle.

grey placeholderA photo from the event an Stormont showing Michael McMonagle standing to the left of the screen looking down at his phone, he is wearing trousers, shirt and a jacket. Michelle O'Neill stands to the right of the screen with her back to the camera, wearing a pink jacket. In the centre of the image is a child in a wheelchair with their face blurred and their parents standing behind him.

Michael McMonagle (highlighted far left) attended the same event as Michelle O’Neill (in pink jacket with her back to the camera)

Then at the beginning of October, the chief constable of the PSNI Chief Constable said that warning a charity about a potential police investigation into McMonagle would not have prejudiced the investigation, contradicting Conor Murphy.

Murphy later said he was “happy to accept” the chief constable’s view.

Later that month a photo emerged showing Michelle O’Neill and McMonagle attending the same event in Stormont’s Great Hall while he was working for the British Heart Foundation.

He carried the charity’s banner as they entered Parliament Buildings and mingled inside taking videos for the charity.

Ulster Unionist Party assembly member Doug Beattie said he found it “hard to believe” that O’Neill “didn’t notice her former colleague” at the Stormont event.

O’Neill maintains that she did not.

And then the British Heart Foundation released a statement.

The charity said that their head, Fearghal McKinney, had a phone call with O’Neill in which she “agreed recent comments by her and party colleagues questioning the BHF’s due diligence process were unhelpful”.

Additionally, the charity said it told a senior Sinn Féin HR official about the McMonagle references in August 2023, contradicting statements made by Murphy and O’Neill.

O’Neill confirmed this and said the contact between the charity and Sinn Féin’s HR department was not brought to the attention of the party’s leadership at the time.

She described this as “a serious omission”.

grey placeholderReuters Mary Lou McDonald speaking at a microphone against a black background. In the left of the shot is a glass teleprompter Reuters

Mary Lou McDonald has ordered “a complete overhaul of governance procedures”

So why did so much of what senior Sinn Féin figures initially said about how the party handled the issue change?

Speaking in the Dáil on 15 October, Sinn Féin president Mary Lou McDonald that the case has highlighted “issues and shortcomings” in the party’s internal procedures.

She said she has ordered “a complete overhaul of governance procedures” in the party.

“We will do everything necessary to ensure that an incident like this never arises again,” she said.

McDonald said that this overhaul would “clarify for the avoidance of doubt, for any member of staff or any member of the party as regards procedures, what needs to be communicated and flagged and to whom”.

BBC News NI offered Sinn Féin the opportunity to give a comment for this article.



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Just a moment…

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Just a moment…



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Meet the AI robot whose artwork sold for over $1m

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Meet the AI robot whose artwork sold for over m


A portrait of mathematician Alan Turing is thought to be the first artwork by a humanoid robot to be sold at auction – fetching $1,084,800 (£836,667).

One of the most advanced robots in the world, Ai-Da, a pioneering humanoid artist, also set a new record in the art world with the sale of “A.I. God”, at Sotheby’s Digital Art Sale.

The large-scale portrait far exceeded its estimated value of $120,000 to $180,000 (£93,000 to £140,000).



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BBC Sport – MotoGP on the BBC

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BBC Sport – MotoGP on the BBC



BBC Sport – MotoGP on the BBC

Stoner (left) dethroned Lorenzo to become world champion in 2011

The BBC will bring you comprehensive coverage of the 2012 MotoGP season, which begins in April.

Qualifying from every race will be available on the BBC Red Button* and the BBC Sport website (UK users only).

We’ll also be showing full coverage of the 125cc and Moto2 races, including qualifying.

You can follow BBC presenter Matt Roberts and pit-lane reporter Azi Farni on Twitter, and you can debate all the major talking points on Matt’s blog throughout the season.

And if you miss any of the action, live don’t worry – we’ll be looping all qualifying and race action on the Red Button* immediately after it’s happened.

*Some red button coverage may not be available on Freeview – further details here

Or you can watch the race again on the BBC iPlayer for seven days after it has happened.

If you have any questions about the BBC’s motorsport coverage please first consult our main FAQs page.





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