McDonald's: The boycott harms our operations in the Middle East

McDonald's CEO Chris Kempczinski confirmed that "misinformation" about the company's support for Israel has a "tangible impact" on its sales in the Middle East.

McDonald's: The boycott harms our operations in the Middle EastMcDonald's Arab branches respond and define their position on the war between Israel and Gaza!

Kempczinski noted that calls by pro-Palestinian groups to boycott McDonald's restaurants due to the conflict in Gaza are hurting operations.

“Many markets in the Middle East and some outside the region are experiencing a significant business impact due to the war and associated misinformation affecting brands like McDonald’s,” the CEO said in a LinkedIn blog post published on Thursday.

He added: "This is disappointing and baseless. In every country we operate in, including Muslim countries, McDonald's is proud to be represented by local owners who work tirelessly to serve and support their communities while employing thousands of their fellow citizens."

After the outbreak of the Israeli war on the Gaza Strip on October 7, pro-Palestine activists launched a boycott campaign after photos and videos on social media showed McDonald's restaurants in Israel providing free meals to Israeli soldiers.

The Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) movement, a pro-Palestine organization, called on people to avoid McDonald's restaurants in November, because the franchisees "openly support" the Israeli military.

McDonald's said it has no position on the war and is not responsible for the actions of franchisees who pay the company fees to license its brands and recipes.

 

Russian Defense: 5 Ukrainian marches intercepted over the western part of the Black Sea

The Russian Ministry of Defense announced on Friday evening that air defense systems detected and intercepted five Ukrainian drones over the western part of the Black Sea.

Russian Defense: 5 Ukrainian marches intercepted over the western part of the Black SeaRussian air defenses destroy 37 drones launched by Kiev forces towards Russia

At approximately 20:00 Moscow time, an attempt was thwarted by Kiev regime forces to carry out a terrorist attack using five drones on targets within the territory of the Russian Federation.”

The ministry confirmed that "all Ukrainian drones were intercepted by air defense systems on duty over the western part of the Black Sea."

At dawn on Friday, the Ministry of Defense announced the interception and destruction of 36 drones launched by Kiev forces over the Crimean Peninsula and another drone over the Krasnodar Oblast.

Yesterday evening, Thursday, the Ministry announced that air defense systems responded to a Ukrainian attempt to carry out a terrorist attack using a drone that was destroyed by Russian air defense systems in the northwestern part of the Black Sea.

On an almost daily basis, Ukrainian forces target the Russian border areas in the provinces of Belgorod, Bryansk, Kursk, Voronezh, Rostov, and the Crimean Peninsula, with drones and missiles.

Kiev is pursuing terrorist methods, most notably the use of attack marches and artillery shelling against civilians and civilian facilities in Russia, in an attempt to divert attention from the failure of what it calls the "counterattack", which it announced in June last year.

Last Saturday,  the Russian Ministry of Defense announced  that Kiev forces carried out  an indiscriminate attack on the Russian city of Belgorod  with missiles and cluster bombs, killing more than 20 people.