Hackers force French supermarket fridges to heat up to 50C in ‘unprecedented’ cyber-attack

The Guardian/Reuters in Paris, 12 October 2026 

Hundreds of Intermarché shops and Coopérative U outlets in France hit, with fears Dutch chains also affected

The branches affected would have to ‘throw away all of the products’
 that are fresh and frozen, Intermarché said.
Photograph: Virginie Lefour/BELGA MAG/AFP/Getty Images

Hackers have forced the temperature of many French supermarket fridges up to 50C overnight, in an “unprecedented” cyber-attack affecting several hundred stores across the country, with fires and food losses reported. 

The Paris prosecutor’s office said on Monday ⁠the large-scale attack was “affecting connected refrigerators ⁠in several ​major food retailers across France”. Reported damage included “food losses and fires”, it added. 

The prime minister, Sébastien Lecornu, instructed France’s national cybersecurity agency ANSSI to investigate, ⁠a person in his office said. 

France “was coordinating with its European counterparts, as other countries may also be affected”, while also investigating whether any other French ⁠firms were at risk, they said. 

Les Mousquetaires, which owns retailer Intermarché, said about 150 of its stores had been ​hit, with fridges heated up to 50C for six hours. ‌It had thrown all the food away to avoid any health risks, a spokesperson said. 

Dominique Schelcher, chief executive of Coopérative ‌U, said his supermarkets had also been hit by the attack. “Targeting equipment essential to the preservation of fresh products and to the food supply of the French people is of extreme gravity and is unprecedented,” he wrote on X. 

Several other supermarket chains, including Carrefour, Monoprix and Auchan, did not respond to requests for comment. According to BFM TV, France’s largest supermarket chain E Leclerc was also affected, with hackers “managing to remotely trigger the forced defrosting of the refrigeration systems in numerous stores”. E Leclerc did not respond to a request for comment. 

The attack may not have been confined to France. The Dutch supermarket company ‌Ahold Delhaize said it was also dealing with a “security issue” in its network, and had taken several systems offline to protect them. 

Stores of its Albert Heijn chain, ​the largest supermarket chain in the Netherlands, which also has several stores in Belgium, remained open in both countries. But its online app and delivery system were down, while electronic price tags often displayed the wrong information. 

It was not clear if there was any link between the French supermarket attack and the ⁠problems flagged by Ahold Delhaize. 

Delhaize supermarkets, also part of Ahold Delhaize but operating ​in Belgium and Luxembourg, were ​also affected by the security issue, ​Belgian media reported. 

The source close to Lecornu said ANSSI had identified a vulnerability ​in software supplied by ‌the Danish company Danfoss. 

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Solemn Dutch royals attend funeral for Britain’s queen Elizabeth

DutchNews, September 19, 2022 

Princess Beatrix (L), king Willem-Alexander and queen Maxima leave after
the service. Photo: Ben Stansall / POOL / AFP

Dutch king Willem-Alexander, queen Maxima and princess Beatrix had front row seats at the funeral ceremony held for British queen Elizabeth at Westminster Abbey in London on Monday. 

The Dutch royals were among a host of kings, queens, presidents and prime ministers to attend the event, ten days after Elizabeth died at the age of 96. 

Oranjes op prominente plek bij uitvaart Queen https://t.co/G7wk0Jj5wg pic.twitter.com/tod7c0wIOx

— RTL Nieuws (@RTLnieuws) September 19, 2022

Royalty expert Pieter Klein Beernink told the Telegraaf that the Dutch family had been given such a prominent position in front of the flag-draped coffin because of the close ties between the two families. 

Princess Beatrix, the former Dutch queen who abdicated in favour of her son in 2013 at the age of 75, would often cross the channel incognito to have lunch or dinner with Elizabeth, Klein Beernink said. 

A black mourning pennant was hoisted above the Noordeinde palace in The Hague as a mark of respect for the British queen, who visited the Netherlands several times during her 70-year reign. 

Vandaag vindt de uitvaart van Koningin Elizabeth II plaats. Op Paleis Noordeinde is de rouwwimpel gehesen. De Koning, Koningin Máxima en Prinses Beatrix zijn bij de uitvaartplechtigheid aanwezig. pic.twitter.com/rvnULpWKwa

— Koninklijk Huis (@koninklijkhuis) September 19, 2022

The Dutch royals will also attend a much smaller ceremony at Windsor Castle later on Monday, broadcaster NOS said. 

Embassy 

The British embassy in The Hague and the consulate were both closed on Monday, which was a bank holiday in Britain, but dozens of well-wishers have left flowers outside the building.

Photo: Dutch News

Over 2,000 people, including prime minister Mark Rutte, signed the condolence book at the embassy and there are also books available for signing at Anglican churches dotted throughout the country. 

The book at the Anglican church on the Kinderhuissingel in Haarlem, for example, will be open for a few more weeks. 

Monday’s ceremony has dominated the Dutch as well as the British media, with live blogs on most news websites and coverage from the funeral procession and ceremony on television.

US targets Belarus with sanctions amid Western outcry over plane

Yahoo – AFP, Anita Chang BEATTIE with Anna SMOLCHENKO, May 28, 2021 

Belarus authorities claimed to have received a bomb threat against the
Ryanair flight from Athens to Vilnius

The United States on Friday announced punitive measures against Belarus targeting the regime of strongman President Alexander Lukashenko, who met with Russian leader Vladimir Putin amid a global outcry over the forced diversion of a European plane. 

White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki called for "a credible international investigation into the events of May 23," which she called "a direct affront to international norms." 

Belarus scrambled a military jet to divert a Ryanair plane and arrested 26-year-old opposition journalist and activist Roman Protasevich who was onboard, triggering a global outcry. 

The White House announced it was working with the European Union on a list of targeted sanctions against key members of Lukashenko's regime. 

Meanwhile, economic sanctions against nine Belarusian state-owned enterprises, reimposed by Washington in April following a crackdown on pro-democracy protests, will come into effect on June 3. 

Further US moves on Belarus could target "those that support corruption, the abuse of human rights, and attacks on democracy," Psaki said. 

The White House also issued a "Do Not Travel" warning for Belarus to US citizens, and warned American passenger planes to "exercise extreme caution" if considering flying over Belarusian airspace. 

The European Union has also urged EU-based carriers to avoid Belarusian airspace. 

However President Vladimir Putin celebrated Russia's close ties with Belarus on Friday as he hosted Lukashenko in the Black Sea resort of Sochi. 

With observers closely watching the talks to see how far the Kremlin would go to support the regime, the Russian leader said he was "very glad" to see Lukashenko and agreed with him the Western reaction was an "outburst of emotion". 

During talks in Russia's Black Sea resort of Sochi, Putin warmly greeted Lukashenko

'Rock the boat' 

Lukashenko complained the West was seeking to stir unrest in Belarus. 

"An attempt is underway to rock the boat to reach the level of last August," he said, referring to anti-regime protests following a disputed election. 

"It's clear what these Western friends want from us." 

The Belarus strongman, who arrived with a briefcase, said he wanted to show Putin "some documents" related to the Ryanair incident and thanked him for his support in the latest standoff with the West. 

The talks lasted for more than five hours but their results were not announced. 

Over the past years Lukashenko has had a volatile relationship with Moscow, playing it off against the West and ruling out outright unification with Russia. 

But after the Ryanair plane incident his options appear to be limited. 

Putin and the Belarus leader have met regularly since August, when historic protests broke out against Lukashenko's nearly three-decade rule. 

The 66-year-old waged a ruthless crackdown on his opponents and has leaned increasingly on the Russian president amid condemnation from the West. 

Several people died during the unrest in Belarus, thousands were detained, and hundreds reported torture in prison. 

Sunday's plane diversion was a dramatic escalation, with EU leaders accusing Minsk of essentially hijacking a European flight to arrest Protasevich. 

Alexander Lukashenko

Technical reasons 

The overflight ban has led to several cancellations of air journeys between Russia and Europe, after Russian authorities rejected plans that would have skipped Belarusian airspace. 

Russia insists the cancellations are purely "technical," but they have raised concerns that Moscow could be systematically refusing to let European airlines land if they avoid Belarus. 

The Kremlin criticized the flight ban as politically motivated and dangerous, with foreign ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova calling it "completely irresponsible". 

EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell said the bloc was monitoring whether this was a broader policy from Russia, but Moscow insisted the disruptions were in no way political. 

Belarus authorities claimed to have received a bomb threat against the Ryanair flight from Athens to Vilnius carrying the dissident. 

Minsk said it demanded the flight land in the Belarus capital based on the message it said was sent from a ProtonMail address by Palestinian Islamist group Hamas. 

Protasevich, who helped organize the demonstrations against Lukashenko's rule last year, was arrested along with Russian girlfriend Sofia Sapega, 23, after the plane landed in the city.

White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki called for 'a credible international
investigation' which she called 'a direct affront to internationals norms'

'Braver' 

Borrell has said proposals are "on the table" to target key sectors of the Belarusian economy including its oil products and potash sectors. 

Belarus opposition leader Svetlana Tikhanovskaya on Friday urged the EU to be "braver" and impose more sanctions against the Minsk regime. 

After meeting Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte in The Hague, Tikhanovskaya said measures being discussed by EU countries did not go far enough. 

EU chief Ursula von der Leyen on Friday warned Lukashenko that "it is time to change course." 

"No amount of repression, brutality or coercion will bring any legitimacy to your authoritarian regime," she said. 

The European Commission president also wrote to the opposition offering a three-billion-euro package to support "a democratic Belarus" if Lukashenko steps down.

EU sanctions on Russian, Chinese 'cyber attackers'

Yahoo – AFP, Dave CLARK, July 30, 2020

The EU member states said measures would be taken against six individuals
and three entities from China and Russia involved in various actions, including
the attempt to hack into the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical
Weapons (OPCW) (AFP Photo/Philip Pacheco)

Brussels (AFP) - The European Union imposed its first ever sanctions against alleged cyber attackers on Thursday, targeting Russian and Chinese individuals and a specialist unit of Moscow's GRU military intelligence agency.

An export firm based in North Korea and technology company from Tiajin, China, were also listed.

The member states said measures would be taken against six individuals and three entities involved in various actions, including the attempt to hack into the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW).

They also included suspects said to be involved in the major cyber assaults known by the nicknames "WannaCry", "NotPetya" and "Operation Could Hopper".

The individuals will be banned from travel to the European Union and all the targets will be subject to an asset freeze for any funds in areas under EU jurisdiction.

In addition, the European Council of member states said: "EU persons and entities are forbidden from making funds available to those listed."

EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell (pictured July 17, 2020) said the action had 

been taken "to better prevent, discourage, deter and respond to such malicious 

behaviour in cyberspace" (AFP Photo/JOHN THYS)

EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell said the action had been taken "to better prevent, discourage, deter and respond to such malicious behaviour in cyberspace".

These attacks, he said, represented "an external threat to the European Union or its member states" or had "a significant effect against third States or international organisations".

The best known of the targeted entities is the Main Centre for Special Technologies, a unit of the Main Directorate of the General Staff of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation -- better known as the GRU.

This unit, based on Kirova Street in Moscow, is said to have carried out attacks known as NotPetya and EternalPetya in June 2017, hitting EU private companies with ransomware and blocking data.

The sanctions list also accuses GRU agents of carrying out an attack on the Ukrainian power grid in the winters of 2015 and 2016, resulting in parts of it being shut down.

Four alleged Russian GRU agents -- two "human intelligence support" officers and two "cyber operators" -- are also named, for their roles in the April 2018 attempt to penetrate the OPCW agency in The Hague.

EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell (pictured July 17, 2020) said the action had 

been taken "to better prevent, discourage, deter and respond to such malicious 

behaviour in cyberspace" (AFP Photo/JOHN THYS)

The watchdog was investigating reports that Russian-backed Syrian forces carried out chemical attacks when alleged GRU agents were intercepted trying to penetrate the agency's wifi from a hire car parked near its headquarters.

"With these sanctions, the EU is taking a big step towards safer cyber space. The price for bad behaviour is being increased, because the bad guys still get away with it too often," said Dutch foreign minister Stef Blok.

"Now the EU shows that it can take effective action against these and other malicious parties," he said.

The other two entities targeted were Tianjin Huaying Haitai Science and Technology Development Company Ltd, said to be the actor known to cyber war observers as "Advanced Persistent Threat 10" or APT10.

Haitai is said to have been the source of "Operation Cloud Hopper", which the European Council said "targeted information systems of multinational companies in six continents ... and gained unauthorised access to commercially sensitive data, resulting in significant economic loss".

Another target was Chosun Expo, an export company from North Korea which, under the "WannaCry" banner, is said to have helped hack the Polish Financial Supervision Authority and Sony Pictures Entertainment.

It is alleged to have carried out cyber-theft from the Bangladesh Bank and attempted cyber-theft from the Vietnam Tien Phong Bank.

‘Frugal four’, including the Netherlands, present EU recovery plan

DutchNews, May 24, 2020

Photo: DutchNews.nl

The Netherlands, Austria, Denmark and Sweden have submitted their own Covid-19 recovery plan to the European Commission as debate over the EU’s strategy for offsetting the impact of coronavirus continues. 

The Netherlands and its partners, known as the ‘frugal four’, say they support the establishment of a one-off emergency fund but do not back debt sharing or a ‘significant’ increase in the EU’s next seven-year budget. 

The Netherlands has been at the forefront of a campaign not to ‘give gifts’ to southern European countries and this proposal is based on a ‘modernised’ EU budget that will make sure countries are ‘better prepared for the next crisis,’ Politico reported. 

The fund would be temporary and one-off and should not lead to ‘debt mutualisation’ Politico quoted the four countries’ position paper as saying. 

The ‘loans for loans’ approach is in line with the fundamental principles of the EU, the Financial Times said, and recipients of loans would have to display a ‘strong commitment to reforms’. 

Last Monday, Germany and France submitted their joint deal involving a €500bn recovery fund offering grants rather than loans. The move was welcomed by southern EU countries and praised as an important breakthrough. 

The Franco-German plan envisages borrowing from the market in the name of the EU and says that countries benefiting would not have to repay the cash. 

‘We are convinced that it is not only fair but also necessary to make the funds available now… that we will repay gradually through several future European budgets,’ German chancellor Angela Merkel said at a press conference. 

Solidarity 

The seriousness of the crisis meant ‘solidarity’ must be the order of the day, Merkel said. 

The plan was welcomed by EU chief Ursuala von der Leyen as constructive and as acknowledging the ‘scope and size’ of the challenges the EU faces. 

The European Commission is expected to unveil its own proposals for funding the recovery on Wednesday. Insiders suggest it is a combination of grants and loans. 

All 27 member states will have to agree to any recovery plan before it can be implemented. SER Last Thursday, Dutch government policy advisory group 

SER 

said the Netherlands must show solidarity with the EU member countries which have been hardest hit by the coronavirus crisis, in its own interest. 

Instead of a strict system of loans subject to conditions and reforms, the government should show more leniency and aim for ‘a responsible form of risk sharing’, SER’s Coronacrisis think-tank said. 

The think-tank, which includes unions, employers, advisory bodies CPB and SCP and Dutch bank DNB and was set up in March, ‘deviates from the government line’, chairwoman Mariëtte Hamer told the FD. 

It is in the Dutch interest to makes sure the southern European countries in particular do not drown in debt and find their way out of the crisis as soon as possible, Hamer said.

Related Article:

Dutch government must show more solidarity with hard-hit EU countries: SER

Eurovision: Europe Shine A Light

French and German ambassadors urge Dutch to support the EU

DutchNews, April 16, 2020 

Photo: Depositphotos.com

The Algemeen Dagblad on Thursday published an open letter from the French and German ambassadors to the Netherlands, calling on the Dutch to help preserve the unity of the European Union. 

In the letter, French ambassador Luis Vassy and German ambassador Dirk Brengelmann slate attempts to make European governments’ reactions to the coronavirus crisis look ‘weak and disorganised’, which they say is an attack on democratic values. 

The letter, headed ‘Dear Nederlanders, dear friends’, warned of ‘eurosceptics’ in the Netherlands and elsewhere in Europe who are taking advantage of the ‘worst crisis since the World War II’ to point to the EU’s ‘shortcomings’. 

The letter does not identify who these eurosceptics are, but some political parties in the Netherlands, such as PVV and Forum voor Democratie have long campaigned for the Netherlands to quit the European Union. 

Instead of criticising the EU, the ambassadors ask their ‘dear Dutch friends’ to consider the importance of shared values, particularly the democratic values of transparency, responsibility and debate. 

Science 

The ambassadors point out that in Europe ‘whistleblowers are not silenced and scientists are listened to’. This reaction to the crisis, the letter went on to say, is ‘now being painted by propagandists as weak and disorganised in an attempt to create discord and weaken people’s faith in our democratic system’. 

The ambassadors also stressed the need for solidarity, citing the €37bn funding package which was finally hammered out between the member states last week. 

However, Dutch finance minister Wopke Hoekstra and prime minister Mark Rutte were both heavily criticised for showing a lack of solidarity to fellow EU countries who are struggling to cope with the coronavirus pandemic. 

Post coronavirus 

The Netherlands will also have an important role to play in a post coronavirus Europe, the ambassadors said, pointing out that a number of things will have to change in case Europe is faced with a similar challenge in the future. 

The production of strategic goods, such as medical equipment, will have to take place in Europe while the Dutch will also have to contribute to issues related to climate, the digital economy and the management of big data. These, they said, are ‘fields in which none of the  European countries have the means to become the dominate player’. 

According to the AD the message is part of a trend for ambassadors to make their opinions known to the public. DutchNews.nl has asked the French embassy for a comment.

Netherlands cuts pope flower display over coronavirus

Yahoo – AFP, March 11, 2020

For the past 35 years, Saint Peter's Square in the Vatican has been decked out
with tulips, daffodils, roses or orchids donated by the Netherlands (AFP Photo/
Vincenzo PINTO)

The Hague (AFP) - The Netherlands will this year break a long tradition of supplying the flowers for the pope's Easter address because of the coronavirus outbreak, if it goes ahead at all, organisers said Wednesday.

For the past 35 years, Saint Peter's Square in the Vatican has been decked out with tulips, daffodils, roses or orchids donated by the Netherlands, one of the world's biggest hubs for cut flowers.

"The developments around coronavirus in Italy are very serious. In consultation with all concerned parties, it has been decided to cancel the floral decorations for Saint Peter's Square this year," Paul Deckers, the florist in charge of the project, said on Twitter.

Last year, the Easter Sunday address by Pope Francis drew some 70,000 people to the Vatican, which is in the centre of the Italian capital Rome.

However, Italy is now under national lockdown after becoming the epicentre of the European virus outbreak with 631 deaths so far.

"It's the first time we haven't done it," Deckers told NOS public radio, adding that it was possible the address could be cancelled altogether.

Leeuwarden replaces Union Jack with Scottish saltire after Brexit

DutchNews, February 3, 2020

The Saltire among the EU flags outside Leeuwarden station. Photo: Jan Ligthart 

The Frisian capital Leeuwarden has replaced the Union Jack with a Scottish saltire in its parade of European flags as a gesture of solidarity after Brexit. 

Alderman for culture Sjoerd Feitsma told the Friesch Dagblad he came up with the idea after visiting the Robert Burns festival in Edinburgh at the end of January. 

‘I was thinking of replacing the Union Jack with an EU flag or a rainbow flag,’ he said. ‘I noticed what a big deal it was for the Scots that they’re no longer in the EU and that they are still flying the European flag in the Scottish Parliament. That’s when I thought: we could do something with this too.’ 

The Scottish Parliament voted on Friday not to take down the EU flag on Friday evening when the UK formally left the European Union. EU rules and regulations will continue to apply until the end of the year while negotiations on the future relationship take place. 

European officials including former European Commission president Donald Tusk have said they are open to the idea of Scotland joining the EU if it becomes an independent nation. In the 2016 Brexit referendum, 62% of those who voted in Scotland opted to remain in the EU. 

Leeuwarden has a number of cultural ties with Edinburgh through the Eurocities network and the fact that both cities have City of Literature status. 

Feitsma said the flag would fly alongside the 27 EU flags outside the city’s main station for an indefinite period of time. ‘This isn’t an official area so we can decide for ourselves which flags we hang here.’

Google to stop using ‘double Irish, Dutch sandwich’ tax dodge: Reuters

DutchNews, January 2, 2020

Photo: Depositphotos.com

Google parent Alphabet is to stop using an intellectual property licensing loophole, known as the ‘Double Irish, Dutch sandwich’, which allowed it to cut its global tax bill, Reuters reports. 

The strategy involves companies moving money from an Irish subsidiary to a Dutch holding company and then back to an Irish holding company located in Bermuda with licensing rights to Google intellectual property. 

Because Bermuda has no corporate income tax it was lucrative for Google to report income there, effectively delaying tax payment on international earnings to the US for years while paying a lower tax rate in Europe. 

After pressure from the EU and the US Ireland closed the loopholes in 2014 and companies were given until 2020 to comply with new tax regulations. 

Dutch filings at the Chamber of Commerce and seen by Reuters showed that in 2018 Google moved €21.8bn through its Dutch holding company to Bermuda, up from €19.9bn in 2017. 

Reuters said the filing did not give a definite end date but that Google management expected the termination to take place ‘as of 31 December 2019 or during 2020′. 

The scheme was in place for over a decade and allowed the tech giant to cut its tax bill by hundreds of billions of euros, the Guardian estimates. 

The Netherlands does not currently tax royalties, but is planning to change this as part of a package of measures to crack down on tax evasion in 2021. 

Some 10,000 shell, or letter-box, companies are based in the Netherlands and are primarily used to shift corporate earnings and obscure ownership. Google has used its Dutch affiliate to move money since 2004.

Pizza boxes to pans: The Netherlands proposes EU-wide ban on PFAS

DutchNews, December 19, 2019

Photo: Depositphotos.com

The Netherlands is calling for an EU-wide ban on products containing PFAS – toxic chemicals used in a wide range of manufacturing processes, from pizza boxes to non-stick frying pans. 

PFAS do not break down naturally and have been linked to several types of cancer and other health problems. Most, according to EU documents, are considered moderately to highly toxic, particularly for children’s development.

Junior environment minister Stientje van Veldhoven will formally present her proposal to EU ministers on Thursday afternoon, and has already won the support of Germany, Denmark and Sweden, the Volkskrant reported on Thursday. 

The presence of high amounts of PFAS in Dutch soil and water had led to a number of building projects being halted since the introduction of new limits in July. 

However, officials have since increased the maximum permitted concentration up from 0.1 microgrammes per kilo to 0.8 microgrammes in an effort to get construction moving again. 

According to broadcaster NOS, the Netherlands is not calling for maximum limits to the amount of PFAS permitted in soil. 

Rather, the aim of the proposal is to stop the production of PFAS at source and the stimulate the development of alternatives, NOS said.

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“Afraid of Love” + “What’s Wrong Today”, Laguna Hills, California, US(2), Dec 9, 2018 (Kryon Channelling by Lee Carroll)

• Stagnation of the current US Politics: Compassioned (US) leaders will arise in the future
• Shortage of fresh/drinking water: Invention to make salt from salt water magnetic and remove it with water desalination process in high volumes
• Pollution on Earth: 1 - Stop killing the environment! / 2 - The rise of temperature on Earth is “temporary” and is part of the "regular" Watercycle.
• Replacement of current fossil energy source: Use of magnetics based (small/big) engines to produces electricity / free energy
• Plastic pollution in the oceans: Invention to remove the plastics gradually from the oceans

Dutch inventors roll out river plastic clean-up barge
Ocean Cleanup move to the Pacific, ‘a milestone’ says Dutch inventor

Photo: The Ocean Cleanup

Dublin warns UK PM 'no amnesty' for soldiers in N.Ireland

Yahoo – AFP, Joe STENSON,  November 11, 2019

A mural commemorates the victims of the 1972 "Bloody Sunday" killings in the
Bogside area of Londonderry (Derry), Northern Ireland (AFP Photo/PAUL FAITH)

Dublin (AFP) - The Irish government said on Monday there must be "no amnesty" for British soldiers who committed crimes in Northern Ireland, after UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson made historic prosecutions an election campaign issue.

Irish Foreign Minister Simon Coveney said it was "very concerning" that the British Conservative leader had pledged to end moves to bring criminal charges against army veterans who had served in Northern Ireland during the Troubles.

Campaigning for the December 12 election, Johnson pledged Monday, timed for the anniversary of the World War I armistice, to amend human rights law to shield servicemen from prosecutions for events before 2000.

The pledge stokes the divisive debate over prosecutions for British troops involved in killings during three decades of sectarian bloodshed in Northern Ireland.

More than 3,000 people were killed before the conflict wound down with the 1998 Good Friday Agreement, signed with the accord of London and Dublin.

"This is very concerning. Governments and parties have agreed an approach on legacy and reconciliation in Northern Ireland," Coveney said in a statement.

"There is no statute of limitations, no amnesty, for anyone who committed crimes in NI. The law must apply to all, without exception, to achieve reconciliation."

British troops were despatched to the province to buttress law enforcement in 1969, as Catholics opposed to British rule battled in the streets with Protestants who wanted to remain part of the UK.

Initially welcomed, their deployment transformed into the longest British Army operation in history and was marred by a number of high profile killings.

According to the Ulster University's Sutton Index of deaths, the British Army was responsible for around 300 killings over the course of operations, which officially ended in 2007.

But efforts to bring soldiers to justice have been fraught with acrimony and legal difficulty, and the issue continues to split British and Northern Irish society.

Some feel the prosecution of soldiers equates them with state-designated terrorists, such as those acting for the Irish Republican Army (IRA).

Others feel that an amnesty implies wrongdoing among all veterans, most of whom who served honourably.

Johnson's Conservatives have promised to protect ex-soldiers from "vexatious claims", by legislating to ensure laws intended for peace time do not apply to service personnel on military operations.

In his message to the armed forces, Johnson said: "We salute you and we will always support you."

At present there are a number of inquiries and criminal cases under way dealing with British Army killings.

Most prominently, a Parachute Regiment serviceman is currently facing murder charges for the killing of two civilians during "Bloody Sunday".

On January 30, 1972, soldiers opened fire on protesters in a majority Catholic area of the city of Londonderry, killing 14.

The case against the anonymous "Soldier F" -- who also faces four attempted murder charges -- reached court for the first time in September.

Related Article:

Dutch cabinet acknowledges limited liability for Srebrenica relatives

German farmers stage tractor protest over climate measures

Yahoo – AFP, October 22, 2019

Convoys of tractors held up traffic in Berlin (AFP Photo/Tobias SCHWARZ)

Berlin (AFP) - Thousands of farmers drove their tractors into German cities on Tuesday, in protest at the government's new agricultural policies which they say will hurt their livelihoods and make them scapegoats for climate change.

Long convoys of tractors held up traffic at the main protest sites in Berlin and Bonn, both home to federal government offices, while thousands more honked their horns and blocked roads in cities including Munich, Hanover and Stuttgart.

"Agricultural regulations are becoming ever more strict... and threatening our existence," said 19-year-old Tom Hollstein, who hung a doll dressed as a farmer from a makeshift gallows on the back of his vehicle.

The protesters are furious at a new package of regulations introduced by Chancellor Angela Merkel's government last month, which includes plans to ban the controversial weedkiller glyphosate by 2023 and limits the use of fertiliser to reduce nitrate levels in groundwater.

The protesters are furious at new regulations introduced by the German government, 

which include plans to ban the controversial weedkiller glyphosate by 2023 and limits 

the use of fertiliser (AFP Photo/Ina FASSBENDER)

Glyphosate, sold under the trade name Roundup, has been blamed for plummeting insect populations and according to some studies causes cancer in humans, but supporters of the widely used product insist it is a safe and effective tool to ensure agricultural productivity.

The new restrictions "mean we would have to start working as an organic company, which is very difficult in our region," said Bernard Kalies, a fruit and vegetable farmer near the border with Poland.

One of the demonstrators in Bonn held up a sign that read "Tuesdays for Farmers", DPA news agency reported, in a play on the "Fridays for Future" strikes calling for action against climate change.

Many farmers have said they are fed up with "farmer bashing" by environmental activists, who they say have made agricultural businesses the bogeyman in the climate debate.

German Agriculture Minister Julia Kloeckner voiced support for the farmers.

"They make the food we eat, they work hard, but they are seen by some as nothing more than 'polluters' or 'animal abusers'. And that is neither right nor fair," she told the Bild daily.

Angry farmers took to the streets in similar protests in France on Tuesday, while Dutch farmers have staged two nationwide demonstrations in recent weeks.