McDonald’s To Leave Russia For Good After 30 years

McDonald’s has said it will permanently leave Russia after 30 years and has started to sell its restaurants there.

The fast food giant said it made the decision because of the “humanitarian crisis” and “unpredictable operating environment” caused by the Ukraine war.

The chain opened in Moscow in 1990 as the Soviet Union was opening its economy to Western brands and its exit carries similar symbolic weight.

In March McDonald’s temporarily closed its 850 restaurants in the country.

The company said it was now pursuing the sale of all its restaurants in Russia to a local buyer and intended to start the process of “de-arching” the sites so they no longer use the McDonald’s name, branding and menu.

However, it said it would continue to keep its trademarks in Russia.

McDonald’s said owning a business in Russia was “no longer tenable” or consistent with its values.

The chain said its priorities included seeking to ensure its 62,000 employees in Russia continued to be paid until any sale was completed and that they had “future employment with any potential buyer” .

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Celebrations in Mogadishu as Somalia gets new leader

There were huge celebrations in Mogadishu as residents welcomed the election of the new Somalia President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud.

Somalis living in Nairobi, in neighbouring Kenya, also welcomed the news with celebrations.

Mr Mohamud won with 214 votes in a third round of voting against the incumbent Mohamed Abdullahi Farmajo, who got 110 votes.

He was sworn in shortly after the final results were announced and will serve for the next four years.

Neighbouring countries such as Ethiopia were quick to congratulate the new president. More international reaction is expected during the day.

Mr Mohamud makes a comeback having served as Somalia’s eighth president from 2012, before Mr Farmajo defeated him in the 2017 elections.

The returning president inherits a country facing key challenges such as drought, insecurity and the rising cost of living.

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18-Year-Old White Man Shoots Ten People In Black Neighborhood In Suspected Racist Attack

In a suspected racially motivated attack, an 18-year-old white man has been arrested after shooting dead 10 people in a black neighbourhood of New York state.

The man, named as Payton Gendron in court papers, entered a supermarket in the city of Buffalo on Saturday afternoon, May 14, before opening fire. He livestreamed the attack online.

The attacker reportedly shouted racial slurs during the shooting and suggested that he had a racial slur written on his weapon. He also posted a manifesto online which included racist language and ideas.

The suspect is believed to have driven for about 200 miles to reach the black community section of the city. Thirteen people were shot in total and the majority of the victims were black, Buffalo Police Commissioner Joseph Gramaglia said.

The three wounded victims – who all worked at the supermarket – have not sustained life-threatening injuries.

He was arrested after a stand-off with police at the scene .

“We are investigating this incident as both a hate crime and a case of racially-motivated violent extremism,” said Stephen Belongia, from the FBI’s Buffalo office, adding there was evidence of “racial animosity.”

“He exited his vehicle. He was very heavily armed. He had tactical gear. He had a tactical helmet on. He had a camera that he was live-streaming what he was doing,”

He said the suspect surrendered his weapon after a tense stand-off and was taken into custody. He later appeared in court charged with first degree murder.

“This is the worst nightmare that any community can face and we are hurting, we are seething right now,” Buffalo Mayor Byron Brown told reporters.

“We cannot let this hateful person divide our community or our country,” he added.

Later on Saturday night, May 14, New York Governor Kathy Hochul said the suspect was a “white supremacist who has engaged in an act of terrorism”.

This was “a military style execution targeting people who simply wanted to buy groceries in a neighbourhood store,” she said while visiting Buffalo.

In a statement, US President Joe Biden said he and the First Lady were praying for the victims and their families.

“A racially-motivated hate crime is abhorrent to the very fabric of this nation,” he said. “We must do everything in our power to end hate-fuelled domestic terrorism.”

Saturday’s attack in Buffalo is the worst mass shooting so far in the US in 2022. In the US about 40,000 deaths a year involve firearms in America.

Watch the video below

A clip from the live stream on Twitch that is claiming to have been a live stream video of the mass shooting at the Tops Market in #Buffalo, #NewYork. The video is NOT graphic, it shows the moments before the shooting begins. pic.twitter.com/KrlgYgdaFY

— Ice Analytics (@ice_analytics) May 14, 2022

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McDonalds to sell its Russia business of 850 restaurants

McDonald’s says it's started the process of selling its Russian business, which includes 850 restaurants that employ 62,000 people.

McDonald’s said Monday that it has started the process of selling its Russian business, which includes 850 restaurants that employ 62,000 people, making it the latest major Western corporation to exit Russia since it invaded Ukraine in February.

The fast food giant pointed to the humanitarian crisis caused by the war, saying holding on to its business in Russia “is no longer tenable, nor is it consistent with McDonald’s values.”

The Chicago-based company announced in early March that it was temporarily closing its stores in Russia but would continue to pay employees. On Monday, it said it would seek to have a Russian buyer hire those workers and pay them until the sale closes. It did not identify a prospective buyer.

CEO Chris Kempczinski said the “dedication and loyalty to McDonald’s” of employees and hundreds of Russian suppliers made it a difficult decision to leave.

“However, we have a commitment to our global community and must remain steadfast in our values,” Kempczinski said in a statement, “and our commitment to our values means that we can no longer keep the arches shining there.”

As it tries to sell its restaurants, McDonald’s said it plans to start removing golden arches and other symbols and signs with the company’s name. It said it will keep its trademarks in Russia.

The first McDonald’s in Russia opened in the middle of Moscow more than three decades ago, shortly after the fall of the Berlin Wall. It was a powerful symbol of the easing of Cold War tensions between the United States and Soviet Union.

McDonald’s was the first American fast food restaurant to open in the Soviet Union, which would collapse in 1991. McDonald’s decision to leave comes as other American food and beverage giants including Coca-Cola, Pepsi and Starbucks have paused or closed operations in Russia in the face of Western sanctions.

Corporations from British energy giants Shell and BP to French carmaker Renault have pulled out of Russia, taking a hit to their bottom lines as they seek to sell their holdings there. Other companies have stayed at least partially, with some facing blowback.

McDonald’s said it expects to record a charge against earnings of between $1.2 billion and $1.4 billion over leaving Russia.

Its restaurants in Ukraine are closed, but the company said it is continuing to pay full salaries for its employees there.

McDonald’s has more than 39,000 locations across more than 100 countries. Most are owned by franchisees — only about 5% are owned and operated by the company.

McDonald’s said exiting Russia will not change its forecast of adding a net 1,300 restaurants this year, which will contribute about 1.5% to companywide sales growth.

Last month, McDonald’s reported that it earned $1.1 billion in the first quarter, down from more than $1.5 billion a year earlier. Revenue was nearly $5.7 billion.

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Boyfriend of Murdered CCTU Student Arrested

The boyfriend of the level 300 Cape Coast Technical University student who was murdered over the weekend at Ola, a suburb of Cape Coast in the Central Region has been arrested by the Central Regional Police command.

The Suspect Nicholas Ato Bronk Taylor was arrested in his house at Cape Coast, sources say. The boyfriend who is being treated as a suspect will be arranged before Cape Coast Magistrate Court Today Monday May 16.

The victim Nana Ama Clark was murdered over the weekend with her body part cut off by the assailant (s).

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Level 300 Student Of Cape Coast Technical University Found Dead

A Level 300 Marketing student of the Cape Coast Technical University (CCTU), Nana Ama Clark has been found dead at the Ola Estate near the Ola College of Education.

The incident has thrown the community into a state of fear.

Police account

According to the Police Public Relations Officer, Deputy Superintendent of Police Irene Oppong, the lifeless body of Nana Ama was found lying at the roadside by some residents at about 9 pm last Friday.

According to her, Police had information that a female adult was found lying dead on the roadside at Ola Estate near the Ola College of Education, Cape Coast.

She said the Police proceeded to the scene and found the body of Nana Ama lying naked with her private part cut off and bruises on the body.

DSP Oppong said the mother of the deceased had been informed and the body was deposited at the Cape Coast Teaching Hospital mortuary pending further investigation.

Source: graphiconline.com

 

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