Live updates: Follow the latest news on Israel-Gaza
The fifth major pro-Palestinian protest march so far this year has brought thousands of people onto the streets of London calling for a ceasefire in Gaza.
Organised by the Palestine Solidarity Campaign (PSC), the march started at Hyde Park and ended at the US embassy across the Thames river at Nine Elms.
Protesters waved Palestinian flags and carried banners that read "Stop the war on Gaza" and "Ceasefire now".
"We will continue to protest until a ceasefire is called, and until there is an end to all UK complicity with Israel's decades long oppression of the Palestinian people," march organiser Ben Jamal said ahead of the protest march.
'Singing, drumming, love and compassion'
Welsh singer Charlotte Church, who was at the front of the march, said she joined the protest to "show solidarity with the people of Palestine for all that they are suffering through".
"I am here today to call for an immediate ceasefire, to ask our Government and governments all over the world to send as strong message as we possibly can. But a strong, a peaceful a loving message, that's what every single march that I've been on for Palestine has been about.
"There's been singing there's been drumming, yes, there's been emotion, but in the majority that emotion has been love, has been compassion because that's why we're all here," she added.
Police costs
London saw a significant police presence on Saturday, as the Metropolitan Police said the policing of such protests since October 7 had required 35,464 officer shifts and more than 5,200 officer rest days to be cancelled, adding up to a cost of £32.3 million.
Former British home secretary Suella Braverman recently described the demonstrations as “hate marches”, while the government’s commissioner for counter-extremism, Robin Simcox, wrote in the Daily Telegraph on Friday that London had been “permitted to be turned into a no-go zone for Jews every weekend”.
However, the human rights activist and social cohesion adviser to the government, Dame Sara Khan, told the Guardian newspaper that "it’s really important that we don’t conflate those protesters, somehow saying or portraying them as somehow as being all extremists".
Last week, Prime Minister Rishi Sunak called for the police to take tougher action against the protesters, saying the events "had descended into intimidation, threats and planned acts of violence," adding that "we must draw a line."
"I say this to the police, we will back you when you take action," he added.
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Our family matters legal consultant
Name: Hassan Mohsen Elhais
Position: legal consultant with Al Rowaad Advocates and Legal Consultants.
Timeline
2012-2015
The company offers payments/bribes to win key contracts in the Middle East
May 2017
The UK SFO officially opens investigation into Petrofac’s use of agents, corruption, and potential bribery to secure contracts
September 2021
Petrofac pleads guilty to seven counts of failing to prevent bribery under the UK Bribery Act
October 2021
Court fines Petrofac £77 million for bribery. Former executive receives a two-year suspended sentence
December 2024
Petrofac enters into comprehensive restructuring to strengthen the financial position of the group
May 2025
The High Court of England and Wales approves the company’s restructuring plan
July 2025
The Court of Appeal issues a judgment challenging parts of the restructuring plan
August 2025
Petrofac issues a business update to execute the restructuring and confirms it will appeal the Court of Appeal decision
October 2025
Petrofac loses a major TenneT offshore wind contract worth €13 billion. Holding company files for administration in the UK. Petrofac delisted from the London Stock Exchange
November 2025
180 Petrofac employees laid off in the UAE
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While the taste of beans and freshness of roast is paramount to the specialty coffee scene, so is sustainability and workers’ rights.
The bulk of genuine specialty coffee companies aim to improve on these elements in every stage of production via direct relationships with farmers. For instance, Mokha 1450 on Al Wasl Road strives to work predominantly with women-owned and -operated coffee organisations, including female farmers in the Sabree mountains of Yemen.
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Mercer, the investment consulting arm of US services company Marsh & McLennan, expects its wealth division to at least double its assets under management (AUM) in the Middle East as wealth in the region continues to grow despite economic headwinds, a company official said.
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