Irish fuel protests enter fourth day as government seeks to head off shortages, open blocked roads

LONDON (AP) — Protests over high fuel prices in Ireland entered a fourth day on Friday, sparking concerns about fuel shortages and emergency services as demonstrators clogged roads and blocked access to refining and distribution sites around the country.

The Irish government is set to meet with farmers, truckers and agricultural contractors on Friday to discuss the crisis, triggered by rising gasoline and diesel costs as the conflict in the Middle East restricts oil exports from the region. While organizers have said they will call off the coordinated protests if the government agrees to talk with them, it is unclear whether they will be included in the talks.

Protests began on Tuesday as slow-moving convoys restricted access to some of the busiest streets in Dublin, the capital, and blocked fuel depots that supply half the country. Some protesters slept in their vehicles overnight, demanding that the government speak with them.

Over 100 service stations have now run out of fuel and the number could be five times as many by Friday evening if fuel supplies remain disrupted, national broadcaster RTE reported, citing the industry organization Fuels for Ireland.

The government on Thursday asked the army to remove vehicles from blocked roads amid concern that the protests could impede police, firefighters and ambulances responding to emergencies.

The disruption grew out of separate protests around Ireland’s major cities over demands for further cuts to soaring fuel costs.

The government previously approved a range of measures to cut fuel prices, including a temporary reduction in excise taxes on motor fuels, expansion of a rebate for truckers and bus operators that use diesel fuel, and extension of a program that helps low-income people with their heating costs.

A man walks in between vehicles parked on O'Connell Street on the second day of a national fuel protest against rising fuel prices, in Dublin, Ireland, Wednesday April 8, 2026. (Brian Lawless/PA via AP)

Vehicles parked on O'Connell Street as protestors take part on the second day of a national fuel protest against rising fuel prices, in Dublin, Ireland, Wednesday, April 8, 2026. (Brian Lawless/PA via AP)

A man crosses a road where vehicles are parked on O'Connell Street, on the second day of a national fuel protest against rising fuel prices, in Dublin, Ireland, Wednesday April 8, 2026. (Brian Lawless/PA via AP)

MUNICH (AP) — Authorities believe an antisemitic motive prompted vandalism at an Israeli restaurant in Munich where the windows were broken early Friday, police said. No one was injured.

The owners of the restaurant are Jewish, police told German news agency dpa.

Visuals of the aftermath show that the restaurant is the Eclipse Grillbar, though police did not name it. The restaurant’s website says it is Munich’s first authentic Israeli restaurant; it did not immediately return a request for comment.

Investigators believe pyrotechnic devices — potentially fireworks — were thrown into the restaurant, breaking the windows in three places. No suspects were discovered in the area after police were called around 12:45 a.m. and it was not clear who the perpetrator or perpetrators are. The damage is estimated at several thousand euros (dollars).

Antisemitism has risen in Germany since the Hamas-led attack on Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, when Hamas-led militants killed about 1,200 people, mostly civilians and took 251 people hostage. Israel and the U.S. have now targeted Iran, though a two-week ceasefire is in effect. Despite that ceasefire, Israel dramatically escalated its attacks in Lebanon against the Iran-backed militant group Hezbollah.

An investigator checks the damage as he stands outside an Israeli restaurant where the windows were broken early Friday, April 10, 2026, in Munich, Germany. (Felix Hörhager/dpa via AP)

An investigator checks the damage as he stands outside an Israeli restaurant where the windows were broken early Friday, April 10, 2026, in Munich, Germany. (Felix Hörhager/dpa via AP)