News of the World
Yesterday, 07:03 AM
MIDDLE EAST CONFLICT
Quote:A ship anchored off the east coast of the United Arab Emirates has been seized and is heading toward Iranian territorial waters, the British military said Thursday.
The United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations center said it received reports that the vessel was taken by unauthorized personnel while anchored 38 nautical miles northeast of the UAE port of Fujairah, near the Strait of Hormuz.
UKMTO did not name the ship and said it is investigating.
Fujairah is an important oil export terminal and the UAE’s main port outside of the Persian Gulf.
It has been repeatedly attacked during the war with Iran.
Quote:WASHINGTON — A top Iranian navy commander claimed the Islamic Republic has deployed some of its small submarines, known as the “dolphins of the Persian Gulf,” in the Strait of Hormuz to wreak further havoc on the critical oil chokepoint, according to state media.
The goal is to establish an “invisible guardian” in the beleaguered waterway, lurk on the seabed there and potentially attack vessels attempting to pass.
Iran is known to possess at least 16 Ghadir-class midget submarines in its fleet, which are designed to operate in shallow waters, according to the International Institute for Strategic Studies.
Those small subs are believed to have crews of fewer than 10 and can each carry two missiles or two torpedoes.
One key drawback is that they are very noisy, which makes them easier for adversarial navies to track, Bloomberg News reported. The subs are a copy of a similar design from North Korea and are known to have maintenance issues, according to the report.
The Strait of Hormuz reaches a depth of about 100 meters at its deepest point, and the Persian Gulf doesn’t get much deeper than that either, complicating submarines’ efforts to conceal themselves from sonar.
Ghadirs, however, are much smaller and displace just 115 tons of water — a standard metric for submarines — compared to the 6,000 tons that Los Angeles-class attack submarines displace, Bloomberg noted.
Iran has created mayhem in the Strait of Hormuz, through which over a fifth of the world’s seaborne oil supplies once flowed annually, in retaliation for Operation Epic Fury.
The regime has made use of drones and attacks from fast, small boats to deter large oil vessels from traversing the critical waterway.
President Trump has ordered a blockade of all Iranian ships seeking to get through the strait in response, as part of an effort to ramp up pressure on the regime.
Last week, he briefly ordered a “Project Freedom” military escort of ships through the channel, before stopping that initiative.
Iran presented a counteroffer to the US over the weekend, but Trump quickly panned it as “unacceptable.”
Quote:An Iranian father who protested the regime was executed after the state canceled his final visit with his family — only to tell them over the phone afterwards that they already killed him, his grieving relatives said.
Mohammad Abbasi, 55, was executed on Wednesday inside the Qezel Hesar prison, in Karaj, as his family was ordered to come see him one last time, according to the Iran Human Rights Monitor group.
But when the family got there to say their goodbyes, prison officials rejected their plea to see Abbasi, sending them home and calling them later to inform them that his execution had been carried out.
“The prevention of a final visit is not only psychological torture of the family, but also an explicit violation of the Executive Regulations of the Prisons Organization and international standards for prisoners’ rights, which emphasize the right to a farewell before the execution of a death sentence,” Iran HRM said in a statement.
“The objective of these legal violations goes beyond punishing an individual; it aims to psychologically paralyze society and create a ‘paralyzing shock’ among protesters to suppress the public will for seeking justice,” the group added.
Abbasi was sentenced to death over his participation in the January protests that saw thousands rise up against the Islamic regime over its totalitarian rule and failure to fix the nation’s economic crisis.
The 55-year-old was accused of attacking a lieutenant of Iran’s security forces during the protests, with the state claiming Abbasi was a long-time dissident acting on behalf of “the Zionist coup,” according to human rights groups.
Quote:Iran is allowing some vessels to pass through the Strait of Hormuz on Thursday following talks with Beijing ahead of President Trump’s meeting with Chinese leader Xi Jinping.
Iran cleared the way for the Chinese ships to pass through the strait, allegedly using the new management system set up by the Islamic republic, the semi-official Fars and Tasnim news agencies said.
China’s foreign minister and ambassador to Iran had allegedly reached out to Tehran to clear the way for its ships, some of which had been traveling through the Strait of Hormuz before the American blockade went into effect last week.
Prior to the war, China served as Iran’s largest oil buyer, with more than 1 million barrels a day exported to Beijing through the Persian Gulf.
While the conflict caused the Strait of Hormuz to close, Iranian and Chinese-linked ships had continued to sail through the passageway at lower volumes, with only a handful of ships crossing every day.
It remains to be seen if the Chinese ships cleared for travel paid a toll under the new system Iran has tried to enforce, or if the vessels would be allowed past the American blockade, which prohibits passage for any ship traveling to and from Iranian ports.
Abdolreza Rahmani Fazli, the Iranian ambassador to China, attempted to portray the deal as a way to highlight Tehran’s potential as an “important partner” to Beijing.
The reopening of the Strait of Hormuz was one of the main topics between Trump and Xi during Thursday’s summit, with the president claiming that his Chinese counterpart would happily assist in the goal.
“He did offer. He said, ‘If I can be of any help at all, I would like to be of help,’” Trump told Fox News’ Sean Hannity.
Quote:The FBI announced Thursday it is offering a $200,000 reward for information leading to the apprehension and prosecution of Monica Witt, a former U.S. service member and counterintelligence agent who was indicted by a federal grand jury in the District of Columbia in February 2019 on charges of espionage, including transmitting national defense information to the Iranian government.
Witt, a former active-duty U.S. Air Force intelligence specialist and special agent for the Air Force Office of Special Investigations, served in the military between 1997 and 2008, before working as a U.S. government contractor until 2010, according to a news release from the FBI Washington Field Office.
The 47-year-old’s military service and contracting employment provided her access to secret and top secret information relating to foreign intelligence and counterintelligence, including the true names of U.S. Intelligence Community undercover personnel.
Officials allege that in 2013, Witt defected to Iran and provided information to the country’s government, placing sensitive and classified U.S. national defense information and programs at risk, according to the indictment.
She allegedly intentionally provided information endangering U.S. personnel and their families stationed abroad, and conducted research on behalf of the Iranian regime to allow them to target her former colleagues in the U.S. government.
The FBI said Witt’s defection to Iran has benefited the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), which has elements responsible for intelligence collection, unconventional warfare and providing direct support to multiple terrorist organizations targeting U.S. citizens and interests.
Quote:BEIJING — Chinese strongman Xi Jinping appeared to embrace President Trump’s stance on Iran Thursday, agreeing the fanatical regime should open up the Strait of Hormuz and never have access to a nuclear weapon – while pledging not to send arms to the Islamic Republic.
The striking display of alignment came with an offer from Xi, who intends to continue purchasing oil from Tehran, to assist the US in the region.
“President Xi would like to see a deal made, he would, he would like to see a deal made. And he did offer. He said, ‘If I can be of any help at all, I would like to be of help,’” Trump told Fox News’ Sean Hannity.
NEW: President Trump reveals to @seanhannity that Chinese President Xi Jinping has committed to withholding military equipment from Iran following their high-level discussions.
Trump noted that while China continues to purchase Iranian oil, Xi expressed a strong desire to see… pic.twitter.com/gUXZmblk9y
— Fox News (@FoxNews) May 14, 2026
“Anybody that buys that much oil has obviously got some kind of a relationship with him,” Trump added. “He’d like to see the Hormuz Strait open. He said, ‘If I could be of any help whatsoever, I would like to help.’”
About a fifth of the world’s seaborne oil supply flows through the strait annually, and China has historically imported the lion’s share of the petroleum transited via the waterway, which has effectively been shut down due to the war.
An estimated 45% to 50% of China’s crude oil imports flow through the Strait of Hormuz. By contrast, only about 2% of America’s oil comes through the strait, according to the US Energy Information Administration.
“Our two countries should be partners rather than rivals,” Xi said at a state dinner with Trump.
Quote:A San Diego-based US Navy amphibious assault ship is preparing for deployment as tensions with Iran escalate on multiple fronts.
Acting Navy Secretary Hung Cao told a House subcommittee Tuesday that the 843-foot USS Makin Island is gearing up to deploy with Marines from Camp Pendleton.
While he did not specify the size of the Marine contingent or when the ship would depart San Diego, the mission could position the group in operations tied to the US standoff with Iran.
The amphibious assault ship, which carries advanced F-35 fighter jets, has recently been training in local waters alongside the USS Somerset and USS San Diego, routine partners in a three-ship amphibious ready group.
The timing comes as another San Diego-based force has already been deployed.
Roughly two months after the USS Boxer Amphibious Ready Group left with about 2,200 Camp Pendleton Marines, the Navy says that unit has been operating in the South China Sea.
However, the US Naval Institute reported Monday that the Boxer is now heading toward the Middle East.
At the same time, political rhetoric surrounding Iran has intensified in Washington and Tehran.
President Trump said the United States could resume military strikes on Iran if no peace agreement is reached, and described the current ceasefire as barely holding together.
Quote:President Trump gave Tehran another reason to worry Saturday, posting a video clip on his Truth Social showing him ordering a military attack on an Iranian aircraft.
“Okay, we have it in our sight. Fire – boom!” Trump says, as a US-flagged destroyer blows one with the Iranian flag out of the sky.
In his latest comments on the war, Trump has dismissed Iran’s latest peace offer as “unacceptable,” while speaking freely about the devastation the US military has already inflicted on Iran — and the targets it spared but could reconsider.
“We hit them unbelievably hard. Look — we left their bridges. We left their electricity capacity. We can knock that all out in two days. Two days — everything,” Trump told Bret Baier, host of Fox News Special Report in an interview that aired Friday night.
Iran experts told The Post that resumption of the war is a very real possibility.
“I’m sure preparations are underway for more escalation,” said Jon Hoffman, a research fellow in defense and foreign policy at the Cato Institute.
“Trump has refused to back down from his maximalist demands in negotiations,” he said, while predicting that “Iran won’t negotiate away its leverage.”
“One possibility is a short but intense air attack,” with lower risks but a lower probability of success, said Mark Cancian, a retired Marine colonel with the Center for Strategic International Studies.
“Another possibility is a major military effort to open the Strait,” which he called the most likely, but with a higher casualty risk. Seizing one of the islands in the Strait has “some risk” and won’t end the war but “set conditions for success,” he added.
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth testified to lawmakers this week that the US has an escalation plan in place, if necessary.
“We have a plan to retrograde if necessary. We have a plan to shift assets,”
Quote:A suspected terrorist with ties to Iran’s military has been arrested and hauled to New York to face charges of carrying out and plotting nearly 20 attacks across Europe and Canada – with plans to blow up a Big Apple synagogue – to punish Americans and Jews over the Iran war.
Mohammad Baqer Saad Dawood al-Saadi, an accused commander in a terrorist organization linked to the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, allegedly orchestrated the firebombing of the Bank of New York Mellon in Amsterdam, the stabbing of two Jewish victims in London and other foiled counter-attacks in the US in response to the conflict in the Middle East.
“Al-Saadi attempted to disrupt American society through intimidation and violence. In a righteous and just contrast, his prosecution will highlight the best of our country,” Manhattan US Attorney Jay Clayton said in a statement.
Al-Saadi, a 32-year-old accused high-ranking official of the terror group Kata’ib Hizballah, and bloodthirsty accomplices “planned, coordinated” and took “responsibility” for attacks that also included a March 9 bombing of a synagogue in Liège, Belgium and a March 13 arson of a Rotterdam temple, the feds said.
The Iraqi national was accused of preparing to bomb a “prominent” Manhattan temple on April 6, but the plot was foiled after he unwittingly sent $3,000 to an undercover law enforcement officer he believed was a Mexican cartel member to carry out the disaster.
He allegedly offered to fork over $10,000 in total, and texted the undercover, “I wanna see good news tonight . . . not tomorrow bro” the night the attack was supposed to happen, court docs claimed.
The specific synagogue was kept under wraps by prosecutors as NYPD Commissioner Jessica Tisch said Friday police worked with temple leadership to ensure its security when they became aware of the elevated threat.
Quote:Accused terror commander Mohammad Baqer Saad Dawood al-Saadi worked through a new Iranian-backed terrorist group that emerged “essentially overnight” after the outset US-Israel war and urged followers to kill President Trump.
The group — Harakat Ashab al-Yamin al-Islamiya (HIYA) — appeared in March 2026 after the war against Iran started and in just weeks the group was able to carry out 18 bombings, stabbings, and arson attacks targeting Americans and Jews in Europe, according to prosecutors.
“Essentiall overnight, Harakat Ashab al-Yamin al-Islamiya was able to activate terrorist cells across Europe to carry out nearly 20 attacks in the weeks immediately following that start of the Iranian Military Conflict,” reads an indictment in the Southern District of New York filed on Friday.
He is alleged to have been involved in the planning and promoted the attacks carried out by Hiya, prosecutors said.
Al-Saadi on April 20 posted a message threatening Trump to Snapchat with the Hiya logo, which is a raised fist holding a rifle.
Al-Saadi implored Hiya acolytes to “kill this arrogant, criminal, cursed Trump.”
“We direct our message to the free people of America, especially the security services, the Secret Service, and the victims of Epstein Island, where the blood of families was spilled and the lives of children were taken,” the screed read.
Hiya is considered a new front organization for the Iran-backed group Kata’ib Hizballah — the terror group in which al-Saadi is alleged to be a high-ranking official.
Following the March 9 synagogue bombing in Liege, Belgium — the first of 18 attacks across Europe — al-Saadi allegedly posted the HIYA symbol on Telegram along with a message prosecutors describe as urging further violence, according to court documents.
UKRAINE WAR
Ukraine kindergarten hit as Russia launches ‘over 200 drones’ just hours after brief ceasefire ended
Quote:Russia launched hundreds of drone strikes at Ukraine overnight, hitting a kindergarten and killing at least one, as both sides’ fragile three-day ceasefire came to a sudden end, Ukrainian officials announced Tuesday.
More than 200 drones were launched at Ukraine just hours after a White House-brokered ceasefire expired, despite hopes it would be extended.
“We proposed Moscow to extend the partial ceasefire beyond May 11. Instead, this night Russia launched over 200 drones against Ukraine, targeting civilian infrastructure, including a kindergarten, injuring at least six and killing at least one person,” Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha wrote on X on Tuesday.
Of the 216 drones launched by Russia, about 192 were downed or neutralized, according to Ukraine’s air force.
The warring sides’ truce deal, agreed by both countries for May 9 to 11 to commemorate the anniversary of the Soviet Union’s defeat of Nazi Germany, was part of a US-led push for peace amid more than four years of conflict.
President Trump said Friday he hoped the truce would be extended.
“Russia itself chose to end the partial silence that had lasted for several days,” Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky wrote on X on Tuesday.
Ukraine responded to the Russian strikes with attacks of its own, targeting the Russian city of Orenburg about 745 miles from Ukraine’s border, reported the Kyiv Independent.
Another Ukraine attack was aimed at the Orsknefteorgsintez, one of Russia’s largest regional oil refineries and responsible for 6.6 million tons of crude oil production annually, the outlet reported.
Quote:At least 24 Ukrainians were killed as Russian missiles rained down on a Kyiv apartment building in the largest barrage of the entire war – with three children left dead, and dozens of people wounded, according to officials.
Rockets and drones started falling on the capital city Wednesday, with at least one hitting the nine-story apartment block Thursday and leaving a huge section collapsed in a pile of smoldering concrete.
First responders spent over a day digging through the rubble to locate the two-dozen fatalities, with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky confirming the tragic count by Friday.
It was part of a protracted attack which saw nearly 1,600 Russian drones launched across the country over two days, with 180 locations sustaining damage.
More than 50 of those targets were residential buildings, according to Zelensky.
It kicked off just days after a dubious May 9 to 11 ceasefire announced by President Donald Trump.
But the ceasefire – part of celebrations for the anniversary of World War II ending in Europe – was hardly what both sides agreed to, with fighting continuing throughout despite being somewhat scaled back.
Quote:One of Russia’s largest explosives plants was torched in an overnight drone blitz Saturday by Ukrainian forces, as Kyiv continues its campaign to target military infrastructure deep behind enemy lines.
The Nevinnomyssk Azot factory in the southwest city of Stavropol is one of Russia’s largest producers of chemicals used to make explosives.
It’s been described as a “critical component” of Russian strongman Vladimir Putin’s war machine — producing more than 4 million tons of ammonium products and nitric acid annually to manufacture bombs, artillery shells and missiles.
Footage on social media showed the sky over the facility ablaze with large orange flames and thick plumes of black smoke, as the sound of explosions rang out over the city.
The strike — the sixth on the facility 150 miles from the Ukrainian border — is part of Kyiv’s campaign targeting Russian military infrastructure with long-range weapons.
“These are entirely justified responses to what the Russians are doing,” Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky wrote on X.
The blaze at the explosives plant comes a day after one of Kyiv’s largest retaliatory drone campaigns of the war, which set the massive Ryazan oil refinery, 180 miles from Moscow, ablaze — forcing temporary ground stops at two Moscow airports.
Meanwhile, Russian drone attacks killed at least three Ukrainians and wounded 63 more overnight. It launched nearly 300 drones at Ukraine – with direct hits recorded at 15 locations across the country.
Quote:Russian President Vladimir Putin will meet with Chinese leader Xi Jinping on a two-day trip to Beijing next week, the Kremlin said Saturday.
The announcement comes less than 24 hours after US President Donald Trump finished his own state visit to China, where he also met Xi to discuss trade and the US and Israel’s war in Iran.
In a statement, the Kremlin said that Putin’s trip, planned for May 19-20, had been scheduled to coincide with the 25th anniversary of the 2001 Sino-Russian Treaty of Friendship.
It said that the two leaders would discuss bilateral relations as well as “key international and regional issues” and economic cooperation.
Relations between China and Russia have deepened in recent years, particularly since the start of Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in early 2022, which left Moscow shunned on the global stage and heavily reliant on Beijing for trade due to Western sanctions.
When Putin visited China in September 2025, Xi welcomed his counterpart as an “old friend.” Putin also addressed Xi as “dear friend.”
The Russian leader is also scheduled to visit China for the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit in the city of Shenzhen in November.
Continued strikes and returned remains
Ukraine repatriated the bodies of fallen soldiers on Saturday following an earlier exchange with Moscow involving prisoners of war.
Russia returned 528 bodies that “according to the Russian side, may belong to Ukrainian servicemen,” Ukraine’s Coordination Headquarters for the Treatment of Prisoners of War said in a statement.
Experts will now “take all necessary measures aimed at identifying the deceased who have been repatriated,” it said.
It comes after Russia and Ukraine swapped 205 prisoners of war on Friday.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said it was the first phase of a planned swap of 1,000 POWs from each side. Some of the Ukrainians had been held by Russia since 2022 and fought in some of the war’s fiercest battles, he added.
USA
Quote:President Trump doubled down on his savage new nickname for Democrats — and revealed which member of Congress inspired it.
“I came up with a new name. I don’t know if I should,” Trump told Fox News anchor Sean Hannity late Thursday in an interview about his historic meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping this week.
“Dumocrats — because they’re dumb,” Trump said, explaining that his version gets rid of the “b.”
The president said he first came up with the nickname while discussing House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY) — whom he called a “very-low IQ individual.”
“So he’s a dumb guy, he’s a Democrat, and I said, ‘Oh, what a great name for this!’” he said.
Trump last week accused Jeffries of inciting the most recent assassination attempt against him at the White House Correspondents’ Dinner and demanded he be charged.
“This lunatic, Hakeem ‘Low IQ’ Jeffries, should be charged with INCITING VIOLENCE!” Trump raged on Truth Social.
Trump first unleashed the new tag earlier this week in the Oval Office.
The president joked that Democrats would support a border wall if he suddenly opposed it — prompting Dr. Oz, the administrator for the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, to break into laughter.
Quote:The Minnesota “mastermind” of the state’s massive COVID meal fraud claims “Squad” Rep. Ilhan Omar was in on the $250 million scam.
Aimee Bock, founder of nonprofit Feeding Our Future, was convicted in March 2025 of conspiracy, bribery and wire fraud for allegedly helping restaurant owners file fake or inflated claims during the pandemic to steal millions in child nutrition funds from the government.
She spoke to The Post by video call this week from Sherburne County Jail, where she is awaiting sentencing.
“I struggle to believe that she wouldn’t have known,” Bock said of Omar.
Dozens of members of Minnesota’s Somali community have been convicted of fraudulently billing the state’s Department of Education for millions of meals they claimed they served to low-income children during the COVID outbreak — while pocketing much of the money.
Bock has consistently denied knowingly participating in the fraud and insisted she tried to warn state officials. Her group would review the reimbursement paperwork sent by the local restaurants supposed to provide meals, send them out and then distribute the federal funds to them.
“The notion that I’m personally responsible for all of it . . . is so frustrating. I’m the only white person out of 80 or 90 individuals [charged in the fraud]. I’m the only one that doesn’t speak the language,” she added.
Omar was instrumental in loosening the laws that set the stage for the scheme — first by introducing the MEALS Act to Congress in March 2020, which allowed the US Department of Agriculture to issue waivers of school-meal requirements during the pandemic.
The waivers dramatically eased oversight of the federal programs by allowing restaurants to participate without any of the usual site inspections.
Omar would personally step in whenever those waivers ran out, allowing the rampant fraud to continue, Bock alleged.
“There had been a couple times early on that there were some gaps – a waiver would be set to expire on maybe the 15th of a month, and then the renewal didn’t kick in until the 1st,” Bock claimed. “Because of course this was supposed to be a short-term thing . . . we were supposed to be home for two weeks.”
Quote:Gov. Hochul pushed the Long Island Rail Road strike largely to throw shade on Nassau County Executive Bruce Blakeman and pick up votes from the Republican gubernatorial front-runner on his home turf, the head of a top transit union told The Post.
“I don’t think it’s any coincidence that she’s doing this right in his backyard,” said John Samuelsen, the International President of the Transport Workers Union.
“She believes that she can get a leg up in Nassau and Suffolk County by triggering a strike and then allowing the blame to be cast on Blakeman and the Republicans.”
Samuelsen – whose union, Local 100, represents 40,000 subway and bus workers also in contract talks – blames Hochul and her cronies at the Metropolitan Transportation Authority for the strike by five LIRR unions.
He also said her inability to stop the strike could affect not only her re-election campaign but also other races for Dems this November.
“I believe that if the Democrats don’t start calling Kathy Hochul out on her behavior and her anti-trade-union ethos, they may very well pay the price,” said Samuelsen, whose union has not endorsed any candidate for governor.
The labor leader also ripped the Hochul-controlled MTA for refusing to follow the recommendations of two federal panels that would have prevented a strike and for tapping Gary Dellaverson as the MTA’s chief negotiator in the labor talks.
Dellaverson served as the MTA’s chief labor negotiator in 2005 during highly contentious contract disputes with TWU Local 100 that led to an illegal walkout that paralyzed NYC’s subways and buses for three days during the December holiday season.
Quote:The wife of jailed drug lord Joaquín ‘El Chapo’ Guzmán continues to rehabilitate her image as her husband rots in a notorious maximum-security prison in Colorado.
Emma Coronel Aispuro, 36, wowed her social media followers earlier this week when she recorded a video of her latest gym session in California, executing a set of pull ups to perfection.
The former beauty queen, who married Guzmán at the age of 18, uploaded the workout on her Instagram Stories feed on Monday.
Delighted users urged her on, commenting “hit the gym hard” and “there you go, Emma.”
“I love you, Emma,” another said.
Surprisingly, Coronel Aispuro’s workout video — which is no longer visible on her Instagram account — was released just hours after US District Judge Brian Cogan nixed Guzmán’s almost daily — and barely legible — handwritten letters begging for a new trial and extradition to Mexico.
In the latest letter dated April 28, Guzmán claimed that “the [Mexican] government was responsible for all the violence crimes: I did not harm to no one.”
He penned another letter on April 24 and argued for his release from the prison in Florence where he is serving a life sentence — claiming “the 1st amendment to the 8th amendment was violated” by the federal court in Brooklyn.
The drug kingpin wrote the day before: “My name is Joaquin Guzman that are fighting for extradition release to Mexico.”
EUROPE
Quote:In a landmark German case targeting chocolate "shrinkflation", a court has found that the manufacturer of Milka's classic Alpine Milk bar cheated consumers and broke competition law.
Cutting back on the amount of chocolate while having the same kind of wrapper meant that customers were being misled, Bremen regional court ruled.
The three-week court case was brought by Hamburg's consumer protection office (VZHH), which accused manufacturer Mondelēz of deceiving consumers by cutting the weight of the "Alpenmilch" bar from 100g to 90g.
Reacting to the ruling Mondelēz told the BBC it was "taking the decision of the court seriously" and would "look at it in detail now".
Manufacturers have often resorted to shrinkflation because of rising costs, reducing the size or content of a product in an attempt to maintain the same price. The practice transcends borders. In the UK, consumer group Which? has called it a "sneaky" tactic.
According to Which? chocolate prices have increased due to the global rise in the cost of cocoa after poor harvests in West Africa.
Mondelēz argued that it had informed German consumers about the change on its website and social media channels, and pointed to the rising costs in its supply chains: "As a consequence in the last years we decided to adjust the weight of several Milka-bars."
Last year, German consumers were not satisfied with the company's explanation and voted the Milka Alpenmilch bar "rip-off packaging of the year 2025".
Although the bar's weight had been reduced, there was no noticeable change in its purple wrapping. The new bar was a millimetre thinner, and the price went up from €1.49 (£1.30) to €1.99 (£1.70) at the beginning of 2025.
Mondelēz had maintained that the lower weight was clearly visible on its packaging and denied the allegations made by the Hamburg consumer group. The company's lawyer argued in court that chocolate bars in the past had a fluctuating weight between 81-100g depending on the product.
Quote:British Prime Minister Keir Starmer is facing a revolt within his own party — following political turmoil over his falling popularity that could result in the UK seeing its fifth leader in just seven years.
Starmer, 63, whose Labor Party suffered major losses in last week’s local and regional elections, has seen his allies turn against him and call for his resignation to allow a new successor to rescue the ailing party.
So far, however, no successor is openly challenging him — and so he has refused calls to resign.
Should Starmer succumb to the opposition from ally and foe alike, his name would go on a growing list of unpopular PMs who were quickly ousted from leadership of the world’s fifth largest economy.
Former PM David Cameron, who served from 2010 to 2016, is so far the only leader in the last decade who has served longer than three years.
While the prime minister appeared to stave off immediate challenges during a tense cabinet meeting on Tuesday, his position remained rocky as several of his ministers resigned — and urged Starmer to do the same to save the Labor Party.
“It is clear from recent days that the public across the UK has now irretrievably lost confidence in you as prime minister,” Zubir Ahmed, the latest of four junior government ministers to leave on Tuesday, wrote in his resignation letter to Starmer.
A defiant Starmer, who has repeatedly rejected calls for his resignation, said he would not quit on Tuesday and slammed lawmakers for over the latest challenge against him.
“The past 48 hours have been destabilizing for government, and that has a real economic cost for our country and for families,” his office said in a statement.
Quote:A TV producer left disabled for life when bungling paramedics ‘pressed the wrong button’ on a defibrillator during a cardiac arrest has received an undisclosed payout after suing the NHS.
Meg Fozzard has been left with permanent disabilities as a result of her brain being starved of oxygen after ambulance crews delayed a life‑saving electric shock by EIGHT crucial minutes because they failed to use a defibrillator properly.
Meg — just 26 at the time — had collapsed at her home in Walworth, South London, struggling to breathe and fitting as she went into cardiac arrest in April 2019.
Her terrified partner, Xander Font Freide, dialed 999 and was told to start CPR immediately.
But when ambulance crews finally arrived – after struggling to find the flat – they didn’t believe Meg was in cardiac arrest, despite warnings from the emergency call handler minutes earlier.
A defibrillator showed Meg had a deadly heart rhythm that needed an instant shock.
But because paramedics had attached the wrong equipment – monitoring leads instead of defibrillation pads – the device failed to alert them that a shock was needed.
Even then, crews pressed the wrong button on the machine, known as a LifePak, delaying its emergency mode for another four minutes.
There was an eight-minute delay before Meg was given an electric shock to her heart, London Ambulance Service NHS Trust has since admitted.
Quote:A group of protesters in London despicably called for a controversial rightwing figure to be killed, “like Charlie Kirk,” disturbing video shows.
The crowd was filmed chanting about Tommy Robinson, who organized a massive “Unite the Kingdom” rally in London Saturday which saw tens of thousands of demonstrators turn out.
“Shoot him in the neck like Charlie Kirk!” they can be heard chanting in the clip.
The group spewing the vile message was waving Palestinian flags, the video showed.
The heinous incident happened as two separate rallies consumed the streets of London.
In one organized by Robinson, a sea of flag-waving Brits marched down Kingsway before crossing London Bridge and rallying in Parliament Square with many protesters wearing “Make England Great Again” hats.
The estimated 50,000 protesters draped themselves in British flags — including the Union Jack and St. George’s Cross, alongside Scottish and Welsh flags.
SHOCKING EXCL: “Shoot him in the neck like Charlie Kirk” far-left protesters call for Tommy Robinson to be “hung like Mussolini”.
I don’t think incitement to violence on EITHER side is right. Calling for anyone’s death is too far. pic.twitter.com/fq3OErVKtE
— Samara Gill (@SamaramGill) May 16, 2026
A pro-Palestinian march also drew thousands for the commemoration of Nakba Day, memorializing the Palestinians who fled from their homes during the war surrounding Israel’s creation in 1948.
London Metropolitan Police arrested 31 people across the two rallies and had a massive force of 4,000 officers to control the crowds, according to SkyNews.
Robinson, an anti-Islam activist whose real name is Stephen Yaxley-Lennon, slammed the Palestinian rally and UK’s Prime Minister Keir Starmer.
"For God has not destined us for wrath, but for obtaining salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ," 1 Thessalonians 5:9
Maranatha!
The Internet might be either your friend or enemy. It just depends on whether or not she has a bad hair day.
![[Image: SP1-Scripter.png]](https://www.save-point.org/images/userbars/SP1-Scripter.png)
![[Image: SP1-Writer.png]](https://www.save-point.org/images/userbars/SP1-Writer.png)
![[Image: SP1-Poet.png]](https://www.save-point.org/images/userbars/SP1-Poet.png)
![[Image: SP1-PixelArtist.png]](https://www.save-point.org/images/userbars/SP1-PixelArtist.png)
![[Image: SP1-Reporter.png]](https://i.postimg.cc/GmxWbHyL/SP1-Reporter.png)
My Original Stories (available in English and Spanish)
List of Compiled Binary Executables I have published...
HiddenChest & Roole
Give me a free copy of your completed game if you include at least 3 of my scripts!
Just some scripts I've already published on the board...
KyoGemBoost XP VX & ACE, RandomEnkounters XP, KSkillShop XP, Kolloseum States XP, KEvents XP, KScenario XP & Gosu, KyoPrizeShop XP Mangostan, Kuests XP, KyoDiscounts XP VX, ACE & MV, KChest XP VX & ACE 2016, KTelePort XP, KSkillMax XP & VX & ACE, Gem Roulette XP VX & VX Ace, KRespawnPoint XP, VX & VX Ace, GiveAway XP VX & ACE, Klearance XP VX & ACE, KUnits XP VX, ACE & Gosu 2017, KLevel XP, KRumors XP & ACE, KMonsterPals XP VX & ACE, KStatsRefill XP VX & ACE, KLotto XP VX & ACE, KItemDesc XP & VX, KPocket XP & VX, OpenChest XP VX & ACE
Maranatha!
The Internet might be either your friend or enemy. It just depends on whether or not she has a bad hair day.
My Original Stories (available in English and Spanish)
List of Compiled Binary Executables I have published...
HiddenChest & Roole
Give me a free copy of your completed game if you include at least 3 of my scripts!
Just some scripts I've already published on the board...
KyoGemBoost XP VX & ACE, RandomEnkounters XP, KSkillShop XP, Kolloseum States XP, KEvents XP, KScenario XP & Gosu, KyoPrizeShop XP Mangostan, Kuests XP, KyoDiscounts XP VX, ACE & MV, KChest XP VX & ACE 2016, KTelePort XP, KSkillMax XP & VX & ACE, Gem Roulette XP VX & VX Ace, KRespawnPoint XP, VX & VX Ace, GiveAway XP VX & ACE, Klearance XP VX & ACE, KUnits XP VX, ACE & Gosu 2017, KLevel XP, KRumors XP & ACE, KMonsterPals XP VX & ACE, KStatsRefill XP VX & ACE, KLotto XP VX & ACE, KItemDesc XP & VX, KPocket XP & VX, OpenChest XP VX & ACE
