Global Pulse

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  • Why is the Princess of Wales in Italy this week?

    Why is the Princess of Wales in Italy this week?

    After months of focused cancer treatment, the Princess of Wales has marked a highly anticipated return to international public appearances, with her first stop this week drawing enthusiastic crowds across Italy. The milestone visit comes as the British royal steps back into official overseas duties following a period of private treatment and recovery from her cancer diagnosis, a health journey that drew global attention and messages of support earlier this year.

    Members of the public turned out in large numbers along the Princess’s public route in Italy, waving flags, holding handwritten supportive signs, and cheering loudly as she greeted well-wishers. The warm, enthusiastic reception from Italian locals highlighted the widespread public interest in her recovery and the broad affection for the British royal family across continental Europe.

    This trip carries significant symbolic weight for the Princess’s public return: it is her first major overseas engagement since announcing her cancer diagnosis, and it signals her gradual resumption of official royal duties as her treatment progresses. While details of the exact itinerary and the private agenda for her visit have been partially kept from public view to respect her ongoing recovery, the public welcome itself has already made the trip a notable moment in her 2024 public schedule. Royal watchers across the globe have framed the warm Italian welcome as a positive milestone in her recovery journey, with many expressing hope for her continued good health as she eases back into public life.

  • EU commissioner warns of potential jet fuel shortage in the long term

    EU commissioner warns of potential jet fuel shortage in the long term

    NICOSIA, Cyprus — The European Union’s top energy official has issued a cautious update on global jet fuel supplies amid escalating geopolitical tensions from the ongoing Iran war, acknowledging that while no immediate scarcity is imminent, the risk of a prolonged shortage remains a distinct possibility.

    Speaking to reporters on Wednesday, EU Energy Commissioner Dan Jørgensen explained that the trajectory of any potential shortage hinges on two key variables: how the conflict in Iran and related disruptions around the Strait of Hormuz develop, and how commercial airlines adjust their operations in response. Already, several major carriers, including Lufthansa’s German parent company, have cut a substantial number of flights to offset mounting costs.

    The Strait of Hormuz, a critical maritime chokepoint through which roughly one-fifth of the world’s daily oil supply transits, has seen shipping and supply networks thrown into chaos by surrounding fighting, pushing jet fuel prices sharply higher across every major global market. Jørgensen confirmed that a shortage has not yet materialized, but revealed that the European Commission, the EU’s executive branch, will open discussions with member state governments to coordinate potential policy responses, though no concrete measures have been finalized to date.

    Data from the bloc underscores the severity of the current cost shock: since the outbreak of the Iran war, EU countries have paid an extra €35 billion ($41 billion) to secure the same volume of fuel as they used previously. Airlines are disproportionately hit by this volatility, as jet fuel makes up one of the largest single components of their total operating costs, with prices more than doubling in some regional markets since late February.

    The warning from the EU follows a stark assessment from International Energy Agency Director Fatih Birol, who told The Associated Press in an exclusive interview last month that Europe holds only roughly six weeks of commercially available jet fuel stockpiles. Birol also cautioned that widespread flight disruptions could begin “soon” if oil exports remain blocked by war-related disruptions in the Middle East.

    Jørgensen used the current crisis to reinforce the EU’s long-term policy push for decarbonization, arguing that the current disruption is not a broad energy crisis but specifically a crisis rooted in global reliance on fossil fuels. He noted that the bloc has already made significant progress in reducing fossil fuel dependence since the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine, diversifying supply sources, boosting energy efficiency, and scaling up renewable energy capacity.

    For his part, Cypriot Energy Minister Michael Damianos — whose country currently holds the EU’s rotating six-month presidency — acknowledged that fossil fuels including natural gas will remain part of the bloc’s energy mix for the foreseeable future, even as the EU reaffirms its binding target of cutting greenhouse gas emissions by 90% by 2050. Damianos added that new natural gas reserves discovered off Cyprus’ southern coast could begin exporting to European markets as early as late 2027 or early 2028, adding a new supply source to the bloc’s diversified portfolio.

    Jørgensen stressed that the EU remains fully committed to rapid decarbonization, emphasizing that “the climate crisis will not go away” even amid immediate energy security concerns. Looking ahead to a post-conflict future, the commissioner confirmed the EU is already in preliminary discussions with Gulf Cooperation Council nations to rebuild stable energy export flows from the region once a negotiated peace settlement is reached with Iran.

    That outreach aligns with earlier statements from top EU leaders. Last month, European Council President Antonio Costa and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen announced the bloc was prepared to partner with Persian Gulf nations on new energy infrastructure projects that would deliver supplies to global markets without the risk of disruption from war or geopolitical conflict.

  • France confines more than 1,700 on British cruise ship in Bordeaux after gastroenteritis outbreak

    France confines more than 1,700 on British cruise ship in Bordeaux after gastroenteritis outbreak

    On a Wednesday announcement, French public health and regional authorities confirmed that more than 1,700 passengers and crew members have been confined to a British cruise ship anchored off the coast of Bordeaux, after dozens of people on board developed symptoms of acute gastrointestinal infection. The lockdown order came quickly after the captain of the Ambition, operated by UK-based Ambassador Cruise Line, alerted local health officials to the outbreak Tuesday evening, just hours after the vessel arrived at the French port to end a leg of its 14-night voyage.

    The Ambition had departed from Belfast and Liverpool earlier this month, with an itinerary that planned stops at ports across northern Spain and France’s Atlantic coastline. In a joint statement from regional prefect Étienne Guyot and the Nouvelle-Aquitaine regional health agency, officials confirmed that disembarkation has been fully suspended, and all interactions between the ship and the port of Bordeaux have been restricted. As of Wednesday morning, Ambassador Cruise Line reported that 48 passengers and one crew member were showing active gastrointestinal symptoms, while local authorities initially noted that roughly 50 people had developed symptoms matching acute digestive infection. All affected individuals have been placed in isolation in their cabins and treated by the ship’s on-board medical team, and a specialized medical assessment team from French health authorities was dispatched to the vessel to collect patient samples. Those samples are currently undergoing analysis at a local hospital in Bordeaux, with results expected to be released later Wednesday.

    In a key clarification to ease public concern, French authorities explicitly ruled out any connection between this outbreak and a recent deadly hantavirus outbreak on a separate expedition vessel, the MV Hondius, that has put European and global health officials on high alert in recent weeks. That earlier outbreak, which occurred last month, has killed three passengers and resulted in nine confirmed and two suspected cases of hantavirus across four countries: the UK, France, Spain, and the United States.

    Ambassador Cruise Line also separately confirmed that a 92-year-old male passenger passed away on the Ambition earlier this week, before the outbreak was declared. The company stressed that the deceased passenger did not show any symptoms of the current gastrointestinal infection, and his cause of death will remain undetermined until a full coroner’s investigation is completed.

    All planned shore excursions in Bordeaux have been canceled as part of the containment order, and the cruise line has said it will issue full refunds to passengers affected by the canceled activities. The outbreak of gastrointestinal illness on the Ambition is the latest in a series of such events recorded on cruise ships in recent months. The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), which maintains a global monitoring program for infectious disease outbreaks on cruise ships calling at domestic and international ports, documented 23 separate gastrointestinal outbreaks on cruise vessels around the world in 2023 alone. The vast majority of these outbreaks were linked to norovirus, including one previously undocumented new strain of the highly contagious virus. Just last week, the CDC confirmed a norovirus outbreak on the Caribbean Princess cruise ship, which was carrying more than 3,100 passengers on a recent voyage that ended Monday. More than 140 passengers and 15 crew members contracted the illness during that trip, according to CDC data.

    Founded in 2021, Ambassador Cruise Line is a British operator that focuses on offering cruise experiences for travelers over the age of 50. Associated Press reporter Jonathan Poet, based in Philadelphia, contributed reporting to this story.

  • Ex-Irish PM Ahern clarifies immigration stance after ‘I worry about Africans’ recording

    Ex-Irish PM Ahern clarifies immigration stance after ‘I worry about Africans’ recording

    A secret recording of former Irish Taoiseach Bertie Ahern making racially specific remarks about immigration has sparked widespread political criticism across the Republic of Ireland, reigniting fierce public debate over one of the country’s most divisive policy issues.

    The undercover recording, made approximately 10 days prior to its circulation on social media, was captured during a canvassing trip by Ahern to a Dublin residential housing estate, where a local voter pulled him aside to press for his personal stance on migration. After the voter opened with criticisms of “hordes of foreigners” entering Ireland and called for full border closures, Ahern offered remarks that would quickly draw condemnation.

    In the recording, Ahern stated he had no objection to Ukrainian refugees entering the country, citing the ongoing war in Ukraine as a justifiable context for their arrival. But he went on to single out African migrants, saying: “The ones I worry about are the Africans. We can’t be taking in people from the Congo and all these places. I think there’s too many from those places.” When asked about Muslim migrants, Ahern doubled down, claiming he did not see concerns with current Muslim residents but argued “the next generation, when the kids start growing up, that’s when I think the problem will be.” He added that he had shared this concern with current Irish Justice Minister Jim O’Callaghan, who oversees migration policy.

    After the voter informed Ahern she had recorded the entire conversation and planned to share it online, she accused him of failing to “speak up for the Irish” as he left. The video has since spread widely across social platforms, though it has not been formally verified by the BBC.

    In subsequent comments to Irish national broadcaster RTÉ, Ahern pushed back against criticism, arguing his remarks had been taken out of context from a longer conversation. He clarified that he “has no problem with people who come here through the visa and asylum systems”, noting that many African migrants who completed the process legally now live and work in his local Dublin constituency. Ahern also emphasized that he supports the Fianna Fáil government’s current immigration policies, adding only that he has historically called for a speedier asylum processing system, a change the government has already partially implemented.

    Current Taoiseach Micheál Martin was quick to distance his government and party from Ahern’s comments, calling the remarks “not appropriate”. “It’s not correct or proper to be specific about any given ethnicity,” Martin told reporters, noting that Ireland is home to many Irish citizens from diverse ethnic backgrounds that deserve full respect. He defended the country’s existing asylum framework, calling it “fair and robust” and noting that recent reforms have created a more efficient, accelerated processing system. Martin later confirmed to the Dáil, Ireland’s national parliament, that he accepted Ahern’s walkback of his original comments.

    Ahern, who served as Taoiseach from 1997 to 2008 and was a key architect of the 1998 Good Friday Agreement that ended decades of conflict in Northern Ireland, has a complicated political history. He resigned as prime minister in 2008 amid a growing personal finance scandal, and a 2012 corruption tribunal found he provided false evidence about the source of more than €250,000 in bank accounts linked to him. He resigned from Fianna Fáil shortly after the report’s release, though he has remained active in political campaigning for the party in recent years. The recording in question was made while Ahern was canvassing for a Fianna Fáil by-election candidate, and multiple other competing candidates have publicly condemned his remarks.

    Immigration has emerged as one of the most hotly contested political issues in Ireland in recent years, driven by shifting demographic trends and rising pressure on public services. 2022 census data shows that one in five Irish residents were born outside the country. Since 2022, Ireland has admitted tens of thousands of Ukrainian refugees alongside asylum seekers from other global conflict zones, a surge that critics argue has worsened the country’s long-standing housing crisis. O’Callaghan, the current migration minister, recently acknowledged that the current volume of asylum seekers is “too high”, noting that annual arrivals have jumped from 3,000-4,000 pre-pandemic to more than 18,500 in the most recent reporting period. Despite the surge in asylum claims, overall net immigration to Ireland fell to 59,700 in 2025, down from a peak of 79,300 in 2024.

  • Woman isolating on British island in South Pacific after hantavirus contact

    Woman isolating on British island in South Pacific after hantavirus contact

    A global public health scare linked to a hantavirus outbreak on a Dutch-flagged cruise ship has reached one of the world’s most remote inhabited communities, after an exposed asymptomatic woman traveled to the British Overseas Territory of Pitcairn Islands and entered isolation. The small South Pacific archipelago, home to just 50 permanent residents descended from 18th-century HMS Bounty mutineers, has activated coordinated public health protocols with UK authorities to contain any potential spread.

    The outbreak originated on the MV Hondius, a expedition cruise ship that departed Ushuaia, Argentina on April 1 carrying 147 passengers and crew from 23 nations. To date, the outbreak has claimed three lives: a 70-year-old Dutch man who died on board on April 11, his 69-year-old wife who died in a Johannesburg clinic two days after disembarking in St. Helena, and a German woman who died on the vessel on May 2. The World Health Organization (WHO) has confirmed nine positive cases, with two more suspected infections, and the two deceased women have been officially confirmed as hantavirus cases.

    After the last passengers were evacuated from the MV Hondius on May 9, WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus told reporters Tuesday that there was no evidence of widespread community transmission at that time, but emphasized that the situation remained fluid and additional confirmed cases could still emerge. The ship sailed from Tenerife, Spain on Monday and is scheduled to dock in its home port of Rotterdam, the Netherlands on May 17. Hantaviruses are primarily carried by rodent populations, but the Andes strain linked to this outbreak — which passengers are believed to have contracted in South America — can spread between humans. Symptoms of infection range from fever, severe muscle pain and extreme fatigue to gastrointestinal distress and life-threatening respiratory difficulty.

    The woman currently in isolation on Pitcairn, who has not been identified publicly, traveled to the territory after disembarking the MV Hondius. She flew from San Francisco on May 7, transiting through Tahiti and Mangareva in French Polynesia before reaching Pitcairn, the only permanently inhabited island of the four-island British territory. French Polynesian authorities confirmed that the woman passed through their borders without notifying local or national public health officials. Following an emergency meeting Sunday, officials ruled that the woman will not be permitted to re-enter French Polynesian territory for the duration of her risk period, noting that even though she is currently asymptomatic and not believed to be contagious, the ban remains in place to protect local public health. Authorities added that other passengers on the woman’s San Francisco-to-Tahiti flight are not classified as close contacts, and the risk of infection among that group is assessed as very low.

    Local Pitcairn government spokespersons told the BBC that the woman had contact with a person confirmed to have been exposed to hantavirus, but has not developed any symptoms to date. Officials stressed she is not classified as a suspected case, and the overall public health risk to Pitcairn’s small community remains low. She is currently adhering to a 45-day isolation period, the standard mandated by the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) for close contacts of confirmed hantavirus cases.

    The UK Foreign Office confirmed it is aware of the woman’s presence on Pitcairn, and is coordinating closely with local Pitcairn authorities and UKHSA to mitigate risks to both the woman and the island’s permanent residents. Pitcairn’s government said in a statement that the safety and well-being of their small community remains their top priority as the situation develops. It remains unclear when UK and local officials were first notified of the woman’s travel to the territory. This is not the only remote British Overseas Territory to respond to a potential case from the MV Hondius outbreak: earlier this month, British army medics parachuted into the remote South Atlantic island of Tristan da Cunha to assist a British resident who disembarked there with suspected hantavirus on April 14.

  • The European Commission seeks to ban gay ‘conversion therapy’

    The European Commission seeks to ban gay ‘conversion therapy’

    BRUSSELS – Days ahead of the capital’s annual Brussels Pride celebration of LGBTQ+ rights and culture, the European Commission announced Wednesday it will formally request all 27 European Union member states enact legal bans on discredited gay ‘conversion therapy’ practices, responding to a mass public campaign that has drawn support from more than a million EU residents.

    The policy push delivers on a long-standing commitment LGBTQ+ protections that Commission President Ursula von der Leyen made when she took office in 2019. In her statement Wednesday, von der Leyen emphasized that so-called conversion practices, which aim to change a person’s sexual orientation or gender identity, have ‘no place in our Union.’

    Data from the EU’s Agency for Fundamental Rights collected in 2024 underscores the urgency of this action: one in every four LGBTQ+ EU residents surveyed reported they had been subjected to the thoroughly discredited practice. The highest rates of documented conversion therapy attempts were recorded in Greece, Cyprus, the Czech Republic, Estonia, and Slovakia. Currently, only 10 of the bloc’s 27 member states have implemented full or partial prohibitions on the practice, according to regional advocacy group ILGA-Europe (the International Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Trans and Intersex Association Europe).

    Malta made history as the first EU country to ban all attempts to alter the sexual orientation of LGBTQ+ people back in 2016. Following Malta’s lead, France enacted its own ban, imposing criminal penalties including jail time and monetary fines for anyone who performs conversion therapy targeting the LGBTQ+ community.

    European Commissioner for Equality Hadja Lahbib called out the harmful foundation of the practice, noting that conversion practices are rooted in a dangerous falsehood: the claim that LGBTQ+ people need to be ‘fixed’ because there is something inherently wrong with their identity. ‘There is, of course, nothing to fix, there is nothing to cure, and there is no one to change,’ Lahbib stated. ‘You cannot torture away a person’s identity, and you cannot legislate it away. And yet these practices continue, unfortunately.’

    The commission’s announcement comes just three days before Brussels’ 30th annual Brussels Pride parade, which organizers expect will draw tens of thousands of marchers to the streets of the EU’s institutional capital to celebrate LGBTQ+ culture and demand expanded equal rights protections across the bloc.

  • More than 1,000 passengers held on cruise after gastrointestinal illness outbreak

    More than 1,000 passengers held on cruise after gastrointestinal illness outbreak

    A major public health precaution has been enacted at the port of Bordeaux, France, where more than 1,000 passengers on the UK-operated Ambition cruise ship are currently barred from disembarking following a widespread outbreak of gastrointestinal sickness that has infected 49 people onboard.

    Local Bordeaux health authorities confirmed that three affected passengers have already been isolated in their private cabins to slow transmission, while all other guests have been restricted to the vessel while testing proceeds. Officials have explicitly ruled out any connection between this outbreak and a separate, recent hantavirus event on a different cruise ship, quelling early public speculation about overlapping health risks.

    In an unexpected development, cruise operator Ambassador Cruise Line confirmed that a 92-year-old male passenger passed away on the vessel this past Sunday. The company emphasized that the deceased man never showed any symptoms of the gastrointestinal illness, and his exact cause of death remains pending a formal coroner’s investigation. Ambassador Cruise Line has extended full support to the passenger’s traveling companions and family, and offered sincere condolences for their loss.

    As of 11:00 BST Wednesday, the operator updated case counts to confirm 48 passengers and one crew member were showing symptoms aligned with acute gastrointestinal illness. In total, the Ambition carries 1,187 guests and 514 crew members across its current voyage. The cruise departed from Belfast on May 8, making a scheduled stop in Liverpool the following day, with the operator confirming that case numbers began rising shortly after passengers boarded during the Liverpool stop.

    Gastrointestinal illness, which typically causes severe diarrhea and vomiting, is most often triggered in adults by norovirus infection or foodborne illness. After initial reports of sick passengers emerged, Ambassador Cruise Line rolled out enhanced sanitation and prevention protocols across the entire vessel that align with standard global public health guidelines. These new measures include intensified cleaning and disinfection of all high-touch public spaces, ongoing public health guidance for guests emphasizing frequent hand hygiene, and clear instructions for anyone experiencing symptoms to report immediately to the onboard medical team.

    The Ambition was mid-way through a scheduled stop in southwestern France when the outbreak was reported, and the operator proactively notified French regional health authorities of the situation as soon as cases began to rise. The Nouvelle-Aquitaine regional health agency dispatched a specialized medical team to the vessel to conduct on-site assessments, and clinical samples have been sent for laboratory testing at Bordeaux University Hospital.

    Authorities have suspended all disembarkation as a precautionary measure, noting that gastroenteritis-type illnesses are highly contagious, and the restriction will remain in place until all test results are finalized. Test processing is expected to take a minimum of six hours to complete.

    In a closing statement, Ambassador Cruise Line reaffirmed that the health, safety and well-being of all guests and crew members remains the company’s top priority. The operator added that it sincerely appreciates the patience, understanding and cooperation of everyone onboard while these necessary public health precautions remain in effect.

  • Turkey removes a restriction on direct trade with Armenia to improve ties

    Turkey removes a restriction on direct trade with Armenia to improve ties

    Decades of frozen relations between longstanding regional rivals Turkey and Armenia have taken a major step toward normalization, as Ankara announced it is removing a long-held restriction on direct bilateral trade this Wednesday. The diplomatic move is being widely framed as a symbolic gesture of goodwill to advance ongoing efforts to repair ties between the two neighboring countries.

    Turkey and Armenia have not maintained formal diplomatic relations since the 1990s, when Ankara closed the shared Turkey-Armenia border in 1993. The closure came as a show of solidarity with Turkey’s close strategic ally Azerbaijan, which was engaged in armed conflict with Armenia over the disputed Nagorno-Karabakh region, a territory recognized under international law as part of Azerbaijan.

    Tensions have run high between the two nations for more than a century, compounded by deep-seated historic grievances beyond the Nagorno-Karabakh dispute. The divergent narratives around the 1915 mass deaths of an estimated 1.5 million Armenians under Ottoman Turkey remain a major sticking point: while most international historians classify the events as a genocide, the Turkish government rejects the label, acknowledging widespread casualties but disputing the death toll and framing the deaths as a consequence of early 20th-century civil unrest.
    More recently, Turkey again threw its full support behind Azerbaijan in the 2020 six-week armed conflict over Nagorno-Karabakh, providing Baku with key military hardware including combat drones. That conflict ended with Azerbaijan retaking control of large swathes of the disputed territory that had been held by ethnic Armenian forces backed by Yerevan.

    It was not until late 2021 that the two countries made a formal breakthrough, when they reached an agreement to launch a structured dialogue to improve bilateral relations, appointing special envoys tasked with negotiating reconciliation and the eventual full opening of the closed border. Over the course of two years of gradual talks, the process has already delivered tangible incremental progress: direct commercial flights between the two nations have resumed, and some visa requirements for travelers have been relaxed.

    Announcing the latest policy change via a post on social platform X, Turkish Foreign Ministry spokesman Oncu Keceli confirmed that ongoing technical and administrative work to fully open the shared border is still progressing. Under the new policy adjustment, goods shipped between Turkey and Armenia via third countries will now be permitted to explicitly list Turkey or Armenia as their official point of origin or final destination on trade documents, ending a decades-long restriction that banned this direct labeling.

    Writing in his statement, Keceli emphasized Turkey’s commitment to regional stability, noting: “In the light of the historic opportunity seized to strengthen lasting peace and prosperity in the South Caucasus, Türkiye will continue to contribute to the development of economic relations in the region and to further advancing cooperation for the benefit of all countries and peoples of the region.”

    The diplomatic shift has already been met with a positive response from Armenia. Armenian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Ani Badalyan called the move a meaningful milestone on the path to full bilateral normalization, saying in her own X post: “We would like to emphasize that this is an important step toward the establishment of full and normalized relations between our two countries, which could logically continue through the opening of the Armenia-Turkey border and the establishment of diplomatic relations.”

    Analysts note the move comes amid a shifting geopolitical landscape in the South Caucasus, as Armenia deepens its engagement with European institutions and moves away from its traditional alignment with Russia, making progress on the Turkey-Armenia reconciliation track all the more significant for regional security.

  • Shrinking Milka chocolate bar tricked consumers, says German court

    Shrinking Milka chocolate bar tricked consumers, says German court

    A regional court in Bremen, Germany has delivered a landmark ruling against global food conglomerate Mondelēz International, finding that the company’s shrinkflation adjustment to its iconic Milka Alpenmilch chocolate bar deceived consumers and violated national competition law. The case, which marks one of the highest-profile legal challenges to the widespread corporate practice of reducing product content while retaining identical packaging, centers on Mondelēz’s decision to cut the net weight of the classic Milka Alpine Milk bar from 100 grams to 90 grams between 2024 and 2025.

    The lawsuit was brought by the Hamburg Consumer Protection Office (VZHH), which argued that keeping the bar’s instantly recognizable purple packaging unchanged despite a 10% reduction in product size amounted to intentional misleading of long-time customers. The Bremen regional court backed the consumer protection body’s claim in its ruling, noting that while retaining similar packaging is not inherently unlawful, the mismatch between consumers’ long-held visual expectations of the product’s size and its actual reduced content created deceptive ambiguity. The court emphasized that resolving this misleading impression would have required a clear, prominently displayed notice of the weight change directly on the front of the packaging, rather than small text buried among other product information.

    In the years following post-pandemic supply chain disruptions and poor cocoa harvests in major West African producing regions, global confectionery manufacturers have increasingly turned to shrinkflation to offset skyrocketing input costs. The practice—reducing product size or weight to keep sticker prices consistent, or in some cases implementing simultaneous price increases alongside smaller portions—has drawn widespread criticism from consumer advocacy groups across Europe, who frame it as a deceptive tactic to hide inflation from shoppers. Last year, German consumers voted the adjusted Milka Alpenmilch bar the unwelcome title of “rip-off packaging 2025” for its unchanged packaging that hid the reduced weight. The criticism has been compounded by the fact that the product’s retail price also rose from €1.49 to €1.99 by early 2025, even as the bar shrank by 10 grams to just 90g.

    In response to the ruling, a Mondelēz spokesperson told the BBC that the company is “taking the decision of the court seriously” and will conduct a detailed review of the verdict before deciding its next steps. During the three-week trial, company representatives defended the weight adjustment, arguing that they had notified German consumers of the change via their official website and social media channels, and that the weight change was clearly printed on the packaging. Mondelēz also noted that fluctuating chocolate bar weights have long been common across the industry, with historic weights ranging between 81g and 100g for different products. The current ruling is not yet legally final: Mondelēz has 30 days to file an appeal against the decision. The court also highlighted the importance of the ruling, noting that without an explicit finding against the practice, Mondelēz and other manufacturers could repeat the same deceptive strategy.

    Milka is not the only high-profile chocolate brand facing backlash over shrinkflation in Germany. Iconic German manufacturer Ritter Sport has also drawn criticism for adjusting the weight of three of its most popular varieties from 100g to 75g as of May 2026, while retaining its famous square packaging shape. Though Ritter Sport updated its packaging labeling and marketed the thinner bars as a new product line that “consumers prefer” at the same price point, the adjusted varieties still appear on the VZHH’s list of problematic “rip-off packaging.” That list grew by 77 new products in 2025 alone, spanning far beyond confectionery.

    Shrinkflation has impacted a wide range of everyday consumer goods across Europe, from toothpaste and rolled oats to instant coffee. However, UK consumer advocacy group Which? notes that chocolate has seen particularly steep inflation, with prices rising 14.6% in the 12 months leading up to August 2025, driven largely by the global cocoa price surge linked to poor harvests in West Africa.

  • Alternative shows counter Eurovision amid larger protest over Israel’s participation

    Alternative shows counter Eurovision amid larger protest over Israel’s participation

    The 70th iteration of Europe’s iconic annual Eurovision Song Contest, held this year in Vienna, has become the center of a growing global controversy, as widespread anger over Israel’s devastating military campaign in Gaza has sparked mass boycotts, alternative performances, and loud demands for Israel’s expulsion from the competition.

    On a Tuesday evening in an ornate Brussels concert venue, Palestinian singer-songwriter Bashar Murad took the stage before hundreds of attendees to deliver a haunting, bilingual rendition of Nina Simone’s civil rights anthem *I Wish I Knew How It Would Feel to Be Free*, blending English and Arabic lyrics. When the final note faded, the crowd erupted into thunderous applause, capping off a performance that anchored one of the largest alternative pro-Palestinian events organized to counter the official contest. This Brussels gathering, titled *United for Palestine*, brought together European artists and Palestinian creators to protest Israel’s spot in the 35-nation lineup, and it is one of dozens of parallel events taking place across the continent this week.

    The controversy has already split participating countries: five nations — Spain, Ireland, the Netherlands, Slovenia, and Iceland — have formally withdrawn from the kitschy, widely beloved pop extravaganza, declining to send competitors or broadcast the final. Despite the rising pressure, the Geneva-based European Broadcasting Union (EBU), which administers the contest, has refused to remove Israel from the roster, a decision that has amplified outrage across activist circles and political bodies. Ahead of this year’s event, the EBU did tighten contest voting rules to address persistent allegations of Israeli government interference to boost its competitor, but stopped short of the full expulsion demanded by critics.

    The debate over Israel’s participation stretches back decades. Murad, who nearly became Iceland’s 2024 Eurovision competitor, has a personal connection to the fight for Palestinian inclusion: in 2005, his father, a founding member of the iconic Palestinian musical collective Sabreen, joined a petition to the EBU to grant Palestine official entry to the contest, a request that was ultimately denied. Israel, by contrast, has been a participating member since 1973, has claimed four contest victories, and the event holds deep cultural resonance for the Israeli public.

    But as the death toll from Israel’s military operations in Gaza, the West Bank, Lebanon, and Iran has mounted, public fury has spread across Europe. Mass pro-Palestinian protests have been held from Rome to Madrid, and senior European Union officials are currently considering new sanctions against Israel over the humanitarian crisis in Gaza. Amnesty International’s Secretary General Agnès Callamard has joined the calls for expulsion, drawing a parallel to the EBU’s 2022 decision to ban Russia following its full-scale invasion of Ukraine. “Songs and sequins must not be allowed to drown out or distract from Israel’s atrocities or Palestinian suffering,” Callamard stated.

    In response to the EBU’s refusal to remove Israel, grassroots activists and public broadcasters have stepped up to organize alternative programming across the continent. SOS Belgium, one of the organizers of the Brussels alternative concert, told reporters that parallel events are also running in Austria, Germany, Slovenia, Italy, and Spain. In Spain, public broadcaster RTVE, which has aired Eurovision for decades, will not broadcast the 2025 final; instead, it will air *La Casa de la Música*, a special 70th anniversary tribute to the broadcaster’s musical legacy that features 20 performers, including the winners of Spain’s national selection contest Benidorm Fest, who would have normally competed at Eurovision.

    On Tuesday, the first set of finalists was confirmed, with Israel and fan-favorite Finland securing spots in the grand final, which will be held this weekend. The official contest, which carries this year’s motto “United by Music,” drew 162 million global viewers in 2025 and retains a massive, dedicated fanbase that far outpaces the audience of any alternative event.

    Still, Murad and other organizers of the alternative gatherings say their goal is not to compete with Eurovision directly, but to push the contest to live up to its stated founding mission of uniting people across borders through music. “The purpose of these alternative programs that are happening is to remind Eurovision what it’s actually about and to try to hopefully bring it back, to correct its course, and make it actually live up to the things that it claims to be about,” Murad said. “A lot of people in the world feel that the competition has lost its meaning.” “It’s always amazing to be in the same room with people who believe in the same things as you and people who believe that we can’t just let the show go on,” he added.