POPEYES has issued a ruthless reply to McDonald’s after it dropped the Snack Wrap’s return date on Tuesday.
Fast food customers nationwide had been waiting for the arrival confirmation for around six months.
McDonald’s had teased the Snack Wrap’s comeback in December.
Earlier this year, CEO Chris Kempczinski also noted a continued focus toward chicken-based offerings on menus.
“We’re excited about the significant opportunity we see within our chicken portfolio, and see the potential to add another point of chicken market share by the end of 2026,” Kempczinski told investors on an earnings call.
As part of that expanded portfolio, the Snack Wrap will finally return on July 10, as noted in a lengthy X post from the chain.
Along with the date reveal, McDonald’s social media manager wrote several humorous and heartfelt paragraphs thanking customers for championing the Snack Wrap.
“From the bottom of my heart, thank you. today, i woke up with an even greater feeling of gratitude and pride. because finally after 9 years, i get to announce the day the Snack Warp returns,” a portion of the message read.
“It’s the honor of my lifetime to finally say… the Snack Wrap is back. because of YOU. see you 07.10.2025.”
Amid the excitement, top competitors like Popeyes are poking fun at McDonald’s as they attempt to sway consumers to opt for their chicken offerings instead.
“i ain’t reading all that,” Popeye’s wrote in a ruthless reply.
“i’m happy for u tho … or sorry that happened.”
Popeyes also asked “…y’all good?”
The post has since gotten over 10.7 million views and thousands of replies.
“Popeyes and McDonald’s beefing was not on my bingo card,” a foodie cried out.
Popeyes responded, “no beef, just chicken.”
The announcement of the Snack Wrap's return was detailed an a heartfelt and humorous message from McDonald's social media manager:
“i don’t usually do this, and i didn’t run this by brian from legal (sorry brian). but i have something to say. not as mcdonald’s but as the person behind the mcdonald’s account.
i once posted, ‘social media managers don’t control the menu.’ as much as i hated admitting it at the time, it’s true. i even got a plaque made of it to put on my desk. i also don’t control the bitcoin price even though you think the McRib is responsible, but i digress.
yes, i could post about the Snack Wrap, tease you with tweets like “bring back ___” (knowing exactly what you’d say), and even manifest for its return. but i couldn’t bring it back.
you know who could bring it back? YOU.
YOU commented under every post. YOU made petitions. YOU asked for it back in the DRIVE THRU!? YOU tweeted every day for 100 days straight. YOU rallied. you organized. and i saw it all. thanks to you, the Snack Wrap will be back.
i cheered you on from behind the screen and made it my mission to never stop fighting for you. i made 486 decks on “reasons why to bring back the Snack Wrap” (i counted). your endless comments, tweets, and posts were the fuel i needed to keep on going.
you created a movement. a movement so powerful that you finally won. i know it’s cheesy, but i love my job. it’s a privilege to interact with you every day and a responsibility i cherish. you make me laugh (sometimes cry), but not today.
from the bottom of my heart, thank you. today, i woke up with an even greater feeling of gratitude and pride. because finally after 9 years, i get to announce the day the Snack Wrap returns. i know i posted 0x.14.2025 a few weeks ago but i wanted to see if they could come back even sooner. so i asked the boss and he said OKAY LETS DO IT?!?!!
It’s the honor of my lifetime to finally say… the Snack Wrap is back. because of YOU. see you 07.10.2025.”
“We all know [McDonald’s] brought it back because you came out with your own,” another customer said.
“Y’all have blackened chicken tender wraps … we know who the real winner is,” someone else remarked.
Joe Erlinger, president of McDonald’s USA, did note while speaking with ABC News that the Snack Wrap was coming back in part due to “competitive reasons.”
“It has a cult following,” he said of the Snack Wrap.
“I get so many emails into my inbox about this product.”
The Snack Wrap was discontinued in 2016, and was previously offered in grilled and crispy versions.
Some franchised McDonald’s locations held onto the Snack Wraps until 2020, but shortages amid the coronavirus pandemic later wiped them out for good.
International customers have still been able to get them.
This version of the Snack Wrap is set to include a McCrispy Strip as its protein base.
McCrispy Strips were tested last summer and officially introduced at McDonald’s over 13,600 restaurants in early May.
Some customers have mixed feelings about the Snack Wrap not including the grilled version this time around.
McDonald’s also faced backlash recently about an “absolutely insane” price increase on a meal, as it went from $10 to $25 after taxes and fees.
A BIZARRE memo about the Roswell UFO crash could unlock secrets and expose the truth about the “flying saucer” mystery.
A prominent ufologist made the startling claim after aliens were rumored as being spotted dead among the wreckage.
The so-called Roswell Incident happened on July 2, 1947, in a remote desert area in New Mexico.
Conspiracy theories and mystery swirling the alleged crash have fascinated UFO watchers for nearly 80 years.
Back in 1947, the 509th Bomb Group – based in Roswell – released a press release claiming a UFO had crashed in the area, and the United States Army Air Forces were in possession of a “flying disk.”
However, confusion ensued after that release was later retracted, and replaced with a statement saying the object was in fact a high altitude weather balloon.
The news alert had initially been issued by 1st Lt. Walter Haut, the public information officer at the base.
Decades later, his daughter, Julie Shuster, was adamant that his original “flying disk” statement had been accurate.
But he had to keep everything “secret.”
A similar view has been expressed by veteran researcher Kevin Randle, a prominent ufologist who is regarded as one of the top experts on the reported crash.
Randle has written multiple books about UFOs and the Roswell story.
He’s adamant that he has “eliminated all possible terrestrial explanations.”
“What we can say with authority is that something fell at Roswell,” he said.
“We have eliminated all the terrestrial explanations.”
The expert, who served in the Air Force and National Guard, said the UFO case could be solved by delving into a historic memo.
The eerie memo can be seen in a black and white photograph sent out on the news wires at the time.
The grainy note appears to say the words “victims of the crash.”
The memo itself can be seen in the old pic being held by Brigadier General Roger Ramey, who at the time of the crash was commanding officer of the 8th Air Force in Roswell.
Ramey is holding the piece of paper slightly turned away from the camera. But, fortunately, some words can now be read using technology.
“The Ramey memo could be the key to this whole thing,” Randle said.
“Ramey was holding the memo in his hand when he was photographed with the debris in his office.
“And what’s interesting is we know when the picture was transmitted over the wire, we know who took it and we can see Ramey is holding the document in his hand.
“So we pretty much have the provenance nailed down.
“There are words in the document when you blow it up, that you can read.
“Some people interpret the critical line as saying ‘victims of the wreck.’
“Well, ‘victims of the wreck’ takes it out of the realm of a weather balloon – but it’s kind of an interpretation of what you see.”
Randle has interviewed some 600 people over the past few decades in his search to establish the truth around the mysterious case.
He has concluded that the weather balloon story is nothing but a “government hoax” to fob off those intrigued by UFO sightings.
Randle said, “What they’ve said officially is that the Roswell crash was a weather balloon and [radar-type] target from this experiment being conducted in New Mexico.
“What I discovered is that while [the radar-type] targets were a part of the experiments conducted on the east coast, when they got to New Mexico, they didn’t use those targets.
“That kind of points the finger at this being a government hoax to explain away the Roswell case.”
Julie Shuster, Walter Haut’s daughter, told SBS News, a broadcaster based in Australia, that she had many conversations with the former Army PR man about the “flying disk” he wrote about in 1947.
She said before her death in 2015, “People began to talk about Roswell in the late ’70s after several decades of keeping quiet.
“I would ask dad to tell me the whole story, and he told me the same thing he told everybody: ‘I put out the press release’, and nothing else.”
It was not from this Earth, it was something manufactured off this Earth.
It later emerged that Haut had been sworn to secrecy by base commander and close personal friend, Colonel William Blanchard.
But, Haut was unhappy about keeping such a big secret, and prepared a signed affidavit to be opened after his death.
Originally from Chicago, Illinois, he died in Roswell in 2005.
“Basically dad said yes, he did see the bodies, yes he did see the craft and much more than that,” said Shuster.
“At one point I asked him about the size, and he said the craft was about 25 feet in diameter.”
Thomas Carey, who co-authored a book with Shuster, Witness to Roswell: Unmasking the Government’s Biggest Cover-Up, published in 2007, said his big secret “all came out in his sealed statement after he died.”
Carey added, “The ship which he described was about the size of a Volkswagen Beetle, more of an egg-shaped object, and he did see a number of bodies.
“He described them as being the size of children.
“And when asked point blank if what he believed it was that he had seen, without hesitation he’d say, ‘It was not from this Earth, it was something manufactured off this Earth.’”
A retired cop claimed that he saw the remains of dead aliens being lifted with a crane and hauled away.
Former Deputy Sheriff Charles H Forgus of Howard County, Texas, recalled traveling to Roswell to pick up a prisoner with Sheriff Jess Slaughter.
Forgus claimed he saw four alien bodies with big eyes and brownish-colored skin being taken away by military personnel.
PRINCE William joked families can be a “mixed bag” when he visited soldiers at an army air field.
The Prince of Wales asked a group if their family are okay and if they see them enough, before quipping: “Some of them might not want to see you that much.
“It’s a mixed bag sometimes.”
This comes as the royal’s feud with his brother Prince Harry continues.
The latest blow to their fractured relationship came when the Duke of Sussex dropped some extraordinary bombshells in a BBC interview.
He filmed a rare sit-down chat after losing his appeal against the decision to remove his taxpayer-funded security.
William’s comments came after he observed a combat PT training session.
He visited the Army Air Corps in Wattisham, Suffolk, in his role as colonel-in-chief which he became in May 2024.
He also promised he would take up issues with accommodation which was raised by the soldiers, saying: “It probably hasn’t been looked at for a while.
There will be a big notebook on somebody’s desk.“Whether they listen to me, that’s another matter.”
He arrived yesterday as a passenger in a wildcat helicopter – a key element of AAC’s capabilities – before flying the chopper himself on the way home.
During the trip, he was also shown inside planning and comms tents to learn about their operations.
And he served bacon and sausage baps at an Archers Breakfast, a weekly social event held by 664 Squadron for its personnel and families.
He said as he served the food: “It’s making my mouth water.”
And the ladies serving with him praised his abilities, saying he was “spot on” and “had pace”.
He then spoke with soldiers and their families outside, including Mike and Lorna Pope, parents of Air Trooper Daniel Pope of 664 Squadron who sadly died of cancer in 2016.
The squadron and regiment honour his memory through an annual cross country race and by naming Pope’s Bar after him, which was the venue for meeting the families.
And he spoke with WO2 Matthew Foster and children Archie, six, and Ida, eight. He told the children: “Your dad does a very important job here.”
At the end of the engagement, he presented Staff Sergeant Kenneth Robert Copeland with an award for his exceptional service in West Africa.
He also presented promotions for several soldiers from corporal to sergeant.
More to follow… For the latest news on this story keep checking back at The Sun Online
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THE New York Knicks have been forced to pay fired head coach Tom Thibodeau a staggering $30 million.
The team announced their leading man was being axed yesterday in a surprise move which stunned the NBA world.
It comes after they were hammered 4-2 in games by the Indiana Pacers in the playoffs just days ago.
The Knicks will have to pay up the remainder of his contract, which equates to the mind-blowing sum of $30m.
And in a shock twist, he’ll get his severance package before the extension they gave high in last summer even kicks in.
Thibodeau was contracted with the New Yorkers until the end of the 2027-28 season, after being handed an extra three-years.
His extraordinary buyout is one of the largest in basketball, and puts to an end what was thought to be a safe coaching seat.
The Knicks suffered Eastern Conference Finals heartbreak last week after being beaten by the well-deserved winning Pacers.
They came up short of reaching the NBA Finals with the loss, which had followed an incredible 2025 campaign.
It was the first time the team had reached the Eastern finals in 25-years, bringing dreams of a title back to New York.
The Knicks continued the news of his firing on Tuesday afternoon with a statement on social networking site X.
“Our organization is singularly focused on winning a championship for our fans,” said Knicks President Leon Rose.
“This pursuit led us to the difficult decision to inform Tom Thibodeau that we’ve decided to move in another direction.
“We can’t thank Tom enough for pouring his heart and soul into each and every day of being the New York Knicks head coach.”
Thibodeau led the Knicks to four playoffs, and the same amount of series wins, in five years with the team.
“Ultimately, we made the decision we feel is best for our organization moving forward,” he added.
“Tom will always be a part of our Knicks family and we truly wish him nothing but the best in the future.”
In five seasons with the Knicks, Thibodeau led the franchise to a 226-174 regular-season record.
They also recorded 51 wins in 2024-25, the most since 2012.
However, his teams in the postseason posted a 24-23 record.
New York was Thibodeau’s third head-coaching stop in the NBA.
The 67-year-old had a spell with the Chicago Bulls between 2010 and 2015.
He was also with the Minnesota Timberwolves from 2016 to 2019.
THE PITTSBURGH STEELERS have reopened talks over a massive trade deal.
This comes amid all the saga surrounding Aaron Rodgers’ future, with the Steelers very keen on adding him to Mike Tomlin‘s squad.
However, Pittsburgh refuse to put all their eggs in one basket and are rigorously working on strengthening their offensive line.
That is why they are holding talks with Miami Dolphins star Jonnu Smith.
According to ESPN, there is renewed hope that a trade could be completed and Smith, 29, could land at the Acrisure Stadium.
That is despite the tight end’s agent insisting that his client’s “first choice” is to remain in Miami.
The Philadelphia native is said to be eyeing a new contract with the Dolphins after penning a two-year deal worth $8.4million with the franchise last season.
However, the Steelers are moving fast as new tight end signing Donald Parham Jr is set to miss the 2025 campaign after tearing his Achilles.
If Smith moves to Pittsburgh he could end up playing with NFL legend Rodgers, 41.
The quarterback was released by the New York Jets earlier this year.
The former Green Bay Packers star met with the Steelers back in March.
But Rodgers went on to tease retirement at the end of the 2024 season.
And the former Super Bowl champion has yet to confirm whether he will play another year in the NFL.
(All times ET)
Thur 4 Sept
8.20 pm – Dallas Cowboys at Philadelphia Eagles
Fri 5 Sept
8pm – Kansas City Chiefs at Los Angeles Chargers
Sun 7 Sept
1pm – Tampa Bay Buccaneers at Atlanta Falcons
1pm – Cincinnati Bengals at Cleveland Browns
1pm – Miami Dolphins at Indianapolis Colts
1pm – Las Vegas Raiders at New England Patriots
1pm – Arizona Cardinals at New Orleans Saints
1pm – Pittsburgh Steelers at New York Jets
1pm – New York Giants at Washington Commanders
1pm – Carolina Panthers at Jacksonville Jaguars
4.05 pm – Tennessee Titans at Denver Broncos
4.05 pm – San Francisco 49ers at Seattle Seahawks
4.25 pm – Detroit Lions at Green Bay Packers
4.25 pm – Houston Texans at Los Angeles Rams
8.20 pm – Baltimore Ravens at Buffalo Bills
Mon 8 Sept
8.15 pm – Minnesota Vikings at Chicago Bears
DRIVERS could save thousands of dollars from a new bill that targets unfair towing practices.
Lawmakers have empathized with those who have been hit with unreasonable towing fees.
Towing companies across North Carolina could face harsher penalties if they are caught charging consumers unfair fees, as reported by NBC’s affiliate WRAL.
Drivers often complain that towing companies typically charge a confusing combination of fees, including a base charge (like a hook-up fee) and a per-mile charge.
Some companies even tack on additional fees, including storage, after-hours service, or special equipment charges.
Under House Bill 199, the state would create a new government group, called the North Carolina Towing and Recovery Commission, that have the power to issue and revoke permits to tow truck businesses.
Leaders of the group would be picked by the governor and the state legislature.
The bill would also require towing companies and local businesses to make consumers and drivers aware of potential towing practices using explicit language or prominent signage.
Several lawmakers have backed the bill, including Representative Carson Smith.
“I’m not big on increasing the size of government … but this is a mess,” said Smith, during Tuesday’s debate.
During the debate, Smith recalled a story of a trucker in his district who was charged $3,500 to get his rig back after a towing incident.
Another representative, Carolyn Logan, said she recounts a tractor-trailer that was parked illegally in Charlotte, North Carolina, had been targeted, with the driver still waiting inside the truck.
The driver’s truck was booted by a local towing company, and it cost $12,000 to take the boot off.
Lawmakers agreed that drivers across the nation are facing unnecessary towing fees that most people cannot afford.
“This is a serious problem that we have going on in our state,” Logan said.
The problem is that there isn’t a universal, standardized towing fee structure across all locations.
Wrongfully or not, retrieving a towed vehicle can be a hassle.
If your vehicle is towed after parking in a “No Parking” zone or other legitimate reason, there are a few steps to take to get it back.
Steps to take when your car is towed:
If you feel your vehicle was wrongfully towed, contesting the action can be done with the following steps:
Source: Oregon Department of Justice, National General, Rak Law Firm
Towing fees vary widely based on factors like location, distance, vehicle size, and time of day.
While some jurisdictions, like New York City, may have set maximum rates, the actual costs charged by towing companies often depend on those factors.
This bill also hopes to create a database that towing companies would be required to update with the vehicles they take, where they take them, and how much they charge.
That way, drivers who realize their vehicle has been towed can navigate the database and easily retrieve their car.
The database, a crucial part of the bill, would be run by the state.
“It protects not just our small businesses in the trucking and towing industries, but it protects consumers as well,” said Representative Laura Budd.
MADELEINE McCann prime suspect Christian Brueckner stayed in a “wild camping” ground on land now being scoured by cops, The Sun can reveal.
Search teams have zeroed in on scrubland between Brueckner’s old home and the apartment in Praia da Luz, Portugal where Maddie was snatched in May 2007.
And German police leading the hunt hope the convicted child sex fiend and rapist may have left vital clues which could finally nail him for Maddie’s murder.
Searchers were yesterday focusing on at least five derelict farmhouses and barns where Brueckner camped at the time the British tot was taken.
Sun analysis of a June 2007 satellite image of one building being searched yesterday revealed what appeared to be a white tent pitched within its walls.
The stone-walled property was photographed from space on June 22, 2007 – seven weeks after Maddie was taken from her family’s Ocean Club apartment a five minute drive away.
Recent pictures of the same spot show the building’s massive deterioration – and lay bare the enormous task facing police seeking elusive scraps of DNA evidence.
The 2007 images shows the roofless cottage or barn is approximately 58ft long by 25ft wide with a white, 9ft tent like structure pitched inside its walls.
It is impossible to say whether the building was occupied by Brueckner or one of a number of hippie types living in the area in camper vans and tents at the time.
But fading hopes of finding evidence linking him to the three-year-old British tot were also being hampered by the march of time yesterday.
Chain saws and diggers were drafted in to excavate ground and clear thick undergrowth which has overwhelmed many of the abandoned buildings.
And luxury holiday homes have been built on other key spots within a ten acre area being combed by scores of Portuguese and German cops.
![CORRECTION - A handout picture taken in 2018 and released by Italian Carabinieri on June 5, 2020 shows Christian B. when he was arrested for drug trafficking in Italy. - German prosecutors said on June 5, 2020 they are investigating if the man they suspect of murdering British girl Madeleine McCann might also be linked to the disappearance of another child in Germany. Police raised hopes this week that the decade-long mystery over three-year-old "Maddie" could finally be solved when they revealed they are investigating a 43-year-old German man over her disappearance from the Portuguese holiday resort of Praia da Luz in 2007. (Photo by - / ITALIAN CARABINIERI PRESS OFFICE / AFP) / RESTRICTED TO EDITORIAL USE - MANDATORY CREDIT "AFP PHOTO/ ITALIAN CARABINIERI PRESS OFFICE" - NO MARKETING - NO ADVERTISING CAMPAIGNS - DISTRIBUTED AS A SERVICE TO CLIENTS / Due to a legal issue the mention appearing in the metadata of this photo handout has been modified in AFP systems in the following manner: [Christian B.] instead of [Christian Brueckner]. Please immediately remove the erroneous mention from all your online services and delete it from your servers. If you have been authorized by AFP to distribute it (them) to third parties, please ensure that the same actions are carried out by them. Failure to promptly comply with these instructions will entail liability on your part for any continued or post notification usage. Therefore we thank you very much for all your attention and prompt action. We are sorry for the inconvenience this notification may cause and remain at your disposal for any further information you may require. (Photo by -/ITALIAN CARABINIERI PRESS OFFICE/AFP via Getty Images)](https://www.thesun.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/NEW_AFP_1SX4RGjpg-JS588905572-1.jpg?strip=all&w=702)
Teams spent yesterday toiling in 29C heat at the seaside search plot in an area called Atalaia, a mile east of the Ocean Club and half a mile from Brueckner’s old house.
Ground penetrating radar scanners – capable of finding bodies 15 feet below ground – were also drafted into the grim search.
Locals said the spot close to a cliff was once a romantic spot where Portuguese couples would canoodle after dark in their cars.
But by the early noughties the open scrubland offering sea views and no parking charges attracted a foreign “wild camper” set – believed to include Brueckner.
Police are believed to have launched their “last throw of the dice” search after tip-offs from associates about the area and geolocation checks of his computer hardware.
Local man Joao Pedro, 63, who grew up in the area, told The Sun: “It used to be a romantic spot – I used to take my girlfriends there.
“But at the time Maddie went missing in the noughties it was very popular with foreign campers and you’d see camper vans and tents there all time.
“It was totally unregulated back then and strangers would just pitch up and stay there for free and no one would bother them.”
A police source at the scene told The Sun yesterday that searches were focusing on the area because Brueckner used to camp in the buildings.
One officer said: “We are here because Brueckner used to camp here. Not only Brueckner but many people.”
The Sun also examined historic satellite imagery showing Brueckner’s single story house around half a mile from the current search site at the time of the abduction.
Images recorded in 2006 and 2007 show vehicles resembling his distinctive VW camper van nearby.
He moved out of the white and yellow bungalow in late 2006 but a white roofed van still appears to be parked outside it in June 2007 after Maddie was snatched.
A white structure erected close to his house in 2006 when he lived there also appears to have vanished the following year.
Imagery also shows scores of open wells across the entire search area which were being drained and methodically checked for clues yesterday.
Wider satellite pictures taken in 2007 show a string of building plots around the current search area – which have since become luxury homes and holiday estates.
The worst fear of officers is that Brueckner could have hidden Maddie’s body or vital clues in the foundations of buildings which would now be impossible to excavate.
Hopes that telltale fragments of clothing – like the missing tot’s pink Eeyore pyjamas – might be found are also remote.
German federal officers are racing against time to find vital DNA clues after the 48-year-old fiend Brueckner boasted he would “go to ground” when he is released in September.
The vile pervert – who cops are convinced took and killed Maddie – is currently due to finish a seven year sentence for raping a 72-year-old woman in Praia da Luz in 2005.
A Portuguese police source said last night: “This really is a last ditch effort – search teams here are hoping they get lucky.
“Officers are determined to do everything they possibly can before Brueckner walks free. They know what is at stake.”
Here’s a timeline of the case which has gripped the world.
May 3, 2007
Madeleine McCann disappears from her family’s holiday apartment in Praia da Luz, Portugal, sparking a massive police search and becoming one of the most famous missing persons cases in history.
January 15, 2016
Neighbour reports a possible ‘grave’ at Brueckner’s abandoned factory in East Germany.
Cops find disturbing images on USB sticks and launch a full-scale search.
February 16, 2016
Christian Brueckner is convicted for abusing a girl of five in a park after images found on his laptop.
He was sentenced to 15-months behind bars but was already on the run by then.
May 3, 2017
Around this time, Helge B calls an information hotline after watching a ten-year anniversary special on the disappearance of Madeleine McCann.
He reports an alleged confession by Christian Brueckner.
September 27, 2018
On-the-run Christian Brueckner is arrested over outstanding drugs claims in Italy.
He is extradited to Germany the following year.
December 16, 2019
Christian Brueckner was convicted, in Germany, for the 2005 rape of an American woman in Praia da Luz, Portugal, after his DNA was matched to a hair found on her bed.
He was sentenced to seven years behind bars.
June 4, 2020
German prosecutors reveal to the world they have a suspect in custody under investigation for the abduction of Madeleine McCann.
For the first time they claim Madeleine is dead.
German media later name him as Christian B (Christian Brueckner).
June 23, 2023
In his first interview, witness Helge B alleges to German newspaper Bild that Christian Brueckner all-but-confessed the Madeleine abduction to him, by allegedly saying “she didn’t scream” as they talked about the case, at a music festival, in Spain.
February 16, 2024
Brueckner goes on trial accused of non-McCann allegations of rape and sex assault, in Braunschweig, Germany.
Prosecutors hope for a conviction to keep him behind bars permanently and lead to McCann charges.
October 8, 2024
Brueckner was acquitted of all claims.
Prosecutors launch an appeal, however. Decision pending.
June 3, 2025
Fresh search for Madeleine’s body begins.
September 17, 2025
Date on which Christian Brueckner will be released from custody without action being taken.
Prosecutors require an arrest warrant for a retrial over claims from last year – or over the McCann case.
ISRAEL has issued a warning to Greta Thunberg’s so-called Freedom Flotilla as the climate activist aims to sail into Gaza.
The Swede is pulling the dangerous stunt after leaving from Catania, Italy, on Sunday aboard the Madleen.
The boat, carrying 11 pro-Palestine protesters, is currently south of Crete and is aiming directly for the terror hotbed with only a “symbolic” amount of aid.
The young campaigners say they are hoping to “break the siege” and raise “international awareness” of the humanitarian crisis on the Gaza Strip.
Thunberg, 22, has posted on social media with a Palestine flag and wearing a keffiyeh scarf while on the pointless journey.
Israel is prepared to raid the ship, IDF spokesman Brigadier General Effie Defrin said.
He said: “We have gained experience in recent years, and we will act accordingly.”
One activist on board has said they are being followed by a drone – a month after another boat under the same flag was allegedly attacked by one.
In a video on social media, one of Greta’s shipmates said: “We can clearly see a drone to our left. It’s gaining on us a little bit.”
Organisers of the Freedom Flotilla Coalition say their voyage is “a non-violent, direct action to challenge Israel’s illegal siege”.
Ahead of the journey, Thunberg said through tears: “we are doing this because, no matter what odds we are against, we have to keep trying.
“Because the moment we stop trying is when we lose our humanity.
“And no matter how dangerous this mission is, it’s not even near as dangerous as the silence of the entire world in the face of the live-streamed genocide.”
Israel rejects any accusation it is conducting a genocide and says the accusations are an anti-Semitic “blood libel”.
Israel is, instead, aiming to wipe out the terror group Hamas which conducted the bloody October 7, 2023, massacre killing 1,200 people and taking 250 hostage.
Hamas is accused of using innocent Palestinian civilians as shields and holding aid meant for them to ransom.
US Senator Lindsey Graham has slammed the flotilla saying: “Hope Greta and her friends can swim!”
Negotiations are ongoing to find peace in the strip, with Israel last week signing up to a US proposal.
Israel has paused aid delivery after soldiers opened fire on people heading toward an aid site.
Gaza health officials, the Red Cross and the U.N. rights office said 27 people were killed on Tuesday, and witnesses blamed Israeli forces.
Israels military said it fired near people it described as suspects who it said approached its forces and ignored warning shots.
It says it is looking into reports of casualties.
The UN has warned that Gaza had become “the hungriest place on Earth”.
It said the territory’s entire population was at risk of famine.
It comes after Israel eliminated defacto Hamas Gaza chief Mohammad Sinwar, also known as “The Shadow”.
It comes after reports that the chief, who was also one of the October 7 masterminds, had likely been killed in an Israeli airstrike on May 13.
Israel appears to have successfully eliminated Sinwar Jr by bombing what it said was Hamas’ command centre under the European Hospital in the southern Gaza Strip.
Terror group Hamas has not agreed with the latest US proposal for peace in the strip – whereas Israel has.
Hamas has said that it is ready to release hostages in a bid to end the war in Gaza.
The militants said they would release ten living hostages and 18 bodies in return for Israel’s release of a number of Palestinian prisoners.
Hamas said: “This proposal aims to achieve a permanent ceasefire, (Israeli) withdrawal from the Gaza Strip and ensure the flow of aid to our people and families.”
There was no immediate response from Israel to the statement.
DRONE after drone can be seen hammering Russia’s nuclear bomber fleet and turning it into flaming wrecks, new footage released by Ukraine shows.
Operation Spiderweb can now astonishingly be seen in the clearest picture yet as 35 of the kamikaze craft spiral down onto the doomsday planes.
Kyiv’s daring raid destroyed 41 Russian planes – costing an estimated $7bn (£5.4bn) to Moscow’s coffers and humiliating Vladimir Putin.
New footage released as Ukraine doubles down on embarrassing Vlad shows the kill shots for dozens of the drones – with bombers left burning on the tarmac.
Kamikaze drones line up their target and then spiral down onto the planes.
Footage cuts out just as the drones blow themselves up.
But other drones from the swarm already in the air capture the moments wings, cabins and fuselage are bombed.
One clip shows a drone descending down onto a bomber, as an identical one can be seen burning in a heap behind it.
Another, shows a row of planes burning in a line along the side of the runway.
Several drones are able to fly so close to the planes without any Russian defences that they can land on them.
Red and orange flames erupt into black smoke on the runways as the next craft in the swarm looks for its target.
Ukraine’s spy agency which conducted the attack – the SBU – employed 117 drones in the daring operation to target Tu-95MS and Tu-22M strategic bombers, and A-50 spy planes.
The fresh drone strike footage comes after other footage emerged on Wednesday showing the trucks carrying the craft beginning the operation.
Clueless lorry drivers then parked the containers next to Russian airbases – where they sat and waited in plain sight.
Nondescript shipping containers parked in laybys and verges had attracted little attention – before their lids blew open and the drone swarms poured out.
Russian civilians stood in awe as they saw the drones zoom out of the containers and head in the direction of the bases.
The targeted air bases were: Olenya in the Arctic Murmansk region, Belaya in the Irkutsk region of Siberia, Dyagilevo in Ryazan region, and Ivanovo-Severny in Ivanovo region.
Footage caught one truck self destruct as Russian civilians climbed into it.
Each of the 117 drones had its own dedicated pilot and Russia had little defences to protect its bases and stop them.
The covert drone plot – 18 months in the planning – targeted four airfields deep inside Russia, and is reminiscent of the most daring raids of WW2 that turned the tide against the Nazis.
Ukraine’s president Volodymyr Zelensky oversaw the operation and said: “It’s genuinely satisfying when something I authorized a year and six months ago comes to fruition and deprives Russians of over forty units of strategic aviation.
“We will continue this work.”
In Putin’s first appearance since the attack, the tyrant did not mention the attack.
Instead, in a meeting with officials, he branded Zelensky’s government as “terrorists” for killing civilians.
Something the Kremlin dictator has done on an industrial scale in Ukraine’s cities.
Putin talked about attacks by Ukraine on Russia’s rail network – which led to two train crashes and killing civilians.
Satellite pictures have also confirmed the destruction – with burnt wrecks of ash and metal left lying on the tarmac.
Some debris has been hastily removed – perhaps in an attempt to conceal the scale of the destruction.
Despite the humiliating blow, Putin has laid out ridiculous demands for peace in Ukraine.
The deranged tyrant’s negotiators said an end to the war would only be agreed if Kyiv surrenders huge chunks of territory and accepts limits on the size of its army.
Despite being left red-faced by the mammoth assault, Putin’s mouthpieces shamelessly gave his terms for a ceasefire during a second round of direct peace talks in Istanbul on Monday.
Its first section contained Moscow‘s “basic parameters of a final settlement”.
The sham proposal demands Ukraine withdraw its troops from four eastern regions that Russia only partly occupies at the moment.
It also ordered that the international community recognise Crimea as Russia’s sovereign territory – after they annexed the peninsula in 2014.
By James Halpin, foreign news reporter
It remains unclear who quarterbacked Ukraine’s incredible drone strike operation for their spy agency – the SBU.
But Vladimir Putin’s goons have accused a Ukrainian ex-DJ of being the spy behind Operation Spiderweb.
Desperate to save face, Russian war bloggers have named the man they think ran Ukraine’s operation inside the the country as Artem Timofeev.
Artem, 37, is a former Ukrainian DJ and is believed by the sleuths to have owned the lorries used to carry the containers to the strikes.
One pro-Russian blogger said: “Artem is now wanted in connection with a terrorist attack in Irkutsk region.
“Four lorries were registered in his name, and one of them was the source of the drones that launched [in an attack on a Putin airbase].”
Artem’s wife Ekaterina Timofeeva, 34, is also suspected to have aided him.
According to pro-Kremlin Russian media, Ekaterina describes herself as a “witch” and is the author of B-list erotic novels.
