This Saturday, the 70th edition of the Eurovision Song Contest final takes place in Vienna, and this year’s competition is again mired in controversy.

A boycott over Israel’s participation by several countries, including Spain and Ireland, threatens to put the competition’s stance of political neutrality to the test. And it is part of a wider debate over which countries should be allowed to compete in prestigious international arts and sports competitions.

We speak to William Lee Adams, a culture reporter at the BBC who also runs a Eurovision YouTube channel, to unpack the controversy surrounding this year’s contest and discuss whether politics and art can ever really be separated.

Subscribe to our channel here: https://bbc.in/bbcnews

For the latest news download the BBC News app or visit BBC.com/news

#BBCNews #eurovision #israel #gaza

Chapters:

01:03 What is the appeal of Eurovision?
03:16 A basic guide to Eurovision
06:13 Why are Israel and Australia in Eurovision?
07:44 No politics in Eurovision
09:37 What was so controversial at Malmo 2024?
12:00 What happened in the 2025 voting?
15:12 Why are some countries boycotting this year?
17:55 Isn’t all art political?
20:07 Do boycotts serve any purpose?

source

Spain has started evacuating passengers from a hantavirus-stricken cruise ship anchored near Tenerife in the Canary Islands.

Health Minister Mónica García said the operation was “proceeding normally” and that all passengers on board the MS Hondius were still asymptomatic.

They will be divided into groups by nationality and ferried to the coast in small boats. Charter planes will be on the tarmac at the local airport, ready to repatriate them to their home countries.

Subscribe to our channel here: https://bbc.in/bbcnews

For the latest news download the BBC News app or visit BBC.com/news

#Hantavirus #BBCNews

source

Vladimir Putin has used his annual Victory Day speech in Moscow, marking the Soviet Union’s defeat of Nazi Germany in the Second World War, to justify his war in Ukraine and denounce Nato.

He was speaking as he oversaw a scaled-back parade on Red Square, held under heavy security, with fears of a Ukrainian attack and growing public concern in Russia over the war.

For the first time in years, no armoured vehicles or ballistic missiles featured in Moscow’s Victory Day parade. They were instead shown large TV screens.

The Russian president said he was fighting a “just” war and called Ukraine an “aggressive force” that is being “armed and supported by the whole bloc of Nato”.

His remarks come amid muted celebrations across Russia to mark the nation’s biggest national holiday.

Ahead of the celebrations Russia and Ukraine agreed to observe a three-day ceasefire, announced by US President Donald Trump on Friday.

Jane Hill presents BBC News at Ten reporting by Steve Rosenberg in Moscow.

Subscribe to our channel here: https://bbc.in/bbcnews

For the latest news download the BBC News app or visit BBC.com/news

#BBCNews

source

Across Russia, a network of nationalist vigilantes is carrying out raids targeting migrants, the LGBT community and anyone they deem to have violated what Vladimir Putin has described as “traditional values”. Vigilante activities have become more prominent since the full-scale invasion of Ukraine, as Mr Putin and the Kremlin have increasingly used nationalist rhetoric about the dangers of what they call “Western liberalism”.

Our investigations team, BBC Eye, has spent a year tracking the movements of the Russkaya Obshina nationalist group. In 2025, the Russian Orthodox Church – a powerful ally of the Russian state – recommended that all its bishops build partnerships with Russkaya Obshina. The BBC has also seen financial documents that suggest Russkaya Obshina receives funding from figures close to the Kremlin – though the group denies it.

Investigative journalist Christopher Giles tells us what he’s heard from current and former members of Russkaya Obshina, and the people caught up in their raids.

New episodes of the Global News Podcast are published twice a day. You can listen here: https://link.mgln.ai/GNP-YT

And you can find more of our YouTube episodes here: https://bbc.in/GlobalNewsPodcast

Subscribe to our channel here: https://bbc.in/bbcnews

For the latest news download the BBC News app or visit BBC.com/news

#BBCNews #russia #putin #ukraine #ukrainewar #russiaukrainewar

00:00 Introduction
00:20 Tracking the vigilantes
01:41 Targeted by a raid
03:34 Online harassment
04:17 Rising pressure during the Ukraine war
05:11 Links to the Russian Orthodox Church
07:11 What former vigilantes say
07:46 What Russkaya Obshina says

source

An American and a French national who have returned to their home countries having left a cruise ship hit by a deadly outbreak of …

source