Ireland’s public broadcaster said Thursday it will boycott next year’s Eurovision Song Contest, stressing that its position “remains unchanged,” Anadolu reports. In a statement, RTE confirmed that it will boycott the song contest for the second year in a row, noting that it will not participate in the 2027 Eurovision Song Contest, nor will it broadcast the competition. “RTE feels that Ireland’s participation cannot be justified given the appalling and ongoing loss of lives in Gaza and the humanitarian crisis there which continues to put the lives of so many civilians at risk,” it noted. The statement added: “RTE also remains deeply concerned by the continued denial of independent access to international journalists to the territory.” RTE was among several European broadcasters that boycotted Eurovision 2026 after it was decided Israel could compete. READ: Eurovision boycott: Sanchez says ‘silence is not an option’ in face of ‘illegal war, genocide’
Ireland’s public broadcaster said Thursday it will boycott next year’s Eurovision Song Contest, stressing that its position “remains unchanged,” Anadolu reports. In a statement, RTE confirmed that it will boycott the song contest for the second year in a row, noting that it will …
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Irish public broadcaster RTE has announced a second consecutive year-long boycott of the Eurovision Song Contest, citing concerns over Israel's participation and the humanitarian situation in Gaza. This decision follows a similar boycott by the Netherlands and comes after Eurovision organizers stated they would exclude nations involved in armed conflict from hosting the event.
NFL team owner Robert Kraft stated that Ed Sheeran requested he match a $2 million donation for Gaza prior to Macklemore’s recent $1 million pledge, though the timeline of these commitments requires verification given the public statements made on Wednesday.
Kraft, who also cited his long-standing efforts to foster Palestinian-Israeli business relations, made these remarks amidst controversy following Macklemore’s removal from the Loop tour due to his pro-Palestinian comments.
Jan Egeland, Secretary General of the Norwegian Refugee Council, stated that millions of Afghan refugees have been expelled from neighboring countries, while conditions for women and girls in Afghanistan have reportedly worsened under Taliban rule. He alleged that aid organizations are operating with insufficient funding, leading to staff reductions, and claimed that the United States provided no funding to humanitarian groups in Afghanistan this year.
Turkish religious agency TDV states it has provided $63 million in aid to Gaza over a three-year period. These figures are based on a machine-translated headline from a Turkish-language source and remain unverified by independent auditors.