Month: May 2021

Italian Eurovision Singer to Take ‘Voluntary Drug Test,’ Organizers Say

The singer for Italy’s Eurovision Song Contest winning rockers Maneskin will take a voluntary drug test after denying speculation that he was snorting cocaine during the broadcast, organizers said Sunday. Red lederhosen-clad vocalist Damiano David will be tested after going back to Italy, following viral footage of him leaning over a table in the hospitality area of the competition in Rotterdam.  “We are aware of the speculation surrounding the video clip of the Italian winners of the Eurovision Song Contest in the Green Room last night,” the European Broadcasting Union (EBU) said in a statement.  “The band have strongly refuted the …

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EU Demands Belarus Explain Diversion of Plane, Detention of Journalist 

European Union governments are demanding an immediate explanation from Belarus about the diversion of a Lithuanian-bound flight to Minsk, where authorities arrested one of its passengers, opposition activist and journalist Raman Pratasevich. Lithuanian President Gitanas Nauseda said the commercial flight was directed to land “by force,” while Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki called the event a “reprehensible act of state terrorism.” Nauseda slammed the arrest of Pratasevich and said the international community “must take immediate steps that this does not repeat.” His reaction came in an e-mailed statement quoted by Reuters that followed his initial reaction to the incident on Twitter. Mateusz said …

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At Least Eight Dead in Italian Cable Car Accident 

At least eight people have died and two are seriously injured after a cable car connecting Italy’s Maggiore lake with a mountain close by plunged on Sunday, the national alpine rescue service said. The Stresa-Mottarone cable car takes tourists and locals from the famous town of Stresa, on lake Maggiore, up almost 1400 meters above sea level to the top of the Mottarone mountain in 20 minutes.”It is a very serious accident,” Walter Milan, a spokesman for the national alpine rescue service told RaiNews24 television.He said two children had been transported by helicopter to a pediatric hospital in the northern city …

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Shamed BBC Journalist Apologizes Over Diana Interview 

Martin Bashir, the BBC journalist who tricked princess Diana into giving an explosive interview, on Sunday apologized to Princes William and Harry, but said claims linking his actions to her death were “unreasonable.” A report by retired senior judge John Dyson published on Thursday found that Bashir commissioned faked bank statements that falsely suggested some of Diana’s closest aides were being paid by the security services to keep tabs on her. FILE – Princess Diana arrives at the Royal Geographical Society in London for a speech on the dangers of landmines throughout the world, June 12, 1997.Bashir, 58, then showed them to …

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Rock Band Maneskin Wins Eurovision Song Contest for Italy

Move over sequins, disco beats and power ballads. A four-piece band of Italian rockers won the Eurovision Song Contest in the early hours of Sunday.Maneskin’s win was only the third victory for Italy in the immensely popular contest and the first since Toto Cutugno took the honor in 1990.Italy, the bookmakers’ favorite, trailed Switzerland, France and Malta after the national juries delivered their votes but were propelled to victory by votes from the viewing public.Ahead of the show, crowds gathered outside the Ahoy arena in the Dutch city of Rotterdam. Drag queens mingled with families as a man in a …

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Ex-BBC Head Quits Gallery Job Amid Diana Interview Fallout

Tony Hall, who was director of BBC news and current affairs at the time of the public broadcaster’s explosive 1995 interview with Princess Diana, resigned Saturday as board chairman of Britain’s National Gallery.Hall, who subsequently rose to the top job at the BBC, was heavily criticized in a report this week for a botched inquiry into how journalist Martin Bashir obtained the blockbuster interview.In a statement, the 70-year-old said his continued presence at the gallery would be a “distraction to an institution I care deeply about.”“As I said two days ago, I am very sorry for the events of 25 …

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US Blacklists 13 Russian Ships in Nord Stream 2

The United States formally blacklisted more than a dozen Russian ships involved in the construction of the Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline, days after exempting the pipeline’s Russian operator and CEO.The widely expected move, announced late on May 21 by the U.S. Treasury Department, came amid vehement criticism from congressional Republicans about the White House’s earlier announcement that it would not include the pipeline’s Russian-owned operator in the new sanctions.Nearly complete, the Baltic Sea pipeline will bring Russian gas directly to Germany, bypassing land routes through Ukraine, Belarus, and other countries.Critics said it will increase German dependence on Russian energy …

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