miércoles, 28 de octubre de 2026
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‘We understand their decision’: Eurovision reacts to Netherlands pulling out of 2027 contest

Internacional
The Irish Times · Irlanda · Prensahace 1 día

The Eurovision Song Contest has said it is “deeply sorry” after the Netherlands withdrew from next year’s competition. The country’s public broadcaster NPO issued a statement saying it had taken a “step back” from Eurovision “due to the sensitivities surrounding the themes currently at play”.

The Netherlands was one of five countries to boycott this year’s competition due to Israel’s participation. The NPO announced last month that the country would return for the 2027 Eurovision Song Contest.

However, the national broadcaster has now confirmed it will not participate next year after discussions about its involvement failed to secure sufficient support. In a statement issued to the BBC, Jet de Ranitz, the chairwoman of the NPO, said: “In those discussions, we initially felt there was sufficient support to return.“Unfortunately, we were unable to find a suitable format for this.

As a result, we must conclude that it is currently too early to participate in the Eurovision…

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Internacional

‘Steady as she goes’ UK budget fuels talk that bigger changes are in the wings

“Is that it?” an indignant Tory leader Kemi Badenoch asked after the inaugural budget speech on Wednesday of Labour’s new chancellor of the exchequer, John Healey. His boss, UK prime minister Andy Burnham, rose to power over the summer with a near-revolutionary promise to reverse 40 years of right-wing economic orthodoxy. Yet his chancellor’s first big fiscal set-piece was a studied exercise in treading water, more notable for what it didn’t do than what it did. It included modest £100 cash rebates to council tax payers and VAT cuts on electricity, but there was no mention of how to cap galloping welfare spending, which is predicted to rise by more than £100 billion annually within the next five years. In his low-key house of commons speech, Healey blamed the inflationary pressures of US president Donald Trump’s war in Iran for limiting his fiscal options. Nancy Pelosi, the former Democratic congressional…

The Irish Times · Irlandahace 4 horas
Internacional

Pride in Spain’s rail network turns to soul-searching after another deadly collision

Spain’s high-speed rail network, the most extensive in Europe and the second largest in the world after China, has long ranked as a point of pride in the country. But Wednesday’s deadly crash near Los Yébenes, Toledo – the second major one in nine months – has recast the spotlight on questions about safety in the system. Officials said at least 68 people were killed on Wednesday morning after two trains collided, leading to the derailment of several carriages. The two trains were carrying 544 passengers at the time. One train, run by the state-owned Renfe company, ran into the rear of another owned by private company Iryo that had stopped, knocking two of its carriages off the track in a rural area between two villages. Spain’s transport minister, Oscar Puente, said the incident was caused by what he called an “inexplicable” order from a central command centre for Spain’s…

The Irish Times · Irlandahace 7 horas
Internacional

Why Israeli election deadlock raises prospect of yet another poll

What is the difference between the exit poll projections on Wednesday night and the actual results? Exit polls from Israel’s three main television stations predicted the opposition, anti-Netanyahu bloc would have a few seats more than the prime minister’s bloc, with the two Arab parties receiving the remaining seats. But with more than 85 per cent of the votes counted, Netanyahu’s bloc has 53 seats, compared to only 48 for the change bloc, with 19 seats for the two Arab parties. Likud is by far the largest party with a projected 26 seats, followed by Gadi Eisenkot’s Yashar, with 21. (A pro-Netanyahu television station had exit polls that were much closer to the actual result, but this was dismissed by most pundits as a reflection of wishful thinking.)The surge in votes for the Arab parties made it much more difficult for either bloc to come close to the 61 seats…

The Irish Times · Irlandahace 7 horas
Internacional

Can Israel’s opposition parties oust Netanyahu?

As the day drew to a close in Israel on Tuesday, exit polls in the Knesset election suggested a lead for the bloc of parties opposing prime minister Binyamin Netanyahu. As the sun rose and official counts were declared a very different picture emerged showing a slender lead for Netanyahu’s bloc. On today’s Inside Politics podcast, host Hugh Linehan asks our contributor in Jerusalem, Mark Weiss, to explain where things stand as counting continues. That lead enjoyed by the prime minister “changes the entire political picture”, says Weiss. Polling going into the election predicted Netanyahu’s days were numbered, but the results so far leave both sides “much farther from the required majority” to form a government. A strong performance by parties representing Israel’s Arab citizens has further complicated the arithmetic. Their gains have come at the expense of smaller anti-Netanyahu parties, making it harder for some opposition groups to clear…

The Irish Times · Irlandahace 10 horas