TEL AVIV: With a multicolored kimono, clucking sounds and chicken-like dance moves, Israeli singer Netta Barzilai won over audiences with a hit inspired by the #MeToo movement to claim the Eurovision Song Contest.
Now as she sets off on her first European tour the pop star has told AFP in an interview that she aims to pass on a message of empowerment after overcoming her own self doubts.
Her winning song “Toy” became an anthem for others who, like her, have been bullied or made to feel like an outcast.
She has said her childhood was marked by teasing over her body and bouts of bulimia.
“We’re made to feel small in all kinds of situations. I don’t want to feel small anymore,” the 25-year-old said Saturday at her publicist’s apartment in Israel’s economic capital Tel Aviv.
“I want to empower and love, to be empowered and empower others. Because when we send out good energy, it comes back at us and makes the world a better place.”
Her upcoming tour, which begins on November 12, includes venues in Austria, Germany, Switzerland and Britain, as well as a November 17 show at the Salle Wagram in Paris.
Articulate and intense, Barzilai said she applied for a spot representing Israel in 2018’s Eurovision in Lisbon because she was failing to make ends meet as an experimental musician.
“I knew nothing about Eurovision,” she confessed.
Before the contest shook up her life, Barzilai said, she and her band would “be paid in beer and basically jam.”
“I’d get drunk, sing on the tables, eat French fries off people’s plates and sing about them,” she recounted.
“I tried to get a job in music but was too unique to stand behind someone as a backing vocal or to sing in weddings.”
Barzilai’s mother pushed her to leave Tel Aviv and return to their home in central Israeli city Hod Hasharon and her father suggested she learn agronomy and join him in the family business.
In despair, she turned to an Israeli reality singing show, the winner of which would represent the country at Eurovision.
She never expected anything would come of the local exposure beyond maybe “getting gigs.”
But she eventually made it through and took her eccentric look and show to Lisbon, where her victory earned Israel the right to hold the 2019 Eurovision, which will take place in Tel Aviv.
Basking in the “superman powers” she received after her win, Barzilai can now return to Europe as a star with a repertoire blending her Eurovision fame and avant-garde roots.
There have been calls for artists to boycott next year’s Eurovision in Tel Aviv over Israel’s occupation of Palestinian territory, but Barzilai doesn’t think a boycott will solve anything.
“Instead of boycotting we should think how we can help, how to improve the situation,” she said.
“Tell me where to sing to solve the world’s problems and I’ll go.”
Unconcerned that the calls to stay away could harm next year’s event, she added: “I think it will be very happy here and those voices are small ones.”
Israel’s Eurovision champ heads to Europe with empowerment message
Israel’s Eurovision champ heads to Europe with empowerment message
- Her winning song “Toy” became an anthem for others who, like her, have been bullied or made to feel like an outcast
- Her upcoming tour, which begins on November 12, includes venues in Austria, Germany, Switzerland and Britain, as well as a November 17 show at the Salle Wagram in Paris
Palestinians return to north Gaza after breakthrough on hostages
- Israel and Hamas said they had reached a deal for the release of another six hostages
- Crowds began making their way north along a coastal road on foot Monday morning
NUSEIRAT, Palestinian Territories: Masses of displaced Palestinians began streaming toward the north of the war-battered Gaza Strip on Monday after Israel and Hamas said they had reached a deal for the release of another six hostages.
The breakthrough preserves a fragile ceasefire and paves the way for more hostage-prisoner swaps under an agreement aimed at ending the more than 15-month conflict, which has devastated the Gaza Strip and displaced nearly all its residents.
Israel had been preventing Palestinians from returning to their homes in northern Gaza, accusing Hamas of violating the terms of the truce, but Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office said late Sunday they would be allowed to pass after the new deal was reached.
Crowds began making their way north along a coastal road on foot Monday morning, carrying what belongings they could, AFPTV images showed.
“It’s a great feeling when you go back home, back to your family, relatives and loved ones, and inspect your house — if it is still a house,” displaced Gazan Ibrahim Abu Hassera said.
Hamas called the return “a victory” for Palestinians that “signals the failure and defeat of the plans for occupation and displacement.”
Its ally Islamic Jihad, meanwhile, called it a “response to all those who dream of displacing our people.”
The comments came after US President Donald Trump floated an idea to “clean out” Gaza and resettle Palestinians in Jordan and Egypt, drawing condemnation from regional leaders.
President Mahmud Abbas, whose Palestinian Authority is based in the Israeli-occupied West Bank, issued a “strong rejection and condemnation of any projects” aimed at displacing Palestinians from Gaza, his office said.
Bassem Naim, a member of Hamas’s political bureau, said that Palestinians would “foil such projects,” as they have done to similar plans “for displacement and alternative homelands over the decades.”
For Palestinians, any attempt to move them from Gaza would evoke dark memories of what the Arab world calls the “Nakba,” or catastrophe — the mass displacement of Palestinians during Israel’s creation in 1948.
“We say to Trump and the whole world: we will not leave Palestine or Gaza, no matter what happens,” said displaced Gaza resident Rashad Al-Naji.
Trump had floated the idea to reporters Saturday aboard Air Force One: “You’re talking about probably a million and half people, and we just clean out that whole thing.”
Moving Gaza’s roughly 2.4 million inhabitants could be done “temporarily or could be long term,” he said.
Israel’s far-right Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich — who opposed the truce deal and has voiced support for re-establishing Israeli settlements in Gaza — called Trump’s suggestion of “a great idea.”
The Arab League rejected the idea, warning against “attempts to uproot the Palestinian people from their land,” saying their forced displacement could “only be called ethnic cleansing.”
Jordanian Foreign Minister Ayman Safadi said “our rejection of the displacement of Palestinians is firm and will not change. Jordan is for Jordanians and Palestine is for Palestinians.”
Egypt’s foreign ministry said it rejected any infringement of Palestinians’ “inalienable rights.”
Israel had said it would prevent Palestinians’ passage to the north until the release of Arbel Yehud, a civilian woman hostage who it maintained should have been freed on Saturday.
But Netanyahu’s office later said a deal had been reached for the release of three hostages on Thursday, including Yehud, as well as another three on Saturday.
Hamas confirmed the agreement in its own statement Monday.
During the first phase of the Gaza truce, 33 hostages are supposed to be freed in staggered releases over six weeks in exchange for around 1,900 Palestinians held by the Israelis.
The most recent swap saw four Israeli women hostages, all soldiers, and 200 prisoners, nearly all Palestinian, released Saturday in the second such exchange during the fragile truce entering its second week.
“We want the agreement to continue and for them to bring our children back as quickly as possible — and all at once,” said Dani Miran, whose hostage son Omri is not slated for release during the first phase.
The truce has brought a surge of food, fuel, medicines and other aid into rubble-strewn Gaza, but the UN says “the humanitarian situation remains dire.”
Of the 251 hostages seized during Hamas’s October 7, 2023 attack that ignited the war, 87 remain in Gaza, including 34 the military says are dead.
The Hamas attack resulted in the deaths of 1,210 people, mostly civilians, according to an AFP tally based on official Israeli figures.
Israel’s retaliatory offensive has killed at least 47,306 people in Gaza, the majority civilians, according to figures from the Hamas-run territory’s health ministry that the United Nations considers reliable.
EU to agree easing Syria sanctions
- Europe is keen to help the reconstruction of the war-ravaged country and build bridges with its new leadership
- But some EU countries worry about moving too fast to embrace the new Islamist-led rulers in Damascus
BRUSSELS: EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas said she expected the bloc to agree Monday to begin easing sanctions on Syria after the ouster of Bashar Assad.
“It is a step for step approach,” Kallas said at the start of a meeting of EU foreign ministers in Brussels to discuss the move.
Europe is keen to help the reconstruction of the war-ravaged country and build bridges with its new leadership after the end of the Assad family’s five-decade rule.
But some EU countries worry about moving too fast to embrace the new Islamist-led rulers in Damascus.
The 27-nation EU imposed wide-ranging sanctions on the Assad government and Syria’s economy during its civil war.
Brussels says it is now willing to ease sanctions on the expectation the new authorities make good on commitments to form an inclusive transition.
“If they are doing the right steps, then we are willing to do the steps on our behalf as well,” Kallas said.
France’s Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot said the EU could start by suspending sanctions on the energy, transport and banking sectors.
Diplomats say the EU will only suspend the sanctions and not lift them definitively to maintain leverage over the Syrian leadership.
Syria’s new de facto leader Ahmed Al-Sharaa, and the Islamist group he led Hayat Tahrir Al-Sham, remain under EU sanctions.
Diplomats said there was still no discussion about lifting those designations, as with others on the Assad regime.
Saudi Arabia opens door for foreign investment in Makkah and Madinah real estate
RIYADH: Foreigners can now invest in Saudi-listed companies owning real estate in Makkah and Madinah, following a landmark decision by the Saudi Capital Market Authority.
Effective immediately, the move aims to boost the capital market’s competitiveness and align with the Kingdom’s Vision 2030 economic diversification objectives, the CMA announced in a press release.
While non-Saudis are allowed to purchase properties in the Kingdom, there are specific restrictions, and in the holy cities ownership is generally limited to Saudi nationals — although foreigners are allowed to lease properties there.
Under the new guidelines, foreign investments are limited to shares or convertible debt instruments of listed companies. Total non-Saudi ownership, including individuals and legal entities, is capped at 49 percent of a company’s shares.
However, strategic foreign investors are prohibited from holding stakes in these companies.
The move comes amid reforms across the region, with most neighboring countries allowing foreigners to own properties, primarily in free zones or designated areas under certain restrictions.
“Through this announcement, the Capital Market Authority aims to stimulate investment, enhance the attractiveness and efficiency of the capital market, and strengthen its regional and international competitiveness while supporting the local economy,” said the CMA.
The changes are also designed to stimulate foreign direct investment in the Kingdom’s capital market, as well as bolster its regional and international competitiveness.
“This includes attracting foreign capital and providing the necessary liquidity for current and future projects in Makkah and Madinah through the investment products available in the Saudi market, positioning it as a key funding source for these distinctive developmental projects,” added the CMA.
Strengthening the real estate sector and attracting more FDI into the Kingdom is one of the key goals outlined under the Vision 2030 program, as Saudi Arabia aims to reduce its dependence on crude revenues and diversify its economy.
The Kingdom aims to attract $100 billion in FDI by the end of this decade, and the government body has been implementing various initiatives and reforms to enhance the attractiveness of the capital market.
Some of these efforts include allowing foreign residents to directly invest in the stock market, enabling non-Saudi investors to access the market through swap agreements, and permitting qualified foreign capital institutions to invest in listed securities.
The CMA has also allowed foreign strategic investors to acquire strategic stakes in listed companies and directly invest in debt instruments.
In 2021, the CMA also allowed non-Saudis to subscribe to real estate funds investing within the boundaries of Makkah and Madinah, which played a crucial role in increasing the attractiveness of the capital market to both regional and international investors.
Russia drone barrage sparks fire in western Ukraine
KYIV: A barrage of more than 100 Russian drones sparked a fire at an industrial facility in western Ukraine and damaged residential buildings in other regions, Ukrainian officials said Monday.
The Ukrainian airforce said Moscow had dispatched 104 drones, including attack drones, and that 57 of the unmanned aerial vehicles had been shot down.
Emergency services in the western Ivano-Frankivsk region said the strikes had resulted in two fires at an industrial facility, and that firefighters were working to extinguish one.
They did not specify the type of facility hit but said there were no casualties.
The airforce said there was damage in four Ukrainian regions including Kyiv, where AFP journalists heard drones flying overhead and air defense systems countering the attack.
Elite field set for inaugural Challenge Sir Bani Yas Triathlon
- Sam Laidlow, Sara Perez Sala, Henri Schoeman and Milan Agnew among the world champions, Olympic athletes and rising stars taking part in the 4-day event
ABU DHABI: Sam Laidlow, Sara Perez Sala, Henri Schoeman and Milan Agnew will be among a strong field competing in the inaugural Challenge Sir Bani Yas Triathlon this April, the Middle East’s first long-distance event of its kind.
Held under the patronage of Sheikh Hamdan bin Zayed Al-Nahyan, the ruler’s representative in the Al-Dhafra region, the contest is the latest addition to the Challenge Family triathlon series.
Over 3,000 athletes are expected to take part in the event from April 3 to 7.
Throughout the year, challenge events of varying distances and locations take place across the globe, including New Zealand, Brazil, Turkiye, Italy and Taiwan.
And now with the Challenge Sir Bani Yas added to the roster — and becoming one of only four locations to host the event — participants and spectators can expect to rub shoulders with some of the world’s best triathletes.
French professional Laidlow, the youngest-ever Ironman World Champion, has chalked his name on the start line. After having an injury-ending season in 2024, the world No. 9 will be looking to make an impact to kickstart his year.
He will be joined by, among others, South African Olympic medalist Schoeman, who will no doubt feel confident after a solid 2024 season.
“I am excited to race Sir Bani Yas Challenge this year, it’s not often a completely new race comes along in what looks to be an amazing location,” said Laidlow. “There’s always something special about being part of an inaugural event, and I’m determined to take the top step.”
Looking to channel her 2022 victory at the series’ flagship race, The Championship, will be Spain’s Perez Sala. The former Olympic swimmer, who has been competing since the age of 6, will not be the only athlete to embrace the cooler Sir Bani Yas Island climate this April.
Young up-and-coming Australian, Agnew, who took the top spot in the Challenge Turku last year, as well as third at Challenge Cagnes-sur-Mer, also makes her way to Abu Dhabi this April.
Britons Lottie Lucas and Max Stapley, who both call the UAE home, will be among the local athletes taking part.
“I am really looking forward to racing at the inaugural Challenge Sir Bani Yas, which promises to be an exciting weekend for the triathlon community based in the UAE and beyond,” Lucas said.
“The entire weekend experience looks fantastic, and there will be plenty of time to put your feet up, relax and enjoy all the off-track fun.”
The event features both long- and middle-distance racing, with registration still open. The long-distance event features a 3.8 km swim, 180 km cycle and 42.2 km run.
Additionally, a middle-distance triathlon is offered, featuring a 1.9 km swim, 90 km cycle and 21.1 km run. The event includes various community, sports and tourism activities.
