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
US says supports gas deals with Kurdistan region after Iraq lawsuit
- “We encourage Baghdad and Irbil to work together to expand domestic gas production as soon as possible
WASHINGTON: The United States said Tuesday it supported American energy companies’ contracts with Iraq’s autonomous Kurdish region after the Iraqi government filed a lawsuit against them.
Regional prime minister Masrour Barzani announced the signing of the two deals valued at tens of billions of dollars during a visit to Washington, in which he met Friday with Secretary of State Marco Rubio.
Rubio in his meeting “commended” the deals with US companies, State Department spokeswoman Tammy Bruce told reporters.
“We encourage Baghdad and Irbil to work together to expand domestic gas production as soon as possible. These types of economic partnerships will benefit both the American and Iraqi peoples and help Iraq move toward energy independence,” she said.
“We also believe that US and Iraqi interests are best served by having a strong, resilient Iraqi Kurdistan region within a sovereign and prosperous federal Iraq
“As far as the nature of the lawsuits, obviously we are looking forward to continuing these kinds of deals. We expect these kinds of deals to flourish, and expect and would hope that they would be facilitated,” she said.
Moscow airports disrupted as Russia says Ukraine launches drone assault
- Moscow’s mayor, Sergei Sobyanin, said on Telegram that 12 drones heading for the Russian capital had been shot down
- The attack comes after Ukraine said it had faced the most intense three days of Russian drone attacks since Moscow launched its military offensive in 2022
MOSCOW: Russian authorities said they had battled a major Ukrainian drone attack late Tuesday and early Wednesday, with at least two Moscow airports forced to suspend flights.
The defense ministry said in a Telegram post that 112 Ukrainian drones had been “destroyed and intercepted” in six different regions in the three hours up to midnight.
Moscow’s mayor, Sergei Sobyanin, said on Telegram that 12 drones heading for the Russian capital had been shot down.
Some 59 had targeted the southwestern region of Bryansk, the defense ministry said. Others were fired at the Kursk, Belgorod, Tula, Oryol and Kaluga regions.
The attack comes after Ukraine said it had faced the most intense three days of Russian drone attacks since Moscow launched its military offensive in 2022.
The Russian military announces Ukrainian drone attacks most days but rarely of this intensity over such a short period of time.
Moscow, several hundred kilometers from the frontier, is not often the target of such a big attack.
But authorities have been increasingly forced to divert flights from Moscow airports in recent weeks.
This time, the Federal Aviation Transport Agency said restrictions had been introduced at Moscow’s Vnukovo and Zhukovsky airports.
Ukraine said that Russia launched more than 900 drones over three days up to Monday. Thirteen civilians were killed in attacks on Sunday, including three children.
Russia’s defense ministry said Tuesday that it had responded to Ukraine’s “provocation” by launching drone and missile attacks on Russian civilian installations.
Eala sees ‘new era for Filipino sport’ after first Grand Slam match win
- Eala: I’m feeling good, it’s my debut in Grand Slam doubles so I’m feeling happy to be playing with Renata and to have my first Slam win
- Eala is part of a new generation of Filipino sports stars
- She lifted the 2022 US Open girls’ singles trophy and reached the semifinals at Miami in March when, ranked 140th in the world, she beat three Grand Slam winners in Jelena Ostapenko, Madison Keys and world No. 2 Iga Swiatek
PARIS: Alexandra Eala on Tuesday achieved a first Grand Slam match win for a Filipino woman, saying she hoped her doubles success at the French Open was part of “a new era for sport” in her country.
She teamed up with Mexico’s Renata Zarazua to defeat Britain’s Emily Appleton and Spain’s Yvonne Cavalle-Reimers 7-5, 6-4 and book a place in the second round.
The win came two days after the 20-year-old, the first woman from her country to compete in a Grand Slam, was eliminated in the first round of the singles by Emiliana Arango of Colombia 6-0, 2-6, 6-3.
“It’s so heartwarming,” Eala told AFP of her Grand Slam match win.
“Of course, it’s always good to come back and compete well after a singles loss, especially after a tight one.
“I’m feeling good, it’s my debut in Grand Slam doubles so I’m feeling happy to be playing with Renata and to have my first Slam win.
“Of course, it was a difficult (singles) loss but in the end I think there’s things to take away and I try to do better in the doubles.”
The support from home has been “positive,” she said.
“They’re happy to see a Filipino competing in the main draw in Paris.”
Eala is part of a new generation of Filipino sports stars. She has trained since the age of 13 at Rafael Nadal’s academy in Mallorca, Spain.
She lifted the 2022 US Open girls’ singles trophy and reached the semifinals at Miami in March when, ranked 140th in the world, she beat three Grand Slam winners in Jelena Ostapenko, Madison Keys and world number two Iga Swiatek.
“I think we’re entering a new era for Filipino sport,” the 73rd-ranked player said, pointing to the success of gymnast Carlos Yulo who took two gold medals at the Paris Olympics last year.
“Filipinos are very talented and very hard workers. There’s a support, a community, because it’s not often you (have) seen Filipino athletes excel on the international stage, so every time someone does good we’re very happy for them.”
Nicklaus surprised by McIlroy skipping his PGA Memorial event
- Nicklaus said he has not heard from McIlroy since the Northern Ireland star captured his fifth major title and first Masters to complete a career Grand Slam
- McIlroy will miss the Memorial for the first time since 2017, instead playing next week’s Canadian Open as his tuneup for the following week’s US Open
WASHINGTON: Jack Nicklaus said Tuesday that he was surprised Masters winner Rory McIlroy did not tell him in advance that he was not playing in this week’s Nicklaus-hosted PGA Memorial tournament.
Nicklaus, an 18-time major winner, predicted McIlroy’s triumph last month at Augusta National after hitting his own ceremonial opening tee shot.
Nicklaus said he has not heard from McIlroy since the Northern Ireland star captured his fifth major title and first Masters to complete a career Grand Slam.
McIlroy will miss the Memorial for the first time since 2017, instead playing next week’s Canadian Open as his tuneup for the following week’s US Open at Oakmont.
“I didn’t have a conversation with him, no,” Nicklaus said, calling that “a little bit” of a surprise.
“It surprised me. But guys have got schedules and got things they do. And I haven’t talked to him for him to tell me why or why not. It’s just his call,” Nicklaus said.
“I made a lot of calls that I had to make when I played to play or not play... sometimes you have to make those calls.
“I don’t hold anything against Rory for that. I know he likes to play so many in a row. He likes to play the week before a US Open. And so that’s what he’s doing.
“I mean, I’m a big Rory fan, I always have been. I’m sure that I will remain that way. I just, I was a little surprised, yes.”
Nicklaus said he had no problem about McIlroy not giving him advance warning about his absence.
“I’m not going to throw Rory under the bus. I like Rory too much,” said Nicklaus. “He’s got to make his own calls on things. Could he have done ‘em differently? Probably. But that’s all right. I probably could have done some of mine differently too. So I’m not complaining about Rory.”
Nicklaus said he sent McIlroy a congratulatory letter shortly after the Masters victory last month.
“I told him I don’t think anybody has won by having four double bogeys,” Nicklaus said. “And I said, ‘But that just showed me how much talent you have to overcome that to win and how you played some unbelievably spectacular shots.
“I was very happy for him. It was a great win.”
Trump administration asks Supreme Court to halt judge’s order on deportations to South Sudan
- This is the latest case where federal judges weighing in on the legality of the Trump administration’s sweeping agenda have used forceful, sometimes even scathing, language to register their displeasure
WASHINGTON: The Trump administration asked the Supreme Court on Tuesday to halt an order allowing migrants to challenge their deportations to South Sudan, an appeal that came hours after the judge suggested the Trump administration was “manufacturing” chaos and said he hoped that “reason can get the better of rhetoric.”
Judge Brian Murphy found the White House violated a court order with a deportation flight bound for the chaotic African nation carrying people from other countries who had been convicted of crimes in the US He said those immigrants must get a real chance to raise any fears that being sent there could put them in danger.
The federal government argued that Murphy has stalled its efforts to carry out deportations of migrants who can’t be returned to their home countries. Finding countries willing to take them is a “a delicate diplomatic endeavor” and the court requirements are a major setback, Solicitor General D. John Sauer wrote in an emergency appeal asking the court to immediately halt his order.
Murphy, for his part, said he had given the Trump administration “remarkable flexibility with minimal oversight” in the case and emphasized the numerous times he attempted to work with the government, according to an order published Monday night.
This is the latest case where federal judges weighing in on the legality of the Trump administration’s sweeping agenda have used forceful, sometimes even scathing, language to register their displeasure. The Trump administration has accused judges of thwarting the will of voters by stopping or slowing the White House agenda.
The judge said the men couldn’t advocate for themselves
In a hearing last week called to address reports that eight immigrants had been sent to South Sudan, Murphy said the men hadn’t been able to argue that the deportation could put them in danger.
But instead of ordering the government to return the men to the US for hearings — as the plaintiffs wanted — he gave the government the option of holding the hearings in Djibouti, where the plane had flown on its way to South Sudan, as long as the men remained in US government custody. Days later, the Trump administration filed another motion saying that Murphy was requiring them to hold “dangerous criminals in a sensitive location.”
Murphy, though, said it was the government’s “own suggestion” that they be allowed to process the men’s claims while they were still abroad.
“It turns out that having immigration proceedings on another continent is harder and more logistically cumbersome than Defendants anticipated,” the Boston-based Murphy, who was appointed by Democratic President Joe Biden, wrote.
The government has argued that the men had a history with the immigration system, giving them prior opportunities to express a fear of being deported to a country outside their homeland. And they’ve said that the men’s home countries — Cuba, Laos, Mexico, Myanmar, Vietnam and South Sudan — would not take them back.
“The district court’s invented process offers little but delay. While certain aliens may benefit from stalling their removal, the nation does not,” wrote Sauer. Keeping the migrants in Djibouti has also strained the US relationship with that country, officials have said.
The administration has also repeatedly emphasized the men’s criminal histories in the US and portrayed them as national security threats.
The administration is relying on third countries
The Trump administration has increasingly relied on third countries to take immigrants who cannot be sent to their home countries for various reasons. Some countries simply refuse to take back their citizens being deported while others take back some but not all of their citizens. And some cannot be sent to their home countries because of concerns they’ll be tortured or harmed.
Historically that has meant that immigration enforcement officials have had to release people into the US that it wants to deport but can’t.
But the Trump administration has leaned on other countries to take them. In the Western Hemisphere, El Salvador, Costa Rica and Panama have all agreed to take some people being removed from the US, with El Salvador being the most controversial example because it is holding people deported from the US in a notorious prison.
The Trump administration has said it’s exploring other third countries for deportations.
Murphy said in his order that the eight men were initially told May 19 they’d be going to South Africa and then later that same day were told they were going to South Sudan. He noted that the US government “has issued stark warnings regarding South Sudan.”
He said the men had fewer than 16 hours between being told they were going to be removed and going to the airport, “most of which were non-waking hours,” and “limited, if any” ability to talk to family or a lawyer. “From the course of conduct, it is hard to come to any conclusion other than that Defendants invite a lack of clarity as a means of evasion,” the judge wrote.
