The Guardian – Dec 10, 2025
Iceland has become the fifth country to boycott next year’s Eurovision song contest after Israel was given the go-ahead to compete, deepening the crisis facing the competition.
The board of the national broadcaster, RÚV, voted on Wednesday not to participate, meaning Iceland will join Spain, Slovenia, the Netherlands and Ireland in neither participating in nor broadcasting the event, which is scheduled to take place in Vienna.
Last week the contest’s organising body, the European Broadcasting Union, declined to expel Israel over its conduct of the war against Hamas in Gaza.
RÚV said in a statement that “given the public debate in this country … it is clear that neither joy nor peace will prevail regarding the participation of RÚV in Eurovision. It is therefore the conclusion of RÚV to notify the EBU today that RÚV will not take part in Eurovision next year.”
RÚV added that it had raised concerns numerous times with the EBU, which it felt had not been addressed.
The war in Gaza has caused ructions at Eurovision, spurring protests outside venues and forcing organisers to clamp down on political flag-waving.
The EBU held a general assembly last week, where members met to discuss concerns about Israel’s participation. Members voted to adopt tougher contest voting rules in response to allegations that Israel manipulated the vote in favour of their contestants, but took no action to exclude any broadcaster from the competition.
The walkouts cast a cloud over the future of what’s meant to be a feelgood cultural party, dealing a blow to fans, broadcasters and the contest’s finances.
Before the board meeting, RÚV’s vice-chair, Diljá Ámundadóttir Zöega, gave a hint of things to come. “Today is International Human Rights Day and I think the outcome will be in that spirit,“ she said.
Earlier on Wednesday, Poland confirmed it would be participating in the contest. Its national broadcaster said: “We are aware of the scale of tension surrounding the upcoming edition. We understand the emotions and concerns. However, we believe that Eurovision still has a chance to once again become a space filled with music. And only music. We, like the overwhelming majority of EBU members, offer this opportunity.”
Germany and Austria have also confirmed they will be taking part, arguing that Eurovision was conceived as an apolitical song contest to unite Europe.
RTÉ, the Irish broadcaster, said participation was “unconscionable given the appalling loss of lives in Gaza and the humanitarian crisis there” while RTVE in Spain said participating would engender “distrust” in the organisation given the depth of feeling over Gaza.
Spain’s culture minister, Ernest Urtasun, backed the boycott. He said: “You can’t whitewash Israel given the genocide in Gaza. Culture should be on the side of peace and justice.”
Kier Starmer fights back against the UK people with demands to stop the migrants
Story by Dave Burke
The UK has pleaded with European leaders to make sweeping changes to human rights laws in a bid to tackle mass migration.
This is why people voted for brexit
to control our own borders and fishing grounds
Keir Starmer warned that we must adapt to the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR)
as that is the law
The Government says two sections of the ECHR – protections against inhuman and degrading treatment and the right to a family life – are being used to harass UK people, and the migrant dumping must stop
The landmark European-wide legislation was drawn up after the Second World War, with Winston Churchill among its biggest advocates. The Tories and Reform UK are both clamouring for Britain to leave the ECHR altogether – a move Labour opposes.
• Keir Starmer holds crunch talks with Donald Trump at ‘critical moment’ to stop all migrant swamping in the UK
Brutal winter storms in Gaza put 850,000 people at imminent flood risk; Over 100 Palestinians detained in West Bank; U.S. military onboards Google’s AI
Drop Site Daily: December 10, 2025
Winter storms are expected to hit Gaza today. Child malnutrition in Gaza remains at crisis levels. Only a third of Gaza’s children are enrolled in school. Israel remains the foremost state perpetrator of journalist killings in 2025 for the third consecutive year. More than 100 Palestinians are detained Wednesday in a sweeping raid on the West Bank. Bolivia restores full diplomatic ties with Israel. President Donald Trump says Russia is “obviously” winning in a wide-ranging interview with Politico. The U.S. military installs Google’s AI technology. A Senate report finds that immigration officials have detained and brutalized at least 22 American citizens. The U.S. sanctions a “transactional network” funding the RSF in Sudan, but fails to mention the UAE. UNICEF estimates 10 million have been displaced in Sudan. Nigerian soldiers are detained in Burkina Faso. The M23 pushes toward the city of Uvira in eastern Congo. Dozens are killed after intra-gang fighting in Haiti, six are killed in an attack on a security installation in northwest Pakistan, and the death toll rises in border clashes between Thailand and Cambodia. A new Drop Site report uncovers that Jeffrey Epstein, contrary to previous claims, was de facto chief financial officer of Leslie Wexner’s pro-Israel philanthropic foundation.
The Genocide in Gaza
Casualty counts in the last 24 hours: Over the past 24 hours, the bodies of three Palestinians, including one recovered from the rubble, arrived at hospitals, while five Palestinians have been injured, according to the Gaza Ministry of Health. The total recorded death toll since October 7, 2023 is now 70,369 killed, with 171,069 injured.
Total casualty counts since ceasefire: Since October 11, the first full day of the ceasefire, Israel has killed at least 379 Palestinians in Gaza and wounded 992, while 627 bodies have been recovered from under the rubble, according to the Ministry of Health.
READ MORE :
https://www.dropsitenews.com/p/brutal-winter-storms-gaza-flood-risk-united-states-military-google-artificial-intellegience-palestinians-detained-west-bank-raid-drop-site-daily?publication_id=2510348&post_id=
Someone should point out that Israel is not in Europe.