Letter From Europe: The Waters That Drown Dreams

MALMO, Sweden — Swiss singer Nemo won the 68th Eurovision Song Contest on Saturday night with “The Code,” an operatic ode to the singer’s journey toward embracing their nongender identity. Nemo beat Croatia’s Baby Lasagna to the title by winning the most points from a combination of national juries and viewers around the world. [time-brightcove not-tgx=”true”] The victory in the Swedish city of Malmo followed a turbulent year for the pan-continental pop contest that saw large street protests against the participation of Israel that tipped the feelgood musical celebration into a chaotic pressure cooker overshadowed by the war in Gaza. Hours before the final, Dutch competitor Joost Klein was expelled from the contest over a backstage altercation that was being investigated by police. The 68th Eurovision Song Contest finally got down to musical business Saturday in the Swedish city of Malmo after days of protests and offstage drama that have tipped the feelgood musical celebration into a chaotic pressure cooker overshadowed by the war in Gaza. A raucous Croatian rocker, a nonbinary Swiss performer with a soaring voice and — contentiously — a young Israeli singer with a powerful ballad were among acts from 25 countries vying for the continent’s musical crown. Before the final, thousands of pro-Palestinian demonstrators marched through Malmo to oppose the participation of Israel.

Prince William said his wife Kate Middleton is “doing well” when asked by a member of the public during a royal engagement on Friday. The Prince of Wales visited St. Mary’s Community Hospital on the Isles of Scilly in southwest England. An administrator at the hospital, Tracy Smith, gave the royal a tour of the facility.

RAFAH, Gaza Strip — Israel ordered new evacuations in Gaza’s southern city of Rafah on Saturday, forcing tens of thousands more people to move as it prepares to expand its military operation closer to the heavily populated central area, in defiance of growing pressure amid the war from close ally the United States and others. [time-brightcove not-tgx=”true”] As pro-Palestinian protests continued, Israel’s military also said it was moving into an area of devastated northern Gaza where it asserted that the Hamas militant group has regrouped. Israel has now evacuated the eastern third of Rafah, considered Gaza’s last refuge.

MALMO, Sweden — It’s time for many people to don sequins and spangles — and for others to pick up protest banners and Palestinian flags — for Saturday’s final of the 68th Eurovision Song Contest. The competition that pits nations against one another for pop music glory is reaching its conclusion in the Swedish city of Malmo, with Croatia and Switzerland among those tipped to take the trophy, and Israel at the center of a political storm. [time-brightcove not-tgx=”true”] Hours before the final, Dutch contestant Joost Klein was dramatically booted out by organizers over a backstage incident.

Xi Jinping has changed China fundamentally. He has kept the same political system that Chairman Mao Zedong created when he founded the People’s Republic of China in 1949. Mao governed China with “Mao Zedong Thought,” which he introduced in 1945. Deng Xiaoping put that aside when he took power in 1978 and unleashed the “reform and opening up” era.

(ST. PETERSBURG, Russia) — A bus veered off a bridge and plunged into a river on Friday in St. Petersburg, Russia’s second-largest city, killing seven people, officials said. The Investigative Committee, Russia’s top criminal investigations body, reported the death toll. It did not state how many others were injured, but the emergencies ministry earlier said that six people removed from the bus were in critical or serious condition. Russian news reports said there were 15 people on the city bus when it broke through a barrier and plunged into the Moika River in central St.