Eurovision: Europe Shine A Light

Leeuwarden replaces Union Jack with Scottish saltire after Brexit

DutchNews, February 3, 2020

The Saltire among the EU flags outside Leeuwarden station. Photo: Jan Ligthart 

The Frisian capital Leeuwarden has replaced the Union Jack with a Scottish saltire in its parade of European flags as a gesture of solidarity after Brexit. 

Alderman for culture Sjoerd Feitsma told the Friesch Dagblad he came up with the idea after visiting the Robert Burns festival in Edinburgh at the end of January. 

‘I was thinking of replacing the Union Jack with an EU flag or a rainbow flag,’ he said. ‘I noticed what a big deal it was for the Scots that they’re no longer in the EU and that they are still flying the European flag in the Scottish Parliament. That’s when I thought: we could do something with this too.’ 

The Scottish Parliament voted on Friday not to take down the EU flag on Friday evening when the UK formally left the European Union. EU rules and regulations will continue to apply until the end of the year while negotiations on the future relationship take place. 

European officials including former European Commission president Donald Tusk have said they are open to the idea of Scotland joining the EU if it becomes an independent nation. In the 2016 Brexit referendum, 62% of those who voted in Scotland opted to remain in the EU. 

Leeuwarden has a number of cultural ties with Edinburgh through the Eurocities network and the fact that both cities have City of Literature status. 

Feitsma said the flag would fly alongside the 27 EU flags outside the city’s main station for an indefinite period of time. ‘This isn’t an official area so we can decide for ourselves which flags we hang here.’

Coming home? 132,000 descendants of Spain's exiled Jews seek nationality

Yahoo – AFP, Alvaro VILLALOBOS, October 2, 2019

In 1492, the Spanish crown ordered the country's Jewish community, which numbered
at least 200,000, to either convert to Catholicism or be burned at the stake (AFP Photo)

Madrid (AFP) - More than 500 years ago, they faced a bleak choice: convert to Catholicism or be burned at the stake. The only other option was exile.

For Jews living in Spain at the time, 1492 was a year burned into historical memory when their community of at least 200,000 people were forced into exile.

Now, more than five centuries later, over 132,000 of their descendants have taken advantage of a limited-term offer of Spanish nationality that expired on Monday.

It is a long, complex and costly process involving a lot of paperwork. So far, only 6,000 people have been granted citizenship under the scheme.

The law, which was passed by parliament in October 2015, sought to address what the government has described as a "historic mistake" by King Ferdinand and Queen Isabella.

Known as Sephardim -- the Hebrew term for Jews of Spanish origin -- many of the exiles fled to the Ottoman Empire or North Africa and later to Latin America.

Under the legislation, those able to prove their Jewish heritage and their "special connection" to Spain were able to apply for citizenship, with the justice ministry saying it received 132,226 applications.

More than half of them were filed in the past month, when the ministry received some 72,000 applications.

'Taken something from my family'

"They said you didn't need a lawyer but without one, it would have been impossible," said Doreen Alhadeff, a resident of Seattle who obtained Spanish nationality for herself and two grandchildren.

Like all applicants, she had to provide proof of her Sephardic origin. This can be done through genealogical documents or through the local Jewish community.

Those documents then had to be taken personally to Spain to be approved by a local notary -- a process Alhadeff says cost her around $5,000.

"I felt they had taken something important away from my family, and I wanted to get it back," said the 69-year-old.

She remembers while growing up hearing Ladino, a 15th-century language fusing Hebrew and Spanish that is still spoken by Sephardim today.

For Jews living in Spain, 1492 was a year burned into historical memory when a 

community of at least 200,000 people were forced into exile (AFP Photo/GERARD JULIEN)

Others are still waiting to see if their application will be accepted.

Among them is the French writer Pierre Assouline, who has written many books, including one about his Sephardic origins entitled: "Return to Sepharad" -- Hebrew for Spain.

He filed his application nearly four years ago, along with a letter from Spain's King Felipe VI -- but the process is taking longer than expected.

"It's surprising and disappointing," he said.

Most applications came from Latin America, with around 20,000 from Mexico, 15,000 from Venezuela and 14,000 from Colombia, the justice ministry said. Another 4,000 came from Argentina and 3,000 from those in Israel.

Reconnecting with their roots

"We knew since the start that it was going to be a law with some complications regarding the means of proof," admitted Miguel de Lucas, head of Madrid's Centro Sefarad, a meeting place for Jewish communities in the Spanish capital.

But, he added: "It's better to have a law with some complications than no law at all."

Maya Dori, an Israeli lawyer who has lived in Spain for 17 years, has been deeply involved in the process, helping about 500 people from countries as far apart as Uruguay, Panama, Costa Rica, England and Turkey.

In helping people track down their ancestry, she had seen many "going on a personal journey, reconnecting with their roots and discovering many things about their families".

In her own case, it took seven years to get citizenship under a previous law dating back to 1924.

Unlike the recent legislation, applicants under that law had to relinquish any other citizenship and were required to live in Spain.

It is not only an attachment to historical ancestry that has provided a draw, says Gonzalo Manglano, head of the Cervantes Institute in Istanbul.

He points to the lure of a European passport for those from countries like Turkey.

"Both things carry a lot of weight," he said.

Although those applying under the new law did not have to be practising Jews, they needed to pass a Spanish language test as well as answering questions on Spain's culture and society.

A similar scheme is running in Portugal which does not require a language exam.

Isaac Querub, president of Spain's Federation of Jewish Communities (FCJE), hailed the legislation as a success, saying the Sephardim could no longer be thought of as "stateless Spaniards".

"Thousands of Sephardim have reclaimed their Spanish nationality and thousands more are in the process of doing so. Spain has closed a historical wound with an enduring act of justice," he said in a statement.

"Spain, as the King (Felipe VI) said (in 2015), has missed them and the Sephardim will never forget that."

Ukraine leaps into unknown after comic elected president

Yahoo – AFP, Anna SMOLCHENKO and Olga SHYLENKO, April 22, 2019

Comedian Volodymyr Zelensky is set for a landslide win in Ukraine's presidential
election (AFP Photo/Genya SAVILOV)

Kiev (AFP) - Ukraine leapt into the unknown Monday after comedian Volodymyr Zelensky was elected president on promises of change but with just a vague blueprint of what he might do as leader.

Zelensky, whose previous political experience was playing the president on a TV show, crushed incumbent Petro Poroshenko in a stinging rebuke to the establishment fuelled by voters' anger over war with separatists and social injustice.

Ukrainians looked to the future with hope and anxiety after the performer took 73 percent of the vote on Sunday, according to nearly complete official results.

Zelensky at 41 will become Ukraine's youngest ever president when he is sworn into office by early June. It remained unclear Monday who would fill top positions in his governement, including prime minister.

The star of "Servant of the People", a sitcom now in its third season, has vowed to press ahead with the pro-European course set out by Poroshenko.

But he has also said he wants to improve ties with arch-enemy Russia.

On election night, however, he appeared to taunt the Kremlin when he told people in fellow post-Soviet countries that "everything is possible."

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Monday it was "too early to talk about President Putin congratulating Mr Zelensky, or about the possibility of working together."

Ties between Ukraine and Russia were shredded after a bloody uprising ousted a Kremlin-backed regime in 2014, prompting Moscow to annex Crimea and support insurgents in eastern Ukraine in a conflict that has claimed around 13,000 lives.

Outgoing Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko (C) conceded defeat shortly 

after polls closed (AFP Photo/Sergei SUPINSKY)

Poroshenko pledges to return

Poroshenko, 53, quickly conceded defeat and said he was ready to coach the successor.

But on Monday evening he told a rally he planned to take back the country's top job during the next presidential polls set for 2024.

Several thousand supporters, who gathered outside the presidential offices, chanted they wanted him back "in a year".

"With God's help," Poroshenko replied.

"We will unite to secure our common victory in the near future.".

Poroshenko's faction has the most seats in the legislature and new parliamentary polls are due to be held in October.

The Ukrainian president has strong powers over defence, security and foreign policy but will need parliament backing to push through reforms.

On the streets of Kiev earlier Monday, many praised the elections as a fair and peaceful transfer of power after popular uprisings of 2004 and 2014.

"People showed that they want change," 28-year-old Karina told AFP.

"We had the most honest polls in the history of Ukraine," she added.

Zelensky shunned traditional campaign rallies, instead performing comedy gigs, and implied he would use the same unorthodox style to run the country of 45 million that depends on international aid.

Zelensky's campaign started as a joke but struck a chord with voters frustrated by

social injustice, corruption and a war with Russian-backed separatists in eastern 

Ukraine (AFP Photo/Sergei SUPINSKY)

US President Donald Trump and French leader Emmanuel Macron called the political novice to congratulate him, while German Chancellor Angela Merkel pledged support.

G7 ambassadors said they looked forward to working closely with the new leader but also recognized the progress the country had made under Poroshenko since 2014.

OSCE observers praised Ukraine's election as "competitive and held with respect for fundamental freedoms", while regretting that the campaigns were thin on substance.

'Political honeymoon'

The Kremlin said it respected the choice of the people but questioned the legitimacy of the polls, noting that "three million" Ukrainian citizens living in Russia could not vote there.

Kiev refused to open polling stations at its diplomatic missions in Russia.

Zelensky has said that among his top priorities are securing the release of Ukrainians being held prisoner by Russia and rebooting moribund Western-brokered peace talks.

But many doubt the political neophyte will be able to stand up to Putin and revive the struggling economy.

Questions have also been raised over his close ties to Israel-based tycoon Igor Kolomoysky.

Victoriya, a 74-year-old pensioner, said she liked the new president-elect but expressed concern that he may not last long.

"He has not met this pack of wolves yet," she said.

Analyst Volodymyr Fesenko said that Zelensky's political "honeymoon" would last two or three months before reality kicks in.

Ukrainians want to see a quick end to the war in the east and pay less for utility bills, Fesenko told AFP.

"It will be extremely difficult to meet these expectations," he said.

French embraces its feminine to end male linguistic dominance

France24 – AFP, 28 Feb 2019

The conservative Academie Francaise, which polices the language and has long
resisted change, said it had no objection to the feminisation fo job titles AFP/File

Paris (AFP) - The official guardians of the French language ended centuries of male linguistic dominance Thursday by allowing feminine words for all professions.

The notoriously conservative Academie Francaise, which polices the language and has long resisted change, said there was now "no obstacle in principle" to the wholesale feminisation of job titles.

French women doctors could soon be referred to as "docteures" and teachers as "professeures" in its official dictionary, which currently lists "presidente" as the wife of a head of state rather than a female leader of a country.

Despite more than half a century of feminism, the language of French working life has remained resolutely male.

Most jobs titles are automatically masculine, apart from a few notable exceptions such as nurse and child-minder.

The male-dominated Academie had previously fiercely opposed change, branding attempts at "inclusive writing" in government documents as an "aberration" that put French "in mortal danger".

And it found a powerful ally in Prime Minister Edouard Philippe, a sometime novelist who has called for a clampdown on bids to make French more female-friendly.

He insisted last year that the "masculine (form) is a neutral form which should be used for terms liable to apply to women".

But in a historic about-turn Thursday the male-dominated Academie, whose mostly elderly members wear an ornate uniform and sword, approved a report advocating change compiled by three of its four active female members.

One, novelist Dominique Bona, had pointedly complained that it was no accident that the masculine was "chosen as the dominant gender" in French.

'The dominant gender'

The "Immortals", as they are known, had been expected to cogitate for at least a week on the vexed issue but instead waved the report through by "a large majority" in a matter of hours.

"The Academie considers that all developments in the language aimed at recognising the place women have in society today can be envisaged," it declared.

It also opened the door to a more organic usage by saying that it "did not wish to dictate the rules by which titles should be feminised", saying it would be an "insurmountable task".

It said the debate about the use of the -eure ending in docteure, for example, "does not constitute a threat to the structure of the language as long as the final 'e' was not pronounced".

Writer and academy member Frederic Vitoux, who heads the Commission for the Enrichment of the French Language, said before the decision that he believed the reform would pass.

"For some professions it is simple," he said. "We have never had to asked ourselves should we be able to say 'actress'. But for others professions there are objective difficulties, because they cause confusion or don't work with the root of the word.

"How, for example, can we say a female doctor (medecin in French) without confusing it with 'medecine' (the science of medicine)?" Vitoux asked.

However, French speakers in neighbouring Belgium and Switzerland have long ago found ways around the problems.

The official language body in French-speaking Canada ruled on the issue in 1979, urging feminisation wherever possible. A female doctor there can be called "une medecin" or "une docteure".

'Implicitly sexist'

Although French people have feminised professions informally for years, the end of the long official block comes as attempts to bring gender-neutral "inclusive writing" to state documents has sparked impassioned debate.

As it stands, a mixed-gender group of readers, for example, will always be masculine as long as there is one man in the room.

Campaigners for "inclusive writing" -- who believe the language is implicitly sexist -- say in these situations the French word for readers, "lecteurs", should be written as "lecteur.rice.s".

But inserting full stops into words has horrified the purists and been sent up by others as complicated and confusing.

In 2015, France's High Council for Equality Between Women and Men issued a guide urging public bodies to use feminine forms for jobs like "firefighter" and "author" where applicable.

Some critics such as philosopher Raphael Enthoven object to what they see as France's prescriptive approach to the language, which is spoken by some 275 million people worldwide.

They say usage should be allowed to evolve naturally over time.

As well as pronouncing on what is and is not permissible French, the Academie Francaise compiles the country's official dictionary.

However, its ability to perform the task has been called into question, with critics pointing out that its membership of 35 does not include a single linguist.

Ozil defends controversial picture with Erdogan

Yahoo – AFP, July 22, 2018

Ozil, 29, came in for stinging criticism in Germany for their shock first-round defeat
at the World Cup (AFP Photo/Luis Acosta)

Berlin (AFP) - Footballer Mesut Ozil said Sunday he had no regrets about his controversial photograph with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan that sparked questions about his loyalty to Germany's national squad ahead of the World Cup.

Breaking his silence over the snapshot that caused outrage during the tournament, the Arsenal midfielder said in a statement on Twitter that he was loyal to both his Turkish and German origins and insisted he did not intend to make a political statement.

"Like many people, my ancestry traces back to more than one country. Whilst I grew up in Germany, my family background has its roots firmly based in Turkey," he said.

"I have two hearts, one German and one Turkish."

Ozil said he had first met Erdogan in 2010 after the president and German Chancellor Angela Merkel watched a Germany-Turkey match together.

"Since then, our paths have crossed a lot of times around the globe," he said.

"I'm aware that the picture of us caused a huge response in the German media, and whilst some people may accuse me of lying or being deceitful, the picture we took had no political intentions."

Ozil said despite the timing of the picture with teammate Ilkay Gundogan and Erdogan -- shortly before the president won re-election in a poll endowing him with sweeping new powers -- "it wasn't about politics or elections, it was about me respecting the highest office of my family's country".

"My job is a football player and not a politician, and our meeting was not an endorsement of any policies," Ozil said.

"I get that this may be hard to understand, as in most cultures the political leader cannot be thought of as being separate from the person. But in this case it is different. Whatever the outcome would've been in this previous election, or the election before that, I would have still taken the picture."

Ozil, 29, came in for stinging criticism in Germany for their shock first-round defeat at the World Cup.

Team boss Oliver Bierhoff suggested after the debacle that Germany should have considered dropping Ozil after his failure to explain himself over the Erdogan picture.

Bierhoff later backtracked, saying that he "was wrong" to put Ozil under undue pressure, but the picture continued to draw scorn from fans on social media.

Germany is home to more than three million people of Turkish origin.

#UPDATE Ozil, who has Turkish roots, had earlier defended a photograph with Turkey's President Erdogan that caused some to question his loyalty to the German team https://t.co/3XxTRNvvYH

— AFP news agency (@AFP) July 22, 2018

Netherlands, Turkey resume full diplomatic ties

Yahoo – AFP, July 20, 2018

"It's good that Turkey and the Netherlands turned the page together and that we
 have restored relations," said Dutch Foreign Minister Stef Blok (AFP Photo/Bart MAAT)

The Hague (AFP) - The Netherlands and Turkey said Friday they were resuming full diplomatic ties for the first time since Dutch officials barred two Turkish ministers from attending an election rally in 2017.

In a joint statement, the two countries said their foreign ministers met on the sidelines of last week's NATO summit in Brussels and "agreed to normalise the diplomatic relations between the Netherlands and Turkey.

"To that extend the ministers agreed to reinstate ambassadors in Ankara and The Hague shortly," the statement said.

The Hague withdrew its ambassador to Ankara in February as relations plunged to new lows in a festering dispute that began when the Netherlands expelled Turkey's Family Minister Fatma Betul Sayan Kayar in March 2017.

The country also barred another minister's plane from landing as both Turkish politicians sought to attend a Rotterdam rally of Dutch-Turkish citizens in favour of Turkey's April 2017 referendum, in which President Recep Tayyip Erdogan narrowly won sweeping new powers.

Anti-riot police vehicles form a blockade in a sealed off area surrounding the Dutch 

embassy in Ankara on March 12, 2017 (AFP Photo/Adem ALTAN)

Erdogan at the time accused the Dutch of behaving like "fascists" in their treatment of the Turkish ministers -- comments which triggered anger in the Netherlands, occupied by Nazi Germany in World War II.

The Netherlands is home to some 400,000 people of Turkish origin, and the two countries have had diplomatic relations for some four centuries.

"It's good that Turkey and the Netherlands turned the page together and that we have restored relations," said Dutch Foreign Minister Stef Blok.

"The cooperation between the Netherlands and Turkey is essential on a number of issues including the fight against the Islamic State group, the risk of (jihadist) fighters returning from Syria, but also our concerns over the human rights situation in Turkey."

Macron, Putin hold 'frank' talks on Syria, Ukraine

Yahoo – AFP, Hervé ASQUIN, Clare BYRNE, May 29, 2017

French President French President Emmanuel Macron shakes hands with 

Russian President Vladimir Putin following their meeting at the Versailles 

Palace, near Paris. (AFP Photo/CHRISTOPHE ARCHAMBAULT)

Versailles (France) (AFP) - France's President Emmanuel Macron and his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin attempted to improve their countries' strained ties on Monday during talks at Versailles palace described by Macron as "extremely frank".

Their first meeting since Macron took office provided another test of the Frenchman's diplomatic skills after his memorable vice-grip handshake last week with US President Donald Trump.

This time the handshake was warmer but the tone guarded after an hour of talks on the 300th anniversary of a visit to Versailles by tsar Peter the Great.

Putin admitted to some differences of opinion in the talks which covered issues including the conflicts in Syria and Ukraine, but insisted that Franco-Russian ties withstood "all points of friction".

"We disagree on a number of things but at least we discussed them," Macron said.

"Our absolute priority is the fight against terrorism and the eradication of terrorist groups and Daesh in particular," he said, using an alternate name for the Islamic State group that has claimed several deadly attacks in France.

'Organs of propaganda'

The newly elected French leader said he wanted to work more closely with Russia to try resolve the six-year war in Syria, one of the sticking points in relations between the West and Moscow which backs the regime of Bashar al-Assad.

French President Emmanuel Macron has warned Moscow he will not make

 "a single concession" over Ukraine, with France and her G7 partners saying

 at last week's summit they are prepared to strengthen sanctions against 

Moscow (AFP Photo/GIOVANNI ISOLINO)

Calling for "a democratic transition that preserves the Syrian state", he warned that "failed states" in the Middle East emboldened terror groups and posed a threat to the West.

But in an apparent warning to Assad and Russia, he said the use of chemical weapons was a "red line" that would draw an "immediate response" from France.

The pair also discussed the Western sanctions imposed on Russia over its encroachment on neighbouring Ukraine as well as allegations of Russian meddling in France's presidential campaign.

The Russian strongman defended hosting Macron's far-right rival Marine Le Pen -- seen as the Kremlin's favourite -- for a visit during the race, saying he had no cause to deny her request for an audience.

He also shrugged off allegations that Russian hackers infiltrated Macron's campaign.

"Maybe they were Russian hackers, maybe they were not," he said.

A more candid Macron let fly when questioned about two pro-Kremlin media outlets that were barred from his campaign headquarters after being accused of a smear campaign.

Russia Today broadcaster and Sputnik agency are "organs of influence and untruthful propaganda, nothing more, nothing less", he declared.

Macron also took the bull by the horns on human rights, saying Putin had promised him "the whole truth" about an alleged crackdown on gay men in Russian-controlled Chechnya and warning he would be "vigilant" on the issue.

'No concessions'

France's youngest ever president made a successful debut on the world stage last week, holding his own against Trump at a NATO summit in Brussels and winning plaudits from his peers at a G7 summit in Italy.

Russian President Vladimir Putin was quick to congratulate the new French 

leader Emmanuel Macron on his election victory, urging him to "overcome mutual 

distrust" and "join forces to ensure international stability and security". (AFP

 Photo/Alexander Zemlianichenko)

Ahead of Putin's visit, the 39-year-old centrist told a French weekly that he was not "bothered" by leaders who "think in terms of power dynamics".

He said he would make "not a single concession" to Russia on the three-year-old conflict in eastern Ukraine, with he and his G7 counterparts saying they were prepared to strengthen sanctions against Moscow.

Macron said he, Putin and the leaders of Germany and Ukraine would meet soon for talks, "which will allow us to make a complete evaluation of the situation".

Modernising tsar

Western powers charge Russia with failing to honour its commitments under the Minsk accords framework for ending the violence between government forces and Kremlin-backed rebels in Ukraine's east.

Putin said the sanctions imposed on Russia, which have seriously hurt trade with the EU, had "in no way" advanced the prospects of a lasting peace.

Directly after the French election he moved quickly to try reset relations with France, congratulating Macron and urging him to work to overcome their countries' "mutual distrust".

Monday's visit comes seven months after the Russian leader cancelled a trip to Paris amid a row over Syria with Macron's predecessor Francois Hollande, who had said Russia's bombing of Aleppo could amount to war crimes.

In Versailles, he and Macron inaugurated an exhibition marking the visit of Russia's modernising tsar Peter the Great to Versailles in 1717.

The fervently pro-Europe Macron said his invitation to Putin aimed to showcase "a Russia which is open to Europe".

Putin later visited a new Orthodox cathedral complex in central Paris.

Portuguese Crooner Wins Eurovision as Conflict Mars Kiev's Party

Yahoo – AFP, May 14, 2017

Kiev (AFP) - Portugal won the Eurovision Song Contest for the first time ever early Sunday with a melancholy ballad performed by a singer who suffers from a serious heart condition.

The fado-tinged song "Amar Pelos Dois" was performed by 27-year-old Salvador Sobral, who is awaiting a heart transplant.

It scored a crushing victory, winning top marks both from the televoters and the countries' professional juries.

The black-clad singer took to a small separate stage for his minimalist performance of the song written by his sister.

But the glitzy contest was marred by the ongoing fighting with Moscow-backed separatists in eastern Ukraine and Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko opted not to attend after four civilian deaths.

The ceremony in the capital of ex-Soviet Ukraine began with a glittering light show as the contestants took bows on a stage lit up in the colours of their respective national flags.

"Say hello to the world!" shouted co-presenter Volodymyr Ostapchuk.

The annual celebration of catchy europop, ludicrous costumes and glittering divas watched by some 200 million TV viewers was being hosted by Ukraine for the second time.

Another favorite with the bookmakers was Bulgaria's big-voiced 17-year-old singer Kristian Kostov who gave a confident performance of "Beautiful Mess".

During the contest, it emerged that Kostov had performed in Crimea soon after its annexation by Moscow -- the reason Ukraine banned Russia's singer.

But Ukraine let Kostov stay because he was just 14 at the time.

The latest edition of the contest, that began in 1956 with just seven countries, offered the usual wacky stage acts and cheesy beats.

Italian Francesco Gabbani invoked Hamlet and Desmond Morris's anthropology book "The Naked Ape" in his song, while a gorilla-costumed dancer boogied alongside him.

Azerbaijan's act featured a man wearing a horse's head on a stepladder while Romania presented an unlikely combination of yodeling and rap with two giant cannons on stage for no apparent reason.

Macedonia's contestant Jana Burceska failed to make the final but received a televised marriage proposal during a semi-final, screaming "Yes!" as her boyfriend knelt down with a ring.

Britain may be experiencing a post-Brexit vote chill in Europe, but pulled out all the stops with a big ballad performed by Lucie Jones.

Ahead of the show, fans streamed into the venue, an exhibition centre outside the city centre, wearing flower garlands and draped in national flags while some waved rainbow gay pride flags.

"It's just so great. Everyone loves it. And you just wanna be here!" shouted Jasmine from Britain, wearing a garland of ribbons and flowers.

For the contest, Kiev's main Kreshchatyk Street was transformed into a Eurovision fan zone with a large stage, beanbags and European Union flags.

Fans with flags painted on their faces snapped selfies, danced, sang and drank beer.

Amid heightened security, some 10,000 police were deployed on the streets, some carrying semi-automatic weapons.

Ukraine is hosting Eurovision amid a continuing armed conflict with pro-Russian separatists in the country's industrial east that has now killed more than 10,000.

A top Ukrainian official said Saturday that "Russian invading forces" had killed four civilians in shelling hours before the contest started.

And that news led President Poroshenko to cancel his appearance at Eurovision.

He wrote on Facebook that "due to the shelling of Avdiivka and the death of peaceful civilians, I took a decision to cancel my presence at the Eurovision final."

Russia was also conspicuously absent.

Kiev barred Russia's Yuliya Samoilova because she had illegally entered Crimea to perform there after Moscow's disputed annexation of the peninsula from Ukraine.

Russia responded by refusing to air the contest and viewers in separatist eastern Ukraine were also unable to watch.

Russia has vowed that Samoilova will compete in 2018, placing Ukraine in a tricky dilemma over whether to participate alongside her.

Ukraine first hosted Eurovision in 2005 when the contest symbolised the country's quest to open up to Europe after the 2004 pro-Western Orange Revolution.

Last year its contestant Jamala won with a song called "1944," referring to the Stalin-era deportation of her Crimean Tatar ethnic group from the Black Sea peninsula.

Jamala took to the stage during voting and in an unintended moment, a man wrapped in the Australian flag mooned in front of her.

This year, Ukraine has used the contest to take tentative steps to soften the climate of homophobia prevalent in the ex-Soviet Union.

The authorities handed out a map of gay-friendly venues to fans of the contest with a massive gay following.

Europe tussles for second knowing it's 'America First'

As US President Donald Trump vows to put "America first," a video from the Netherlands last week pleaded him to put their country second. Now, satirists from across Europe are making their own pitches to Washington.

Deutsche Welle, 3 February 2017

everysecondcounts.eu

In a casting show style they may hope appeals to the TV star turned US president, several European countries have broadcast videos attempting to persuade Donald Trump to give them second billing after "America First."

It started last week with a viral video from the Netherlands: "We totally understand it's going to be America first. But can we just say: The Netherlands second?" After all, the Netherlands' "orange" history and lax tax rules make it the ideal candidate, according to the comedian behind the video, Arjen Lubach.

In the space of a week, the video gathered more than 17 million views.

Now broadcasters from across Europe are sending out their own satirical videos messages to Trump and collecting them online at everysecondcounts.eu.

German comedian Jan Böhmermann broadcast Germany's satirical appeal to Trump on Thursday, where the video tried to impress the US president with by touting the fact Germany hosted "the best world wars" and building a "great German wall" and making the Russians pay for it then crying when it was torn down by David Hasselhof.

Böhmermann made headlines last year - and prompted an international incident - after he read a lewd poem about Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.

This Swiss, meanwhile, promoted their "big, fat mountains," while the Portuguese talked up their "huge, enormous beaches."

Other contributions so far include Denmark, Belgium and Lithuania.

Every Second Counts announced on its Twitter feed that Luxembourg and Slovakia will be the next countries to post their pitches to the president.

dm/sms (AP, Every Second Counts)

Related Articles

TV show says ‘Hello Mr Trump, this is the Netherlands’