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The world’s biggest music competition – the Eurovision Song Contest – watched by hundreds of millions, has crowned its winner in Basel, Switzerland.
Austria has won Eurovision 2025, with Austrian-Filipino singer-songwriter JJ taking the glass microphone.
The 24-year-old singer – whose real name is Johannes Pietsch – originally trained as a countertenor, and represented his country with the operatic ballad Wasted Love, dramatically staged on a storm-tossed ship.
Tributes are flooding in for a rapper who has died just hours before he was scheduled to perform, with his producer speaking out.
French rapper Werenoi has died aged just 31 β hours before he was scheduled to perform a concert. His producer Babs confirmed the news with a statement that read: βRest in peace my brother I love you!!!β Local media reports the rap star was hospitalised after doing into cardiorespiratory arrest.
Werenoi, real name Jeremy Bana Owana, was taken to intensive care but died in the early hours of Saturday morning (May 17). Tributes have been flooding in for the star, with radio presenter Musa tweeting: βMy condolences to his loved onesβ¦β Someone else posted: βRIP Jeremy Bana Owona.β
Talks could take place, but only as a result of progress in the ongoing peace efforts between Russian and Ukrainian delegations, Dmitry Peskov has said
Russian President Vladimir Putin and Ukraineβs Vladimir Zelensky could hold talks if the ongoing peace efforts between Russian and Ukrainian delegations result in progress and firm agreements, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said on Saturday. His comments come after the first direct negotiations between Moscow and Kiev since 2022.
On Friday, Russian and Ukrainian representatives sat down for a two-hour Turkish-mediated meeting in Istanbul. The sides agreed to exchange their ceasefire proposals and to discuss a potential follow-up meeting, according to Moscowβs chief negotiator, Vladimir Medinsky. Moscow and Kiev also agreed to a major prisoner exchange, he said, adding that Russia is βsatisfiedβ with the results of the talks and is ready to βresume contactsβ with Kiev.
A heartbreaking story
“Follow the Silenced” tells the untold stories of those that were first in line and injured in the Covid Vaccine Trials, abandoned by the system, and the extraordinary way they rose together, forming REACT19 to uncover the truth, push for research, and reclaim their health and voices.
A federal judge ruled this week that the State of Kansas may proceed with its consumer protection lawsuit against Pfizer in state court, rejecting the pharmaceutical companyβs effort to move the case to federal jurisdiction under the Public Readiness and Emergency Preparedness (PREP) Act.
The decision could mark a pivotal moment in efforts to hold vaccine manufacturers accountable for how COVID-19 vaccines were marketed to the public.
In his opinion, U.S. District Judge Daniel D. Crabtree ruled that Kansasβ allegations fall outside the scope of the PREP Act, which grants legal immunity to vaccine manufacturers for injury claims tied to federally recommended pandemic countermeasures. Crabtree found that Kansasβ case centers on claims of deceptive marketing practices, not on physical injuries, and therefore is not preempted by the Act.
βThat point alone ends the debate,β Crabtree wrote, concluding the case should be remanded to the District Court of Thomas County, where it was originally filed.
The Kansas Lawsuit
On June 17, 2024, Kansas Attorney General Kris Kobach filed suit against Pfizer, alleging the company violated the Kansas Consumer Protection Act by misrepresenting its COVID-19 vaccine as βsafe and effectiveβ while concealing evidence of serious risks and diminishing effectiveness over time. The complaint alleges that:
The case does not involve injury or wrongful death claims. Instead, it alleges that Pfizerβs communications misled consumers and violated state law.
"Big Win: Court Rules Pfizer Can Be Sued for Deception" – DailyClout https://t.co/AQMMfDkp82
— 815wrldtrvlr (@815wrldtrvlr) May 15, 2025
Ukraine and Russia may hold talks in Turkey today but there is confusion over who, if anyone, will attend. Russiaβs President Vladimir Putin wonβt be taking part, despite calling the talks himself. A Turkish source saidthere was no confirmed meeting βyet.β
Ukraineβs President Volodymyr Zelensky says heβll decide on the talks after a meeting with Turkeyβs President Erdogan. Heβs said he wonβt meet anyone from the Russian side other than Putin, and dismissed the Russian delegation as βphony.β
US President Donald Trump is not going to Turkey to mediate the talks. He had repeatedly hinted that he might upend his Middle East travel schedule to join the negotiations after Zelensky said he would be βgratefulβ for his presence and Trump said Putin would βlike me to be there.β
Update:
Talks between the Russian and Ukrainian delegations will start on Friday, TASS has reported, citing a source close to the organization of the event.
The Russian team has departed for the presidential office, located in the Dolmabahce Palace, where talks between the two delegations are expected to commence.
Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova has responded to NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte, who claimed earlier in the day that βthe ball is now on the Russian sideβ when it comes to stopping the fighting in the Ukraine conflict.
βWe have not only the ball, but also the truth on our side. The problem is that no matter how much the NATO hooligans shout from the bench in order to score a goal we need the Ukrainian team on the pitch,β Zakharova said, referring to Kievβs reluctance to confirm the participation of its delegation in direct talks with Moscow in Istanbul.
Putin declines Zelenskyβs Istanbul peace talks proposal; Trump also skipping. Kremlin names representative to lead Russian delegation insteadhttps://t.co/BF8CCWJEh5 pic.twitter.com/Gtf8XhNVS4
— Hindustan Times (@htTweets) May 15, 2025
A four-year saga will reach its climax on Wednesday, but the Commission president is likely to emerge relatively unscathed.
Ursula von der Leyen faces a verdict in the ‘Pfizergate’ scandal on Wednesday morning. No matter what it will be and how appalled MEPs and NGOs will react, she will most likely emerge relatively unscathed.
The European Commission president is dealing with a condition probably best described as ‘political long Covid’.
Four years after she exchanged text messages with the head of pharmaceutical giant Pfizer, the General Court of the EU will hand down its judgment on whether the European Commission, through its president, violated transparency rules in refusing to make the messages public.
The New York Times filed a complaint against the Commission in 2023, after it refused to reveal the content of the messages that von der Leyen exchanged with the CEO of Pfizer, Albert Bourla β the Times had revealed the messages in an interview with Bourla in 2021. At the time, the two were negotiating a β¬35 billion deal for the delivery of 900 million Covid-19 vaccines, with the option for 900 million more.
The EU executive long maintained ambiguity over the very exsistence of the messages. But last November, a Commission lawyer, Paolo Stancanelli, acknowledged that exchanges between von der Leyen and Bourla had taken place via private channels.
The court could now order the Commission to reveal what was said.
The EU Court of Justice has found Ursula von der Leyen responsible for concealing information about contracts for the purchase of COVID-19 vaccines in 2021-2023.
According to Politico, this decision could have serious consequences for transparency and accountability in the European Union and was a serious blow to the reputation of the head of the European Commission.
Earlier, The New York Times demanded to disclose von der Leyen’s text messages with the CEO of Pfizer on the issue of purchasing vaccines for EU countries. However, access to the messages was denied, which raised suspicions of her personal interference in the negotiations. The scandal was dubbed Pfizergate by the media.
πͺπΊ EU Court Slams von der Leyen Over Secret Pfizer Texts
— DD Geopolitics (@DD_Geopolitics) May 14, 2025
The EU General Court has ruled that the European Commission unlawfully withheld text messages exchanged between Ursula von der Leyen and Pfizer CEO Albert Bourla during the Covid-19 pandemic.
The messages, sent ahead of a⦠pic.twitter.com/BRzVjwBjsl
BREAKING: π¨ URSULA VON DER LEYEN IN SERIOUS TROUBLE β EU COURT ORDERS RELEASE OF PFIZER TEXTS π¨
— Jim Ferguson (@JimFergusonUK) May 14, 2025
π΄ After 4 years of cover-ups, lawsuits, and βinvestigationsβ β the European Court of Justice has ruled:
π£οΈ The EU Commission MUST release Ursula von der Leyenβs private texts withβ¦ pic.twitter.com/4zb24ZNCFq
Ursula Von Der Leyen commits to "vaccinating" over 500 million children with Bill Gates.
— healthbot (@thehealthb0t) January 12, 2025
βIβm pleased to pledge $290M for Gavi, the vaccine alliance. Together with Gavi, we have the goal to vaccinate these children by 2030β pic.twitter.com/5SHzuaJe1M
FRAUD ALERT
— Mark Brewer (@theapril29th) May 16, 2025
EU queen Ursula preached transparency β then did backdoor deals with Big Pharma
The scandal around Pfizer texts and Covid jabs is giving von der Leyen a taste of her own medicine
Well, this is awkward. How many times has Ursula von der Leyen, European Commission⦠pic.twitter.com/FEO8aWWTcb
The number of young adults diagnosed with cancer has increased significantly in recent decades.
According to the Comprehensive Cancer Center of the Netherlands, the disease was diagnosed in almost 4,200 Dutch people between the ages of 18 and 39 last year, compared to 3,100 diagnoses in 1990.
Breast cancer is the most common variant in young women, and testicular cancer in young men. Melanoma, a form of skin cancer, is the number two in both women and men. Cancer is one and a half times more common in young women than in young men.
In the population as a whole, the disease actually affects men more often. It is unknown why the number of diagnoses has increased.
The researchers have no concrete cause for the increase.
The number of young adults in the Netherlands decreased slightly during that period, from over 3.8 million in 1990 to over 3.6 million in 2024.
Cancer cases rise sharply among younger adults, new figures show https://t.co/y0RyZAEwsC pic.twitter.com/HJwzNY0nlf
— DutchNews.NL (@DutchNewsNL) May 13, 2025
