内容摘要：For Jon Randall, wildfires that hit the Bay Area in 2022 pushed him to leave California.

For Jon Randall, wildfires that hit the Bay Area in 2022 pushed him to leave California.

Anti-Israel protests in Basel have been much smaller than last year in Malmo. Another pro-Palestinian demonstration is planned for Saturday in downtown Basel, 2 miles (3.2 kilometers) from the contest venue, St. Jakobshalle arena.But concern by some Eurovision participants and broadcasters continues.

More than 70 former Eurovision contestants signed a letter calling for Israel to be excluded. Several of the national broadcasters that fund Eurovision, including those of Spain, Ireland and Iceland, have called for a discussion about Israel’s participation.Israel’s Yuval Raphael poses for a photo, during the opening ceremony of the 69th Eurovision Song Contest, in Basel, Switzerland, Sunday, May 11, 2025. (Peter Schneider/Keystone via AP)Israel’s Yuval Raphael poses for a photo, during the opening ceremony of the 69th Eurovision Song Contest, in Basel, Switzerland, Sunday, May 11, 2025. (Peter Schneider/Keystone via AP)

, who brought the competition to Switzerland bytold HuffPost UK that “Israel’s actions are fundamentally at odds with the values that Eurovision claims to uphold — peace, unity, and respect for human rights.”

At Wednesday’s protest, Basel resident Domenica Ott held a handmade sign saying “Nemo was right.”

She said the nonbinary singer was “very courageous.”Ukrainian Foreign Minister

accused Russia of violating its own ceasefire 734 times between midnight and midday Thursday. He called the ceasefire a “farce” on the social media platform X.The unilateral ceasefire coincides with Russia’s biggest secular holiday, the

. Kyiv has pressed for a longer-term ceasefire.In this photo provided by Ukraine’s 93rd Kholodnyi Yar Separate Mechanized Brigade press service, a man waits to hear about his missing wife as rescuers clear the rubble of a multi-storey residential building destroyed a day before by a Russian airstrike, in Kostiantynivka, Ukraine, on Thursday, May 8, 2025. (Iryna Rybakova/Ukraine’s 93rd Mechanized Brigade via AP)