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‘Farcical proceeding’: Mahmoud Khalil’s lawyers want deportation case terminated

Legal representatives for Mahmoud Khalil, a prominent Palestinian rights activist and former Columbia University student, announced Friday they have submitted an emergency motion to the U.S. Board of Immigration Appeals (BIA) requesting the full reopening and immediate termination of his deportation case, building on newly uncovered evidence of widespread procedural irregularities that they argue denied their client due process under U.S. law.

The motion was formally lodged with the BIA on Thursday, coming roughly one month after the agency issued a final removal order that brought Khalil one step closer to forced expulsion from the United States, where he resides with his U.S. citizen wife and child.

A core pillar of the legal team’s argument centers on a longstanding structural flaw in the U.S. immigration adjudication system: unlike independent federal judiciary bodies, the BIA and all U.S. immigration courts fall under the oversight of the Department of Justice (DOJ), an agency within the executive branch of government — putting them under the direct control of the sitting presidential administration, in this case the second Trump administration. While immigration courts are nominally required to rule in line with federal law rather than policy priorities, recent reporting has exposed how this structural arrangement can enable political interference in individual cases.

Last week, The New York Times published an investigation revealing that the BIA’s final removal order against Khalil was marked by multiple extraordinary irregularities that diverge sharply from standard immigration case practice. Internal government documents reviewed by the outlet showed Khalil’s case file was flagged for high-priority processing despite the fact that post-detention immigration appeals routinely take years to resolve. By contrast, the BIA issued its ruling in just nine days. Additionally, three separate BIA judges recused themselves from reviewing the case, a highly unusual move that the outlet noted may stem from prior conflicts related to earlier involvement in Khalil’s proceedings.

The new motion filed by Khalil’s legal team includes sworn testimony from a former U.S. immigration judge who corroborates the assessment that the procedural shortcuts and multiple recusals are inconsistent with standard adjudication.

Khalil was first taken into custody by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents during an arrest outside his New York City home in March 2025. Three months after his arrest, he was released from detention, but his legal battle has remained ongoing. At the time of his arrest, U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio revoked Khalil’s permanent resident green card, claiming the activist posed a threat to U.S. foreign policy interests. The Trump administration later added a second claim, alleging Khalil falsified his employment history on his green card application — an accusation Khalil has repeatedly and vehemently denied.

Khalil’s legal team has long maintained that the push to deport him is outright retaliation for his protected pro-Palestinian speech, a charge the administration has not directly addressed. In a public statement released Friday, Johnny Sinodis, an attorney with Van Der Hout LLP representing Khalil, said the recent revelations of DOJ misconduct confirm what the legal team has argued since Khalil’s arrest: the administration manipulated the entire process to reach a preordained political outcome, weaponizing a broken immigration system riddled with unfair procedural abnormalities.

Sinodis called on the BIA to throw out the entire government case against Khalil, and demanded increased transparency around the handling of the case. “Transparency also dictates that the government produce any records regarding the handling and adjudication of Mahmoud’s case,” he said. “The apparent interference with the Immigration Judge’s decision making is not only unconstitutional but also violates the government’s own rules and procedures.”

For the time being, Khalil remains protected from arrest and deportation: he has a separate active federal lawsuit alleging constitutional rights violations related to his arrest and removal proceedings, and a court order bars ICE from deporting him until that separate civil case reaches a conclusion.

15 5 月, 2026
UAE building pipeline to double oil exports that can bypass Hormuz

Against the backdrop of escalating regional tensions following the US-Israeli military campaign against Iran, the United Arab Emirates has unveiled plans to speed up expansion of its oil pipeline network, a strategic move that will double the volume of crude the nation can export without passing through the contested Strait of Hormuz. The project is on track to be fully operational by 2027, state-owned Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (Adnoc) confirmed in an official statement released Friday.

Abu Dhabi Crown Prince Sheikh Khaled bin Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan announced the acceleration of the construction during a recent high-level committee meeting, with Adnoc noting that preliminary work on the new pipeline segment had already broken ground. The pipeline will connect the UAE’s inland oil infrastructure to the port of Fujairah, which sits on the UAE’s eastern coast along the Gulf of Oman, eliminating the need for tankers to navigate the Strait of Hormuz, the world’s most critical chokepoint for global oil trade.

Currently, the UAE’s existing Habshan-Fujairah pipeline boasts a daily throughput capacity of 1.8 million barrels. With the expansion, the country’s total bypass capacity will double, allowing it to restore nearly all of its pre-conflict export volume without relying on Hormuz. Before the outbreak of the current war, the UAE was moving roughly 3.4 million barrels of crude per day to global markets. After Iran took control of the strait and implemented a new regional passage authorization system, UAE exports dropped by approximately 60 percent, according to regional energy data.

Once the expanded network is complete, the UAE will be able to ship almost all of its pre-war output via the alternative pipeline route. Longer-term, the Gulf nation has set an even more ambitious target: reaching a total export capacity of nearly 5 million barrels per day by 2027, aligning with massive infrastructure investments it has made to ramp up domestic production capacity over recent years.

The strategic pivot away from Hormuz comes amid a series of disruptive regional developments tied to the ongoing conflict. In the opening weeks of the war, Iran blocked oil exports from other Gulf states while continuing its own shipments, before a U.S. naval blockade imposed last month effectively halted all Iranian crude exports. The move also follows a landmark decision by the UAE just this month to withdraw from the Saudi Arabia-led OPEC cartel, a split rooted in years of disagreements over production policy. For years, Riyadh pushed for aggressive production cuts to prop up global oil prices, while the UAE pushed for looser output limits to capitalize on its expanded production capacity. The UAE’s exit from OPEC gives it full policy flexibility to pursue its 2027 capacity goals, Abu Dhabi officials have said.

Despite the strategic gains of the project, security risks remain a persistent challenge. The UAE’s close geographic proximity to Iran leaves its critical energy infrastructure vulnerable to attack. Earlier in the conflict, an Iranian drone strike targeted a major gas processing facility located near Habshan, the starting point of the Fujairah pipeline. The port of Fujairah itself has also been hit in previous attacks, forcing a temporary suspension of all cargo operations at the facility.

The UAE is not alone in moving to diversify its oil export routes away from the Strait of Hormuz. Regional rival and neighbor Saudi Arabia already operates the East-West Pipeline, which enables the kingdom to export up to 5 million barrels of crude per day through the Red Sea port of Yanbu, bypassing Hormuz entirely.

This independent coverage of Middle East energy and security developments is provided by Middle East Eye, a publication specializing in on-the-ground reporting and analysis of the Middle East and North Africa region.

15 5 月, 2026
UAE made failed attempt to get Saudi Arabia, Qatar to jointly attack Iran: Report

Regional divisions across the Persian Gulf have been laid bare by a newly revealed failed diplomatic push, after Bloomberg reported Friday that the United Arab Emirates was unable to convince Saudi Arabia and Qatar to launch a coordinated joint military response to Iranian retaliatory attacks earlier this year.

The failed outreach came in the immediate aftermath of a joint strike against Iranian targets by the United States and Israel on February 28. In response to that attack, Tehran launched a massive barrage of thousands of missiles and drones against Gulf states that had aligned with the U.S. and Israel. The UAE, which normalized diplomatic relations with Israel in 2021 under the U.S.-brokered Abraham Accords, bore the overwhelming weight of Tehran’s retaliation, with close to 3,000 projectiles hitting targets across the country.

Shortly after the attack, UAE President Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan held a series of urgent phone consultations with top Gulf leaders, including Saudi Arabia’s de facto ruler Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman. To the UAE’s disappointment, both the Saudi crown prince and other regional leaders rejected the call for a unified military offensive against Iran. Instead of uniting competing Gulf powers against a shared adversary, the unfolding conflict has amplified long-simmering tensions between Riyadh and Abu Dhabi, the report found.

To date, both Saudi Arabia and the UAE have launched retaliatory strikes against Iran, but have acted entirely independently. Analysts have characterized Saudi Arabia’s military response as deliberately restrained; shortly after its strikes, the kingdom shifted its focus to supporting regional mediation efforts led by its close ally Pakistan.

The UAE has taken a far more escalatory approach, however, targeting critical Iranian energy infrastructure. The Wall Street Journal reported that the UAE carried out an airstrike on Iran’s Lavan Island, a major Gulf oil and gas processing hub, in early April. The attack came at the exact moment the U.S. was publicly announcing a ceasefire in the conflict, and is reported to have sparked a massive blaze that knocked most of the facility’s operational capacity offline for months, representing a major escalation of hostilities.

Geographic and economic realities have driven the UAE’s harder line. Unlike Saudi Arabia, which can route oil exports through its East-West pipeline to the Red Sea to avoid Gulf closures, the UAE’s energy trade and economic standing are far more vulnerable to Iranian actions. The ongoing conflict has also severely damaged the country’s core identity as a safe global tourism and financial hub.

Abu Dhabi has aggressively lobbied both publicly and privately to convince the U.S. to continue its military campaign against Iran, and even put forward a failed United Nations resolution that would have authorized the use of military force to respond to Iran’s new control over the strategic Strait of Hormuz. Its frustration with regional allies has grown increasingly public: senior UAE presidential adviser Anwar Gargash openly criticized the Gulf Cooperation Council for what he called a “weak” collective response to Iran’s attacks. That discontent reached a breaking point in May, when the UAE announced its withdrawal from the OPEC oil cartel.

Amid its growing estrangement from traditional Gulf partners, the UAE has doubled down on its deepening security and diplomatic alignment with Israel. U.S. Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee confirmed earlier this month during a public event in Tel Aviv that Israel has deployed Iron Dome air defense batteries, along with specialized military personnel to operate the systems, to the UAE to help defend against Iranian missile and drone attacks. “Israel just sent them — [the UAE] — Iron Dome batteries and personnel to help them operate them. How come? Because there’s an extraordinary relationship between the UAE and Israel based on the Abraham Accords,” Huckabee said.

Even with this deepening security cooperation, the UAE has remained cautious about publicly acknowledging the full extent of its ties with Israel. This tension was on full display this week, when Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office announced he had made an unpublicized visit to the UAE during the ongoing conflict, only for Abu Dhabi to issue an immediate denial that any such visit ever occurred.

It should be noted that Israel’s ongoing military campaign in Gaza has been formally labeled a genocide by the United Nations, leading genocide scholars, leading international human rights experts, and multiple heads of state across the globe — including Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman and Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi.

15 5 月, 2026
Energy crisis set to worsen as Trump weighs renewed Iran assault

The ongoing conflict between the United States and Iran, initiated under former president Donald Trump, is pushing the global energy system toward a potentially catastrophic worsening of an already severe crisis, according to new reporting from *The Wall Street Journal*, which warns the world is rapidly exhausting its emergency oil reserve buffer.

When hostilities first erupted and Iran moved to block the Strait of Hormuz — a critical chokepoint that carries roughly a fifth of global daily oil trade — crude prices spiked sharply. This initial market shock was softened temporarily by existing crude surpluses held by major consuming nations, which allowed additional volumes to be released onto global markets to offset the blocked shipments.

But that temporary relief is now running out. *The Journal* reports that global emergency and commercial oil inventories are being drawn down at a pace never seen before, with total stocks dropping by almost 250 million barrels in just the first two months of the conflict.

This unprecedented drawdown has prompted senior oil industry leaders and energy analysts to warn that the current period of relative calm in global energy markets is about to be upended by a sharp correction. If the Strait of Hormuz remains closed to commercial shipping, acute fuel shortages and dramatic price spikes could hit global markets within a matter of weeks, the outlet noted.

Citing analysis from global risk consulting firm Eurasia Group, the report projects that if current depletion rates hold, U.S. diesel reserves will fall below the 100 million barrel threshold by the end of this month — a level not seen in more than two decades.

Ellen Wald, a senior fellow focused on global energy policy at the Atlantic Council’s Global Energy Center, told *The Journal* that while higher oil prices will naturally trigger some reduction in consumer and industrial demand, that demand response will not be nearly large enough to offset the massive supply shortfall created by the blocked strait. As a result, prices will continue to climb rapidly.

“You can only decrease consumption so much, and when inventories run out, they are going to run out,” Wald explained. “At some point the market is going to collide and prices are going to shoot up.”

The risk of a worse outcome is growing by the day, as new reporting indicates the Trump administration is preparing to escalate military hostilities against Iran. If new attacks are launched, Iran could respond with targeted strikes on regional oil production and export infrastructure, which would only deepen the global supply crunch.

Independent outlet Zeteo reported Thursday that preparations for a new, imminent phase of military operations in the Iran conflict have accelerated in recent days, as the U.S. president has become increasingly frustrated with the lack of progress in ongoing peace negotiations. Citing anonymous sources familiar with administration planning, Zeteo reported that the U.S. military campaign will ramp up shortly after Trump concludes his upcoming visit to China, with options on the table including a large-scale new bombing campaign targeting Iranian assets.

U.S. forces carried out widespread bombing of Iranian military targets and civilian infrastructure in the opening weeks of the conflict, but Iran has refused to reverse its decision to close the Strait of Hormuz to commercial traffic. With peace talks stalled and the threat of renewed fighting hanging over markets, Brent crude futures climbed sharply on Friday, pushing prices above $108 per barrel.

Domestically, average retail gasoline prices across the United States remained above $4.50 per gallon on Friday. Petroleum industry analyst Patrick De Haan projected Thursday that if the Strait of Hormuz is not reopened in the near term, average U.S. gas prices could soon surge past the $5 per gallon mark, piling additional financial pressure on American households.

15 5 月, 2026
From misfit to rap sensation: A ‘Reble’ storms into Indian hip-hop

At just 24 years old, Reble — born Daiaphi Lamare — has carved out an unprecedented space as one of the most distinct and captivating new voices in India’s rapidly evolving hip-hop scene. Hailing from the mist-shrouded hills of Meghalaya, a northeastern Indian state wedged between Bangladesh, China, and Myanmar, her art draws deeply from the cultural complexity of a region long sidelined as a cultural outsider within mainland India, and infuses that perspective into a sound wholly her own.

Reble’s journey to mainstream recognition began far from the glitz of Mumbai’s entertainment industry. Growing up feeling like an outsider through years of boarding school, she recalled a childhood spent on the social margins: “Young Reble was always by herself. No friends. Sitting in one corner. Everybody was like, who’s that weird girl?” This early alienation shaped her stubborn, unapologetic artistic identity. She briefly pursued an engineering degree in Bengaluru’s tech hub, but always knew a conventional nine-to-five career would never fit. “I don’t like anybody telling me what to do,” she told the BBC, a mantra that has defined her career from its earliest days.

Her stage name is more than a performance alias — it is a deliberate, personal rebellion. Rap became the perfect outlet for the tangled emotions of a lifelong misfit, she explains, turning her sense of disconnect into raw, intentional art. Unlike many of India’s high-energy, bombastic hip-hop artists, Reble’s style is defined by deliberate emotional restraint: she weaves verses thematically centered on distance, reinvention, and survival across three languages — English, Khasi, and her native Jaintia, the indigenous tongue that she calls her “emotional anchor.” This duality of being simultaneously local and global, rooted yet detached, sits at the core of her creative identity. A quirky irony defines her process: despite being lauded for her sharp lyricism, she openly admits she dislikes writing, leaving most of her verses as scattered, unfinished scribbles that take shape in performance.

For years, Reble built her following within Shillong’s tight-knit local music community, a city far better known for its iconic rock bands, church choirs, and folk guitar traditions than hip-hop. Her breakout arrived unexpectedly through the soundtrack of the Bollywood action film *Dhurandhar*, where her cool, clipped verses cut through the movie’s chaotic, high-energy production to win over millions of new fans across the country. Her newly released single *Praying Mantis*, a dark, hypnotic track, has once again sparked widespread discussion, with fans dissecting every line across social media.

Her rapid rise has not come without backlash. After her Bollywood breakthrough, some long-time fans accused her of “selling out” for pursuing mainstream commercial work. Others in her deeply religious home state, where Christian church culture dominates public life, have attacked her work as anti-Christian or even satanic over lyrical references to demons. Reble dismisses the outrage with characteristic cool: “When you get commercial success, people think you sold your soul.” For her, working on film projects is not compromise, but experimentation — and she remains selective about the work she takes on.

Reble’s success is more than an individual success story: it reflects a sweeping shift underway in Indian popular culture, where regional artists from once-fringe regions are gaining national and global traction, breaking the long-held monopoly of big mainland cities over cultural relevance. Growing up in Shillong’s rich music ecosystem, where church choirs blend with teenage metal bands and blues bars, she absorbed both local tradition and global hip-hop influences. Early on, she connected deeply with Eminem’s work, particularly his ability to turn alienation into art — a theme that echoes through her own tracks. Yet her work remains unapologetically rooted in her identity: on *Opening Act*, she raps “I’m a Jaintia making moves/ I’m a tribal,” a proud declaration of heritage shaped by the village and the resilient women who raised her.

Like many Indigenous northeastern Indians who have lived outside the region, Reble has faced systemic racism and concedes that artists from her part of India have never had the same opportunities as their mainland counterparts. But she frames her journey through pride, not resentment: “Coming out from a region like that, I feel very proud.” Back home, even when audiences do not always fully grasp every layer of her hip-hop sound, the reception has been deeply emotional. “They’re happy that someone is doing something. Like — that’s our girl,” she says.

For those watching from the outside, Reble’s rise can feel sudden, but she frames it as the simple result of deliberate consistency. “The biggest lesson so far is that consistency is key,” she says. “More than talent, I believe in the discipline of getting better over time. If you’re not good at something, you need to get better. Be realistic enough to know how bad you are.” That grounded, unromantic approach to struggle is what makes her story stand out: even as she turns lifelong alienation and marginalization into art, she refuses to sensationalize hardship, letting the quiet power of her work speak for itself. As Indian culture continues to decentralize, with the most exciting creative energy emerging from once-overlooked regions, Reble got there first — and she’s only just getting started.

15 5 月, 2026
Eurovision final: Sex, violins and seven other things to look out for

The world’s most iconic live music competition, the Eurovision Song Contest, will crown its 2026 champion in a star-studded grand final this Saturday night, held this year in Vienna. With acts ranging from rags-to-riches underdogs to A-list pop stars, this year’s contest delivers everything Eurovision fans love: unexpected twists, dramatic stagecraft, viral controversies, and genre-defying music from 25 competing nations. For UK viewers, the full event will broadcast live starting at 20:00 BST across BBC One, BBC iPlayer, Radio 2 and BBC Sounds, with continuous live coverage hosted on the BBC News website. Below is an exclusive preview of the most anticipated acts and storylines to watch for on competition night.

Few underdog stories hit harder this year than that of Greece’s entry Akylas. Just eight months ago, the 27-year-old singer was working as a waiter in Athens before quitting to busk on city streets to make ends meet. Speaking to the BBC, he recalled the constant doubt he faced while chasing his dream: “I had so many people telling me that I was wasting my time. People would bully me in the street [while] I was busking, trying to pay my rent and my bills. I was struggling – so it’s crazy that now I’m representing my country at Eurovision.” His competitive entry *Ferto* is a high-energy dance anthem that blends rave synths, retro video game sound effects, and traditional Greek string instrumentation like the lyra. Lyrically, the track reflects on his childhood growing up amid Greece’s prolonged financial crisis, honoring the sacrifices working parents make to give their children better opportunities. Bookmakers currently predict he will land a top three finish in Saturday’s voting.

Australia has become a surprising staple of Eurovision ever since the nation fell in love with the contest following ABBA’s iconic 1974 win. Invited for a one-off wildcard entry for the contest’s 60th anniversary in 2015, the country’s overwhelming enthusiasm earned it a permanent invitation back every year. This year, after an unexpected semi-final elimination in 2025, Australia is pulling out all the stops to claim its first ever Eurovision win, sending platinum-selling global pop star Delta Goodrem to compete with her power ballad *Eclipse*. The track features a powerhouse chorus that rivals the iconic vocal delivery of Celine Dion, pairing a baroque piano interlude with a dramatic final key change that has wowed audiences and bookies alike. Following Goodrem’s smooth advance through the semi-finals, bookmakers drastically cut her odds of winning, elevating her to the ranks of top frontrunners. One lingering question hangs over an Australian victory, however: where would the 2027 contest be hosted, given the country’s location outside Europe? Speaking on the *Wanging On* podcast this week, long-time BBC Eurovision commentator Graham Norton shared insider gossip: Australian broadcasters have a prearranged deal to host the contest in a partner European country if Australia claims the win. When approached by the BBC for comment, European Broadcasting Union (EBU) organizers declined to confirm details, saying only that they are focused on the 2026 grand final, and discussions about 2027 hosting will begin after a winner is crowned on May 16.

Heading into the final, Finland holds the position of overall favorite to win, with its dramatic love song *Liekenheiten*, performed by chart-topping Finnish pop star Pete Parkonnen and world-renowned classical violinist Linda Lampenius. Lampenius describes the unexpected collaboration as the Finnish equivalent of Harry Styles pairing up with elite classical violinist Nicola Benedetti. All pre-event buzz has centered around one death-defying stunt in the performance: Lampenius must sprint the full length of the stage catwalk in high heels while holding a priceless 1781 Gagliano violin, valued at roughly £500,000, before jumping onto a chair set next to a stage fire effect. “I run and jump up and down on a chair, and I’m standing next to a fire. So I’m quite nervous during those three minutes. I’m thinking about the violin all the time,” Lampenius admitted ahead of the final.

Moldova is celebrating its return to the Eurovision grand final this year, after missing out on qualification for two consecutive years. The country’s entry, *Viva, Moldova!* performed by 27-year-old singer and amateur boxer Satoshi, is a boisterous patriotic party anthem written to mark the 35th anniversary of Moldova’s independence. Satoshi has an unusual pre-performance routine to prepare: 30 seconds before stepping on stage, he simulates jumping rope to boost his energy. The routine has become such a running gag backstage that a venue microphone handler gifted him his own jump rope to practice with. The track name-checks some of Moldova’s most beloved cultural icons, including poet Grigore Vieru, whose alphabet poetry collection taught generations of Moldovan children – including Satoshi – to read.

This year’s contest has not been without controversy. Five countries have announced a full boycott of the 2026 event over Israel’s participation, amid the ongoing conflict in Gaza and rising civilian death toll. During Israel’s semi-final performance earlier this week, contestant Noam Bettan was met with a mix of cheers and booing from the live arena audience, and four protesters were removed from the venue by security. Bettan told the BBC he was surprised by the intensity of the reaction, though he added he had already practiced performing through boos during rehearsals, after Israeli contestants faced similar demonstrations in 2024 and 2025. Further protests are expected during Saturday’s grand final, but Bettan’s sincere, soulful ballad *Michelle* – which blends electronic production with traditional Middle Eastern instrumentation – is still predicted to earn a high placing in the final rankings.

One of the most dramatic pre-final moments involved Sweden’s entry Felicia, who wears a custom protective face mask during performances to address body image insecurities, not public health concerns. During her semi-final performance, Felicia suffered a wardrobe malfunction that caused the mask to slip off unexpectedly. Within 24 hours, she lost her voice entirely and was ordered to undergo strict vocal rest to recover. “It’s a catastrophe for me because I hate being silent!” she shared on social media, adding that she was following doctor’s orders to rest and stay hydrated. Fortunately, Felicia’s voice had fully recovered in time for Friday’s final dress rehearsal. Her entry *My System* uses the metaphor of an infection to describe overwhelming emotion, and could make history if it wins: a Swedish victory would break the country’s current seven-way tie with Ireland, making Sweden the most successful nation in Eurovision history. When asked about the historic milestone, Felicia laughed and said simply, “No pressure. That would be crazy.”

The UK is hoping to break its years-long dry spell at Eurovision this year, after a string of bottom-of-the-leaderboard finishes that have come despite sending major pop stars and accomplished vocal groups in recent competitions. This year’s hopeful is Sam Battle, better known by his stage name Look Mum No Computer – an inventor, popular YouTuber, and museum curator from Ramsgate with a famously quirky persona. His entry *Eins, Zwei, Drei* was composed on a custom synthesizer he built from scratch in his garage, and blends the raucous energy of British football chants with the minimal electronic sound of Kraftwerk. Battle acknowledges the track is divisive: “What we’re doing is Marmite – you either love it or hate it – but I think there’s a slot open for our sort of thing.” If the act fails to climb the leaderboard, Battle says he’s already prepared to lean into the joke with a custom “Look mum, no points” t-shirt.

Norway’s entry Jonas Lovv was ordered to revise his raucous rock performance of *Ya Ya Ya* by contest organizers, after the singer did too many hip thrusting movements during early rehearsals. Lovv told reporters bluntly: “Without joking: too sexy.” Mads Tørklep, head of the Norwegian Eurovision delegation, confirmed that the team was ordered to tone down the act’s sex appeal to meet the contest’s family-friendly content guidelines, specifically calling for a reduction in overtly sexualized rhythmic movements. The performance has since been adjusted to meet PG content standards, though Lovv still adds a playful wink and small playful waggle to the camera for long-time fans.

Beyond the frontrunners, this year’s grand final features a host of standout performances. Bulgarian singer Dara’s entry *Bangaranga* – a high-energy tropical pop track named for a Jamaican patois term meaning “joyful chaos” – features the most creative stage design of the competition, with dancers twitching and shaking on plastic chairs to the song’s shifting tempo, in a sequence that evokes a surreal mix of a twelve-step meeting and a psychological horror film. Romania’s Alexandra Căpitănescu has faced criticism from campaigners over her track *Choke Me*, which they argue glamorizes sexual violence; Căpitănescu counters that the song is actually a metaphor for feeling suffocated by unrealistic societal expectations, with a performance that finds her tethered to her guitarists by giant neon ropes. Ukraine’s gentle ballad *Ridnym* features the longest sustained high note in Eurovision history, clocking in at 30 seconds, while Serbia’s metalcore group Lavina closes their entry *Kraj Mene* with a chilling, audience-shaking scream. Closing out the standout acts is 17-year-old French singer Monroe, this year’s youngest competitor, whose pop-R&B track *Regarde!* features a showstopping operatic vocal. The song carries a message of universal calm, she says: “It’s about taking the busy moments in your life and just saying, ‘Shhhh, everything is going to be fine’.” After a week of covering the contest in Vienna, that quiet, hopeful message feels just as relevant to fans around the world as it does to the teams backstage.

15 5 月, 2026
What is a ‘safe death’? Mentally ill woman asks for assisted dying in Canada

For nearly 30 years, 49-year-old Toronto-based performer Claire Brosseau has navigated a devastating path of severe, treatment-resistant bipolar disorder and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). A veteran stand-up comedian and actor who has worked across film, television, and theatre worldwide, Brosseau says she has tried every available intervention for her conditions—from talk therapy and pharmaceutical interventions to electroconvulsive brain stimulation. None have brought relief. Today, she is unable to work, leave her home unaccompanied, or maintain consistent connection with her loved ones, describing her own condition as “functionally terminal.” Now, she is at the center of a high-stakes national debate over whether Canada should expand its existing legal medically assisted dying (MAID) framework to include people whose only qualifying condition is untreatable mental illness.

Currently, MAID is legal in Canada for patients with terminal illnesses and irreversible serious physical disabilities, but it explicitly excludes those whose sole diagnosis is mental illness. Brosseau, who has lived with debilitating mental illness since adolescence and received psychiatric care in four major North American cities over three decades, is now asking an Ontario court for a special exemption to access MAID immediately, arguing that the existing law is discriminatory and unconstitutional. She says she wakes every day consumed by overwhelming dread and crippling anxiety, and she wants a peaceful, controlled death rather than being forced to die by suicide.

“Stigma is at the root of this exclusion,” Brosseau explained in an interview with the BBC. “If I were diagnosed with terminal cancer tomorrow, I would be immediately eligible for MAID even if I chose to stop treatment. But people like me, living with unbearable, incurable mental suffering, are denied the same right that is already a standard part of Canadian healthcare. I am not asking for special treatment—only equal treatment.”

Canada first approved MAID for terminally ill patients in 2016, and expanded it to include non-terminal patients with irreversible serious medical conditions five years ago, following a successful legal challenge by disability advocates. The federal government had initially planned to extend eligibility to patients with treatment-resistant mental illness by 2024, but has twice delayed the expansion, most recently pushing any decision to 2026, amid widespread concerns that the Canadian healthcare system lacks the infrastructure, training, and regulatory frameworks to safely implement the change. Prime Minister Mark Carney has confirmed he will not make a decision until he receives the final recommendations from a joint parliamentary committee tasked with reviewing the proposed expansion. “I will base my position on the full evidence presented to the committee,” Carney told reporters recently.

Over two months of hearings, the cross-party committee heard conflicting testimony from medical experts, disability advocates, and international commentators that laid bare the deep divides on this issue. Critics of expansion argue that expanding MAID to mentally ill patients risks turning assisted dying into a substitute for inadequate social and medical support. They point to reports of Canadian healthcare providers offering MAID to disabled patients who never requested it, arguing that systemic gaps in affordable housing, disability support, and specialized mental healthcare leave many vulnerable people with no other option to end unaddressed suffering. “We are currently investing in ending lives instead of investing in improving lives,” said Krista Orr, president of national disability advocacy group Inclusion Canada, who called on the committee not just to reject expansion but to roll MAID back to only terminal illness cases.

Other critics warn that medical science still lacks a full understanding of many severe mental illnesses, making it impossible to definitively distinguish between temporary suicidal ideation and irreversible, untreatable suffering. Dr. Sonu Gaind, former chief of psychiatry at a major Toronto hospital, told the committee that none of the core safeguards and assessment questions have been resolved since the expansion was paused. “We now have even more evidence that we are not prepared to safely offer MAID for mental illness,” Gaind said.

International experience, particularly from the Netherlands—one of the only countries that already allows MAID for patients suffering solely from mental illness—has added fuel to both sides of the debate. The Netherlands requires all patients seeking MAID for psychiatric reasons to undergo a full assessment by a qualified psychiatrist, and approvals for these cases remain relatively rare, accounting for only 2% of all assisted deaths in the country. However, the number of approved cases has skyrocketed from just 2 in 2010 to 219 in 2024. Dutch psychiatrist Dr. Jim van Os warned Canadian lawmakers that this growing trend reflects what he calls a “suicide contagion effect,” arguing the Dutch experience is a clear warning for Canada. But fellow Dutch psychiatrist Dr. Sisco Van Veen pushed back, noting that approved cases remain rare and MAID provides critical mercy to patients whose suffering is unbearable and untreatable.

The committee itself has faced accusations of bias from supporters of expansion. Brosseau says she requested to testify before the committee multiple times but was denied a spot. One sitting member, Alberta Senator Kristopher Wells, has publicly called the review “one-sided” and says he has no confidence in the final report. Committee co-chairs Marcus Powlowski, a Liberal MP, and Conservative Senator Yonah Martin—both of whom have publicly opposed expanding MAID to mental illness—defended the process in statements, noting that limited hearing time meant prioritizing testimony from medical professionals and industry associations, and adding that the committee has “dutifully listened to both sides” of the debate. The committee’s final report is not expected to be delivered to parliament until as late as October 2025.

For Brosseau, who says her condition is worsening by the month and cannot wait for years of parliamentary review, the delay is a matter of life and death. Confined to her home, with even short trips to the local grocery store triggering crippling panic attacks, she says her legal challenge is not a campaign for death—it is a fight for equal human rights. “I’m not campaigning for death. I’m campaigning to be seen as not a subsection of human,” she said. “We deserve the same autonomy over our bodies and our suffering that people with physical illness already have.”

Public opinion polling shows a majority of Canadians support broad access to medically assisted dying, but public opinion becomes far more divided when the question is limited to mental illness. Currently, 96% of MAID approvals in Canada go to patients with reasonably foreseeable death, mostly terminal cancer patients, with only 4% going to non-terminal patients with irreversible serious conditions. As the country waits for the committee’s final recommendation, Brosseau’s legal case is pushing the judiciary to address a gap in the law that the federal government has so far been unwilling to fill.

15 5 月, 2026
Switzerland to open secret files on Auschwitz ‘Angel of Death’ Mengele

For decades, sealed federal files holding clues about the post-war movements of notorious Nazi war criminal Josef Mengele – infamously known as the “Angel of Death” of Auschwitz – have sparked fierce debate among historians and fueled widespread conspiracy theories about Switzerland’s role in hiding one of the Holocaust’s most brutal perpetrators. Now, following a high-profile legal challenge by a determined historian, the Swiss Federal Intelligence Service has announced it will finally open the long-closed records – though it has yet to announce a firm timeline for public access.

Mengele, a Waffen-SS doctor stationed at the Auschwitz extermination camp in Nazi-occupied Poland during World War II, bore responsibility for one of the worst chapters of Nazi atrocities. He personally selected more than 400,000 prisoners to be sent to the camp’s gas chambers, where an estimated 1.1 million people – 1 million of them Jewish – were murdered. Beyond his role in mass extermination, Mengele carried out grotesque, unscientific medical experiments on live prisoners, most often targeting children and twins, before killing the subjects of his research. When the war ended in 1945, Mengele escaped justice: he adopted a false identity, obtained fraudulent Red Cross travel documents from the organization’s Genoa, Italy consulate – a loophole the Red Cross later publicly apologized for allowing – and fled to South America, where he lived under an assumed name until his death in Brazil in 1979.

It has long been confirmed that Mengele visited Switzerland once for a private alpine skiing trip with his son Rolf in 1956, seven years after he fled Europe. But lingering questions have persisted about whether he returned to the country after an international arrest warrant was issued for him in 1959. Swiss historian Regula Bochsler, who has researched Switzerland’s role as a transit country for fleeing Nazi war criminals, uncovered key clues pointing to a possible unreported return: in June 1961, Austrian intelligence warned Swiss authorities that Mengele was traveling under a fake name and may have entered Swiss territory. Around the same time, Mengele’s wife rented an apartment in a modest Zurich suburb, a location conveniently close to Zurich’s international airport, and applied for permanent Swiss residency. Local Zurich police records confirm the apartment was placed under surveillance in 1961, and officers once documented Mrs. Mengele driving through the area with an unidentified man – whose identity has never been confirmed.

For decades, historians repeatedly requested access to federal intelligence files related to the case, but all requests were denied. The files were originally sealed until 2071, with authorities citing national security concerns and privacy protections for Mengele’s extended family. When Bochsler applied for access in 2019, she was turned away. In 2025, historian Gérard Wettstein made another attempt, and when his request was also rejected, he launched a legal challenge against the Swiss government, crowdfunding 18,000 Swiss francs ($23,000) to cover his legal costs. Just days after the public fundraising drive successfully hit its target, the Swiss Federal Intelligence Service reversed its longstanding position, announcing in an official statement that the appellant would be granted access to the file – though it added that access would be subject to unspecified terms and conditions that have not yet been finalized.

Historians are divided over what the files will actually reveal. Sacha Zala, president of the Swiss Society for History, says he is convinced the files will not contain new evidence confirming Mengele’s presence in Switzerland after 1956. Instead, he suspects the records likely contain sensitive references to Israeli intelligence agency Mossad, which actively hunted Nazi fugitives across the globe in the 1950s and 1960s and may have coordinated with Swiss authorities. Zala argues that keeping 70-year-old references to a widely known Nazi manhunt sealed is unnecessary, and that the arbitrary secrecy has only fueled unnecessary conspiracy theories. “It shows the stupidity of the declassification process without historical knowledge,” Zala said. “In this way, the administration fueled conspiracy theories.”

Other historians argue that the decades-long secrecy surrounding the files reveals more about Switzerland’s complicated relationship with its World War II history than it does about Mengele. Jakob Tanner, a historian who served on the 1990s Bergier Commission that investigated neutral Switzerland’s wartime relations with Nazi Germany, noted that the country has long grappled with public shame over its wartime actions: Swiss authorities turned away thousands of Jewish refugees at the border during the war, and Swiss banks held onto unclaimed assets from Jewish families murdered in the Holocaust for decades. “It’s a conflict between national security and historical transparency, and the former often prevails in Switzerland,” Tanner explained, adding that it is entirely plausible Mengele did visit Switzerland in 1961 – after Mossad captured another top Nazi fugitive, Adolf Eichmann, in Argentina in 1960, many Nazis hiding in South America feared they would be next, and may have fled to Europe to lay low.

Even with the announcement that the files will be opened, historians remain cautious about how much new information will actually come to light. Wettstein says he fears the released files will be heavily redacted, leaving key details blacked out. Bochsler shares that skepticism, noting that the decades-long sealing of the records has already created deep distrust among researchers. “Why have these Mengele files been closed for so long?” she asked.

Mengele never faced trial for his crimes, and his escape from justice has kept rumors and conspiracy theories about his post-war life alive for more than 75 years. While DNA testing confirmed in 1992 that the body buried under a false name in Brazil was indeed Mengele, the question of whether he secretly returned to Switzerland after 1956 remains unanswered. Even if the files are heavily redacted, historians say opening the records will at least bring much-needed transparency to a long-secret chapter of post-war history, and may help clear up decades of speculation.

“Maybe we will never get to the real truth,” Wettstein said. “We will never know if he was here or not… but maybe we can have at least a clearer idea.”

15 5 月, 2026
Trump expected to drop IRS suit in exchange for MAGA slush fund

In a sharp rebuke of emerging settlement terms for a $10 billion lawsuit President Donald Trump filed against the Internal Revenue Service, top congressional Democrats have accused the sitting president of orchestrating a massive scheme to divert $1.7 billion in public funds to his political allies, framing the deal as an unprecedented power grab that weaponizes federal institutions for partisan gain.

Citing multiple unnamed sources familiar with ongoing negotiations, ABC News first reported late Thursday that a deal is expected to be finalized in the coming days. Under the reported terms, Trump would drop his pending lawsuit against the IRS in exchange for two key concessions: the creation of a $1.7 billion compensation pool funded through the U.S. Treasury’s Judgment Fund, a taxpayer-backed account reserved for official court judgments and government settlements, and a public formal apology from the agency for the 2020s leak of Trump’s personal tax returns during his first presidential term.

The lawsuit itself stems from the unauthorized disclosure of Trump’s tax records by former IRS contractor Charles Littlejohn, who pleaded guilty to leaking the documents to The New York Times and ProPublica in 2024. Those leaks exposed that Trump had utilized aggressive, widely criticized tax avoidance schemes and paid no federal income taxes for multiple years leading up to his 2017 inauguration, breaking a decades-long bipartisan tradition of presidential tax transparency by refusing to release his returns voluntarily. Trump and his legal team initially sought a minimum $10 billion payout from the agency over the leak.

The proposed settlement has already sparked fierce condemnation from congressional Democrats, who warn that the deal’s structure exposes deep conflicts of interest and unprecedented corruption. As sitting president, Trump already exercises full executive control over the IRS, which is currently led by his handpicked appointee Frank J. Bisignano, who reports directly to Trump-aligned Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent. The Department of Justice, which is defending the IRS in the case, is also under Trump’s executive authority, leading legal observers to question the legitimacy of the suit, since both nominal opposing parties are ultimately controlled by the plaintiff.

Last month, U.S. District Judge Kathleen M. Williams, who is overseeing the case in the Southern District of Florida, publicly questioned the lawsuit’s constitutionality, noting that as sitting president, Trump holds authority over the federal entities he is suing. She has ordered both parties to submit legal briefs by May 20 proving a genuine adversarial conflict exists between the plaintiff and defendants, but legal analysts have noted the White House and DOJ can finalize a settlement before that deadline, leaving the judge with little power to block the deal. Beyond the $1.7 billion fund, multiple outlets have confirmed administration officials have also discussed dropping all outstanding IRS audits of Trump, his family, and his business entities—a move that could save Trump more than $100 million in back taxes, per a 2024 New York Times analysis.

“ This is another installment in Trump’s ongoing effort to turn the federal government into a personal cash machine for his unpopular extremist movement,” Rep. Jamie Raskin, the top Democrat on the House Judiciary Committee, said in a formal statement Thursday. Raskin called the proposed deal “a massive and unprecedented presidential plunder of the American people,” warning that the plan marks “a declaration that the prior payouts were just a down payment, and that he now intends to earmark billions more in taxpayer dollars for his political allies, sycophants, and private militia of unemployed insurrectionists.” Raskin emphasized that Trump holds no statutory authority to divert Judgment Fund resources for this purpose, arguing that “Congress must act immediately to reassert the power of the purse and stop this brazen looting of taxpayer funds before this ‘pilot program’ for corruption becomes the permanent operating system of our government.”

Other House Democrats echoed Raskin’s criticism. “Real story: Judge was about to throw out the case because Trump controls both parties,” Rep. Dan Goldman of New York wrote on social media Thursday. “Before it’s dismissed, Trump tells both parties to reach a ‘settlement.’ Settlement shields Trump from any future audit and creates a secret slush fund that can dole out money to anyone with no transparency.” Goldman called the arrangement “mind-boggling corruption.”

ABC News’ reporting notes the proposed settlement includes multiple unusual provisions that raise transparency concerns. Under the draft terms, Trump would be barred from receiving direct personal payments from the three core legal claims at the center of the suit, but no restrictions prohibit Trump-aligned entities from filing future additional claims. More critically, the president would hold the authority to remove members of the commission overseeing the $1.7 billion fund without cause, and the commission would face no mandatory requirements to disclose its award procedures or decision-making, creating what experts describe as an unaccountable, oversight-free pool of taxpayer cash.

Top Democratic lawmakers have gone even further in their assessments, describing the plan as the largest single instance of public corruption in U.S. history. “Trump is considering stealing billions of dollars from the American people,” said Rep. Don Beyer of Virginia, the ranking Democrat on the Joint Economic Committee. “He’s already the most corrupt president ever by a wide margin, but this would be fraud and theft on a scale even he has never attempted. The largest single act of grand larceny in American history.”

Sen. Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts, top Democrat on the Senate Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs Committee, added that a pre-ruling settlement would amount to “a massive, unprecedented scandal.” Warren has already introduced legislation that would bar sitting presidents, vice presidents, and their immediate families from collecting settlement payments from the federal government, and would require independent court-appointed counsel to defend agencies in claims brought by top executive branch officials. But the bill has failed to advance in the current Republican-controlled Congress.

The proposed settlement would represent a dramatic expansion of the pattern of self-dealing that has defined Trump’s second presidential term, according to tracking from the Center for American Progress, a left-leaning think tank that maintains a live public tracker of profits Trump and his family have earned through their hold on public office. To date, the tracker estimates Trump and his family have taken in more than $2.6 billion in cash and gifts through their positions, including roughly $1.5 billion from cryptocurrency ventures promoted from the White House, a $400 million luxury jet gifted by the government of Qatar, and more than $90 million in legal settlements from media and technology companies. Beyond the IRS suit, Trump has also demanded the Department of Justice pay him $230 million in damages over prior criminal investigations into his business and political activities.

Even a partial payout on Trump’s original $10 billion claim would dwarf the self-dealing of Trump’s first 18 months back in office, analysts have noted, potentially doubling Trump’s reported net worth through public funds diverted through the settlement.

Bharat Ramamurti, former deputy director of the White House National Economic Council under President Joe Biden, called the lawsuit and proposed settlement “a massive scam” that is “much worse” than Trump’s earlier proposal to divert $1 billion in taxpayer funds to renovate his White House ballroom.

15 5 月, 2026
Looksmaxxing influencer Clavicular reaches deal in alligator shooting case

A rising controversial social media influencer who helped spread the viral “looksmaxxing” trend has avoided jail time after accepting a plea deal in connection to a widely debated alligator shooting broadcast live online. Braden Eric Peters, 20, who goes by the online alias Clavicular, entered a no contest plea to a charge of unlawful firearm discharge at a Florida wildlife sanctuary during a March incident, according to court filings from Friday. The incident that triggered the charges unfolded on March 26, when Peters went live from an airboat in the Everglades Wildlife Management Area, located west of Miami. Footage captured during the livestream shows multiple gunshots being fired into the swamp waters of the conservation area, with online observers alleging the shots were aimed at an alligator. Within hours of the stream circulating online, the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission confirmed it had opened an investigation into the video showing multiple people on an airboat appearing to fire at a reptile in the protected Everglades ecosystem. Peters was not the only influencer charged in the case. Fellow online personality Andrew Morales, who is known to his followers as “The Cuban Tarzan”, also entered a no contest plea and received an identical sentencing deal to Peters. A third influencer involved in the outing, Yabdiel Anibal Cotto Torres, who uses the online name “Baby Alien”, is scheduled to enter his formal plea in the case on May 20. Under the terms of the plea agreement reached with state prosecutors, Peters will serve six months of probation. Court officials added that the charge will be completely expunged from his criminal record if he successfully meets all the agreement’s requirements: completion of state-approved firearms and wildlife safety training courses, and 20 hours of court-ordered community service that is explicitly banned from being streamed online or monetized for content. Peters’ legal representation has emphasized that his client has taken accountability for his actions. In an official statement provided to the BBC, defense attorney Jeffrey Neiman said the negotiated plea deal fairly reflects the context and details of the March incident. “He is committed to moving forward responsibly and ensuring nothing like this occurs again,” Neiman said, adding that his legal team appreciated the professional handling of the case by the Florida state prosecution and the court. Prior to the final resolution of the case, Neiman had noted that Peters was following directions provided by a licensed airboat guide during the Everglades outing, and confirmed that no people or animals were harmed in the incident despite the unlawful discharge of the weapon. Peters rose to online fame for popularizing the so-called “looksmaxxing” trend, a online subculture where creators document extreme, often controversial lifestyle and cosmetic changes they make to improve their physical appearance, amassing hundreds of thousands of followers across major social platforms for the content.

15 5 月, 2026