20 May 2019; MEMO: The Israeli organisers of this year’s Eurovision feared that some of the competitors, under pressure from the boycott, divestment and sanctions movement, might inject politics into their performances.

In the end, however, it was Eurovision’s special guest star, Madonna, who used her performance to make a political statement.

20 May 2019; DW: Italy's far-right interior minister has condemned the seizure of the ship, saying migrants on board should not have set foot in Italy. However, the condition of the refugees had swayed the authorities' opinion.

Italian prosecutors on Sunday impounded rescue vessel Sea-Watch 3 for breaching immigration rules despite government attempts to block the ship from reaching an Italian port.

20 May 2019; MEMO: Israel’s chief Rabbi, Yitzhak Yosef, has stoked controversy by describing Afro-Americans as “monkeys” during one of his weekly religious lessons.

The remark, which will prompt further discussion about entrenched racism within the country, was reported by Israeli newspaper Ynet News.

New Delhi, May 19 (PTI) The navies of India and Singapore conducted their bilateral naval drill in the South China Sea on Sunday, the Navy said.

The bilateral naval drill will be conducted till May 22.

Indian Navy ships Kolkata and Shakti took part in the bilateral naval exercise with Singapore, along with long range maritime patrol aircraft Poseidon-8I (P8I).

20 May 2019; DW: In a provocative tweet, the US president described retaliation that would mark "the official end of Iran." Iran has remained defiant in the face of US threats, saying Trump is playing a "political game."

US President Donald Trump issued a stern warning to Iran on Sunday amid rising tensions between Washington and Tehran.

"If Iran wants to fight, that will be the official end of Iran," said Trump. "Never threaten the United States again!"

20 May 2019; MEMO: Palestinian Authority (PA) said yesterday that it sees the German decision to class BDS anti-Semitic “very dangerous”, Asharq Al-Awsat newspaper reported yesterday .

In a statement issued by the Foreign Ministry, the PA said that this decision proves that Israel still imposes its agenda on representatives of European nations, adding that it is “blackmailing” the German parliament through its historic mistake related to the Holocaust.

JERUSALEM (AP) — The Palestinian prime minister said Monday that any American peace plan that ignores the Palestinian people’s political aspirations for an independent state is doomed to fail.

Mohammad Shtayyeh’s comments immediately cast a cloud over the American-led Mideast peace conference expected to take place in late June in the tiny Gulf Arab state of Bahrain.

MADRID, Iowa (AP) — Iowa farmer Tim Bardole survived years of low crop prices and rising costs by cutting back on fertilizer and herbicides and fixing broken-down equipment rather than buying new. When President Donald Trump’s trade war with China made a miserable situation worse, Bardole used up any equity his operation had and started investing in hogs in hopes they’ll do better than crops.

Felix Dorfin has been sentenced to death in a surprise verdict after prosecutors asked for a 20-year jail term. Indonesia has some of the world's strictest drug laws — including death by firing squad.

A court in Indonesia on Monday sentenced Frenchman Felix Dorfin for drug trafficking. Prosecutors had requested 20 years' imprisonment.

"After finding Felix Dorfin legally and convincingly guilty of importing narcotics ... [he] is sentenced to the death penalty," presiding judge Isnurul Syamsul Arif told the court on Lombok Island.

BEIJING (AP) — Google is assuring users of Huawei smartphones the American company’s basic services will work on them following U.S. government restrictions on doing business with the Chinese tech giant.

Google, a unit of Alphabet Inc., said Monday it is complying with and “reviewing the implications” of the requirement for export licenses for technology sales to Huawei Technologies Ltd.

Last week’s order follows U.S. government accusations that Huawei, the biggest maker of network gear for phone companies and the No. 2 global smartphone brand, is a security risk.

20 May 2019; MEMO: A rocket was fired into the Iraqi capital Baghdad’s heavily-fortified Green Zone, which houses government buildings and foreign embassies, on Sunday but caused no casualties, the Iraqi military said, Reuters reports.

“A Katyusha rocket fell in the middle of the Green Zone without causing any losses,” the military said in a statement, later specifying that it landed near the Monument of the Unknown Soldier.

SUTHERLAND SPRINGS, Texas (AP) — A South Texas church began a fresh chapter of worship on Sunday as it unveiled a new sanctuary a year and a half after a gunman opened fire and killed more than two dozen congregants in the deadliest mass shooting in state history.

Parishioners, elected leaders and relatives of those killed or injured at the First Baptist Church in the tiny town of Sutherland Springs gathered at the new sanctuary for its dedication. Some among the hundreds in attendance wore royal blue shirts with ”#evildidnotwin” written across the back.