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‘We weten dat Mark Carney Europa een beetje wil omarmen,’ zegt competitiedirecteur Martin Green. Canada is welkom om zich bij Eurovision aan te sluiten als het dat wenst, heeft de directeur gezegd, maanden nadat het land in zijn federale begroting onthulde dat het wilde "onderzoeken" om deel te nemen aan het songfestival. Eurovision-directeur Martin Green vertelde de BBC woensdag dat Canada nog geen aanvraag had ingediend, maar dat ze welkom zouden zijn. Lees verder...

• De MP zegt dat zijzelf de uitdaging aan gaat als er morgen geen kabinetminister naar voren stapt om de premier uit te dagen. • Goedemorgen. Er waren veel voorspellingen over de toekomst van Labour voorafgaand aan de Engelse, Schotse en Welshe verkiezingen, die verschrikkelijk zijn geweest voor de partij, maar er is één uitkomst die niemand had voorzien: een uitdaging voor het leiderschap door Catherine West. • West, MP voor Hornsey en Friern Barnet en tot haar ontslag bij de reshuffle vorig jaar junior minister op Foreign Office, kondigde gisterenmiddag aan dat zij het zelf zal doen, tenzij er morgenochtend een kabinetminister naar voren stapt om Starmer uit te dagen voor het leiderschap van Labour.

The Venice Biennale, Eurovision and Cannes are framed as artists representing their nations. But in a fractured world, national identity seems increasingly futile• Don’t get This Is Europe delivered to your inbox? Sign up hereAre the arts being drowned out by politics? A few days before the biggest week of the year in Europe’s cultural calendar, that impression may be hard to avoid. The Venice Biennale opens its doors to the public on Saturday, but talk in the run-up to the world’s largest contemporary event has focused little on the works that will go on display inside the national pavilions, and a lot on which pavilions are going to open their doors, or shouldn’t.The building housing the Russian national representation was open for press previews on Tuesday, pumping out techno, for the first time since the full-scale invasion of Ukraine. It’s a decision the biennale president, Pietrangelo Buttafuoco, seems to have made against the wishes of the Italian government that appointed him, and could cost the festival €2m in EU funds for a breach of its ethical standards. Russia has not participated in the past two editions due to its war in Ukraine. Its pavilion’s doors will be closed to the public when the biennale opens fully on 9 May, which a Ukrainian official told the Guardian was a “meaningful step”, after the biennale’s jury resigned en masse in April, in objection to entries from countries whose leaders are subject to international arrest warrants. Continue reading...

• Early trends from West Bengal assembly elections show BJP ahead of the Trinamool Congress (TMC), signaling a potential historic shift in the state's political landscape. • The early leads suggest competitive dynamics across constituencies, though final results remain uncertain as vote counting progresses and trends can shift significantly. • The election results could have implications for Indian politics at the national level and investor sentiment regarding governance and policy continuity in West Bengal's economy.

• Malaysia's Barisan Nasional (BN) coalition is almost certain to go solo in the next general election, announced Deputy Prime Minister Ahmad Zahid Hamidi. • The decision signals potential shifts in political alliances ahead of the polls, amid ongoing unity government dynamics. • This development could reshape Malaysia's opposition landscape and influence regional stability in Southeast Asia.

National broadcaster confirms it will not broadcast world’s largest live music eventNational broadcasters in Ireland, Spain and Slovenia will not air the Eurovision song contest this year, after they decided to boycott the event over Israel’s participation.Having already announced it would not submit a national entry, Slovenian broadcaster RTV confirmed on Thursday it would implement a broadcasting blackout of the world’s largest live music event and instead show a series of films about Palestine. Continue reading...

Prime minister has been trailing in the polls to Péter Magyar in race that could have repercussions for Europe, the US and RussiaHello from Budapest where Hungarians are voting in a closely contested election that could oust Viktor Orbán after 16 years in power and potentially reshape the central European country’s relations with the EU, Moscow and Washington.Pre-election day polls appeared to suggest that Péter Magyar of the centre-right Tisza party could be on course to win the election, ending Orbán’s era, much criticised for weakening the rule of law and civil liberties, and raising hopes of a more pro-European government in Budapest. Continue reading...