Irish rap band Kneecap banned from Hungary's Sziget festival
Government spokesperson Zoltán Kovács explained in a post on the X platform that the the decision to ban Kneecap from entering the country and from participating in the Sziget Festival, was due to statements deemed anti-Semitic and glorifying Hamas and Hezbollah.
He later added that the immigration authorities had issued a formal decision to ban the band members from entering Hungary for three years, considering their presence a "serious threat to national security".
The government had previously asked festival organisers to exclude the band from the event, which is one of Europe's biggest music festivals and attracts hundreds of thousands of music lovers to an island on the Danube every summer.
Pro-Palestinian protests
The Belfast-based band is known for its support of the Palestinian cause, which it openly expresses at its concerts.
One of its most controversial recent appearances came at Britain's Glastonbury Festival, when lead singer Liam O'Hannah, better known by his stage name Mo Chara, accused Israel of committing war crimes.
Last May, Mo Chara was charged with a terrorism-related offence in the UK for displaying a pro-Hezbollah flag. The artist denied the charge, and in previous statements, he emphasised that the band does not support either Hamas or Hezbollah, and that it "condemns all attacks on civilians, at all times".
The band is by no means alone in expressing vocal support for the Palestinian cause and the enjoys enormous support from other dozens of artists and cultural figures who've signed petitions and are organising campaigns against what they deem to be censorship.
Organisers of the Sziget festival say they've not had official notification of the government's decision, and reject pressure to cancel the 11 August performance.
"Our festival remains true to what we have achieved over the past 30 years. There is no place for hate, incitement, prejudice or any form of racism or anti-Semitism" said Sziget in a statement.
This year's edition features some of the biggest names in music, including Post Malone, Shawn Mendes and Charli XCX.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Euronews
5 hours ago
- Euronews
E3 leaders make renewed call for ceasefire in Gaza amid hunger deaths
The leaders of France, Germany, and the United Kingdom, known as the E3, on Saturday issued a new call for an end to the Gaza war, describing the situation in the besieged enclave as appalling. According to a UK government statement, the three leaders, Prime Minister Keir Starmer, President of France Emmanuel Macron, and Chancellor of Germany Friedrich Merz, spoke Saturday morning by phone. They emphasised the urgent need for an immediate ceasefire, for Israel to lift all restrictions on aid, and for those suffering in Gaza to receive food they so desperately need, the statement said. They discussed their "intention to work closely together on a plan, building on their collaboration to date, which would pave the way to a long-term solution and security in the region," the statement added. Saturday's call follows that of Friday, where the European allies called for an immediate ceasefire, saying that "withholding essential humanitarian assistance to the civilian population is unacceptable." What could the E3 nations' action be? The leaders stated that they "stand ready to take further action to support an immediate ceasefire and a political process that leads to lasting security and peace for Israelis, Palestinians, and the entire region," but did not specify what that action may be. On Thursday, French President Emmanuel Macron announced that his country will become the first major Western power to recognise a Palestinian state, drawing a backlash from the US and Israel. It is unclear what the action will be from the other nations in the E3, but what is known is that the UK has historically been hesitant to recognise a Palestinian state for fear of upsetting its allies, the US and Israel, while Germany, due to its past, mostly finds it inappropriate to strongly criticise Israel. In Friday's joint statement, the leaders urged all parties to bring an end to the conflict and also called for an unconditional release of all hostages who have been held captive by Hamas since 7 October 2023. While their call comes amid a breakdown of ceasefire talks between Israel and Hamas, which hit a standstill after the US and Israel recalled their negotiating teams on Thursday, Starmer, Macron, and Merz stressed that the disarmament of Hamas remains imperative. "Hamas must have no role in the future of Gaza. We reaffirm our commitment to supporting the diplomatic efforts of the United States, Qatar, and Egypt," Friday's joint statement said. Gaza hunger deaths rising This week, the world has woken up to grim images of children suffering malnutrition and dying from starvation in Gaza. The images come after experts have long warned that Gaza is being pushed closer to famine after months of Israel entirely blocking food or letting in only limited amounts. Israel says it has allowed around 4,500 aid trucks into Gaza since lifting its total blockade in May. But the UN World Food Programme (WFP) says nearly one in three people in Gaza has not been eating for days at a time, warning that malnutrition is rising, with around 90,000 children and women now in need of urgent treatment. In the past three weeks, at least 50 people have died of causes related to malnutrition, including 28 adults and 22 children, according to the Gaza Health Ministry. That's up from 12 children who died in the five previous months of 2025, according to the ministry. UK to airdrop aid in Gaza In its defence, Israel argues that it allows enough aid to enter and blames UN agencies for not doing more to retrieve and deliver it to those in need. As the country faces mounting international outcry and backlash over the worsening hunger crisis in Gaza, media reports claimed that Israel will permit foreign nations to airdrop aid into Gaza beginning Friday. On Saturday, British Prime Minister Keir Starmer said the UK will be taking forward plans to work with partners such as Jordan to air-drop aid and evacuate children requiring medical assistance. In its statement on the call with Macron and Merz, Starmer said they all agreed it would be "vital to ensure robust plans are in place to turn an urgently needed ceasefire into lasting peace." Once this plan was worked up, they would seek to bring in other key partners, including those in the region, to advance it, the UK statement stated.
LeMonde
5 hours ago
- LeMonde
Israel begins daily 'tactical' pause in Gaza to allow 'minimal' food aid
The Israeli military on Sunday, July 27, began limited pauses in fighting in three populated areas of Gaza for 10 hours a day, part of measures including airdrops as concerns grow over surging hunger and as Israel faces criticism over its conduct in the 21-month war. The military said the "tactical pause" from 10 am to 8 pm in Gaza City, Deir al-Balah and Muwasi, all with large populations, would increase humanitarian aid entering the territory. United Nations humanitarian chief Tom Fletcher welcomed Israel's decision to support a "one-week scale-up of aid" and said "some movement restrictions appear to have been eased." But he said action needs to be sustained, vast and fast. "Whichever path we choose, we will have to continue to allow the entry of minimal humanitarian supplies," Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said. Images of emaciated children have fanned criticism of Israel, including by allies who call for the war's end. Israel has restricted aid to Gaza's population of over 2 million because it says Hamas siphons it off to bolster its rule, without providing evidence. Much of the population, squeezed into ever-smaller patches of land, now relies on aid. As the military had warned, combat operations continued otherwise. Health officials in Gaza said Israeli strikes killed at least 41 Palestinians from late Saturday into Sunday, including 26 seeking aid. "I came to get flour for my children because they have not tasted flour for more than a week," said Sabreen Hassona, as other Palestinians trudged along a dusty road carrying sacks of food from the Zikim crossing. But aid came slowly for others, if at all. "We saw the planes, but we didn't see what they dropped," Samira Yahya said in Zawaida in central Gaza. "They said trucks would pass, but we didn't see the trucks." Some people feared going out and having a box of aid fall on their children, Ahmed al-Sumairi said. 'Every delay is measured by another funeral' Israel's military said 28 aid packages containing food were airdropped, and said it would put in place secure routes for aid delivery. It said the steps were made in coordination with the UN and other humanitarian groups. The UN World Food Program said it had enough food in, or on its way, to feed all of Gaza for nearly three months. It has said nearly half a million people were enduring famine-like conditions. Antoine Renard, WFP's country director for the occupied Palestinian territories, said around 80 WFP trucks entered Gaza, while another over 130 trucks arrived via Jordan, Ashdod and Egypt. He said other aid was moving through the Kerem Shalom and Zikim crossings. He stressed it was not enough to counter the "current starvation." Gaza saw 63 malnutrition-related deaths in July, including 24 children underage 5, the World Health Organization said. Dr. Muneer al-Boursh, Gaza Health Ministry's director-general, called for a flood of medical supplies to treat child malnutrition. "This [humanitarian] truce will mean nothing if it doesn't turn into a real opportunity to save lives," he said. "Every delay is measured by another funeral." 'Alternative options' to talks. Ceasefire efforts appeared to be in doubt. Israel and the US recalled negotiating teams from Qatar on Thursday, blaming Hamas, and Israel said it was considering "alternative options" to talks. Partner service Learn French with Gymglish Thanks to a daily lesson, an original story and a personalized correction, in 15 minutes per day. Try for free Israel says it is prepared to end the war if Hamas surrenders, disarms and goes into exile, something the group has refused. Khalil al-Hayya, head of Hamas' negotiating delegation, said the group had displayed "maximum flexibility." Senior Hamas official Mahmoud Merdawi said Israel's change of approach on the humanitarian crisis amounted to an acknowledgment of Palestinians starving in Gaza, and asserted that it was meant to improve Israel's international standing and not save lives. After ending the latest ceasefire in March, Israel cut off the entry of food, medicine, fuel and other supplies to Gaza for 2 ½ months, saying it aimed to pressure Hamas to release hostages. Fifty of them remain in Gaza, over half of them believed to be dead. Under international pressure, Israel slightly eased the blockade in May. Since then, the average of 69 trucks a day has been far below the 500 to 600 trucks the UN says are needed. The UN says it has been unable to distribute much aid because hungry crowds and gangs take most of it from trucks. In an attempt to divert aid delivery from UN control, Israel has backed the US-registered Gaza Humanitarian Foundation, which in May opened four distribution centers. More than 1,000 Palestinians have been killed by Israeli forces since May while trying to get food, mostly near those sites, the UN human rights office says. Israel asserts the UN system allows Hamas to steal aid. The UN denies it. "Gaza is not a remote island. The infrastructure and resources exist to prevent starvation; we just need safe, sustained access," Mercy Corps' vice president of global policy and advocacy, Kate Phillips-Barrasso, said in a statement. Awda Hospital in Nuseirat said Israeli forces killed at least 13 people, including four children and a woman, and wounded 101 as they headed toward a GHF aid distribution site in central Gaza. Israel's military said it fired warning shots to prevent a "gathering of suspects" from approaching, hundreds of meters from the site before opening hours. GHF said there were no incidents at or near its sites. Thirteen others were killed seeking aid elsewhere, including northwestern Gaza City, where over 50 people were wounded, and near the Zikim crossing where over 90 were wounded, hospital officials and medics said. US President Donald Trump on Sunday called the images of emaciated and malnourished children in Gaza "terrible."
LeMonde
6 hours ago
- LeMonde
North Korea rejects outreach by South Korea's new president
The influential sister of North Korean leader Kim Jong-un rebuffed overtures by South Korea's new liberal government, saying Monday, July 28, that North Korea has no interest in talks with South Korea, no matter what proposal its rival offers. Kim Yo-jong's comments suggest again that North Korea, now preoccupied with its expanding cooperation with Russia, has no intentions of returning to diplomacy with South Korea and the US anytime soon. But experts said North Korea could change its course if it thinks it cannot maintain the same booming ties with Russia when the Russia-Ukraine war nears an end. "We clarify once again the official stand that no matter what policy is adopted and whatever proposal is made in Seoul, we have no interest in it and there is neither a reason to meet nor an issue to be discussed with" South Korea, Kim Yo-jong said in a statement carried by state media. It's North Korea's first official statement on the government of South Korean President Lee Jae-myung, which took office in early June. In an effort to improve badly frayed ties with North Korea, Lee's government has halted anti-Pyongyang frontline loudspeaker broadcasts, taken steps to ban activists from flying balloons with propaganda leaflets across the border and repatriated North Koreans who were drifted south in wooden boats months earlier. 'Sincere efforts' Kim Yo-jong called such steps "sincere efforts" by Lee's government to develop ties. But she said the Lee government won't be much different from its predecessors, citing what it calls "their blind trust" to the military alliance with the US and attempt to "stand in confrontation" with North Korea. She mentioned the upcoming summertime South Korea-US military drills, which North Korea views as an invasion rehearsal. North Korea has been shunning talks with South Korea and the US since leader Kim Jong-un's high-stakes nuclear diplomacy with President Donald Trump fell apart in 2019 due to wrangling over international sanctions. North Korea has since focused on building more powerful nuclear weapons targeting its rivals. North Korea now prioritizes cooperation with Russia by sending troops and conventional weapons to support its war against Ukraine, likely in return for economic and military assistance. South Korea, the US and others say Russia may even give North Korea sensitive technologies that can enhance its nuclear and missile programs. Since beginning his second term in January, Trump has repeatedly boasted of his personal ties with Kim Jong-un and expressed intent to resume diplomacy with him. But North Korea hasn't publicly responded to Trump's overture. In early 2024, Kim Jong-un ordered the rewriting of the constitution to remove the long-running state goal of a peaceful Korean unification and cement South Korea as an "invariable principal enemy." That caught many foreign experts by surprise because it was seen as eliminating the idea of shared statehood between the war-divided Koreas and breaking away with his predecessors' long-cherished dreams of peacefully achieving a unified Korea on the North's terms. Many experts say Kim likely aims to guard against South Korean cultural influence and bolster his family's dynastic rule. Others say Kim wants legal room to use his nuclear weapons against South Korea by making it a foreign enemy state, not a partner for potential unification which shares a sense of national homogeneity.
