Two people were killed and 19 others injured after a Mexican Navy ship crashed into the Brooklyn Bridge.

The ship collided with the city's iconic landmark as people enjoying the warm spring evening looked on in horror.

“At this time, of the 277 people on board, 19 are injured, 2 are in critical condition, and 2 have sadly died from their injuries,” New York Mayor Eric Adams wrote on Twitter.

Footage shared online shows the Mexican navy ship Cuauhtemoc with its sails furled and festive lights lit as it attempts to pass under the bridge.

The Mexican navy said 22 people on board the ship were injured in the collision, three of them critically.

The ship lost power while the captain was maneuvering, forcing it to head toward the Brooklyn side of the bridge. Panic broke out on the vessel. | BGNES, AFP

JJ from Austria wins Eurovision 2025 with a fusion of opera and techno

Austrian singer JJ won Eurovision 2025 with his opera song “Wasted Love,” which triumphed at the world's biggest live music television event.

After voting by national juries from across Europe and viewers from across the continent and beyond, JJ brought Austria its first victory since Conchita Wurst's triumph in 2014.

After a tense reveal of the votes this morning, Austria finished with 436 points, ahead of Israel, whose participation sparked protests, with 357 points, and Estonia with 356 points.

“Thank you, Europe, for making my dreams come true,” said 24-year-old countertenor JJ, whose real name is Johannes Pitsch, after his triumph in the Swiss city of Basel.

"Love is the strongest force in the world.

Let's spread more love,“ added the Austrian-Filipino singer.

In ”Wasted Love," he reached high notes, mixing opera and techno.

His Eurovision song, which tells the story of unrequited love, combines lyricism and balladry before ending with a techno finale.

His performance, broadcast in black and white in a 4:3 ratio, captivated viewers across Europe.

“What a fantastic success! My heartfelt congratulations on your victory,” said Austrian Chancellor Christian Stöcker, adding: “JJ is making history in Austrian music.”

The 69th edition of Eurovision took place at the St. Jakobshalle in Basel, packed with 6,500 excited spectators, while another 36,000 watched the show live in a nearby stadium.

Around 160 million people across Europe and beyond watched the annual television spectacle, in which glitz and grandiose stage effects go hand in hand. | BGNES, AFP

Simeon vs. Dan - presidential runoff in Romania

On Sunday, May 18, Romanians will choose between two presidential candidates who symbolize radically different political directions - a populist on the right and a centrist. Polling stations open at 7:00 a.m. and close at 9:00 p.m. local (and Bulgarian) time.

After the first round on May 4, in which the far-right candidate George Simion won about 41% of the vote and the independent mayor of Bucharest, Nicușor Dăncilă, received 21%, the two will compete for the presidency in the second round.

The latest opinion polls indicate an extremely close race, with only a few percentage points separating the two candidates. Simion is the leader of the Alliance for the Unity of Romanians (AUR), while Dănălescu is an independent candidate and currently governs the capital Bucharest, a city with a quarter of the country's population.

Simion is associated with leaders such as US President Donald Trump and Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán.

The elections come at a critical moment for Romania, an EU and NATO member bordering Ukraine, as it watches its Western allies waver over support for Kyiv, the strategy for dealing with Russian aggression, and the consequences of US trade policies.

The 38-year-old Simion won around 40% in the first round, while Dan won around 20%. The first round followed the controversial annulment of the October 2024 elections, in which far-right candidate Calin Georgescu was the favorite, but the Constitutional Court overturned the vote due to irregularities and revelations of Russian interference.

Sămiion attracted many of Dărugeanu's voters and even spoke of appointing him as prime minister.

He is a controversial figure – he is banned from entering Ukraine and Moldova, calls for the restoration of Romania's old borders and is skeptical of military aid to Ukraine.

He has organised nationalist rallies and protests against corruption. The Alliance for the Unity of Romanians was founded in 2020. "The first thing I will do as president is to declassify the files on the annulment of the elections.

For there to be justice, we must know the truth," Simion said.

The 2024 election case has drawn criticism from leading figures who accused the authorities of restricting freedom of speech. US Vice President Jay Chalmers called the constitutional court's decision “weak and unsubstantiated” by intelligence services.

While officially maintaining neutrality on the war in Ukraine, Simion is attracting voters with his anti-establishment rhetoric.

In 2024, Romania fell 12 places to 72nd in The Economist's Democracy Index, moving from “flawed democracy” to “hybrid regime” — a mixture of authoritarianism and democracy.

Despite his commitment to remain in the EU and NATO, Simion is critical of Europe.

Last week, Prime Minister Marcel Ciolacu of the Social Democratic Party (PSD) resigned after the coalition failed to get its candidate, Crin Antonescu, into the second round – something unprecedented in the country's 35-year post-communist history.

Following Ciolacu's resignation, the new president will be able to nominate a prime minister. If the candidate does not receive parliamentary support, early parliamentary elections may be held.

Nicușor Dăncilă described Cioloș's resignation as “long overdue.” Dăncilă built his reputation as a fighter against corruption, founding the Save Romania party in 2015, which he called “the first major national formation insisting on serious reforms and modernization of the political system in Romania.”

He draws his support mainly from urban centers and positions himself as a barrier against rising populism.

After trailing by nearly 20 points in the first round, Dan faces a serious challenge on Sunday.

His priorities include fighting tax fraud and drug trafficking and creating conditions for the return of millions of Romanians from the diaspora, which numbers around 5 million people – a quarter of the country's population.

In the first round, a record number of Romanians abroad voted – 24% more than last year. Of the 966,000 people who voted in the diaspora, 60% supported Simion and 25% supported Dan. | BGNES