VOA News for Sunday, May 23rd, 2021

VOA News for Sunday, May 23rd, 2021
Thanks to gandalf.ddo.jp/ for transcribing
This is VOA News. Reporting by remote, I'm Joe Ramsey.
Lava from a volcanic eruption reached the airport of eastern Democratic Republic of Congo's main city of Goma Sunday as thousands actuated.
Goma residents grabbed mattresses and other belongings as they recalled the last eruption in 2002, which killed 250 people and left 120,000 homeless.
As the red glow of one of the world's most active volcanoes painted the nighttime sky above the lakeside city of about 2 million, some fled east toward the frontier with neighboring Rwanda while others escaped to the west.
A volcano expert said Saturday new fractures open, allowing the lava to flow southward toward Goma after initially flowing east towards Rwanda. He says it appears the lava is headed towards city center but it's difficult to forecast.
Power is out across much the area and phone lines are busy.
The U.N. Security Council is welcoming the cease-fire between Israel and Gaza's Hamas rulers and calling for it to continue after 11 days of fighting left hundreds dead, mostly Palestinians, many women and children.
A statement released Saturday was approved by all 15 members. It says the council mourns the loss of civilian lives resulting from the violence and stresses the immediate need for humanitarian assistance to the Palestinian civilian population, particularly in Gaza.
The statement further said it was urgent to restore calm and reiterated the importance of achieving peace based on the vision of a region where two democratic states, Israel and Palestine, live side by side with secure and recognized borders.
Thousands rallied Saturday night in the Israeli city of Tel Aviv, calling for coexistence between Jews and Arabs.
This is VOA News.
A four-piece band of Italian rockers won the Eurovision Song Contest in the early hours of Sunday.
The music festival was canceled last year amid the global pandemic but the event in a Rotterdam arena with strict testing and hygiene protocols was seen as a step toward a post-COVID-19 return to live entertainment.
The band Maneskin's win was only Italy's third victory in the popular contest since 1990. Ah, it's Italy's first since 1990.
Italy was the bookmakers' favorite, trailing Switzerland, France and Malta after national juries delivered their votes but were propelled to victory by votes from the viewing public.
A crowd of 3,500 fans, who all tested negative for the coronavirus, watched finalists perform live.
France finished second and Switzerland third.
A technical fault on Saturday left frustrated fans unable to access Glastonbury's festival livestream concert at the famous farm site in southwest England after the coronavirus pandemic led to the blockbuster event's cancellation.
Social media was filled with complaints at the start of the five-hour virtual show, with many ticket holders unable to access a stream of the event after paying about $28. [orgiani...] Organizers later set out a free link.
Glastonbury had to cancel its 50th anniversary in 2020 after some 135,000 people had already bought tickets. Headliners were meant to include pop superstar Taylor Swift and Beatles icon Paul McCartney.
Organizers had hoped to stage the event in 2021 but reversed course after England entered a third lockdown at the start of the year following a surge in infections, hospitalizations and deaths.
The girlfriend of a heavily armed Belgian soldier who's on the run called on him to make the story end as specialized forces continue hunting for him Saturday.
Jurgen Conings, a 46-year-old, is on the federal anti-terror watch list and was seen early this week near the home of a person he had threatened.
He is an expert marksman known for extreme-right views and was still thought to be hiding in a vast nature park in northeastern Belgium where over 400 soldiers and police officers have been looking for him four straight days.
The Belgian justice minister says the man disappeared Monday and hung around the residents of one of several people he had threatened before booby-trapping his own car with ammunition and four anti-tank missile launchers inside.
And one of only two women on Sudan's ruling Sovereignty Council said on Saturday she had resigned, accusing the military-dominated transitional government of ignoring civilian voices.
Find more on that at voanews.com. Reporting by remote, I'm Joe Ramsey, VOA News.

[@simonh6371]

It's a lot more than 400 soldiers & police looking for Jurgen Conings, I've seen Belgian dashcam footage and it shows there are more than 400 police just on a 10 mile stretch of highway going thru the national park, police from all over Belgium (as their vehicles are marked in French as well as Flemish) plus tens of thousands of Belgian, Dutch and German soldiers.

[@ashleydior401]

Thank you