Lana Del Ray postpones Israel show amid row
Los Angeles, Sep 2 : Singer Lana Del Rey has postponed her upcoming performance in Israel after struggling to set up another show in Palestine to appease fans on both sides of the political conflict.
The singer recently sparked a backlash after joining the line-up for the inaugural Meteor Festival in Tel Aviv next week as activists supportive of the Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions (BDS) movement, which calls for a cultural boycott of Israel, urged her to reconsider the booking, reports aceshowbiz.com.
She initially tried to defend her decision by saying it had nothing to do with politics or picking sides in the long-running conflict between the two nations, but days later, she returned to social media and promised to make amends by visiting Palestine too, before the scheduled Israeli show on September 7.
However, on August 31, she announced her hopes of making stops in both countries have been dashed as she has been unable to make the schedule work.
As a result, Ray has chosen to pull out of the Meteor Festival headlining set, and delay her first gig in Israel until a later date.
She tweeted: "It's important to me to perform in both Palestine and Israel and treat all my fans equally.
"Unfortunately it has not been possible to line up both visits with such short notice and therefore I am postponing my appearance at the Meteor Festival until a time when I can schedule visits for both my Israeli and Palestinian fans, as well as hopefully other countries in the region."
The Meteor Festival is still scheduled to go ahead as planned, with acts including Kamasi Washington, Flying Lotus, Pusha T, and Soulwax on the bill, but organisers have made it clear they do not appreciate the late change of heart, accusing Ray of using the event to increase her media profile.
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Ready to face no-confidence motion, says Karnataka CM Siddaramaiah
Hassan (Karnataka) (PTI): Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah on Saturday said that the Congress government led by him was ready to face the no-confidence motion if moved by the opposition during the legislature session from December 8.
With Deputy CM D K Shivakumar by his side, he reiterated that they would both abide by the high command's decision on the leadership issue.
"Let them (opposition) bring in a no-confidence motion or adjournment motion or any other motion. We are ready to face it. Ours is an open book, transparent government. We are ready to face anything," Siddaramaiah said in response to a question.
However, BJP state President B Y Vijayendra and Leader of Opposition in the Legislative Assembly R Ashoka, clarified that the party, along with the JD(S) has not discussed or decided anything so far regarding moving a no-confidence motion against the government.
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The winter session of the Karnataka legislature will begin in Belagavi, bordering Maharashtra, on December 8 and will go on till 19th of this month.
Not wanting to react to a question on the leadership issue, the CM said the Congress high command is very strong.
"D K Shivakumar and I will be committed to whatever the high command decides," he said.
Earlier in the day in Bengaluru, Shivakumar accompanied AICC Mallikarjun Kharge till airport from Vidhana Soudha, after paying tributes to B R Ambedkar on his 69th death anniversary, which had led to some speculation about possible discussion between the two on the leadership issue.
The power tussle within the ruling party had intensified amid speculation about a change in chief minister in the state, after the Congress government reached the halfway mark of its five-year term on November 20.
However, both the CM and Deputy CM had recently held breakfast meetings at each others residences, on the instructions of the high command, which is seen as a move to pause the leadership tussle between the two and to signal Siddaramaiah's continuation as the CM for the time being, especially ahead of the Belagavi legislature session.
