10 countries make it through first Eurovision semi-finalMay 15, 2019 - 11:34 AMT PanARMENIAN.Net - The first semi-final of Eurovision, Europe's largest entertainment event, kicked off at Expo Tel Aviv in Israel on Tuesday, May 14. . France, Germany, Spain, Italy, the United Kingdom, and Israel have been pre-qualified for the Grand Final, meaning they did not compete on Tuesday. Traditionally the host country, along with the "Big Five" in Europe, automatically qualify for the final, euronews says. The 10 acts that earned the most points and qualified to participate in the final on Saturday are: Greece – Katerine Duska Belarus – Zena Serbia – Nevena Bozovic Cyprus – Tamta Estonia – Victor Crone Czech Republic – Lake Malawi Australia – Kate Miller-Heidke Iceland – Hatari San Marino – Serhat Slovenia – Zala Kralj and Gašper Šantl The event was opened by 2018 winner Netta Barzilai from Israel, who kick-started the show with a rendition of her winning song "Toys". Armenia's representative, Srbuk, will open the second semi-final on Thursday. Top stories The creative crew of the Public TV had chosen 13-year-old Malena as a participant of this year's contest. She called on others to also suspend their accounts over the companies’ failure to tackle hate speech. Penderecki was known for his film scores, including for William Friedkin’s “The Exorcist”, Stanley Kubrick’s “The Shining”. The festival made the news public on March 19, saying that “several options are considered in order to preserve its running” Partner news | Czech-Armenian military cooperation discussed in Yerevan A delegation led by the Director General for the Industrial Cooperation Division of the Ministry of Defence of the Czech Republic visited Armenia. U.S. welcomes efforts to define Armenia-Azerbaijan border The United States welcomes efforts to define the border between Armenia and Azerbaijan, says Vedant Patel. Biden honors resilience of Armenian people on April 24 U.S. President Joe Biden has issued a statement on the 109th anniversary of the Armenian Genocide. Ex-Karabakh leader moved to solitary confinement cell in Baku, his son says David Vardanyan is the son of former Karabakh leader Ruben Vardanyan who who is currently imprisoned in Azerbaijan. |