Monday, May 18Monday, May 18The 70th edition of the Eurovision Song Contest is taking place at Vienna’s Wiener Stadthalle, with the first semifinal held on 12 May 2026. The event opened with Moldova’s performance, followed by Italy’s representative, Sal Da Vinci, who received a standing ovation for his song *"Per sempre sì"*, performed with the Italian tricolor on stage .
The semifinal featured 15 competing acts vying for a place in the grand final, with Romania set to perform in the second semifinal on Thursday . Among the performances, Estonia’s Vanilla Ninja took part in the first semifinal .
The event has been marked by controversy and protests due to Israel’s participation, with five nations boycotting the contest in response. During Israel’s performance by Noam Bettan, protesters chanted *"Stop the genocide"*, leading to heightened security measures at the Wiener Stadthalle . Protests in Vienna included the display of small coffins in the city center, symbolizing opposition to Israel’s inclusion .
In terms of performances, Sal Da Vinci (Italy) was praised, while Sweden and Georgia received lower scores in early reviews . The contest has also seen broader boycotts, including **Ireland’s RTÉ broadcasting a *Father Ted* episode instead of the final** in protest .
🇺🇸🤝🇨🇳- Donald Trump boarded Air Force One 20 minutes ago and is getting ready to take off to Beijing, China. @GeoPWatch
telegram bot · 5 days ago
Whose art of the deal? Trump & Xi to meet in Beijing Donald Trump is travelling to Beijing where he will be hosted by Xi Jinping. On the agenda is a series of issues that could cement the superiority of one over the other, and even lead to a new world order. Because beneath the diplomatic and friendly langaage there are messages that will be hard to disgest for someone. Behind the handshake theres a likely arm wrestle over who has dibs where and when in the world. Our panel will dissect whats at stake and I hope answer your questions in what is the mopst testing of times.
france24 · 5 days ago
#Iran #China #USA On Thursday, May 14, US President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping are scheduled to meet in Beijing. Trump will arrive with dozens of top executives, including Apple CEO Tim Cook and Tesla CEO Elon Musk. The economy is an important topic of negotiations, but apparently not the main one: the Americans need diplomatic assistance. Trump seems to want to return from the negotiations with concrete results — expanding access for U.S. producers to Chinas giant market and access to Chinese raw materials, especially rare earth metals. He is also likely to try to negotiate with Xi to help negotiate with Iran. Professor Scott Erb, an American political scientist at the University of Maine Farmington, told BILD that since China received a significant portion of its oil through the Strait of Hormuz, it has a motivation to help the United States and put pressure on Tehran. Subscribe to @OSINTdefender Chat room
telegram bot · 5 days ago
NOW - Trump departs Washington aboard Air Force One for his China trip to meet with Xi. @disclosetv
telegram bot · 5 days ago
JUST IN: 🇺🇸🇨🇳 President Trump says Chinese President Xi Jinping will visit US this year. @BRICSNews
telegram bot · 5 days ago
📰 Trumps Beijing trip should make Taiwan nervous, Slotkin saysThe Senate Armed Services member and former Pentagon official warned the president could easily fall into a trap due to his eagerness to strike a deal with China. #UKNews #Europe
mastodon bot · 5 days ago
Delegation mit großen Namen: Diese Wirtschaftsbosse begleiten Trump nach China Der US-Präsident reist mit den Chefs führender Unternehmen zu Xi Jinping. Dabei sind Tesla-Chef Elon Musk und Tim Cook von Apple. Nicht eingeladen ist der Chef eines wichtigen Computerchip-Herstellers.
sueddeutsche · 5 days ago
Chinese people divided ahead of Trump-Xi summit in Beijing Residents in Beijing shared mixed opinions ahead of the upcoming meeting between US President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping, with some hoping for improved ties and others expressing skepticism.
euronews · 5 days ago
Taiwan als Spielball der Interessen Die Themenliste für die am Donnerstag geplanten Gespräche zwischen US-Präsident Donald Trump und seinem chinesischen Amtskollegen Xi Jinping in Peking ist lang. Ein zentraler Punkt auf der Tagesordnung wird Taiwan sein. Die demokratisch regierte Insel gilt als besonders heikler Punkt in den Beziehungen zwischen China und den USA. Beobachter fürchten, dass Trump etwa in der Frage der US-Waffenverkäufe an Taiwan einknicken könnte.
orf.at · 5 days ago
A weakened Trump to test Chinas appetite for deal-making A quagmire in Iran, sky-high oil prices and shrinking support at home: when US President Donald Trump belatedly travels to China this week, his position has weakened. Still, he is hoping for any deal. Nervous Europeans are watching.
euronews · 6 days ago
Debate: Trump to visit Xi: rapprochement between US and China? After postponing his trip due to the Iran conflict, US President Donald Trump is now set to travel to Beijing for a state visit on Wednesday. His talks with Chinese President and party leader Xi Jinping are likely to focus on the issues of Iran and Taiwan, as well as trade and artificial intelligence. The media look at what divides the two superpowers, but also what they have in common.
eurotopics.net · 6 days ago
First US visit to China since 2017 amid geopolitical tension China says it is ready to work with the United States in the pursuit of more stability globally, ahead of this weeks meeting between leaders Xi Jinping and Donald Trump. The White House has said the visit - the first of an American president to China since 2017 - is of tremendous symbolic significance. The war in Iran is likely to be top of the agenda, with Beijing also signalling that they want Taiwan to be central to discussions.
france24 · 6 days ago