In late September, China and Laos opened a Beijing-funded training and support center and an aviation academy at Ban Keun airport, about 50 kilometers north of Vientiane. China’s Ministry of National Defense says the facility will train Lao Air Force pilots and is “not directed against any third party.” Even so, much of the commentary […]
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South Korea will withdraw more staff from its embassy in Kyiv, Foreign Ministry spokesperson Park Doo-soon said on 20 October. Seoul says Kyiv broke an understanding to keep the transfer of two North Korean prisoners of war confidential, which was meant to protect the soldiers and their families in the North. Seoul had conveyed its position through several channels but received no sufficient response from Kyiv, Park added.
The Korea Herald noted, the move comes amid a dispute with the host government itself. That matters beyond the two countries. Good ties with Kyiv serve South Korea’s interests, AP reported earlier this month, citing experts, because Ukraine could share intelligence on North Korea’s expanding cooperation with Russia and its battlefield experience.
Officials put the planned withdrawal at about half the embassy’s staff. The Korea Herald added that the timing has yet to be set. A chargé d’affaires and all consular staff will stay in Kyiv to keep diplomatic contacts and protect South Korean citizens.
Zelenskyy told the UN General Assembly in September that Ukraine had transferred two captured North Korean soldiers to South Korea. Ukrainian forces had captured both men in Russia’s Kursk Oblast in January 2025, where Pyongyang had sent troops to fight for Moscow.
On 6 October, South Korean Foreign Minister Cho Hyun said Sybiha’s messages included words of apology but fell short of what Seoul expected. Ukrainian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Heorhii Tykhyi replied that Sybiha had written he regretted the situation reaching an exchange of critical comments.
In an interview published on 12 October, Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha told the dispute stemmed from differing readings of confidentiality at various stages of the transfer. He considers the matter closed. “Ukraine fulfilled all its obligations.”
© JEON HEON-KYUN/EPA
The competition took place at the Infinity Sport Arena sports complex under the auspices of the European Squash Federation (ESF). Romanian Junior Open is part of the international ESF Junior Circuit series and has Bronze status.
One of the main stories of the Ukrainian team’s performance was the success of 9-year-old Anastasiia Kovtun in the youngest age category, Girls U11.
Despite the competition in Bucharest marking Nastia’s debut at international level, she confidently advanced through the group stage. The Ukrainian successively defeated Romania’s Anna Oltean 3:0 (11:4, 11:9, 11:9), as well as two Bulgarian athletes — Ema Taneva 3:0 (11:3, 11:5, 11:5) and Gabriela Zarova 3:0 (11:8, 11:2, 11:2).
In the decisive match for the gold medal, Anastasiia faced another Ukrainian, Oleksandra Sinielnikova, who has considerable experience competing in international and Polish junior tournaments. The final ended with Sinielnikova winning 3:0 (11:3, 11:5, 11:5).
Thus, Oleksandra Sinielnikova became the Romanian Junior Open 2026 champion among girls under 11, while Anastasiia Kovtun claimed a silver medal at her very first international tournament.
Other Ukrainian participants also performed successfully. Among boys under 11, another all-Ukrainian final took place.
Artem Kostiukov and Mark Hrabovskyi competed for the championship title. Both athletes won their groups, each recording three victories.
In the group stage, Kostiukov defeated two representatives of Romania and an athlete from Israel, while Hrabovskyi beat two Romanian squash players and a representative of Bulgaria. In the final, Artem Kostiukov emerged victorious 3:1 (11:7, 11:6, 7:11, 11:8).
Artem Kostiukov, winner of Romanian Junior Open 2026
It is worth noting that Artem Kostiukov continues his family’s sporting traditions.
His mother is the well-known Ukrainian squash player Anastasiia Kostiukova, a Ukrainian champion and multiple winner of national competitions, including the 2023 Ukrainian Cup.
In 2022, she became the first Ukrainian woman to win a squash match at the World Games and also took silver at the international PSA Saarland Squash Open tournament.
In the Girls U13 category, Varvara Sinielnikova took first place, demonstrating confident play throughout the tournament.
Viktoriia Syvoplias brought Ukraine another gold medal in the Girls U19 category. In the final, she defeated Bulgaria’s Emma Peteva in a tense five-game contest — 3:2 (7:11, 11:9, 11:5, 8:11, 11:8).
Nestor Saplashenko secured another victory for Ukraine in the Boys U15 category. In the final, he defeated Greece’s Konstantinos Christos Papatheodorou 3:1 (11:8, 11:7, 7:11, 11:9).
Ukrainian Oleksandra Orlenko also competed in the Girls U19 category, finishing the tournament in seventh place.
Ukrainian juniors confirm their high level on the European stage
At Romanian Junior Open 2026, Ukrainian athletes won five gold medals in the Girls U11, Girls U13, Girls U19, Boys U11 and Boys U15 categories.
Anastasiia Kovtun, silver medalist at Romanian Junior Open 2026
At Romanian Junior Open 2026, Ukrainian athletes won five gold medals in the Girls U11, Girls U13, Girls U19, Boys U11 and Boys U15 categories.
In addition, Ukrainians also claimed two silver medals thanks to the performances of Anastasiia Kovtun and Mark Hrabovskyi.
In addition, Ukrainians claimed two silver medals thanks to the performances of Anastasiia Kovtun and Mark Hrabovskyi.
For nine-year-old Anastasiia Kovtun, the silver medal in Bucharest marked an important first step in her international sporting career.
Already in her debut appearance, she managed to become one of the medalists at an official European tournament.
The second energy crisis in less than five years — both triggered by wars, first in Ukraine and then in the Middle East — is dismantling resistance to a shift away from fossil fuels. Month by month the debate over electrification gains momentum: powering economic sectors that still rely on coal, oil, and gas with electricity. If there were few arguments left —environmental, economic, and strategic autonomy — in favor of a rapid electrification, gasoline and diesel prices in Europe have delivered the final blow.
© ABEDIN TAHERKENAREH (EFE)
The vote took place in the Fourth Committee of the General Assembly. The measure, presented by the Russian Federation, sought to ratify and reinforce the goals of Resolution 1514, the landmark text approved in 1960 that declared colonialism incompatible with the UN Charter and fundamental human rights.
Argentina’s diplomatic delegation chose to stand aside rather than endorse the initiative. The move placed the Milei government in line with the position promoted by the White House, which pressed allied governments to abstain.
RELATED: Argentine President Milei Toughens Malvinas Claim at UNGA
The resolution passed anyway. Delegates recorded 85 votes in favor, 49 against and 23 abstentions, sending the text to the full General Assembly for consideration.
The alignment extended beyond Buenos Aires and Washington. Chile, Costa Rica, Colombia, Guatemala, Honduras, Peru and Paraguay joined the abstention, a bloc of right-leaning regional governments that followed the U.S. lead.
On the other side, Brazil, Mexico, South Africa and India voted in favor. Their support reaffirmed the global backing for territorial integrity and decolonization processes, and set up a sharp divide within Latin America itself.
The Russian draft went further than the 1960 declaration. It extended the concept of colonialism to cover unilateral coercive measures and the economic and financial sanctions promoted by Washington around the world, a provision that made the vote a direct test of alignment.
The UN General Assembly’s Fourth Committee approved the draft resolution “Addressing contemporary forms of colonialism” by 85 votes in favour, 49 against, with 23 abstentions. Sponsored by Russia, China, Iran, Cuba, Belarus, Palestine and others, it recognizes colonialism in… pic.twitter.com/MqgQfoMhME
— Digital Debate (@digdebate) October 16, 2026
The abstention collides with the rhetoric Milei has used on Malvinas, the archipelago occupied by Britain since 1833. His government has campaigned publicly for the defense of sovereignty and demanded sanctions against oil companies operating on that Argentine soil.
The contrast sharpened in September, when the Argentine President addressed the General Assembly. There he read extended passages demanding the eradication of colonialism and stated plainly that the principle of self-determination “exists to liberate colonized peoples, not to enshrine situations derived from colonization.”
Those words sit uneasily with the vote his own diplomats just cast, or chose not to cast. The abstention, in effect, withheld support from a document that echoes the very argument Milei delivered from the rostrum.
The domestic reaction was immediate. Carlos Bianco, the government minister for Buenos Aires province, called the abstention an irresponsible act against a historic national cause. “The Malvinas question deserves a diplomacy that does not kneel. Abstaining in the face of colonialism is not just an embarrassment, it constitutes an act of irresponsibility. The Malvinas question must once again be defined by Argentines. And it will be,” Bianco wrote on social media.
The episode exposes a tension running through the Milei administration’s foreign policy. It has embraced Washington as its principal ally while maintaining, at least in public speeches, a sovereignty claim that Washington’s abstention strategy directly undercuts.
Milei dice que quiere recuperar Malvinas. En la ONU, la Argentina se abstuvo de votar contra el colonialismo.
— Francisco Cafiero (@FranCafiero) October 16, 2026
Hace dos semanas, esa misma delegación decía que Malvinas es una situación colonial.
Sobran las contradicciones. No tienen política exterior propia y desprecian al país… pic.twitter.com/I5cYaXCbvp
Text reads: “Milei says he wants to take back Malvinas. At the UN, Argentina abstained from voting against colonialism. Two weeks ago, that same delegation said that Malvinas are a colonial situation. The contradictions abound. They have no foreign policy of their own and despise the country they govern.”
Argentina’s historic position on Malvinas has long drawn broad support across Latin America and the developing world, precisely the coalition that voted in favor of the resolution Buenos Aires declined to endorse.
The measure now moves to the plenary, where the same fault lines are likely to reappear. What Argentina does there will reveal whether the abstention was an isolated calculation or a settled posture. For now, the vote leaves a record that is hard to reconcile: a government that speaks of liberating colonized peoples, yet declines to vote for a resolution doing exactly that.
North Korea’s recent underwater launch of strategic cruise missiles underscores its accelerating drive to field a survivable, sea-based nuclear deterrent, even as significant engineering hurdles and platform limitations continue to constrain its naval ambitions. North Korea test-fired two types of submarine-launched strategic cruise missiles into the Sea of Japan, marking its first public underwater cruise […]
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O Instituto Justina realiza a oficina gratuita “Palavras Necessárias” com a dramaturga boliviana Claudia Eid Asbún neste sábado (17/10), das 14h às 18h. O espetáculo “1888” será apresentado gratuitamente nos dias 22, 23 e 24 de outubro, em três espaços culturais de Aparecida de Goiânia.
O espetáculo “1888” será apresentado gratuitamente nos dias 22, 23 e 24 de outubro, em três espaços culturais de Aparecida de Goiânia. Com atuação e dramaturgia da atriz goiana Takaiúna e direção da dramaturga boliviana Claudia Eid Asbún, a circulação integra o projeto Temporada 1888 – Dramaturgia Afro-Latinoamericana.
No dia 17 de outubro, sábado, das 14h às 18h, o Instituto Justina oferece a oficina gratuita Palavras Necessárias, ministrada por Claudia Eid, na sede do instituto. A iniciativa contempla ainda a publicação da dramaturgia em livro, com distribuição gratuita. O projeto foi aprovado pelo Fundo de Arte e Cultura de Goiás (FAC-GO), por meio do Edital Cultura Negra e Periférica de Goiás – Tradição, Arte e Identidade.
Mais do que revisitar o ano que dá nome ao espetáculo, “1888” lança um olhar sobre aquilo que a abolição formal da escravidão não foi capaz de encerrar. A montagem parte de memórias afro-brasileiras e latino-americanas para investigar a permanência das estruturas escravocratas, as violências que atravessam a existência de mulheres negras e as formas de resistência preservadas pela ancestralidade.
No centro da narrativa está Justina, uma mulher negra e curandeira que vive no Brasil de 1888. Entre ervas, rezas, lembranças e silêncios, a personagem carrega experiências que ultrapassam sua própria existência. Em cena, Justina conversa com um bebê sobre a vida e a liberdade. A música, a dança e a presença física da atriz conduzem uma narrativa em que o tempo deixa de obedecer à cronologia.
Criado em 2022, o espetáculo nasceu de um processo de formação e investigação dramatúrgica desenvolvido por Takaiúna em parceria com Claudia Eid Asbún. Durante a pesquisa, Takaiúna desenvolveu o conceito de “elementos-pontes”, expressão utilizada para identificar elementos cênicos que compartilham uma cosmologia comum em diferentes territórios da América Latina. O trabalho já circulou por festivais, universidades, Pontos de Cultura e espaços culturais comunitários da América Latina e do continente africano.
A presença de Claudia Eid Asbún em Aparecida de Goiânia vai além da direção do espetáculo. A oficina Palavras Necessárias propõe uma investigação sobre os caminhos da escrita para o teatro. A atividade parte das estruturas clássicas da dramaturgia e avança em direção a formas contemporâneas de construir narrativas. Um dos pontos centrais é a identificação dos chamados detonadores criativos: experiências, percepções e inquietações pessoais capazes de impulsionar a criação artística.
Dramaturga, diretora, atriz e jornalista, Claudia Eid Asbún está à frente da companhia independente El Masticadero, fundada em 2005, na Bolívia. Também dirige a Oficina Permanente de Teatro da Universidade Privada Boliviana (UPB), em Cochabamba. Sua produção dramatúrgica integra publicações na Bolívia, Espanha, Argentina e Cuba.
Outro desdobramento da temporada é a publicação de “1888” em formato de livro, que será distribuído gratuitamente a escolas, bibliotecas e Pontos de Cultura. A iniciativa amplia o alcance do projeto ao permitir que a dramaturgia continue circulando para além das apresentações.
A escolha dos espaços que recebem a temporada está diretamente relacionada à trajetória do Instituto Justina, organização sediada em Aparecida de Goiânia que desenvolve, desde 2015, atividades de formação, pesquisa, intercâmbio e circulação artística. Reconhecido como Ponto de Cultura em 2019, o Instituto teve sua metodologia “Dramaturgias Emergentes” reconhecida como Tecnologia Social pelo Banco Ibero-americano de Saberes, em 2022. Em 2026, passou à condição de Pontão de Cultura.
Oficina gratuita: 17 de outubro (sábado), das 14h às 18h, na sede do Instituto Justina. Apresentações gratuitas: 22 de outubro (quinta-feira), às 19h30, na sede do Instituto Justina; 23 de outubro (sexta-feira), às 14h, no CENFI; 24 de outubro (sábado), às 19h30, no Ponto de Cultura Rosa dos Ventos. Classificação indicativa: 18 anos.
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Ukraine’s six-wheeled Frodo ground robot fired on targets during a demonstration in Kharkiv Oblast for the Pomsta (Revenge) Border Guard Brigade, a border guard detachment posted on Facebook. Frodo made its public debut only on 30 September.
Ukraine had contracted more than 22,000 ground robots for 2026 by July, mostly logistics carriers, with combat models the smallest group, the Defense Ministry said. Frodo’s first reported mission was an evacuation. The demo shows its armed version to a fighting brigade, the kind of robot Ukraine has ordered least.
The platform completed its tasks at a training ground in near-combat conditions, said the 3rd Border Guard Detachment named after Hero of Ukraine Colonel Yevhenii Pikus. The Buria turret mounted on Frodo can fire either a Mk 19 automatic grenade launcher or a Browning M2 heavy machine gun. It engaged targets at up to 1.3 km (0.8 mile), the detachment said.
The 47-kg (104-lb) module has a ballistic calculator, stores up to 256 targets, aims in three seconds, and has a stated autonomous run time of up to 48 hours, the post said. Frodo is rated for up to 150 km (93 miles) on paved roads and 75–80 km (47–50 miles) over rough terrain, the post added. A Frontline Robotics Zoom reconnaissance drone flew reconnaissance during the test.
The developer, Frontline Robotics, describes its core philosophy as arriving fast, doing the job, and leaving very fast—hit and run, the detachment’s post said. Familiarizing the brigade’s soldiers with such systems aims first and foremost to preserve personnel’s lives and health, the detachment said.
Frontline Robotics told Militarnyi at the unveiling that Frodo had passed Defense Ministry codification and was built for logistics, evacuation, and strike missions. The robot reaches 40 km/h (25 mph) and carries up to 200 kg (441 lb) of payload, or 400 kg (882 lb) at most, the company said. A single soldier can swap its batteries.
The 92nd Assault Brigade used an early test unit to evacuate a wounded soldier, Frontline Robotics told Militarnyi. An operator, callsign Tango, named the robot’s speed and its ability to handle complex maneuvers as its main advantages, Militarnyi reported.
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