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Actor Dennis Haskins, best known for his role as Mr. Belding in the popular 1990s teen series Saved by the Bell, has died. He was 75.

South Korea Summons Acting Ukrainian Ambassador Over North Korean Prisoner Transfer Revelation

Authored by Guy Birchall via The Epoch Times,

The South Korean Ministry of Foreign Affairs summoned Ukraine’s acting ambassador to the country on Sept. 28 to convey Seoul’s displeasure over Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s revelation that two North Korean prisoners of war had been transferred to South Korea.

South Korean President Lee Jae Myung in Seoul, South Korea, on June 8, 2026. Chung Sung-Jun/Getty ImagesSouth Korean First Vice Minister Park Yun-ju told acting Ukrainian Ambassador Andriy Beshkin that despite a clear agreement to keep the repatriation confidential, Kyiv unilaterally revealed the move during Zelenskyy’s speech to the U.N. General Assembly (UNGA) last week, according to South Korean news agency Yonhap.

The ministry further expressed strong regret over the Ukrainian Presidential Press Office’s denial of the existence of the private agreement and has demanded an official explanation and apology from Kyiv, saying such actions seriously undermine trust between the two governments.

The Epoch Times contacted the South Korean and Ukrainian foreign ministries for comment but did not receive responses by publication time.

Zelenskyy revealed that the North Korean prisoners had been transferred to South Korea during his address to the UNGA on Sept. 23.

“Recently, we sent two North Korean prisoners of war to the Republic of Korea,” Zelenskyy said in his address to the United Nations.

“These guys are not easy to capture alive. One of them, when he realized he was going to be taken prisoner, tried to kill himself. And he was shocked that fate didn’t let him die.

“This is how they raise people in the North. It’s reality. They take away their freedom. They take away their right to choose. And they drill into them that they must die, no matter what.”

Since then, South Korean President Lee Jae Myung and his office have alleged that Ukraine breached a nondisclosure agreement between Seoul and Kyiv, designed to keep the transfer secret and protect the soldiers from potential repercussions.

Lee said in an X post the day after Zelenskyy’s remarks to the U.N. that “state affairs should be conducted for the country and the people, not for the interests or popularity of the government or those in power.”

“Of course there were internal arguments for disclosing the fact that the North Korean prisoners had been brought to South Korea, since it would clearly have helped recover the government’s approval ratings,” Lee said, but noted that “considering the various problems that disclosure would create, keeping it confidential was appropriate in every respect, and that is what was agreed.”

He labeled the revelation about the prisoners’ transfer “cruel and irresponsible,” saying that he did not “know what circumstances the Ukrainian side may have had in disclosing this in violation of the confidentiality agreement, but it is deeply regrettable.”

In a later statement from the South Korean Presidential Office on Sept. 27, senior presidential secretary for public relations Seong Ghi-hong also expressed “strong regret” over Zelenskyy’s disclosure of the repatriation and the subsequent denial of any confidentiality agreement, according to Yonhap.

Seong said the Ukrainian government had asked for confidentiality, as the revelation could spark domestic criticism over Kyiv giving up the chance to exchange the North Korean prisoners for Ukrainian prisoners held by Russia.

Seoul agreed to keep the repatriation confidential because of security, diplomatic, and humanitarian concerns, including the safety of the prisoners and their families still in the north, he said.

Ukraine captured the two North Koreans in Russia’s Kursk region in January 2025, with Zelenskyy at the time describing the pair as the first North Korean soldiers to be captured alive since Pyongyang sent troops to fight alongside Moscow’s forces.

Tyler Durden
Tue, 09/29/2026 – 03:30

On Sept. 29, 1923, Britain began to govern Palestine and what was then known as Transjordan under a League of Nations mandate.

At least 40 people were rescued in open waters by the U.S. Coast Guard and two people died after their boat capsized several miles from a tiny, uninhabited island west of Puerto Rico following a fight that involved a machete, officials said on Monday.Survivors said there was an estimated 60 people aboard, according to the Coast Guard.The Coast Guard said the makeshift boat capsized late Sunday after a fight in which some people were severely injured by a machete, forcing the group to jump into the water despite not wearing life vests.Survivors had spent more than 12 hours in the water when someone on a boat passing near Mona Island noticed them at around noon on Monday.CBP, COAST GUARD INTERCEPT MIGRANT VESSEL HEADING FOR PUERTO RICO; 40 APPREHENDED INCLUDING UZBEK NATIONALThe person alerted authorities and helped rescue four people at that moment.Rescue efforts were still ongoing as of Monday evening.The Coast Guard said it was not immediately known where the people who were on the capsized boat were from.Migrants fleeing poverty and violence have long traveled from Hispaniola, the island shared by Haiti and the Dominican Republic, to Puerto Rico and other islands, moving through the Mona Passage.Many of these migrants navigate the passage on makeshift boats that can capsize in treacherous waters.This incident marked only the latest deadly voyage.In June 2022, 11 Haitian women and girls were buried in Puerto Rico after their grossly overloaded boat capsized in open waters northwest of the U.S. territory.COAST GUARD OPENS FIRE ON BOAT SMUGGLING 25 CHINESE NATIONALS NEAR FLORIDA AFTER IT REFUSED TO STOPLast week, police in the Turks and Caicos Islands detained a makeshift vessel carrying 60 Haitian migrants.In June, 240 Haitian migrants were detained near the the Turks and Caicos Islands.Gang violence has displaced a record 1.5 million people across Haiti, where more than 3,000 people were reportedly killed between January and June, according to U.N. data.Armed men control an estimated 70% of Port-au-Prince and portions of land in Haiti’s central region and beyond.The Associated Press contributed to this report.

Where Robots Do The Most Housework

Over the past two decades, domestic robots like robot vacuums and lawn-mowing robots have evolved from gimmicks for tech lovers to actual mass-market products.

Today, these automated little helpers are capable of performing household chores as good as, if not better than humans, freeing up valuable time for their owners to focus on more important things such as (paid) work, family or leisure activities.

With advancements in technology, domestic robots have not only become smarter and more efficient, but also become a lot more affordable, with decent vacuum robots now available for just a couple hundred dollars.

As more households embrace smart technologies, the demand for these robots continues to grow, promising a future where mundane chores are handled effortlessly, leaving homeowners (and renters) with more time to enjoy the finer things in life.

As Statista’s Felix Richter reports, according to Statista Consumer Insights, adoption of vacuum and lawn-mowing robots is still limited, though, with fewer than 1 in 5 respondents in each surveyed market calling either of the two their own.

You will find more infographics at Statista

Interestingly, domestic robots are particularly unpopular in South Korea and Japan – two of the countries with the highest density of industrial robots.

Tyler Durden
Tue, 09/29/2026 – 02:45