Published on 12/05/2026 – 18:19 GMT+2•Updated
18:26

A vast majority of EU member states criticised the reopening of the Russian pavilion at the Venice Biennale during a “heated discussion” among the bloc’s culture ministers on Tuesday in Brussels.

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Many ministers also expressed support for the European Commission’s move to freeze a €2 million grant to the Biennale Foundation for allowing Russia’s participation, several diplomats told Euronews.

The issue was raised by Latvian Minister of Culture Agnese Lāce, who called for preventing what she described as “the instrumentalization of cultural institutions by Russia.”

According to people in the room, a total of 14 ministers denounced Russia’s presence but stopped short of directly criticising Italy, which was represented at the meeting by Ambassador Marco Canaparo in place of Culture Minister Alessandro Giuli.

Several countries, such as Belgium, Spain and Poland, argued that culture cannot be used to whitewash the war of aggression launched by Russia against Ukraine and stressed the importance of avoiding any sanction circumvention by Russian individuals involved in the exhibition.

The Commission and Cyprus’s EU rotating presidency called for a suspension of funding, reallocating the Biennale’s money to Ukraine’s reconstruction.

Brussels has so far strongly condemned the Biennale’s decision to allow Russia to reopen its national pavilion, claiming that culture “should never be used as a platform for propaganda” and warning that the Russian stand could become a “platform to individuals who have actively supported or justified the aggression against Ukraine.”

In April, the Commission initiated proceedings to cut funding, notifying the Biennale of a breach of the grant’s conditions, which, if not addressed, could lead to the suspension or termination of the grant.

The foundation maintains that the event should remain “a place of dialogue, openness and artistic freedom” and that it cannot prevent a country from participating, as any state recognised by the Italian Republic can apply to join the exhibition.

Russia maintains a pavilion within the exhibition area and, under the rules, can independently decide whether to take part in each edition of the Venice Biennale. Its last participation was in 2019, as Russian artists withdrew in 2022 and the country did not present a pavilion in 2024, instead lending its space to Bolivia.

Russia’s participation in 2026 sparked controversy within the Italian government, as Culture Minister Alessandro Giuli boycotted the opening ceremony, while vice prime minister Matteo Salvini defended the “freedom of art” and even paid a visit to the Russian pavilion.

This year’s edition opened on Saturday, amid protests for the participation of Russia and Israel. The Russian dissident collectives Pussy Riot and Femen displayed slogans against Vladimir Putin while wearing balaclavas and topless.

The Biennale’s international jury, which will assign the main awards to the pavilions, collectively resigned after criticism for its decision to exclude from prizes those countries whose leaders are currently accused of crimes against humanity by the International Criminal Court.

SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — His head, chest and hands strapped with body cameras, David Park deftly folded a banquet napkin the way he has thousands of times during his nine years at the five-star Lotte Hotel Seoul. Each of his motions is fed into a database that will one day teach a robot to do the same.

The hotel chain is one of many companies South Korean artificial-intelligence startup RLWRLD (pronounced “real world”) is working with to create an extensive library of human expertise, harvested from skilled workers across industries, to develop AI brains for robots that could be coming to industrial sites and homes.

It collects similar data from logistics workers at CJ, capturing how they grip, lift and handle goods in warehouses, and from staff at a Japanese convenience store chain Lawson, tracking how they organize food displays.

The goal is to build an AI software layer that can work in robots across a range of factories and other work sites in coming years, before potentially expanding into homes. RLWRLD’s engineers say replicating the dexterity of human hands is a key priority, reflecting their views that humanlike machines, or humanoids, will drive the field.

“I’ve been doing this about once a month,” said Park, one of about 10 members of Lotte Hotel’s food and beverages team being wired up to capture their techniques.

After folding the napkin into a tight, layered square, Park wiped wine glasses, knives and forks in a corner of a banquet hall as colleagues prepared for real services nearby. He complained lightly to an engineer that the cameras on his hands felt too tight.

South Korea focuses on physical AI

RLWRLD is among a wave of South Korean high-tech firms and manufacturers competing in the unproven yet fiercely contested global market for “physical AI.” The term refers to machines equipped with AI and sensors that can perceive, decide and act in real-world environments with some degree of autonomy, moving beyond conventional factory robots designed for repetitive tasks.

While it remains unclear whether these machines will fully meet expectations of transforming industries, they are central to South Korea’s ambitions to leverage its semiconductor and manufacturing strengths to become an AI powerhouse. The competition is tough, with U.S. tech giants like Tesla and a flood of Chinese firms pouring billions into humanoids and other AI robots.

Just as chatbots such as ChatGPT and Gemini train on vast troves of internet text, AI robots likewise require extensive data on human action to handle advanced physical tasks. South Koreans may struggle to compete in chatbots, where English language proficiency gives U.S. firms major advantages, but they see a better chance in physical AI, given their deep base of skilled workers in manufacturing and other sectors that could help train robot systems.

Robots are central to South Korea’s AI ambitions

The government last month announced a $33 million project to capture the “instinctive know-how and skills” of “master technicians” into a database for AI-powered manufacturing, hoping robots will boost productivity and offset an aging, shrinking workforce.

RLWRLD, which last week unveiled its robotics foundation model, an AI system for robots, expects industrial AI robots to be deployed at scale sometime around 2028, a timeline shared by major businesses.

Hyundai Motor plans to introduce humanoids built by its robotics unit, Boston Dynamics, at its global factories in coming years, starting with its Georgia plant in 2028. Chip giant Samsung Electronics plans to convert all manufacturing sites into “AI-driven factories” by 2030, with humanoids and task-specific robots across production lines.

“South Korea has a highly developed manufacturing sector and the focus is squarely on humanoids tailored specifically for those industries,” said Billy Choi, a professor at Korea University’s center for Human-Inspired AI Research.

South Korea’s AI push has unsettled labor groups, who fear robots could possibly take jobs and hollow out the skilled workforce long seen as the nation’s competitive edge, the very asset it’s now counting on for its AI transition.

After Hyundai’s union warned in January that robots could trigger an “employment shock,” President Lee Jae Myung issued a rare rebuke, describing AI as an unstoppable “massive cart” and calling for unionists to adapt to changes “coming faster than expected.”

“Mastery of skills is ultimately a human achievement — even if AI can replicate existing abilities, the continuous development of craft will remain fundamentally human,” said Kim Seok, policy director at the Korean Confederation of Trade Unions. He said widespread robot deployments would risk “severing the pipeline” for skilled labor and urged the government and employers to engage with workers over AI to win their buy-in and ease job concerns.

Robots are trained on human behavior

Humanoids developed by U.S. and Chinese companies have displayed impressive physical feats, even long-distance running. But Hyemin Cho, who handles business strategies at RLWRLD, said the ability to perform delicate tasks with hands will determine whether humanoids can be used in diverse industrial settings and homes.

“Capturing motion data in real-world settings is extremely important and the quality of that data matters greatly,” she said.

After converting worker footage into machine-readable data, RLWRLD’s engineers add another layer by repeating those tasks wearing cameras, VR headsets and motion-tracking gloves. That data is used to train test robots, often guided by RLWRLD “pilots” using wearable devices. The process captures fine details such as joint angles and the amount of force applied, said Song Hyun-ji of the company’s robotics team.

One of RLWRLD’s labs occupies a cluttered, 34th-floor suite at Lotte Hotel. Scratched carpets are buried under tangles of wires and computing gear. Poles fitted with infrared laser readers stand in the corners. Beneath a chandelier, a rare trace of the room’s former luxury, a wheeled robot with black, humanlike metal hands moves back and forth with a low mechanical whir.

During a recent demonstration, the robot, guided by engineers, gingerly lifted and placed cups at a minibar, at one point knocking over a dish. The company’s latest test footage shows a more advanced system: a humanoid carefully opening a box, placing a computer mouse inside, closing it and setting it on a conveyor belt.

Most robots, including Boston Dynamics’ Atlas, use task-specific hands, like two or three-fingered “grippers.” RLWRLD is among a smaller group of companies developing AI for five-fingered hands that mimic human touch.

While five-fingered designs may not always suit factory needs, they could prove crucial as robots move into homes, where closer interaction with humans will be required, said Choi, the professor.

Hospitality workers provide valuable training data for machines learning precise or nuanced tasks — skills that could also expand their use in industrial settings, Cho said.

Although current humanoids would need several hours to clean a guest room that human workers finish in about 40 minutes, Lotte Hotel hopes robots will be ready for cleaning and other behind-the-scenes tasks by 2029. It also plans robot rental services for the hospitality and other service industries, with a potential expansion to homes.

“If you look at the entire process of preparing for an event in back-of-house areas, we think humanoids might be able to take over about 30% to 40% of that workload,” Park said. “It will be difficult for them to replace the remaining 50%, 60% and 70%, which involves actual human-to-human interaction.”

The U.S. ​State Department ‌announced on Monday that it refused to back an ​International Migration Review Forum “progress” declaration, ​accusing the U.N. of efforts to “advocate and facilitate replacement immigration in the United States and across the broader West.”

The U.S. did not participate in the second International Migration Review Forum, held May 5–8 at U.N. Headquarters in New York, and will not support the declaration, the department said in a statement on Monday.

The forum is the U.N.’s main global platform for member states to review implementation of the Global Compact for Safe, Orderly and Regular Migration, according to the U.N. Network on Migration. The 2026 forum was scheduled to produce an intergovernmentally agreed “Progress Declaration.”

President Donald Trump ended U.S. participation in the U.N. process to develop the Global Compact for Migration during his first term in 2017, and now the State Department says the federal government will again affirm its opposition.

TRUMP PULLS US OUT OF UN-LINKED MIGRATION FORUM IN BOLD IMMIGRATION MOVE

The Global Compact was adopted in 2018 after the U.S. withdrew from the process. The U.N. and International Organization for Migration describe the compact as a cooperative framework intended to improve migration governance across countries.

“As Secretary Rubio said, opening our doors to mass migration was a grave mistake that threatens the cohesion of our societies and the future of our peoples,” the department’s statement reads. “ In recent years, Americans witnessed first-hand how mass immigration laid waste to our communities: crime and chaos at the border, states of emergency in major cities, and billions of taxpayer dollars funneled towards hotels, plane tickets, cell phones and cash cards for migrants.”

“Much of this was driven by UN agencies and their partners, which did not just facilitate the invasion of our country, but proceeded to redistribute our own people’s wealth and resources to millions of foreigners from the worst corners of the world,” it continued.

The department argued there was nothing safe, orderly or regular about any of this, adding that the costs “were borne primarily by working Americans forced to compete for scarce jobs, housing, and social services.”

“The UN has little to say about them,” the department wrote.

TRUMP UNVEILS ‘REVERSE MIGRATION’ PLAN TO HALT ‘THIRD WORLD’ IMMIGRATION, REVOKE BIDEN-ERA ENTRIES

“President Trump is focused on the interests of Americans, not foreigners or globalist bureaucrats,” the statement reads. ”The United States will not support a process that imposes, overtly or by stealth, guidelines, standards, or commitments that constrain the American people’s sovereign, democratic right to make decisions in the best interests of our country.”

The department concluded its statement by saying its goal is not to “manage” migration, but to “foster remigration.”

In a thread on X also announcing the move to object to the declaration, the department said UN agencies “systematically facilitated mass migration into America and Europe, even as citizens of these nations called for restrictions on migration.” It added that U.N. materials related to the Global Compact call for expanding regular migration pathways and reference “regularization” of migrants.

The International Organization for Migration says the forum is held every four years for countries to review progress and shape next steps on migration policy. IOM, which coordinates the U.N. Network on Migration, says the network includes 39 U.N. agencies working to support countries on migration issues.

The department alleged that “UN agencies – working with the NGOs they fund – established a migration corridor through Central America and to the U.S. border,” the post reads. “As the American people suffered under an unprecedented wave of mass migration, the UN was on the ground pipelining migrants to our southern border.”

“After facilitating mass migration to the United States, UN agencies condemned the deportation of illegal immigrants,” the post continued. “While the United Kingdom faced unprecedented illegal boat crossings, UN agencies condemned plans for deportations. UN officials lobbied aviation regulators to prevent the deportation of migrants – an appalling violation of the UK’s national sovereignty.”

The U.N. Network on Migration describes the compact as “non-legally binding.” A U.N.-hosted text of the compact also says it respects states’ sovereign right to determine their national migration policies and to distinguish between regular and irregular migration status.

The declaration itself says the Global Compact is a cooperative framework and acknowledges that no state can address migration alone, while also upholding the sovereignty of states.

The department pushed back on the compact’s framing of migration as “safe, orderly and regular.”

“For the citizens of Western nations, mass migration was never safe. It introduced new security threats, imposed financial strains, and undermined the cohesion of our societies,” it wrote.

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“The United States will not legitimize global compacts that enable mass migration into America or Western nations,” the post added.

U.N. materials frame the compact as a cooperative framework for issues that often cross borders, including labor migration, border management, migrant protections and development. U.N. agencies, including the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights, describe the IMRF as a state-led review process with participation from relevant stakeholders.

Fox News Digital has reached out to the U.N. for comment.