The 54th Molodist Kyiv International Film Festival has kicked off in the Ukrainian capital. A total of 158 films from 59 countries are being screened in the festival’s international, national, and alternative competitions, as well as in its non-competitive program.
The traditional Festival of Festivals program at the Molodist International Film Festival brings together the most outstanding films of the year—winners from Cannes, Locarno, Venice, Berlinale, SUNNY BUNNY, and Sundance. The repertoire of the “Festival of Festivals” includes, in particular, the winner of the Sundance Film Festival’s international feature film competition, “The Fruit of the Prickly Pear” (director Rohan Parashuram Kanavade, India), as well as works by Sho Miyake (Japan) “Journey and Everyday Life” (grand prize at Locarno) and Vytautas Katkus (Lithuania) “The Guest” (prize for directing at Karlovy Vary).
Fans of the classics of the “Romanian New Wave” Radu Jude will be able to see two of his new films at once – “Continental ’25” (Silver Bear for Best Screenplay at the Berlinale) and “Dracula” (world premiere at the Locarno Film Festival in August this year).
In addition, Molodist will host the world premiere of If We Never Meet Again by directors Noaz Deshe, Bo Willimon, and Peter Verzilov, who is fighting against Russian aggressors on the side of Ukraine as part of the Russian Volunteer Corps.
A selection of contemporary Ukrainian films will be presented in the competitive and non-competitive sections. The international competition (feature films) will feature the world premieres of two Ukrainian films: Our House on Fire by Olesia Biletska and The Tired by Yuriy Dunay. The national competition includes 17 short films. The non-competitive section “Special Events” will feature a screening of the film ‘Yasa’ by cult Ukrainian director Serhiy Masloboychikov. The program also includes a new film by Ukrainian animation director Mykyta Lyskov, “Kyiv Cake.”
The festival, which will run until November 2, will be held at the Zhovten cinema and the House of Cinema.
The history of the festival began in 1970 with a two-day screening of short films made by students of the cinematography department of the Kyiv State Institute. Soon, the festival transformed into a large review of films from all over the country, as well as from Georgia and Armenia. Since 1975, not only student works but also feature-length films have been admitted to the competition. In the 1990s, the festival became international. The Molodist Festival has the status of an international specialized event dedicated to debut films, according to the registration of the International Federation of Film Producers Associations (FIAPF). The general director of the festival is Andriy Khalpakchi.
Source: https://www.molodist.com/ua
On October 24, the National Energy Regulatory Agency of Moldova (ANRE) held an open meeting of the Board of Directors, during which it approved a 50% reduction in tariffs for gas transportation to Ukraine.
“During the meeting, the Board approved amendments to Decision No. 272/2025 on the optimization of the ”Route 1″ capacity product on the Trans-Balkan pipeline, following a joint initiative submitted by natural gas transmission system operators from Greece, Bulgaria, Romania, the Republic of Moldova, and Ukraine. The initiative aims to strengthen regional energy security and ensure natural gas supplies to Ukraine,“ according to a statement on the ANRE official website.
”The approved changes provide for the extension of the application of the “Route 1” product for 6 months (November 2025 – April 2026), the application of a 50% reduction in transportation tariffs for SRL “Vestmoldtransgaz” at the Kaushen and Grebeniki interconnection points, as well as the extension of the application of the capacity product to all relevant interconnection points along the route. The application of a 50% reduction in transportation tariffs is also provided for by the Romanian transmission system operator SA “Transgaz,” ANRE explained.
“With this decision, the Republic of Moldova is strengthening its role as a regional transit corridor, facilitating the transport of natural gas from Greece to Ukraine and contributing to the diversification of routes and sources of supply. In the long term, transportation volumes are expected to increase and, as a result, the associated tariffs will decrease for users of the transport system operated by SRL Vestmoldtransgaz,” the statement emphasized.
The Ukrainian Red Cross (URC) and the State Emergency Service of Ukraine conducted joint exercises in the Rivne region, the URC reported on Facebook on Saturday.
“Our cooperation with the State Emergency Service of Ukraine is an example of unity that saves lives. We are developing joint training platforms, strengthening the capacity of communities, and helping those who are the first to respond to emergencies. Today, the Ukrainian Red Cross is integrated into the territorial subsystems of the Unified State Civil Protection System in 20 regions. We have become part of the state response mechanism and plan to complete integration at the regional level by May 2026,” said Maxim Dotsenko, Director General of the Ukrainian Red Cross, at the opening of the exercises.
According to Vladimir Demchuk, Deputy Chairman of the State Emergency Service of Ukraine, such exercises are not only a training of technical skills, but also a rehearsal of interaction between structures that act as a single team at a critical moment.
“We are grateful to the Ukrainian Red Cross for its support, equipment, training opportunities, and constant readiness to help,” Demchuk said.
During the exercises, rescuers and volunteers from the Ukrainian Red Cross rapid response teams from five regions practiced coordinating their response to emergencies.
Participants worked at four locations, practicing rescue operations for victims trapped under rubble, responding to the consequences of chemical and radiation incidents, extinguishing fires during road accidents, and decontaminating victims at a decontamination station.
In addition, the Ukrainian Red Cross and the State Emergency Service of Ukraine signed an agreement on the joint use of the State Emergency Service of Ukraine’s training ground in the Rivne region.
As part of the event, the Main Directorate of the State Emergency Service of Ukraine in the Rivne region received a modular house, which will serve as a space for training and coordinating actions during exercises. In addition, 95 sets of firefighting equipment were transferred to volunteer firefighting teams in the territorial communities of the Rivne region.
Moldovan President Maia Sandu signed a decree on Friday appointing economist and entrepreneur Alexander Munteanu as prime minister after her party won last month’s parliamentary elections.
The decree was published on the Moldovan president’s website.
“I wish him success in forming a government that will gain the trust of parliament and meet the most important expectations of citizens: protecting peace, preparing the country for EU accession, strengthening the economy, and improving people’s living standards,” the head of state said.
According to the document, “the designated candidate must present to parliament a team and a management program in order to obtain a vote of confidence and invest the new government of the Republic of Moldova.”
According to the Moldovan publication Point, Sandu signed the decree after consultations with the Action and Solidarity Party (PAS).
It is noted that Munteanu is an economist, professor, and entrepreneur with 25 years of experience in international investment.
According to open sources, Munteanu lived in Ukraine for 20 years. He is 61 years old. He calls himself “an American of Moldovan origin” and has not previously been involved in politics. He is a successful businessman, founder of the investment company 4i Capital Partners, operating in Moldova, Ukraine, and Belarus, and has experience working for companies such as WNISEF/Horizon Capital and Dragon Capital.
Moldova is a unitary parliamentary republic.
The Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) Working Group on Bribery has invited Ukraine to join the Convention on Combating Bribery of Foreign Public Officials in International Business Transactions and become a full member of the relevant Working Group.
According to Serhiy Ionushas, a member of the Ukrainian parliament and chair of the parliamentary committee on law enforcement, the basis for this process was bill No. 11443, which was prepared by the committee and adopted by the Verkhovna Rada.
“Cooperation between Ukraine and the OECD is important for our country, because accession to the Convention will allow us to expand international cooperation in the investigation of corruption offences. In addition, it will strengthen Ukraine’s reputation as a reliable partner and at the same time contribute to attracting investment to our country. It is noteworthy that our partners have noted Ukraine’s significant progress in the fight against corruption and the implementation of the necessary anti-corruption mechanisms,” the politician said.
According to him, this was made possible, in particular, thanks to the coordinated work of the committee members with representatives of the working group under the President of Ukraine, led by the head of the President’s Office, Andriy Yermak, during the drafting of bill No. 11443.
“We have made serious efforts to ensure that Ukraine becomes a full member of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development’s Working Group on Bribery. And now the Committee continues to work in this direction, introducing international standards into domestic legislation,” Ionushas emphasized.
A total of 38 leading economies are members of the OECD. The organization already provides Ukraine with expert support and analytics.
As reported, on December 4, 2024, the Verkhovna Rada voted in favor of bill No. 11443 on improving mechanisms for holding legal entities accountable for bribing foreign officials. As noted in the explanatory note to the document, the law ensures Ukraine’s fulfillment of its obligations to implement the OECD Council’s recommendation on further combating bribery of foreign officials in international business transactions and introducing an effective mechanism for holding legal entities accountable, which will comply with the OECD Convention on Combating Bribery of Foreign Officials in International Business Transactions.
In particular, the bill provides for the possibility of applying special confiscation on the basis of a court decision to apply criminal law measures to a legal entity. According to the draft law, additional (non-financial) criminal law measures may be applied to a legal entity in the form of a temporary restriction on the activities of the legal entity or a temporary restriction on the acquisition of rights and/or benefits.
The draft law also provides for an increase in the amount of fines imposed on legal entities as the main criminal law measure.
The Tourist Organization of Tivat recorded an increase in tourist traffic over the first nine months of 2025, the organization said at a press conference. According to TOT, 125,000 tourist arrivals were registered in Tivat over eight months, which is 4% more than in the same period of 2024. The total number of overnight stays reached 1.05 million, reports the Telegram channel “Serbian Economist.”
The most numerous guests were tourists from Serbia, Russia, the United Kingdom, Turkey, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Ukraine, Germany, and Israel, with a noticeable increase in the number of travelers from the United States, said TOT director Nina Lakičević.
According to TOT surveys, most tourists in Tivat are high-income visitors. Around 60% of visitors had returned to Tivat more than twice, while for one third of tourists it was their first visit, but the majority plan to come again.
The tourism sector remains a key driver of Montenegro’s economy, accounting for around 25% of the country’s GDP. In 2025 there has been recovery and growth after the difficult years of 2020–2021, with a gradual shift of focus from mass tourism to sustainable and high-end tourism.
According to Monstat and the Ministry of Tourism, Montenegro received more than 2.4 million tourists in January–September 2025, which is 6% more than a year earlier. The country is seeing growing investment in high-class hotels, yachting and gastronomic tourism (including projects in Porto Montenegro, Luštica Bay, and Budva).
Experts note that further growth will depend on modernization of infrastructure, transport accessibility, development of regional airports, and eco-certification of accommodation facilities.
Source – https://t.me/relocationrs
