This year's VEX Robotics Asia Open Signature Event closed at Beijing's Shougang Park on Sunday, awarding teams with excellent results spots for advancement to the 2026 VEX Robotics World Championships.
More than 600 teams from nearly 30 countries and regions took part in the three-day intense showdowns, which also served as a platform for cross-cultural exchanges.
Over 3,500 young participants from Spain, Kazakhstan, Canada, Australia and more competed in integrated robotics skills, ranging from programming and construction to robot control.
The sci-tech contest accommodates age groups from kindergarten to university level, with separate divisions for different skill sets.
Held in countries around the world, the VEX Robotics competition engages millions of young people each year and made its China debut in 2023.
VEX Robotics Asia Open concludes with global participation
Lebanon's Health Ministry said Saturday that Israeli strikes during the latest round of fighting have killed 2,020 people and wounded 6,436 others since hostilities escalated.
The ministry said the toll reflects cumulative casualties recorded across multiple regions amid continued Israeli airstrikes and cross-border exchanges of fire.
On Saturday, the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said that Israeli forces engaged in close-range firefights with Hezbollah militants, striking multiple targets and killing several militants while seizing various weapons. In the past 24 hours, the IDF targeted over 200 Hezbollah sites within Lebanon and continued to target Hezbollah rocket launchers to prevent attacks against Israel.
Additionally, the IDF's Home Front Command has tightened public safety guidelines, suspending or limiting educational activities in border communities, Upper Galilee, and Haifa Bay, while also restricting the size of gatherings in those areas.
Hezbollah, in its statement, claimed that its operations in southern Lebanon continued, attacking Israeli tanks and personnel. The group also targeted Israeli military infrastructure, soldiers, and vehicles in northern Israel.
The escalation followed renewed hostilities involving Hezbollah, which said it launched rockets from southern Lebanon toward Israel on March 2 for the first time since a ceasefire on Nov. 27, 2024. The exchange prompted Israel to expand its military campaign across Lebanon.
Lebanon has since been hit by sustained strikes in several areas, with fighting spreading beyond border regions into other parts of the country.
Iran and the United States agreed to a ceasefire on Wednesday. Israel said it would abide by the truce but argued the agreement does not apply to Lebanon. That assertion was rejected by Iran and by mediator Pakistan.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Saturday that the disarmament of Hezbollah is a prerequisite for any ceasefire agreement with Lebanon.
In a video statement, he said Lebanon had approached Israel several times over the past month seeking to begin direct talks following Israeli military actions.
"I approved this, subject to two conditions: we want to achieve the disarmament of Hezbollah, and we want a real peace agreement that will last for generations," Netanyahu said.
Death toll from Israeli attacks in Lebanon reaches 2,020
