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'KPop Demon Hunters' toys, collectibles, games, dolls and other products based on Netflix’s hit movie are coming next year from Hasbro and Mattel.
Minister of Foreign Affairs and Foreign Trade Kerrie Symmonds has dismissed as “AI-generated fake news” a social media post claiming he had been arrested overseas. In a statement over the weekend, he assured the public he was “alive and well” and carrying out his duties in Barbados. “I just want to say that I am here in Barbados very much alive and well, and I’m in St James right now following up on some issues that are of concern to folks in my constituency,” he said. “There is absolutely no truth to the rumour. It is a vicious, nasty and unfortunate thing that in this day and age, people have nothing better to do than to create scandal, and unfortunately scandal does not lack for a carrier. I am not overseas at this point, I am here for all and sundry to see and I just wanted to give the assurance and put that to bed.” This follows a pattern of similar AI-driven misinformation targeting prominent Barbadians, including Prime Minister Mia Amor Mottley. Earlier this year, she was among several local figures whose likenesses were used in an AI-generated video falsely linked to a fake Barbados Stock Exchange page on Facebook. The videos, which also featured former calypso monarch Ian iWeb Webster, attempted to mimic their voices and appearances to promote bogus investment schemes. At the time, Mottley condemned the growing misuse of artificial intelligence, warning that the technology, if left unchecked, could “undermine democracy” and “be destructive of human civilisation”. “The fact that you can take my voice and my image and pretend that I have made a speech that I did not make is what will undermine democracy, encourage fake news and cause people conflict,”she said. The Barbados Stock Exchange later issued a statement disavowing itself of the fake site and urging the public to rely on its official social media channels for legitimate updates. Symmonds’ case also mirrors another instance involving Minister of Educational Transformation Chad Blackman, whose AI-fabricated image showing him being handcuffed by white police officers circulated widely online ahead of the St James North by-election in May. Blackman too confirmed the image was entirely false, calling it an example of how people misuse technology for mischief.
Japan ranks low in gender equality among developed nations. The first woman to lead the country is an ultraconservative who cites Margaret Thatcher as a role model. She also loves heavy metal.
It’s far from the first time the world’s richest man has lobbed broadsides at the administration.
Nga Londra, ku ndodhet për samitin Procesit të Berlinit, kryeministri Edi Rama u rikujtoi britanikëve se nuk duhet të shqetësohen nga emigrantët shqiptare por nga largimi i tyre nga Bashkimi Europian. “Unë besoj që problemi nuk janë shqiptarët, apo të huajt, apo emigrantët. Problemi është ku të gjejmë ‘’kokën e turkut’’ për këtë vendim katastrofik të largimit nga Evropa, sepse është katastrofik, kështu që unë nuk ndihem i frustruar apo i dëshpëruar. Dikush që quhej Suela , një tjetër qeveri, kur ajo piketoi shqiptarët.. e meqë ra fjala, ku është ajo? Jo, thjesht mbaje mend, që mos u merr me shqiptarët, sepse nëse të mallkojnë shqiptarët, zhdukesh…” Ketu Rama iu referua Suella Braverman, ministres së qeverisë së mëparshme britanike, e cila e ndërtoi fushatën e saj tek emigrantët shqiptare dhe humbi. Por edhe tani, një tjetër politikan britanik, Nigel Farage, është përplasur në distancë me kreun e qeverisë shqiptare për numrin e shqiptarëve në burgjet britanike. Me nota ironike, Rama i përsëriti ftesën për ta pritur në Tiranë, bashkë me një kerkese. “Kur bëhet fjalë për mikun tim të dashur Nigel, e kam ftuar dhe më premtoi që do të vij. Më kërkoi një datë që përkoi me ditën tonë të pavarësisë dhe i thashë që të gjejë një datë tjetër sepse do të duket shumë i vogël përpara heroi tonë kombëtar. Varkat e vogla kanë sjellë shumë njerëz me ëndrra, ambicie dhe që i bëjnë nder shoqërisë britanike. Ajo që ka rëndësi është që të paktën komuniteti ynë i shqiptarëve këtu po i jep mjaftueshëm Britanisë që politikanët britanikë që etiketojnë shqiptarët ta mbyllin gojën, ta mbyllin atë dreq goje, e të mos i përmendin shqiptarët për asgjë tjetër përveç se për gjërat shumë të mira.” Cështja e emigrantëve mbetet një temë e ndjeshme në Londër ndërsa të paktën dy kryeministra britanikë, I kanë kërkuar kryeministrit Rama, një marreveshje riatdhesimi emigrantësh të paligjshem, si ajo me Italinë. Ndaj së fundmi, Londra ka rritur edhe ndikimin e saj në Ballkanin Perëndimor, cka e dëshmon edhe samiti I rradhës së procesit të Berlinit që mbahet të mërkurën në Britaninë e Madhe, ku përvec emigrantëve do të flitet edhe për integrimin. “Procesi i integrimit nuk mund të jetë gjithçka ose asgjë, derisa të bëhesh anëtar, dhe sa kohë je kandidat nuk ke asgjë. Marrja jonë si anëtar me një status ndryshe është e mirëpritur, pa të drejtë vetoje, votimi për sa kohë BE do të reformojë veten. Kjo reformë ka qenë kryefjalë për kaq shumë dekada. Është e vështirë të reformosh mekanizma. Kur vjen fjala për të vendosur ne jemi linjë dhe ndjekim.” / abcnews.al
In other elections across southern Alberta, in Lethbridge the incumbent mayor, Blaine Hyggen, has a lead of 483 votes over Ryan Mennie, a former two-term city councillor, as of 10:10 a.m. Tuesday. With 13 out of 20 polls reporting, Hyggen has 5,040 votes to Mennie’s 4,557. Four candidates in all are running for mayor, with Quentin Carlson third with 1,218 votes and Michael Petrakis fourth with 490 votes. Counting will continue throughout the day in Lethbridge, where 17,102 people cast a ballot, a 19.3 per cent turnout.
Survivors of grooming gangs said a previous inquiry did not go far enough but there are tensions over new one
Letters:<strong> Caitlin Boswell </strong>lays out measures that would make taxation fairer and improve lives. Plus letters from <strong>Rachel Sharp</strong>, <strong>Dr Tim Owen </strong>and<strong> Paul McGilchrist</strong>
Letters: <strong>Hannah Essex </strong>and<strong> Robert Parkhill</strong> have opposing reactions to Daniel Day-Lewis’s claim that theatre is an elitist artform for privileged people
<strong>Letters:Eugene O’Hare</strong> reflects on the increasingly ubiquitous use of microphones on stage
England's failure to join Australia in the World Cup final in 2022 ago means this is their first meeting for eight years. That was in the 2017 World Cup final, which they lost 6-0 to the Kangaroos in Brisbane. They have not faced Australia on home soil since a 36-18 loss at London Stadium in November 2016, with the planned Ashes series in 2020 cancelled amid the coronavirus pandemic. Five years later, this long-awaited series has arrived, and the current generation can experience one of the most hotly contested tests in rugby league. "Last time there was an Ashes I was eight - I know I look older but I'm only 30," said Australian captain Isaah Yeo. "You look back on how passionate the players were, the way former players speak about the tours and how much it meant to them, 30 or 40 years ago. "You want the Australia squad of 2025 to look back on it in 30 years' time and think about how wonderful it was to be an Australian player." Australia are the reigning world champions, the number one ranked international side and heavy favourites for the Ashes. But their preparations have not been totally smooth, with coach Mal Meninga stepping down in June to take over at National Rugby League side Perth Bears. Kevin Walters has stepped into the role for this series and denied that it is any sort of experiment regarding who should lead Australia at their home World Cup in 2026. "It's not so much an audition for the World Cup, as it is prime time," Walters said. "When I got the job, I rang a few of the players because there is noise around Australia about international rugby and where it sits on the calendar. They were very excited by it all. "We have really skipped a generation of English and Australian players in these sorts of games and series; it could be a once-in-a-lifetime chance for these players and staff. It is a unique experience, and if you are in the world of rugby league, this is where you want to be. "For me, the last few months have been about making connections with the players and staff. On a three-week tour, we need to come together quickly. We have great players, but if we are not as one, it could be not so good for us. My job is to get the players connected and focused."
<strong>Brief letters: </strong>A hitchhiker’s guide to slang | Wassup | Royal formerly known as Prince | Trump tactics | Men practising pilates | Lowering blood pressure
Hundreds of the most important and influential art world figures stopped by the ballroom of the Four Seasons George V on Monday night. +++dropcap On Monday night Vanity Fair hosted its second annual kickoff event with Art Basel at the Four Seasons George V, that hulking castle of a nearly century-old hotel that has some of the most expensive suites on earth. The night before the fair opens is typically a busy one, with small private dinners hosted by art dealers and museum directors dotting the town, but the cocktail party managed to get a nice cross section of folks who swung by before or after dinner obligations.
Bower asked what, exactly, she had gotten wrong. Halligan wouldn’t say, and eventually went quiet—until Bower sought comment from the Justice Department on the extraordinary matter of a US attorney discussing an active case with a member of the press. That’s when Halligan went into cleanup mode. “By the way—everything I ever sent you is off record,” Halligan texted. “You’re not a journalist so it’s weird saying that but just letting you know.” “I’m sorry, but that’s not how this works,” Bower replied. “You don’t get to say that in retrospect.” “Yes I do,” Halligan shot back. “Off record.” A first-year journalism student, let alone a DOJ attorney, would surely know the rules governing on- and off-record conversations between reporters and sources. (That student would also understand that “off the record” is a privilege granted by mutual agreement between a source and a journalist, rather than some sort of binding contract.) So it’s fair to assume that Halligan wasn’t actually misinformed, but was instead seeking to intimidate Bower into backing off—a media strategy White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt also recently tried to deploy against HuffPost’s S.V. Dáte, who had the temerity to ask her a question about Trump’s planned meeting with Russian strongman Vladimir Putin in Budapest. Given the city’s significance as the site where Ukraine agreed to give up nuclear weapons if Russia respected its territory, Dáte asked, “Who suggested Budapest?” “Your mom did,” Leavitt texted back, in an exchange the press secretary then proudly posted on social media while denouncing Dáte as a “left-wing hack.” Pete Hegseth—who got into some Signal-related trouble, like Halligan, when he texted attack plans earlier this year in a group chat that mistakenly included The Atlantic’s Jeffrey Goldberg—has taken that bellicose approach to media to an even greater extreme. The defense—er, war—secretary recently demanded that members of the Pentagon press corps sign a pledge not to report material that hasn’t been approved by the department, a ham-fisted attempt to control the flow of information. News organizations ranging from The New York Times to Fox News, where Hegseth used to be a host, refused, and journalists turning in their press badges; a reporter from the far-right Epoch Times even resigned after his outlet became one of the few to agree to the new rules. If these exercises in chest-puffery have something in common beyond their being embarrassing, it’s their Trumpian bluster—a shared effort to bully the press into submission. These officials would have you think they’re so indifferent or contemptuous that they don’t feel compelled to respond with anything but threats and jokes. But Halligan’s “off record” take-backsies also underscores the desperation behind the bombast, while Hegseth’s ultimatum may come to show the strategy’s foolhardiness. One veteran Pentagon reporter told The Guardian the move has made them even more “motivated”: “I’m going to go really hard now,” the journalist said, “and try to prove that we can do our jobs without being there.”
Andrew paid £1m to lease the 30-room mansion in Great Windsor Park for 75 years as part of his tenancy contract
Kryeministri i vendit ndodhet në Londër, ku në vijim të vizitave dhe agjendës së tij, këtë pasdite ishte i ftuar në forumin ndërkombëtar të sigurisë dhe politikave globale “Future Resilience Forum 2025”. Rama tha se Europa duhet të zgjohet dhe të kuptojë që bota ka ndryshuar. Më tej, krahas krizës në Europë, Rama përmendi Kinën si një prej superfuqive aktuale e cila ka një qasje ndryshe, një strategji të bazuar në biznes dhe një plan afatgjatë. “Të gjithë e shohin Europën si një gjigand të vjetër të lodhur që nuk ëhstë më në gjendje të zgjohet dhe të kuptoj që bota ka ndryshuar. Në më pak se 10 vjet, Kina do të ketë dyfishin e PBB të Europës. Europa ndodhet në moment kritik sepse i duhet të ndajë mendjen për të përfunduar projektin e etërve, apo të ecë në një drejtim më katastrofik si shembulli i Brexit. Kina nuk është e interesuar për universalizimin e mënyrës së saj të jetesës, ata besojnë se i përkasin një civilizimi të epërm që nuk ja vlen ta përhapësh. Ndërkohë që kurdo që mundet Kina kërkon të bëj biznes. Ky është tipar i fuqive të mëdha që nuk ka ngjasi me asgjë të ngjashme që jemi mësuar të jetojmë në jetën tonë. Kina ka këtë qasje ndryshe, nga ana tjetër ka diçka që edhe pse Kina flet për planin 5 vjeçar të rradhës pra 25 vjet më pas, Franca nuk ka plan as për javën e ardhshme. Është një dallim shumë i madh që pasqyrohet në jetën e përditshme.” / abcnews.al
During Israel visit US VP also accuses media of ‘desire to root for failure’ amid fears over ceasefire violations
Grilled over policies regarding children and young people, Johnson remains the wrong man in the wrong place at the wrong time
Julia Roberts emerges unscathed but Luca Guadagnino’s tiring and muddled attempt to comment on trending topics doesn’t inspire the debates it so clearly wants
The Office of the Special Prosecutor has dismissed allegations that it has failed to cooperate with the Attorney General’s office regarding the extradition of former Finance Minister Ken Ofori Atta from the United States, describing such claims as misleading and factually inaccurate. The clarification, issued Monday in a detailed statement, comes after Deputy Attorney General Dr. Justice Srem Sai publicly complained that his office has sent multiple requests for the investigation docket but received no response over the past two months. According to the OSP, it has been actively exchanging correspondence with the Attorney General’s office since early June and has already completed critical steps in the extradition process, including securing a judicial warrant, declaring Ofori Atta a fugitive, and successfully placing him on Interpol’s Red Notice. The statement provided a timeline showing that on June 2, the OSP triggered the formal extradition process by submitting a request to the Chief of Staff at the Presidency for the provisional apprehension of the former minister. The following day, June 3, the Chief of Staff transmitted the OSP’s request to the Attorney General, who acts as the Central Authority for mutual legal assistance requests under Ghana’s legal framework. On June 13, the Attorney General acknowledged receipt of the extradition package and requested the inclusion of two OSP officers on the prosecution team, along with a copy of the docket. The OSP responded on June 20 by nominating two officers and explaining that compilation of the docket was still ongoing following a search and seizure operation at two offices of Strategic Mobilisation Ghana Limited on June 10, which yielded what the office described as a haul of new evidence. “In respect of the request for a copy of the docket, the Special Prosecutor informed the Attorney General that the OSP was in the process of compiling the various dockets on the subject,” the statement clarified. Dr. Srem Sai, however, painted a different picture during an interview with GHOne TV on Monday. He said the Attorney General’s office has made several formal requests for the documents but has not received any response. “It’s been about two months now, and we still do not have the dockets from the OSP,” he stated. He explained that although the OSP has placed Ofori Atta on an Interpol red alert, the legal process to bring him back from the United States cannot move forward without the complete docket. The Deputy Attorney General stressed that extradition requests must include full evidence files and legal justifications, similar to what the United States submits when requesting extraditions from Ghana. “When they ask for people to be extradited, they bring the full docket as if they are going to court. We must do the same,” he said. Sammy Darko, Director of Strategy, Research, and Communication at the OSP, sought to defuse tensions in a Facebook post Monday, insisting there is no bad blood between the two institutions. He characterized the issue as primarily one of timing, noting that the OSP is nearing completion of its work on several cases involving Ofori Atta and will, in due course, submit the necessary information required to complete the extradition process to the Attorney General. “There is no bad blood between the OSP and the AG, nor is there any contention over the case docket,” Darko wrote. “The OSP is finalising the investigative report and will soon transmit it to the AG. Therefore, between September and October, there has been a brief gap, one the OSP is currently working to fill by completing and transmitting the final investigative report to the Attorney General. That is not a delay or unwillingness; it is finishing the work.” The OSP statement also addressed what it described as security concerns arising from a recent leak of highly sensitive communications that pose grave risks to ongoing investigations and the safety of OSP personnel. Darko condemned the leak, stating, “Certainly, the leak could not have originated from the OSP. The Office would never compromise the safety of its officers or jeopardise a case it has pursued diligently since February.” The former Finance Minister was identified by the OSP in January 2025 as a suspect in several corruption related cases, including alleged irregularities in contracts with Strategic Mobilisation Ghana Limited, expenditures linked to the National Cathedral project, and issues in health and tax refund operations. He was first declared a fugitive from justice in February 2025 after failing to honor repeated summonses by the OSP. Ofori Atta’s lawyers later requested that his name be removed from the wanted list, promising he would return. However, in June 2025, after he again failed to appear before the OSP on the agreed date, his fugitive status was reinstated. The OSP indicated it would pursue extradition steps and maintain the Interpol Red Notice. Intelligence gathered by the office showed that Ofori Atta has been residing in the United States since January 2025. By the end of May 2025, the office obtained a judicial warrant for his arrest and declared him a fugitive from justice, subsequently placing him on its List of Wanted Persons. “The Office has since successfully defended several applications filed by Mr. Ofori Atta in Ghanaian courts, in attempts to have his name removed from the List of Wanted Persons,” the OSP stated. Ten months after being first declared a fugitive, Ofori Atta has neither been arrested in the United States nor voluntarily returned to Ghana. His continued absence has become a source of frustration for authorities and raised questions about the effectiveness of Ghana’s mechanisms for pursuing high profile corruption suspects who flee the jurisdiction. The public disagreement between the OSP and the Attorney General’s office has also sparked debate about coordination between state institutions in handling sensitive cases. While Darko insists the two offices are working cooperatively, the Deputy Attorney General’s public comments suggest growing impatience with the pace of progress. Private legal practitioner Martin Kpebu has called on the OSP to initiate a trial in absentia if Ofori Atta fails to return to Ghana, arguing that the OSP has the mandate to act once all preliminary steps are completed. However, Darko rejected this approach, stating it would not align with legal procedure. The OSP has assured that investigations remain very active and that the Special Prosecutor will brief the public on concluded investigations and their outcomes before the end of October 2025. For now, the former Finance Minister remains at large in the United States while Ghana’s law enforcement and prosecutorial agencies work, with varying degrees of public harmony, to bring him back to face justice. The case highlights the complexities of international extradition processes and the challenges facing Ghana’s anti corruption efforts when suspects have the means to flee the jurisdiction. It also underscores the importance of seamless coordination between the OSP and the Attorney General’s office, particularly in high profile cases that attract intense public scrutiny.