Google

Marvel fans say this blockbuster was their best movie of 2025 and you’ll soon be able to stream it at no extra cost

Disney+ will soon be streaming one of the best comic book movies of the year at no extra charge.

The film is currently available to rent or buy at home, though you’ll still have to pay up to £13.99 on platforms such as Apple TV, Prime Video and Sky Store.

Thankfully, there’s not long to wait until Disney+ users will be able to stream the film whenever they want without paying anything on top of their monthly subscription.

Comic book fans have called it one of Marvel Studios’ best blockbusters in years – and, no, it’s not the recently released The Fantastic Four: First Steps.

Instead, we’re talking about Thunderbolts*, which is set to debut exclusively on Disney+ on Wednesday, 27th August.

Starring Florence Pugh, David Harbour and Sebastian Stan, the film follows an unlikely team of heroes and villains from across the Marvel universe who reluctantly team up to protect the Earth from a dangerous and unpredictable new threat.

READ MORE: ‘Gruesome’ Netflix horror movie based on classic novel gets release date with unexpected twistREAD MORE: House of Guinness release date, plot and cast as Peaky Blinders creator lines up new Netflix drama

Pugh returns as Yelena Belova, the new Black Widow, an elite mercenary who is struggling to find her place in the world when the enigmatic Valentina Allegra de Fontaine (played by Julia Louis-Dreyfus) entrusts her with an important but suspicious new mission.

Following a period of disappointment for the superhero franchise, both box office and critical, Marvel fans were pleasantly surprised when Thunderbolts* burst onto the big screen back in April.

One five-star Google review described the film as an “absolute gem of the superhero genre”.

“If you’re looking for a fresh, high-octane adventure with a unique twist, Thunderbolts is exactly what you’ve been waiting for,” they went on to promise.

“This story is a masterclass in reimagining the traditional superhero team-up, featuring a lineup of antiheroes, former villains, and morally ambiguous characters who are forced to work together for a common cause.”

Someone else gushed: “Thunderbolts* was an incredible surprise. This movie fixes so many of the problems that recent MCU projects have suffered from.

“It actually feels like one director was in charge of this, not a committee of executives. The humor also feels natural, not forced.

Watch La Liga on Disney+

This article contains affiliate links, we will receive a commission on any sales we generate from it. Learn more

£4.99

Disney+

Get Disney+ here

Disney+ has added La Liga football to its line-up, with fans able to stream the games with a Disney+ subscription from £4.99

“Which makes everything better. It doesn’t feel like this movie was reworked and reshot a thousand times. The characters are also great. Every actor is doing their absolute best and their chemistry is great.”

Another die-hard fan raved on X: “Had the time of my life with #thunderbolts! One of the best mcu projects in recent years.

“The movie does an outstanding job of exploring its themes surrounding mental health. I absolutely love [the] team and their dynamic, I cared so much about all of them. Easy 10/10.”

And a final viewer admitted: “Shocked how good THUNDERBOLTS* is. Putting emphasis on the character work and practical action makes this feel like the old Marvel that had us for a decade plus.

“Wish we’d gotten this sooner. Helps that this dysfunctional team has chemistry too.”

Will you be checking out Thunderbolts* for the first time or giving the film a much-deserved rewatch next week?

Thunderbolts* will be available to stream on Disney+ from Wednesday, 27th August.

Aug. 18 (UPI) — The Australian government announced Monday that Google must pay after having admitted to making monopolistic preinstallation deals with Android manufacturers.

An agreement, made in federal court between the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission and Google, would see the U.S.-based tech company penalized for around $360 million. The court will ultimately decide if the penalty is appropriate.

The arrangement comes after Google LLC and its Google Asia Pacific regional entity confessed to making contractual arrangements with Android Original Equipment Manufacturers and Australian Mobile Network Operators in regard to the “preinstallation and placement of Google Search and the Chrome Browser Application on Android devices.”

The ACCC considers such pledged provisions to be in violation of Section 45 of the Australian Competition and Consumer Act 2010 which bans anti-competitive agreements.

According to the ACCC, the Telstra and Optus telecommunications companies made deals with Google between December 2019 and March 2021 to only preinstall Google Search on the Android phones they sold, but no other search engines.

In return, the companies received a share of the revenue generated from advertising during the use of Google Search on the devices.

Google has admitted that reaching those understandings with each of Telstra and Optus was likely to lessen competition.

However, the ACCC added that “Google does not agree with all of the ACCC’s concerns but has acknowledged them and offered the undertaking to address these concerns.”

Nonetheless, under the agreement, Google will also remove particular preinstallation and default search engine restrictions from its contracts with Android phone manufacturers and telecommunications companies.

Telstra and Optus, as well as the telecommunications provider TPG, agreed last year not to renew or make new exclusive search engine deals with Google.

“Conduct that restricts competition is illegal in Australia because it usually means less choice, higher costs or worse service for consumers,” said ACCC Chairperson Gina-Cass Gottlieb in the release.

“Today’s outcome, along with Telstra, Optus and TPG’s undertakings, have created the potential for millions of Australians to have greater search choice in the future, and for competing search providers to gain meaningful exposure to Australian consumers,” she added.

Aug. 15 (UPI) — Spain on Friday warned of “very high or extreme fire danger in most of the country,” as firefighters there continue battling 14 blazes in temperatures up to 104 degrees Fahrenheit.

“The danger will remain at very high or extreme levels during the weekend and Monday, days when the heatwave affecting us since the beginning of the month continues,” AEMET, the state weather association, said on X Friday.

Wildfires in the European country have already consumed approximately 580 square miles of land, leading to seven deaths.

“Today will once again be a very tough day, with an extreme risk of new fires,” Spanish President Pedro Sanchez wrote on X Friday.

“The government remains fully committed with all resources to stop the fire. Thank you, always, to those who fight on the front line to protect us.”

The flames have forced the closures of highways and rail systems in parts of the country, including the train connecting the northern Spanish region of Galicia to the capital of Madrid.

Neighboring Greece and Portugal are dealing with similar weather conditions.

Spain’s total makes up around a quarter of the 2,429 square miles burned by wildfires across Europe, roughly the size of the state of Delaware.

On Thursday, the European Union sent two planes to help fight wildfires in Spain, under a reciprocal agreement. Spain is the fifth country so far this year to ask for help under the EU Civil Protection Mechanism, with Bulgaria, Montenegro and Albania also seeking assistance.

One of those countries, Greece, is dealing with a fire on the Greek island of Chios, which is largely without water and electricity.

Aug. 15 (UPI) — Two planes clipped wings at Manchester Airport in Britain on Friday, briefly pausing flight operations on the ground at the facility, officials confirmed.

No injuries were reported when the two easyJet planes collided on the ground at about 6:30 a.m. local time, an airport spokesperson said.

“We suspended operations briefly while they were assessed to see if they could taxi back to a stand, which they could so operations resumed after a few minutes,” the airport said in a statement to reporters.

Both flights were set to depart the international airport, with one bound for Paris and the other headed to Gibraltar.

Britain-based easyJet is a multinational low-cost airline group. The company operates a fleet of 318 Airbus aircraft and boasts that it has “one of the youngest fleets in the industry.”

The airline was working on re-booking affected passengers Friday, according to airport officials.

“EasyJet can confirm that the wing tips of two aircraft came into contact while taxiing to the runway at Manchester airport this morning. The aircraft returned to stand to disembark customers who have been provided with refreshment vouchers while replacement aircraft are arranged to operate the flights,” an easyJet spokesperson told The Guardian in a statement.

“We apologize to customers for the delay to their flights. The safety of our passengers and crew is our highest priority.”

Last weekend, a Delta Airlines flight clipped another aircraft at Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport.

A second MasterChef contestant has been edited out of the current BBC One series following the scandals that saw longterm hosts John Torode and Gregg Wallace sacked

A second MasterChef contestant has been edited out of the current BBC One series, which has faced controversy and seen both presenters dropped from their roles.

It was previously announced that Sarah Shafi had been removed from the show after asking for it not to be broadcast, following a report that upheld claims against hosts Gregg Wallace and John Torode.

A spokesperson for the show’s production company, Banijay UK, said: “One other contributor decided that, given recent events, they would like not to be included. We have, of course, accepted their wishes and edited them out of the show.” It comes after John Torode’s wife Lisa Faulkner breaks her silence after his MasterChef sacking.

READ MORE: Strictly star sparked uproar on Celebrity MasterChef – ‘Shame on John and Gregg!’READ MORE: MasterChef loses nearly 1 million viewers as Gregg Wallace and John Torode return

The Mirror has contacted the BBC for comment. Both Wallace and Torode remain in the series, which began last week on BBC One and on iPlayer.

In November 2024, it was announced that Wallace would step away from his role on the BBC cooking show while historical allegations of misconduct were investigated, and last month a statement from Banijay UK and the BBC said they had agreed “Mr Wallace’s return to MasterChef is untenable”.

Wallace, 60, issued an apology saying he was “deeply sorry for any distress caused” and that he “never set out to harm or humiliate” in the wake of the Lewis Silkin review, which saw 45 out of 83 allegations made against him upheld.

Torode, 60, was the subject of an allegation about using racist language that was upheld as part of the review, but the TV star said he had “no recollection of the incident” and was “shocked and saddened” by the claim.

The PA news agency understands the second contestant to be edited out of the show has asked not to be identified and will not feature in the show.

The episode which would have featured the individual was broadcast on BBC One on Wednesday night, but the programme featured only five chefs rather than the usual six.

Last month, the BBC confirmed the series, which was filmed last year before allegations against Wallace and Torode were upheld, would be broadcast in August, adding that it had “not been an easy decision in the circumstances.”

It added: “In showing the series, which was filmed last year, it in no way diminishes our view of the seriousness of the upheld findings against both presenters. We have been very clear on the standards of behaviour that we expect of those who work at the BBC or on shows made for the BBC.

“However, we believe that broadcasting this series is the right thing to do for these cooks who have given so much to the process. We want them to be properly recognised and give the audience the choice to watch the series.

“At this stage, we have not taken a decision on the celebrity series and Christmas special, which was filmed earlier this year, and we will confirm our plans later in the year.”

In an interview with The Sun last month, Wallace apologised to anyone hurt by his behaviour but insisted he is “not a groper, a sex pest or a flasher”.

Torode and Wallace became MasterChef co-hosts in 2005 and celebrated the shows 20th anniversary at a dinner in 2024, which Wallace said was “one of the most emotional evenings” of his life.

MasterChef series 21 next airs at 8pm on BBC One.

Join The Mirror’s WhatsApp Community or follow us on Google News , Flipboard , Apple News, TikTok , Snapchat , Instagram , Twitter , Facebook , YouTube and Threads – or visit The Mirror homepage.

This is the second major offer the AI startup has made this year to buy a major asset. In January, it offered to buy TikTok.

Perplexity AI said it has made a $34.5bn unsolicited all-cash offer for Alphabet’s Google Chrome browser.

The deal, if Alphabet agreed to it, would also require financing above the startup’s most recently reported valuation of $18bn.

The nearly three-year-old startup’s purchase of Chrome, if approved, would give the company access to its more than three billion users as regulatory pressure weighs on Google’s control over the tech industry.

Perplexity did not disclose on Tuesday how it plans to fund the offer, but has raised $1bn in funding from investors including SoftBank and the semiconductor chip giant Nvidia.

Several funds have said they would finance the deal in full if Alphabet accepts, the Reuters news agency reported citing unnamed sources familiar with the matter.

Alphabet has not offered to sell Chrome and has planned to appeal a United States court ruling that said Google held an unlawful monopoly over the online search marketplace. The US Department of Justice has said that divestiture of Chrome would help remedy that case. A federal judge is expected to rule on remedies for the case later this month.

Web browsers as vital gateways

As a new generation of users turns to chatbots such as ChatGPT and Perplexity for answers, web browsers are regaining prominence as vital gateways to search traffic and prized user data, making them central to Big Tech’s AI ambitions.

Perplexity already has an AI browser, Comet, that can perform certain tasks on a user’s behalf. Buying Chrome would allow it to tap the browser’s more than three billion users, giving it the heft to better compete with bigger rivals such as OpenAI. The ChatGPT parent is also working on its own AI browser.

Perplexity, run by CEO Aravind Srinivas, has said it will keep the browser’s code open source and make no changes to the default search engine, according to Reuters.

The San Francisco-based startup is far from the only company to express interest in Google Chrome. ChatGPT owner OpenAI has also expressed interest, as has Yahoo and New York-based private equity firm Apollo Global Management.

It is not the first eye-catching bid from the AI startup this year. In January, Perplexity AI offered to buy TikTok after regulators called for the Chinese-owned app to be sold to a US company. The White House has delayed the ban several times. The most recent delay was announced in late June.

Neither Google nor Perplexity immediately responded to Al Jazeera’s request for comment.

On Wall Street, Alphabet’s share price surged up 1.4 percent since the market opened. Potential funder Nvidia is relatively flat, only up about 0.1 percent. However, SoftBank is surging up more than 6.9 percent as of 1pm in New York (17:00 GMT). Perplexity is not a publicly traded company.

Aug. 12 (UPI) — Epic Games said its popular Fortnite video game will return to iOS platforms in Australia after its high court ruled on Tuesday that Google and Apple’s dominance over the digital marketplace was anticompetitive.

Australian federal Judge Jonathan Beach ruled that both Google and Apple had misused their positions as the dominant players over in-app purchase commissions that included fees of up to 30% to cut back on competition.

On Tuesday, CEO Tim Sweeney said Fortnite will return to iPhones along with its Epic Games Store “at a date to be determined.”

In a social media post, Sweeney called the ruling a “victory” in Australian antitrust proceedings via its nearly five-year-long legal battle against the tech giants.

Apple, the judge said, engaged in conduct that had the purpose or was “likely to have or had the effect of substantially lessening competition in such markets.” He added that Google’s conduct “had or is likely to have had the effect of substantially lessening competition in such markets.”

Beach pointed to Apple’s specific conduct that “prevents prohibits the direct downloading or sideloading of native apps and conduct that prevents or prohibits developers and users from using alternative payment methods.”

But he rejected the accusations by Epic that the two companies had otherwise violated consumer laws and exhibited “unconscionable conduct.”

Epic added that officials still need to sift through the nearly 2,000 pages of legal documents stemming from Tuesday’s ruling.

Both Google and Apple officials “welcomed” Beach’s rejection of certain parts of the ruling, but disagreed with the other aspects of Epic’s characterizations and court victory.

Google spokesperson Dan Jackson said it disagreed with the “court’s characterization of our billing policies and practices.”

He added it included “findings regarding some of our historical partnerships, which were all shaped in a fiercely competitive mobile landscape on behalf of users and developers,” he told The Verge.

“We will review the full decision when we receive it and assess our next steps,” Jackson said.

The legal battle began in 2020 when Apple and Google kicked Fortnite off its app stores for bypassing their payment systems with its own.

Legal action against Apple that year was followed by a 2021 lawsuit against Google Australia.

Epic has filed lawsuits against both Apple and Google around the world in courts in Britain over in Europe and the United States.

The California-based U.S. Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals in July upheld a 2023 jury verdict against Google, saying it violated state and federal antitrust law by holding an illegal monopoly in Android app distribution and billing, and that Google unlawfully tied its billing system to Play Store.

On Tuesday, Apple officials stated the global tech giant faced “fierce competition in every market” where it operates.

“We continuously invest and innovate to make the App Store the safest place for users to get apps and a great business opportunity for developers in Australia and around the world,” Apple told ABC in Australia.

Aug. 9 (UPI) — More than 200 people were arrested in London Saturday during a major pro-Palestinian protest in the British capital, police confirmed.

“We’ve now arrested 150 people in Parliament Square. While many of those remaining in the Square are media and onlookers, there are still people holding placards supporting Palestine Action,” the Metropolitan Police Service said in an update on X.

“Officers are steadily working through the crowd making further arrests,” added ahead of an update that confirmed the more-accurate arrest count.

“We’re aware of a statement by Defend Our Juries (the organizers of today’s protest) claiming we were only to arrest ‘a fraction’ of those breaking the law in Parliament Square this afternoon,” the Met said on X.

“That claim simply isn’t true. We estimate there were 500 to 600 people in Parliament Square when the protests began, but many were onlookers, media, or people not holding placards in support of Palestinian Action.

“We are confident that anyone who came to Parliament Square today to hold a placard expressing support for Palestinian Action was either arrested or is in the process of being arrested.”

Officials said they are prepared for three days of similar demonstrations in the city, which has a population of around 9 million people.

A majority of the protestors are reportedly members of Palestine Action. The British government in July deemed the pro-Palestinian group a terrorist organization. A conviction for membership in the group can carry a 14-year prison term.

Police from other jurisdictions are being brought in to deal with the expected crowds over the weekend.

“This is going to be a particularly busy few days in London with many simultaneous protests and events that will require a significant policing presence,” Deputy Assistant Commissioner Ade Adelekan said in a statement.

“I’m grateful not just to the Met officers who will be working incredibly hard over the coming days but to those colleagues from other forces who have been deployed to London to support us.”

The demonstrations come days after Israel’s security cabinet this week voted to approve Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu‘s plan to take over control of Gaza.

Netanyahu later said the Israel Defense Forces would “free Gaza from Hamas” but that the military would not occupy the Palestinian enclave.

The plan has drawn international criticism, with several international leaders voicing their concerns this week.

“The Israeli Government’s plan for a complete military takeover of the occupied Gaza Strip must be immediately halted,” U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Turk said in a statement Friday.

German Chancellor Friedrich Merz said Friday his government is suspending further military exports to Israel over the latter’s desire to take control of the Gaza Strip.

July 29 (UPI) — Cash App on Tuesday announced a new group payment system that will also allow users to use Apple Pay and Google Pay to contribute for the first time.

The group payment system is only available to certain users currently, but it will roll out to more users in the upcoming months.

“If members of the group use different payment solutions, the organizer has historically needed to download multiple apps to collect the money from each person resulting in confusion, time wasted, and risk for all participants. Now, the organizer can create a shareable link for group members to contribute to a pool in seconds using Apple Pay or Google Pay,” Cash App said in a press release.

The company said it designed the pool for easier payment by separating the payment instead of one person taking the total entire fee.

“Pools were designed for groups to easily plan, collect, and track contributions before the event occurs so that nobody has to front the entire cost.”

The app works by allowing an organizer to set a goal amount and invite members to join the pool and track the group’s contributions.

“Cash App has always made sending money between friends and family feel effortless, and we know that many of our customers already use the platform as a way to collect payments from groups,” said Cameron Worboys, Head of Product Design at Cash App. “With pools, our customers now have a dedicated, easy-to-use solution for group payments: they can start a pool to collect the money in seconds, and then instantly transfer the funds to their Cash App balance when it’s time to pay.”

Cash App also announced it will introduce more features in the upcoming future.

One of Sex Education’s biggest breakout stars took on a very different role in a sun-soaked new drama coming to streaming soon

Sex Education star Emma Mackey’s latest cinematic role will be available to watch at home very soon.

Best known for portraying Maeve Wiley in all four seasons of Netflix’s beloved comedy-drama, she has since appeared in major films like Barbie and Death on the Nile.

Still currently in cinemas, her latest project sees her taking on her first leading role in a provocative and mysterious drama based on a Booker Prize nominated novel.

Inspired by Deborah Levy’s 2016 novel of the same name, Hot Milk follows Mackey as Sofia, a young woman whose mother, Rose (played by Fiona Shaw), has contracted an unknown illness that’s left her wheelchair-bound.

When the mother-daughter pair travel to a small Spanish seaside town to track down a physician with unusual methods who could hold the cure, Sofia finds herself drawn to an alluring traveller named Ingrid (Vicky Krieps).

READ MORE: Outlander star teases ‘gripping’ ITV crime drama away from Starz could ‘go on for years’READ MORE: Netflix now streaming ‘truly entertaining’ British thriller with a ‘mind-blowing’ twist ending

The film will be streaming on Mubi from Friday, 22nd August for anyone who missed out on Mackey’s sultry and thought-provoking drama on the big screen.

The Independent gave Hot Milk four stars, calling it “a slippery, subversive coming-of-age tale”.

Mackey and Krieps were praised as “formidable” in The Guardian, while Deadline says Shaw’s performance is “truly extraordinary”.

One fan of the film gave it a five-star Google review, penning: “Powerful performances set against dreamlike scenery where reality merges with imagination.

“Starts as a slow burn but builds into a heightened frenzy of complex sensations that is impossible not to sense as you witness each separate character’s life unravel and deteriorate.”

Someone else praised: “Fever dream magic, great indie film if you like trippy movies, reminds me of I’m Thinking of Ending Things on Netflix.”

Enthusiasm for the film continued on Letterboxd, where one user wrote: “The pace was perfect. The score was stunning.

“The acting was incredible, Fiona Shaw is such a talented actor. Emma Mackey is just an unreal actress too.

“I felt as if she was speaking to me and I shall carry these words with me the rest of my life. This was a film I watched at the right time in my life. A film I didn’t know I needed till I had seen it. I wish I had words to properly express how much I adore this film.”

And a final fan said: “Beautiful adaptation of the book, felt it in my soul – the story, the characters, the setting…. so moving and so real.”

Film fanatics should make sure they sign up to Mubi to check out this indie cinema gem, and many more movie masterpieces, in just under a month’s time.

Hot Milk will be released Friday, 22nd August on Mubi.

Thousands of parents have been left horrified after seeing Google’s top suggested search term if you enter the name of the popular CBeebies show, In the Night Garden

Parents have expressed their shock and amusement in equal measure after one person was left horrified by searching on Google for ‘In the Night Garden’. The show first arrived on CBeebies in 2007 and follows the adventures of several characters including Igglepiggle, Upsy Daisy and Makka Pakka.

It quickly became a hit among young children and toddlers, spanning exactly 100 episodes and inspiring a wide range of clothing, toys and merchandise. A screenshot of the Google search was shared to X, meanwhile, which later made it’s way to Facebook‘s ‘Great British Memes’ page, under the caption: “Googled In the Night Garden and didn’t expect this to show up as a related question.”

The post saw the parent hilariously include their top Google search suggestion, which read, ‘People also ask: Is Upsy Daisy a sl*g?’, which prompted thousands of parents to share their thoughts.

One Facebook user who couldn’t help but see the funny side, quipped in response: “As a parent who suffered many years watching that trollop dance around teasing everyone in sight… the answer to that question is a very clear ‘yes!'”

A second person joked: “Always said she was! Dragging her bed around and lifting her skirt!”

A third added: “You’ve irked a memory of watching In the Night Garden when my youngest was little! I always thought she was a bit fruity.”

Whilst a fourth Facebook user confessed: “I’ve actually Googled this myself after sitting through an episode called Upsy Daisy Kisses Everything!”

Others appeared to be a little more taken aback, however, including one individual who declared: “Well I’ll never watch In the Night Garden the same way again.”

Another added: “I’ll need to watch CBeebies at 6.25 tonight to see this in action.”

And a third said: “I think in the future a psychologist will study in the night garden and reveal it was a cult.”

Despite ceasing production in 2009, In the Night Garden remains a popular show for youngsters to this day with episodes airing daily and all episodes available to watch on BBC iPlayer.

In the Night Garden’s website says of the character in question: “Upsy Daisy is a happy and optimistic dolly. She loves nothing more than to dance through the garden and often convinces other character to join in.

“One of her favourite things is her bed, which has a mind of its own and can often be seen chasing her around the garden.”

The site details the programme further: “In the Night Garden is about a magical picture-book place that exists between waking and sleeping in a child’s imagination. Inhabited by a diverse community of loveable characters that care for each other unconditionally, such as Igglepiggle, Upsy Daisy and Makka Pakka.

“In the Night Garden has been shot in a real woodland setting in the UK. It makes use of innovations in live character costume technology and CG animation, weaving these together within a stunning natural setting to create a compelling and fully immersive experience for young children. It has been devised and produced by Teletubbies creators, Anne Wood and Andy Davenport.”

SEOUL, July 16 (UPI) — South Korea summoned a Japanese attache to protest a territorial claim over disputed islands that Tokyo made in an annual white paper, Seoul’s Defense Ministry announced Wednesday.

The islets, which are called Dokdo in Korean and Takeshima in Japanese, are located in the East Sea between the two countries. South Korea has controlled the islands since 1952 with a coast guard contingent, but they have been at the center of a diplomatic dispute that goes back hundreds of years.

Tokyo’s latest annual defense white paper asserts that Dokdo and the Russian-controlled Kuril Islands are “inherent territories of Japan” and calls issues around them “unresolved.” It uses the Japanese names for both island groups, referring to the Kuril Islands as the Northern Territories and to Dokdo as Takeshima.

Defense Ministry director general for international policy Lee Gwang-seok summoned Japanese defense attache Inoue Hirofumi on Tuesday over the claims.

In the meeting, Lee “reaffirmed that Dokdo is [South Korea’s] inherent territory historically, geographically and under international law,” according to a ministry statement sent to reporters.

Lee added that South Korea would “respond resolutely to any attempt to infringe upon our sovereignty over Dokdo.”

South Korea’s Foreign Ministry also responded to the white paper on Tuesday by calling in the Japanese Embassy’s acting minister Yoshiyasu Iseki and urging Tokyo to withdraw its claims.

“The [South Korean] government strongly protests the Japanese government’s repeated unjust territorial claims to Dokdo, which is clearly our inherent territory in terms of history, geography and international law,” the ministry said in a statement.

“The government once again makes it clear that no claims by the Japanese government regarding Dokdo … have any influence on our sovereignty, and declares that it will respond resolutely to any provocations by Japan regarding Dokdo,” the statement said.

The dispute comes as historically frosty relations between Seoul and Tokyo have thawed in recent years, with improved diplomatic ties and closer trilateral security cooperation with Washington.

This year’s defense white paper includes language, introduced in last year’s edition, calling South Korea “an important neighboring country with which we should cooperate as a partner in responding to various challenges in the international community.”

July 15 (UPI) — Pennsylvanians and the nation will benefit from $100 billion in energy- and artificial intelligence-related investments announced on Tuesday to energize the nation’s growing AI economy.

The investments should create tens of thousands of new jobs for Pennsylvanians in the energy and AI sectors while helping the United States improve its economy and global AI standing, President Donald Trump said during Tuesday’s inaugural Pennsylvania Energy and Innovation Summit in Pittsburgh.

“We’re here today because we believe America’s destiny is to dominate every industry and be the first in every technology,” Trump told attendees.

“That includes being the world’s No. 1 superpower in artificial intelligence,” he added.

The president said the United States is “way ahead of China” in AI development and has many plants under construction.

“China and other countries are racing to catch up to America having to do with AI,” Trump said.

“We’re not going to let them do it,” he said. “We have the great chips [and] the great everything.”

Trump said the United States is “going to be fighting them in a very friendly fashion,” adding that he and Chinese President Xi Jinping have a “great relationship.”

“Remaining the world’s leader in AI will require an enormous increase in energy production,” Trump told the audience.

He said “clean, beautiful coal” and oil production will be a key element in producing more electrical power to support AI endeavors in the United States and to stay ahead of China in AI development.

More than $56 billion in new energy infrastructure and $36 billion in new data projects were announced on Tuesday, the president said.

A $15 billion investment by Knighthead Capital Management will create the largest natural gas-fired power generation plant in North America in Homer City, Pa.

Google also is investing “billions and billions” to revitalize two hydropower facilities in the commonwealth, Trump added.

Westinghouse officials also have announced that the company will build several nuclear power plants throughout the nation to ensure the AI economy has ample energy available.

“A lot more than that will be announced in the coming weeks and months,” Trump added.

The president said 20 “leading technology and energy companies” are poised to invest in Pennsylvania to develop an AI economy that utilizes the commonwealth’s energy and technology assets, CBS News reported.

Many firms are investing elsewhere in the country, too, in order to support the nation’s AI economy, according to the New York Post.

Trump spoke for about 30 minutes during the hour-long Pennsylvania Energy and Innovation Summit, which was organized by Sen Dave McCormick, R-Pa., and held on the campus of Carnegie Mellon University.

Pennsylvania’s Democratic Gov. Josh Shapiro and others joined Trump and McCormick to discuss energy matters and the growth of AI in the United States.

July 12 (UPI) — A federal judge in California issued two restraining orders blocking federal Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents from conducting random detentions of people in Los Angeles and denying access to legal advice.

The ruling this week by U.S. District Court for the Central District of California Judge Maame Ewusi-Mensah Frimpong was in response to a lawsuit filed by a collection of plaintiffs, including two individual American citizens.

“The individuals and organizations who have brought this lawsuit argue that this organization had two key features, both of which were unconstitutional: ‘roving patrols’ indiscriminately rounding up numerous individuals without reasonable suspicion and, having done so, denying these individuals access to lawyers who could help them navigate the legal process they found themselves in,” Frimpong wrote in the 52-page ruling.

“On this, the federal government agrees: Roving patrols without reasonable suspicion violate the Fourth Amendment to the Constitution and denying access to lawyers violates the Fifth Amendment to the Constitution.”

“What the federal government would have this Court believe — in the face of a mountain of evidence presented in this case — is that none of this is actually happening.”

The lawsuit was filed earlier in the month and names Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem, FBI Director Kash Patel and several other federal officials as defendants.

The suit comes as ICE officers and agents from other federal agencies, including the FBI and DEA, continue immigration raids in the Los Angeles area at the direction of President Donald Trump.

The raids have entered their second month as Trump continues his promised crack down on immigration.

Demonstrators this week clashed with federal agents in Ventura County outside a cannabis growing operation.

Earlier in the week, Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass indicated the city would join the lawsuit to block the Trump administration’s immigration raids, but the municipality is not named as a plaintiff in the suit filed in District Court.

In her ruling, Frimpong pointed to several instances where people were questioned indiscriminately by federal agents and in some cases detained without lawyers for lengthy periods of time.

The two restraining orders remain in place for 10 days. The plaintiffs are seeking a more permanent preliminary injunction.

The new ‘My Journey’ feature has been designed to help passengers easily manage their flights and track all updates on their mobile devices

Wizz Air has launched a new in-flight app feature which it hopes will transform the passenger in-flight experience.

The Hungarian budget airline has just unveiled “My Journey,” an addition to the Wizz Air mobile app that offers passengers flight management at their fingertips.

Alongside the usual channels of communication customers may have with their airline—such as phone calls, SMS, and emails—they can now do it all through the app.

That includes getting instant updates on flight status, including check-in, boarding time, and gate number, and finding out whether you’re eligible for a meal voucher or hotel stay if your flight is delayed or cancelled.

READ MORE: Wizz Air boss hit with £60 fine by own staff for breaking hand luggage rules

If you are, then you’ll be able to claim any entitled benefits in the app during your journey, including meals, accommodation, and even compensation.

Customers in this tricky situation can also review and select alternative travel arrangements like rebooking, refunds, or accepting a new flight proposed by Wizz Air.

This could prove to be a major boon for passengers, given how difficult it can be to work out what to do if a flight is cancelled or delayed.

Wizz Air boasts of being one of the most reliable and punctual airlines operating in the UK. According to Cirium data, it is the country’s second-most punctual airline. It was one of the airlines least impacted by last week’s French air traffic controller strike. This is in contrast to budget airline Ryanair, which said it had been forced to cancel more than 170 flights, with the holiday plans of more than 30,000 passengers disrupted.

However, Wizz Air is likely to be impacted to some extent before the summer is out. This season, air traffic is expected to be 5% higher than last year. Air traffic controller strikes and the impact of wildfires currently breaking out across the hotter parts of Europe could well lead to flight delays and cancellations this month and next.

“It’s not just about flying, it’s about feeling in control during those frustrating moments,” said Boglarka Spak, Wizz Air’s Head of Customer Experience.

“My Journey is the ultimate solution for our passengers—enabling them to own their travel experience, whatever happens. With ‘My Journey,’ we’re empowering our customers with real-time tools to manage their trip on their own terms. This is another step towards our commitments made in our Customer First Compass initiative. We believe launching this feature during the peak summer period, when more flights are impacted by weather and air traffic control-related disruptions, will help our customers navigate more easily and save time and energy during their trips.”

The Wizz Air app has had 35 million downloads across Apple, Google, and Huawei platforms so far. “My Journey” will be rolled out as an update to the app in stages from 9 July.

SEOUL — As the Trump administration has been churning out trade threats this week, South Korea, a crucial trading partner and military ally, has been struggling — like many — to navigate the uncertainty that looms over trade negotiations with Washington.

On Monday, Trump sent a letter dictating new tariff rates to 14 countries including South Korea, which was hit with a 25% tax. The levies were set to kick in Tuesday, but were postponed to Aug. 1. Trump left the door open for another extension, telling reporters the new deadline was “firm but not 100% firm,” depending on what trade partners could offer.

But it’s unclear whether the additional three weeks will be enough to resolve the longstanding disagreements between Washington and Seoul. One of the biggest points of contention is South Korea’s auto industry, which was the third biggest exporter of automobiles to the U.S. last year.

Although White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said Monday that Trump’s phone was ringing “off the hook from world leaders all the time who are begging him to come to a deal,” the tone in Seoul has been reserved.

Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick, left, walks across the tarmac on Sunday as President Trump boards Air Force One. On Monday, Trump dictated new tariff rates to 14 countries, including a 25% tax on South Korea.

(Jacquelyn Martin / Associated Press)

Last week, ahead of the initial July 8 deadline, South Korean President Lee Jae Myung, who took office last month, said “it’s difficult to say for certain that we can finish [the trade talks] by July 8.”

“Both sides are doing their best and we need to come up with an outcome that can be mutually beneficial to both parties, but we still have not yet been able to clearly establish what each party wants,” he added.

Since then, senior South Korean trade officials have been dispatched to Washington with the hopes of bringing a deal within striking distance.

“It’s time to speed up the negotiations and find a landing zone,” Trade Minister Yeo Han-koo said after meeting with U.S. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick on Monday.

So far, the only two countries that have struck new trade deals with the Trump administration are the U.K. and Vietnam.

But the Lee administration has maintained a note of caution. At a high-level meeting held Tuesday to discuss the current state of the negotiations, Lee’s presidential chief of staff for policy, Kim Yong-beom, reportedly emphasized the “national interest” over speedy dealmaking, instructing officials to support tariff-affected industries and “diversify” South Korea’s export markets.

Under a decades-long free trade agreement, South Korean tariffs on most U.S. goods are already zero, meaning there are fewer concessions Seoul can offer, analysts say. And on the key points of contention such as automobiles, there is little daylight to be found.

“This announcement will send a chilling message to others,” Wendy Cutler, vice president of the Washington-based Asia Society Policy Institute and former deputy U.S. trade negotiator, said in a post on X.

Trump’s letter also suggested that the U.S. will “not be open to reprieves” from sectoral tariffs, including those on automobiles, Cutler added.

South Korean trade officials have stressed that removing or significantly reducing the 25% tariffs on cars is a top priority.

White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt holds a trade letter sent by the White House to South Korea during a news conference on Monday.

(Al Drago / Bloomberg via Getty Images)

But South Korean cars from Hyundai and Kia factor significantly into the $66-billion trade deficit that Trump has decried as unfair. Last year, South Korea was the third biggest exporter of automobiles to the United States, to the tune of $34.7 billion. It bought $2.1 billion worth of cars from the U.S.

Until now, the country’s flagship automakers Hyundai and Kia have been able to sidestep any major tariff shocks, achieving instead record sales in the first half of the year by selling existing inventory in the U.S.

But many believe it is only a matter of time until they will have to raise vehicle sticker prices, as some competitors have done. Both companies’ operating profits are now forecasted to hit double-digit declines compared with the previous year.

The U.S. has also reportedly demanded concessions that touch on sensitive issues of food or national security in South Korea — a far harder sell to the public than the expanded manufacturing cooperation that South Korea has sought to center in the trade talks.

Among these are opening up South Korea’s rice market to U.S. imports and allowing Google to export high-precision geographic data to its servers outside of South Korea.

As an essential crop that represents a significant portion of farmers’ incomes, rice is one of the few heavily protected goods in South Korea’s trade relationships. Under its free trade agreement with the United States, Seoul imposes a 5% tariff on U.S. rice up to 132,304 tons, and 513% for anything after that.

U.S. Army soldiers attend a ceremony last month in Dongducheon, South Korea. A 2021 report from the U.S. Government Accountability Office found that it cost $19.2 billion to maintain American troops in South Korea from 2016 through 2019.

(Kim Jae-Hwan / SOPA Images via Getty Images)

The South Korean government has long denied Google’s requests to export high-precision geographic data — which is used for the company’s map services — on the grounds that it could reveal sensitive military sites that are essential for defense against North Korea. Last year, Ukraine accused Google of exposing the locations of some of its military systems to Russia.

Equally vexing are Trump’s long-running demands that Seoul should pay more to host the some 28,500 U.S. troops stationed in South Korea.

“South Korea is making a lot of money, and they’re very good. They’re very good, but, you know, they should be paying for their own military,” Trump said at a White House Cabinet meeting on Tuesday, adding that he told South Korea it should pay $10 billion a year.

Over a four-year period from 2016 through 2019, the total cost of maintaining U.S. troops in South Korea was $19.2 billion, or around $4.8 billion a year, according to a 2021 report from the U.S. Government Accountability Office. Over that period, South Korea footed about 30% of the total annual costs, in addition to providing indirect financial support such as waived taxes or foregone rents.

Under the Special Measures Agreement, the joint framework that governs this arrangement, Seoul’s payments have grown over time. Under the latest version, which covers 2026 to 2030, Seoul’s annual contribution beginning next year will be $1.19 billion, an 8.3% increase from 2025, and will increase yearly thereafter.

Trump’s demand for nearly 10 times that — along with the threats that the U.S. might pull its troops from the country — has previously drawn widespread outrage in the country, spurring calls by some for the development of South Korea’s own nuclear arsenal.

“The Special Measures Agreement (SMA) guarantees stable conditions for U.S. troops stationed in Korea and strengthens the joint South Korea – U.S. defense posture,” a spokesperson for South Korea’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs said in response to Trump’s comments.

“Our stance is that the South Korean government will adhere to the 12th SMA, which was agreed upon and implemented in a legitimate manner.”

July 9 (UPI) — The Nvidia technology company now stands alone at the top of the worth list as on Wednesday it became the first publicly traded company to reach $4 trillion in market value.

Its stock went up 2.5% on Wednesday to hit a record single trading day high that pushed it over the $4 trillion line. It’s had a sensational 2025 so far, growing approximately 20% due in part to its key role in the AI boom.

Apple had entered the year at around $3.9 trillion, which at that point made it the world’s most valuable company, but it took a hit during the chaotic tariff rollout of President Donald Trump.

Nvidia and Microsoft have both ebbed and surged in value so far this year, trading places as the most valuable company on Earth, but as of Wednesday Nvidia has found itself in the highest weight class of all time.

It first found fortune for its graphics processing units, a big hit in the PC gaming world, and now it can brag of new AI models intended to power autonomous vehicles and robots, and this comes at an extremely opportune time as its chips power the data centers that companies like Google, Amazon and Microsoft need to keep their AI models and cloud services humming.

Nvidia created $44.1 billion in revenue for the quarter that ended in April, 69% up from the same period from the year before.

The future for Nvidia certainly bodes well as AI investments are expected to keep swelling upwards, as market research by the International Data Corporation portends global spending on AI infrastructure will pass $200 billion by 2028.

In an interview with CNBC Wednesday, Goldman Sachs Asset Management co-head of public tech investing Brook Dane reacted to Nvidia’s ascent to a $4T market cap by saying, “We’re at the early stages of the biggest tech transformation we’ve seen in decades.”

That concept was echoed by a June research note from the Loop Capital investment firm, which speculates that Nvidia could hit a $6 trillion market cap by 2028.

July 5 (UPI) — President Donald Trump said letters will now go out on Monday to 12 countries with a final “take it or leave it” offer on tariff negotiations, pushing the date forward by two days.

Trump did not name the 12 countries, adding that news would be made public on Monday.

The president told reporters earlier in the week the letters would start going out on Friday but has since postponed the date.

“I signed some letters and they’ll go out on Monday, probably twelve,” Trump told reporters aboard Air Force 1.

“Different amounts of money, different amounts of tariffs.”

A 90-day pause instituted in April on Trump’s so-called reciprocal tariffs of different sizes expires on July 9. A separate 10% “baseline” U.S. tariff on all countries is unrelated.

The letters are expected to be sent by July 9, Trump told reporters this week.

The pause was meant to give countries time to negotiate a deal with the Trump administration, but only a few have been finalized to date. Several other nations and the European Union have said they are not close.

Britain and the United States came to an agreement at the end of June. American officials earlier this week announced a deal with Vietnam.

Japan has said a deal with the United States on tariffs remains “unlikely,” while European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said the three-month window was not long enough to properly negotiate a comprehensive agreement.

This week, South Korean President Lee Jae Myung said negotiations on a tariff deal with the United States were “not very easy.”

“They’ll range in value from maybe 60% or 70% tariffs to 10% and 20% tariffs, but they’re going to be starting to go out sometime tomorrow,” Trump told reporters earlier in the week, confirming the 90-day pause would end as scheduled.

Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said last month the deadlines are flexible in his understanding and that he expects negotiations to continue with the possibility of further deals getting done before Labor Day.

July 5 (UPI) — The famed Seine river in Paris opened to the public for swimming on Saturday for the first time in over a 100 years, a key victory for outgoing mayor Anne Hidalgo.

The waterway was last swimmable in 1923, with a ban in place since that year because high levels of bacteria made it unsafe for people.

City officials spent $1.6 billion to clean up the river in time for last year’s 2024 Olympic Games. Despite the cash infusion, some races had to be postponed because of water quality issues.

In a show of confidence, Hidalgo herself famously took to the water ahead of the Olympics for a swim to prove the river was swimmable.

“Swimming in the Seine, some have dreamed of it, many have doubted it, and we have done it,” she said on Facebook at the time. “After a 100-year ban, athletes will take their turn in a few days during the Games! It will be next summer for Parisians.”

Hidalgo’s prediction came true on a seasonal basis. Three designated swimming areas opened Saturday morning, each with lounging areas, outdoor furniture, showers and changing facilities, while lifeguards patrol the river.

One of the swimming areas is not far from the Eiffel Tower, while a second is close to the Notre Dame Cathedral, which re-opened last year after a devastating fire. The third is in the eastern part of Paris.

The mayor, who was elected in 2014 and will leave office next year after a failed bid at the presidency, has spent her time in office pushing green initiatives in the city.

Water quality in the Seine has gradually improved over the last 20 years. At its lowest point, people swimming in the river would get sick because of the high bacteria count.

Plans to re-open the Seine to public swimming have been circulating since former French President and then-Paris Mayor Jacques René Chirac campaigned on the promise in 1988.

A planned race across the city was canceled in 2012 because the water was “manifestly insufficient quality for swimming.”

The world of showbiz is mourning the loss of Australian star Julian McMahon and one of his most popular roles is available to watch completely free

Julian McMahon’s iconic role in one of the most popular fantasy dramas ever is available to stream totally free of charge.

The Australian-American actor, known for portraying Doctor Doom in the original Fantastic Four films and Dr. Christian Troy in the medical drama Nip/Tuck, sadly passed away from cancer on Wednesday, 2nd July this year.

Following his death in Clearwater, Florida, his wife Kelly Paniagua said in a statement via Deadline: “Julian loved life. He loved his family. He loved his friends.

“He loved his work, and he loved his fans. His deepest wish was to bring joy into as many lives as possible.”

The actor most recently appeared opposite Nicolas Cage in the surreal thriller film The Surfer, but countless fans will remember him from a totally different role.

From the third season of the hit fantasy drama Charmed he portrayed the half-demon lawyer Cole Turner aka Belthazor, sent to menace the coven before falling in love with Phoebe Halliwell (played by Alyssa Milano).

He appeared as a major recurring character across three seasons, finally making a guest spot in the penultimate seventh instalment.

Following McMahon’s devastating passing, there’s no better time to relive one of his most iconic roles as all eight seasons of Charmed are available to stream on ITVX in the UK.

If you’ve never seen the series before, there are millions of fans out there who would all give it a stirring recommendation.

One rave Google review called it a “power-packed show with its perfect blend of fantasy, drama, and a strong portrayal of sisterhood.

“My heart melted for Charmed, gifting me with an avalanche of beautiful memories.

“It was the hard-hitting storyline coupled with mesmerizing performances and character growth that made the show a treasure that warms my heart today.”

And plenty of fans agree McMahon’s appearances were some of the show’s strongest episodes.

A Redditor claimed “Cole carried the show”, adding: “I’ve been rewatching the show and I’ve noticed what a great character Cole was.

“I feel like he had the most nuanced acting. He has a schoolboy charm about him that’s very cheeky.”

To which someone else replied: “IMO, the best episodes/seasons were when Cole was one of the main characters.

“I feel like his character brought a certain depth to the show that it didn’t have prior to his arrival.”

Are you planning on getting dazzled by Charmed at some point this week?

Charmed is available to stream on ITVX.