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Seoul concludes US talks to release South Koreans detained in Hyundai raid

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South Korea’s government says it has reached an agreement with the US to release its citizens detained in a massive immigration raid at a Hyundai plant in Georgia.

The chief of staff of South Korea’s president said a chartered plane would be sent to bring the detainees home if administration procedures were completed.

Kang Hoon-sik said the authorities were trying to improve the visa system to prevent such incidents in the future.

US officials detained 475 people – more than 300 of them South Korean nationals – who they said were found to be illegally working at the battery facility, one of the largest foreign investment projects in the state.

Media in both countries report that South Korean Foreign Minister Cho Hyun is expected to travel to the United States on Monday.

The White House has defended the operation at Hyundai, dismissing concerns that the raid could deter foreign investment.

“They were illegal aliens and ICE [Immigration and Customs Enforcement] was just doing its job,” President Donald Trump said following the raids on Friday.

And on Sunday, the Trump administration border tsar Tom Homan, told CNN’s State of the Union that more extensive raids like the one at the Hyundai plant were likely.

“We’re going to do more work site enforcement operations,” Homan said.

“No one hires an illegal alien out of the goodness of their heart. They hire them because they can work them harder, pay them less, undercut the competition that hires US citizen employees.”

Video released by ICE officials showed Asian workers shackled in front of a building, with some wearing yellow vests with names such as “Hyundai” and “LG CNS”.

“People on short-term or recreational visas are not authorized to work in the US,” ICE said, adding that the raid was necessary to protect American jobs.

“This operation sends a clear message that those who exploit the system and undermine our workforce will be held accountable,” Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) Special Agent Steven Schrank said in a statement on Saturday.

South Korea, a close US ally, has pledged tens of billions of dollars in American manufacturing investment, partly to offset tariffs.

The timing of the raid, as the two governments engage in sensitive trade talks, has raised concern in Seoul.

Trump has actively encouraged major investments from other countries while also tightening visa allocations for foreign companies.

LG Energy Solution, which operates the plant with Hyundai, says many of the LG employees arrested were on business trips with various visas or under a visa waiver programme.

The company has said it is suspending most business trips to the US and directing employees on assignment in the US to return home immediately.

South Korean media widely described the raid as a “shock,” with the Dong-A Ilbo newspaper warning it could have “a chilling effect on the activities of our businesses in the United States”.

The factory, which makes new electric vehicles, had been touted by Georgia’s Republican governor as the biggest economic development project in the state’s history, employing 1,200 people.

The arrested workers are being held at an ICE facility in Folkston, Georgia.

LG Energy Solution said 47 of its employees and about 250 workers for contractors at the joint venture factory were detained.



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Prince Harry makes surprise visit to Ukraine

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LONDON (AP) — Britain’s Prince Harry has arrived in Ukraine for a surprise visit in support of wounded service members.

Harry’s representatives confirmed they were in the capital, Kyiv, on Friday, though they declined to discuss the prince’s schedule for security reasons.

This is the second time Harry has visited Ukraine since the start of Russia’s full scale invasion in 2022. He made a trip to the western city of Lviv in April.

“We cannot stop the war but what we can do is do everything we can to help the recovery process,” Harry told the Guardian newspaper while on an overnight train to Kyiv.

Harry, a British Army veteran who served in Afghanistan, is the founder of the Invictus Games, a Paralympic-style event designed to inspire military veterans around the world as they work to overcome battlefield injuries. Ukraine is bidding to host the games in 2029.

The Archewell foundation set up by Harry and his wife Meghan announced this week that it had donated $500,000 to projects supporting injured children from Gaza and Ukraine. The money will be used to help the World Health Organization with medical evacuations and to fund work developing prosthetics for seriously injured young people.

The Guardian said that Harry will visit the National Museum of the History of Ukraine in the Second World War, spend time with 200 veterans and meet Ukrainian Prime Minister Yulia Svyrydenko.

His visit coincided with a trip to Ukraine by British Foreign Secretary Yvette Cooper, who announced a new set of U.K. sanctions targeting Russia’s oil revenues and military supplies.

Cooper said the visit is a show of solidarity with Ukrainians facing intensified assault from Russia – including 6,500 drones and missiles in July, 10 times the level of a year ago.

Harry’s appearance in Ukraine follows a four-day trip to the U.K., where he met his father, King Charles III, for the first time in 19 months. The meeting was seen as a first step in repairing frigid relations between Harry and other members of the royal family, which deteriorated after he and his wife, the former Meghan Markle, gave up royal duties and moved to California in 2020.

Harry and his father last met in February 2024, when the prince flew to London after receiving news that Charles had been diagnosed with cancer. Harry spent about 45 minutes with Charles before the king flew to his Sandringham country estate to recuperate from his treatment.

Prince Harry’s last trip to Ukraine included a visit to the Superhumans Center, an orthopedic clinic in Lviv that treats wounded military personnel and civilians. The center provides prosthetic limbs, reconstructive surgery and psychological help free of charge.

Harry’s visit Friday come as Russia escalates its war against Ukraine.

It is less than a week after Russia’s largest aerial attack on Ukraine since its all-out invasion began more than three years ago — an attack in which the main Ukrainian government building was hit. It also comes just days after numerous Russian drones entered the airspace of NATO member Poland — the country Harry traveled through to reach Ukraine.





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Margot Robbie Bares Her Butt, Dakota Johnson Strips Down

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The red carpet overheated on Thursday as two A-listers stripped down to reveal the latest additions to the sheer dressing boom.

Naked ensembles are ubiquitous these days but Margot Robbie and Dakota Johnson upped the ante with their takes at separate events. First, the Barbie star and producer (and new mother) stepped out at the London premiere of her new film, A Big Bold Beautiful Journey, in a sheer dress from Giorgio Armani Privé’s spring 2025 couture collection. The showing comes just days after Armani died at age 91, making the appearance a sweet (and spicy) tribute to the beloved designer.

Robbie’s gown featured a sheer base with beadwork in the shape of floral and paisley designs spread across it. The show-stopping moment came when Robbie turned around to reveal that the spaghetti straps of the dress crossed to accentuate a jewel-shaped pendant on her back, while down below, the gown did little to cover her bare backside.

Robbie in the Giorgio Armani Privé couture gown with silver Aquazzura heels.

(Photo by Tristan Fewings/Getty Images)

Robbie’s barely-there ensemble.

(Photo by Tristan Fewings/Getty Images)

Colin Farrell and Robbie. The actor stepped out in a look by Dolce & Gabbana featuring a double-breasted cotton trench coat over a martini-fit button-down shirt paired with wool pants. He accessorized with a satin tie and patent leather derby shoes.

(Photo by Joe Maher/Getty Images)

Meanwhile, in New York, Johnson, who just starred in back-to-back films Splitsville and Materialists, attended Kering’s Caring for Women gala in a black barely-there number by Gucci styled by Kate Young. The sheer base, embroidered with a floral design and featuring a high neck and train, revealed a matching bra and panties set. The gala proved to be a star-studded affair, attended by the likes of Demi Moore, Jessica Chastain, Julianne Moore, Salma Hayek, Lauren Sanchez Bezos, Adrien Brody, Casey Wasserman and more. Also notable: Anna Wintour turned up and posed on the red carpet with her Vogue replacement, Chloe Malle, the newly-installed Vanity Fair editor-in-chief Mark Guiducci and good friend Baz Luhrmann.

See closer looks at the sheer ensembles below.

Johnson’s cheeky ensemble.

(Photo by Mike Coppola/Getty Images)

Johnson accessorized the look with a diamond necklace and emerald drop earrings.

(Photo by Mike Coppola/Getty Images)

Johnson in full view.

(Photo by Mike Coppola/Getty Images)

One last look for the road.

(Photo by Joe Maher/Getty Images)



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Canelo vs Crawford: UFC chief Dana White clashes with reporter at news conference

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Crawford, with 41 wins and 31 knockouts, won his first world title in 2014 at lightweight against Scotsman Ricky Burns. He went on to unify the light-welterweight and welterweight divisions before moving up again.

Saturday’s bout will be broadcast globally on Netflix, reaching a potential audience of more than 300 million subscribers.

It is the first major boxing event promoted by White alongside Saudi’s Turki Alalshikh, signalling a new, if uncertain, era for the sport.

As organisers hyped up the new partnership as the saviour of the sport and suggested boxing has been suffering for years, one of its biggest stars – and highest earners with a reported $150m purse to collect on Saturday – Alvarez, chimed in.

“Hey, boxing was always bigger, bigger and big. Don’t say boxing is not big enough. You know how big is boxing,” he said.

Alvarez pushed Crawford as tempers flared at in New York in June, but the two shared a nod and handshake to end on a respectful note.



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