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As anticipated, Kia Corporation has debuted its redesigned Niro, complete with new features focused around efficiency and sustainability. As either a hybrid, PHEV, or fully-electric model, the new Kia Niro represents the Korean automaker’s growing focus on lowering emissions.

The Niro debuted as a new hybrid vehicle in the 2017 model year. It has since been joined by a PHEV version, as well as a fully-electric model that debuted in 2018, sharing a powertrain configuration with its Hyundai Motor Group cousin, the Kona EV.

This past June, we covered the news that Kia was announcing its 2021 Niro EV, albeit with minimal changes compared to its 2020 predecessor. Kia is now advertising the 2022 Niro EV on its US website.

Despite that fact, Kia Corporation began teasing images of a completely new Niro earlier this week, set to debut at the 2021 Seoul Mobility Show. Well, thanks to a 17+ hour time difference, we now have the first images of a completely new Niro designed from the ground up.

New Kia Niro debuts with new face and sustainable materials

In a press release out of Seoul, Kia officially unveiled an overhauled Niro, designed from ground up with its 2019 HabaNiro concept in mind. This is apparent in the Niro’s redesigned front end that embodies Kia’s signature “tiger face” that now extends from the hood through the lower fender, accented by “heartbeat” LED daytime running lights (DRL).

A major focus relayed by the Kia team at the debut was sustainability and a cleaner future for transportation. The automaker presented this commitment via the interior of the new Niro, which features headlining made from recycled wallpaper, seats made from bio-based polyurethane, and Tencel (textile) made from eucalyptus leaves.

Lastly, the door panels were painted with water-based, BTX free paint to minimize environmental impact and waste. Kia president and CEO Sung Song spoke at the event in Seoul:

Kia continues to take steps towards a more sustainable future, inviting everyone to join the movement into the new mobility era. The all-new Kia Niro makes it simple to practice a sustainable lifestyle with its eco-friendly materials, advanced technology, and electric powertrains while it also fulfills the practical needs of customers.

The PHEV version of the Niro will come with a new feature called “Greenzone Drive Mode,” which automatically switches to electric power during opportunities for more efficient mobility based on navigational cues and driving habits.

For example, green zones can be residential areas, nearby schools, or even hospitals. The vehicle can also recognize a driver’s most visited places and register them as green zones.

No further specs are available at this time, but it’s not unreasonable to believe that Kia America will make its own debut announcement for the US version of the Niro, and will hopefully provide more details of battery capacity, range, and price… you know, the stuff you readers always ask about.

For now, all we know is the 2nd-generation Niro will be available sometime next year. There will be certainly more to come.


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Harvey Weinstein accuser says film mogul ‘took her soul’ during alleged sexual assault

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Harvey Weinstein accuser says film mogul 'took her soul' during alleged sexual assault

An ex-model has tearfully told a court that being sexually assaulted by Harvey Weinstein when she was 16 was the most “horrifying thing I ever experienced” to that point.

Warning: This article contains references to sexual assault

Kaja Sokola told the film producer’s retrial that he ordered her to remove her blouse, put his hand in her underwear, and made her touch his genitals.

She said he’d stared at her in the mirror with “black and scary” eyes and told her to stay quiet about the alleged assault in a Manhattan hotel in 2002.

Ms Sokola told the New York court that Weinstein had dropped names such as Penelope Cruz and Gwyneth Paltrow, and said he could help fulfil her Hollywood dream.

“I’d never been in a situation like this,” said Polish-born Ms Sokola. “I felt stupid and ashamed and like it’s my fault for putting myself in this position.”

Weinstein denies sexually assaulting anyone and is back in court for a retrial after his conviction was overturned last year.

More on Harvey Weinstein

Read more: Weinstein is back in court – but what has happened to the #MeToo movement since 2017?

Harvey Weinstein appears in Manhattan Criminal Court during his rape and sexual assault re-trial in New York.
Pic Reuters
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Weinstein denies the allegations. Pic: Reuters

The 73-year-old is not charged over the alleged sexual assault because it happened too long ago to bring criminal charges.

However, he is facing charges over an incident four years later when he’s said to have forced Ms Sokola to perform oral sex on him.

Prosecutors claim it happened after Weinstein arranged for her to be an extra in a film.

“My soul was removed from me,” she told the court of the alleged 2006 assault, describing how she tried to push Weinstein away but that he held her down.

Read more from Sky News:
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Attenborough’s Ocean film is ‘biggest message he’s ever told’

Ms Sokola – who’s waived her right to anonymity – is the second of three women to testify and the only one who wasn’t part of the first trial in 2020.

Miriam Haley, an accuser testifying at Harvey Weinstein's rape trial, arrives to the courtroom after a break in New York, Tuesday, April 29, 2025. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig)
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Miriam Haley testified previously in the retrial. Pic: AP

Miriam Haley last week told the court that Weinstein forced oral sex on her in 2006. The other accuser, Jessica Mann, is yet to appear.

Claims against the film mogul were a major driver for the #MeToo movement against sexual harassment and abuse in 2017.

Weinstein’s lawyers allege the women consented to sexual activity in the hope of getting film and TV work and that they stayed in contact with him for a while afterwards.

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Ochuko Ojiri: Bargain Hunt expert charged as part of police investigation into terrorist financing

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Ochuko Ojiri: Bargain Hunt expert charged as part of police investigation into terrorist financing

An antiques expert from the TV show Bargain Hunt has been charged by police following an investigation into terrorist financing.

Oghenochuko ‘Ochuko’ Ojiri, 53, is accused of eight counts of “failing to make a disclosure during the course of business within the regulated sector”, the Met Police said.

The force said he was the first person to be charged with that specific offence under the Terrorism Act 2000.

Mr Ojiri, from west London, is due to appear at Westminster Magistrates’ Court on Friday.

It comes “following an investigation into terrorist financing” and relates to the period from October 2020 to December 2021, a police spokesperson said.

They added that the probe had been carried out in partnership with Treasury officials, HMRC and the Met’s Arts & Antiques Unit.

Mr Ojiri, who police described as an “art dealer”, has been on Bargain Hunt since 2019.

He has also appeared on the BBC‘s Antiques Road Trip programme.

In a statement, the BBC said: “It would not be appropriate to comment on ongoing legal proceedings.”

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Man accused of harassing Jennifer Aniston for two years before crashing car through gates of her home

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Man accused of harassing Jennifer Aniston for two years before crashing car through gates of her home

A man has been charged after allegedly harassing Hollywood actress Jennifer Aniston for two years before crashing his car through the front gate of her home, prosecutors have said.

Jimmy Wayne Carwyle, of New Albany, Mississippi, is accused of having repeatedly sent the Friends star unwanted voicemail, email and social media messages since 2023.

The 48-year-old is then alleged to have crashed his grey Chrysler PT Cruiser through the front gate of Aniston’s home in the wealthy Bel Air neighbourhood of Los Angeles early on Monday afternoon.

Prosecutors said the collision caused major damage.

Police have said Aniston was at home at the time.

A security guard stopped Carwyle on her driveway before police arrived and arrested him.

There were no reports of anyone being injured.

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Carwyle has been charged with felony stalking and vandalism, prosecutors said on Thursday.

He also faces an aggravating circumstance of the threat of great bodily harm, Los Angeles County district attorney Nathan Hochman said.

Carwyle, who has been held in jail since his arrest on Monday, is set to appear in court on Thursday.

His bail has been set at $150,000 dollars (£112,742).

He is facing up to three years in prison if he is convicted as charged.

Read more from Sky News:
Ex-police officers cleared of murdering motorist
Woman killed by alligator in Florida lake
Motown legend accused of sexually assaulting housekeepers

“My office is committed to aggressively prosecuting those who stalk and terrorise others, ensuring they are held accountable,” Mr Hochman said in a statement.

Aniston bought her mid-century mansion in Bel Air on a 3.4-acre site for about 21 million dollars (£15.78m) in 2012, according to reporting by Architectural Digest.

She became one of the biggest stars on television in her 10 years on NBC’s Friends.

Aniston won an Emmy Award for best lead actress in a comedy for the role, and she has been nominated for nine more.

She has appeared in several Hollywood films and currently stars in The Morning Show on Apple TV+.

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