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Filming for the second series of Star Wars TV spin-off Andor in Dorset has been cancelled due to safety concerns.

Scenes for the Disney+ channel were due to be shot at Winspit Quarry close to Worth Matravers, a picturesque village on the Isle of Purbeck peninsula in Dorset, where the first series was filmed in May 2021.

The National Trust, which owns the site, said plans to film had been cancelled due to “safety concerns” following recent “turbulent weather” in the area.

Winspit Quarry served as the headquarters for Saw Gerrera, featured in the eighth episode of the sci-fi series, according to DorsetLive.

Filming due to take place at Winspit Quarry has been cancelled due to the risk of landslips and rockfalls
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Filming due to take place at Winspit Quarry has been cancelled due to the risk of landslips and rockfalls

A National Trust spokesperson said: “The planned filming due to take place at Winspit Quarry has been cancelled due to safety concerns following the recent turbulent weather, which has increased the risk of rockfalls and landslips.

“Visitors looking to explore the Dorset coast are advised to follow signs and keep out of unsafe areas until further surveys have been undertaken.”

The coast and cliffs along the stretch of the coast, including the quarry, can be unstable and naturally liable to landslips and falls – in particular after extreme weather including heavy rainfall and hot dry spells, the National Trust said.

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Winspit Quarry on the Isle of Purbeck
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Winspit Quarry on the Isle of Purbeck

National Trust general manager for the Isle of Purbeck, Tracey Churcher, added: “We urge people to take the time to read warning signs and follow the instructions so they can enjoy the coast safely.

“People should always stay well back from the cliff and rock edges, whether on or below them, and we ask people not to visit Winspit Quarry until our experts are confident it is safe to visit again.”

The filming was cancelled a week after the Met Office issued a yellow warning for strong winds reaching up to 70mph across southern England including the Dorset coastline.

England had its wettest March in more than 40 years, with 111.3mm of rain – 91% above average – falling over the month.

Disney has been approached for comment.

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Ariana Grande rushed by red carpet intruder at premiere of Wicked: For Good

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Ariana Grande rushed by red carpet intruder at premiere of Wicked: For Good

Video footage has shown the moment singer and actress Ariana Grande was accosted by a fan at a film premiere.

Ms Grande was in Singapore for the debut of Wicked: For Good when the incident unfolded on Thursday.

The video captured the moment the fan scaled the barricade and pushed past photographers towards Ms Grande.

Pic: tacotrvck_vb/X/via REUTERS
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Pic: tacotrvck_vb/X/via REUTERS

He then threw his arms around her, before co-star Cynthia Erivo intervened and security swoops in to stop him.

The man, now identified as Johnson Wen, 26, is reportedly a notorious red carpet crasher.

Wen, who has since been charged with being a public nuisance, goes by the nickname Pyjama Man, and gloated as he shared footage of the intrusion online.

“Dear Ariana Grande, Thank You for letting me Jump on the Yellow Carpet with You,” he wrote on Instagram.

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Pic: tacotrvck_vb/X/via REUTERS
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Pic: tacotrvck_vb/X/via REUTERS

In video stories posted to the site beforehand, he was seen at the Universal Studios venue, revealing his intentions.

In one, he said: “I feel like I’m in a dream, that’s my best friend, Ariana Grande, and I’m gonna meet her. I’ve been dreaming about that.”

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The Australian has ambushed several performers on stage, according to reports, including Katy Perry and The Chainsmokers at concerts in Sydney, and The Weeknd in Melbourne.

It has been reported that Wen intends to plead guilty and that he could face a fine of more than £1,000.

Ariana Grande and Cynthia Erivo at the London premiere for Wicked: For Good
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Ariana Grande and Cynthia Erivo at the London premiere for Wicked: For Good

Ms Grande took a moment to gather herself in the aftermath of the intrusion, visibly shocked by the incident.

She didn’t address the incident on her own Instagram, but shared some photos with the caption “thank you, Singapore”, adding “we love you”.

The singer battled post-traumatic stress disorder after her 2017 concert in Manchester was bombed, leaving 22 people dead.

She told Vogue in 2018: “It’s hard to talk about because so many people have suffered such severe, tremendous loss. But, yeah, it’s a real thing.

“I know those families and my fans, and everyone there experienced a tremendous amount of it as well. Time is the biggest thing.

“I feel like I shouldn’t even be talking about my own experience – like I shouldn’t even say anything. I don’t think I’ll ever know how to talk about it and not cry.”

In the same interview she also addressed her own anxiety, saying she has “always” had it.

Ms Grande plays Galinda Upland in Wicked: For Good, the character who becomes Glinda the Good Witch. Ms Erivo plays Elphaba, the character who becomes the Wicked Witch of the West.

The film is released in UK cinemas on 21 November.

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A third of daily music uploads are AI-generated and 97% of people can’t tell the difference, says report

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A third of daily music uploads are AI-generated and 97% of people can't tell the difference, says report

Do you care if the music you’re listening to is artificially generated?

That question – once the realm of science fiction – is becoming increasingly urgent.

An AI-generated country track, Walk My Walk, is currently sitting at number one on the US Billboard chart of digital sales and a new report by streaming platform Deezer has revealed the sheer scale of AI production in the music industry.

Deezer’s AI-detection system found that around 50,000 fully AI-generated tracks are now uploaded every day, accounting for 34% of all daily uploads.

File pic: iStock
Image:
File pic: iStock

The true number is most likely higher, as Deezer’s AI-detection system does not catch every AI-generated track. Nor does this figure include partially AI-generated tracks.

In January 2025, Deezer’s system identified 10% of uploaded tracks as fully AI-generated.

Since then, the proportion of AI tracks – made using written prompts such as “country, 1990s style, male singer” – has more than tripled, leading the platform’s chief executive, Alexis Lanternier, to say that AI music is “flooding music streaming”.

More on Artificial Intelligence

‘Siphoning money from royalty pool’

What’s more, when Deezer surveyed 9,000 people in eight countries – the US, Canada, Brazil, UK, France, Netherlands, Germany and Japan – and asked them to detect whether three tracks were real or AI, 97% could not tell the difference.

That’s despite the fact that the motivation behind the surge of AI music is not in the least bit creative, according to Deezer. The company says that roughly 70% of fully AI-generated tracks are what it calls “fraudulent” – that is, designed purely to make money.

“The common denominator is the ambition to boost streams on specific tracks in order to siphon money from the royalty pool,” a Deezer spokesperson told Sky News.

“With AI-generated content, you can easily create massive amounts of tracks that can be used for this purpose.”

File pic: Reuters
Image:
File pic: Reuters


The tracks themselves are not actually fraudulent, Deezer says, but the behaviour around them is. Someone will upload an AI track then use an automated system – a bot – to listen to a song over and over again to make royalties from it.

Even though the total number of streams for each individual track is very low – Deezer estimates that together they account for 0.5% of all streams – the work needed to make an AI track is so tiny that the rewards justify the effort.

Are fully-AI tracks being removed?

Deezer is investing in AI-detection software and has filed two patents for systems that spot AI music. But it is not taking down the tracks it marks as fully-AI.

Instead it removes them from algorithmic recommendations and editorial playlists, a measure designed to stop the tracks getting streams and therefore generating royalties, and marks the tracks as “AI-generated content”.

“If people want to listen to an AI-generated track however, they can and we are not stopping them from doing so – we just want to make sure they are making a conscious decision,” the Deezer spokesperson says.

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Concerns about artists’ livelihoods

Deezer’s survey found that more than half (52%) of respondents felt uncomfortable with not being able to tell the difference between AI and human-made music.

“The survey results clearly show that people care about music and want to know if they’re listening to AI or human-made tracks or not,” said the company’s boss Alexis Lanternier.

“There’s also no doubt that there are concerns about how AI-generated music will affect the livelihood of artists.”

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Musicians protests AI copyright plans

Earlier this year, more than 1,000 musicians – including Annie Lennox, Damon Albarn and Kate Bush – released a silent album to protest plans by the UK government to let artificial intelligence companies use copyright-protected work without permission.

A recent study commissioned by the International Confederation of Societies of Authors and Composers suggested that generative AI music could be worth £146bn a year in 2028 and account for around 60% of music libraries’ revenues.

By this metric, the authors concluded, 25% of creators’ revenues are at risk by 2028, a sum of £3.5bn.

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BBC apologises to Donald Trump over editing of Panorama but says there isn’t ‘basis for defamation claim’

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BBC apologises to Donald Trump over editing of Panorama but says there isn't 'basis for defamation claim'

The BBC has apologised to Donald Trump over the editing of a speech in a Panorama programme in 2024.

The corporation said it was an “error of judgement” and the programme will “not be broadcast again in this form on any BBC platforms”.

But it added that it “strongly” disagrees that there is “a basis for a defamation claim”.

It emerged earlier, Donald Trump’s legal team said the US president had not yet filed a lawsuit against the BBC over the
broadcaster’s editing of a speech he made in 2021 on the day his supporters overran the Capitol building.

The legal team sent a letter over the weekend threatening to sue the media giant for $1bn and issuing three demands:

• Issue a “full and fair retraction” of the Panorama programme
• Apologise immediately
• “Appropriately compensate” the US president

On Sunday evening, two of the BBC’s top figures, including the director-general, resigned amid the edit and concerns about impartiality.

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In a statement, the corporation said: “Lawyers for the BBC have written to President Trump’s legal team in response to a letter received on Sunday.

“BBC Chair Samir Shah has separately sent a personal letter to the White House making clear to President Trump that he and the Corporation are sorry for the edit of the President’s speech on 6 January 2021, which featured in the programme.

“The BBC has no plans to rebroadcast the documentary ‘Trump: A Second Chance?’ on any BBC platforms.

“While the BBC sincerely regrets the manner in which the video clip was edited, we strongly disagree there is a basis for a defamation claim.”

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