Latest news with #MichaelWard
Irish Times
2 days ago
- Irish Times
Man and woman admit accommodation fraud against international students in south Dublin
A man and woman have pleaded guilty to theft in relation to an alleged accommodation fraud in south Dublin. Michael Ward (33) and Melissa Collins (26) appeared before Dublin Circuit Criminal Court on Tuesday where their case was listed for trial. Prosecuting counsel told the court that an agreement had been reached in which the pair would enter guilty pleas which were acceptable to the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP). Ward, of Moyne Park, Moyne Road, Baldoyle, pleaded guilty to one count of stealing €1,800 from a bank account on a date between September 9th, 2022 and September 18th, 2022 in an unknown location within the State. Collins, of Cherryfield Walk, Hartstown, pleaded guilty to one count of stealing €600 from a bank account on an unknown location within the State on July 27th, 2022. READ MORE The District Court previously heard that the case involves accommodation fraud against a number of international students in South Dublin. A sentence date of November 24th was set, when the full facts of the case are expected to be heard
BreakingNews.ie
2 days ago
- BreakingNews.ie
Man (33) and woman (26) admit theft in relation to alleged accommodation fraud
A man and woman have pleaded guilty to theft in relation to an alleged accommodation fraud in south Dublin. Michael Ward (33) and Melissa Collins (26) appeared before Dublin Circuit Criminal Court on Tuesday, where their case was listed for trial. Advertisement The prosecuting counsel told the court that an agreement had been reached in which the pair would enter guilty pleas which were acceptable to the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP). Ward, of Moyne Park, Moyne Road, Baldoyle, pleaded guilty to one count of stealing €1,800 from a bank account on a date between September 9th, 2022, and September 18th, 2022, in an unknown location within the State. Collins, of Cherryfield Walk, Hartstown, pleaded guilty to one count of stealing €600 from a bank account on an unknown location within the State on July 27th, 2022. The District Court previously heard that the case involves accommodation fraud against a number of international students in south Dublin. A sentence date of November 24th was set, when the full facts of the case are expected to be heard.
Al Arabiya
3 days ago
- Entertainment
- Al Arabiya
Movie review: ‘Eddington' is a satire about our broken brains that might re-break your brain
You might need to lie down for a bit after Eddington. Preferably in a dark room with no screens and no talking. Eddington, Ari Aster's latest nightmare vision, is sure to divide (along which lines I'm can't fathom), but there is one thing I think everyone will be able to agree on: It is an experience that will leave you asking WHAT? The movie opens on the aggravated ramblings of an unhoused man and doesn't get much more coherent from there. Approach with caution. We talk a lot about movies as an escape from the stresses of the world. Eddington, in which a small fictional town in New Mexico becomes a microcosm for life in the misinformation age and more specifically during the pandemic and the Black Lives Matter protests, is very much the opposite of that. It is an anti-escapist symphony of masking debates, conspiracy theories, YouTube prophets, TikTok trends, and third-rail topics in which no side is spared. Most everyone looks insane and ridiculous by the end, from the white teenage girl (Amélie Hoeferle) telling a Black cop (Michael Ward) to join the movement to the grammatical errors of the truthers as the town spirals into chaos and gruesome violence. Joaquin Phoenix plays the town sheriff, a soft-spoken wife-guy named Joe Cross, who we meet out in the desert one night watching YouTube videos about how to convince your wife to have a baby. He's interrupted by cops from the neighboring town who demand he put on a mask since he's technically crossed the border. It is May 2020, and everyone is a little on edge. Joe, frustrated by the hysterical commitment to mandates from nowhere, finds himself the unofficial spokesperson for the right to go unmasked. He pits himself against the slick local mayor, Ted Garcia (Pedro Pascal), who is up for re-election, in the pocket of big tech, and ready to exploit his single fatherhood for political gain. At home, Joe's mother-in-law, Dawn (Deirdre O'Connell), spends all day consuming internet conspiracy theories while his wife, Louise (a criminally underused Emma Stone), works on crafts and nurses unspoken traumas. Joe's eagerness to take on Ted isn't just about masking. Years ago, Ted dated his now wife, a story that will be twisted into rape and grooming accusations. Caricatures and stereotypes are everywhere in Eddington, but in this world it feels like the women are especially underwritten – they are kooks, victims, zealots, and the ones who push fragile men to the brink. But in Eddington, all the conspiracies are real, and ordinary people are all susceptible to the madness. In fact, insanity is just an inevitability no matter how well-intentioned one starts out, whether that's the woke-curious teen rattled by rejection or the loyal deputy Guy (Luke Grimes) who is suddenly more than happy to accuse a colleague of murder. Louise will also be swayed by a floppy haired internet guru, a cult-like leader played with perfect swagger by Austin Butler. The problem with an anarchic satire like Eddington, in theaters Friday, is that any criticism could easily be dismissed with a 'that's the point' counterargument. And yet, there is very little to be learned in this silo of provocations that, like all Aster movies, escalates until the movie is over. There are moments of humor and wit too, as well as expertly built tension and release. Eddington is not incompetently done or unwatchable (the cast and the director kind of guarantee that); it just doesn't feel a whole of anything other than a cinematic expression of broken brains. Five years after we just went through (at least a lot of) this, Eddington somehow seems both too late and too soon, especially when it offers so little wisdom or insight beyond a vision of hopelessness. I wonder what world Aster thought he'd be releasing this film into. Maybe one that was better, not cosmically worse. It's possible Eddington will age well. Perhaps it's the kind of movie that future Gen-Alpha cinephiles will point to as being ahead of its time, a work that was woefully misunderstood by head-in-the-sand critics who didn't see that it was 2025's answer to the prescient paranoia cinema of the 1970s. Not to sound like the studio boss in Sullivan's Travels trying to get the filmmaker with big issues on the mind to make a dumb comedy, but right now Eddington feels like the last thing any of us need. Eddington, an A24 release in theaters Friday, is rated R by the Motion Picture Association for strong violence, some grisly images, language, and graphic nudity. Running time: 148 minutes. Two stars out of four.
The Sun
08-07-2025
- Entertainment
- The Sun
Top Boy star unrecognisable as he shows off incredible weight loss two years after series ended
TOP BOY Star Kadeem Ramsay looked unrecognisable as he showed off his incredible weight loss two years after the series ended. The actor, 29, who rose to fame on the Netflix British crime drama series, now looks worlds away from how he did on the show. 6 6 6 Kadeem took to his Instagram stories to show off his weight loss transformation dressed in simple black vest and joggers. The actor looked noticeably slimmer as he posed in front of the mirror in a gym locker room revealing his muscles and toned figure. Kadeem is best known for playing the character of Kit in Top boy who turns out to be a major antagonist later on in the series. He featured in a shocking plot line which saw him go against his best friend Jamie played by Michael Ward which ended in his death. After five seasons of the show the series officially wrapped up in 2023 after coming to a dramatic end. The hit drama features many high profile actors including Ashley Walters, Kane Robinson better known as Kano and Bafta winning actress Jasmine Jobson. Jasmine. They first sparked relationship rumours when they were pictured looking pretty cosy at an event in London. Jasmine, who plays Jaq on the show, went public with Kadeem back in October 2023 when she shared a photo of the couple sharing a kiss. Jasmine then turned the comments off the relationship announcement post and urged her followers to "be kind". Inside Netflix star Jasmine Jobson's incredible surprise birthday party for Top Boy co-star and boyfriend Kadeem Ramsey Following the pairs split Jasmine shared a video to her social media, saying she was enjoying her new relationship status and being celibate. When asked by fans if she was still in a relationship, she clarified: "No, I'm not but I'm also not single, thank you very much. "I am taken by life. And I am celibate — not single, not taken, just in a committed relationship with life.' She added, 'The next time I see somebody is gonna be the man that I marry.' 6 6 6
Fashion Network
04-07-2025
- Business
- Fashion Network
Europe's luxury sector is ' economic powerhouse' but needs more support
A new report on the high-end and luxury sector in Europe shows that it's a '€986 billion economic powerhouse driving jobs, tourism and craftsmanship'. The study comes from the European Cultural and Creative Industries Alliance (ECCIA), which includes EU countries and the UK, and shows that Europe's high-end/luxury sector represents 5% of the continent's GDP and that it 'continues to drive economic growth, preserve cultural heritage, and champion excellence well beyond the continent'. The study was conducted by Bain & Company for ECCIA and also said that the sector has global leader status with 70% global market share. And for personal goods, that share is 80%. But the prospects are 'clouded' due to 'external challenges such as tariffs and emerging global trade uncertainty'. That's a worrying situation given that the sector employees as many as 2 million people throughout Europe and further concerns include the difficulty of attracting and retaining the next generation of skilled artisans. 'European luxury goods continue to dominate global markets, with the latest figures demonstrating a strong performance over the past five years and a solid position for growth within the global high-end and luxury market — rooted in the sector's unique resilience and its ability to adapt and seize opportunities in emerging markets,' said Claudia D'Arpizio of Bain & Company. And she added that 'while these new findings show that the sector accounts for 11.5% of total European exports, high-end and luxury goods are much more than economic drivers. Luxury represents Europe's soft power 'The brands, through their products and experiences, also represent the ultimate expression of the soft power Europe wields through its creativity, innovation, and craftsmanship — Europe's unique 'artisanal intelligence'. This sector is a creative powerhouse that invests up to 5% of revenues in education and training, and up to 3% in sustainability and innovation, which contribute to social prosperity, cultural preservation, and economic growth across Europe's clusters of excellence'. But as mentioned, the sector has huge challenges to deal with, notably 'escalating geopolitical tensions, rising tariffs, and protectionist trade policies, especially between the US and China which make up 35%-45% of the global revenues for the sector'. 'It's tempting to assume that this the sector is shock-proof from some of the economic turbulence we've been seeing…. [but] we are sensitive to the some of the warning signs,' said Michael Ward, the MD of luxury London retailer Harrods who's also president of ECCIA. 'European high-end and luxury brands supported 2 million jobs in 2024, with 160,000 new jobs created since 2019, outpacing broader EU labour market growth. Tariff measures threaten to disrupt global demand, drive up costs, and force companies to reconsider supply chains as we focus on profitability and call for greater stability.' The reports shows that the high-end/luxury sector is also key for 40% of international travellers who cite luxury as a reason for visiting Europe. And high-spending tourists represent up to 25% of tourism-generated value. One aim of the report is to publicise the need for 'smart and urgent policy support to safeguard one of Europe's cultural and economic treasures'. Among the measure the body is calling for are strengthened intellectual property rights (IPR) and more power given to combat counterfeiting. It also wants to see a boost to the EU's legislative framework to help brands enforce their selective distribution networks against unauthorised distributors, protecting brand image and investments while ensuring consumer safety. And it's calling for more EU support for craftsmanship and skills development, as well as support for free trade agreements, simplifying procedures for obtaining EU visas and encouraging VAT-free shopping for non-EU tourists. The ECCIA, established in 2010, is composed of seven European cultural and creative industries organisations — Altagamma (Italy), Circulo Fortuny (Spain), Comité Colbert (France), Gustaf III Kommitté (Sweden), Laurel (Portugal), Meisterkreis (Germany) and Walpole (UK). Between them they represent 750 brands and cultural institutions.
