Seoul said Sunday that negotiations with the United States to secure the release of South Korean workers detained in an immigration raid have been “concluded” and they would soon be freed and flown home.It follows the arrest of more than 300 South Korean workers at a Hyundai-LG battery plant being built in the southern state of Georgia on Thursday.The operation, carried out in the town of Ellabell, was the largest single site raid implemented so far under US President Donald Trump’s nationwide anti-migrant drive, catching Seoul officials off guard.”As a result of the swift and united response… negotiations for the release of the detained workers have been concluded,” Kang Hoon-sik, chief of staff to President Lee Jae Myung, said on Sunday.”Only administrative procedures remain. Once these are completed, a chartered flight will depart to bring our citizens home,” he added.Footage of the raid released by US authorities showed detained workers, in handcuffs and with chains around their ankles, being loaded onto an inmate transportation bus.Scrambling to contain the fallout, a senior executive at electric vehicle battery maker LG Energy Solution flew to Georgia on Sunday morning.”The immediate priority now is the swift release of both our LG Energy Solution employees and those of our partner firms,” executive Kim Ki-soo told reporters before boarding a plane.- $350 bn pledge -LG Energy Solution has said 47 of its employees had been arrested — 46 South Koreans and one Indonesian.The company has also said about 250 of those arrested were believed to be employed by its contractor, and most of them were South Koreans.An official at a partner firm of LG Energy Solution who spoke with one of the detained workers told Yonhap news agency that conditions at the detention centre were poor.”They are given food and allowed to shower, but the conditions are substandard,” the official was quoted as saying, adding they were not being handcuffed.The battery maker said it has suspended all business trips to the United States, except for client meetings, and instructed those already there to either “return immediately or standby at their accommodations”.Hyundai has said none of those arrested are its employees.South Korea, Asia’s fourth-biggest economy, is a key automaker and electronics producer with multiple plants in the United States.Its companies have invested billions of dollars to build factories in the United States in a bid to access the US market and avoid tariff threats from Trump.President Lee met Trump during a visit last month, and Seoul pledged $350 billion in US investment in July. Trump has promised to revive the US manufacturing sector, while also vowing to deport millions of undocumented migrants.

President Donald Trump is to attend the US Open men’s final on Sunday, adding the Grand Slam tennis tournament to a list of high-profile sport outings since beginning his new term.The New York-born billionaire plans to join a host of other celebrities taking in the battle between top-seeds Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner.It will mark Trump’s first appearance at Flushing Meadows since 2015 — when the then-presidential candidate and wife Melania were booed on arrival by the crowd.Many are anticipating a similar welcome this time around.While the Republican leader enjoys pockets of support in his native city, it is overwhelmingly Democratic.Spanish star Alcaraz said Friday he plans to “try not to think about” the hub-bub in the stands, but appreciated the attention it would bring to the sport.”I don’t want myself to be nervous because of it, but I think attending the tennis match, it’s great for tennis to have the president (at) the final.”Already tight security is expected to be heightened with the US head of state in attendance.Trump has attended a series of glitzy sporting events since retaking office in January.He was booed again at the FIFA Club World Cup final in New Jersey but had a warmer reception at the Super Bowl and a number of Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) bouts, as well as the Daytona 500 NASCAR race.Trump says he also plans to attend the first day of golf’s Ryder Cup later this month, while preparations are underway to host a UFC fight on the White House grounds.- Sports fan -Meanwhile he is also hailing the 2026 World Cup — jointly hosted by the United States, Canada and Mexico — and 2028 Los Angeles Olympics as part of what he claims is a “Golden Age of America” ushered in by his presidency.The last sitting president to attend the tennis Grand Slam in New York — and the first in history to go to the US Open — was Democrat Bill Clinton, who watched the women’s final in 2000.Trump was there too and had a cordial meeting with Clinton, according to pictures from the encounter.Though Trump made his name in New York, he changed his residency during his first term from Manhattan to his Mar-a-Lago estate in Palm Beach, Florida.The 79-year-old has only intermittently returned to New York, but spent several weeks at his luxury Fifth Avenue condo last year while undergoing a historic criminal trial mid-campaign.He is expected back in the city to attend a baseball game on the anniversary of the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks, as well as to address the UN General Assembly on September 23.

From donning a prosthetic penis to simulating bizarre sex work in a steamy motel room, Sydney Sweeney was “up for anything” while filming her Oscar-tipped role in boxing drama “Christy,” her director has told AFP.Sweeney, who has made negative headlines recently for controversial jeans ads, has become a contender for the Academy Awards for her portrayal of pioneering female fighter Christy Martin.The movie had its world premiere this weekend at the Toronto International Film Festival, where Sweeney’s performance and physical transformation drew glowing reviews.Though ostensibly a boxing biopic, “Christy” swiftly develops into a surprisingly dark tale of domestic abuse and misogynistic control, as Sweeney’s pugilist falls under the jealous and violent sway of her coach and husband Jim.As well as visceral and bloody battles in the boxing ring, the film calls on Sweeney to take on many daring and deeply unglamorous scenes.”Sydney’s up for anything — whatever the movie needs, she’ll go there,” director David Michod told AFP.In one scene, her character is coerced by her husband into shooting a disturbing homemade sex video involving a fake penis.In another, he essentially pimps her out to a man who pays for a highly sexualized grapple in a motel room, which makes for difficult viewing.In real life, a broke Jim really did “set up these scenarios where men would pay to spar with her,” explained Michod.”She wasn’t having sex with these guys… But it’s a kind of weird sex work.”- ‘Creature of the internet’ -It is all a far cry from Sweeney’s glamorous public persona.Having broken through with roles in acclaimed HBO series “Euphoria” and “The White Lotus,” the in-demand actor had become the lucrative face of several brands.Most notably, a series of American Eagle clothing ads proclaiming the blue-eyed and blonde-haired star “has great jeans” were accused of evoking eugenics and even having white supremacist undertones.Sweeney swiftly shut down any questions on the topic at the Toronto premiere of “Christy.”But Michod said the controversy had never fazed his star.”Sydney is a creature of the internet,” said the director. “She has a way of just moving through this stuff. I mean, yeah, she’s healthily ambitious, and she’s very good at what she does. “She’s out there in the world. And I’m actually very admiring of her, and I’ve stopped worrying about things that I can’t control.”- ‘Playful’ -The brouhaha does not appear likely to impede Sweeney’s nascent Oscar bid. The film is set for release in November — a prime slot for awards campaigns.And reviews for “Christy,” though mixed overall, were nearly unanimous in their praise of the 27-year-old’s performance.The real Christy Martin, the daughter of a coal miner, became boxing’s first true female star, but for decades had to suppress her sexuality and was abused by her trainer and eventual husband Jim Martin.Martin stabbed and shot his then-wife and remains in prison over her attempted murder.Tales of Sweeney’s fight training and her diet of Chick-fil-A sandwiches and milkshakes to gain weight have already been trotted out at the premiere, and will be a staple of the upcoming awards season.Perhaps more impressively, Sweeney is called upon to play Martin across more than 20 years of her life, from a vulnerable and naive teenage ingenue to a grizzled abuse survivor.”She’ll do anything. She’s just fearless,” said Michod.Sweeney brought a “playful” energy to set every day, regardless of the scene being shot, he said.Even that creepy sex tape scene?”I mean, it’s a fake dick,” laughed Michod.”You’re going to find humor in it, however inappropriate.”