If there’s one thing Square Enix fans know, it’s that veteran Tetsuya Nomura doesn’t work quickly. Work on Kingdom Hearts II began in 2005 before it was finally released in 2019, and Final Fantasy XV began in 2006 and premiered in 2016, and those are just two examples where the work took ages (sometimes so long that the projects had to be handed over to others).
So does that mean we should prepare ourselves to have the patience of an angel for his upcoming titles Kingdom Hearts IV and Final Fantasy VII: Remake – Part 3? No, not necessarily. During a stream called Final Fantasy VII: Ever Crisis 2nd Anniversary, which aired over the weekend, Nomura took the opportunity to give some news about his ongoing projects.
Regarding the remake, he said:
“…things are progressing really smoothly. I can’t really say more – if I suddenly went, ‘Well, actually…,’ everyone would be really surprised! So yeah, things are moving along really smoothly, and the release timing has already been decided. We’re moving forward according to that schedule right now, so please rest assured and be patient.”
He also had positive news about next Kingdom Hearts, concluding:
“Kingdom Hearts IV is likewise steadily moving forward according to schedule, so please look forward to it.”
We probably shouldn’t expect a release anytime soon, but it certainly sounds promising, and hopefully we’ll be able to enjoy both within a few years.
Mariah Carey graced the MTV VMAs stage on Sunday to accept the Video Vanguard Award from Ariana Grande, delivering a speech and giving a career-spanning performance of songs including “Honey,” “We Belong Together” and “Fantasy (Remix).”
Grande introduced Carey’s performance, describing her many talents and the impact she’s left on music. “As a vocalist, there’s only one queen and that’s Mariah,” said Grande. “She knows no limits with her iconic five-octave range and has left an irrevocable impact on music history with her tone, technique and sound. Her music videos have become the pop playbook, giving us everything from alter egos to male drag to hundreds of iconic looks. Mariah Carey is a singular talent and artist.”
Carey then took the stage to perform songs from her extensive catalog, revisiting the treatments and looks from her music videos. She began in the bedroom with her slinky new single “Sugar Sweet,” clad in pajamas and flanked by two backup dancers. She kicked up the mood with her iconic “Fantasy” remix before segueing into a mashup of “Honey” and “Heartbreaker” — that is, before her alter ego Bianca showed up and Carey cut her down to size. Then came “Obsessed,” “It’s Like That” and “We Belong Together,” which capped off the performance.
Grande then presented her with the award, leading into Carey’s speech. “This moment is very heavy,” she said. “I can’t believe I’m getting my first VMA tonight. I just have one question: What in the Sam Hill were you waiting for? I’m kidding, I love you MTV, this is amazing.”
“Music videos are my way of life, of bringing music to my own life,” she continued. “Many movies, visiualizing the sheer fantasy of it all. And let’s be honest. Sometimes there’s just an excuse to bring the drama and do things I wouldn’t do in real life, like going in drag for ‘Obsessed,’ playing my alter ego Bianca in ‘Heartbreaker,’ escaping the mob in ‘Honey’ with a hot guy to a remote island — well that one really wasn’t much of a stretch, but it happened. Anyway, after all this time, I learned music evolves, music evolves, but fun? That is eternal.”
Earlier in the evening, Carey took home the VMA award for “Type Dangerous,” which won for best R&B. The timing of the Video Vanguard Award couldn’t be better for Carey, who is currently gearing up for the release of her new album “Here For It All” on September 26. So far, she released a pair of singles — “Type Dangerous” and “Sugar Sweet” featuring Kehlani and Shenseea — and revealed the tracklist for the album, touting additional features from Anderson .Paak and the Clark Sisters. Songs slated for the set include “Confetti Champagne,” “In Your Feelings” and “Mi,” which opens the record.
“Type Dangerous” initially dropped in early June and was co-written and co-produced by .Paak, who is rumored to serve as executive producer on the project. It’s been seven years since Carey dropped 2018’s “Caution,” which featured an assortment of collaborators including Mustard, Skrillex, No I.D. and Timbaland.
Carey has since signed with Gamma, the independent label launched in 2023 by music executive Larry Jackson. Forbes reported that L.A. Reid will executive produce “Here For It All” under his new company Mega.
“It is a game-changing moment because it’s one of our premier stars who has made a decision to join forces with an independent, self-contained company that is not associated with any of the major labels,” said Reid. “It’s a game changer for both Gamma and Mariah.”
Samsung’s Jay Kim at its live streamed Galaxy Event on Sept. 4, 2025.
Samsung | screenshot by Jason Hiner/ZDNET
It’s well known that Samsung, Google, and Qualcomm are joining forces to release wearable devices powered by Android XR. After all, the three companies have been talking about it for two and a half years and they’ve made it clear that Project Moohan — their XR headset to compete with Apple Vision Pro — will launch before the end of 2025.
But there’s another product that they’ve been working on, but not talking about as much — only dropping a few hints and winks here and there.
And they just dropped another big tease.
I’m talking about AI smart glasses — the audio-only kind that will compete with Meta Ray-Bans. Korean news outlets have said they will be announced at a September 29 Samsung Unpacked event in Korea, as ZDNET has reported. Google quietly mentioned at its I/O event in May that it was working on both “Headsets and Glasses” with Samsung.
Also: Samsung ‘Galaxy Glasses’ powered by Android XR are reportedly on track to be unveiled this month
And then last Thursday, September 4, Samsung Executive Vice President Jay Kim ended the livestream of their Galaxy Event that announced the S25 FE phone and the Galaxy Tab S11 Series tablets by issuing a clear nod to the new device likely to be called Galaxy Glasses.
“We’re leading the way in mobile AI, but we’re still in the early stages,” said Kim. “By collaborating with companies that share our vision we’re creating entirely new products and reimagining what everyday experiences can be.”
Samsung had just announced that it was putting all of its Galaxy AI features into its $649 mid-range phone — and no longer reserving the best AI features for premium smartphones. But “entirely new products” was a clear pointer toward something not previously mentioned.
Also: I tried the Samsung Galaxy S25 FE, and it got big upgrades in several ways
And then Kim added, “We’re also working together to create a device that understands context and supports you seamlessly in the background, enhancing your everyday life. We can’t wait to share more exciting news with you as our journey continues. So stay tuned.”
That does not sound like a phone, or an XR headset. A device that understands your context would be one that’s with you all the time and likely has cameras and microphones. And one that is seamlessly in the background would be with you most of the day and not necessarily be constantly demanding your attention. That sounds a lot like a pair of smart glasses.
Samsung’s Jay Kim also made a nod to partners in his tease for Samsung’s next AI device.
Samsung | screenshot by Jason Hiner/ZDNET
Kim ended by saying, “I’m happy to share that Galaxy AI is already on over 200 million devices around the world… and we expect to double that this year.”
Getting to 400 million devices with Galaxy AI is certainly heavily dependent on selling a lot more of those mid-range $649 phones, but Kim also said thst right after mentioning the launch of new products and new experiences — clearly connecting that with doubling the number of sold devices. That puts all eyes on that September 29 event, which hasn’t been officially announced yet.
Also: Meta wears Prada? Why its next-gen AR glasses may be even more fashionable than Ray-Bans
When we think about a product that could lock horns with Meta Ray-Bans, it’s not very hard to see where Samsung — with an assist from Google — could produce a very competitive product. Samsung has a lot of expertise in miniaturizing technology in the ways that’s desperately needed in smart glasses. And one of the biggest weaknesses of the Meta Ray-Bans is the fact that their AI is powered by Meta’s limited Llama AI models. A pair of smart glasses powered by Google Gemini is likely to be a lot more useful. And it’s looking more and more likely that the product could be announced later this month — although it’s unclear when the product would actually be available to buy.
ZDNET reached out to Samsung for comment and will update this article as we learn more.
NEW YORK – American pop singer Lady Gaga was named Artist of the Year at MTV’s Video Music Awards (VMAs) on Sept 7, prevailing over heavyweights Taylor Swift and Beyonce at the fan-voted honours in New York.
Gaga, currently on tour with her album Mayhem (2025), took the stage in a black ruffled dress with giant sleeves and purple accents. The 39-year-old thanked her fans as she held the VMAs Moon Person trophy.
“I cannot begin to tell you what this means to be rewarded for being an artist, being rewarded for something that is already so rewarding,” Gaga said before leaving the venue to perform a concert at Madison Square Garden.
Gaga’s win prevented Beyonce or Swift from emerging as the most-honoured artist in VMA history. The pair
remain tied at 30 VMAs each
.
Host LL Cool J kicked off the ceremony at the UBS Arena in New York with a promise of show-stopping performances from legends such as Puerto Rican singer Ricky Martin and American singer Mariah Carey and a tribute to the late British rocker Ozzy Osbourne.
“Music is the force that brings us together,” LL Cool J said. “Tonight we are leaving everything else at the door.”
Gaga went into the ceremony with the most nominations – 12 – for songs including Die With A Smile, her duet with American singer Bruno Mars.
Die With A Smile was in the running for the night’s top honour, Video of the Year. Competitors included Birds Of A Feather by American singer Billie Eilish, American rapper Kendrick Lamar’s Not Like Us and American singer Sabrina Carpenter’s Manchild.
Meanwhile, Rose of K-pop girl group Blackpink won Song of the Year with Apt., herbreakout hit from 2024.
The 28-year-old collected the prize at the New York ceremony in a buttery yellow strapless sequined dress and was decked out in diamonds.
She began her acceptance speech by thanking Mars, her “absolute idol and incredible teacher” who collaborated with her on the track.
“Thank you so much for believing in me and helping me build this world together,” Rose said. “I’m really, really forever grateful for you, and our friendship, and everything.”
The New Zealand-born singer also dedicated the award to her “16-year-old self, who dreamed, and to those who have watched me grow”.
This was Rose’s first VMA win as a solo performer. She was nominated in eight categories, including Video of the Year, Best Pop and Best Collaboration.
In 2020, Blackpink picked up their first VMA for Song of Summer for How You Like That (2020) and were named Group of the Year in 2023.
New categories were added in 2025 for Best Country Video and Best Pop Artist.
American singer Megan Moroney’s Am I Okay? was the winner for Best Country Video, with nominees including Think I’m In Love With You by American singer Chris Stapleton, Liar by American singer Jelly Roll and Morgan Wallen’s Smile. REUTERS, THE KOREA HERALD/ASIA NEWS NETWORK
Mariah Carey was honored with the Video Vanguard Award at tonight’s MTV Video Music Awards, where she also performed a career-spanning medley. She began with a new song, “Sugar Sweet,” before diving into classics like “Fantasy,” “Heartbreaker,” and “Obsessed.” She continued with “It’s Like That” and “We Belong Together” (with a string ensemble). Watch the performance below.
Carey was presented with the award by Ariana Grande. “I can’t believe I’m getting my first VMA tonight,” Carey—tonight’s winner of Best R&B for “Type Dangerous”—said in her speech. “I just have one question: What in the Sam Hill were you waiting for?” She continued with a reflection on her career and history with the VMAs. See the speech below.
Though she’d never taken home a trophy before tonight, Carey has been a VMAs fixture for decades. She first performed on the show in 1991, then again in 2005 off the back of The Emancipation of Mimi, which saw a 20th anniversary reissue earlier this year. Carey’s new album, Here for It All, is out September 26; the 11-track project includes the singles “Type Dangerous” and “Sugar Sweet.”
Follow along with all of Pitchfork’s coverage of the 2025 MTV Video Music Awards.
A private account on X with a proven track record today shared alleged details about upcoming Apple Watch and iPad Pro models.
Here are the alleged devices that the account mentioned:
Apple Watch Series 11 with a chip based on the same architecture as the S9 and S10 chips in previous Apple Watch models
Apple Watch Ultra 3 with a chip based on the same architecture as the S9 and S10 chips
Apple Watch SE 3 with a chip based on the same architecture as the S9 and S10 chips
Four new iPad Pro configurations with the M5 chip
All three of the Apple Watch models listed above are expected to be unveiled during Apple’s so-called “Awe Dropping” event on Tuesday, September 9, while iPad Pro models with the M5 chip will likely be announced in October.
All of these devices were already rumored, but this leak serves as even more evidence that an Apple Watch Ultra 3 and Apple Watch SE 3 will be unveiled alongside the Apple Watch Series 11. Last year, the Apple Watch Series 10 was the only new model, although the Apple Watch Ultra 2 did receive a new black titanium option.
The current Apple Watch SE was released in 2022, and the Apple Watch Ultra 2 launched in 2023, so those models have not always been updated annually.
As we already reported, based on information discovered by MacRumors contributor Aaron Perris, all of the new Apple Watch models will likely be equipped with an S11 chip that is similar to the S9 and S10 chips in previous Apple Watch models. There is precedent for this, as the S6, S7, and S8 chips were all based on the same architecture.
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THE summit of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation took place against the backdrop of significant geopolitical upheaval. This has been driven largely by President Donald Trump’s disruptive policies, which have upended global trade by a tariff war and also reordered Washington’s geopolitical priorities. The US president’s aggressive trade policy applied against both allies and adversaries has encouraged them to seek closer ties with each other even as they pursue negotiations with Washington to secure lower levies.
Trump’s coercive approach has pushed China and Russia even closer together. His trade assault on India and imposition of penalties over Indian import of Russian oil has undermined strategic ties built over decades with New Delhi. This has urged India to reach out to China and deepened the thaw in their relations. It is also the principal reason why Prime Minister Narendra Modi decided to undertake his first visit to China in seven years to attend the SCO summit.
These developments shaped the environment for the high-profile SCO summit. This was its biggest gathering so far since the Eurasian organisation’s inception in 2001. It was attended by leaders of 10 member states and another 16 observer or dialogue partner countries as well as heads of 10 international organisations. A regional security and economic grouping, SCO represents over 40 per cent of the world’s population and accounts for a quarter of the global economy.
The summit marked an opportunity for President Xi Jinping to set out an alternative vision for the global order that places emphasis on cooperation in contrast to the confrontation represented by Trump’s policies.
In a volatile international landscape created by Trump’s actions, China offered stability and more responsible and reliable global leadership. It also offered to be a strong voice for the Global South.
The summit convened in the backdrop of Trump’s disruptive actions that accelerated geopolitical trends.
The summit was important for its symbolism, messages to the world, especially the US, display of Global South solidarity and for bilateral meetings on the sidelines aimed at strengthening regional relationships or as some said, “redrawing the geopolitical map”. President Xi’s speech called for a fairer, more equitable international system. He reiterated China’s support for multilateralism, stressing the need to strengthen it and accord the UN a key role. Taking aim at the US, without naming it, he rejected “bullying behaviour” by certain countries and decried the “Cold War” mentality that “continues to haunt the world”. He also called for “a clear stand against hegemonism” and to oppose “unilateralism”.
Declaring the global governance system was at a crossroads, he announced a ‘Global Governance Initiative’ predicated on international law and equal participation of all states with a greater voice for developing countries. More significantly, President Xi received support from member states to establish a new SCO development bank and pledged two billion RMB in grants and 10bn in loans for SCO members. This marks the first time the organisation’s economic role has been backed by development finance funds and reflects China’s increasing weight in the global finance system.
The Tianjin declaration issued at the summit called for the “creation of a more just multipolar world order”. In implicit criticism of the US, it said member states opposed “confrontational approaches to resolving international issues”. It rejected “unilateral coercive measures”, including economic ones and vowed to boost trade within the organisation — again a veiled reference to Trump’s tariff actions. The joint communiqué “strongly condemned the military strikes by Israel and the US against Iran in June 2025”, calling them “a gross violation of the UN Charter and international law”. It expressed concern at the continuing Israeli-Palestinian conflict and catastrophic humanitarian situation in Gaza. It called for an immediate ceasefire and a just settlement of the Palestinian issue. Conspicuous by its absence was any mention of the Ukraine war.
A significant part of the lengthy declaration was devoted to affirming the collective commitment to fight terrorism. In a display of even-handedness, it condemned both the Pahalgam incident and the terrorist attack on the Jaffer Express without mentioning where these took place. This language obviously had both Pakistan and India’s approval.
The bilateral meeting ahead of the summit between President Xi and Prime Minister Modi — the second this year — received much international attention. Positive statements by both sides after the meeting reflected the warming in their relations that had gone into deep freeze in 2020. India had previously made normalisation conditional on settlement of the border dispute while the Chinese insisted the bilateral relationship should not be limited to the border issue. The Indians seemed to have now come around to the Chinese view.
The Sino-India thaw had in any case begun earlier especially with the border management agreement reached in August. The meeting between the two leaders in Tianjin was seen as helping to further normalise the relationship. How far this is tactical, reflecting Modi’s reaction to Trump’s humiliating conduct towards India, or a shift that could gather momentum, remains an open question. It would be a mistake to read too much into the Sino-Indian re-engagement because they have more divergent interests than convergences.
Interestingly the Indian opposition cautioned the Modi government against adopting a “knee-jerk foreign policy” because of the current hostile US stance towards India.
The other bilateral meeting that attracted attention was between Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and Russian President Vladimir Putin. This underlined the desire of both countries to improve relations and expand trade. It also signalled Pakistan’s intent to chart an independent course in its foreign policy. Sharif held important meetings with President Xi and Premier Li Qiang. Both countries committed to further solidify their strategic partnership, usher in the next phase of CPEC and upgrade the Free Trade Agreement. They also approved an Action Plan for 2025-2029 and signed over a dozen MoUs. This indicated that for all the recent warming in Pakistan-US ties, China remained Pakistan’s overriding strategic priority.
The Tianjin summit reflected the geopolitical shifts underway in a world marked by growing multipolarity and in which Trumpian policies are accelerating some of these shifts. Of these, efforts by non-Western powers to shape the new world order may turn out to be the most consequential.
The writer is a former ambassador to the US, UK and UN.
MENTAL agony plagues too many people. New data from the WHO warns of a crisis of staggering proportions: one billion people worldwide live with mental health issues. Anxiety and depression form the second leading reason for long-term debility. Suicide claims one in every 100 lives among the young — some 727,000 people died by suicide in 2021 alone. At this rate, the SDG target of a one-third reduction in suicide rates by 2030 is unattainable. While the WHO’s World Mental Health Today and Mental Health Atlas 2024 reports have highlighted some areas of progress, a vacuum in the global approach to this health calamity is also evident. Additionally, the world economy loses $1tr annually due to psychological disorders as productivity stands drastically impaired. Although mental illness spares no one, the reports says that women are afflicted at a disproportionate rate.
Matters are bound to turn darker on account of the devastation wreaked by climate catastrophes, and at the moment, Pakistan is reliving the 2022 floods, which impacted 33m people and killed hundreds. Since the end of June, cloudbursts and flash floods have battered KP, Punjab and Gilgit-Baltistan. Reportedly, more than 5.5m are affected, with more than 2m displaced. As authorities stress on physical remedies — aid, relief camps and relocation — they should remain aware of the silent mental health disaster that grips the country. Every displacement, collapsed home, loss of life and livelihood causes debilitating fear, depression, PTSD, and the dire consequences of these. Flood-affected populations in GB, particularly in Ghizer district, face a severe emotional health emergency, triggering a response from the region’s government to begin psychological rehabilitation initiatives. With fewer than 500 psychiatrists for 240m Pakistanis, the government has little choice but to seek international collaboration. Deeper concerns — insomnia, survivor’s guilt, ‘intrusive memories’ — require specialised support to prevent chronic reactions. Psychological repercussions surface over weeks. Climate blows, unlike socioeconomic distress, are here to stay. We cannot continue without disaster-response policies that assimilate mental care, which includes a vast workforce trained in psychological support, mobile mental aid services as well the political commitment to treat mental turmoil.
