Disney and Square Enix showed up for the Deep Dive into Kingdom Hearts panel at D23 2026 to show off an extended gameplay trailer for Kingdom Hearts 4 that features a first look at a playable King Mickey, Donald, and Goofy.
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No one expected Sora to show up in the world of Pixar's Coco, Keyblade in hand, when the legendary crossover franchise made a surprise appearance during yesterday's Disney Entertainment Showcase. That only made Mickey, Donald, and Goofy showing up as playable characters in today's new four-minute trailer even more of a shock.
Gameplay for Goofy and Donald seems to mostly fall in line with what we've come to expect from Sora. Outside of one segment that saw the two Disney icons sledding through the Underworld, they can be seen using abilities and teaming up to fight off Heartless enemies.
King Mickey, meanwhile, has received some special attention. The first clip shows him walking around from a third-person point of view before switching to origami-like visuals featuring 2D and 3D gameplay. It looks heavily inspired by Nintendo's Paper Mario, though how long all of these sections will be remains to be seen.
Another surprise saved for today's lengthier look at the game is Riku, who shows up in the video's final moments. He doesn't stick around for too long before the video comes to an end, but it looks like he'll be teaming up with Sora for at least part of Kingdom Hearts 4's events.
Elsewhere during the panel, series creator Tetsuya Nomura refuted claims that the game would eventually be delayed outside of its 2027 launch window. It's been a big weekend for Kingdom Hearts fans, as Disney and Square Enix have also confirmed plans to release an anime series based on the franchise at some point in the future.
Kingdom Hearts 4 is still on track to launch in its late 2027 release window for PC, Nintendo Switch 2, PlayStation 5, and Xbox Series X | S. While we wait for updates, be sure to check out everything announced from the panel here.
Michael Cripe is a freelance writer with IGN. He's best known for his work at sites like The Pitch, The Escapist, and OnlySP. Be sure to give him a follow on Bluesky (@mikecripe.bsky.social) and Twitter (@MikeCripe).%!s()
A New York City man is facing hate crime charges after police say he assaulted a woman and a security team member while disrupting Shabbat services at Central Synagogue in Manhattan – all in plain view of a live stream.
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The New York police department identified the suspect in the case as Larry Montes, 46, who was arrested after the episode at the synagogue. Montes was charged with two counts of assault as a hate crime and one count of criminal mischief as a hate crime, along with other alleged violations, police said.
The incident unfolded just after 6pm on Saturday as services were getting under way at Central Synagogue, located on New York City’s busy Lexington Avenue.
According to the NYPD commissioner, Jessica Tisch, security was attempting to remove Montes from the synagogue when he struck a 63-year-old woman, damaged synagogue property, and spit at and head-butted a member of the security team. Police said the woman suffered a small laceration to her lip and an injury to her right forearm.
An NYPD sergeant assigned to the synagogue immediately intervened and took Montes into police custody, Tisch said.
A live stream of the service captured the tense moments inside the synagogue. It showed a man shouting as a security guard tried to restrain him and remove him from the building.
Tisch said there were no additional suspects being sought.
“I understand the sanctity of this space and its meaning for congregants,” Tisch wrote on X on Saturday evening. “Central Synagogue is where I grew up.
“In joy and in sorrow, it has always been a place of comfort and peace. What happened there tonight is deeply painful. A place of worship should never be a crime scene.”
The NYPD’s hate crime taskforce is investigating the case.
New York City’s mayor, Zohran Mamdani, condemned the attack, writing on X: “Every New Yorker must be able to observe their religion without fear of violence. This despicable act has no place in our city, and our administration will do everything in our power to keep Jewish New Yorkers safe.”
Mamdani added that there was “no known ongoing threat in or around the synagogue”.
New York’s governor, Kathy Hochul, also responded to the allegations against Montes, calling them “appalling” on X and writing: “Jewish New Yorkers have every right to worship openly, proudly, and without fear.”
A statement from Central Synagogue pledged to “keep on gathering for joyful, meaningful Judaism with our … family every week”. %!s()
It follows a new disinformation campaign on social media encouraging people to flock to the city.
Moroccan police have arrested more than a hundred people trying to reach the Spanish enclave of Ceuta.
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Footage posted online on Saturday showed large crowds of people, most reportedly from sub-Saharan Africa, heading towards Ceuta.
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list 1 of 3Ceuta mayor calls for migrant detention amid mass influx crisis
list 2 of 3Morocco says working to prevent potential new Ceuta crossings surge
list 3 of 3Morocco boosts Ceuta security amid calls for mass migrant crossing
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The attempted crossing comes just weeks after more than 70,000 people fled to the autonomous city on the north coast of Africa — with many dying in the process. It also follows what has been described as a new disinformation campaign on social media encouraging people to flock to the city.
Moroccan authorities said earlier this week that they were working to foil any such attempts.
Hundreds of police were reportedly deployed to confront the crowds, leading to at least 111 arrests, according to Reuters, which cited a source in Morocco’s Ministry of Interior. Police reportedly used tear gas to disperse the crowds.
Spanish newspaper ABC reported that hundreds of people were travelling to the enclave, which Morocco does not recognise as Spanish territory.
The crowds advanced through the mountains on their way to Ceuta, passing through Fnideq, a coastal town in northern Morocco. They are believed to have chosen the mountainous route to avoid security checkpoints.
Local news outlet Le360 reported on Saturday afternoon that as many as 294 people had been arrested, including 46 Moroccans. The rest were reportedly from sub-Saharan Africa.
Earlier, Jaime de los Santos, Spanish lawmaker and deputy secretary of education for the conservative People’s Party (PP), accused Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez of failing to address the crisis, which began on July 30.
Sanchez is currently on holiday at the Royal Residence of La Mareta in Lanzarote, a common getaway destination for Spanish prime ministers.
“It’s Saturday, August 15th, and the week of the eclipse has already passed. Sixteen days have gone by since Spain was invaded by more than 80,000 Moroccan citizens, and Pedro Sanchez is still hiding in La Mareta without giving any explanation, without putting a stop to this crisis, and using his ministers to cover up his shameful actions,” De los Santos said in a statement.
Approximately 72,000 people entered Ceuta in late July, and at least 96 people died trying to reach the enclave.
Interior Minister Fernando Grande-Marlaska said on Thursday that about 5,000 migrants remained in Ceuta. %!s()
Twenty-two more bodies have been recovered after a boat accident in Zimbabwe, taking the death toll to 68, police said on Saturday.
The ferry capsized on Tuesday on Lake Kariba, on the border with Zambia. An investigation has suggested it was overloaded when it turned over during heavy winds.
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Eighteen children were among the people killed, Zimbabwe’s police said, in what is believed to be the country’s deadliest such disaster.
Most of the passengers are believed to be villagers and fish traders who lived around the lake.
Officials said the vessel was authorised to carry 90 people but was packed with 114 adults, five crew members and an unspecified number of children.
Lt Col Joseph Muchechesi, commander of the boat regiment involved in the search operation, said: “So far today we have managed to take 22 bodies. We are confident that we will manage to retrieve all the bodies.”
The civil protection unit said on Wednesday that 77 people had been rescued.
Hundreds of people gathered at the district hospital in the lakeside town of Kariba to identify the bodies of their relatives and loved ones.
Family members walk past caskets carrying their loved ones during a memorial service for the victims of the boat accident in Kariba, Zimbabwe, 13 August 2026. Photograph: Mkhululi Thobela/AP
A public memorial service was held in Kariba, nearly 280km (175 miles) north-west of the capital Harare, on Thursday before the burials started.
Survivors said they pleaded with the ferry driver to turn back as the vessel had begun taking on water soon after departing.
Chance Siyamavhu, 45, told Agence France-Presse: “Thank God that a wave pushed the sinking vessel and we managed to climb on top.
“When the boat capsized, most of the people scrambled to get the lifejackets but most of them did not even know how to use them.
“Most people could not make it.”
Lake Kariba is the world’s largest manmade lake by volume. It stretches more than 200km (124 miles) and is up to 40km (25 miles) wide in places.
It was created in the 1950s during British colonial rule, when the Zambezi River was dammed, displacing about 57,000 people.
In 2014, 26 people, 24 of them children, drowned in Zambia’s part of the lake, when the boat meant to transport them to independence day celebrations capsized.
On the Zimbabwean side, five passengers drowned in a 2021 incident. %!s()
Ramsey, 22, is best known for her role as Lyanna Mormont in Game of Thrones
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ByYasmin Rufo
Bella Ramsey spent many teenage years working with adults so never really went through the moody, rebellious phase often associated with being a teenager.
The British actor, who debuted in Game of Thrones aged 11 and uses they/them pronouns, says they had consciously decided not to behave like a stereotypical teenager after hearing criticisms from adults.
"I was like, I'm not going to be that."
So when Sunny Dancer, a film about a summer camp for young people affected by cancer, gave Ramsey seven weeks to experience teenage freedom, it was an opportunity to dive straight in.
"I got to be a teenager aged 21, which was brilliant," Ramsey tells BBC News. "It was really nice - and liberating."
Looking back, Ramsey says the experience made them wonder whether they had missed out by being quite so sensible the first time around.
"I kind of wish that I had made the most of being a teenager and getting away with things and being a bit rebellious."
In Sunny Dancer, Ramsey plays Ivy, a young female cancer survivor in remission who reluctantly heads to a "chemo camp" where she finds an unexpected group of friends and has a summer that changes her.
Image source, Colin J Smith
Image caption,
Sunny Dancer also stars Neil Patrick Harris, Jessica Gunning and James Norton
The rest of the cast were more than happy to help fill in the gaps; Ramsey says younger co-stars discussed songs and nights out.
"They were teaching me what being a teenager was for them and I was learning all the songs like five years later."
An emotional moment at film's premiere
Beneath the summer camp fun is a story that is deeply personal for the film's writer and director, George Jaques.
His mother was diagnosed with cancer when he was 15, but it took another eight years for him to feel ready to turn some of those experiences into a script.
"I never seem to write in the moment I'm going through it," Jacques says. "You have to sort of get through and understand it and have that reflection of it."
He stresses that the film is not his family's story, but "there's bits of me" scattered throughout its characters.
Jacques was also conscious his own experience could only take him so far. So, he worked with the Teenage Cancer Trust, hearing from young cancer survivors as well as parents who had lost children.
"I remember going in to do a big talk with some young people who had survived cancer and they were like, 'don't call us kids, do not say we're brave.'"
He says the film was "shaped" by these young people he met - such that he gave two of them roles in it.
Making the movie also forced Jaques to revisit some of his own fears around loss. He recalls a moment during the premiere in Berlin when emotion crept up on him.
"I remember seeing my mother and I realised there's a version of that movie where my mum wasn't sitting in the audience," he says.
Image source, Getty Images
Image caption,
Sunny Dancer is Jaques' second feature film - he is pictured alongside Ramsey at the premiere in Berlin in February 2026
Both Ramsey and Jaques think we could be better at allowing people to experience grief without expecting them to quickly return to normal.
Jaques recalls losing someone close to him when he was 18, while sitting his A-levels.
"We are expected to just to carry on," he says, describing the instinct to go "straight back to work and school".
If we "really were honest with how we feel we might be able to understand it a bit better," he adds.
In the UK, there is no general legal right to paid bereavement leave when someone close to you dies. The main statutory exception is parental bereavement leave and pay following the death of a child under 18 or a stillbirth after 24 weeks.
Ramsey thinks there can be an instinct to minimise what you are going through.
"You speak to people who are grieving, you're like, 'How are you doing?' They're like, 'Oh, yeah, yeah, you know, it's hard, but I'm fine.' It feels very unhealthily British."
Image source, Colin J Smith
Image caption,
Ramsey says there should be more space to be "expressive in grief and to let it be loud or let it be very quiet and silent and private".
After spending seven weeks playing a teenager who is desperate to be their own person, Ramsey's advice for young people struggling to fit in is straightforward.
"Don't try and fit in. Please don't change to try and fit in because there are people who will fit in with you."
Jaques agrees, but says the responsibility should not all be placed on young people to become more resilient.
"There's so much pressure on young people to change on social media," he says. "Why don't we stop hating on young people? Maybe that's where we should start as well." %!s()
Image source, Getty Images
Image source, Colin J Smith
Image source, Getty Images
Image source, Colin J Smith