Pokémon has raised eyebrows and left people in hysterics with the design of the new Wiglett soft toy and it’s easy to see why. In the Pokémon world, Wiglett was announced as a new convergent species related to Diglett for the 2022 Pokémon Scarlet and Violet role-playing video games. It is a type of Garden Eel Pokémon that, with its long cylindrical length, has led to some unfortunate comparisons with the release of a new plushie toy. The Wiglett plushie is sold online by the Pokémon Center, but the long toy has caught the eye for all the wrong reasons as people have suggested it looks like a phallus. The website explains, “this long Poké Plush version of the Garden Eel Pokémon is ready to stand tall as part of your plush collection, perched on your couch, coffee table, or bookshelf”. Sign up to our free Indy100 weekly newsletter It boasts a “bendable body” that is 10 ¼ inches in length and has drawn some hilarious feedback online. One person wrote on X (formerly known as Twitter): “Ok but who thought this was a good idea.” Many others made similar points. Someone else wrote: “So this Wiglett plush... It's certainly something!” Others were much more NSFW with their commentary. The hilarious plushie may have sparked some rather interesting comments, but despite that, it does seem to resemble the Pokémon character quite closely. Have your say in our news democracy. Click the upvote icon at the top of the page to help raise this article through the indy100 rankings.

A strange naked creature with long, floppy arms has been spotted on Google Street View. The bizarre figure appears to be running across a field with its elongated limbs flailing behind it. The nude creature was spotted on a desolate road. It was seen near the Bears Ears Visitor Center in the town of Buff, southeast of Salt Lake City, Utah, US. Online sleuths have been baffled about what it could be. However, the truth behind the creepy creature was disappointing to many. The naked figure is actually a farm scarecrow used to deter unwanted animals and curious visitors. Wacky scarecrows are quite common in the remote town. Earlier this year, a ‘radioactive mutant’ was spotted at an abandoned fairground in Chernobyl on Google Street View. The Chernobyl nuclear disaster took place in April 1986 when tens of thousands of people were evacuated, mainly from the city of Pripyat in northern Ukraine. Today, Pripyat remains an abandoned ‘ghost town’ within the Chernobyl Exclusion Zone. TikTok user ‘Arianleonel’ posted a clip of him perusing areas of Pripyat on Google Maps. The video shows him searching around the fairground before spotting something unusual near the decrepit Ferris wheel. He zooms in to reveal a person in a purple jacket lurking behind a tree. Sign up to our new free Indy100 weekly newsletter Have your say in our news democracy. Click the upvote icon at the top of the page to help raise this article through the indy100 rankings.

A teenager has been found responsible for a hacking spree in which victims’ savings were stolen and major companies, including the maker of the best-selling Grand Theft Auto video games, were blackmailed. Arion Kurtaj, 18, and a 17-year-old who cannot be named for legal reasons, were described by the prosecution as the “key players” in the LapsusS hacking group. Psychiatrists had assessed Kurtaj as unfit to stand trial so the role of the jury in his case was to decide whether he had committed the acts alleged against him. On Wednesday, following a two-month trial at London’s Southwark Crown Court plus nine hours and 19 minutes of deliberations, a jury unanimously found Kurtaj had carried out 12 offences in his spree of innovative hacks. These offences included six counts of carrying out an unauthorised act to impair the operation of a computer, three counts of blackmail, two fraud offences, and of failing to comply with a section 49 notice to disclose a key when he did not give up the password to his mobile phone when asked to by police. He tried to blackmail Rockstar Games by threatening to “leak the stolen source code for the Grand Theft Auto sequel onto internet forums”, the indictment stated. Kurtaj and the youth were also accused of hacking software company Nvidia in February 2022 before threatening to “release Nvidia Corporation’s intellectual property on to the web” if it did not pay them. The 17 year-old showed no emotion as he was found guilty of one count of fraud, a charge of blackmail and also of having carried out an unauthorised act to impair the operation of a computer. His mother wept uncontrollably after the verdicts were read out. Keep in mind Arion Kurtaj's psychological make-up, and in particular his psychological condition, his education or lack thereof - could he be the highly intelligent, competent genius that the prosecution set out at the beginning? Arion Kurtaj's defence counsel David Miller Prosecutors alleged Kurtaj and the 17-year-old, aided by unknown associates, hacked the servers and data files of broadband provider BT and mobile operator EE before demanding a four million US dollar ransom on August 1 2021. But the 17-year-old was found not guilty of a charge of have carried out an unauthorised act to impair the operation of a computer and a further charge of blackmail in relation to BT. He previously pleaded guilty to one offence under the Computer Misuse Act and one count of fraud. Neither defendant gave evidence during the jury trial. Sentencing dates at the same court have yet to be fixed for either defendant. This has been a complex and sensitive investigation involving a multi-agency response and there have been a number of challenges throughout the police investigation and judicial process Detective Superintendent Richard Waight A case management hearing has been set for Kurtaj on September 21, while it is hoped that a sentencing date may be fixed for the 17 year-old on November 9. During the trial, the court was told that Kurtaj had been living in care since the age of 14 and had been housed for a period in a Travelodge “for his own protection”. Kurtaj’s defence counsel David Miller described the youngster as “the most vulnerable of adolescents” who was now pitted against huge companies and corporations worth billions, who had unlimited funds and unlimited resources including the FBI, National Crime Agency, Interpol and City of London Police. During closing speeches, he told the jury: “Keep in mind Arion Kurtaj’s psychological make-up, and in particular his psychological condition, his education or lack thereof – could he be the highly intelligent, competent genius that the prosecution set out at the beginning?” After the verdicts, Detective Superintendent Richard Waight, of the City of London Police, said: “This has been a complex and sensitive investigation involving a multi-agency response and there have been a number of challenges throughout the police investigation and judicial process. “We thank the judge and jury for being patient throughout the trial, during deliberations and for the subsequent verdicts.” Read More Charity boss speaks out over ‘traumatic’ encounter with royal aide Ukraine war’s heaviest fight rages in east - follow live Social media firms should reimburse online purchase scam victims – Barclays Hozier would consider striking over AI threat to music industry Snapchat experiences ‘temporary outage’ as My AI chatbot posts own Story

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