Bad

The host of the film awards ceremony at which Tourette syndrome activist John Davidson shouted a racial slur has said he won’t host it againAlan Cumming has criticised the organisers of the Bafta film awards in February as “bad people who weren’t doing their jobs properly” after the N-word outburst by Tourette activist John Davidson, which was broadcast by the BBC during its coverage of the ceremony.In an interview with the Sunday Times, Cumming, who was the host of the ceremony, said: “It was bad, bad, bad, bad leadership … Bad people who weren’t doing their jobs properly, who really had not prepared and let people down.” Continue reading...

Party leader has been vocal about its gains in London and there is a feeling that its losses could have been worseBy any sane person’s reckoning, the Conservative party had a night to forget in Thursday’s local, mayoral and devolved elections. It lost about 500 councillors in England and ceded control of three local authorities to Nigel Farage’s Reform UK – losing to the rightwing upstarts in England, Wales and Scotland. Why then is Kemi Badenoch hailing these results as proof that “the Conservatives are coming back” – and why do many Tory MPs appear to agree with her?The Conservative leader was vocal on Friday about the eye-catching gains her party made in politically atypical London, where the Tories won back the totemic council of Westminster, took the most seats in Wandsworth council and saw off the threat from Reform in Bexley and Bromley. Continue reading...

Israeli PM says he has ‘full coordination’ with US president amid reports that Washington no longer consults himBenjamin Netanyahu interrupted an uncharacteristically long silence over the Iran conflict this week with a video commentary insisting he had “full coordination” with Donald Trump, with whom he spoke “almost daily”.The insistence that all was rosy in the US-Israeli relationship followed weeks of reports in the domestic press that Israel was no longer being consulted over the Iran conflict, and even less over Pakistani-brokered peace talks. Such is the scepticism over Netanyahu’s trustworthiness among the general public and independent press that the immediate reaction among observers to his video statement was speculation that the reality could be even worse than they had imagined. Continue reading...

• The United States has closed its consulate in Peshawar, Pakistan, transferring all diplomatic functions and responsibilities to the main embassy in Islamabad. • The consolidation reflects the U.S. government's restructuring of its diplomatic footprint in Pakistan and aims to streamline operations. • The move impacts diplomatic engagement in northwestern Pakistan, a strategically important region bordering Afghanistan.

Badenoch’s statement came after the Conservatives won back Westminster and Wandsworth councils in LondonElections 2026 live: latest news updatesFull results from England, Scotland and WalesKemi Badenoch has claimed that the Conservatives are “coming back” after winning back Westminster and Wandsworth councils from Labour in London, despite her party suffering significant losses throughout England in Thursday’s elections.The party also saw off a threat from Reform in Bexley. But the Tories suffered a series of losses in Essex, where Badenoch herself is an MP, losing 13 seats while Reform gained 52. It held on to Harlow, securing all 11 district council seats available. Continue reading...

• Defending champions Lahore Qalandars will face tournament debutants Hyderabad Houston Kingsmen in the PSL 2026 opening game. • The Pakistan Super League introduced a new logo and opened a player transfer window to refresh team rosters. • Tournament expected to utilize six venues, expanding its footprint for the upcoming season.

Tory leader says she did not sign off on video attacking Labour’s Troubles legacy proposals Kemi Badenoch has apologised after footage from Bloody Sunday was used in social media posts criticising a bill on legacy issues in Northern Ireland.The Conservative leader said on Saturday that she did not sign off on the use of a clip from the massacre, in which British soldiers opened fire on unarmed civil rights demonstrators in Derry, and that it was distributed by “very young people”. Continue reading...