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Eddie Redmayne and Kiera Knightley are among a host of British stars nominated for next year’s Golden Globe Awards.

Redmayne starred in Sky Atlantic’s thriller The Day of the Jackal, which is also up for best drama series, and Knightley is the lead in Netflix’s spy series Black Doves.

Cynthia Erivo and Ariana Grande in Wicked. Pic: Universal Pictures
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Cynthia Erivo and Ariana Grande in Wicked. Pic: Universal Pictures

Selena Gomez as Jessi in Emilia Pérez. Pic: Shanna Besson/Page 114/Why Not Productions/Pathe Films/ France 2 Cinema
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Selena Gomez as Jessi in Emilia Pérez. Pic: Shanna Besson/Page 114/Why Not Productions/Pathe Films/ France 2 Cinema

Genre-blurring musical Emilia Perez – which is about a Mexican drug lord who undergoes gender-affirming surgery to transition to living as a woman – led the field with ten nominations.

All three of its lead stars – Zoe Saldana, Selena Gomez and Spanish actor Karla Sofía Gascón – are up for acting awards.

It was followed by the historical epic The Brutalist, starring Adrian Brody as a Hungarian immigrant fleeing the horrors of the Second World War, which got seven nods. Brody, Australian star Guy Pierce and British actress Felicity Jones all got performance nominations.

Adrian Brody. Pic: AP
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Adrian Brody is the star of The Brutalist. Pic: AP

Mikey Madison in Anora. Pic: Neon/Augusta Quirk
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Mikey Madison in Anora. Pic: Neon/Augusta Quirk

Meanwhile, The Wizard Of Oz prequel Wicked – which has so far taken hundreds of millions at the box office – saw its lead stars, singer Ariana Grande and British actress Cynthia Erivo, both score major nods for their leading roles.

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With four nods to its name, Wicked also got a mention in the cinematic and box office achievement category, while both musicals are shortlisted in the best picture musical or comedy category.

Ralph Fiennes stars as Cardinal Lawrence in director Edward Berger's Conclave. Pic: Philippe Antonello/Focus Features 2024
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Ralph Fiennes stars as Cardinal Lawrence in director Edward Berger’s Conclave. Pic: Philippe Antonello/Focus Features 2024

Cardinal drama Conclave starring Ralph Fiennes; Anora, about a New York stripper who falls for the son of a wealthy Russian oligarch, and The Substance. a body-horror starring Demi Moore, also received recognition, with five nods apiece.

Other British stars to make it into contention included Kate Winslet (who was nominated in both the TV and film categories for The Regime and Lee), Gary Oldman for hit Apple TV+ series Slow Horses, Hugh Grant for horror movie Heretic and Daniel Craig for his film Queer, based on the 1985 novella by William S Burroughs.

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Meanwhile, there was a surprise nomination for Robbie Williams for his offbeat biopic, Better Man, which is his life story told through the medium of a computer-generated monkey. It’s up for best original song.

Among a starry field of nominees, Zendaya, Timothee Chalamet, Angelina Jolie, Denzel Washington and Glen Powell all scored nominations.

Denzel Washington. Pic: Paramount Pictures
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Denzel Washington. Pic: Paramount Pictures

Zendaya’s sport romance Challengers got four nods, including best actress in a motion picture in the musical and comedy field.

The Wild Robot, an animation about an android that becomes the adoptive parent of an orphaned gosling, got four nods, including best animated film.

Sing Sing, a film based on a rehabilitation programme at the Sing Sing correctional facility in Ossining, New York state, saw its star, Colman Domingo, nominated for best actor in a motion picture drama.

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Former Baywatch star Pamela Anderson got a nod as best actress in the drama film category, for her lead role in The Last Showgirl, Gia Coppola’s movie about a fading showgirl forging a new future.

And while president-elect Donald Trump wasn’t a fan of The Apprentice – a movie based on his early life – the movie received nominations for its two central performances from Sebastian Stan (who plays a young Trump) and Jeremy Strong as his lawyer Roy Cohn.

In the TV field, chef drama The Bear got five nods, with Shogun and Only Murders in the Building receiving four.

Pic Netflix
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Richard Gadd and Jessica Gunning in Baby Reindeer. Pic Netflix

Richard Gadd’s contentious Netflix series, Baby Reindeer, got three nods, including best actor for him, best actress for Jessica Gunning and best limited series or TV movie.

Controversial drama Monsters: The Lyle and Erik Menendez Story – based on the real-life murder of Jose and Kitty Menendez in 1989 – got three nods, including two acting nods for its stars, Cooper Koch and Javier Bardem.

Irish star Colin Firth got a nod for his performance in Sky Atlantic’s The Penguin, which offers a deep dive into the life of one of Gotham’s most notorious gangsters.

Like Winslet, Gomez received nods across both the film and TV categories, for her work on Emilia Perez and Only Murders In The Building.

Colin Farrell stars in The Penguin. Pic: Sky/HBO/Macall Polay/ Warner Bros
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Colin Farrell is The Penguin. Pic: Sky/HBO/Macall Polay/ Warner Bros

This year’s lifetime achievement awards will go to former Cheers star Ted Danson (for the Carol Burnett Award) and Oscar-winning actress Viola Davis (for the Cecil B DeMille Award). Both will be announced a few days before the ceremony in the New Year.

Announced by actors Mindy Kaling and Morris Chestnut live from LA, the Golden Globe nominations are the first big milestone of awards season, and the first signpost to which films we’ll be hearing lots more about ahead of next year’s Oscars.

Jeremy Allen White. Pic: AP
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Jeremy Allen White, star of The Bear. Pic: AP

Unlike other awards, the Globes cover both TV and film and are split by genre, falling into either the drama or comedy and musical category – meaning a wealth of nominees are in the running. There are six competing performers in each of the six acting categories.

Last year’s nominations were led by Greta Gerwig’s Barbie and Christopher Nolan’s Oppenheimer, the latter of which went on to win best picture at the Oscars.

Now in comeback mode, the Globes had previously faced criticism over a lack of diversity in the organisation, which led to the event being held behind closed doors in 2022.

Golden Globes winners will be announced on Sunday 5 January, with the ceremony hosted by comedian Nikki Glaser.

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Colorado petrol bomb suspect charged with 16 counts of attempted murder

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Colorado petrol bomb suspect charged with 16 counts of attempted murder

The suspect in the Colorado petrol bomb attack has been charged with 16 counts of attempted murder.

Mohamed Soliman is accused of throwing Molotov cocktails and using a makeshift flamethrower on a group of people at a rally in support of Israeli hostages – with the FBI describing the incident as a targeted “act of terrorism”.

The 45-year-old, from El Paso County, Colorado, shouted “Free Palestine” during the attack, it is alleged.

A total of 12 victims were injured and taken to hospitals, authorities said. One of those was at one point said to be in a critical condition.

A federal criminal complaint (court filing) said Soliman confessed to the attack, told investigators that he had planned it for a year, said he “wanted to kill all Zionist people and wished they were all dead”, and that “he would do it again”.

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Suspect ‘throws Molotov cocktails’ into crowd

At a press conference on Monday evening, 20th judicial district attorney Michael Dougherty said “Boulder is a beautiful and special place, but we’re not immune from mass violence or hate crimes” as he explained the charges against Soliman.

He said that the suspect faces 16 counts of attempted murder in the first-degree, with eight of those for attempted murder with intent and after deliberation, meaning he had time to consider his crimes.

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The other eight counts relate to attempted murder with extreme indifference, meaning he acted without regard to others’ lives.

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Soliman is also charged with eight counts of first-degree assault, two counts of use of an incendiary device, and 16 counts of attempted use of an incendiary device.

If convicted on all charges pursued by the state prosecutor, and if they run consecutively, Soliman faces a maximum sentence of 624 years in prison.

Mr Dougherty added that the US attorney’s office “will be prosecuting the hate crime against the defendant,” which relates to the federal crime of causing bodily injury because of actual or perceived race, colour, religion, or national origin.

Suspect appears in court

After the press conference, Soliman made his first appearance in court, appearing via web link from Boulder County Jail.

A view of the Colorado Judicial Branch's livestream of Mohamed Soliman's first appearance in court. Pic: Colorado Judicial Branch
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Pic: Colorado Judicial Branch

During the brief hearing, Judge Nancy Salomone asked the suspect if received the protection order issued by the court preventing him from contacting the victims, to which he said “yes”.

She then said she will see legal representatives on Thursday for the filing of the charges.

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Colorado suspect ‘said he wanted to kill all Zionist people’ and ‘planned attack for a year’

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Colorado suspect 'said he wanted to kill all Zionist people' and 'planned attack for a year'

The suspect in the Colorado attack told investigators he planned it for a year and said he wanted to “kill all Zionist people”, it is claimed.

Mohamed Soliman is accused of throwing Molotov cocktails and using a makeshift flamethrower on a group of people at a rally in support of Israeli hostages – with the FBI describing the incident as a targeted “act of terrorism”.

The 45-year-old, from El Paso County, Colorado, yelled “Free Palestine” during the attack, it is alleged.

Soliman has been charged with the federal crime of causing bodily injury because of actual or perceived race, colour, religion, or national origin. Authorities said they would announce further charges later on Monday.

Four women and four men, aged between 52 and 88, were injured and taken to hospitals. One victim is in a critical condition and others were seriously hurt, authorities said.

Police mugshot of suspect Mohamed Soliman. Pic: Boulder Police Dept.
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Suspect Mohamed Soliman. Pic: Boulder Police Department

In a federal criminal complaint, investigators said Soliman confessed to the attack and told them that he had planned it for a year.

The alleged attacker said he researched on YouTube how to make Molotov cocktails – an improvised bomb made from a bottle filled with petrol and stuffed with a piece of cloth to use as a fuse, it was claimed.

He allegedly made them before driving to Boulder, Colorado, to carry out the attack on the weekly demonstration, where people were calling for release of Israeli hostages held in Gaza.

Soliman told investigators he “wanted to kill all Zionist people and wished they were all dead”, and “he would do it (conduct an attack) again”, according to the criminal complaint.

The suspect said he had been planning the attack for a year, and was waiting until after his daughter graduated to carry it out, it was alleged.

Unlit Molotov cocktails found near scene

According to the federal complaint, officers found a black plastic container with a yellow top near where Soliman was arrested, containing “at least 14 unlit Molotov cocktails”.

Investigators said the projectiles were comprised of “glass wine carafe bottles or Ball jars,” and that near the container “was a backpack weed sprayer, potentially containing a flammable substance”.

It was later determined the liquid in both the bottles and weed sprayer was the flammable liquid xylene, the complaint said.

Mark Michalek, a special agent in charge of the FBI’s Denver field office, described the sprayer as a “makeshift flamethrower”.

Topless attack suspect holds bottles
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The suspect was seen clutching two glass bottles

Trump condemns ‘horrific’ attack

Law enforcement officials told Sky News’ US partner network NBC News that Soliman is an Egyptian national who seemingly acted alone. They said he has no previous significant contact with law enforcement.

Tricia McLaughlin, assistant secretary at the Department of Homeland Security, said Soliman was in the US “illegally”.

She posted on X: “He entered the country in August 2022 on a B2 visa that expired on February 2023. He filed for asylum in September 2022.”

US President Donald Trump said the “horrific” attack in Boulder “will not be tolerated in the United States of America”.

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Police chief Steve Redfearn said the attack happened at around 1.26pm local time on Sunday and initial reports were that “people were being set on fire”.

“When we arrived we encountered multiple victims that were injured, with injuries consistent with burns,” Mr Redfearn said.

The attack happened as a “group of pro-Israel people” were peacefully demonstrating, police said.

The walk is held regularly by a volunteer group called Run For Their Lives, which aims to raise awareness of the hostages who remain in Gaza.

A bomb disposal robot with law enforcement on a Boulder street. Pic: AP
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A bomb disposal robot at the scene. Pic: AP

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said he was praying for the full recovery of the people wounded in the “vicious terror attack” in Colorado.

“This attack was aimed against peaceful people who wished to express their solidarity with the hostages held by Hamas, simply because they were Jews,” he said.

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US Senate minority leader Chuck Schumer, a prominent Jewish Democrat, said the attack was “horrifying” and “this cannot continue”, adding: “We must stand up to antisemitism.”

The attack follows the arrest of a Chicago-born man in the fatal shooting of two Israeli embassy employees in Washington DC two weeks ago.

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Former Biden official Matthew Miller Israel has ‘without doubt’ committed war crimes in Gaza

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Former Biden official Matthew Miller Israel has 'without doubt' committed war crimes in Gaza

A senior official in former president Joe Biden’s administration has told Sky News that he has no doubt that Israel has committed war crimes in Gaza. 

Speaking to the Trump 100 podcast, Matthew Miller, who, as a state department spokesman, was the voice and face of the US government’s foreign policy under Mr Biden, revealed disagreements, tensions and challenges within the former administration.

In the wide-ranging conversation, he said:

• It was “without a doubt true that Israel has committed war crimes”;
• That Israeli soldiers were not being “held accountable”;
• That there were “disagreements all along the way” about how to handle policy;
• And that he “would have wanted to have a better candidate” than Mr Biden for the 2024 election.

Mr Miller served as the state department spokesman from 2023 until the end of Mr Biden’s presidential term. From the podium, his job was to explain and defend foreign policy decisions – from Ukraine to Gaza.

“Look, one of the things about being a spokesperson is you’re not a spokesperson for yourself. You are a spokesperson for the president, the administration, and you espouse the positions of the administration. And when you’re not in the administration, you can just give your own opinions.”

Now out of office, he offered a candid reflection of a hugely challenging period in foreign policy and US politics.

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Miller: Israel ‘committed war crimes’

Gaza disagreements

Asked about Gaza, he revealed there were “small and big” disagreements within the Biden administration over the US-Israeli relationship.

“There were disagreements all along the way about how to handle policy. Some of those were big disagreements, some of those were little disagreements,” he said.

Pushed on rumours that then-secretary of state Antony Blinken had frustrations with Mr Biden over both Gaza and Ukraine policy, Mr Miller hinted at the tensions.

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“I’ll probably wait and let the secretary speak for himself… but I will say, speaking generally, look, it is true about every senior official in government that they don’t win every policy fight that they enter into. And what you do is you make your best case to the president.

“The administration did debate, at times, whether and when to cut off weapons to Israel. You saw us in the spring of 2024 stop the shipment of 2,000-pound bombs to Israel because we did not believe they would use those in a way that was appropriate in Gaza.”

Through the spring and summer of 2024, the Biden administration was caught between its bedrock policy of the unconditional defence of its ally Israel and the reality of what that ally was doing in Gaza, with American weapons.

Mr Mill said: “There were debates about whether to suspend other arms deliveries, and you saw at times us hold back certain arms while we negotiated the use of those arms…

“But we found ourselves in this really tough position, especially in that time period when it really came to a head… We were at a place where – I’m thinking of the way I can appropriately say this – the decisions and the thinking of Hamas leadership were not always secret to the United States and to our partners.”

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FILE - State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller during a news briefing at the State Department, July 18, 2023, in Washington.
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Matthew Miller during a news briefing at the state department in 2023. Pic: AP

He continued: “And it was clear to us in that period that there was a time when our public discussion of withholding weapons from Israel, as well as the protests on college campuses in the United States, and the movement of some European countries to recognise the state of Palestine – appropriate discussions, appropriate decisions – protests are appropriate – but all of those things together were leading the leadership of Hamas to conclude that they didn’t need to agree to a ceasefire, they just needed to hold out for a little bit longer, and they could get what they always wanted.”

“Now, the thing that I look back on, that I will always ask questions of myself about, and I think this is true for others in government, is in that intervening period between the end of May and the middle of January [2025], when thousands of Palestinians were killed, innocent civilians who didn’t want this war, had nothing to do with it, was there more that we could, could have done to pressure the Israeli government to agree to that ceasefire? I think at times there probably was,” Mr Miller said.

Asked for his view on the accusation of genocide in Gaza, he said: “I don’t think it’s a genocide, but I think it is without a doubt true that Israel has committed war crimes.”

Challenged on why he didn’t make these points while in government, he said: “When you’re at the podium, you’re not expressing your personal opinion. You’re expressing the conclusions of the United States government. The United States government had not concluded that they committed war crimes, still have not concluded [that].”

18 November 2024, Brazil, Rio De Janeiro: Anthony Blinken (l), US Secretary of State, and US President Joe Biden take part in the first work
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Anthony Blinken, left, with then US President Joe Biden. Pic: AP

He went on to offer a qualification to his accusation.

“There are two ways to think about the commission of war crimes,” he said.

“One is if the state has pursued a policy of deliberately committing war crimes or is acting recklessly in a way that aids and abets war crimes. Is the state committing war crimes?

“That, I think, is an open question. I think what is almost certainly not an open question is that there have been individual incidents that have been war crimes where Israeli soldiers, members of the Israeli military, have committed war crimes.”

The Israeli government continues to strongly deny all claims that it has committed war crimes in Gaza.

On Joe Biden’s election hopes

Mr Miller also offered a candid reflection on the suitability of Mr Biden as a candidate in the 2024 US election. While Mr Biden initially ran to extend his stay in the White House, he stepped aside, with Kamala Harris taking his place as the Democratic candidate.

“Had I not been inside the government, had I been outside the government acting kind of in a political role, of course, I would have wanted to have a better candidate,” he said.

“It’s that collective action problem where no one wants to be the first to speak out and stand up alone. You stand up by yourself and get your head chopped off, stand up together, you can take action.

“But there was never really a consensus position in the party, and there was no one that was willing to stand up and rally the party to say this isn’t going to work.

“I don’t think there is anyone on the White House staff, including the most senior White House staffers, who could have gone to Joe Biden in the spring of 2023 or at any time after that and told him: ‘Mr President, you are not able to do the duties of this job. And you will not win re-election.’ He would have rejected that outright.”

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Biden’s presidency in 60 seconds

The Trump presidency

On the Donald Trump presidency so far, he offered a nuanced view.

He described Mr Trump’s Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff as “an extremely capable individual” but expressed his worry that he was being manipulated by Russian President Vladimir Putin.

“I know the people in the Biden administration who worked with him during the first negotiations for Gaza ceasefire thought that he was capable.

“I think at times he doesn’t know what he doesn’t know. And you see that especially in the negotiations to end the war in Ukraine, where you see him go into a meeting with Vladimir Putin and come out spouting Russian propaganda… I think he would benefit from a little diplomatic savvy and some experienced diplomats around him.”

Pic:Sputnik/AP
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Trump’s Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff, left, with Vladimir Putin. Pic: Sputnik/AP

He continued: “But I do think it’s extremely important that when people sit down with an envoy of the United States they know that that envoy speaks for the President of the United States and it is very clear that Witkoff has that and that’s an extremely valuable asset to bring to the table.”

On the months and years ahead under Mr Trump, Mr Miller said: “The thing that worries me most is that Donald Trump may squander the position that the United States has built around the world over successive administrations of both parties over a course of decades.

“I don’t think most Americans understand the benefits that they get to their daily lives by the United States being the indispensable nation in the world.

“The open question is: will the damage that he’s doing be recoverable or not?”

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