Bono calls for Israel to be ‘released from Benjamin Netanyahu’ in plea to ‘stop war’
Irish rock star Bono has called for Israel to be “released from Benjamin Netanyahu and far-right fundamentalists” during an awards ceremony.
The U2 frontman’s comments at the Ivors mark the first time the human rights activist has spoken out in public against the Israeli prime minister since the war in Gaza broke out in October 2023.
Bono, who received the Peace Summit Award at the 2008 Nobel Peace Laureates summit, also called for Hamas to release its remaining Israeli hostages.
It comes as Western leaders have been criticising Mr Netanyahu and the Israeli authorities over the renewed offensive in the Palestinian territory and the risk of famine due to an 11-week aid blockade, which is slowly easing.
Gaza war: Follow latest updates
Bono, whose real name is Paul Hewson, said on Thursday evening at London’s Grosvenor House: “Peace creates possibilities in the most intractable situations.
“Lord knows there’s a few of them out there right now. Hamas release the hostages. Stop the war.
“Israel be released from Benjamin Netanyahu and far-right fundamentalists that twist your sacred texts.
“All of you protect our aid workers, they are the best of us.”
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Bono, 65, made the call for peace as he and fellow U2 members each received an award from pop star Ed Sheeran.
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The group became the first Irish songwriters to be awarded an academy fellowship at the 70th year of the awards.
U2 then performed their song Sunday Bloody Sunday, which references the 1972 Bloody Sunday shootings in Londonderry, where members of the British army’s Parachute Regiment opened fire at civil rights demonstrators.
The group ended the evening with a performance of their 1988 song Angel Of Harlem.
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Netanyahu hits out at Starmer, Macron and Carney
Also on Thursday, Mr Netanyahu said UK Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer was “on the wrong side of humanity” after he called for an end to the war in Gaza.
In a video he shared on social media, the Israeli prime minister also attacked the leaders of France and Canada for their criticism of Israel’s actions in the conflict.
Mr Netanyahu specifically linked the criticism from the UK, France and Canada to the killings in Washington DC of Israeli embassy workers Yaron Lischinsky and Sarah Lynn Milgrim on Wednesday night.
Taylor Swift has revealed the release date for her new album, The Life Of A Showgirl.
The pop megastar announced her 12th studio album earlier this week but didn’t give many details.
Now, in social media posts and an appearance on boyfriend Travis Kelce’s sports podcast, Swift revealed just what fans can expect from the new album.
Taylor Swift and boyfriend Travis Kelce on the New Heights podcast. Pic: New Heights
The Life of Showgirl, written during the European leg of her record-breaking Eras tour, will be released on 3 October.
It consists of 12 songs, including the title track that features pop star Sabrina Carpenter.
The full track list is:
1. The Fate Of Ophelia
2. Elizabeth Taylor
3. Opalite
4. Father Figure
5. Eldest Daughter
6. Ruin The Friendship
7. Actually Romantic
8. Wi$h Li$t
9. Wood
10. Cancelled!
11. Honey
12. The Life Of A Showgirl (featuring Sabrina Carpenter)
Long-time collaborators Max Martin and Shellback, two Swedish producers who worked with Swift on some of her biggest hits, joined the pop star for this album.
Within four hours of posting the full podcast episode on YouTube, it had already gathered 4.7m views.
The cover of Taylor Swift’s newly announced album. Pic: Republic Records
The back cover of Taylor Swift’s 12th studio album The Life Of A Showgirl. Pic: Republic Records
‘The hardest-working star in pop’
The album follows last year’s The Tortured Poets Department, which was released during the Eras tour.
That tour, with shows on five continents and in 51 cities, raked in more than $2.2bn (£1.62bn) and was the highest-grossing tour of all time.
Read more about Taylor Swift:
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“This album is about what was going on behind the scenes in my inner life during this tour, which was so exuberant and electric and vibrant,” Swift said during her podcast appearance.
Sky News culture and entertainment reporter Gemma Peplow said after her globe-trotting tour and a swathe of re-releases over recent years, the new album cemented Swift’s reputation “as the hardest-working star in pop”.
Disgraced US film producer Harvey Weinstein is to be tried for a third time in a sexual assault case.
A jury in New York could not reach a verdict in June against the 73-year-old who was accused of raping actress Jessica Mann, and a mistrial was declared.
Judge Curtis Farber has said he wants the new trial to happen before the end of this year.
The same jury found Weinstein guilty in June of sexually assaulting former Project Runway production assistant Miriam Haley in 2006 and not guilty of assaulting Polish former runway model Kaja Sokola the same year.
Weinstein will be sentenced for the guilty verdict in Ms Haley’s case on 30 September.
He denied all of the charges. Throughout the retrial, his lawyers insisted the sexual encounters with his three accusers were “transactional” and “consensual,” and labelled the women as opportunists.
Weinstein was originally convicted of rape and criminal sexual act by the same court in 2020 and sentenced to 23 years in prison for the crimes.
Last year, however, New York’s highest court overturned the conviction, prompting Weinstein’s retrial this summer.
Weinstein was once one of the most powerful people in Hollywood – the co-founder of film and television production companies Miramax and The Weinstein Company, who produced films such as the Oscar-winning Shakespeare In Love, Pulp Fiction, and The Crying Game.
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In 2017, a series of sexual misconduct allegations against him propelled the #MeToo movement.
Some of those accusations later led to criminal charges and his convictions in New York and California.
Before the retrial, Weinstein was also serving a 16-year prison sentence after being found guilty of rape in California in December 2022. He has also denied this charge.
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