Sinners sets new Oscars record with 16 nominations and F1 gets shock Best Picture nod

The 2026 Oscars nominations have been announced in Hollywood, with Sinners and One Battle After Another leading the crop.

Actors Danielle Brooks and Lewis Pullman revealed the latest round of nominations, which saw Ryan Coogler’s vampire film Sinners become the most recognised film of all time. It received 16 nominations, exceeding the record of 14 previously held by All About Eve (1950), Titanic (1997) and La La Land (2016),

Following close behind were One Battle After Another, with 13, and Joachim Trier’s Norwegian film Sentimental Value, Marty Supreme, starring Timothee Chalamet, Guillermo del Toro’s Frankenstein, which received nine each.

Chloé Zhao’s weepie Hamnet garnered eight nominations, including Best Actress for Irish star Jessie Buckley.

Chalamet’s recognition in the Best Actor category saw him become the youngest actor to receive three nominations in the category since Marlon Brando in 1954.

Meanwhile, snubs included Chase Infiniti, who was tipped for a Best Actress nomination for One Battle After Another, Paul Mescal for his supporting turn in Hamnet and del Toro in Directing.

The 98th Academy Awards will take place on 15 March, hosted by Conan O’Brien.

Five-year-old boy and father detained by ICE in Minnesota

A five-year-old boy and his father were detained by Immigration and Customs Enforcement in Minnesota and taken to a facility in Texas, school officials and the family’s lawyer said.

Liam Ramos is now the fourth student from Columbia Heights Public Schools swept up in ICE activity in Minneapolis in recent weeks, the district said at a news conference Wednesday to speak out against the anti-immigration operation.

Tensions have been inflamed in Minneapolis since an ICE agent fatally shot mother-of-three Renee Good, 37, earlier this month, sparking protests and unrest. Vice President JD Vance is due to deliver remarks in the city Thursday, “focused on restoring law and order in Minnesota.”

Liam and his father, named by the Department of Homeland Security as Adrian Alexander Conejo Arias, who was described as “an illegal alien from Ecuador,” were detained Tuesday afternoon in their driveway on returning home from preschool. Photos released by the district show agents leading the child, wearing a backpack and a blue animal hat, to an SUV in the snow.

“Why detain a five-year-old?” said Superintendent Zena Stenvik. “You cannot tell me that this child is going to be classified as a violent criminal.”

The school alleges that once officers apprehended Liam’s father, “the agent took the child out of the still-running vehicle, led him to the door and directed him to knock on the door in order to see if anyone else was home — essentially using a five-year-old as bait.”

There was another adult at home at the time, who “begged the agents to let them take care of the small child, but was refused,” according to Stenvik.

Tricia McLaughlin, Department of Homeland Security assistant secretary, said the arrest of Liam’s father was “part of a targeted operation” and claimed an agent stayed with Liam for his safety.

“ICE did NOT target a child,” McLaughlin said in a statement to The Independent. “As agents approached the driver, Adrian Alexander Conejo Arias fled on foot — abandoning his child. For the child’s safety, one of our ICE officers remained with the child while the other officers apprehended Conejo Arias.”

“Parents are asked if they want to be removed with their children, or ICE will place the children with a safe person the parent designates,” McLaughlin continued. “This is consistent with past administration’s immigration enforcement.”

Liam and his father were taken to a facility in San Antonio, according to the family’s lawyer Marc Prokosch, who said they are not U.S. citizens but “have been following the legal process perfectly, from presenting themselves at the border to applying for asylum and waiting for the process to go through.”

At Wednesday’s news conference, Liam’s teacher, Ella Sullivan, described him as “a very friendly” student who “brightens the room” when he comes into class each morning.

“His friends haven’t asked about him yet, but I know that they’ll catch on,” she said. “All I want is for him to be back here and safe.”

Two weeks ago, a 10-year-old 4th grader was “taken by ICE agents on her way to one of our elementary schools with her mother,” the school district said.

“During the arrest, the child called her father to tell him the ICE agents were bringing her to school. The father immediately came to the school to find that both his daughter and wife had been taken,” the school said, adding that the mother and child were taken to a detention center in Texas, where they reportedly remain.

On the same day Liam and his father were detained, a 17-year-old Columbia Heights High School student “was taken by armed and masked agents” on their way to school, where no parents were present. “The student was removed from their car and taken away,” the school said.

In another alleged incident last week, ICE agents “pushed their way into an apartment and detained a 17-year-old student and her mother.”

Stevnik said the activity has compromised “the sense of safety in our community” and staff and students have been left “shaken.”

“Staff wear brave faces throughout the day for their students, while facing so many uncertainties,” Stenvik said. “As soon as the school day ends, they are not sure if they will see their students tomorrow morning while taking attendance.”

Mary Granlund, chair of the Columbia Heights Public Schools board of education, said students “should not be afraid to come to school or wait at the bus stop.”

“At the end of the day, we have whistles, and they have guns,” she said.

Spain sees third rail crash in one week as train hits crane in Cartagena

A commuter train crashed into a construction crane in southeastern Spain on Thursday, in the country’s third rail crash in less than a week.

Several people suffered minor injuries in the crash near the port city of Cartagena in the Murcia region, authorities said.

“The train hasn’t been overturned or derailed,” a spokesperson for Murcia’s emergency services said. The first calls about the crash came in just after noon, they added.

Spanish rail operator Adif said on X that traffic on that line was interrupted due to “the intrusion into the infrastructure gauge by a crane not belonging to the railway operation”, without providing further details.

A later posting said services had resumed on the line.

Spain is still reeling from Sunday’s high-speed train collision in the southern Andalusia region that killed at least 43 people.

Two days later, a commuter train derailed after a containment wall fell on the track due to heavy rain near Barcelona, killing the driver and seriously injuring four passengers.

The main train drivers’ union called a three-day nationwide strike from February 9 to 11 on Wednesday over safety standards.

“The serious accidents in Adamuz and Gelida, both with fatalities, are a turning point in demanding all necessary actions to guarantee the safety of railway operations,” the train operators’ union SEMAF said in a statement.

It added that it would demand criminal liability from “those responsible for ensuring safety in the railway infrastructure”.

Barron Trump ‘saved’ woman’s life after she was beaten, court hears

A friend of Barron Trump says he saved her life by calling the cops after seeing her being beaten up by her ex-boyfriend on a FaceTime call, according to a report.

The woman, whose name has not been shared publicly, told a London court that she called Trump last January as her ex-boyfriend, Matvei Rumiantsev, 22, allegedly started hitting her because he was jealous of her friendship with the president’s son,

Trump, 19, reached out to authorities in the UK, telling the 911 operator, “I just got a call from a girl I know. She’s getting beaten up.”

After giving her address, he told the operator, “It’s really an emergency, please. I got a call from her with a guy beating her up,” according to the report.

Bodycam footage from when police arrived was also played in Snaresbrook Crown Court, showing officers telling the woman that someone from the United States had been in touch.

“I am friends with Barron Trump, Donald Trump’s son,” she told authorities, explaining that she called him on FaceTime earlier. One of the officers can then be heard telling a colleague, “So apparently this informant from America is likely to be Donald Trump’s son.”

The officers later asked her to call Trump back to confirm what she told them, with the footage capturing her saying, “Hello, Barron — did you call the police or anything?”

He can be heard replying, “I had someone call the police.”

“She called me. I picked up the phone expecting a nice hello or something. I just saw a ceiling and could hear screaming. I could see a guy’s head on the phone, and then the camera turns to her crying and getting hit,” he said of the short, 15-second phone call.

“I called you guys — that was the best thing I could do. I wasn’t going to call back and threaten things to him because that would just make the situation worse,” he added.

During cross-examination, the woman was questioned about her claims that Trump “saved” her, and she doubled down on her claims.

“He helped save my life. That call was like a sign from God at that moment,” she said.

The woman told jurors that Rumiantsev assaulted her, including by strangling, after they got into an argument last January.

Months later, she also filed a complaint to police that she’d been raped by him twice, the second time just hours before police responded to the January assault, according to the report.

Rumiantsev denies the assault, ABH (assault occasioning actual bodily harm), two counts of rape, intentional strangulation and perverting the course of justice, according to the report.

‘A stranger stopped and asked me for my number. Then I found out he was secretly filming me’

Seconds after Isobel Thomason turned down a stranger on the street asking for her number, he approached her again with an unabashed confession: “I’m actually a content creator – and I’ve been filming this.”

At the same time he pointed to his glasses – frames that 22-year-old Ms Thomason said looked normal to her, but he then explained, were actually smart glasses made by social media giant Meta.

The glasses allow the wearer to film, navigate, and even translate text using their lenses, but experts say they are increasingly being used to film women without their consent, putting them at risk of a slew of online and real-world harms.

Meta said it is aware and “concerned” about a small number of people who “misuse” their products despite measures it said it has put in place to prevent covert recording, but that such issues are not unique to smart glasses.

However, victims told The Independent they believe predators are using the covert nature of the glasses to violate women’s privacy.

“In that moment, I literally felt my heart drop,” the 22-year-old said of the moment the man told her he was filming.

“I just thought, ‘Oh my God, this is so dystopian, so bizarre.’”

She said the man approached her in Manchester’s trendy Northern Quarter when she was alone, and asked for her number. When she turned him down, she says he walked away before getting her attention a second time.

Ms Thomason said the man then told her he regularly posts clips of himself approaching women on social media to “boost men’s confidence”.

Unlike other women who have reported similar incidents, Ms Thomason was asked whether she gave permission for him to post her video online – something she says she did not grant.

But she said she was left feeling “violated” and “scared” by the fact he now had a video of her she has no control over.

“I had no idea I was being filmed until he told me,” she said. “He could do anything with that video. Even if it is just for personal use, that’s such a concerning thing to think about.

“I was so angry because he framed it in this way of doing something good, but I don’t want to be part of boosting men’s confidence for the sake of secretly being filmed.”

After the incident she looked up the man on TikTok and found dozens of videos of a similar nature in a trend that is appearing across social media.

The videos are often met with misogynistic comments ridiculing the women’s appearance and attitudes – all of which the creator is able to monetise.

She told The Independent she believes smart glasses should have a more distinctive appearance to stop them being used in these scenarios.

“Do they really need to look like normal glasses with a tiny little camera on the front?” she asked. “It doesn’t make sense. It feels dark.

“If I could look up and recognise them straight away and understand I was being recorded it would probably make things feel a bit better.”

Incidents of women being filmed without their consent are on the rise, Dr Olga Jurasz, director of the Centre for Protecting Women Online, told The Independent.

She explained that instances like the one Ms Thomason experienced are “alarming” but “sadly not unexpected” for experts in women’s safety.

“I think we generally, over the past 10 years, have seen not only a rise but commonality of these behaviours,” she told The Independent. “Not only are they on the rise, but they are also becoming much more common and sadly more normalised”.

She added women experience “multifold” harms from this behaviour, including the risk of being victims of deepfakes, having to “guard” their privacy in public spaces, and becoming subject to discussions in comments spaces with a “global” reach.

“The fact that he asked for consent after it happened is pretty much irrelevant,” Dr Jurasz said.

“She had an opportunity to say no, but she does not know whether that recording has been permanently deleted.

“This kind of behaviour completely puts in the spotlight the fact that women do not consent to this.”

Dr Jurasz added the “discreet” nature of the glasses made them even more “worrying”.

Speaking about the recent controversy over Elon Musk’s Grok AI tool that generated “undressed” images of women, she said men are largely being allowed to “get away” with online behaviour that harms women.

At the moment, recording someone in the way Ms Thomason was filmed is not illegal as she was in a public space.

“We are well overdue action tackling such behaviours, and that includes legislatively,” she said.

“I think we need to look at how we regulate and how we have laws that are really fit for purpose. Women’s safety is not optional.”

A Meta spokesperson said devices have an LED light that activates whenever content is captured and “tamper detection technology” to stop people covering the light. They added their terms of service “clearly state” that users should comply with the law and shouldn’t tamper with the product.

“As with any recording device, including phones, people should use smart glasses in a safe, respectful manner, which includes not engaging in harmful activities like harassment, infringing privacy rights, or capturing sensitive information,” they said.

“We are aware and concerned that there are small numbers of users who choose to misuse our products, despite the measures we have put in place. We are dedicated to delivering valuable, safe, and innovative products for people and continually review opportunities to enhance our AI glasses, informed by customer feedback and ongoing research.”

TikTok said it had taken enforcement action against the account after it was contacted by The Independent.

Minister for safeguarding and violence against women and girls Jess Phillips said: “Covert filming of women and girls is vile, and we will not let anyone profit from it.

“We’re investing in proper police training on non-contact sexual offences and backing Project Vigilant – a smart, proactive approach already stopping predators before they strike, day or night.

“This government will introduce new laws making it a criminal offence to take intimate images or install equipment to capture them without consent. Nobody’s privacy and safety should ever be up for grabs.”

The Australia less travelled: fresh ways to explore New South Wales

Sydney might be famous for its iconic Sydney Opera House and century-old Sydney Harbour Bridge, but the best way to really get under the skin of this multifaceted city, and the diverse state it’s situated in, is to wander beyond Circular Quay and explore the lesser-known spots, beyond the breathtaking skyscrapers and the buzzy CBD. From leafy neighbourhoods where locals sip natty wines at cosy bars to overlooked coastal suburbs where swims turn into sunset beers – this is Sydney and New South Wales when you slow down and look beyond the surface.

Explore like a local

Start in inner-city Sydney and make your way to Surry Hills, where Victorian terraces line leafy streets and the vibe feels more quaint and chic than barefoot Aussie beach life. Natural wine bars sit next to vintage shops, and art galleries are sandwiched between terraced houses. Breakfast and brunch here are a ritual, with cafes spilling onto pavements and neighbourhood restaurants serving seasonal Australian menus.

Just a short stroll away, Chippendale has racked up awards as one of the coolest neighbourhoods in the world. It’s chock-full of independent galleries, cool concept stores, hidden courtyards, and even has its own Asian food alley, an open-air hawker-style food market tucked away behind a row of old terrace houses, lit by the glow of lanterns.

If you’re someone who prefers to spend their time by the water, Manly should be on your radar. This northern-beaches suburb is just a short ferry ride from the city centre and swaps the CBD’s skyscraper-dotted skyline for laid-back surf culture. Sunrise swims, cold beers and permanently sandy feet are just part of life here. Plus, the view of the city in the distance is worth getting your camera out for.

Enjoy fresh foodventures

Most travellers head to the Hunter Valley for wine (and fair enough), but Orange is the coolest wine region on the block. This cool-climate region sits high up in the Central Tablelands, turning out chardonnay, pinot noir, and sauvignon blanc, thanks to its fertile volcanic soils and cooler evenings. The cellar doors here feel more intimate and practically made for languorous lunches, complete with beautiful bucolic scenery, not to mention the food scene that pays homage to the very best local produce.

In the Tweed region, you’ll find the Husk Farm Distillery, a family-run, paddock-to-bottle distillery set among cane fields just north of Byron Bay. This pastoral paradise is home to Australia’s first agricultural rum distillery and the maker of the now-famous colour-changing Ink Gin. The surrounding fields and rolling farmland mean tastings come with epic views, especially if you book one of their picnic experiences, where you can watch cattle quietly graze in the distance while sipping on seasonal drinks. Nearby, you can try your hand at mud crabbing with Indigenous guides or slurp freshly shucked oysters straight from the estuary.

Further down on the Central Coast, and only one hour’s drive from Sydney, the Broken Bay Pearl Farm, New South Wales’ only pearl farm, runs ‘Shellar Door’ tours, where you can snack on the freshest oysters and learn about pearl cultivation while gliding across mirror-flat waterways surrounded by gorgeous green hills.

Reset in nature

Go off grid and get some serious R&R in the Blue Mountains, where blankets of eucalyptus forests spill down into sandstone valleys. The panoramic views from every angle make you feel small, and days are best spent holing up at a luxurious hotel where you can switch off your phone for a few days.

Spicers Sangoma Retreat, situated amidst the untouched beauty of Bowen Mountain, is just one of the many options to rest your head. Awarded two Michelin Keys it’s known for its secluded suites, infinity pool with treetop views, and a focus on immersion rather than excess. Wake early to views of mist-covered cliffs and Angophora gums in every direction, then treat yourself to a spa treatment or settle in for a wine-and-watercolour class.

On the North Coast of New South Wales, Byron Bay has its own version of laid-back luxury, offering a more barefoot, beachy vibe with stays like Crystalbrook Byron. Here it’s all about seafront restaurants serving just-caught seafood, world-class beach breaks for surfing, and some of the most drop-dead gorgeous national parks in the world.

Alternatively, head South to Jervis Bay which also delivers similar vibes with options like Paperbark Camp, inspired by an African safari. It offers cosy canvas-tent glamping, with a treetop candlelit dining room surrounded by native bushland.

For travel information, inspiration and to start planning your New South Wales holiday visit Travelbag

Osaka stunned by frosty handshake from beaten Australian Open opponent

Naomi Osaka was left puzzled by the frostiest of handshakes from opponent Sorana Cirstea as she advanced to the third round of the Australian Open.

Osaka won 6-3 4-6 6-2 to defeat the 35-year-old Romanian, who was playing in her final Australian Open before retirement.

A fuming Cirstea stormed away from Osaka after a brief handshake at the net, before turning around to exchange words with the former world No 1.

Osaka was baffled by the confrontation and brought it up immediately during her on-court interview, even though she was not directly asked about the incident.

Asked what it took to advance to the third round, Osaka replied: “Apparently a lot of ‘come-ons’ as that’s what she was angry about but whatever.”

It drew a mixed reaction from the crowd and Osaka added: “I mean, I tried to play well. I think I made a lot of unforced errors but I tried my best. She’s a great player. I think this was her last Australian Open, so, sorry she’s mad about it.”

Cirstea was frustrated by Osaka saying “come-on” to pump herself up between serves and when this was pointed out to her during the on-court interview, an exasperated Osaka replied: “I think so, but she could have asked me.”

Serving down 4-2, 30-30 in the third set, Cirstea spoke to the umpire after Osaka had appeared to say “come on, come on” after the Romanian had found the net with her first serve.

“Is that okay? To do come-ons between points?” Cirstea asked the umpire. “So I can talk between points? Yeah, can I go ‘come-on’?”

But it led to a lapse in concentration from the world No 41, who missed a forehand long on the very next point, then blasted another forehand out to go down a double-break. That was greeted by a much louder “come-on” from Osaka.

Cirstea was beginning to boil over in the final game of the match, as she began to swing even harder for the ball. When Osaka won match point, she celebrated with another shout of “come-on” before walking to the net for the hand-shake.

Afterwards, Cirstea said did not want the incident to overshadow her 18th and final year at the Australian Open, where she reached the fourth round in 2017.

“We just had a chat. Nothing big. Again, I don’t think that’s the main thing after tonight match. Again, it was a good match. She was much better than me towards the end. Yeah, she deserved the win. So that’s all I will say.

“Look, this is my last Australian Open. I have been playing for 20 years. It’s more than a five-second discussion at the end that I had with Naomi. This is my last Australian Open and so I think the moments are bigger to me than to talk about a five-second chat I had with Naomi at the end.

“There was no drama. It was just a five-second exchange between two players that have been on a tour for a long time. It stays between us. For me this was my last match at the Australian Open, so I think I’ll like to stay with that.”

Osaka said she would apologise to Cirstea for the comments she made during her on-court interview. “For me, no one’s ever complained about it before,” she said. “Also the umpire didn’t tell me I was wrong. The umpire said I was fine. That was kind of what I thought. I thought we moved past it.

“I’ve never been involved in something like this before, so I don’t know if we’re supposed to leave it on the court and be like, Hey, how you doing? I’m a little confused. I guess that emotions were very high for her.

“I also want to apologise. I think the first couple things that I said on the court was disrespectful. I don’t like disrespecting people. That’s not what I do.

“I mean, if she wants to talk about it, then yeah. But when I’m pumping myself up, in my head I’m not like, now I’m going to distract the other person. It’s purely for me.”

After her show-stopping entrance onto court for her first-round win over Antonia Ruzic, which saw Osaka walk onto the Rod Laver Arena in a white veil, wide-brimmed hat and parasol, there was a slightly more toned-down look for the four-time grand slam champion for her match against Cirstea. “For me, it’s just something fun I love to do on the court,” Osaka said. “I don’t really talk that much but I like to express myself through clothes.”

Still, Osaka walked out onto the smaller Margaret Court Arena in the blue-green jellyfish-inspired jacket and the same white flowing dress and trousers, which she removed for the warm-up. Meanwhile, some of Osaka’s fans in the crowd were wearing replicas of her hat and veil.

“I’m really glad that you guys loved it – you guys look really cool by the way,” Osaka said to the fans. “I grew up with Serena and Venus (Williams), (Maria) Sharapova, Bethanie Mattek-Sands and for me it’s a great honour if there’s a kid out there somewhere that comes and plays this tournament and remembers me in a way.”

Osaka, who won the Australian Open in 2019 and 2021, will now play Australian qualifier Maddison Inglis in the third round.

Liz Hurley left ‘devastated’ by Daily Mail alleged phone tapping

A tearful Liz Hurley has accused the Daily Mail publisher of stealing her medical records while she was pregnant with her son, and said she was left “devastated” to discover that they had allegedly tapped her phone.

The actress, 60, became emotional and visibly upset in the witness box at the High Court, where she was accompanied by her son Damian, with Prince Harry also in attendance to support.

In written evidence, she said: “The Mail’s unlawful acts against me involve landline tapping my phones and recording my live telephone conversations, placing surreptitious mics on my home windows, stealing my medical information when I was pregnant with Damian and other monstrous, staggering things.”

Ms Hurley continued: “Above all, it was the discovery that The Mail had tapped the landlines of my home phones and tape recorded my live telephone conversations that devastated me.

“I had not come across this brutal invasion of privacy in either of my two battles with the other newspapers. I felt crushed. It represented the ultimate violation of privacy.”

She is one of seven claimants taking legal action against Associated Newspapers Limited for alleged unlawful information gathering, which includes phone hacking and ‘blagging’ private records.

She said: “I felt really mortified that my son would be able to read all this stuff one day, and I feel really bad that that day is today when all this stuff is being regurgitated again.

“Yet again, everyone’s privacy is being invaded in this terrible way, and I feel very helpless about that.”

Ms Hurley also told the court she used to think of the British press as the best in the world, and to some extent, still does.

She added there were “just some rotten eggs”.

She continued: “I don’t have a vendetta against the British press. I don’t have a vendetta or hatred of Associated at all, I just feel some bad things went on with some bad people.”

Her evidences comes a day after Prince Harry told the court: “They have made my wife’s life an absolute misery.”

When asked how the proceedings had made him feel by his barrister David Sherborne on Wednesday, the duke said: “It’s fundamentally wrong to put us through this again when all we wanted was an apology and accountability.

“It’s a horrible experience.”

In his 23-page witness statement, Harry said that when he brought legal action against two other newspaper publishers, he had “no idea” that he may have had a claim against ANL.

He continued: “As I am sure is clear, if I had known earlier then I would have acted, particularly given ANL’s treatment of Meghan and her claim against it.”

The Duchess of Sussex sued ANL and won in 2021 after The Mail On Sunday published parts of a “personal and private” letter to her father Thomas Markle.

Soon after he began dating Meghan, Harry attacked the media over its “abuse and harassment” of her.

Kensington Palace warned on his behalf: “This is not a game – it is her life.”

In a frosty exchange between Harry and lawyers acting on behalf of ANL, the duke told the High Court: “My social circles were not leaky, I want to make that absolutely clear.”

He said that if he became suspicious of someone, “I would have to cut contact with this person”.

One of the stories complained about by Harry concerned “confidential discussions” he had after a photo of a dying Diana, Princess of Wales was published in the Italian press – an article he described as “beyond cruel”.

In his written evidence, Harry described an article published in the Daily Mail in July 2006 as “really disgusting”, saying he was having private discussions with his brother, the now-Prince of Wales.

Other articles concerned his former girlfriend Chelsy Davy – with Harry telling the court he was “really worried something bad was going to happen” when he was in a relationship with her.

He said in written evidence: “I was never suspicious of Chelsy in relation to stories like this, but I was of her friends. If I saw this story at the time, I would have been very frustrated and angry.

“I would have questioned how Associated found out this information. But, at the same time, I would have felt like I had to accept this as the reality of my life.”

Ms Hurley, along with the duke, Sir Elton John and his husband David Furnish, fellow actress Sadie Frost, campaigner Baroness Doreen Lawrence and politician Sir Simon Hughes are suing Associated Newspapers Limited (ANL) over allegations of unlawful information gathering.

ANL strongly denies wrongdoing and is defending the claims.

The trial before Mr Justice , which is due to conclude in March, will resume at 10.30am.