Employment Disputes, “Egregious” Letters & Editorial Errors: Inside BBC Turmoil Over Israel-Gaza

EXCLUSIVE: The West Wing actor Joshua Malina will make his London stage bow in the fall playing a “secular, sarcastic, anti-religious Jew” who says “the unsayable” about Israel in what’s being billed as the European premiere of Nathan Englander’s adaptation of his 2012 short story What We Talk About When We Talk About Anne Frank.

Charlie Dimmock, the well-known presenter of BBC's Garden Rescue, has been enjoying the single life in the New Forest after her relationship with former partner John Mushet ended.

Jerry Seinfeld has brutally shut down yet another group of anti-Israel hecklers at his Melbourne show, the latest in a series of disruptions during the legendary American comedian’s Australian tour.Seinfeld was performing in front of thousands of fans at Melbourne’s Rod Laver Arena on Saturday night when, towards the end of his set, a group of anti-Israel protesters began chanting, “From the river to the sea, Palestine will be free.”The 70-year-old — who is widely considered one of the best stand-up comedians of all time — immediately mocked the group for having paid to attend his show.“I think you need to go back and tell whoever is running your organization, ‘We just gave more money to a Jew,’” he said as the crowd erupted with laughter.“That cannot be a good plan for you.

Singer and West End musical theatre star Michael Ball recently took over the much-loved Love Songs show on BBC Radio 2, following Steve Wright's tragic death earlier this year. Michael quit his mid-morning show on the station, to host the two-hour-long Love Songs With Michael Ball from the beginning of this month. But away from his radio job, Michael is known for his larger-than-life, ever-smiling personality.

Dua Lipa is speaking out about her support for the Palestinians in Gaza.

shows.“We have a genius, ladies and gentlemen. He solved the Middle East!” Seinfeld joked.Jerry Seinfeld demolishes anti-Jewish heckler.

Bambie Thug has dedicated a performance of The Cranberries’ ‘Zombie’ at Download Festival to the people of Palestine.The artist, who memorably represented Ireland at this year’s Eurovision, played the Apex Stage at the Donington festival yesterday (June 14) and took the time to highlight the cause that is close to their heart.After singing the track ‘Trash’ from inside a wheelie bin, Bambie said, “You know what else is trash? Governments that allow genocides to happen. Our voices are more important than ever.”They then played a cover of ‘Zombie’, a song about the innocent victims of political violence, before rounding off the song with a cry of “Free Palestine”.Bambie had previously shared a recorded version of the cover earlier this year, which you can listen to below.The musician spoke to NME in May about playing the main stage of Download Festival this weekend, calling it “mental”.“I can’t wait,” they told NME. “After Eurovision I was like, ‘I’m going to be so bored’.

Clare Balding is set to host this year's Trooping the Colour for the BBC, bringing viewers all the updates from the royal spectacle, minute by minute.The 53 year old English broadcast journalist and author, who currently presents for BBC Sport, Channel 4 and BT Sport, will be on hand for everything that happens at the event on Saturday, 15 June, which will mark King Charles' official birthday. Outside of her official presenting duties, Clare lives a quiet life with her wife, Alice Arnold, 61, who she has been with for nearly two decades.

Barclays on Friday suspended its sponsorship of all Live Nation music festivals in 2024 after various acts dropped out in protest over the bank’s links to defense companies that work with Israel.The suspension includes upcoming Live Nation festivals across the UK this summer, including Latitude, Download and the Isle of Wight.“The protesters’ agenda is to have Barclays debank defense companies which is a sector we remain committed to as an essential part of keeping this country and our allies safe,” the bank’s spokesperson told Reuters.The suspension comes after several artists, including country singer CMAT, metal band Ithaca and comedian Joanne McNally, pulled out of the events.Last month, Barclay’s annual shareholders’ meeting was disrupted by activists protesting against its alleged indirect links to violence in Gaza.

Four years after Bad Boys original author George Gallo first went to court over copyright to the lucrative Will Smith and Martin Lawrence franchise, the scribe and Columbia Pictures have settled their differences.

Disney/Pixar’s Inside Out 2 had its first full day of play at the international box office on Wednesday with No. 1 starts in each of its eight material markets, including strong debuts in majors Korea and Germany as well as the Philippines. The total through day one overseas is $4.9M. Majors joining through Friday include Australia, Mexico and the UK.

EXCLUSIVE: Clive Myrie, one of the BBC’s most senior news anchors, has been criticized after making thousands of pounds delivering speeches to an investment company linked to Israeli arms suppliers.

Lankum have said they have signed a letter asking Latitude to drop Barclays as a sponsor amid the current boycott of the bank over its ties to companies who are supplying weapons and military technology to Israel.Numerous acts have already pulled out of the Henham Park festival over its sponsorship by Barclays, including CMAT, Pillow Queens, Mui Zyu and Georgia Ruth. Comedians Joanne McNally and Alexandra Haddow have also dropped out.Now, Lankum have lent their voices to the conversation by revealing that they have signed a letter to Latitude over the issue, suggesting that the festival itself will be subject to acts taking a collective stand.“In relation to the Barclays sponsorship of Latitude Festival, we have signed a letter asking the festival to drop the bank due to their links with weapons firms involved in the genocide in Palestine,” they wrote in a statement.“We have also been working behind the scenes with a number of the acts scheduled to play at the festival as we firmly believe that collective action is the most effective action.“Hopefully we will have more news on this soon.”“Love and solidarity, Cormac, Daragh, Ian and Radie.”In relation to the Barclays sponsorship of Latitude Festival, we have signed a letter asking the festival to drop the bank due to their links with weapons firms involved in the genocide in Palestine.We have also been working behind the scenes with a number of the acts… pic.twitter.com/DIGdmhDxIp— LANKUM (@LankumDublin) June 12, 2024The announcement of artists pulling out of Latitude comes shortly after the major boycott of The Great Escape in Brighton last month, also due to its ties with Barclays.

System Of A Down‘s Serj Tankian has weighed in on the current situation in Palestine and the movement to boycott companies with ties to Israel.Hamas attacked Israel on October 7 in response to its occupation of Palestinian territories, killing 1,189 people. Israel’s ongoing operations in the interim have killed 37,702 Palestinians [via Al Jazeera].Recently, record labels, promoters and more have called for a cultural boycott of Israel through the Palestinian Campaign for the Academic and Cultural Boycott of Israel (PACBI), an offshoot of Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions Movement (BDS) which was behind the huge wave of drop-outs from The Great Escape, Latitude Festival and Download Festival this year.In an interview with NME about his new autobiography Down With The System, Tankian has given his take on current world events and the ongoing boycotts.

Addie Morfoot Contributor One of the first feature-length documentaries about the repercussions of the Israel-Hamas war, which began on Oct. 7, 2023, is being released today on “Frontline.” Nonprofit news organization Retro Report and “Frontline” teamed up on “Crisis on Campus,” about America’s ongoing college campus conflict ignited by the Israel-Hamas war in Gaza.

Latitude 2024 due to the festival’s sponsorship with Barclays and its ties to Israel.They are the two leading names when it comes to the comedians who are boycotting this year’s edition of the event, and follow numerous musical acts who are refusing to perform while it is still sponsored by the bank.Joanne McNally announced her withdrawal from the festival last week, when she shared an update online. She was set to close the comedy tent at Latitude 2024, which will be held at Henham Park in Suffolk between July 25 and 28.“I’m getting messages today about me performing at Latitude when it’s being sponsored by Barclays,” she began on Instagram (via Goss.ie).

Scowl, Speed and Zulu have become the latest bands to pull out of Download 2024 over its partnership with Barclays and the bank’s ties to Israel.The news follows a similar move from Leeds hardcore band Pest Control who announced they would be pulling out earlier today (June 10), saying that they would not “take part in an event whose sponsor profits from facilitating a genocide.”In a statement posted to their social media, Scowl wrote: “We will not be playing Download fest this year due to Barclays Bank sponsorship of the event and Barclays’ connection to Israel and the genocide Israel is committing in Palestine.“Free Palestine!”They directed fans to the Bands Boycott Barclays campaign for more information and thanked Pest Control “for bringing this to our attention”.Meanwhile, Speed wrote on their social media accounts: “SPEED will no longer be playing Download Festival this Friday June 14 due to the recent news of Barclays Banks sponsorship of the event and their involvement in the war in Gaza.”Zulu announced they would be dropping out shortly after. In their statement, they said: “We will not be playing Download Festival as we just got word about Barclays Bank and their sponsorship of the fest.

Pest Control have pulled out of Download 2024 over its sponsorship with Barclays and the bank’s ties to Israel.The band took to their official Instagram to share a statement explaining why they would be boycotting the annual festival in Donnington. “We have made the decision to pull out of our upcoming shows at Download festival this week (Wednesday 12th June and Sunday 16th June),” began their statement.They explained that they are taking part in the boycott against Barclays bank who are sponsoring the music festival.

Palestinian Campaign for the Academic and Cultural Boycott of Israel (PACBI).The campaign has called for the boycott amidst the ongoing developments in the Israel-Palestine conflict, which recently saw Israel carry out an airstrike operation in Rafah. The airstrike was estimated to have killed at least 37 people between May 27-28, according to The Associated Press.They also reported the attack caused several tents to catch fire, killing more residents in Rafah, which is home to thousands of displaced Palestinians from all over the Gaza Strip.Now, music organisations, labels and promoters such as Dark Entries, Techno Queers, Dweller, Noise Not Music, Night Slugs, 8-ball community, Gold Bolus Recordings, NYC Noise, FIST and many more have committed themselves to the boycott.PACBI is an offshoot of the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions Movement (BDS), which was behind the huge wave of drop-outs from The Great Escape and Latitude Festival this year.

Alissa Simon Film Critic In what seems like an odd choice for an English-language remake, helmer-writer Savi Gabizon transfers the action of his least successful Israeli drama, “Longing” (2017), to Canada. Alas, the story of a confirmed bachelor who learns that he fathered a son 19 years earlier fails to translate by striking far too many duff notes. Richard Gere struggles as the unlikable protagonist, whose attempts to learn more about the lad come off as creepy rather than poignant.