Lady Gaga won for A Star Is Born, Christian Bale thanked the antichrist for inspiration in playing former US vice president Dick Cheney and co-host Sandra Oh took home an award, too, after speaking passionately about "faces of change" at the 76th Golden Globes.
Politics were largely absent from the ceremony on Sunday at the Beverly Hilton Hotel in Beverly Hills, California, before Bale took the stage to accept a globe for best actor in a musical or comedy for his lead performance in Adam McKay's Vice.
"What do you think? Mitch McConnell next?" joked the Welsh-born actor, referring to the Senate's majority leader. "Thank you to Satan for giving me inspiration for this role."
Sandra Oh's roasts and serious moments
Oh and Andy Samberg opened the Globes, put on by the Hollywood Foreign Press Association, on a note of congeniality, including a mock roast of attendees and a string of jokes that playfully commented on critiques of Hollywood. Oh performed an impression of a sexist caveman film executive who casts like the title of Damien Chazelle's Neil Armstrong drama: "First ... man."
Noting the success of Crazy Rich Asians, Oh alluded to films with white stars in Asian roles such as Ghost in the Shell and Aloha, the latter of which prompted Emma Stone, who starred in Aloha, to shout out "I'm sorry" from the crowd.
But Oh, who later also won for her performance on the BBC America drama series Killing Eve, closed her opening monologue on a serious note explaining why she was hosting with Samberg.
She made history on Sunday as she became the first Asian host of the Golden Globe Awards, as well as the second woman of Asian descent to win a Golden Globe, after Japanese actress Yoko Shimada won in 1981 for Shogun.
"I wanted to be here to look out at this audience and witness this moment of change," said Oh, tearing up and gazing at minority nominees in attendance. "Right now, this moment is real. Trust me, this is real. Because I see you. And I see you. All of these faces of change. And now, so will everyone else."
Diverse winners
Some of those faces Oh alluded to won. Mahershala Ali, whom the foreign press association overlooked for his Oscar-winning performance in Moonlight, won best supporting actor for Green Book. While the Globes, decided by 88 voting members of the HFPA, have little relation to the Academy Awards, they can offer a boost when it matter most. Oscar nomination voting begins on Monday.
Green Book, Peter Farrelly's interracial road trip through the early '60s Deep South, also won for its screenplay, giving a boost to a film that has been much criticised for relying on racial tropes.
As expected, Lady Gaga, Mark Ronson, Anthony Rossomando and Andrew Wyatt won best song for the signature tune from A Star Is Born, the film most expected to dominate the Globes.
"Can I just say that as a woman in music, it's really hard to be taken seriously as a musician and as songwriter and these three incredible men, they lifted me up," Gaga said.
'Roma' wins big
Although the Globes are put on by foreign journalists, they don't include foreign language films in their two best picture categories (for drama and musical/comedy). That left Netflix's Oscar hopeful, Alfonso Cuaron's memory-drenched work Roma out of the top category. Cuaron still won as best director and the Mexican-born filmmaker's movie won best foreign language film.
"Cinema at its best tears down walls and builds bridges to other cultures," Cuaron said accepting the foreign language award. "As we cross these bridges, these experiences and these new shapes and these new faces, we begin to realise that, while they may seem strange, they are not unfamiliar.
"This film would not have been possible without the specific colours that made me who I am. Gracias, familia. Gracias, Mexico."
Time is still up
Best supporting actress in a motion picture went to the Oscar front-runner Regina King for her matriarch of Barry Jenkins' James Baldwin adaptation If Beale Street Could Talk. King spoke about the Time's Up movement and vowed that the crews of everything she produces in the next two years will be half women. She challenged others to do likewise.
"Stand with us in solidarity and do the same," said King, who was also nominated for the TV series Seven Seconds.
A year after the Globes were awash in a sea of black and #MeToo discussion replaced fashion chatter, the red carpet largely returned to more typical colours and conversation. Some attendees wore ribbons that read TIMESUPx2, to highlight the second year of the gender equality campaign that last year organised the Globes black-clad demonstration. Alyssa Milano, the actress who was key to making #MeToo go viral, said on the red carpet that in the past year a "really wonderful sisterhood has formed".
Television awards
The night's first win went to Michael Douglas for the Netflix series The Kominsky Method. Douglas dedicated the honour to his 102-year-old father. The second award went to the acclaimed Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse for best animated film.
For its sixth and final season, FX's The Americans took best drama series over shows such as Amazon's conspiracy thriller Homecoming and Oh's own Killing Eve. Richard Madden, the breakout star of the terrorism suspense series Bodyguard, won best actor in a drama series. Ben Wishaw took best supporting actor in a limited series for A Very English Scandal.
The press association typically likes to have first crack at series that weren't eligible for the 2018 Emmys. They did this year in not just The Kominsky Method and Bodyguard but also the Showtime prison drama Escape at Dannemora. Its star, Patricia Arquette, won for best actress in a limited series.
Usually the Hollywood Foreign Press Association's ceremony is known for its freewheeling frivolity and fun. But the 2018 Globes were the first major televised awards in Hollywood following the downfall of Harvey Weinstein and the subsequent push for greater gender equality in the film industry.
Last year's show, like a lot of recent awards events, took place against a backdrop of declining ratings. About 19 million tuned in to the Seth Meyers-hosted broadcast, an 11 per cent fall in viewers. This year, NBC had one thing in its favour - an NFL lead in. Ahead of the Globes, NBC broadcast the late afternoon wild card game between the Chicago Bears and the Philadelphia Eagles, which proved to be a nail-bitingly close battle – likely delivering the network a huge audience.
Jeff Bridges and Carol Burnett
Jeff Bridges received the Globes' honorary Cecil B DeMille Award. In remarks about everything from Michael Cimino to Buckminster Fuller and, of course, to his Big Lebowski character the Dude, Bridges compared his life to a great game of tag. "We've all been tagged," said Bridges. "We're alive." He ended by "tagging" everyone watching. "We can turn this ship in the way we want to go, man," said Bridges.
A similar television achievement award was also launched this year, dubbed the Carol Burnett Award. Its first honoree was Burnett, herself.
"I'm kind of really gobsmacked by this," said Burnett. "Does this mean that I get to accept it every year?"
And the winners are:
FILM
Best Picture – Comedy or Musical: Green Book
Best Motion Picture – Drama: Bohemian Rhapsody
Best Director, Motion Picture: Alfonso Cuaron, Roma
Actor, Comedy or Musical: Christian Bale, Vice
Actress, Best Performance in a Motion Picture – Musical or Comedy: Olivia Colman, The Favourite
Actress, Best Performance in a Motion Picture – Drama: Glenn Close, The Wife
Actor, Best Performance in a Motion Picture – Drama: Rami Malek, Bohemian Rhapsody
Foreign Language Film: Roma
Actress-Supporting Role, Motion Picture: Regina King, If Beale Street Could Talk
Actor-Supporting Role, Motion Picture: Mahershala Ali, Green Book
Screenplay, Motion Picture: Nick Vallelonga, Brian Currie, Peter Farrelly, Green Book
Motion Picture Animated: Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse
Original Score, Motion Picture: Justin Hurwitz, First Man
Original Song, Motion Picture: Shallow, A Star Is Born
TELEVISION
Drama Series: The Americans
Musical or Comedy Series: The Kominsky Method
Actress, TV Series, Drama: Sandra Oh, Killing Eve
Actor, TV Series, Drama: Richard Madden, Bodyguard
Actress, TV Series, Musical or Comedy: Rachel Brosnahan, The Marvelous Mrs Maisel
Actor, TV Series, Musical or Comedy: Michael Douglas, The Kominsky Method
Actor, Limited Series or Movie Made for Television: Darren Criss, The Assassination of Gianni Versace: American Crime Story
Actress, Supporting Role, Limited Series or Movie Made for Television: Patricia Clarkson, Sharp Objects
Actor, Supporting Role, Limited Series or Movie Made for Television: Ben Whishaw, A Very English Scandal
Actress, Limited Series or Movie Made for Television: Patricia Arquette, Escape at Dannemora
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Read more:
The best looks from Golden Globes past - in pictures
The best dressed celebrities of 2018
Best dressed at the Fashion Awards - in pictures
Backstage with Dolce & Gabbana in Dubai
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2025 Fifa Club World Cup groups
Group A: Palmeiras, Porto, Al Ahly, Inter Miami.
Group B: Paris Saint-Germain, Atletico Madrid, Botafogo, Seattle.
Group C: Bayern Munich, Auckland City, Boca Juniors, Benfica.
Group D: Flamengo, ES Tunis, Chelsea, (Leon banned).
Group E: River Plate, Urawa, Monterrey, Inter Milan.
Group F: Fluminense, Borussia Dortmund, Ulsan, Mamelodi Sundowns.
Group G: Manchester City, Wydad, Al Ain, Juventus.
Group H: Real Madrid, Al Hilal, Pachuca, Salzburg.
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Europe’s rearming plan
- Suspend strict budget rules to allow member countries to step up defence spending
- Create new "instrument" providing €150 billion of loans to member countries for defence investment
- Use the existing EU budget to direct more funds towards defence-related investment
- Engage the bloc's European Investment Bank to drop limits on lending to defence firms
- Create a savings and investments union to help companies access capital
In numbers: PKK’s money network in Europe
Germany: PKK collectors typically bring in $18 million in cash a year – amount has trebled since 2010
Revolutionary tax: Investigators say about $2 million a year raised from ‘tax collection’ around Marseille
Extortion: Gunman convicted in 2023 of demanding $10,000 from Kurdish businessman in Stockholm
Drug trade: PKK income claimed by Turkish anti-drugs force in 2024 to be as high as $500 million a year
Denmark: PKK one of two terrorist groups along with Iranian separatists ASMLA to raise “two-digit million amounts”
Contributions: Hundreds of euros expected from typical Kurdish families and thousands from business owners
TV channel: Kurdish Roj TV accounts frozen and went bankrupt after Denmark fined it more than $1 million over PKK links in 2013
The rules on fostering in the UAE
A foster couple or family must:
- be Muslim, Emirati and be residing in the UAE
- not be younger than 25 years old
- not have been convicted of offences or crimes involving moral turpitude
- be free of infectious diseases or psychological and mental disorders
- have the ability to support its members and the foster child financially
- undertake to treat and raise the child in a proper manner and take care of his or her health and well-being
- A single, divorced or widowed Muslim Emirati female, residing in the UAE may apply to foster a child if she is at least 30 years old and able to support the child financially
ZAYED SUSTAINABILITY PRIZE
If you go
Flying
Despite the extreme distance, flying to Fairbanks is relatively simple, requiring just one transfer in Seattle, which can be reached directly from Dubai with Emirates for Dh6,800 return.
Touring
Gondwana Ecotours’ seven-day Polar Bear Adventure starts in Fairbanks in central Alaska before visiting Kaktovik and Utqiarvik on the North Slope. Polar bear viewing is highly likely in Kaktovik, with up to five two-hour boat tours included. Prices start from Dh11,500 per person, with all local flights, meals and accommodation included; gondwanaecotours.com
Match info
Uefa Champions League Group H
Juventus v Valencia, Tuesday, midnight (UAE)
The National in Davos
We are bringing you the inside story from the World Economic Forum's Annual Meeting in Davos, a gathering of hundreds of world leaders, top executives and billionaires.
MATCH INFO
Fixture: Ukraine v Portugal, Monday, 10.45pm (UAE)
TV: BeIN Sports
Global institutions: BlackRock and KKR
US-based BlackRock is the world's largest asset manager, with $5.98 trillion of assets under management as of the end of last year. The New York firm run by Larry Fink provides investment management services to institutional clients and retail investors including governments, sovereign wealth funds, corporations, banks and charitable foundations around the world, through a variety of investment vehicles.
KKR & Co, or Kohlberg Kravis Roberts, is a global private equity and investment firm with around $195 billion of assets as of the end of last year. The New York-based firm, founded by Henry Kravis and George Roberts, invests in multiple alternative asset classes through direct or fund-to-fund investments with a particular focus on infrastructure, technology, healthcare, real estate and energy.
Mercer, the investment consulting arm of US services company Marsh & McLennan, expects its wealth division to at least double its assets under management (AUM) in the Middle East as wealth in the region continues to grow despite economic headwinds, a company official said.
Mercer Wealth, which globally has $160 billion in AUM, plans to boost its AUM in the region to $2-$3bn in the next 2-3 years from the present $1bn, said Yasir AbuShaban, a Dubai-based principal with Mercer Wealth.
“Within the next two to three years, we are looking at reaching $2 to $3 billion as a conservative estimate and we do see an opportunity to do so,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Mercer does not directly make investments, but allocates clients’ money they have discretion to, to professional asset managers. They also provide advice to clients.
“We have buying power. We can negotiate on their (client’s) behalf with asset managers to provide them lower fees than they otherwise would have to get on their own,” he added.
Mercer Wealth’s clients include sovereign wealth funds, family offices, and insurance companies among others.
From its office in Dubai, Mercer also looks after Africa, India and Turkey, where they also see opportunity for growth.
Wealth creation in Middle East and Africa (MEA) grew 8.5 per cent to $8.1 trillion last year from $7.5tn in 2015, higher than last year’s global average of 6 per cent and the second-highest growth in a region after Asia-Pacific which grew 9.9 per cent, according to consultancy Boston Consulting Group (BCG). In the region, where wealth grew just 1.9 per cent in 2015 compared with 2014, a pickup in oil prices has helped in wealth generation.
BCG is forecasting MEA wealth will rise to $12tn by 2021, growing at an annual average of 8 per cent.
Drivers of wealth generation in the region will be split evenly between new wealth creation and growth of performance of existing assets, according to BCG.
Another general trend in the region is clients’ looking for a comprehensive approach to investing, according to Mr AbuShaban.
“Institutional investors or some of the families are seeing a slowdown in the available capital they have to invest and in that sense they are looking at optimizing the way they manage their portfolios and making sure they are not investing haphazardly and different parts of their investment are working together,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Some clients also have a higher appetite for risk, given the low interest-rate environment that does not provide enough yield for some institutional investors. These clients are keen to invest in illiquid assets, such as private equity and infrastructure.
“What we have seen is a desire for higher returns in what has been a low-return environment specifically in various fixed income or bonds,” he said.
“In this environment, we have seen a de facto increase in the risk that clients are taking in things like illiquid investments, private equity investments, infrastructure and private debt, those kind of investments were higher illiquidity results in incrementally higher returns.”
The Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, one of the largest sovereign wealth funds, said in its 2016 report that has gradually increased its exposure in direct private equity and private credit transactions, mainly in Asian markets and especially in China and India. The authority’s private equity department focused on structured equities owing to “their defensive characteristics.”
Walls
Louis Tomlinson
3 out of 5 stars
(Syco Music/Arista Records)
Ovo's tips to find extra heat
- Open your curtains when it’s sunny
- Keep your oven open after cooking
- Have a cuddle with pets and loved ones to help stay cosy
- Eat ginger but avoid chilli as it makes you sweat
- Put on extra layers
- Do a few star jumps
- Avoid alcohol
NO OTHER LAND
Director: Basel Adra, Yuval Abraham, Rachel Szor, Hamdan Ballal
Stars: Basel Adra, Yuval Abraham
Rating: 3.5/5
SERIE A FIXTURES
Saturday Benevento v Atalanta (2pm), Genoa v Bologna (5pm), AC Milan v Torino (7.45pm)
Sunday Roma v Inter Milan (3.30pm), Udinese v Napoli, Hellas Verona v Crotone, Parma v Lazio (2pm), Fiorentina v Cagliari (9pm), Juventus v Sassuolo (11.45pm)
Monday Spezia v Sampdoria (11.45pm)
How Beautiful this world is!
Eyasses squad
Charlie Preston (captain) – goal shooter/ goalkeeper (Dubai College)
Arushi Holt (vice-captain) – wing defence / centre (Jumeriah English Speaking School)
Olivia Petricola (vice-captain) – centre / wing attack (Dubai English Speaking College)
Isabel Affley – goalkeeper / goal defence (Dubai English Speaking College)
Jemma Eley – goal attack / wing attack (Dubai College)
Alana Farrell-Morton – centre / wing / defence / wing attack (Nord Anglia International School)
Molly Fuller – goal attack / wing attack (Dubai College)
Caitlin Gowdy – goal defence / wing defence (Dubai English Speaking College)
Noorulain Hussain – goal defence / wing defence (Dubai College)
Zahra Hussain-Gillani – goal defence / goalkeeper (British School Al Khubairat)
Claire Janssen – goal shooter / goal attack (Jumeriah English Speaking School)
Eliza Petricola – wing attack / centre (Dubai English Speaking College)
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
What is a black hole?
1. Black holes are objects whose gravity is so strong not even light can escape their pull
2. They can be created when massive stars collapse under their own weight
3. Large black holes can also be formed when smaller ones collide and merge
4. The biggest black holes lurk at the centre of many galaxies, including our own
5. Astronomers believe that when the universe was very young, black holes affected how galaxies formed
