Audiences were gradually turned off by the Marty Supreme actor during his Oscars campaign trail, with the growing sensation that he was more like his smirking, fame-hungry character than they first imagined
• Oscar winners 2026: the full list
• Key takeaways from Oscars 2026

Has any actor worked so hard with such little result as Timothée Chalamet this Oscars campaign? When everything is totted up, the tally will surely suggest so: thousands of air miles and tiny orange ping-pong balls expended, but no gold statuette, as both he and his film Marty Supreme were shut out entirely of this year’s Academy Awards.

For so long Chalamet’s grand tour looked a work of wide-eyed gonzo genius. It started with a “leaked” Zoom call comedy skit where the 30-year-old pitched increasingly absurd promotional ideas for his new film Marty Supreme – breakfast serial tie-ins! Blimps! Painting the Eiffel the same violent orange as the ping-pong balls in the film! – to an audience of nervously nodding marketing execs. The skit was preposterous, sure, but also a tiny bit predictive of the actual campaign. The Eiffel tower might not have been painted orange, but the blimp took off, and so did Chalamet. Broadcast across every medium, from Insta to old-fashioned network TV, appearing in just about every country, aimed at every audience – sports bros, thespians, fans of half-forgotten, foghorn-voiced talent show winners – he projected a confident ubiquity dialled down just a few notches from his character: brilliant, striving, a little insufferable.

The best looks from the red carpet at the 98th Academy Awards in Los Angeles

• Oscars 2026 winners: the full list

• In pictures: Jessie Buckley, Michael B Jordan and Jacob Elordi at the afterparties

Its wins are a testament to Ryan Coogler’s vision. His highly personal film foregrounds the Black experience and its essential humanity is a lesson for us all
• Oscar winners 2026: the full list
• Key takeaways: horror wins, tech loses and politics is hard to ignore

Congratulations to the Sinners camp on its Oscar night triumphs – affirmation that cinema can be deep and entertaining at the same time. It might not have swept the major awards as some of us had hoped, but it is still a personal victory for Ryan Coogler, and also the validation that Black cinema has long been denied. And despite handling heavy themes of racist violence, Sinners will probably be remembered by history as a message of hope and unity in a turbulent era.

Nobody could argue that Coogler’s film didn’t deserve its success. Sinners is a complete, unified, all-round work of art. Everything seems to be in tune: the story, the performances (not least Michael B Jordan’s technically demanding dual role – justly rewarded with the best actor Oscar), the music, the costumes , the production design, the visuals (a boundary-smashing award for Autumn Durald Arkapaw – the first woman and the first Black winner of the best cinematography Oscar). Sinners’ record 16 nominations and four wins were confirmation that the Academy agreed.

As One Battle After Another swept the Academy Awards, Paul Thomas Anderson, Javier Bardem and Conan O’Brien gave a welcome reality check to the glitzy ceremony

• Oscar winners 2026: the full list

In his opening monologue to the 98th Academy Awards, host Conan O’Brien issued a note of caution to easily offended viewers.

“I warn you, tonight could get political,” O’Brien said. “If that makes you uncomfortable, there’s an alternative Oscars being hosted by Kid Rock at a Dave & Buster’s down the street.”

In a year that largely stuck to script, host O’Brien’s antics and the It Was Just an Accident director’s stare at Kevin O’Leary got the internet talking

• Oscars 2026 winners: the full list

Jafar Panahi, the Iranian political dissident and director of the excellent film It Was Just an Accident – a best international feature nominee from France, as it was made without the permission of the Iranian government – looked, well, not impressed by Shark Tank judge and Marty Supreme castmember, Kevin O’Leary, on the red carpet. If there’s one moment that transcended the Oscars this year, it’s this dead stare.

The great, the good and the glamorous headed this year to aftershow parties including the Governors Ball dinner and the Vanity Fair bash at the LA County Museum of Art. Here are our pick of images from the evening

• Oscars 2026 winners: the full list

PM says he wants conflict to end as soon as possible due to the impact on the cost of living

Keir Starmer is speaking at his press conference.

The war is entering its third week, he says.

First, we will protect our people in the region.

Second, while taking the necessary action to defend ourselves and our allies, we will not be drawn into the wider war.

Moments like this also tell you about leadership … Now, there are others who would have made a different decision two weeks ago.

They would have rushed the UK headlong into this war without the full picture of what they were sending our forces into and without a plan to get us out.

It is no surprise that our closest and most important ally is so disappointed. The Labour government’s response to the crisis in Iran has been shameful.

We should have been supporting our allies, not making it harder for them. Even now Starmer is still trying to sit on the fence, which is a complete failure of leadership.

Response muted to president’s call amid soaring oil prices

• How have you been affected by the latest Middle East events?

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Japan’s prime minister, Sanae Takaichi, has said she has no immediate plans to send her country’s maritime self-defence forces to help protect tanker traffic in the strait of Homuz.

We have not made any decisions whatsoever about dispatching escort ships. We are continuing to examine what Japan can do independently and what can be done ⁠within the legal framework.

I would like to ⁠engage in solid discussions based on Japan’s views and position regarding the need for early de-escalation.

There is little sign of imminent regime change in Iran as its blockade of strait of Hormuz shocks global economy

• Middle East crisis – live updates

Few doubt that in the first days of the new war in the Middle East, the initiative belonged to the US and its ally Israel. Now it seems less sure, however.

Mohsen Rezaee, a senior officer in Iran’s Revolutionary Guards, on Sunday said “the end of the war is in our hands” and called for the withdrawal of Washington’s forces from the Gulf and compensation for all damage caused by the assault.

Another weekend of violence compounded global market concerns over war in the Middle East, following US strikes on the vital oil hub

Oil prices have climbed again amid mounting supply fears after the US struck Iran’s vital Kharg Island oil hub and Donald Trump demanded allies help reopen the strait of Hormuz.

Brent crude, the international benchmark, rose 1.8% to $104.98 per barrel during early trading on Monday. Another weekend of violence across the Middle East compounded concerns over the conflict, and its ramifications for global energy markets.