David Lynch back on board Twin Peaks sequel

Also, Has James Bond gone to the Dark Side?; Simpsons star quits the show; Glastonbury gig for Stephen Hawking; U2 guitarist falls off edge of stage; BB King killed by strokes; CSI ending after 15 years; Portman to play Jackie Kennedy in film; and Hulu rescues The Mindy Project.

David Lynch is back on Twin Peaks project. Chris Pizzello / AP Photo

Good news for fans of Twin Peaks – co-creator David Lynch is back on board the revival/sequel to the classic TV drama. A month after saying he was quitting the project over a budget dispute, he announced on Friday that he will be directing every episode after all – and TV network Showtime revealed that it will be longer than previously planned nine episodes. "Dear Twitter Friends, the rumours are not what they seem ... It is!!! Happening again. #TwinPeaks returns on @SHO_Network," he wrote on Twitter. Kyle MacLachlan, who will reprise his starring role as FBI Agent Dale Cooper, tweeted: "Welcome back again!! #TwinPeaks Special Agent Dale Cooper! on #Showtime #damnfinecoffee." Two seasons of Twin Peaks was broadcast in 1990 and 1991, followed by a prequel movie, Twin Peaks: Fire Walk With Me. The series will return as a limited-series next year, 25 years after the last episode was broadcast. – AFP

Has James Bond gone to the Dark Side?

Does Daniel Craig have a role in the new Star Wars film? Rumours have been circulating that he asked for a cameo role and now Simon Pegg – who has worked with Episode VII: The Force Awakens director J J Abrams on the rebooted Star Trek movies – seems to have confirmed that the James Bond actor will be in the film. When asked at the London premiere of his new film, Man Up, about his own rumoured appearance in The Force Awakens, Pegg told The Sun newspaper: "I wasn't a Stormtrooper. Daniel Craig, he was a Stormtrooper. I shouldn't have said that." Of course, Pegg might just have been joking, in an attempt to deflect attention from himself. Time will tell. – The National staff

Simpsons star quits the show

Harry Shearer, one of the main voice actors on The Simpsons, may be leaving the show over a contract dispute. In a pair of Twitter posts, Shearer said continuing with the show would deny him "what we've always had: the freedom to do other work". Hours later, Simpsons executive producer Al Jean tweeted: "The show will go on, made by people who love it." In another post, he resolved to "recast, if Harry does not return". Shearer, 71, who also appeared as bassist Derek Smalls in This Is Spinal Tap, provides the voices for several characters including Ned Flanders, billionaire Mr Burns and his kowtowing aide, Smithers. Fox recently picked up The Simpsons for its 27th and 28th seasons. – AP

Glastonbury gig for Stephen Hawking

Stephen Hawking is set to take the stage alongside rock stars at the Glastonbury Festival. Organisers said that the physicist would make a “special guest appearance” during the music festival, which runs from June 24 to 28 in England. It did not give details of his performance. The line-up includes Pharrell Williams, Florence and The Machine and The Who. – AP

U2 guitarist falls off edge of stage

U2 guitarist The Edge fell off the stage during the first night of the veteran Irish rockers' latest tour. A fan's video showed the musician strumming along to I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For on Thursday night as he strode along a walkway in the centre of the arena in Vancouver – before tumbling off the right side. The 53-year-old guitarist, real name Dave Evans, posted a picture of his scraped right arm on Facebook, saying: "Didn't see the edge, I'm OK!!" The Vancouver performance was the opening show of U2's Innocence and Experience tour, their first in four years. – AFP

BB King killed by strokes

Blues legend B B King died of a series of minor strokes attributed to his long-standing battle with type 2 diabetes. Dr Darin Brimhall and Clark County coroner John Fudenberg said the medical term for the cause of death is multi-infarct dementia, also referred to as MID or vascular dementia. Brimhall said 89-year-old King’s strokes resulted from reduced blood flow as a consequence of chronic diabetes – or unhealthy fluctuations in blood-sugar levels. King had type 2 diabetes diagnosed many years ago. He died on Friday. – AP

CSI ending after 15 years

The American television crime drama CSI: Crime Scene Investigation is ending in September, after a 15-year run and more than 300 episodes, CBS television has announced. The network promised an "epic" two-hour CSI season finale on September 27, featuring the return of original stars William Petersen and Marg Helgenberger, alongside current star Ted Danson. The series, the longest running scripted prime-time production, has had three spin-offs: CSI: Miami, CSI: NY, and CSI: Cyber. Danson's character, D B Russell, will move to Cyber, teaming up with Patricia Arquette's Dr Avery Ryan, according to CBS. – AFP

Portman to play Jackie Kennedy in film

Natalie Portman will star in a biopic of Jackie Kennedy, the former United States first lady, according to Variety. The film Jackie covers the four days after her husband's assassination. It begins with the assassination of the United States president John F Kennedy in November 1963. "Jackie talks about the days when Jackie Kennedy becomes an icon, but has lost everything," said Vincent Maraval, of the production company Wild Bunch. The film is being produced by Darren Aronofsky, who directed Portman to an Oscar in the 2010 film Black Swan. –AFP

Hulu rescues The Mindy Project

The Mindy Project is making the leap from broadcast television to streaming video, courtesy of Hulu, which has ordered 26 new episodes. It means a resurrection for the comedy that had just been cancelled by Fox, where it was broadcast for three seasons. A premiere date for season four has not been announced. The comedy was created by and stars the former Office star Mindy Kaling as an obstetrician-gynaecologist facing comic challenges in her personal and professional life. – AP

El Gamma Penumbra win Asia’s Got Talent

Filipino shadow-play performer El Gamma Penumbra won the grand prize in the first season of Asia's Got Talent, the pan-Asian talent search in Singapore. The Filipino group's final number on Thursday night paid tribute to Mother Nature with the song Colors of the Wind. They beat their closest rival, the Mongolian ethnic band Khugsugtun.Filipino classical singer Gerphil Flores was the first to be eliminated from the top three finalists. A tearful Flores was hugged on stage by judge David Foster, who earlier in the contest praised her and promised that "the world is gonna know you". Herminio Coloma, a spokesman for the Philippines president, Benigno Aquino III, congratulated El Gamma Penumbra, saying they symbolise "the innate talent and skill of the Filipino, which, on many occasions, have been proven in various fields." The grand prize is US$100,000 (Dh367,000) and a chance to perform at the Marina Bay Sands resort in Singapore. – AP

Mitt Romney gets in the boxing ring

The former United States republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney and five-time heavyweight boxing champion Evander Holyfield squared off in the ring on Friday at a charity fight night event in Salt Lake City. Romney, 68, and Holyfield, 52, sparred, if you could call it that, for two short rounds before Romney ran away from the boxer and threw in the towel, giving up a round early in the light-hearted fight that came amid several other fights by professional boxers and an auction. The two barely threw any punches and largely just danced around, occasionally lightly jabbing each other in the midsection in what was much more of a comedy event than an actual bout. The black-tie affair raised money for the Utah-based organisation CharityVision, which helps doctors in developing countries perform surgeries to restore vision in people with curable blindness. Romney’s son, Josh Romney, who lives in Utah, serves as a volunteer president for CharityVision. Organisers say they raised at least US$1 million (Dh3.67m). “He said: `You know what? You float like a bee and sting like a butterfly,’ “ Romney said after the fight. – AP

Sarah Brightman puts space mission on hold

A company helping British soprano Sarah Brightman prepare a flight to the International Space Station says she has put off the mission. Space Adventures said in a statement on Wednesday that the 54-year-old singer announced that “for personal, family reasons her intentions have had to change and she is postponing her cosmonaut training and flight plans at this time”. Brightman, who was to blast off to the station in a Russian Soyuz rocket on September 1, said in March that she is working with the composer Andrew Lloyd Webber, her ex-husband, to create a song that she will sing in space. Brightman’s decision followed last month’s launch failure of an unmanned Russian cargo spaceship, which was caused by a leak of propellant tanks in the Soyuz rocket carrying it into orbit. – AP