Author: BBC

Getty ImagesLiam Payne died on 16 October in the Argentine capital Buenos AiresThree people have been charged in connection with the death of One Direction star Liam Payne, Argentine authorities have announced.Payne died on 16 October after falling from a hotel balcony in the capital, Buenos Aires.On 6 November, his body was released to his family to be flown back to the UK, having previously been held while toxicology and laboratory tests were carried out. Here’s what we know so far about the police investigation and the circumstances surrounding Payne’s death.Why was Liam in Argentina?Payne was visiting his former bandmate…

Zoe CorbynFifty of these giant driverless trucks work in the Greater Nammuldi iron ore mineIt doesn’t get much more remote than this. I’m in inland Western Australia, at Rio Tinto’s Greater Nammuldi iron ore mine. It’s about a two-hour flight north from Perth in a region called the Pilbara. No-one lives permanently here. Around 400 workers are on the site at any one time, and they are flown in, working between four and eight days, depending on their shift pattern, before flying home. Giant trucks the size of townhouses, capable of hauling 300 tonnes, criss-cross red-earth roads in various sections…

BBCAn NHS mobile lung-cancer screening clinic in Gorton, Manchester.A lung-cancer screening programme that sees mobile clinics visit local communities in England has detected the disease earlier in more than 5,000 people. Specially adapted lorries have been visiting supermarkets, football grounds and town centres in areas with the highest rates of the disease, as part of the biggest initiative of its kind in NHS history.Since the programme’s launch, in 2019, 5,037 lung cancers have been detected, with 76% of those at the earliest stages of the disease. People are nearly 20 times more likely to survive for five years if their…

The Entertainer toy shop chain says it has been forced to drop plans to open two new stores after the government said it would raise National Insurance (NI) Contributions for employers.Chief executive Andrew Murphy told the BBC the higher taxes, announced in last week’s Budget, meant it could no longer go ahead with the shops and it had also frozen hiring at its head office.A number of companies, including Sainsbury’s and Marks & Spencer, have hinted that Labour’s changes to NI could result in higher prices for customers. The Treasury said: “We had to make difficult choices to fix the…

Getty ImagesThe party that will control the US House of Representatives for the next two years is still in the balance. Republicans were seven seats short of the 218 seats needed to take control on Thursday morning. Democrats need 15 more.The Senate, or upper chamber, and the White House have already flipped to Republicans so President-elect Donald Trump could have total control when he is sworn in on 20 January 2025.Control of the House, the lower chamber, gives a party the power to initiate spending legislation and launch impeachment proceedings against officials.Under Trump, a unified Republican Party could more easily…

Strictly Come Dancing professional Amy Dowden has stressed that the reason she will not be returning to the series this year has “nothing to do with any previous health scares”. Two weeks ago Dowden was taken to hospital as a “precaution” after she began “feeling unwell”.On Wednesday, she told Strictly spin-off show It Takes Two that she has a “insufficiency stress fracture, if I’ve said that right, on my shin”.Dowden, 34, returned to competing in the BBC show for its 20th anniversary series after missing out last year while undergoing treatment for breast cancer.She said she was “absolutely gutted” to…

Donald Trump’s return to the White House might also prove to be a win for one of his most visible supporters: Elon Musk.The world’s richest man spent election night in Florida with Trump at his Mar-a-Lago resort as returns came in.“The people of America gave @realDonaldTrump a crystal clear mandate for change tonight,” Mr Musk wrote on the social media platform X as Trump’s victory began to appear all but certain.And at his victory speech at the Palm Beach Convention Center, Trump spent several minutes praising Mr Musk and recounting the successful landing of a rocket manufactured by one of…

Australia’s government says it will introduce “world-leading” legislation to ban children under 16 from social media. Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said the proposed laws, to be tabled in parliament next week, were aimed at mitigating the “harm” social media was inflicting on Australian children. “This one is for the mums and dads… They, like me, are worried sick about the safety of our kids online. I want Australian families to know that the government has your back,” he said. While many of the details are yet to be debated, the government said the ban will not apply to young people…

The average UK house price reached a record high last month, according to Halifax.The UK’s largest mortgage lender said the average price hit £293,999 in October, surpassing a peak of £293,507 that was reached in June 2022.Halifax said it expected prices to continue to rise at a “modest pace” for the next few months.However, it warned that mortgage costs could remain “higher for longer” following last week’s Budget.Following the Budget, which included plans to borrow and spend billions of pounds, financial markets expect the Bank of England to cut rates more slowly than previously anticipated.However, the Bank is still expected…

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and the UK’s Keir Starmer have been among the first world leaders to congratulate Donald Trump on winning the US presidential election.The election of a new president is not just a big deal for the US – a new leader in the White House can transform the country’s foreign policy and its position towards its friends and foes internationally. Here is how some of the world’s leaders have reacted so far.In his statement, Netanyahu – who has had a difficult relationship with President Joe Biden – spoke of “history’s greatest comeback”, adding that Trump’s return…