The stand-off started long before dawn. By the time we arrived in the dark, an army of police had pushed back suspended president Yoon Suk Yeol's angry supporters, who'd camped out overnight hoping to stop his arrest. Some of those I spoke to were crying, others wailing, at what they feared was about to unfold.

As dawn broke, the first officers ran up to the house, but were instantly thwarted - blocked by a wall of soldiers protecting the compound. Reinforcements came, but could not help. The doors to Yoon's house stayed tightly sealed, his security team refusing the police officers entry.

For several hours the investigators waited, the crowds outside growing more agitated - until, after a series of scuffles between the police and security officials, they decided their mission was futile, and gave up.

This is totally uncharted territory for South Korea. It is the first time a sitting president has ever faced arrest, so there is no rule book to follow - but the current situation is nonetheless astonishing.

When Yoon was impeached three weeks ago, he was supposedly stripped of his power. So to have law enforcement officers trying to carry out an arrest - which they have legal warrant for - only to be blocked by Yoon's security team raises serious and uncomfortable questions about who is in charge here.

The investigating officers said they abandoned efforts to arrest Yoon not only because it looked impossible, but because they were concerned for their safety. They said 200 soldiers and security officers linked arms, forming a human wall to block the entrance to the presidential residence, with some carrying guns.

This is arguably part of Yoon's plan, leveraging a system he himself designed. Before he declared martial law last month – a plan we now know he cooked up months earlier – he surrounded himself with close friends and loyalists, injecting them into positions of power.

One of those people is the current head of his security team, who took up the job in September.

But although alarming, this situation is not entirely surprising. Yoon has refused to cooperate with the authorities over this investigation, ignoring every request to come in for questioning.

This is how things reached this point, where investigators felt they had no choice but to bring him in by force. Yoon is being investigated for one of the most serious political crimes there is: inciting an insurrection, which is punishable by life in prison or death.

Yoon has also spurred on his supporters, who have gathered in force outside his residence every day since the arrest warrant was issued. He sent them a letter on New Years' Day thanking them for "working hard" to defend both him and the country.

Although most people in South Korea are upset and angry at Yoon's decision to impose martial law, a core of his supporters have stayed loyal. Some even camped overnight, in freezing temperatures, to try and stop police reaching his home.

Many told me this morning they were prepared to die to protect Yoon, and repeated the same unfounded conspiracy theories that Yoon himself has floated – that last year's election was rigged, and the country had been infiltrated by pro-North Korea forces. They held up signs reading "stop the steal", a slogan they chanted over and over.

Attention is also now on South Korea's acting President Choi Sang-mok, and how far his powers extend; whether he could and should sack the president's security chief and force the team to allow his arrest. The opposition party says police should be arresting anyone who stands in their way.

Although investigators have until 6 January to attempt this arrest again – this is when the warrant runs out - it is unlikely they will go in once more without changing their strategy or negotiating with the security team in advance. They will want to avoid a repeat of today's failure.

They also have to contend with the throngs of Yoon's supporters, who now feel victorious and empowered. They believe they are largely responsible for the authorities' climb down. "We've won, we did it," they have been singing all afternoon.

As their confidence grows, so will their numbers, especially with the weekend approaching.

Apple has agreed to pay $95m (£77m) to settle a court case alleging some of its devices were listening to people without their permission.

The tech giant was accused of eavesdropping on its customers through its virtual assistant Siri.

The claimants also allege voice recordings were shared with advertisers.

Apple, which has not admitted any wrongdoing, has been approached for comment.

In the preliminary settlement, the tech firm denies any wrongdoing, as well as claims that it "recorded, disclosed to third parties, or failed to delete, conversations recorded as the result of a Siri activation" without consent.

Apple's lawyers also say they will confirm they have "permanently deleted individual Siri audio recordings collected by Apple prior to October 2019".

But the claimants say the tech firm recorded people who activated the virtual assistant unintentionally - without using the phrase "Hey, Siri" to wake it.

And they say advertisers who received the recordings could then look for keywords in them to better target ads.

Class action

Apple has proposed a decision date of 14 February in the court in Oakland, California.

Class action lawsuits work by a small number of people going to court on behalf of a larger group.

If they are successful, the money won is paid out across all claimants.

According to the court documents, each claimant - who has to be based in the US -could be paid up to $20 per Siri-enabled device they owned between 2014 and 2019.

In this case, the lawyers could take 30% of the fee plus expenses - which comes to just under $30m.

By settling, Apple not only denies wrongdoing, but it also avoids the risk of facing a court case which could potentially mean a much larger pay out.

The California company earned $94.9bn in the three months up to 28 September 2024.

Apple has been involved in a number of class action lawsuits in recent years,

In January 2024, it started paying out in a $500m lawsuit which claimed it deliberately slowed down iPhones in the US.

In March, it agreed to pay $490m in a class action led by Norfolk County Council in the UK.

And in November, consumer group Which? started a class action against Apple, accusing it of ripping off customers through its iCloud service.

Wayne Osmond, a founding member of family band The Osmonds, who had a string of hits in the 1970s, has died at the age of 73.

Wayne was a singer and guitarist, and co-wrote many of their biggest hits, including Crazy Horses, Goin' Home And Let Me In.

"Wayne brought so much light, laughter, and love to everyone who knew him, especially me," wrote brother Donny. "He was the ultimate optimist and was loved by everyone."

Merrill Osmond called his late brother "a genius in his ability to write music" who was "able to capture the hearts of millions of people and bring them closer to God".

He continued: "I've never known a man that had more humility. A man with absolute no guile. An individual that was quick to forgive and had the ability to show unconditional love to everyone he ever met."

Merrill and Donny said the cause of death was a stroke.

Born in August 1951, in Ogden, Utah, Wayne was the fourth oldest of nine children and raised in a Mormon household.

As a child, he started performing in a barbershop quartet with siblings Alan, Merrill and Jay.

By 1961, the harmonising brothers were regular performers at Disneyland in Florida. A year later, they made their TV debut on The Andy Williams Show.

They quickly became regulars on the show, earning the nickname "one-take Osmonds" because of their flawless, tirelessly rehearsed performances.

Younger sibling Donny joined the line-up in 1963, and they began to broaden their repertoire to include clean-cut pop songs.

Their initial singles flopped but, after the success of the Jackson 5 showed that family pop could be a commercial success, MGM Records signed the band and sent them to work at the famed R&B studio Muscle Shoals.

There, they were given a song called One Bad Apple (Don't Spoil the Whole Bunch), which had originally been written for the Jacksons but was rejected by their record label.

Perky, bubbly and bright, the song topped the US singles chart for five weeks in 1971 and established the band as a chart presence, a decade after their professional debut.

For a while, the siblings generated the same sort of fevered excitement as The Beatles.

When the band flew into Heathrow Airport in 1973, 10,000 teenage fans packed the roof gardens at a nearby office block to see them arrive. Part of the balcony railing and wall collapsed amidst a crowd surge, slightly injuring 18 women.

On their departure, hundreds of fans mobbed their limousine. A reporter for the New York Times said "they were lucky to escape alive", while the Guardian said the scenes almost led to a ban on pop groups entering the UK via Heathrow.

But pop is a fickle industry, and The Osmonds' record sales started to tail off by the mid-1970s.

At the same time, Donny and Marie Osmond were offered their own TV variety show, which became a massive hit in the US and was screened by BBC One in the UK.

As a result, the band went on hiatus and ultimately dissolved in 1980, although they regularly reformed for county fairs and reunion tours over the coming decades.

Wayne Osmond suffered a number of health problems during his life. He was diagnosed with a brain tumour as a child, which resulted in cognitive problems.

In 1994, he noticed that the condition was worsening.

"I noticed I couldn't play my saxophone any more because my head would start throbbing," he later recalled. "And my knees would fall out from under me when I was on stage. This all began happening within a week."

The subsequent surgery and related cancer treatments resulted in significant hearing loss that persisted for the rest of his life. He also suffered a previous stroke in 2012.

In 2019, the musician joined his siblings Alan, Merrill and Jay for their final ever performance on TV show The Talk.

Performing in front of a screen that showed a montage of their career highlights, the original quartet performed a song called The Last Chapter, written as a thank you to their fans.

Sister Marie, who presented the show, joined them afterwards to pay tribute, saying: "I am so honoured to be your sister. I love you guys. You've worked so hard. Enjoy your retirement."

Wayne spent his retirement indulging in hobbies including fly fishing, and spending time with his family. He maintained an optimistic outlook, telling Utah newspaper Desert News that hearing loss didn't bother him.

"My favourite thing now is to take care of my yard," he said. "I turn my hearing aids off, deaf as a doorknob, tune everything out, it's really joyful."

He is survived by wife Kathlyn and five children, Amy, Steven, Gregory, Sarah and Michelle.

He is also survived by his eight siblings: Virl, Tom, Alan, Merrill, Jay, Donny, Marie and Jimmy.

As the world rings in a new year, lawmakers are convening on the US Capitol to kick off a new Congress.

Friday marks the start of the 119th Congress, with Republican majorities in both the US House of Representatives and the Senate.

This marks a Republican trifecta given that President-elect Donald Trump is also returning to the White House later this month. The US hasn't seen unified control of all three branches of government since 2017, when Trump was last in office.

Republicans are eager to get started on an ambitious to-do list, but things may not come easy - and their majorities in both chambers of Congress leave little room for disagreement. The first test of the party's unity comes on Friday with leadership elections in the House.

Here are five things worth watching as the new session of Congress begins:

1. A Republican trifecta, but barely

Republicans may have the majority in the House, but not by much.

And it will be put to the test as soon as the session begins. The House cannot certify election results or pass laws until lawmakers select their next speaker - the leader of the chamber.

Despite an endorsement from Trump, current speaker Mike Johnson faces opposition from several members within his caucus who remain unconvinced he deserves a second chance.

The party's majority is so small that if Johnson loses just two Republicans in his campaign, it could set off a series of ballots until Republicans coalesce around a lawmaker. In 2023, it took 15 rounds of votes and four days for Kevin McCarthy to win the speakership.

Johnson already faces one hard "no" from Congressman Thomas Massie of Kentucky, but several other Republicans have put themselves in the "undecided" column.

The Republican Party was left with a five-seat majority when the final House races were called in the 2024 election. But that has shrunk after Trump tapped several House members to serve in his administration.

"Do the math," Johnson said during an early December press conference. "We have nothing to spare."

2. Confirming cabinet appointments

In the Senate, lawmakers have already selected their majority leader: South Dakota Senator John Thune won an internal Republican Party vote.

This means senators can move to official business on Friday, but they will face challenges in other ways. Lawmakers are scheduled to begin a string of confirmation hearings for some of Trump's controversial cabinet appointees.

The Senate must sign off on some 1,200 appointments for the new president's administration, but some will come with the tense hearings that attract public attention. They'll first appear before a Senate committee and answer questions, before the full chamber votes.

The nominees include Trump's pick for defence secretary, Pete Hegseth, who faces sexual assault allegations from 2017 which he denies, as well as his pick for health and human services secretary, Robert F Kennedy Jr, who is a vaccine sceptic with a history of spreading misinformation.

Trump's picks were seen making their rounds on Capitol Hill last month to win over Republican senators. But nominees will have to appear before bipartisan committees - meaning the hearings could get heated as senators from both parties use their platform to address criticisms and grievances.

However, the Senate could chose to expedite confirmation hearings from some national security nominees - following a New Year terror attack in New Orleans that left 14 dead and an explosion of a vehicle outside a Trump hotel in Las Vegas.

"The US Senate must confirm President Trump's national security team as soon as possible. Lives depend on it," Wyoming Senator John Barrasso wrote in a post on X.

A nomination that clears a committee typically does not face opposition on the full Senate floor, but given some of the initial backlash over Trump's picks, the path to confirmation may be bumpy.

3. A move on taxes

One item that rises to the top of the legislative to-do list for Congress is addressing Trump's Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017, which expires in 2025.

The 2017 legislation - which passed at a time when Republicans controlled both the House and Senate - involved a $1.5tn (£1.2tn) overhaul of the tax code, changed tax brackets and lowered tax rates for most taxpayers.

It marked the biggest tax overhaul in decades. The largest cuts went to businesses and the wealthy, which Democrats have called to reverse.

Trump campaigned on the economy - vowing to extend tax cuts, further slash corporate taxes, and eliminate tax on tips, overtime pay and Social Security income.

How Congress gets it done - an extension of the 2017 bill, a combination of old and new legislation or by other means - is up in the air.

Keeping provisions from the 2017 tax cuts would add an estimated $4tn to the deficit over the next decade, according to the Congressional Budget Office. This may not sit well with many hard-line Republicans who are adamantly opposed to increasing the nation's debt.

4. Other Republican policy wins

Expect to see legislation move on several key Republican priorities, ranging from curbing illegal immigration to cutting government regulations.

There could be proposals to reduce military aid to Ukraine, impose new tariffs, cut spending for clean energy and enhance border security.

In a November press conference, Johnson outlined a Republican agenda that aimed to reduce inflation, secure borders, restore the country's energy dominance, implement "education freedom" and "drain the swamp".

Lawmakers will also have to address the debt ceiling - the total amount the US can borrow to meet its obligations. The issue already popped up at the end of 2024 when lawmakers faced a government shutdown.

Trump demanded that lawmakers raise or even suspend the debt limit in any spending deal, but the provision was dropped from the final version of the bill that passed in both chambers.

It is possible several priorities may be combined in what is known as a reconciliation bill, which allows Congress to pass a bill on taxes, spending and the debt limit with just a majority. This method avoids the possibility of a filibuster in the Senate, in which opposing lawmakers could delay or even derail a vote.

However they choose to approach it, lawmakers may be spending more face-time on Capitol Hill to tackle their priorities in the next session.

Incoming Senate Majority Leader John Thune has scheduled notably more days and weeks for the Senate - including working days on Mondays and Fridays, which traditionally have been considered travel days.

5. New players in the game

The end of the last Congress offered a glimpse at the influence that Trump and his allies have on the congressional agenda.

Tech billionaire Elon Musk, who has been tasked with advising the Trump administration on cuts to government spending, posted dozens of times on his social media platform X to condemn a spending deal Johnson spearheaded with Democrats to avert a government shutdown.

Trump and Vice President-elect JD Vance joined in, and the bill was squashed.

Both Trump and Musk threatened to withhold funding and endorsements from sitting Republicans who supported the bipartisan spending bill, raising the question of how much sway they will have over the legislative agenda.

Musk and pharmaceutical entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy could have more opportunities to weigh in. The pair will be co-leading a newly-formed advisory committee focused on cuts to regulations and spending.

On the other side of the aisle, Democrats are re-grouping, with hopes to win back the House during the 2026 midterm elections. Expect to see centre-left lawmakers vying for influence.

Groups within the party all hope to shape its future - such as the Problem Solvers Caucus, a group of lawmakers focused on advancing bipartisan legislation; the Blue Dog Coalition, a group of centrist Democrats; and the centre-left, "pragmatic" New Democrat Coalition.

A day of high drama has drawn to an end in South Korea, with investigators suspending an attempt to arrest ousted President Yoon Suk Yeol after a six-hour standoff with the security team outside his home.

"We've determined that the arrest is impossible," said the Corruption Investigation Office (CIO), which has been investigating Yoon's short-lived martial law declaration.

"Next steps will be decided after review," the CIO said, adding that Yoon's "refusal of the legal process" is "deeply regrettable".

Yoon's supporters, who have been camped out in front of the presidential residence for days, cheered in song and dance as the suspension was announced. "We won," they chanted.

Investigators have until 6 January to arrest Yoon, before the warrant expires. However they can apply for a new warrant and try to detain him again.

A US court has rejected the Biden administration's bid to restore "net neutrality" rules, finding that the federal government does not have the authority to regulate internet providers like utilities.

It marks a major defeat for so-called open internet advocates, who have long fought for protections that would require internet providers such as AT&T to treat all legal content equally.

Such rules were first introduced by the Federal Communications Commission under former Democratic president Barack Obama but later repealed during Republican Donald Trump's first term.

The decision, just as Trump is poised to enter the White House for a second term, likely puts an end to the long-running legal battle over the issue.

In their decision, the judges noted that different administrations have gone back and forth on the issue.

But they said the court no longer had to give "deference" to the FCC's reading of the law, pointing to a recent Supreme Court decision that limits the authority of federal agencies to interpret laws, a decision that critics expect will be used to weaken regulation in the years ahead.

"Applying Loper Bright, means we can end the FCC's vacillations," the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals said.

Brendan Carr, a Republican member of the FCC who Trump has tapped to lead the agency, said he was pleased the court had invalidated the Biden administration's "Internet power grab".

The FCC's outgoing Democratic commissioner said the ruling turned the issue over to Congress.

"Consumers across the country have told us again and again that they want an internet that is fast, open, and fair," Jessica Rosenworcel said.

"With this decision it is clear that Congress now needs to heed their call, take up the charge for net neutrality, and put open internet principles in federal law."

The fight over net neutrality was once a heated issue in the US, pitting internet providers against big tech companies such as Google and Netflix.

Comedian John Oliver famously urged his audience to express support for the rules, leading to a deluge of comments that crashed the government's site.

But the issue has faded in prominence since the rules were repealed in 2018.

Thursday's ruling does not affect state-level net neutrality laws, which in some places offer similar protections.

But advocates, like Mr Oliver, have said that national rules are important to preventing internet providers from having powers to throttle certain content or charge more for speedy delivery of their service.

Public Knowledge, a progressive-leaning internet policy group, said the decision had weakened the FCC's power to shape privacy protections, implement public safety measures and take other action.

It said it believed the court had erred in ruling that internet service providers were simply offering an "information service" rather than acting as telecommunications companies.

"The court has created a dangerous regulatory gap that leaves consumers vulnerable and gives broadband providers unchecked power over Americans' internet access," it said.

But USTelecom, an industry group whose members include AT&T and Verizon, said the decision was "a victory for American consumers that will lead to more investment, innovation, and competition in the dynamic digital marketplace."

Security posts known as bollards were not in place before a suspect drove a truck into a crowd in the French Quarter of New Orleans early on New Year's Day, killing 14 and injuring at least 35.

Louisiana officials have said the street barriers were malfunctioning and were undergoing renovations before the city hosts the NFL Super Bowl on 9 February.

The short and sturdy posts - made of concrete, metal or other materials - are meant to block cars from entering pedestrian areas.

Christopher Raia, a deputy assistant director with the FBI, on Thursday called the attack an act of terrorism.

During the early morning hours on New Year's Day, a police vehicle was parked at an intersection to block access to Bourbon Street in the French Quarter, where the attack took place, but the suspect drove around the car and onto the sidewalk, police said.

Police have named Shamsud-Din Jabbar, a 42-year-old Texas resident and US Army veteran, as the suspect. He died in the attack.

New Orleans Police Chief Anne Kirkpatrick said on Wednesday that police had been "aware of the bollard situation" and took steps to "harden those target areas".

"We did indeed have a plan, but the terrorist defeated it," she said.

Ms Kirkpatrick said the city planned to take a number of steps to increase security at the Sugar Bowl American football game, which was moved from Wednesday to Thursday afternoon because of the attack.

Bourbon Street will be re-opened on Thursday shortly ahead of the game.

"We have re-enforced the area," Louisiana Governor Jeff Landry said on Thursday.

• Follow live updates on the attack here

New Orleans began placing bollards on Bourbon Street over ten years ago, Mayor LaToya Cantrell said on Wednesday.

But, she added, the bollards began to malfunction because of clogs from Mardi Gras beads, leading officials to try to replace them before the Super Bowl, which is scheduled to take place at the Caesars Superdome, near the site of the attack.

At the news conference, Ms Kirkpatrick defended the other security measures the city had in place.

"We did have a car there, we had barriers there, we had officers there, and they still got around," she said.

A number of cities in the US and around the world have installed bollards to prevent attacks.

New York City put the security measures in place along the Hudson River Park bike path after a man drove a rented pick-up truck into cyclists and runners along the path, killing eight people, in 2017.

It's too difficult to say for certain whether the New Orleans bollards being in place would have prevented such an incident, said University of Michigan professor and counterterrorism expert Javed Ali.

"He had a Ford 150 pick-up truck. You gun that thing at 50, 60 miles an hour, and who knows, even with bollards in place, would the car just - through physics - have rammed through them anyways?" he said.

"There must have been a lot of luck involved," Mr Ali added. "That's unfortunately what happens in these types of attacks."

A 2017 report commissioned by the city of New Orleans found the French Quarter was a "risk and target area for terrorism that the FBI has identified as a concern that the city must address".

The report noted that the neighbourhood was "often densely packed with pedestrians and represents an area where a mass casualty incident could occur".

Fans from two US universities filled a stadium in New Orleans for a highly anticipated American football game as the city reels from a New Year's Day attack.

The annual Sugar Bowl, which was scheduled to take place Wednesday, was postponed to Thursday at 15:00 local time (21:00 GMT) after a Texas man drove through a crowded New Orleans street, killing 14 people.

People gathered in the stadium partook in a moment of silence to remember the victims of Wednesday's attack.

The game brought thousands of fans to the city to see the University of Notre Dame take on the University of Georgia at the 70,000-seat Caesars Superdome.

Notre Dame's "Fighting Irish" ultimately emerged the winner, beating the Georgia Bulldogs 23-10.

Ahead of the game's start, Bourbon Street - where the attack took place on Wednesday - reopened to the public for the first time since the deadly event.

Yellow barriers, designed to prevent cars from driving onto the pavement, lined both sides of the street.

Fourteen flowers were laid against a wall at the spot where the attacker first drove into a crowd.

Many who trickled in had come to have a few drinks before heading over to the stadium for the game, with almost everyone wearing red for Georgia, and green or blue and gold for Notre Dame.

• Get live updates on this story

As the street reopened, a fan of the Notre Dame college football team yelled: "Go fighting Irish! We love life! So let's live!"

A New Orleans man who was discharged from the hospital on Thursday afternoon after being caught up in the attack, headed straight back to Bourbon Street dressed in the same clothes he was wearing on 1 January.

Speaking to the BBC, Jovon Miguel Bell lifted his shirt to show cuts and bruises across his torso, which he said were the result of getting trampled.

"I'm blessed, to be honest. God is good," he said. "Blessings to the victims and their families."

Mr Bell admitted he was "drunk as hell" at the time of the attack, but does vaguely remember what landed him in hospital.

"I'm walking down the street and I hear the screams. Ruckus. Chaos," he said. "As soon as I turn around, I got hit [by a person] and fall to the ground. I got stepped on, multiple times."

Now free from hospital, he headed straight back to the bars of Bourbon Street as the Sugar Bowl game was ongoing, where he said he felt lucky he escaped with minor injuries.

Ahead of the game, state authorities assured the public that the city had taken additional safety precautions.

Brian Williams, a Georgia supporter, told the BBC that "the bad guys would have won" if the game had been cancelled or further postponed after the attack.

"Nowhere will be safer than New Orleans now," he said, as he gestured at a small group of state troopers on Bourbon Street. "There's nothing to worry about."

Like other football fans in town for the game, Mr Williams said the mood was sombre when he arrived in town early Wednesday.

"It felt off. It felt weird to be out in town, and we couldn't even get to Bourbon Street," Mr Williams said. "But this place will be back to normal soon."

Master P, a New Orleans native and rap singer whose full name is Percy Robert Miller, visited Bourbon Street on Thursday to reassure local resident he would do whatever he could to help the city recover.

"We've got to show the people we're not stopping. We are going to move on," he said. "Even this evil stuff that came against us is not going to stop us."

Mr Miller described the city as one where people come to "celebrate" and described it as "our culture".

Jefferson County Sheriff Joseph Lopinto told reporters Thursday the college football match would be secure for fans who have come to the city.

"It's probably going to be one of the safest places in the country," Mr Lopinto said. "If my kid wanted to come to the game, I'd have no problem."

As the sun set over Bourbon Street on Thursday, many locals said they were confident that the vibrant area would bounce back quickly after the attack.

Among them was Darnell Simmons, a 23-year-old member of a brass band playing at the Bourbon House Oyster bar.

"A terrible thing happened here," he said. "But we're back, we're here to remember those we lost."

The bar's owner, Dickie Brennan, said he felt "incredibly emotional" to hear music return to Bourbon Street.

"We overcame Katrina. God knows how many hurricanes, oil spills, crime," he added, referring to the 2005 hurricane that left more than 1,300 dead. "One guy will not stop this beautiful city and special neighbourhood."

"This city is resilient. We have to be."

Just after 3:00 local time on 1 January officials say 42-year-old army veteran, Shamsud-Din Jabbar, killed 14 people and wounded dozens more when he drove a pick-up truck into crowds for the New Years holiday.

Before Jabbar was killed in a shoot-out with police during the attack, he had proclaimed his allegiance to the Islamic State group in videos uploaded to social media, according to the FBI.

The Sugar Bowl is watched by millions of Americans every year, traditionally on New Year's Day.

The game, along with the Los Angeles Rose Bowl, is a big tourist draw for the city.

The Sugar Bowl dates back to 1935, playing host to many of the best coaches, players and teams in college football history.

The Super Bowl, America's biggest sporting event, is scheduled for 9 February at the same New Orleans venue as the Sugar Bowl.

Additional reporting from the BBC's Anna Adams.

Heavy snow blends into white thick clouds in Skellefteå, a riverside city in northern Sweden that is home to 78,000 residents.

It's also the location of what was supposed to become Europe's biggest and greenest electric battery factory, powered by the region's abundance of renewable energy.

Swedish start-up Northvolt opened its flagship production plant here in 2022, after signing multi-billion euro contracts with carmakers including BMV, Volkswagen and Nordic truck manufacturer Scania.

But it ran into major financial troubles last year, reporting debts of $5.8bn (£4.6bn) in November, and filing for bankruptcy in the US, where it had been hoping to expand its operations.

Since September it's laid off around a quarter of its global workforce including more than 1,000 staff in Skellefteå.

"A lot of people have moved out already," says 43-year-old Ghanaian Justice Dey-Seshie, who relocated to Skellefteå for a job at Northvolt, after previously studying and working in southern Sweden.

"I need to secure a job in order to extend my work permit. Otherwise, I have to exit the country, sadly."

Many researchers and journalists tracking Northvolt's downfall share the view that it was at least partly caused by a global dip in demand for electric vehicles (EVs).

In September Volvo abandoned its target to only produce EVs by 2030, arguing that "customers and markets are moving at different speeds". Meanwhile China, the market leader in electric batteries, has been able to undercut Northvolt's prices.

Missing production targets (a key factor in BMW pulling out of a €2bn deal in June), expanding too quickly, and the company's leadership have also been widely cited as factors fuelling the crisis.

"To build batteries is a very complex process. It takes a lot of capital, it takes time, and they obviously just didn't have the right personnel running the company," argues Andreas Cervenka, a business author and economics commentator for Swedish daily Aftonbladet.

At Umeå university, Madeleine Eriksson, a geographer researching the impact of so-called "green industries" says Northvolt presented a "save the world mentality" that impressed investors, media and local politicians.

But this "now-or-never" approach, she argues, glossed over the fact it was a risk-taking start-up that "never finished attracting investment".

Northvolt did not respond to multiple requests from the BBC to respond to comments about its downfall or future plans.

The firm has hired German Marcus Dangelmaier, from global electronics company TE Connectivity to run Northvolt's operations in Skellefeå, from January, as it seeks to attract fresh investment.

Northvolt's co-founder and CEO Peter Carlsson – a former Tesla executive – resigned in November.

• Listen Business Daily: Crisis at Northvolt

As the postmortem into the crisis continues, there are debates about the potential impact on Sweden's green ambitions.

Northern Sweden, dubbed the "Nordic Silicon Valley of sustainability" by consultancy firm McKinsey, has swiftly gained global reputation for new industries designed to fast-track Europe's green transition.

The region is a hub for biotech and renewable energy. Alongside Northvolt, high profile companies include Stegra (formerly called H2 Green Steel) and Hybrit, which are both developing fossil-free fuel using hydrogen.

But Mr Cervenka, the economics commentator, argues Northvolt's downfall has damaged Sweden's "very good brand" when it comes to green technologies.

"There was a huge opportunity to build this champion, and to build this Swedish icon, but I think investors that lost money are going to be hesitant to invest again in a similar project in the north of Sweden," he says.

Some local businesses say the publicity around Northvolt's crisis is already having a negative impact.

"I feel it myself when I travel now – even to the southern parts of Sweden – and abroad, that people really ask me questions," says Joakim Nordin, CEO of Skellefteå Kraft, a major hydropower and wind energy provider, which was an early investor in Northvolt.

Headquartered in Malmö in southern Sweden, Cleantech for Nordics is an organisation that represents a coalition of 15 major investors in sustainability-focussed start-ups.

Here, climate policy analyst Eva Andersson believes the nation's long legacy as an environmental champion will remain relevant.

"I think it would be presumptuous to say that, okay, now we are doomed here in the Nordics because one company has failed," she argues.

Cleantech for Nordics' research suggests there were more than 200 investments in clean tech projects in Sweden in 2023.

Another study by Dealroom, which gathers data on start-ups indicates 74% of all venture capital funding to Swedish start-ups went to so-called impact companies which prioritise environmental or social sustainability, compared to a European average of just 35%.

"Sweden is still punching above its weight in this sector. And I think we could expect it to continue to do so moving forward as well," predicts Anderson.

There are growing calls for increased state support to help Sweden maintain its position. The Swedish government refused to bail out Northvolt, suggesting all startups – sustainable or not – should be subject to market forces rather than bailed out by taxpayers. But as other parts of the world ramp up battery production and other carbon-cutting industries, the decision has faced a backlash.

"The US and China have massive support packages for green industry, and they definitely are catching up and overtaking in some sectors. And so that is definitely a threat to be reckoned with," argues Andersson.

Just 3% of global battery cell production currently takes place in Europe - according to research for international consultancy firm McKinsey - with Asian firms leading the market.

Sweden's minister for Energy, Business and Industry Ebba Busch argues more EU support rather than funding from individual governments is the answer.

Last month she told Swedish television the situation at Northvolt was "not a Swedish crisis", rather a reflection of a Europe-wide challenge when it comes to competitiveness in the electric battery sector.

But while the government insists it wants Sweden to play a key role in Europe's battery industry, and the wider green transition, it has been accused of sending mixed messages. The right-wing coalition, which came into power in 2022 has cut taxes on petrol and diesel, and abolished subsidies for EVs.

"This is a very politically sensitive area," says journalist Cervenka. "The Swedish government is being actually criticised internationally for not fulfilling its climate obligations. And that is a stark contrast to the image of Sweden as a pioneer."

The BBC approached Busch's media team, but was not granted an interview.

Back in Skellefteå, where it has been dark since just after lunch, Joachim Nordin is preparing to commute home in the snow.

He says there's a strong industrial will for Sweden to remain a green tech role model, despite policymakers being "not as ambitious" as previous administrations.

The criteria that enticed Northvolt to establish its first factory in Skellefteå will also attract other big global players to the region, according to the energy company CEO.

"It's 100% almost renewable energy up here… and that's that's pretty unique if you compare it to the rest of Europe. But on top of that we are among the cheapest places in the world for the electricity prices. So if you combine those two things, it's a huge opportunity."

Skellefeå Kraft recently announced a collaboration with Dutch fuel company Sky NRG. Their ambition is to open a large factory by 2030, making fossil-free plane fuel (produced using hydrogen combined with carbon dioxide captured from biogenic sources).

"The publicity around Northvolt is not helping now, of course. But I hope that that's just something that will be remembered as a little bump in the road, when we look back at this 10 years from now," says Mr Nordin.

A day of high drama has drawn to an end in South Korea, with investigators suspending an attempt to arrest ousted President Yoon Suk Yeol after a six-hour standoff with the security team outside his home.

"We've determined that the arrest is impossible," said the Corruption Investigation Office (CIO), which has been investigating Yoon's short-lived martial law declaration.

"Next steps will be decided after review," the CIO said, adding that Yoon's "refusal of the legal process" is "deeply regrettable".

Yoon's supporters, who have been camped out in front of the presidential residence for days, cheered in song and dance as the suspension was announced. "We won," they chanted.

Investigators have until 6 January to arrest Yoon, before the warrant expires. However they can apply for a new warrant and try to detain him again.

Just hours before the clock struck midnight on New Year's Eve, Jack Bech got on a phone call with his older brother Martin - an avid outdoorsman and former football star mostly known to friends and teammates as "Tiger".

Jack, 22, was in Dallas visiting family members, while Tiger, a 28-year-old former Princeton alumnus who lived in New York, was in New Orleans, getting ready to celebrate the New Year.

"We just thought it was going to be another conversation," he told the BBC. "I was showing him what we were eating, and he was showing us what he was eating."

The two brothers would never speak again.

"I hung up the phone, and that was the last time I ever spoke with him," Jack recalled.

Tiger was among the 14 people killed when an attacker ploughed through a crowd on Bourbon Street in New Orleans.

• The rev of an engine and then screams - how revelry turned to mayhem in New Orleans
• Fans flock to Sugar Bowl in New Orleans after deadly New Year's attack

The attacker, 42-year-old army veteran Shamsud-Din Jabbar, was killed in a gunfight with police after he drove a pick-up truck into the crowds, according to authorities. Though he posted videos online proclaiming allegiance to the Islamic State group before the attack, FBI officials said they believe he was acting alone.

While the identities of all the victims have not been made public yet, a picture is slowly emerging of a group of mostly young people, many of whom - like Tiger - were Louisiana locals.

Jack - who remembers his brother as his best friend, role model and inspiration - says that the close-knit Bech family will never be the same.

Most of the family is in the town of Lafayette, about 136 miles (218km) away from New Orleans.

"This is something we're going to have to deal with. Every time we wake up, and every time we go to sleep, it's going to be something," he added. "Every holiday, there's going to be an empty seat at the table."

But Tiger said that his brother "wouldn't want us to grieve and mourn". Instead, he has encouraged his family to remember him as "a fighter".

"He'd want us to keep attacking life...he'd want us to go and be there for each other," he said.

"I told my family that instead of seeing him a couple of times a year, he'll be with us every moment," Jack added. "Whenever we're waking up and we're going to sleep and we're walking, when we're at work, doing whatever, he'll be with us."

Among the other victims of the attack in the early morning hours of 1 January was Matthew Tenedorio, an audio-visual technician at New Orleans' Caesars' Superdome.

Tenedorio, who just turned 25 in October, had spent the earlier part of his evening at his brother's home in the town of Slidell, about 35 minutes away from New Orleans.

With him were his father and mother - who just recently recovered from cancer.

His cousin, Christina Bounds, told the BBC that his family "begged" him not to go into New Orleans, fearful of the large crowd and potential dangers.

Despite their pleas, he went, along with two friends. When the news broke, his mother eventually got a hold of one of them.

"They said they were walking down Bourbon, and saw a body fall," she said, noting that they now believe it was a body thrown into the air by the attacker's truck.

Amid screams and gunshots, Tenedorio was separated from his friends.

His family says he was shot, and believe he was killed during the exchange of gunfire between the attacker and police officers on Bourbon Street.

The BBC is unable to independently verify this claim.

According to Ms Bounds, the family's tragedy has been made more painful by the slow, nearly non-existent trickle of communications they've had with local authorities.

"We couldn't get any information when my aunt [Tenedorio's mother, Cathy] showed up at the hospital," she said. "There has been no information from doctors, hospitals, or cops. Nobody."

"They have zero information, and that's the part that's pissing everybody off. We don't even know what happened," Bounds added. "Was he carried out by the EMS? Was he in an ambulance? Did he die instantly?"

These answers, she added, would "help people accept" what happened.

"But now it's like total shock," she added. "It's not registering."

The family has started a GoFundMe page to gather funds for Tenedorio's funeral expenses - which Ms Bounds said have been made difficult by his mother's significant medical bills during her cancer diagnosis.

Another cousin of Tenedorio's, Zach Colgan, remembers him as a "goofball" who was quick to make a joke, cared deeply about animals and was an avid storyteller.

"He cared. He was definitely a people person. A happy-go-lucky guy," Mr Colgan told the BBC. "It's sad that a terrorist attack took him...no family should ever have to bury their son, especially for something so senseless."

Mr Colgan, who has experience working with law enforcement in Louisiana, says he believes officers have done the best they can in an extremely hectic casualty situation.

"I know it's chaotic. But part of closure is getting answers. I know my aunt and uncle weren't able to get much besides 'yes - Matthew was killed'," he said.

"It'd be nice to know a little bit more," Mr Colgan added. ""If it was my kid, I'd want to know."

Even as his family continues to search for answers, Mr Colgan says he hopes that the government and public's focus continues to be on the victims, rather than on law enforcement's response or what else could have been done to prevent the attack.

"I want every single one of them to be remembered," he said. "They didn't deserve this. No one deserves this."

Venezuela's government has offered a $100,000 (£81,000) reward for information leading to the arrest of the opposition's exiled presidential candidate Edmundo González.

He fled the country in September and was granted political asylum in Spain after Venezuela's authorities ordered his arrest, accusing González of conspiracy and of forging documents.

González had vowed to return to Venezuela before President Nicolás Maduro's inauguration next Friday, accusing the government of rigging the vote.

Shortly after the reward was announced, González said he was travelling to Argentina to begin a tour of Latin America, where he will meet fierce Maduro critic President Javier Milei on Saturday.

The United Nations' Human Rights Committee has ordered Venezuela "to refrain from destroying" the voting tallies from the presidential election in July 2024.

The voting tallies - a detailed official breakdown of the votes from each polling station - have been at the centre of the dispute over who won the election.

The government-aligned National Electoral Council (CNE) declared the incumbent, Maduro, the winner but failed to provide the voting tallies to back up its claim.

The opposition, which with the help of accredited election witnesses collected and published more than 80% of the voting tallies, says these prove that its candidate, González, was the overwhelming winner.

González was not well known in Venezuela when he registered as a candidate for the country's presidential election back in March.

He had never run for public office before and was not even widely known in opposition circles.

But months after he decided to run for the top office, the low-key former diplomat overtook Maduro in the opinion polls.

Venezuela has seen divisions between government and opposition supporters get ever deeper over the past decade or so.

González's reconciliatory tone during the presidential campaign was in stark contrast to that of Maduro, who warned of a "bloodbath" should González win.

The 2018 re-election of Maduro was widely dismissed as neither free nor fair.

A killer whale, which captured the world's attention in 2018 when it was spotted pushing the dead body of its newborn calf for 17 days, appears to be grieving again.

The whale, known as Tahlequah, has lost another calf and is again pushing the body, according to the Center for Whale Research.

Tahlequah has this time been spotted off the coast of the US state of Seattle.

Killer whales have been known to carry dead calves for a week but scientists in 2018 said Tahlequah had set a "record".

The Center for Whale Research said the death of any calf was a "tremendous loss" but added that the death of Tahlequah's newborn was "particularly devastating" given its history.

The centre, which studies the Southern Resident killer whale and works on its conservation, said Tahlequah had now lost two out of four documented calves - both of which were female.

Both Canada and the US list Southern Resident killer whales as endangered.

The whales depend on Chinook salmon - which have been in dramatic decline in recent years - for food.

Failures to reproduce are linked to nutrition and access to these salmon, according to research from the University of Washington.

Whales can travel an average of 120km (75 miles) a day.

The 2018 sighting of Tahlequah pushing a dead calf happened when it was off the shores of Victoria, British Columbia.

Shoppers in China are getting rare discounts on iPhones as Apple faces growing competition from local brands.

The four-day promotion, which starts this Saturday (4 January), includes discounts of as much as 500 yuan ($68.50, £55.30) on some of the US technology giant's newest handsets.

Chinese phone maker Huawei has also cut prices of its high-end mobile devices by as much as 20%.

The discounts come as consumers in China remain hesitant about spending because of the country's economic challenges.

The offer covers Apple's top models as well as older handsets and some other devices.

The biggest discount of 500 yuan will apply to Apple's flagship iPhone 16 Pro, which has starting a price of 7,999 yuan, and the iPhone 16 Pro Max which currently costs 9,999 yuan.

The firm held a similar promotion in China last year ahead of the Lunar New Year holiday. This year, the festival starts at the end of January.

Changing behaviour

"Apple's strategy has changed to adapt to the change in Chinese consumers' shopping behaviour," said Will Wong, a senior research manager for market intelligence firm International Data Corporation (IDC).

"The value-seeking trend has made price discounts more attractive to consumers. Apple may fall behind other competitors if it doesn't adopt such a pricing strategy."

The discounts being offered by Apple and Huawei reflect a wider trend in China.

From online retail giants to the country's car makers, deals are being offered in a bid to attract customers who have been reluctant to spend as the world's second largest economy slows.

Local competition

Against this backdrop, Apple's share of the Chinese market has come under increasing pressure from local rivals, such as Vivo and Xiaomi.

The US firm re-entered China's top five smartphone makers in the third quarter of 2024 after briefly dropping off the list.

According to IDC's latest research, Vivo was China's best-selling smartphone maker in the period as its sales jumped by more than 20%.

During the same period, Apple saw sales dip by 0.3%. Huawei's jumped by more than 40%.

"We've seen market competition increase with almost everyone launching a flagship last quarter," said Ivan Lam, a senior analyst at Counterpoint Research.

Huawei has seen demand for its products surge after its return to the premium smartphone market in August last year.

The Shenzhen-based firm has since launched several new devices powered by advanced technology despite the company facing US restrictions.

Just hours before the clock struck midnight on New Year's Eve, Jack Bech got on a phone call with his older brother Martin - an avid outdoorsman and former football star mostly known to friends and teammates as "Tiger".

Jack, 22, was in Dallas visiting family members, while Tiger, a 28-year-old former Princeton alumnus who lived in New York, was in New Orleans, getting ready to celebrate the New Year.

"We just thought it was going to be another conversation," he told the BBC. "I was showing him what we were eating, and he was showing us what he was eating."

The two brothers would never speak again.

"I hung up the phone, and that was the last time I ever spoke with him," Jack recalled.

Tiger was among the 14 people killed when an attacker ploughed through a crowd on Bourbon Street in New Orleans.

• The rev of an engine and then screams - how revelry turned to mayhem in New Orleans
• Fans flock to Sugar Bowl in New Orleans after deadly New Year's attack

The attacker, 42-year-old army veteran Shamsud-Din Jabbar, was killed in a gunfight with police after he drove a pick-up truck into the crowds, according to authorities. Though he posted videos online proclaiming allegiance to the Islamic State group before the attack, FBI officials said they believe he was acting alone.

While the identities of all the victims have not been made public yet, a picture is slowly emerging of a group of mostly young people, many of whom - like Tiger - were Louisiana locals.

Jack - who remembers his brother as his best friend, role model and inspiration - says that the close-knit Bech family will never be the same.

Most of the family is in the town of Lafayette, about 136 miles (218km) away from New Orleans.

"This is something we're going to have to deal with. Every time we wake up, and every time we go to sleep, it's going to be something," he added. "Every holiday, there's going to be an empty seat at the table."

But Tiger said that his brother "wouldn't want us to grieve and mourn". Instead, he has encouraged his family to remember him as "a fighter".

"He'd want us to keep attacking life...he'd want us to go and be there for each other," he said.

"I told my family that instead of seeing him a couple of times a year, he'll be with us every moment," Jack added. "Whenever we're waking up and we're going to sleep and we're walking, when we're at work, doing whatever, he'll be with us."

Among the other victims of the attack in the early morning hours of 1 January was Matthew Tenedorio, an audio-visual technician at New Orleans' Caesars' Superdome.

Tenedorio, who just turned 25 in October, had spent the earlier part of his evening at his brother's home in the town of Slidell, about 35 minutes away from New Orleans.

With him were his father and mother - who just recently recovered from cancer.

His cousin, Christina Bounds, told the BBC that his family "begged" him not to go into New Orleans, fearful of the large crowd and potential dangers.

Despite their pleas, he went, along with two friends. When the news broke, his mother eventually got a hold of one of them.

"They said they were walking down Bourbon, and saw a body fall," she said, noting that they now believe it was a body thrown into the air by the attacker's truck.

Amid screams and gunshots, Tenedorio was separated from his friends.

His family says he was shot, and believe he was killed during the exchange of gunfire between the attacker and police officers on Bourbon Street.

The BBC is unable to independently verify this claim.

According to Ms Bounds, the family's tragedy has been made more painful by the slow, nearly non-existent trickle of communications they've had with local authorities.

"We couldn't get any information when my aunt [Tenedorio's mother, Cathy] showed up at the hospital," she said. "There has been no information from doctors, hospitals, or cops. Nobody."

"They have zero information, and that's the part that's pissing everybody off. We don't even know what happened," Bounds added. "Was he carried out by the EMS? Was he in an ambulance? Did he die instantly?"

These answers, she added, would "help people accept" what happened.

"But now it's like total shock," she added. "It's not registering."

The family has started a GoFundMe page to gather funds for Tenedorio's funeral expenses - which Ms Bounds said have been made difficult by his mother's significant medical bills during her cancer diagnosis.

Another cousin of Tenedorio's, Zach Colgan, remembers him as a "goofball" who was quick to make a joke, cared deeply about animals and was an avid storyteller.

"He cared. He was definitely a people person. A happy-go-lucky guy," Mr Colgan told the BBC. "It's sad that a terrorist attack took him...no family should ever have to bury their son, especially for something so senseless."

Mr Colgan, who has experience working with law enforcement in Louisiana, says he believes officers have done the best they can in an extremely hectic casualty situation.

"I know it's chaotic. But part of closure is getting answers. I know my aunt and uncle weren't able to get much besides 'yes - Matthew was killed'," he said.

"It'd be nice to know a little bit more," Mr Colgan added. ""If it was my kid, I'd want to know."

Even as his family continues to search for answers, Mr Colgan says he hopes that the government and public's focus continues to be on the victims, rather than on law enforcement's response or what else could have been done to prevent the attack.

"I want every single one of them to be remembered," he said. "They didn't deserve this. No one deserves this."

Two people have died and 18 others were injured after a small plane crashed into a commercial building in southern California, officials say.

Ten people were taken to hospital with injuries, the Fullerton Police Department said in a post on X on Thursday afternoon. Eight others were treated for injuries and released at the scene.

The single-engine Van's RV-10 crashed at 14:15PST (20:15GMT), according to the Federal Aviation Administration.

Officials have provided no further details about how the crash occurred. It is unclear whether the two people who died were workers or were on board the plane.

Police say they are evacuating buildings in the area, and are asking the public to stay away from the crash site.

Congressman Lou Correa, who represents the area of Orange County, about 25 miles (40km) south of Los Angeles, said that the building that was struck is a furniture manufacturing business.

In a post on X, Correa said that at least a dozen of the victims are factory workers.

Aerial photos of the scene show parts of the plane inside the building. The crash also sparked a fire which was extinguished by fire crews.

Security footage recorded from a building across the street shows a fiery explosion, according to local news outlets.

"People are just shaken over the situation," witness Mark Anderson told KRCA-TV.

"It was just a large boom, and then one of the people went out and said, 'Oh my gosh, the building's on fire.'"

The area where the plane crashed is near the Fullerton Municipal Airport, about 6 miles (10 kilometers) from Disneyland.

The plane appears to have been turning back to the airport shortly after takeoff, according to KRCA-TV.

This is the second plane to crash in the area in the past two months, according to CBS, the BBC's US partner.

On 25 November, another plane crashed into a tree roughly one block away from this most recent crash. No major injures were reported in that crash.

Slovakia's Prime Minister Robert Fico has threatened to cut financial support for more than 130,000 Ukrainian refugees as a dispute with Ukraine over Russian gas supplies escalates.

On 1 January, Kyiv shut off a pipeline that for decades was used to supply Central Europe with Russian natural gas.

Slovakia had been the main entry point and the country now stands to lose millions of euros in transit fees.

The UN's refugee agency (UNHCR) estimated last month that there were 130,530 Ukrainian refugees in Slovakia out of 6,813,900 globally.

Fico - who in December made a surprise visit to Moscow for talks with Russia's President Vladimir Putin - described Kyiv's move as "sabotage".

The prime minister of the EU state said he would propose halting electricity exports to Ukraine and also "sharply reducing" financial support for Ukrainians who have found shelter in Slovakia.

He said there was no risk of Slovakia itself suffering from gas shortages, as it had already made alternative arrangements.

But Fico added that Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky's decision to turn off the taps would deprive Slovakia of 500m euros (£415m; $518m) in transit fees from other countries.

He said his party was ready to debate "halting supplies of electricity" and the "significant lowering of support for Ukrainian citizens in Slovakia".

"The only alternative for a sovereign Slovakia is renewal of transit or demanding compensation mechanisms that will replace the loss in public finances," he added.

Last month Zelensky accused Fico of helping Putin to "fund the war and weaken Ukraine".

"Fico is dragging Slovakia into Russia's attempts to cause more suffering for Ukrainians," the Ukrainian president had said.

Poland has offered to support Kyiv in case Slovakia cuts off its electricity exports - supplies that are crucial to Ukraine, whose power plants come under regular attack from Russia.

Poland's government called the cut-off "another victory" against Moscow while the European Commission said the EU had prepared for the change and most states could cope.

Moldova, which is not in the EU, is already suffering shortages.

Russia can still send gas to Hungary, Turkey and Serbia through the TurkStream pipeline across the Black Sea.

The man who rented a Tesla Cybertruck that exploded outside of President-elect Donald Trump's Las Vegas hotel is an active-duty US special forces soldier, officials have confirmed.

Las Vegas police identified Matthew Alan Livelsberger, 37, of Colorado, as the renter of the vehicle who drove the Cybertruck from Colorado to Las Vegas.

They said they were fairly certain he was the same person found dead in the vehicle after the explosion but were waiting for DNA evidence to confirm this.

The body was burnt beyond recognition and found with a gunshot wound to the head believed to be self-inflicted, according to Las Vegas Sheriff Kevin McMahill.

The explosion injured seven people after the vehicle - filled with fuel canisters and firework mortars - exploded. Officials said all injuries were minor.

Authorities said they were yet to determine any motive.

"I'm comfortable calling it a suicide with a bombing that occurred immediately after," Las Vegas Sheriff Kevin McMahill said during a Thursday afternoon press conference.

Livelsberger rented the Cybertruck on 28 December in Denver, Colorado. He has decades of experience with the US military, having served in the Army and National Guard.

He entered the active duty Army in December 2012, serving as a special operations soldier.

The US Army said he was on approved leave at the time of his death.

Livelsberger's father spoke to the BBC's news partner CBS and said his son was currently serving in Germany and on leave to visit Colorado and see his wife and eight-month-old daughter.

Livelsberger's father said he last spoke to his son at Christmas and that everything seemed normal.

This breaking news story is being updated and more details will be published shortly. Please refresh the page for the fullest version.

You can receive Breaking News on a smartphone or tablet via the BBC News App. You can also follow @BBCBreaking on X to get the latest alerts.

Rosita Missoni, co-founder of the eponymous Italian knitwear label Missoni, has died aged 93.

The news was confirmed by the president of Italy's Lombardy region, Attilio Fontana, who praised the brand's iconic "multicoloured textures".

He described her death as "a great loss for Italy, Lombardy and for the province of Varese where she was born and lived".

Rosita founded the luxury brand - which became known for its zig-zag motif - in the northern Italian region with her husband Ottavio in 1953.

Rosita, whose parents were shawlmakers, was born in 1931 in the town of Golasecca, Lombardy.

While on a study trip to learn English in London, she met Ottavio - known as Tai - while he was competing in the 400m hurdles at the 1948 Olympic Games.

At the time, Tai was producing his own knit tracksuits, including bottoms with a zip so they could be put on over trainers.

"When I got married, four sewing machines arrived with my husband," Rosita told the AFP news agency in a 2016 interview.

The pair, who married in 1953, initially set up a machine-knitwear workshop in Gallarate, northwest of Milan.

Their big break came in 1958 when a Milanese department store ordered hundreds of Missoni-labelled striped dresses.

Missoni's first catwalk show came in 1966, followed by a presentation at the Pitti Palace in Florence the following year.

A controversy over the see-through quality of clothing, after models were asked to remove their white bras because they could be seen under blouses, propelled the brand into global fame.

Tai died in 2013, aged 92.

The couple's daughter, Angela, took over the fashion house in the late 1990s, although Rosita continued to work on the label's home line, Missoni Home.

A gunman has killed at least 10 people, including two children, in southern Montenegro, police say.

At least some of the deaths happened inside a restaurant in the Cetinje area, before the suspect reportedly moved to other locations.

A verbal argument between guests preceded the shooting, a police official was quoted as saying by public broadcaster RTCG.

The suspect is still at large and a manhunt is under way. Prime Minister Milojko Spajic described the shooting as a "terrible tragedy".

Multiple casualties are feared in New Orleans after a vehicle reportedly drove into a crowd on the popular Bourbon Street, the BBC's US news partner CBS has reported.

A New Orleans Police spokesman said that "initial reports show a car may have ploughed into a group of people" in the early hours of New Year's Day. The spokesperson added that there were "reported fatalities".

A CBS reporter saw multiple people on the ground with injuries.

Witnesses told the organisation that a vehicle ran into a crowd, and then the driver began firing a weapon, prompting police to return fire. Police have not confirmed this report.

Nola Ready, a New Orleans government agency, said on social media that there had been "a mass casualty incident on Canal and Bourbon Street" and told those nearby to "get yourself away from the area".

This breaking news story is being updated and more details will be published shortly. Please refresh the page for the fullest version.

You can receive Breaking News on a smartphone or tablet via the BBC News App. You can also follow @BBCBreaking on X to get the latest alerts.

The man who rented a Tesla Cybertruck that exploded outside of President-elect Donald Trump's Las Vegas hotel is an active-duty US special forces soldier, officials have confirmed.

Las Vegas police identified Matthew Alan Livelsberger, 37, of Colorado, as the renter of the vehicle who drove the Cybertruck from Colorado to Las Vegas.

They said they were fairly certain he was the same person found dead in the vehicle after the explosion but were waiting for DNA evidence to confirm this.

The body was burnt beyond recognition and found with a gunshot wound to the head believed to be self-inflicted, according to Las Vegas Sheriff Kevin McMahill.

The explosion injured seven people after the vehicle - filled with fuel canisters and firework mortars - exploded. Officials said all injuries were minor.

Authorities said they were yet to determine any motive.

"I'm comfortable calling it a suicide with a bombing that occurred immediately after," Las Vegas Sheriff Kevin McMahill said during a Thursday afternoon press conference.

Livelsberger rented the Cybertruck on 28 December in Denver, Colorado. He has decades of experience with the US military, having served in the Army and National Guard.

He entered the active duty Army in December 2012, serving as a special operations soldier.

The US Army said he was on approved leave at the time of his death.

Livelsberger's father spoke to the BBC's news partner CBS and said his son was currently serving in Germany and on leave to visit Colorado and see his wife and eight-month-old daughter.

Livelsberger's father said he last spoke to his son at Christmas and that everything seemed normal.

This breaking news story is being updated and more details will be published shortly. Please refresh the page for the fullest version.

You can receive Breaking News on a smartphone or tablet via the BBC News App. You can also follow @BBCBreaking on X to get the latest alerts.

Ten people are dead and at least 35 injured after a man drove into a large crowd in New Orleans in the early hours of New Year's Day, authorities have said.

Here's what we know so far.

When did the incident happen?

At 0315 on New Year's day, a man drove a pickup truck at speed into a large crowd in Bourbon Street.

Police described the act as "very intentional", adding that the man was "hell-bent on creating the carnage and the damage that he did".

"This man was trying to run over as many people as he possibly could", said New Orleans Police Chief Anne Kirkpatrick.

The driver fired at officers from his vehicle, injuring two officers. They are in a stable condition, authorities said.

In a later update, the FBI confirmed the driver was dead and that the incident was being investigated as an "act of terrorism".

Who was injured?

Police said 10 people were killed and at least 35 injured. None of them have been identified yet.

The injured have been sent to several area hospitals for treatment.

Police said it appeared that the victims were mainly locals.

Where did it happen?

The man drove into a large crowd on Bourbon Street in the southern US city of New Orleans in Louisiana.

Bourbon Street is a well-known nightlife and tourist hotspot that is filled with bars, clubs with live music and restaurants.

It is within New Orleans' French Quarter, a lively area that attracts tourists and locals, especially to celebrate the new year.

What about the driver?

The driver of the vehicle has died, but the cause of death is not yet clear.

He has not been identified by police, who said earlier that he had fired at officers when they responded to the scene.

The truck, a white Ford F-150 Lightning, with a heavily damaged bonnet was geolocated by the BBC Verify team in front of Rick's Cabaret on Bourbon Street, near the Conti Street intersection.

Officials are investigating whether the suspect was connected to or inspired by a foreign terror organization, according to BBC's US news partner CBS.

Investigators also are analyzing potential explosive devices recovered at or near the scene.

A long gun was recovered from the scene, CBS reported.

What was found at the scene?

Special agent Althea Duncan of the the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) confirmed at a morning news conference that the agency had taken over the investigation.

Ms Duncan said a possible explosive device had been found at the scene and authorities were working to find out if it was "viable".

She stressed that the public should stay away from the area "until we can figure out what is going on".

Police asked that the public stay clear of Bourbon Street between Canal and St Ann streets.

What did witnesses say?

A witness who was on Bourbon Street at the time of the incident has just shared some of the harrowing scenes.

Whit Davis, from Shreveport, Louisiana, told the BBC: "We had been on and around Bourbon Street since the beginning of the evening.

"When we were in the bar we didn't hear shooting or crashes because the music was so loud," Mr Davis said.

Police held Mr Davis and a group of people in the bar, and when they were allowed to leave he said they "were walking past dead and injured bodies all over the street".

The names of around 425,000 people suspected of collaborating with the Nazis during the German occupation of the Netherlands have been published online for the first time.

The names represent individuals who were investigated through a special legal system established towards the end of World War 2. Of them, more than 150,000 faced some form of punishment.

The full records of these investigations were previously only accessible by visiting the Dutch National Archives in The Hague.

The Huygens Institute, which helped digitise the archive, says this is a major barrier for people wishing to research the Netherlands' occupation, which lasted from its invasion in 1940 to 1945.

"This archive contains important stories for both present and future generations," the Huygens Institute says.

"From children who want to know what their father did in the war, to historians researching the grey areas of collaboration."

The archive contains files on war criminals, the approximately 20,000 Dutch people who enlisted in the German armed forces, and alleged members of the National Socialist Movement (NSB) - the Dutch Nazi party.

But it also contains the names of people who were found to be innocent.

This is because the archive is comprised of files from the Special Jurisdiction, which from 1944 investigated suspected collaborators.

The online database only contains the names of suspects - as well as the date and place of their birth - which are only searchable using specific personal details.

It does not specify whether a particular person was found guilty, or what form of collaboration they were suspected of.

But it will tell users what file to request to see this information if they visit the National Archives. People accessing the physical files must declare a legitimate interest in viewing them.

There has been some concern in the Netherlands about personal information pertaining to a sensitive period of history being made freely available - prompting the information published online to be initially limited.

"I am afraid that there will be very nasty reactions," Rinke Smedinga, whose father was an NSB member and worked at Camp Westerbork, from which people were deported to concentration camps, told Dutch online publication DIT.

"You have to anticipate that. You should not just let it happen, as a kind of social experiment."

Tom De Smet, the director of the National Archives, told DIT that relatives of both collaborators and victims of the occupation had to be taken into account.

But he added: "Collaboration is still a major trauma. It is not talked about. We hope that when the archives are opened, the taboo will be broken."

In a letter to parliament on 19 December, Culture Minister Eppo Bruins wrote: "Openness of archives is crucial for facing the effects of [the Netherlands'] difficult shared past and to process it as a society."

How much information made available online would be limited given privacy concerns, and those visiting the archive in person will not be allowed to make copies. Bruins has expressed a wish to change the law to allow more information to be disclosed publicly.

The online database's website says that people who might still be alive are not listed online.

An Israeli air strike on a tent camp sheltering displaced families in southern Gaza has killed at least 11 Palestinians, including the chief of the territory's Hamas-run police force, medics say.

Three children and two women were also reportedly among the dead in al-Mawasi, west of the city of Khan Younis.

The Hamas-run interior ministry condemned what it called the "assassination" of police director general Mahmoud Salah, and his assistant, Hussam Shahwan, who it said had been "performing their humanitarian and national duty".

The Israeli military said it was looking into the reports.

The military has declared the sandy strip of land along the coast in al-Mawasi to be a "humanitarian zone" for Palestinians displaced by its war with Hamas. But it has repeatedly attacked it, accusing Hamas operatives of hiding among displaced civilians.

Recent cold, wet weather has worsened conditions in the makeshift camp.

In the past day, there have also been deadly Israeli air strikes in a suburb of Gaza City, further north in Jabalia, and in Bureij in central Gaza - from where the Israeli military said rockets were fired into southern Israel at the very start of the new year.

Multiple casualties are feared in New Orleans after a vehicle reportedly drove into a crowd on the popular Bourbon Street, the BBC's US news partner CBS has reported.

A New Orleans Police spokesman said that "initial reports show a car may have ploughed into a group of people" in the early hours of New Year's Day. The spokesperson added that there were "reported fatalities".

A CBS reporter saw multiple people on the ground with injuries.

Witnesses told the organisation that a vehicle ran into a crowd, and then the driver began firing a weapon, prompting police to return fire. Police have not confirmed this report.

Nola Ready, a New Orleans government agency, said on social media that there had been "a mass casualty incident on Canal and Bourbon Street" and told those nearby to "get yourself away from the area".

This breaking news story is being updated and more details will be published shortly. Please refresh the page for the fullest version.

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There is concern growing in Syria that the new Islamist-led authorities have already decided on changes to the school curriculum, without the input of the rest of society.

The Facebook page of the transitional government's education ministry has posted the new curriculum for all age groups, which will take on a more Islamic slant, as well as dropping any reference to the Assad era across all subjects.

The phrase "Defending the nation" has been replaced by "Defending Allah", among other changes.

The Education Minister, Nazir al-Qadri, downplayed the move, saying the curriculum is essentially unchanged and will remain so until specialised committees have been set up to review and revise it.

Other proposed changes include Evolution and the Big Bang theory being dropped from science teaching.

References to the gods worshipped in Syria before Islam, as well as images of their statues, are also being dropped.

The significance of the great Syrian heroine Queen Zenobia, who once ruled Palmyra in the Roman era, seems to have been downplayed.

The Assad era has essentially been excised from the curriculum, including poems celebrating both Bashar al-Assad and his father, Hafez, in Arabic language courses.

In a statement, al-Qadri said the only instructions he had issued were related to the removal of content that he described as glorifying the "defunct Assad regime" and the instatement of the Syrian revolutionary flag in all textbooks.

The minister also said that "inaccuracies" in the Islamic education curriculum had been corrected.

The changes have been welcomed by some Syrians.

But the move has set off alarm bells among resurgent civil society activists, many of whom have returned to Syria for the first time in many years.

They fear it is a sign that their voices - and those of groups and communities across the country - may not be listened to as the country develops under its new leadership.

There have already been calls for protests ahead of the start of the new school term on Sunday.

Activists want to make clear their opposition to any moves by the transitional government to bring in changes to the education system - or any other state institution - without the participation of all sections of Syrian society.

The new authorities have made much of the fact that they are to hold a National Dialogue Conference.

Officials have been holding meetings with many different communities - from Christians to Kurds, to artists and intellectuals.

The message has been that they want to create a new Syria with the involvement of all sections of society so that all will have a stake in the country's future.

But activists believe the unilateral changes in the school curriculum undercut such promises and want to make a stand right from the start for the values of freedom and inclusion that the removal of Bashar al-Assad has now made possible.

A drunken police officer in Zambia freed 13 suspects from custody so that they could go and celebrate the new year, officials say.

Detective inspector Titus Phiri was arrested after releasing the suspects from Leonard Cheelo police station in the capital, Lusaka, before running away himself.

The 13 detainees were accused of crimes such as assault, robbery and burglary.

They are all currently on the run and a manhunt has been launched to find them.

Police spokesperson Rae Hamoonga said that Mr Phiri, "in a state of intoxication, forcibly seized cell keys" from constable Serah Banda on New Year's Eve.

"Subsequently, detective inspector Phiri unlocked both the male and female cells and instructed the suspects to leave, stating they were free to cross over into the new year," he said.

"Out of the 15 suspects in custody, 13 escaped. Following the incident, the officer fled the scene."

Mr Phiri has not yet commented on the allegations.

Reacting to the incident, former presidential spokesperson and lawyer Dickson Jere wrote on Facebook: "I keep laughing each time I picture the scenario - comical! But then, I remembered a similar incident in 1997."

On New Year's Eve in 1997, the late, controversial High Court Judge Kabazo Chanda ordered the release of 53 suspects, some of whom were deemed dangerous by the police.

Mr Chanda was annoyed that the suspects had been arrested as long ago as 1992, but had not yet appeared in court.

"Justice delayed, is justice denied," he said.

More Zambia stories from the BBC:

• Zambia made education free, now classrooms are crammed
• Grandma with chunky sunglasses becomes unlikely fashion icon
• 'My son is a drug addict, please help' - the actor breaking a Zambian taboo

Go to BBCAfrica.com for more news from the African continent.

Follow us on Twitter @BBCAfrica, on Facebook at BBC Africa or on Instagram at bbcafrica

It's dawn on Darwin Harbour and government ranger Kelly Ewin - whose job is to catch and remove crocodiles - is balancing precariously on a floating trap.

Heavy rain clouds from the storm that has recently passed are overhead. The engine of the boat has been cut so now it's mostly silent – that is, apart from the intermittent splashing coming from inside the trap.

"You get pretty much zero chances with these guys," says Ewin as he attempts to loop a noose around the jaw of the agitated reptile.

We're in Australia's Northern Territory (NT), home to an estimated 100,000 wild saltwater crocodiles, more than anywhere in the world.

The capital, Darwin, is a small coastal city surrounded by beaches and wetlands.

And, as you quickly learn here in the NT, where there is water, there usually are crocs.

Saltwater crocs - or salties, as they are known to locals - were nearly hunted to extinction 50 years ago.

After World War Two, the uncontrolled trade in their skins soared and numbers fell to around 3,000.

But when hunting was banned in 1971, the population started rising again - and fast.

They still are a protected species, but are no longer threatened.

The recovery of the saltwater crocodile has been so dramatic that Australia now faces a different dilemma: managing their numbers to keep people safe and the public onside.

"The worst thing that can happen is when people turn [against crocodiles]," explains croc expert Prof Grahame Webb.

"And then a politician will invariably come along with some knee-jerk reaction [that] they're going to 'solve' the crocodile problem."

Living with predators

The NT's hot temperatures and abundant coastal surroundings create the perfect habitat for cold-blooded crocs, who need warmth to keep their body temperature constant.

There also are big saltie populations in Northern Queensland and Western Australia as well as in parts of South East Asia.

While most species of crocodile are harmless, the saltie is territorial and aggressive.

Fatal incidents are rare in Australia, but they do happen.

Last year, a 12-year-old was taken - the first death from a crocodile in the NT since 2018.

This is busiest time of year for Ewin and his colleagues.

Breeding season has just started, which means salties are on the move.

His team are on the water several times a week, checking the 24 crocodile traps surrounding the city of Darwin.

The area is popular for fishing, as well as for some brave swimmers.

The crocodiles that are removed from the harbour are most often killed, because if they are released elsewhere, they're likely to return to the harbour.

"It's our job to try and keep people as safe as we can," says Ewin, who's been doing his "dream job" for two years. Before that, he was a policeman.

"Obviously, we're not going to capture every crocodile, but the more we take out of the harbour, the less risk there's going to be an encounter with crocodiles and people."

Another tool helping to keep the public safe is education.

The NT government goes into schools with its programme "Be Crocwise" - which teaches people how to behave responsibly around croc habitats.

It's been such a success that Florida and the Philippines are now looking to borrow it, in order to better understand how the world's most dangerous predators can live alongside humans with minimal interactions.

"We're living in crocodile country, so it's about how we [keep ourselves] safe around the waterways - how should we be responding?" says Natasha Hoffman, a ranger who runs the programme in the NT.

"If you're on the boats when you're fishing, you need to be aware that they're there. They're ambush hunters, they sit, watch and wait. If the opportunity is there for them to grab some food, that's what they're going to do."

In the NT, mass culling is currently not on the table given the protected status of the species.

Last year though, the government approved a new 10-year crocodile management plan to help control the numbers, which increased the quota of crocs that can be killed annually from 300 to 1,200.

This is on top of the work Ewin's team is doing to remove any crocodiles that pose a direct threat to humans.

Every time there's a death, it reignites the debate about crocodiles living in close proximity to people.

In the days after the 12-year-old girl was taken last year, the Territory's then leader Eva Lawler made it clear she wouldn't allow the reptiles to outnumber the human population of the NT.

Currently that stands at 250,000, well above the number of wild crocs.

It's a conversation that goes beyond the NT.

Queensland is home to about a quarter of the number of crocs that the Top End of NT has, but there are far more tourists, and more deaths, which means talk of culls sometimes feature in election debates.

Big business

The apex predators may court controversy, but they're also a big draw card for the NT – for tourists but also for fashion brands keen to buy their leather.

Visitors can head to the Adelaide River to watch "croc jumping" - which involves salties being fed bits of meat on the end of a stick if they can leap out of the water for their audience.

"I'm supposed to tell you to put your [life-jackets] on," jokes the head skipper at Spectacular Jumping Croc Cruises, Alex 'Wookie' Williams, as he explains the house rules of the boat.

"The bit I don't have to tell you… [is that] life jackets are pretty useless out here."

For Williams, who's been obsessed with crocs since childhood, there's plenty of opportunity to work alongside them.

"It's boomed over the last 10 years or so," he says of the number of tourists coming to the region.

Farming, which was brought in when hunting was banned, has also become an economic driver.

It's estimated there are now about 150,000 crocodiles in captivity in the NT.

Fashion labels such as Louis Vuitton and Hermès - which sells a Birkin 35 croc handbag for as much as A$800,000 ($500,000; £398,000) - have all invested in the industry.

"The commercial incentives were effectively put in place to help people tolerate crocodiles, because we need a social licence to be able to use wildlife," says Mick Burns, one of the NT's most prominent farmers who works with luxury brands.

His office is in downtown Darwin. Spread across the floor is a massive croc skin. Pinned to the wall of the conference room, there is another skin that spans at least four metres.

Burns is also involved with a ranch in remote Arnhem Land, about 500km (310 miles) east of Darwin. There, he works with Aboriginal rangers to harvest and hatch croc eggs to sell their skins to the luxury goods industry.

One of the area's Traditional Owners, Otto Bulmaniya Campion, who works alongside Burns, says more partnerships like theirs are crucial for ensuring Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities share in the financial benefits of the industry.

For tens of thousands of years, crocs have played a significant role in Indigenous cultures, shaping their sacred stories, lives and livelihoods.

"My father, all the elders, used to go and harpoon crocodiles, get a skin, and go and trade it for tea, flour, and sugar. [However] there was no money at that time," the Balngarra man says.

"Now, we want to see our own people handling reptiles."

But not everyone is on board with farming as a practice - even if those involved say it helps with conservation.

The concern among animal activists lies in the way the crocs are held in captivity.

Despite being social animals, they are usually confined to individual pens to ensure their skins are flawless - as a scrap between two territorial crocs would almost certainly damage a valuable commodity.

Everyone in Darwin has a story about these formidable creatures, regardless of whether they want to see them hunted in greater numbers or more rigorously preserved.

But the threat they continue to pose is not imagined.

"If you go [swimming in] the Adelaide river next to Darwin, there's a 100% chance you'll be killed," says Prof Webb matter-of-factly.

"The only question is whether it's going to take five minutes or 10 minutes. I don't think you'll ever get to 15 - you'll be torn apart," he adds, pushing up his trouser leg to reveal a huge scar on his calf - evidence of a close encounter with one angry female nearly forty years ago as he was collecting eggs.

He is unapologetic about what he calls the pragmatism of authorities to manage numbers and make money out of crocs along the way - a way of life that, in the near future at least, is here to stay.

"We've done what very few people can do, which is take a very serious predator…and then manage them in such a way that the public is prepared to [tolerate] them.

"You try and get people in Sydney or London or New York to put up with a serious predator - they aren't going to do it."