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The Drifters legend Charlie Thomas has died at the age of 85 following a battle with liver cancer - as his friend pays tribute after a 60-year career The iconic performer passed away after battling liver cancer Charlie was a member of The Drifters for over 60 years, and sang the lead on songs including Sweets for My Sweet and There Goes My First Love

Three British nationals are missing following the earthquakes which struck Turkey and Syria, the foreign secretary has said. Making a statement in the Commons, James Cleverly said: "As of this morning, we know that three British nationals are missing." Death toll tops 5,000 as patients left to die in 'forgotten' hospital - latest updates He added that the Foreign Office's Crisis Response Hub is working to support at least 35 British nationals who have been directly affected by the earthquakes.

Formal talks are starting on Tuesday for the introduction of a new digital currency to the UK. A decision on whether to integrate the government-backed “digital pound” into the economy could be made as early as 2025. The Bank of England and the government said that a digital pound, which would be issued by the Bank of England, is “likely to be needed in the future” as use of cash and cards continues to change. Nevertheless, the consultation and research process does not mean the central bank digital currency (CBDC) will definitely be issued, with the decision due to take place at a later stage

Tens of thousands of Russians are being sent to eastern Ukraine as part of an offensive planned after 15 February, according to the Ukrainian governor of Luhansk region. "We are seeing more and more reserves being deployed in our direction," said Serhiy Haidai, who expected a three-pronged Russian advance. Ukraine has warned repeatedly of an imminent offensive. But there is widespread scepticism of significant Russian success. The UK's defence intelligence briefing said Russia's aim was almost certainly to capture parts of Ukraine's eastern Donetsk region that were not already under occupation. But the UK said "it remains unlikely that Russian can build up the forces needed to substantially affect the outcome of the war within the coming weeks".

David Carrick, known to his colleagues as "<deleted> Dave", has been jailed for at least 30 years after he admitted 49 charges, including 24 counts of rape, making him one of Britain's most prolific sex offenders.

Mick Fleetwood has said it is currently "unthinkable" for Fleetwood Mac to continue as a band following the death of Christine McVie. The drummer told reporters on the Grammy Awards red carpet that he thinks the legendary band is probably "done". "I think right now, I truly think the line in the sand has been drawn with the loss of Chris," Fleetwood said. "I'd say we're done, but then we've all said that before. It's sort of unthinkable right now." Keyboardist, singer and songwriter McVie died in November aged 79 following a short illness.

Energy giant BP has reported record annual profits as it scaled back plans to reduce the amount of oil and gas it produces by 2030. The company's profits more than doubled to $27.7bn (£23bn) in 2022, as energy prices soared after Russia invaded Ukraine. Other energy firms have seen similar rises, with Shell reporting record earnings of nearly $40bn last week. It has led to calls for energy firms to pay more tax as people's bills soar. BP boss Bernard Looney said the British company was "helping provide the energy the world needs" while investing the transition to green energy. But it came as the firm scaled back plans to cut carbon emissions by reducing its oil and gas output.

baby girl has been rescued by authorities after she fell down a deep well in northern Thailand. The 19-month-old child fell down the 13m (42ft) deep shaft while playing on Monday afternoon in Tak province, near the Myanmar border. Authorities launched an overnight rescue operation after the girl's parents - who had been working in a nearby field - raised the alarm. She was taken to hospital and treated for minor injuries, officials said. "She has signs of fatigue but still has good vital signs," local police chief Ratsaran Ketsoising told AFP. Panic was sparked after the baby girl - who is said to be the daughter of two Myanmarese migrants - fell through a 30cm (12in) wide gap at the top of the well.

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Google has launched its own artificial intelligence (AI) chatbot, in answer to the wildly successful ChatGPT. The new conversational AI service will be named Bard and will be put out to "trusted users" before a public release in the coming weeks, Google's parent firm Alphabet Inc announced on Monday. It comes following the release of ChatGPT - an AI chatbot trained on a huge amount of text data, which it leverages to help generate answers and carry out realistic conversations.

Syria's war-torn city of Aleppo is among the areas to have borne the brunt of a deadly earthquake, which also devastated parts of southern Turkey. More than 1,000 people have been reported dead so far in northern Syria following the quake. Emergency rescue teams said many buildings are damaged or destroyed and that people remain trapped under the rubble. The region is home to millions of refugees displaced by the civil war. Control of northern Syria is divided between the government, Kurdish-led forces and other rebel groups. They remain embroiled in conflict. Even before the earthquake the situation in much of the region was critical, with freezing weather, crumbling infrastructure and a cholera outbreak causing misery for many of those who live there.

Two people, including the founder of a neo-Nazi group, have been arrested after allegedly plotting to shut down power to the Baltimore area. Brandon Russell, 27, and Sarah Clendaniel, 34, were charged with conspiracy to damage an energy facility. The crime carries a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison. Authorities say the couple planned to shoot five electricity substations in the state of Maryland. The pair met while both were in prison, and began discussing the alleged plot last year. Ms Clendaniel described their plan as "legendary" and said the attack "would completely destroy the whole city". "This planned attack threatened lives and would have left thousands of Marylanders in the cold and dark," US Attorney Erek Barron said in a statement.

Joe Biden's State of the Union address to Congress on Tuesday comes at a pivotal time in his presidency. By most indications, he is poised to announce a bid for re-election next year, and the speech provides a high-profile platform from which he can make his case to the American people, the media and key figures within the Democratic Party. Before the president gets to that, however, he will be under intense pressure to address the issue that has been hovering over his administration since Friday. The Chinese spy balloon, and the US reaction to it, has dominated headlines, captivated the attention of the American public and prompted sharp criticism of the Biden administration from Republicans.

British search and rescue specialists are travelling to Turkey to help search for survivors following the earthquake that has killed over 2,300 people. A team of 76 rescuers is flying to Turkey on Monday evening. Two 7.8 and 7.5 magnitude quakes have devastated parts of Turkey and Syria, reducing many buildings to rubble. Turkish communities in the UK have been sending aid to the areas affected by the earthquake since early on Monday morning. Foreign Secretary James Cleverly said the impact of the quakes was "on a scale that we have not seen for quite some time". More than 10,000 people are thought to have been injured.

BREAKING Death toll now more than 3,500 At least 2,379 people were killed and 14,483 were injured in Turkey following the earthquakes, the country's vice-president says. Fuat Otkay adds that 7,840 people were pulled alive from the rubble after 4,748 buildings were destroyed. At least 1,444 people are reported to have died in Syria. It means the death toll from the devastating earthquakes now stands at more than 3,500, but this is almost certain to rise as the rescue efforts continue. The World Health Organization (WHO) earlier warned that the death toll could eventually rise eight-fold.

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Hundreds of people have joined the police in the past three years who should never have passed their background checks, it has been revealed. Matt Parr, the boss of HM Inspectorate of Constabulary, has said many officers failed to declare “big red flags” such as “prior convictions”. He said some have had “links with criminals that are too close and not explained” and were “not being entirely honest on their application”. One in 10 officers looked at by Mr Parr’s team should never have made it through vetting, he said, and while it was not a random sample, it still amounts to hundreds of people who shouldn’t have been hired.

Beyoncé has broken the record for the most Grammy Award wins of all time, after collecting her 32nd trophy at this year's ceremony. The singer made history as she won best dance/electronic album, for her euphoric dance opus Renaissance. In doing so, she overtook Hungarian-British conductor George Solti, whose record of 31 awards had stood for more than 20 years. "I'm trying not to be too emotional," said the star, accepting the prize. "I'm trying to just receive this night." She went on to thank her family, including her late uncle Jonny, who helped make her stage outfits before she became famous. Beyoncé has previously said his battle with HIV influenced her interest in dance music, and its historical ties to the LGBTQ community, on Renaissance.