England are already on the back foot in their attempt to avoid a 16-0 clean sweep in the Women’s Ashes, having been bowled out for 170 on day one of the one-off Test. Leg-spinner Alana King took 4-45 as England crumbled inside 72 overs at the Melbourne Cricket Ground. All-rounder Nat Sciver-Brunt provided the only…

Getty Images Water bills in England and Wales will rise by an average of £123 a year from April. The average annual bill will be £603, but there are significant differences between water companies. Households cannot choose a supplier. The average bill increase is around £10 a month – from £40 to £50 – but…

A dramatic final round of Champions League games has finished, and after some epic permutations for the first time we know who will be in the knockout rounds. Manchester City came from behind to beat Club Brugge and squeeze into a place in the play-offs, while Aston Villa and Arsenal joined Liverpool – who had…

Dan Rosney BBC Business Reporter Getty Images Elon Musk bought Twitter in 2022 On March 21, 2006 the first ever tweet was posted by Twitter founder Jack Dorsey: “Just setting up my twttr”. It was a simple introduction to a brand new platform. Backed by celebrities, it was different to other social media sites, like…

Marie-Louise Connolly & Emma Orr BBC News NI BBC Victoria Buckley’s son Ollie was “born sleeping” at 37 weeks A woman whose baby was sent to England from Northern Ireland for a post-mortem examination has said it is “unnatural” and will “haunt” her forever. There is currently no specialist paediatric pathologist in Northern Ireland. The…

An extensive search and rescue operation is currently underway after an American Airlines flight collided in mid-air with a helicopter in Washington DC, with both crashing into the Potomac River. Emergency services chief John Donnelly has said conditions are “extremely rough” in the dark and with icy temperatures. The jet, which was coming from Wichita,…

Royal Mail should only deliver second class letters every other weekday to “protect” the future of the UK’s postal industry, the industry regulator has proposed. Ofcom said the Universal Service Obligation (USO) must be reformed as people send fewer letters every year but stamp prices keep rising. The one-price-goes-anywhere USO means Royal Mail has to…

To counter that argument, the old group stage offered home and away matches against three opponents, with the rivalry that could deliver. Uefa’s hopes of ensuring every game counted in this format has largely been met, but its stated aim of a loss or win in the final match making the difference between reaching the…

Getty Images Search and rescue boats have been deployed to the Potomac River A passenger plane carrying 64 passengers and crew has crashed into a river in Washington DC after it collided in mid-air with a US Army helicopter. Eighteen bodies have been pulled from the Potomac River so far, where search and rescue teams…

Cherry Wilson & Jim Connolly BBC News Investigations BBC Retail crime is “out of control” and shoplifters are carrying out increasingly brazen and violent acts of theft because they do not fear any consequences, an industry body has told the BBC. In some cases, offenders are openly clearing shelves of items in full view of…