Increasing numbers of women have been reported to be dying during pregnancy or in the weeks after giving birth. According to the latest official data, there were 252 maternal deaths from 2022 to 2024 – 20% higher than the rates from 2009 to 2011. This is the equivalent of 12.8 deaths for every 100,000 women giving birth. NHS England's chief midwife Kate Brintworth (CMO) told Sky News that, while improvements were being made, "none of us think care is in the right place". "We don't think that things are good enough," she said. Read more: Your birth trauma stories "It's a terrible anguish to lose a child," she added. "I think it's one of the worst things that can happen to a human, and our responsibility as leaders in maternity is to make sure those families don't experience that anguish." Ms Brintworth hopes today's announcements will ensure avoidable deaths are "significantly" reduced. The Maternity Safety Alliance, a campaign group, said it was "alarmed" that Ms Brintworth's response to the data suggested "a lack of urgency, accountability and meaningful action" to the "long known and completely avoidable harm and death that is happening everyday in our maternity services". "We yet again see the CMO avoiding giving proper answers to the critically important questions she has been asked, whilst also using language that screams of minimisation and denial," it added. "What we have heard from the CMO today is completely detached from the reality women, babies, and their families face when using maternity services. "Instead of the urgency we expect to see from the CMO, we are hearing a series of platitudes and false reassurances. "What we need and expect from the CMO is clear leadership, accountability, and evidence of fundamental change in maternity services. As of today, CMO Kate Brintworth is providing none of these." What's been announced? The NHS says it will become the first healthcare system in the world to offer all pregnant women an early risk assessment for venous thromboembolism before their first antenatal appointment by next March. The condition refers to blood clots that form in deep veins, which are now the leading cause of maternal deaths. Anyone identified as being at high risk will be offered blood thinners to prevent clots within 72 hours. Other changes to be brought in by March 2027 include giving every woman with epilepsy access to a local specialist team for managing the disorder in pregnancy, a tailored plan to help control seizures, and timely access to medications that are safe to use in pregnancy. Women are also set to be routinely assessed for their mental health and referred to a specialist NHS perinatal mental health service if needed. And those experiencing a haemorrhage or significant bleeding after birth will receive care from specialist obstetricians and anaesthetists sooner. Got a question for Laura Bundock about this or any other story? Ask them here It comes after Health Secretary Wes Streeting accused the NHS of having an "appalling culture of medical misogyny" as he set out a range of measures in a renewed Women's Health Strategy. The NHS expects the full rollout of the measures in England will reduce the number of deaths caused by blood clots, strokes, cardiac disease, suicide, sepsis, obstetric haemorrhage and pre-eclampsia. These account for 52% of maternal deaths. It's also hoped it will tackle maternal suicides, which remained the leading cause of death occurring between six weeks and one year after the end of pregnancy between 2022 and 2024, accounting for 33% of deaths. The NHS was contacted for comment about the Maternity Safety Alliance's criticisms.

The 21-year-old US musician, whose legal name is David Anthony Burke, had been under investigation by a grand jury after the dismembered and decomposed body of Celeste Rivas Hernandez was found in a car registered to him in September. He was arrested last Thursday and charged with Ms Hernandez's murder on Monday. He pleaded not guilty to first-degree murder, lewd and lascivious acts with a person under 14 and mutilating a dead body. The girl's death was ruled a homicide in the post-mortem report by the Los Angeles County Medical Examiner's Office. It found she had significant wounds to her torso, likely caused by a sharp object. Her body was so degraded that experts could not establish her eye colour. And some of her body parts were missing. The report, published on Wednesday, had been blocked from release for months. A judge had ordered the report to be sealed in November at the request of law enforcement. But prosecutors agreed this week to allow its release. Family tribute to 'beautiful, strong girl' The victim's parents, Jesus Rivas and Mercedes Martinez, paid tribute to her, saying she was "a beautiful, strong girl who loved to sing and dance" as they made their first public statement. "Every Friday night was movie night and we spent wonderful times together." "We love her very much and she always told us that she loved us. We miss her deeply," they said in a joint statement released through their lawyer. Prosecutors allege Burke killed the girl because she threatened to report they had a sexual relationship that began when she was 13 years old and he feared it would ruin his rising career. A criminal complaint alleges he killed her with a sharp object and dismembered the body about two weeks later. Read more from Sky News:This is why your hay fever is getting worseEveryone born after 2008 to be banned from smoking LA County's chief medical examiner Dr Odey C Ukpo said: "After several months, I am grateful this information can now be released, not only to the public, but also to the grieving family enduring loss. "It is unfathomable they have had to wait this long to learn what happened to their daughter."

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Rosenior had been appointed as a surprise replacement for Enzo Maresca in January, but seven defeats in the last eight matches has led to his reign being cut short after just four months. Rosenior had signed a six-year contract with Chelsea when he made the move from Strasbourg, who are owned by Chelsea's parent company BlueCo. But there were chants from Chelsea fans for him to be dismissed during and after the 3-0 loss at Brighton on Tuesday night. Speaking on Sky Sports News, Neville said he had not expected Rosenior to finish his contract, but said his dismissal was not a reflection on the head coach and instead put the responsibility firmly on the decision-making of Chelsea owners BlueCo. Chelsea part company with Liam RoseniorGot Sky? Watch Premier League games LIVE on your phone📱No Sky? Get Sky Sports or stream with no contract on NOW📺 "I'm not shocked Liam's leaving the club," he said. "I'm shocked he's leaving today. I thought it would probably happen at the end of the season. "I thought they would persevere until the end of the season after giving him a six-year deal. "It's not a reflection on Liam at all. He's lost a lot of football matches in the last few weeks and he'll be disappointed with that. "But it's time for the owners, sporting directors and players to reflect enormously on their role in what's happened in the last few weeks. Their fans will be absolutely disgusted by the way this has gone. "The owners have got it badly wrong. I said at the time, they've got a group of talented players, young sporting directors in respect of the experience relating to Europe, you've got an ownership that's young in respect that it's only two or three years in. You need some experience somewhere in the club. "These six-year, eight-year agreements, it's almost laughable from the start. Whether it's for a manager or a player. The owners don't have a clue what they're doing. "I've made massive mistakes as an owner but sometimes you've got to accept that. I've spoken publicly about the challenges we've had. "But they're all over the place. I just don't get it, really. You deserve what you get in football and it's a reflection on them, it's not a reflection on a coach who, to be fair, probably shouldn't have been advanced as soon as he was into the role. "You don't turn down the Chelsea job. I can see why it was appealing but he just has to get on with his coaching career now and put it behind him as quickly as he can. It's a club that is a little bit crazy in its decision-making." Rosenior's fate was sealed by a fifth Premier League defeat in a row, leaving qualification for next season's Champions League unlikely. Chelsea failed to score in each of those five league defeats - their worst goalless losing league run since 1912. He leaves the club seventh in the Premier League, seven points off fifth-placed Liverpool, who have a game in hand. Calum McFarlane will step into the role again until the end of the season, having overseen a 1-1 draw with Manchester City and a 2-1 defeat to Fulham during his interim spell earlier in the season. Sky Sports News understands the process of appointing Rosenior's permanent successor has yet to begin and no potential candidates have been spoken to. A club statement said they would "undertake a process of self-reflection to make the right long-term appointment". Rosenior's departure marks BlueCo's fifth sacking in less than four years since taking over the club and an average reign per permanent manager of just 258 days. Remarkably, that is less than half of the average under previous owner Roman Abramovich, who himself was infamous for ruthless managerial dismissals. On the Blues' next appointment, Neville added: "Who next for Chelsea? Roy Keane used this description at the weekend - I don't care. Honestly. Chelsea are a massive club, an amazing club. "I'm sure everyone realised Liam would lose his job. That's not a surprise, no matter when it happened, everyone recognised he wouldn't be here at the start of next season. "But the way it's happened, it's just not right. I've been there myself, I've sacked a manager after four months and it's a reflection on you when you get it wrong. These long contracts though - a six-year contract? It's just bizarre." 'Mistakes have been made but Chelsea aren't in a state of disarray' Sky Sports News' chief correspondent Kaveh Solhekol: "The Chelsea owners don't speak in public much but if they were here they would hold their hands up and say some mistakes have been made this season. "Enzo Maresca deciding to leave midway through the season, that destabilised the club. Deciding to give the job to Liam Rosenior was a mistake and they have held their hands up. "But they would also point to the fact that this squad that people keep criticising is the same squad that beat Barcelona 3-0 at Stamford Bridge in November, so they must have some pretty good players. And nine of those players that played against Barcelona played against Brighton. "I don't think Chelsea are in a total state of disarray. I don't think it's a situation where we should have open season to kick Chelsea when they are down. "Yes, they have made mistakes. The finances don't look good, at the moment. But again, the owners would say that the accounts next year will be better because of money from the Club World Cup and being in the Champions League this season as well." Chelsea's next five fixturesApril 26 Leeds (N) - FA CupMay 4: Nottingham Forest (H) - Premier League, live on Sky SportsMay 9: Liverpool (A) - Premier LeagueMay 17: Tottenham (H) - Premier LeagueMay 24: Sunderland (A) - Premier League

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Bang Si-Hyuk, who is the founder and chairman of Hybe, is being investigated over allegations that he told investors the company had no plans to go public, which convinced them to sell their shares to a private equity fund in 2019. The company then proceeded with an initial public offering. Police believe that the fund may have paid Bang, who is widely seen as one of the most powerful figures in South Korean music, around 200bn won (£100m) in a side deal. The Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency has since asked prosecutors to request a court warrant for Bang's arrest. Bang, who has been barred from leaving the country since August, denies any wrongdoing. His legal team told the Associated Press that they had offered "full and consistent cooperation with the investigation over an extended period". "We will continue to cooperate with all legal procedures and make every effort to clearly explain our position," the statement said. Bang is often credited with being behind the global success of BTS, who have become one of the biggest music groups on the planet. In 2021, the firm secured management rights for other major global acts, including Justin Bieber and Ariana Grande. Read more from Sky News:Children subjected to 'intrusive and traumatic' strip searchesLufthansa cuts 20,000 flights amid soaring jet fuel costs The legal troubles come ahead of the group's highly anticipated global tour after an almost four-year hiatus as they served mandatory military service. They are due to kick off a series of US events with a concert in Tampa, Florida, later this month.

The results of these elections could have a profound impact on all the main political parties, not just locally - but on a national scale too. The votes are being watched closely by MPs, many of whom see the results as being a test of their party's leadership in Westminster. Politics latest - follow live So, where are elections taking place, why do they matter and crucially - when we will know the results? Who is getting a vote this time around? There are elections for 136 local councils in England, with 5,014 seats up for grabs. This includes votes for every seat on all of London's 32 borough councils, as well as on more than a dozen borough councils, six unitary councils, six county councils, and three district councils. There are also a further 73 councils where elections are being held for half or one-third of the seats available. Read more:What's at stake for Wales in May's elections?Key challenges next Holyrood government will face But it's not just local councils that people can vote for come 7 May. Six areas in London are holding elections for directly elected local mayors. These are: Croydon, Hackney, Lewisham, Newham, Tower Hamlets and Watford. Votes will also be taking place outside of England for devolved administrations, both in Cardiff and in Edinburgh. People will be able to vote for who they want to run the Senedd in Cardiff Bay and the Scottish Parliament in Holyrood. When will we find out the results? The polls will be open between 7am and 10pm on 7 May. After that, the counting begins. But we will not have to wait long for the first results because, like a general election, a lot of the ballots will be totted up overnight. In fact, Sky News analysis suggests the results of almost 50 local council elections should be in by the time most people wake up at 7am on Friday morning. For those keen to stay up to watch the coverage, the first councils to declare are expected to do so at around 12.30am. Results will then begin to come in more routinely from around 3am. Those declaring overnight are expected to include Oxford - where both the Liberal Democrats and the Greens are chasing Labour's votes; Bexley - seen as Reform UK's best chance at gaining a London borough; and Hampshire - a Tory-run council expected to cede votes to the Lib Dems and Reform. Between lunchtime on Friday and the end of the day, a further 82 councils are expected to declare their results. But the final five are not expected to give a final verdict until Saturday afternoon. Those late finishes include Croydon and Tower Hamlets in London, as well as Hastings in Sussex. Separately, the mayoral elections only begin counting on Friday, with Hackney and Newham expected to declare at 1pm that day, followed by Watford at 2pm, Lewisham at 3pm, Croydon at 4pm, and Tomer Hamlets last, at around 6pm. Why do the local elections matter? Local elections typically have a lower voter turnout than general elections - in 2024 for example, the turnout in England was 30%, compared to 60% at the general election held the same year. But that does not mean they are unimportant. Local councils still have a lot of influence over voters' lives, and arguably more on a day-to-day basis than the government in Westminster. While Whitehall controls areas such as foreign policy and defence, councils control a range of local services, such as how frequently bins are collected, when potholes are repaired and which services should be prioritised for funding, be it parks, libraries or local facilities such as leisure centres. The devolved parliaments, in Cardiff Bay and Holyrood, also have many powers, too. Depending on the country, these have control over a range of measures, including rates of income tax, the NHS and social care, as well as education, among other topics. You can read exactly which issues are controlled by each parliament in our in-depth explainer here. But the local elections are considered to be important in Westminster too, where they are seen as a glimpse of how the public is feeling towards the government of the day - in this case, Labour - and the opposition parties. Any sizeable swings in either direction could lead to the parties in parliament deciding to do some reorganisation of who is in charge, or of their direction as a whole.

Rosenior explained his thinking after the FA Cup win over Charlton in his first game in January. "This is a team that won the Club World Cup. That was five months ago. This is a team that won the Conference League last year. They've been well coached." The new head coach felt Enzo Maresca had left strong foundations tactically. Looking back, his early results bore it out. Chelsea won eight of those first 11 games under Rosenior, their only defeats coming against Arsenal in the Carabao Cup semi-final. There were some adjustments to their approach during that period. Rosenior's preference for a far more aggressive man-to-man press than his predecessor was apparent in spells. But overall he favoured a light touch as he navigated their hectic schedule. Chelsea part company with Liam RoseniorChelsea: No shots, no tackles for 30 minutes, outrun againGot Sky? Watch Premier League games LIVE on your phone📱No Sky? Get Sky Sports or stream with no contract on NOW📺 That schedule eased after their FA Cup win over Hull in February, when the fixture list allowed an eight-day break between games. Finally, a chance for Rosenior to properly implement his own ideas. "I said to the players in our team meeting on Thursday morning that it was the first time we've had a two-day tactical lead into a game since I've worked with them," he said in his press conference ahead of their subsequent game against Burnley at Stamford Bridge. "It's been one day until now. Walk out, walk through certain situations and scenarios, rest, and play," he added. "Thursday was the first opportunity for us to talk about our style and what we want to put into the game, and then actually work on it. "Every coach would say the more time you get with the group, the more you can imprint what you want." The problem was that the more time Rosenior got with the players on the training pitch, the worse Chelsea seemed to become. The Burnley game ended in a bitterly disappointing 1-1 draw. Two months on, Rosenior has been sacked having only won three out of 12 games since the victory over Hull. And two of those victories came against lower-league opposition in Wrexham and Port Vale. He leaves with Chelsea having lost five consecutive league games without scoring for the first time since 1912. He is not solely to blame, of course. Chelsea's plight is a story of mismanagement from the top down. But the pattern of performances worsening the longer they spent on the training pitch was damning of his efforts. After the Burnley game, Chelsea suffered their third defeat to Arsenal under Rosenior following the February international break. The losses to Manchester City and Manchester United in April came after uninterrupted midweeks to prepare. The schedule cleared but performances became more muddled. By April, the cracks had started to appear, with Enzo Fernandez having made his come-and-get-me plea to Real Madrid during the March international break and Marc Cucurella having publicly questioned the decision to sack Maresca while away with Spain. Rosenior's authority was also undermined by what happened on the pitch. His commitment to an aggressive, man-to-man marking system was made to look naive in an embarrassing 8-2 aggregate loss to Paris Saint-Germain in the Champions League. Malo Gusto's comments after the 5-2 first-leg defeat suggested some players agreed. "In the end, I think we need to recognise when it is important to sit back, to wait for them, to not concede too many goals," said the defender. In between those two fixtures against Paris Saint-Germain, Newcastle were able to exploit the same flaws, when confusion over who was responsible for pressing Tino Livramento left the full-back free to drive up the pitch and set up the winning goal. "They were playing man-for-man, so we knew we could get behind them," said goalscorer Anthony Gordon after the game. Rosenior described it as a "new way of pressing", meanwhile. "We press in a way that is different to most teams," he added. But his side were showing precisely why employing the approach all over the pitch, rather than only in certain zones, is not more popular. It only takes one lapse for such an aggressive press to be undone. Rosenior did not help himself at times. His furious reaction to an Arsenal coach encroaching into Chelsea's half during the warm-up before the Carabao Cup semi-final second leg brought unnecessary attention. The introduction of pre-match huddles in the centre circle was made to look silly too, culminating in the farcical sight of referee Paul Tierney becoming surrounded before the Newcastle game kicked off. Rosenior's comments about "respecting the ball" brought more ridicule. Chelsea have failed to score in six out of seven games in all competitions since that incident, the only exception being the 7-0 win over League One Port Vale in the FA Cup. Rosenior said he felt no disconnect with his players after the latest blank against Brighton but their "indefensible" performance suggested otherwise. Rosenior can justifiably argue that the job he took on, mid-season, at Chelsea was always likely to be challenging. He inherited a squad with clear flaws. The club's recruitment has left a glaring lack of experience and leadership among the players. But Manchester United make for an uncomfortable comparison. Michael Carrick has not had to contend with such a hectic schedule, in fairness. But he has used his time on the training pitch to make his side better. For Rosenior, the opposite appears true. The Premier League table since January 17, when both Rosenior and Carrick oversaw their first games, has Manchester United top, on a clear upward trajectory, while Chelsea are 10th, a side going backwards under a head coach for whom time has run out.