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Niall Horan has paid tribute to his former One Direction bandmate Liam Payne, saying he is “absolutely devastated” by his death.

The 31-year-old pop star suffered “extremely serious injuries” after landing in the courtyard of the CasaSur Hotel in the Argentinian capital Buenos Aires, police said.

Liam Payne in 2023. Pic: AP
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Liam Payne in 2023. Pic: AP

Payne had flown to Buenos Aires to attend the Horan’s concert at the Movistar Arena earlier this month.

Horan shared a photo of the pair as teenagers at the start of their One Direction journey, with Payne on his back and both smiling for the camera.

In a statement shared on Instagram, he wrote: “I feel so fortunate that I got to see him recently. I sadly didn’t know that after saying goodbye and hugging him that evening, I would be saying goodbye forever. It’s heartbreaking.”

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He described his former bandmate as having an “energy for life and a passion for work that was infectious”.

“He was the brightest in every room and always made everyone feel happy and secure,” he said.

He went on: “All the laughs we had over the years, sometimes about the simplest of things, keep coming to mind through the sadness.

“We got to live out our wildest dreams together and I will cherish every moment we had forever. The bond and friendship we had doesn’t happen often in a lifetime.”

Pic:  Katie Collins/PA
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One Direction in 2010 (Liam far left, Niall centre). Pic: Katie Collins/PA

He said news of the death of his “amazing friend” just didn’t “feel real”.

He signed off his post, “Thank you for everything Payno, Love you brother, Nialler”.

Former One Direction members Harry Styles, Louis Tomlinson, Zayn Malik and Niall Horan put out a statement saying they were “completely devastated” following Payne’s death.

Pic: Snapchat/Liam Payne
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Pic: Snapchat/Liam Payne

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Payne posts on Snapchat hours before death

Fans flocked to the hotel after news of Payne’s death broke, setting up vigils, singing and lighting candles.

In the UK, fans are planning a memorial in Hyde Park in London on Sunday afternoon.

In the hours before his death, photos shared from the singer’s Snapchat account showed him with his partner Kate Cassidy.

Liam Payne fans gather outside hotel to mourn
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Fans gather outside the hotel to mourn

The band was formed on The X Factor in 2010, with Payne featuring alongside Horan, Zayn Malik, Louis Tomlinson, and Harry Styles. They were mentored by Simon Cowell who had also created the show.

The group finished third before signing with Cowell’s “Syco” record label and going on to become one of the best-selling boybands of all time.

Payne leaves behind his 7-year-old son Bear who he shared with Girls Aloud star Cheryl, his parents Karen and Geoff, and elder sisters Nicola and Ruth.

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Cameron Diaz says retirement from acting was ‘best 10 years of my life’

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Cameron Diaz says retirement from acting was 'best 10 years of my life'

Cameron Diaz has said her decade-long retirement from acting was “the best 10 years of my life”.

The actress, 52, has partnered with Jamie Foxx for the Netflix blockbuster Back In Action, marking her first role since playing Miss Hannigan in the 2014 remake of Annie.

Speaking on the BBC’s Graham Norton Show alongside Foxx, Diaz said of her temporary retirement: “Oh my God, I loved it. It was the best 10 years of my life.”

She said she was “just free” to be a mum, a wife and to live her life somewhat privately.

“It was so lovely,” she added, saying that her eventual return to acting “made sense for my family” as they wanted to “switch it up a little bit”.

The Hollywood star, whose acting debut came in 1994 hit comedy The Mask, said she had turned down roles for years during her retirement until people “stopped asking” – but added she didn’t want to turn down the role alongside Foxx.

Diaz and Jamie Foxx pose at photo call for Back in Action on Friday. Pic: 	Scott A Garfitt/Invision/AP
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Diaz and Jamie Foxx pose at photo call for Back In Action. Pic: Scott A Garfitt/Invision/AP

“If I’m going to leave my family for 10 hours a day – I want to do it with… the most talented man in entertainment,” she said of Foxx, 57, who she also co-starred alongside in Annie.

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The Holiday star added: “It’s just a privilege to do this. I thought to myself, if I just like, let this go away, all of this goodwill that I got to build over so much time, the passion that I have for entertaining people and making movies that make people smile and laugh and have a good time… if I don’t engage in that again… then I would be a fool.”

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Diaz, who had her second child with husband Benji Madden in March last year, told Norton she was back for “at least” this film, later adding: “This is maybe the beginning, maybe I’ll tiptoe in, maybe I’ll just go like gung ho! I don’t know.”

She has also filmed the upcoming Apple TV+ black comedy Outcome alongside Keanu Reeves and Jonah Hill.

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Martin Clunes on nepotism in the arts: ‘If you’re s*** you won’t get the gig. You’ve got to punch your weight’

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Martin Clunes on nepotism in the arts: 'If you're s*** you won't get the gig. You've got to punch your weight'

Martin Clunes says the entertainment industry is “too on-show to carry a dolt”, and the children of successful actors don’t get work just because of who their parents are.

The 63-year-old actor is currently starring in county lines drama Out There opposite Louis Ashbourne Serkis, which sees a single-parent farmer and his teenage son tangle with drug-dealing gangs in Monmouthshire.

Pic: ITV
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Clunes and Louis Ashbourne Serkis. Pic: ITV

Serkis is the son of Lord Of The Rings actor Andy Serkis and Sherwood star Lorraine Ashbourne, and starred in his first TV show, Inspector Morse prequel Endeavour, when he was just 10.

Clunes tells Sky News: “I was involved in [Serkis’s] casting, so it was just like, ‘Oh, this is Andy and Lorraine’s boy. Oh, that’s interesting. If he’s s***, he won’t get the… Sorry, if he’s no good, he won’t get the gig’.

“You’ve got to punch your weight, cos that’s how it works, I think the industry is too on-show to carry a dolt. If someone was awful at it and they just got the gig because of whose child they were, it would really show, and you’d mess your project up.”

The six-part drama is produced by Clunes’s wife Philippa Braithwaite, who also produced long-running ITV comedy-drama Doc Martin in which Clunes also starred.

Clunes goes on: “I think it’s just a point of interest – maybe you get a second look, or somebody is curious, or somebody knows them. But I don’t remember ever having met Andy and Lorraine before doing this [show].”

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Clunes’s own father was golden age star Alec Clunes, who sadly died when Clunes was just eight. His maternal uncle was Sherlock Holmes actor Jeremy Brett, and his grandparents were music hall entertainers.

Actor Alec Clunes with Julie Andrews (R) and his wife Daphne, Martin's mum, in 1959. Pic: Reuters
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Alec Clunes (centre) with Julie Andrews (left) and his wife Daphne (right), Martin’s mum, in 1959. Pic: Reuters

‘The Year of the Nepo Baby’

New York Magazine called 2022 “The Year of the Nepo Baby” highlighting the number of famous “actors, singers, directors who just happen to be the children of actors, singers, directors”.

And earlier this year, Spice Girl Mel B’s daughter Phoenix Brown said nepo babies had never faced so much hate, particularly on social media.

The 25-year-old DJ and entrepreneur asked whether “nepo babies [were] taking the flak for wider inequality in society?” in a piece she wrote for the Radio Times earlier this year.

A nepo baby, short for nepotism baby, is defined by the Merriam-Webster dictionary as “a person who gains success or opportunities through familial connections”.

Serkis too says he thinks there are misconceptions over perceived nepotism in the industry.

A young Louis (2nd L) with his family on the red carpet in 2012. Pic: Reuters
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A young Louis (2nd left) with his family on the red carpet in 2012. Pic: Reuters

‘It’s a tough industry’

The 20-year-old actor tells Sky News: “If you hear a surname, you always think of an association, but growing up and acting, it’s never really been about that. It’s been about attacking the role that I’ve worked hard to get or that I’ve been lucky enough to audition for.

“I think when a casting director hears [your name], it’s nothing more than a surname. And the way that we look at it is that it can only get you so far because it’s a tough industry. It’s competitive. And roles aren’t just handed out based on who your father is or who your mother is. I think it’s kind of slightly misconceived.”

Serkis calls his working relationship with Clunes “a beautiful partnership”, while Clunes says that through “the shared trauma of the series” the characters get thrown closer together “jumpstarting the father-son thing”.

Clunes with With Caroline Catz in Doc Martin. Pic: Rex Features
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Clunes with Caroline Catz in Doc Martin. Pic: Rex Features

‘It ain’t Doc Martin’

The ITV drama marks Clunes’s first return to the screen after wrapping Doc Martin in 2022.

When asked if this role is “against type”, the BAFTA-winning actor insists, “I don’t know what my type is”, before conceding, “Certainly it ain’t Doc Martin”.

“Doing one thing for 18 years, you kind of get that watermarked through you a bit,” he adds.

The farming role has parallels with Clunes’s own life, who after moving out of London over a decade ago, lives on a 130-acre farm in Dorset which produces hay and haylage for equestrian use.

He can even drive a tractor and a digger, skills he puts to good use in the first episode of the drama. Serkis, meanwhile, who says he’s “grown up and lived in the city all my life”, got to learn to drive a tractor for the show.

Pic: ITV
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Pic: ITV

The next Jeremy Clarkson?

While farming has been a hot topic in recent weeks, due to Labour’s rulings on farmland inheritance tax in the Autumn Budget, Out There was filmed in Wales over a year ago.

Clunes says: “Farming was there and it was in trouble while we were making this. It’s just got a magnifying glass over it at the moment… It’s been struggling for a long time.”

A man of many talents, Clunes jokes that his CV boasts “sword fighting and lambing”, adding “and I know how to get a dripper into a sheep’s mouth”.

But despite his farming ability, Clunes says he has no aspirations to become a celebrity mouthpiece for the farming community.

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Jeremy Clarkson tells govt to ‘back down’

While fellow celebrity Jeremy Clarkson, who owns Diddly Squat Farm in the Cotswolds, has been vocal on the issue, Clunes has no ambition to get involved.

Asked if he too might join marches, or speak for the cause, Clunes is resolute: “No.”

When pushed, he says: “I have my opinions on it, but I’m not at the forefront of anything.”

While a reality series of Clunes’s Farm isn’t likely any time soon, Out There begins on ITV on Sunday at 9pm.

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Saif Ali Khan: ‘Suspect detained’ in Bollywood star stabbing – as doctor reveals how ‘hero’ arrived at hospital

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Saif Ali Khan: 'Suspect detained' in Bollywood star stabbing - as doctor reveals how 'hero' arrived at hospital

A suspect has been detained after one of India’s top Bollywood stars was stabbed multiple times in an attempted robbery, according to Indian media reports.

Saif Ali Khan was stabbed six times in an attack at his home in an upscale neighbourhood in Mumbai, in the early hours of Thursday.

He underwent emergency surgery and is now out of danger, doctors said, after they reportedly had to remove a 2.5in shard of blade from his spine.

Police personnel stand outside Lilavati hospital where Bollywood actor Saif Ali Khan underwent surgery for stab injuries after a scuffle with an intruder at his home in Mumbai, Thursday, Jan. 16, 2025.(AP Photo/Rajanish Kakade)
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Police outside the hospital where Saif Ali Khan is recovering. Pic: AP

After a manhunt across the city, one person was detained, TV channels reported on Friday, adding it was not clear if they were the attacker.

Videos circulating online showed officers escorting a man into a police station in Mumbai.

Dikshit Gedam, the police officer investigating the case, did not confirm the detention and told Reuters there was no major development in the case.

Dr Niraj Uttamani, of Lilavati Hospital, reportedly said Khan walked into hospital despite his injuries “like a lion”, accompanied by his son.

“He was soaked in blood when he arrived in the hospital,” he added, according to NDTV.

“But he walked in like a lion. He is a real hero.

“He is very fortunate. If a knife was 2mm deeper, he would have sustained a serious injury.”

The attack on Khan, one of Bollywood’s best-known actors, shocked the film industry and led to many calling for better policing and security.

Mr Gedam said police received reports of an attack around 3am, and the suspected attacker entered the home from a fire escape and got entry to the stairs.

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Police said it appeared the attacker was related to a member of staff who worked at Khan’s home – who allowed them entry into the property.

Khan, the son of former India cricket captain Mansur Ali Khan Pataudi and actress Sharmila Tagore, has starred in more than 70 films and television series, some as a producer.

Saif Ali Khan and Kareena Kapoor Khan at Anant Ambani's wedding in March 2024. Pic: Reuters
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Saif Ali Khan is married to fellow Bollywood star Kareena Kapoor Khan. Pic: Reuters

He lives in an apartment in the western suburb of Bandra with his wife, actress Kareena Kapoor Khan, and their children.

Representatives for Ms Khan said in a statement that the rest of the family were uninjured in the incident.

Ariyama Phillips, who works at the home and raised the alarm, was also injured when the actor challenged the intruder.

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