Three people have been charged in Argentina for crimes related to the death of Liam Payne, a former member of the boyband One Direction, according to the public prosecutor’s office.

A hotel employee and a suspected drug dealer are among the three individuals charged for the crimes of “abandonment of a person before a death, supply and facilitation of narcotics,” Argentina’s National Criminal and Correctional Prosecutor’s Office also said Thursday.

The British pop star, who was 31, died on October 16 after falling from the third floor of a hotel in Buenos Aires, Argentina. The late singer had alcohol, cocaine, and a prescription antidepressant in his system before his death, according to the prosecutor’s statement.

Toxicology analysis indicated that Payne “may have fallen into a state of semi or total unconsciousness,” it said.

The prosecutor’s office also said medical examinations confirmed that the singer’s injuries were “compatible with those caused by falling from a height.” Examinations ruled out self-inflicted injuries or the intervention of other people, the office added.

Who is being investigated?

Investigators are launching investigations into the three individuals after gathering and reviewing evidence, which included over 800 hours of video, the office added.

The first individual is someone whom authorities believe spent time with Payne “on a daily basis” during his visit to Buenos Aires. The suspect is being charged for “abandonment of a person before a death and the supply and facilitation of narcotics.”

The second suspect is a hotel employee who “must answer” for allegedly supplying cocaine to the singer on “two occasions” during Payne’s stay at the CasaSur Palermo Hotel, the statement read. The third person is someone believed by authorities to be a “narcotics supplier” and is suspected of providing drugs to the artist on October 14.

It is unclear if any of the three suspects are currently detained.

Payne’s cell phone also underwent a “forensic extraction,” and authorities were able to analyze calls, text messages, chats in messaging and social media apps, the prosecutor’s office wrote.

He had spoken openly about his struggles with substance abuse and his mental health. In the summer of 2023, Payne said he was marking six months of sobriety after completing treatment in a US facility. Payne’s tour was set to kick off in South America in September of that year, but he had to postpone the scheduled dates after suffering a kidney infection.

Payne rocketed to global stardom as part of One Direction, the massively popular boyband that was created on the British version of the X Factor in 2010. The group, which included members Harry Styles, Louis Tomlinson, Niall Horan and Zayn Malik, announced an “indefinite hiatus” in 2016.

Germany’s governing coalition has collapsed after disagreements over the country’s weak economy led Chancellor Olaf Scholz to sack his finance minister.

Christian Lindner’s dismissal prompted him to withdraw his Free Democrats Party (FDP) from a coalition with Scholz’s Social Democratic Party (SPD), leaving Scholz in a minority government with the Green Party.

Scholz said he would now call a confidence vote for January 15, which, if he lost, could allow elections to be held by the end of March next year – six months earlier than the elections planned for September 2025.

Germany now faces turmoil at a time of broader uncertainty. The political crisis was triggered just hours after it was announced former US President Donald Trump will get a second term – an election outcome that could bring further woes to Germany’s economy as well as threaten Europe’s united front on key issues. Here’s what we know.

Is a snap election unusual for Germany?

Political stability is the norm for Germany, with power largely moving between the SPD and conservative rival, the CDU. The country’s previous leader, Angela Merkel, held power for 16 years and was a steady presence on the European stage as others came and went. She had a famously testy relationship with Trump.

Germany’s last snap election was in 2005. They were called by then-Chancellor Gerhard Schröder, who subsequently lost to Merkel.

Merkel retired from her position as German chancellor in 2021.

The center-left Social Democratic Party (SPD) stepped up to fill the gap she left when it emerged as the largest party in Germany’s parliament, or Bundestag, in the 2021 federal election. Following the all-powerful and ever-popular Merkel was always going to be fraught with difficulties.

The SPD cobbled together a government with the FDP and the Greens, which have ruled as a “traffic light” coalition since December of that year, referring to the different parties colors.

How successful has Germany’s “traffic light” coalition been?

Bringing together three ideologically different parties into one coalition has not always made for a comfortable alliance, and the SPD-led coalition has faced challenges from the start.

The alliance brought together the FDP, a business-focused party that advocates for a free market and a fiscally conservative approach, with the SPD and the Greens, two left-wing parties that require government spending for social and environmental policies.

The coalition has been at loggerheads over how to revive Germany’s economy. It has also been under pressure from burgeoning far-right, as well as more recently, far-left forces.

The Alternative für Deutschland (AfD) made significant gains in recent years, becoming the first far-right party to win a state election since the Nazi era in September, when it emerged as the strongest in the eastern state of Thuringia.

In efforts to counter the AfD, Scholz’s government was spurred into action on migration, announcing new security measures aimed at speeding up the deportation of rejected asylum seekers and shoring up border controls.

Why have things collapsed now?

Months of tensions over Germany’s budget policy and economic direction boiled over on Wednesday. Essentially, Scholz’s demands for investment have clashed with Lindner’s more prudent approach to government borrowing.

Scholz said he fired Lindner for blocking his economic plans, telling reporters, “Lindner showed no willingness to implement any of our proposals” and, therefore, “there is no trust basis for any future cooperation.”

Lindner meanwhile accused Scholz of having asked him to pause the “debt brake” – a constitutional article that prevents the government from borrowing excessively and amassing debt – something Lindner said he was not willing to do.

The rhetoric coming from Scholz and Lindner was uncharacteristically pointed. The chancellor told reporters Wednesday night that Lindners’ “egoism is totally incomprehensible.”

Still looming over the government is the thorny issue of how to plug next year’s budget, which has a multi-billion-euro gap. With the FDP now not in the picture, its passage is even more complicated.

Carsten Brzeski, a senior economist at Dutch bank ING, cited “never-ending tensions” within the German government as well as “clear disagreement on how to get the German economy out of its current state of stagnation and structural weakness” as reasons for the collapse.

What problems is Germany’s economy facing?

Germany’s economy, Europe’s largest, shrank last year for the first time since the onset of the Covid-19 pandemic.

Over the last five years, it has grown only 0.2% , compared with 4.6% growth in the 20 countries that use the euro, 4.1% in France and 5.5% in Italy.

There are a number of reasons for Germany’s economic stagnation. The country’s energy-intensive businesses have suffered from the lingering impact of the energy crisis sparked by Russia’s war in Ukraine. Germany’s problems are also structural, ranging from high labor costs, a rapidly aging population and red tape to outdated physical and digital infrastructure.

It faces competition from China in the manufacturing of some of its main exports, which has delivered high-profile damage to Germany’s famous automobile industry. Volkswagen, Germany’s largest manufacturer, is considering factory closures in its home country for the first time in its 87-year history.

What happens now?

Scholz is expected to head a minority government. He would have to rely on cobbled-together parliamentary majorities to pass legislation, until the vote of confidence in January.

He will likely turn to Merz and the CDU – Germany’s most popular party – for support to pass legislation in the short term.

But piling pressure on Scholz, CDU leader Friedrich Merz, the leader of the Christian Democratic Union (CDU) opposition party, has meanwhile said this is too long, and demanded a confidence vote by the beginning of next week “at the latest” rather than early next year.

The collapse of the governing coalition and political uncertainty may serve to bolster support for the far-right as people increasingly lose faith in the mainstream parties. Party leader Alice Weidel has already hailed the coalition’s collapse as a “liberation” for Germany.

“The end of the traffic light coalition is a liberation for our country. The end of the self-proclaimed ‘progressive coalition’ that took Germany to the brink of economic ruin was more than overdue,” Weidel wrote on X.

China is bracing for what could be a volatile and highly unpredictable path ahead in its escalating great power rivalry with the United States, after Donald Trump made a historic political comeback to win the race to the White House.

His return could bring tariffs as high as 60% on Chinese goods – which could devastate economic growth in the world’s second largest economy and upend global supply chains – more technology controls and fiery rhetoric on Beijing, heightening tension in already rocky relations between the superpowers.

But Trump’s protectionist trade posture and transactional approach to foreign policy may also weaken US alliances and global leadership, presenting opportunities for Beijing to fill the void of America’s retreat and shape an alternative world order.

“Trump’s return to power will certainly bring greater opportunities and greater risks for China,” said Shen Dingli, a foreign policy analyst in Shanghai. “Whether it eventually leads to more risks or more opportunities depend on how the two sides interact with each other.”

Officially, China has sought to present a neutral stance on Trump’s win. Its Foreign Ministry said on Wednesday it “respected” America’s choice.

Chinese leader Xi Jinping congratulated Trump on Thursday. Known for his fondness for autocrats, Trump has regularly praised Xi and called the Chinese leader “a very good friend,” even as US-China relations nosedived under his watch.

Xi told the president-elect that China and America can “find the right way” to “get along in the new era,” according to a readout from the Chinese Foreign Ministry.

But beneath the calm surface, Beijing is likely bracing for impact – and uncertainties.

“Trump is a very mercurial person,” said Liu Dongshu, an assistant professor of international affairs at the City University of Hong Kong. “It remains to be seen whether he will implement, and to what extent, the policies he promised during the election campaign, and if he will stick to his first-term agenda.”

Sky-high tariffs

During Trump’s first term in office, the tough-talking populist who promised to make “America great again” launched a bruising trade war with China, backlisted Chinese telecom giant Huawei on national security grounds and blamed Beijing for the Covid-19 pandemic. By the end of his first term, bilateral relations had plunged to their lowest point in decades.

This time around, Trump has threatened on the campaign trail to slap 60% tariffs on all goods made in China and revoke its “permanent normal trade relations” status, which has given China the most favorable trade terms with the US for more than two decades.

This punitive measure, if carried through, could deliver a body blow to an economy already beset by a property crisis, flagging consumer demand, falling prices and mounting local government debts.

Investment bank Macquarie estimates that, at the sky-high 60% level, the tariffs are likely to cut the country’s growth by a full two percentage points, which would be just under half of China’s expected full-year economic expansion rate of 5%.

“Trade war 2.0 could end China’s ongoing growth model, in which exports and manufacturing have been the main growth driver,” Larry Hu, chief China economist at Macquarie, wrote in a Wednesday research note.

Investors appeared to predict this outcome as Trump’s lead over Vice President Kamala Harris widened on Wednesday, causing Chinese stocks and the yuan to fall sharply.

Tariffs act as a tax on imports, hurting consumers in the country imposing them, as well as businesses that rely on imported raw materials and intermediate goods to make finished products. A significant escalation of global trade tensions will likely inflict pain not just on China and the US, but also on other countries involved in global supply chains.

Unlike his Republican predecessors who hailed from the establishment, Trump wields an erratic and unconventional approach to policy making, adding to Beijing’s sense of uncertainty.

“Trump began his first term as an enthusiastic admirer of Xi Jinping, before levying tariffs and then vilifying Beijing during the pandemic,” said Daniel Russel, vice president of international security and diplomacy at the Asia Society Policy Institute.

“So, Beijing is likely to approach the President-elect with caution — probing to ascertain which Trump to expect and where there may be opportunities to exploit,” added Russel, who previously served as the top Asia advisor to former President Barack Obama.

Challenges and opportunities

But Trump’s “America First” agenda and transactional worldview may also play in Beijing’s favor, experts say.

“Although Beijing is deeply concerned about the unpredictability of Trump’s China policy, it reminds itself that challenges also bring opportunities,” said Tong Zhao, senior fellow at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace.

“Despite fears of a renewed trade war, Beijing believes that Trump’s tough tariff policies would be deeply unpopular in Europe, creating an opening for China to strengthen economic ties with Europe and counter US efforts to intensify technology and supply chain decoupling between China and Western nations,” he said.

Trump’s longstanding distain for NATO (he said in February he would not defend NATO allies that fail to spend enough on defense from a future attack by Russia), as well as international alliances and institutions more broadly, also threatens to weaken American alliances that outgoing President Joe Biden has carefully cultivated to counter the threats of a rising China.

That would offer some timely relief to Beijing, which is increasingly irritated by what it sees as Washington’s strategy to encircle and contain China with an “Asian Nato.”

America’s potential inward turn under Trump will also be welcome news for Xi, who has ramped up efforts to claim leadership in the Global South and build a new world order no longer dominated by the West.

Taiwan and relations with Russia

Beijing may also be looking for ways to utilize Trump’s penchant for deal-making, including on the issue of Taiwan. China’s ruling Communist Party claims the island as its own, despite never having controlled it.

Under the previous Trump administration, which was staffed with China hawks, the US bolstered support for Taiwan through increased arms sales and diplomatic visits. But the former leader’s recent comments have fueled concerns about American commitment to the democratic island.

On the campaign trail, Trump accused Taiwan of “stealing” the chip industry from the US and said that the self-governing democracy should pay the US for protection.

Industry experts say Taiwan grew its own semiconductor industry organically through a combination of foresight, hard work and investment. And the island has purchased the vast majority of its weaponry from US arms manufacturers over recent decades. But Trump’s campaign rhetoric nonetheless hinted at a more transactional approach to Taiwan.

Asked by the Wall Street Journal in an interview if he would use military force against a blockade on Taiwan by China, Trump said it would not come to that because Xi respected him and knows he’s “crazy.” Instead, he said he would slap 150% to 200% tariffs on Beijing.

“With Trump’s relatively less strong interest in defending Taiwan, Beijing may seek greater concessions from Washington on the Taiwan issue, using both positive incentives and coercive leverage to push the United States to reduce its military and political support for Taiwan,” Zhao said.

Trump, who has touted his good relations with Russian President Vladimir Putin, has made comments that suggest the US could pressure Ukraine into an uneasy truce with Russia.

While ending the grinding war in Ukraine could remove a crucial sore point in China-Europe relations, it could also complicate Moscow’s alignment with Beijing, which has deepened since Russia’s invasion, said Liu at the City University of Hong Kong.

“If the US and Russia ease relations, it could create greater daylight between Russia and China, effectively driving a wedge between them.” Liu said.

“From everything he has said, it’s clear that Trump considers China, not Russia, as the main adversary.”

Israeli soccer fans were attacked in a “serious incident of violence in Amsterdam” overnight into Friday, Israeli authorities said, with the government saying it was sending planes to evacuate affected citizens.

Hundreds of fans of Israel’s Maccabi Tel Aviv soccer team “were ambushed and attacked in Amsterdam” on Thursday night as they left the stadium following a Europa League game against Dutch side Ajax, the Israeli embassy to the United States said on social media platform X.

Social media video shared by the embassy showed videos of what it said was violence against Maccabi fans.

Israeli foreign minister Gideon Sa’ar said 10 citizens were injured and advised citizens to stay in their hotels.

“The impression from the reports (are) that the situation is calming down in the last hour,” Sa’ar said.

In a statement from his office, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu called the violence “serious” and said he was ordering the “immediate release of two rescue planes” to assist Israeli citizens.

The Israeli leader also urged Dutch authorities to “act firmly and quickly against the rioters and ensure the peace of our citizens.”

Israel’s foreign ministry overnight Friday said about thirty people have been arrested so far. The statement did not say when those arrests were made or who was arrested.

Maccabi fans had been in the Dutch capital ahead of Thursday night’s Europa League game against Ajax.

Amsterdam’s police said it boosted its presence in the city’s center on Wednesday night, citing “tensions” in several areas, one day ahead of the soccer match.

Officers “prevented a confrontation between a group of taxi drivers and a group of visitors who came from the adjacent casino” on Wednesday night, the police said in a statement on X, noting another incident in which a Palestinian flag was torn down in Amsterdam’s center by unknown perpetrators.

The police also said a demonstration was planned on Thursday near the stadium ahead of the soccer match between Ajax and Maccabi Tel Aviv.

This is a developing story and will be updated.