News 01/07/26

A teenager has drowned during a Duke of Edinburgh’s Award trip in Wales.

Emergency services were called to Powys on Tuesday evening after the eighteen-year-old entered the River Wye and could not be found. Dyfed-Powys Police confirmed his body was located following a search involving mountain rescue. A spokesperson for the scheme confirmed he was on his award expedition.

A sixteen-year-old boy has been left with potentially life-threatening injuries following a shooting near a Birmingham mosque.

Police were called to Bowyer Road shortly before half past five on Wednesday evening. The teenager is currently in hospital while officers conduct forensic and CCTV enquiries. Authorities do not believe the incident is connected to the nearby mosque.

A father killed his four-week-old baby by shaking him in a moment of pure violence, a court has heard.

Atticus Bartlett collapsed at his family home in Somerset in July 2022 and died in hospital a week later. His father, thirty-nine-year-old postman Tony Bartlett, is on trial at Bristol Crown Court charged with murder and manslaughter.

England were spared an historic World Cup humiliation after two late goals from Harry Kane saw them come from behind to beat DR Congo in Atlanta and reach the last sixteen.

Thomas Tuchel’s side were fifteen minutes away from an embarrassing exit before captain Kane headed an equaliser, later striking a dramatic winner with four minutes remaining. DR Congo’s goalkeeper Lionel Mpasi had earlier made a string of magnificent saves to deny England.

German prosecutors have filed charges against a Ukrainian national over the blowing up of the Nord Stream pipelines in 2022.

The suspect, named as Serhii K, is alleged to have led and co-ordinated the attack under the Baltic Sea. Reports state he was arrested in Italy last summer before being extradited to Germany, though he denies involvement. Ukraine has previously denied any link to the incident.

Two people have died after a light aircraft crashed in an Essex field yesterday afternoon during a short flight experience.

Essex Police said the two-seat Cessna plane crashed off Mill Lane in Ongar after taking off from North Weald airfield around seven miles away. Detective Chief Superintendent Morgan Cronin confirmed the flight had departed at lunchtime on Tuesday for what was expected to be a short journey.

The Court of Appeal has heard that detention was the only appropriate sentence for three teenage boys spared custody over the rape of two girls.

The boys were given youth rehabilitation orders at Southampton Crown Court for attacks in Hampshire. Judge Nicholas Rowland stated the offences crossed the custody threshold but added that detention was a last resort, aiming to avoid criminalising the children unnecessarily.

England has experienced its warmest June on record, which was also the second warmest for the United Kingdom.

Mean temperatures reached seventeen point one degrees, nearly three degrees above average, driven by frequent tropical nights. A rare red extreme heat warning was issued as a new record temperature of thirty-seven point seven degrees was set in Norfolk on Friday the twenty-sixth of June.

Tory leader Kemi Badenoch has questioned whether Andy Burnham has agreed to fund an alleged £5bn shortfall in the government’s defence investment plan.

She accused Sir Keir Starmer of leaving a mess for his likely successor, claiming the limited plan has completely unravelled. Responding, the Prime Minister accused the Conservatives of cutting defence spending when they came into power.

The hundred-and-seventy-three-year-old Halifax brand is being scrapped, with all customer accounts transferring to Lloyds over time.

Lloyds Banking Group confirmed Lloyds will become its sole brand across England, Wales and Northern Ireland. While account numbers, sort codes and protection limits will remain unchanged, customers are being told to expect initial updates in the coming days and weeks.

The owner of TG Jones has won approval for a major restructuring plan that will see up to 150 high street shops close.

Modella Capital, which bought the business from WH Smith last year, announced the cuts and steep rent reductions across remaining stores, blaming challenging retail conditions. The collapse threatens four thousand seven hundred jobs.

Two police officers are under investigation for potential gross misconduct over how they dealt with Henry Nowak prior to his death.

Vickrum Digwa was jailed for life last month for stabbing the eighteen-year-old in December. The teenager told Hampshire Constabulary officers he had been stabbed and could not breathe, but they failed to realise he was mortally injured and handcuffed him instead.

The NHS has submitted an application to carry out essential repair works at the Grade Two listed King Edward VII Hospital on St Leonards Road.

The Royal Borough has backed the plans for the Windsor facility, which offers services including audiology, podiatry and palliative care. The original part of the hospital building dates back to 1909.

The family of a three-year-old boy who was seriously injured in a crocodile enclosure has thanked the zoo staff who rescued their son.

The incident happened on the eighteenth of June at Johnsons of Old Hurst zoo near Huntingdon. The child remains in hospital in a stable condition, and his family expressed true gratitude for the public support.

Victor Willis, the frontman of the Village People and co-writer of their massive hit YMCA, has died following a short but aggressive illness.

Statements confirmed he passed away on Tuesday, the day before his seventy-fifth birthday. His wife expressed profound sadness at the loss, and the family have requested privacy at this time.

Bill payers are being urged to submit a meter reading as household energy prices rise by thirteen per cent on Wednesday.

Anyone affected by regulator Ofgem’s price cap without a smart meter should take a reading to avoid being charged at the higher rate. Analysts at Cornwall Insight say these prices, driven by gas costs and the US-Israeli conflict with Iran, will persist into winter.

Retailers including Amazon, Argos and Currys have been found advertising e-scooters for public roads, despite this being against UK law.

A Press Association investigation found major brands promoting their use on roads, though only rented e-scooters are legal. Privately-owned e-scooters can only be used on private land with landowner’s permission. The major outlets changed their advertising after being contacted.

A three-year-old boy has been pulled alive from the rubble six days after devastating earthquakes in Venezuela.

Video footage shows rescuers cheering as Klieber Morán is pulled from wreckage in La Guaira state. The UK’s Disasters Emergency Committee has launched an appeal to help thousands injured, with fifteen UK aid agencies including the British Red Cross asking the public to donate.

The voice of the late actor Gene Wilder has been recreated using AI for a new Willy Wonka-themed reality show on Netflix.

The streaming service partnered with ElevenLabs, a firm specialising in voice cloning technology, to revive the voice of Wilder, who died in 2016 aged eighty-three. The actor famously played the title character in the 1971 film adaptation of Roald Dahl’s novel.