News 16/06/26

A former Royal Navy officer says a Russian warship firing a warning shot at a civilian yacht in the English Channel is a dangerous escalation.

Reacting to the Russian defence ministry’s explanation, James Gater told chief presenter Mark Austin that he does not recall rules allowing warning shots in international waters, especially between two NATO allies.

Sir Keir Starmer will face a Labour leadership challenge next week, according to former health secretary Wes Streeting.

Speaking to Sky’s Cathy Newman, Mr Streeting agreed a contest is inevitable to end current uncertainty, with a formal challenge expected next week. The timeline aligns with Andy Burnham potentially returning to parliament if he wins this Thursday’s Makerfield by-election.

Sailors on a Russian warship have fired a warning shot at a yacht in the English Channel today.

The incident, at around twenty to twelve on Tuesday, involved the frigate Admiral Grigorovich in the sea between the Isle of Wight and Normandy. It follows an operation where British forces boarded the Russian shadow fleet tanker Smyrtos for the first time in the Channel on Sunday.

A jury has heard how a teenage boy on trial for the murder of a nine-year-old girl told young people he had to get away from the police.

The sixteen-year-old is accused of killing Aria Thorpe on the fifteenth of December 2025. She died from a stab wound to her heart. The jury at Bristol Crown Court heard he was seen on CCTV at Worle train station after the attack.

The UK’s armed forces will have to dial back training and operations without more cash, the chief of the defence staff has warned.

Air Chief Marshal Sir Richard Knighton said the government’s Defence Investment Plan did not include enough funding to support day-to-day activities in the short term. It follows the resignation of John Healey as defence secretary last week over the proposed cash settlement.

Following the government’s announcement on Monday, a social media ban is coming for under-sixteens in the UK.

However, details remain sparse on which specific apps are included and how the measures will extend to gaming sites. Questions are also being raised over whether enforcement will require a crackdown on virtual private networks. Ministers say they will provide an update in July regarding further restrictions, including potential curfews and curbs on addictive features.

Donald Trump has met with Qatar’s emir at the G7 summit in France to discuss the newly announced Iran deal.

Speaking to reporters, the United States President described the agreement as fair and good. He also strongly rejected reports suggesting that the deal would require the United States to invest money in Iran, branding the claims as ridiculous.

Kensington Palace has confirmed that Prince George will attend Eton College from September.

The boarding school, which costs sixty-three thousand pounds a year, was previously attended by Prince William from 1995 and Prince Harry from 1998. The Prince and Princess of Wales reportedly deliberated over the decision and visited several other schools, including Marlborough College, before choosing Eton.

A woman has appeared in court charged over a car crash at a London primary school in 2023 which left two eight-year-old girls dead.

Claire Freemantle faces two counts of causing death by dangerous driving and seven counts of causing serious injury. Schoolgirls Nuria Sajjad and Selena Lau died when a vehicle crashed through a fence at The Study Prep school in Wimbledon.

A forty-four-year-old man arrested over an incident where a woman was shoved into the path of a bus on Putney Bridge has been released on bail.

The arrest on Monday on suspicion of attempted grievous bodily harm followed a CCTV appeal from the original incident in May 2017. The Metropolitan Police had previously closed the investigation after three men were released without charge.

Slough Borough Council’s former St Martin’s Place headquarters looks set to be transformed into temporary accommodation.

The three-storey building, at the junction of Bath Road and Montem Lane, has been empty since 2020 when council staff moved to Observatory House in Windsor Road. The local authority declared the building surplus to requirements in January 2023.

A newly announced deal between the United States and Iran is being described as a strategic defeat for the Trump administration.

The agreement to stop fighting and reopen the Strait of Hormuz restores the previous status quo but leaves other issues unresolved for a sixty-day ceasefire. The conflict has cost an estimated thirty billion dollars, killed thousands, and destroyed hundreds of millions of dollars worth of American military hardware.

The sister of murdered MP Jo Cox has warned against society being pushed towards extremes as she marks the tenth anniversary of her death.

Ms Cox was killed by a neo-Nazi in her constituency on the sixteenth of June 2016. Kim Leadbeater, who was elected Member of Parliament for the West Yorkshire seat following the tragedy, said her sister would have been deeply concerned about current divisions.

The government has objected to a proposed ten-billion-pound rescue package for Thames Water, bringing the firm closer to nationalisation.

Environment Secretary Emma Reynolds wrote to the industry regulator on Monday to raise concerns over the deal put forward by lenders. A government spokesman stated the current offer does not do enough to protect consumers or the environment, three years after collapse fears first emerged.

Eight people have been killed after a United States Air Force bomber crashed shortly after taking off from an American base.

The B-fifty-two Stratofortress came down during a routine test mission at Edwards Air Force Base in California just after eleven o’clock local time on Monday. Base officials confirmed the death toll at a news conference, stating they had lost eight great Americans.