News 27/05/26

The woman shot dead outside a city centre bar in Sheffield in the early hours of Bank Holiday Monday has been named as thirty-year-old Shanice Brookes.

She was rushed to hospital following the shooting at roughly quarter to three in the morning but was pronounced dead. In a statement released by South Yorkshire Police, her family described her as truly one of a kind, adding she will be missed by all who were lucky enough to know and love her.

The United States has dismissed reports from Iran regarding a potential draft deal as a complete fabrication.

Iranian state television had claimed it obtained a draft of an initial, unofficial framework for a memorandum of understanding with the United States. Under these reported terms, Iran would restore commercial shipping in the Strait of Hormuz to pre-war levels within one month, while the US would withdraw military forces and lift its naval blockade. The US has now categorically rejected these claims.

Iranian state television is reporting an initial unofficial framework for a memorandum of understanding between Iran and the US.

According to the draft, US military forces will withdraw from the vicinity of Iran and lift the naval blockade on Iranian ports. In return, Iran commits to restoring commercial transit ships through the Strait of Hormuz to pre-war levels within a month. Military vessels are not included in this draft agreement.

A body has been found by rescuers searching for a teenager who went missing while swimming in open water in Cheshire.

Specialist divers and helicopter crews were searching for the seventeen-year-old boy, who was last seen at Pickmere Lake near Northwich. While formal identification has not taken place, Cheshire Constabulary believe the body is that of the missing teenager. The death is not currently being treated as suspicious.

Almost five hundred thousand Russian soldiers have been killed since the war in Ukraine began, according to new intelligence.

Anne Keast-Butler, head of the UK intelligence agency GCHQ, stated this figure indicates Vladimir Putin is going backwards on the battlefield. This is the first official confirmation of Russian soldier deaths, whereas previous casualty figures typically included both the wounded and the killed. Keast-Butler made these comments during the first annual threat assessment at Bletchley Park this afternoon.

A yellow weather warning for thunderstorms has been issued for parts of south-west England and much of Wales.

The warning is in place between three o’clock this afternoon and midnight. The Met Office warns of heavy rain, hail and spray, which could affect drivers, alongside potential damage to buildings from lightning strikes and delays to public transport services.

The Royal Life Saving Society has issued a warning regarding the dangers of swimming in open water following multiple recent deaths.

It warned that water temperatures remain very cold despite the heatwave, which can cause cold water shock. At least seven young people, as well as two older adults, have died.

Average annual energy bills are set to rise by hundreds of pounds from July for typical dual fuel households, the energy regulator Ofgem has announced.

The increase represents a thirteen percent rise to one thousand eight hundred and sixty-two pounds per year, adding eighteen pounds to monthly costs. Not since January twenty-twenty-four have bills been this high for households across the country.

The head of GCHQ, Anne Keast-Butler, is set to warn that Russia is relentlessly targeting critical infrastructure and democracy across the UK and Europe.

In her first annual threat assessment, she will reveal that intelligence officers are working to counter reckless sabotage and assassination attempts orchestrated by the Kremlin. Ms Keast-Butler will warn that the risk of a dangerous miscalculation, which could potentially trigger a much wider conflict, is currently as high as she has ever seen it. Simultaneously, she is expected to note that Vladimir Putin is struggling and effectively going backwards on the battlefield in Ukraine.

Dozens of people have been killed in an intensive wave of Israeli strikes across southern and eastern Lebanon, after Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu vowed to escalate military action against Hezbollah.

Lebanon’s health ministry confirmed at least thirty-one people have died, including several children. The Israeli military stated it struck more than one hundred Hezbollah infrastructure sites and fighters in one of the heaviest nights of bombardment since a ceasefire began in mid-April.

At least one person has been killed and nine others are missing after a chemical tank imploded at a pulp and paper mill in Washington state.

The incident occurred at the Nippon Dynawave Packaging facility in Longview on Tuesday. Nine people were injured in the resulting spill, with victims suffering from burns and inhalation injuries.

Sir Tony Blair has accused the government of having no coherent plan for the country, claiming certain policies are holding back business.

He criticised new workers’ rights laws and the minimum wage uplift. Downing Street stated Sir Keir Starmer remains focused on delivering change.