The summer window is fast approaching as Arsenal, Chelsea, Liverpool, Manchester United and Tottenham all attempt to get some significant early deals over the line before the World Cup. Arsenal are said to have agreed a deal for Leicester wonderkid Jeremy Monga, while PSG’s Emmanuel Mbemba is believed to favour a move to the Emirates Stadium. The Gunners continue to be linked with the likes of Morgan Rogers, Julian Alvarez, Eli Junior Kroupi and Morgan Gibbs-White, though Dani Olmo looks to be remaining at Barcelona.

Sir Keir Starmer is reportedly poised to announce a ban on social media for under-16s within the next 10 days as the children’s tsar called for an extension to cover teenagers up to 18 years old.

The prime minister is said to be preparing to unveil plans to restrict children’s online activity to protect them from harmful content, following a nationwide consultation that closed last month.

London mayor Sir Sadiq Khan has already thrown his weight behind the proposal, saying tech firms must prove their services are safe for children or face a ban on being available to under-16s.

Ministers have been mulling evidence from Australia, which imposed a blanket ban in December. The Sun on Sunday reported the UK clampdown will exclude a number of apps.

Asked about the reports on Monday, skills minister Baroness Jacqui Smith said the government is considering evidence from its consultation and will bring forward proposals before summer recess.

But the minister did not confirm a full ban would be implemented, and told Sky News: “This isn’t as clear cut as some people like to think it is, which is exactly why the government has taken the approach it’s taken.”

“We need to pick here is what is going to be most effective for protecting young people from the bad sides of social media, which I think all of us accept are there.

“That might mean going further than, for example, the social media ban in Australia went on certain functionalities. It might mean saying that there are certain things which should definitely be banned. There’s consideration about what age any ban would happen at.”

It comes as the children’s commissioner Dame Rachel de Souza proposed any ban should cover 16- and 17-year-olds, who she said should not have “lesser protection”.

“We need action to address technology companies’ unfettered access to children, often through features designed in ways that increase harm,” Dame Rachel told The Telegraph.

Sir Keir is to announce the plans in a speech ahead of the Makerfield by-election on 18 June, when Labour leadership rival Andy Burnham will learn whether his path has been cleared to return to Westminster and challenge the prime minister. Downing Street declined to comment.

Thomas Tuchel has confirmed Declan Rice as England’s vice-captain for the World Cup after the midfielder and his Arsenal team-mates joined their preparation camp in Florida.

The 27-year-old arrived at the team’s West Palm Beach base with Bukayo Saka, Noni Madueke and Eberechi Eze on Saturday evening as their team-mates beat New Zealand 1-0 in baking Tampa.

Rice is one of the first names on the England team sheet and travelled to the United States fresh from playing a key role in Arsenal winning the Premier League and narrowly losing last weekend’s Champions League final.

The 72-cap midfielder’s quality and personality will mean he serves as vice-captain during this summer’s quest for World Cup glory having stepped up during skipper Harry Kane’s absence for the October friendly against Wales.

“I think I would say Declan is my vice-captain,” Tuchel said after beating the All Whites.

Asked whether Rice knows that he has that role, Tuchel said with a smile: “That is a good question. I was just thinking about it. Whether it is an official thing or not.

“But I think we had this talk when Harry was not in camp with us. We started with Ollie (Watkins) and I think Declan was captain. That was where I told him.”

Rice and the rest of the Arsenal contingent began work with the group on Sunday as attention turns to England’s final warm-up game against Costa Rica in Orlando.

Tuchel says the approach for Wednesday’s friendly will be “different” having fielded different teams in each half against New Zealand, but he has yet to decided how best to utilise the Arsenal players.

“We will get bigger chunks of minutes because it is part of the build-up and then after that we will have six days or something for Croatia,” he said. “We need some players to play 60 or 70 minutes.”

Asked if the Arsenal quartet will all play against Costa Rica, Tuchel said: “I am not sure about that. Let’s see how they come back.

“They come back (Saturday), three training days and let’s see.

“We have one more match behind closed doors to manage all the minutes because of course, let’s say if someone plays 70 minutes against Costa Rica and someone else only plays 20, that is also not enough so there will be players who only had 20 or 30 minutes and will play the next day again.”

England have lined up a behind-closed-doors meeting with Miami FC after facing Costa Rica to provide some training support.

The Florida outfit play in the USL Championship and were previously managed by Italy great Alessandro Nesta following their foundation 11 years ago.

England travel to their Kansas City base on Saturday and kick off their World Cup campaign against Croatia on 17 June, before facing Ghana and Panama in Group L.

The developer says the homes would address a shortage of affordable homes and provide facilities to meet local need

A developer is hoping to build up to 75 new homes in a small Cambridgeshire village. Orchestra Ltd has submitted an outline planning application to Huntingdonshire District Council for the development of land west of Earith Road in Colne.

Colne lies about 9 miles east of Huntingdon and has approximately 904 residents, according to the 2021 census. The application proposes up to 75 residential units, associated landscaping, drainage, and related infrastructure. Of the 75 proposed homes, 30 would be offered as affordable housing.

Orchestra Ltd says the homes would make a “meaningful and positive contribution toward addressing both overall housing need and the acute shortage of affordable homes within Huntingdonshire”.

A design statement adds: “The development provides high quality, sustainable homes in an appropriate location, helping to meet the needs of households unable to access the open market while also supporting the vitality and long term sustainability of Colne and surrounding communities.”

Additionally, Orchestra Ltd says the residential development would provide local facilities to meet local need, including new open space and walking routes, and enhance the sustainability of the area in Colne.

The site measures 4.6 hectares and is on the doorstep of several local amenities, including the Colne Community Hall, The Green Man pub, Saint Helen’s Church, and other services in the neighbouring village of Bluntisham.

Developer Orchestra Ltd said: “Due to the single landowner status of the land, the development is highly deliverable and can provide much needed new homes in an accessible, sustainable location.

“We believe our proposal represents a logical extension to the village of Colne that is easily accessed via existing highway infrastructure, with direct access onto the B1050, the primary north south route connecting Colne with other local villages.”

Meanwhile, Olympic and world champion Duplantis suffered his first Diamond League defeat in three years.

In March, the 26-year-old broke the world record for the 15th time, with a jump of 6.31m slightly north of Stockholm in Uppsala.

But the best he could muster on Sunday was 5.80m, second to Australia’s Kurtis Marschall (5.90m).

“I felt I was pretty unfocused, not ready to compete at the top level,” said Duplantis, who is getting married next week. “I feel bad for my fans and family but I am not that mad.

“We have a saying in Sweden that says you are either lucky in games or in love, and in some strange way I think there’s some message or silver lining in this that says something about the commitment that I am about to make in my marriage.”

There was one local win in the men’s discus for Daniel Stahl, with the world champion’s throw of 69.60m beating Australia’s Matthew Denny (69.02) and Slovenia’s Kristjan Ceh (67.67).

Britain’s Lawrence Okoye was eighth with 64.02, some way short of his season’s best (71.88).

In the women’s 100m, Britain’s Amy Hunt ran a personal best 10.97 seconds to finish second to America’s Melissa Jefferson-Wooden. Dina Asher-Smith was sixth in 11.24.

British sprinter Jeremiah Azu was disqualified after a false start in the men’s 200m, which was won by American Kenneth Bednarek in 19.87 seconds, with South Africa’s Sinesipho Dambile second in 20.10.

GB’s Elise Thorner was second in the women’s 3000m steeplechase, finishing almost 12 seconds behind Tunisia’s Marwa Bouzayani, who won in a meeting record eight minutes and 59.28 seconds.

Charlie Dobson was fifth in the men’s 400m, won by South Africa’s Zakithi Nene in 44.48 seconds.

The men’s 800m was won by America’s Cooper Lutkenhaus in a season’s best one minute 42.70 seconds, with GB’s Ben Pattison (1:43.70) and Jake Wightman (1:44.39) fourth and seventh respectively.

American middle-distance runner Yared Nuguse outlasted 19-year-old Australian Cam Myers to snatch victory in the men’s 1500m.

There was another meeting record in the women’s shot put with the Netherlands’ Jessica Schilder registering 20.89m.

The popular ITV soaps have often been moved or axed from the schedule due to football matches, with next week no different.

One night this week will also see the soaps return to their hour-long format.

Here is all to know about the week ahead for the soaps and when you can watch the newest episodes.

Emmerdale and Coronation Street to get big schedule changes this week

Both Emmerdale and Corrie are facing multiple changes to their regular programming in the week ahead.

This is due to the football, both the Women’s Qualifiers and the start of the Men’s World Cup in Canada, Mexico and the USA.

Both shows usually air back-to-back in a soap “power hour” each weeknight, with Emmerdale from 8pm to 8.30pm followed by Corrie from 8.30pm to 9pm.

The first change is on Tuesday (June 9), in which neither show will air due to the Women’s World Cup Qualifier between England and Ukraine.

On Wednesday (June 10), both will air an hour earlier, with Emmerdale at 7pm and Corrie following at 7.30pm.

This is because of ITV airing England’s final warmup game against Costa Rica at the Inter&Co Stadium in Orlando, Florida.

The World Cup then begins on Thursday (June 11), with the opening ceremony taking place.

As a result, neither Emmerdale nor Coronation Street will air on Thursday, June 11.

The biggest change, however, comes on Friday (June 12), with the format changing for both.

Emmerdale will air for an hour from 8pm to 9pm. with Corrie following at 9pm to 10pm.

It is not the first time this year Emmerdale and Corrie have both had schedule changes due to sport.

The soaps were moved to a weekend in March due to the England v Uruguay match.

More recently, both were taken off air due to the women’s football between England and Spain.

Coronation Street star returning after 23 years

While fans may be frustrated at the schedule changes, many may be excited due to a returning face after more than two decades.

Jake Parry, who originally played Simon Barlow on the ITV soap in 2003 alongside his twin brother Oscar, will make his comeback in a new role 23 years later.

He revealed the news in a TikTok post, sharing a brief clip from the show and writing: “Coronation Street trailer.

“Catch me as DAMO next week.”

Although Mr Parry’s return marks a return to the famous Weatherfield set, he has been clear that he will be playing a new character.

Mr Parry and his brother Oscar portrayed Simon Barlow from July to November 2003, though Daniel Whelan briefly took over the role for episodes aired in September that year.

Simon Barlow has since become a long-running character on the soap, most recently played by actor Alex Bain.

Mr Parry’s new character, Damo, is described in soap spoilers as a “young man,” though further details about the role remain under wraps.

Who is your favourite character on Emmerdale and/or Coronation Street? Let us know in the comments.

The pick-up horror took place at Red Hall Primary School on Wednesday (June 3) when the 36-year-old arrived to police officers on the ground and drones in the sky.

The dental therapist, who wishes to remain nameless, said it was there that she was told her daughter, who has autism and ADHD, had fled for the “third time in six months”. 

Her daughter, who is part of the school’s social, emotional and mental health needs provision, is said to have escaped with two other children aged seven and nine.

Around an hour after police arrived, she said the three children were found a staggering two miles away from the school by the River Skerne, near Darlington Police Station.

Julie Davidson, executive headteacher of Red Hall, said the school takes the safety and wellbeing of all students “extremely seriously”.

But despite the head saying parents were “contacted promptly”, the mum-of-three claims she only found out at pick up – and that a parent of another missing child was told by police.

“It was horrific. You don’t expect something to happen like that in this day and age”, the woman, who lives at West Park, said. 

“I just turned up at the school to find police vans, and at this point, there were drones out. I had gone in to get her, and they said she went missing with two other boys. 

“[The school] explained that the kids had escaped again but had to contact police as there had been no sightings of them for the last hour.”

She continued: “I just felt sick. I thought something really bad had happened. It was pouring down that day as well.

“They were found just before 5pm, they were found near the River Skerne, next to the town.”

The woman, who has lived in Darlington since she was 15, said it is the third time that her daughter has absconded in the last six months. 

“I feel as though the school doesn’t seem to care, they are not getting it”, she argued.

“It is supposed to be a unit for kids who have special needs, but they have escaped three times. 

“The last two times they were found within one hour in the Red Hall estate, but we were again never informed until we got to the school.” 

She now feels that a “serious safeguarding investigation” must be carried out and is due to visit the Headingley Crescent school for a meeting on Monday. 

“Anything could have happened to them”, she said. “The fact that this is the third time as well…

“It is not like this is a one off. It makes you not want to drop your kid off at school. You drop them off at school, and you expect them to be safe. 

“If this happened to me, she wouldn’t be in my care.

“[My daughter] is fine. She doesn’t understand the consequences or the dangers. The school is more than aware of that.”

A Durham Police spokesperson said: “Police were called just before 2.20pm on Wednesday (June 3) to assist with a search for three children who had been reported missing from Red Hall Primary School, in Darlington.

“Officers attended and located the children around an hour later.”

All full statement from Ms Davidson said: “We take the safety and wellbeing of all our students extremely seriously. When this incident took place, the parents of the children involved were contacted promptly to let them know what had happened, as were the police.” 

Drivers are facing long delays on a stretch of the M6 motorway amid reports of a ‘serious’ crash this morning.

Three lanes have been closed off on the northbound stretch of the motorway near Wigan, according to traffic alert service Inrix. They are shut from junction 25 for Bryn to junction 26 for the Orrell Interchange.

Long delays are building up to the closure. Motorway cameras show queues forming on the northbound carriageway.

Click here to get the biggest stories straight to your inbox in our Daily Newsletter

Follow our live blog below for the latest traffic updates.