A teenage girl has died after she was pulled from a river, making her the latest casualty in the UK’s recent spate of water-related deaths.

The girl, 13, was pulled from the River Wharfe near Burnsall, close to Skipton, on Sunday evening following reports that she had gone missing in the water.

Specialist rescue teams and paramedics attended the scene and the girl was airlifted to hospital, where she later died.

A police spokesperson said: ‘Our thanks go to the members of the public who helped at the scene.’

Her identity has not been confirmed.

It comes after an 11-year-old boy went missing after entering the River Don in South Yorkshire.

Emergency services were called to Ferry Boat Lane in Mexborough at 8pm on Saturday. A specialist search operation involving the National Police Air Service, South Yorkshire Fire and Rescue Service, and the Yorkshire Ambulance Service is ongoing.

The boy’s family have been informed and are being supported by specialist officers.

Meanwhile, a woman has died and a man is in critical condition after the pair tried to rescue their pet dog ‘who had become stuck’ at Rossall Beach in Thornton Cleveleys, Lancashire.

The coastguard rescued the couple just after 8.30pm on Saturday, but the woman later died in hospital.

The dog was recovered ‘safe and well’.

This weekend’s incidents are the latest in a series of deaths and disappearances in UK bodies of water in recent days.

At least 15 people have died in water since May 24, many of them involving young people.

The first reported was Declan Sawyer, who died while swimming at Swanholme Lakes in Lincoln on May 24.

Expert bodies, including the Royal National Lifeboat Institution (RNLI), have issued advice on how to stay safe in the water.

The RNLI’s Float to Live campaign has been put out to raise awareness of how floating in water can save your life.

The organisation’s website reads: ‘This advice is useful to everyone, however you use the water. It has helped save the lives of more than 50 people in all sorts of situations.

‘From children in rip currents to runners falling into canals, from people swept out by waves, to fishermen falling overboard.

‘The best way to float is to tilt your head back with your ears submerged. Try to relax and breathe normally. You can gently move your hands and legs to help you stay afloat if you need to.

‘Spread your arms and legs out to improve stability – and it’s OK if your legs sink, we all float differently. Once your breathing is under control, call for help or swim to safety. Practise floating in a supervised location like a swimming pool.’

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There’s a common cleaning item that can help keep dust away from blinds and skirting boards

Dusting can feel like a never-ending battle, as surfaces around the home seem to attract grime almost immediately after cleaning, but one simple household item can help keep dust at bay for far longer. During hot weather, air circulates more freely as people commonly open windows to cool their homes, allowing dust to drift around and settle on surfaces with ease.

Dust tends to cling particularly to window blinds and skirting boards, as these typically feature broad surfaces made from wood, plastic or other materials that generate considerable amounts of static electricity. This static electricity causes dust and other grimy particles to stubbornly latch onto surfaces and repeatedly return, unless a protective barrier is created to repel them.

Fortunately, Kerry, a cleaning expert and founder of Blissful Domestication, has revealed an inexpensive yet highly effective method to eliminate static electricity: simply rub surfaces with dryer sheets, reports the Express.

Kerry said: “My top tip for a quick clean of venetian blinds? (I have them all over my house) Use a tumble dryer sheet for a quick dust.

“The sheet just picks up all the dust perfectly and smells amazing too. Also extremely useful for dusting the tops of your skirting board.”

It may sound unusual, but dryer sheets are specifically designed with an anti-static coating to prevent clothes from clinging together while drying.

When wiped across blinds or skirting boards, a dryer sheet absorbs the static electricity, helping to stop dust from adhering to the surface in the first place. Dryer sheets are typically coated in fabric softener, which leaves behind a thin, waxy film that acts as a protective barrier to repel dust.

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How to keep dust away from blinds and skirting boards

When tackling skirting boards, start with a vacuum cleaner and follow up with a mop if you prefer. Next, take a microfibre cloth to dry the surfaces thoroughly, ensuring nothing remains damp, as moisture can attract dust.

Then, run the dryer sheets across your blinds and skirting boards. Don’t forget to wipe them over any windowsills or bookcases in the room, as these spots tend to gather dust quickly.

The room should remain dust-free for at least a month, though the duration will depend on how much air circulates through the room on a daily basis.

Either way, this method should prevent dust from accumulating on commonly neglected surfaces such as skirting boards and blinds for longer, leaving your room feeling considerably cleaner with minimal effort.

Armed police were sent to the scene

A teenager was arrested in the centre of Cambridge after being found with a hammer. Cambridgeshire Police were called to Christ Pieces, King Street in Cambridge, at around 8.05pm on Friday, May 29.

It had been reported that there was a male with a knife. Armed police were sent to the area and found a male with a hammer on his person.

A 17-year-old boy, who is from Godmanchester, was arrested on suspicion of possessing an offensive weapon. He has since been released on police bail to return on August 28.

A spokesperson for Cambridgeshire Police said: “We were called at about 8.05pm on Friday, 29 May, with reports of a male with a knife at Christ Pieces, King Street, Cambridge. Armed police were deployed and a male was found to have a hammer on his person.

“A 17-year-old boy from Godmanchester has been arrested on suspicion of possessing an offensive weapon. He has been released on police bail to return on 28 August.”

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Cameron was 16 when he first experienced homelessness. He initially sought help from the council but said delays and complex paperwork made it difficult to access support.

During this period, he stayed with his aunt while trying to navigate the process of getting support. He said, “I found the process really difficult as a young person, especially when it’s [feels] so overwhelming”. He also had to complete forms linked to parental responsibility arrangements, which he said added more pressure during an already unstable period.

Then, aged 17, he moved into Centrepoint’s supported accommodation, which he described as a turning point.

Alongside housing support, he received education and employment help, including tutoring in maths and English to complete qualifications. His key worker, Lee, helped him develop budgeting, planning and goal-setting skills to prepare him for living independently.

He said this guidance helped him stay focused during difficult periods. “You can’t stop now, can you,” he recalled being told, adding that the encouragement from Centrepoint staff kept him motivated and positive during times of uncertainty.

He was already working in restaurants and continued to build experience while studying, often balancing long shifts with learning sessions and coursework commitments.

In 2021, he received a Centrepoint Award, which he said recognised his progress and boosted his confidence. “I won the Career Progression Award, since I was able to overcome everything and not let anything affect me,” he said, describing it as an important milestone in his journey and future aspirations.

He now lives in his own flat and says the stability has been life changing, describing it as “a destination where I can come back and recover after work.”

Now working full-time as a chef, he continues to refine his skills in professional kitchens, learning from colleagues and experimenting with new techniques. He feels the job helps drive his long-term ambitions. One of these ambitions is to create budget-friendly vegan and gluten-free cookbooks for low-income households. He said he wants to make cooking more accessible and enjoyable for everyone by sharing simple, creative recipes using affordable, healthy ingredients.

Reflecting on his journey from homelessness to stability, he said, “Don’t rush into anything – you need to create a list of what you need to do and what you want to do. Without that you’ll become overwhelmed and think that you might never be able to do it. If you put your mind to it, you can always achieve it,” crediting the support he has received along the way.

Retired civil servant finds new purpose volunteering with Centrepoint

A woman who began volunteering with youth homelessness charity Centrepoint after taking early retirement says the role has given her renewed purpose and direction.

(Image: Centrepoint)

Gill, a former civil servant who specialised in HR, started volunteering with the charity four years ago after stepping back from work, saying she wanted to use retirement to do something meaningful for others.

“I was fortunate enough to be able to take early retirement, and I knew that I wanted to do something worthwhile,” she explained.

Gill also had a personal connection to Centrepoint, as her husband Patrick had been a long-term supporter before he passed away unexpectedly 10 years ago, just a few weeks after receiving a terminal diagnosis. He was deeply moved by one of their campaign posters he saw on the way to work and began donating regularly. Gill decided to “continue his support in his memory.”

Drawing on her professional and HR experience, Gill has coached and mentored young people through key life decisions, including helping one young asylum seeker choose the right engineering course that suited him best. “He said he would always remember my support, so that meant a huge amount to me,” she explained.

She said volunteering has added a new path in retirement and encourages others to consider it as a rewarding way to gain experience, meet people and make a difference.

‘We Can’t Do This Alone’

Last year, over 118,000 young people faced homelessness. That’s one young person every four minutes. At a time of life when most of their peers are trying new things and taking their first steps into adulthood, these young people found themselves alone and afraid, and unsure where to turn.  

It doesn’t have to be like this, with the right support at the right time, these young people can escape homelessness or avoid it altogether.  

At Centrepoint, provide more than a bed for the night. We provide a safe place to rebuild, support into education and work, and the confidence to believe in a better future.  

Youth homelessness is not inevitable. With the right help at the right time, it can be prevented and it can be ended.  

Our mission is to end youth homelessness – and you can help us.  

Whether it’s running a marathon or holding a sleep out, you, your friends, family and co-workers can join our movement to end youth homelessness and give vulnerable young people a brighter future. 

To find out more, donate or get involved, please visit our website http://www.centrepoint.org.uk/newspaper

‘A Permanent Base Changed Everything’

Housing insecurity left Adam, now 20, without a stable home through his late teens and early adulthood, as he moved between sofa surfing and temporary arrangements.

(Image: Centrepoint)

He said first-time housing with a friend was costly and unsuitable, with limited income making long-term stability impossible. He was constantly moving and unsure where he would sleep, saying, “I started sofa surfing and [moving between] accommodations.” He often carried a suitcase to work while trying to keep his job. Colleagues assumed he was travelling or on holiday, unaware he was homeless. He said the suitcase masked his situation, making it less visible to others.

Finding affordable accommodation was also challenging he explained, “Finding a place in London as an 18-year-old, [when you are] not making that much is impossible. Some places wouldn’t allow an 18-year-old to live there – finding a place was really difficult.”

Not knowing where to turn he confided in a colleague who suggested Adam contacted Centrepoint. The youth homelessness charity secured a space in one of its Independent Living homes, where rent is capped at a third of tenants’ income. Since moving in 18 months ago, he has improved his finances and even begun to plan a holiday – something that once seemed out of reach. He now works in marketing and says a permanent base has helped him focus on his job and ambitions.

Looking ahead, Adam is seeking a role that offers challenge, progression, and collaboration, adding that stability has given him the space to think about his next steps.

A body has been found in the search for a missing man, police have said. Lee Butler, 36, was last seen at his home in Staffordshire on May 26. A major search was launched by South Wales Police who said they believed Lee had travelled to Wales.

Ogmore by Sea residents reported on Sunday that a helicopter and drones were being used to assist with the search, with others saying they had seen RNLI lifeboats searching the coast.

Friends of Lee Butler had travelled from the midlands in England to Ogmore by Sea to help in the search. They have since posted on social media that their next steps will be to bring Lee home to Staffordshire where he can be laid to rest.

A spokesperson for South Wales Police said: “A body has been found in the search for Lee Butler, from Staffordshire, who was last seen on Tuesday, May 26.

“While formal identification has not yet taken place, Lee’s next of kin have been informed.

“Our thoughts are with them.”

KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia (AP) — Malaysia on Monday began enforcing rules barring millions of children younger than 16 from having social media accounts, joining a global effort to tighten online safety protections for young users.

The rules require social media platforms with at least 8 million users including Facebook, Instagram, TikTok and YouTube, to implement age-verification systems and block users under 16 from creating accounts.

Malaysia’s Communications and Multimedia Commission said Monday that age verification for existing users will be rolled out progressively over the next six months.

Users identified as under 16 will have a month to download or transfer their data, including photos and videos, before any restrictions, suspensions, or other actions are applied, it said in a statement.

Companies that fail to comply could face penalties of up to 10 million ringgit ($2.5 million). But parents whose children manage to bypass the law will not be penalized.

The government said the measures are aimed at protecting children from harmful content, cyberbullying and platform features designed to encourage excessive use.

Other countries including Australia,Brazil and Indonesia have introduced or announced age-based restrictions or requirements for children’s access to social media. Countries including Britain, France, Spain, Denmark, Thailand and South Korea are also studying or developing similar approaches.

The regulator said the rules are not intended to prevent children from accessing digital technology.

“These measures help strengthen the protection of children in the online environment, while providing added reassurance to parents in navigating increasingly complex digital risks,” it has said.

Platforms are required to improve user safety, discourage excessive use and take action against underage accounts and harmful content.

Technology companies have yet to detail how they will comply with Malaysia’s new requirements.

Clara Koh, Meta’s director of public policy for Southeast Asia, had cautioned in April that Malaysia’s blanket under-16 ban could backfire by driving teenagers away from protected apps and into unregulated corners of the internet.

She said Meta has launched “teen accounts” for those under 18 that limits contact, screen time and exposure to inappropriate content.

Malaysia’s curbs come as governments face growing pressure to address concerns about social media’s impact on children’s mental health and online safety.

In March, a U.S. jury ordered Meta and YouTube to pay millions of dollars in damages in a case alleging that platform design features contributed to harm suffered by a young user.

How two Malaysian families see the changes

Kuala Lumpur parents Saravanan Ganasan and Jayaradha Veerasamy — whose children are 12 and 15 — approve of the changes. They already banned their kids from using social media, believing minors lack the psychological capacity to cope with it.

The couple ban unsupervised scrolling on TikTok and Instagram. Devices are kept out of bedrooms, screen time is limited to common areas, and their son is not allowed to lock his phone with a password.

“Exposure is what we fear,” Saravanan said. “The wrong kind of exposure will do damage to the mind.”

Aadhavan Saravanan, 15, said he believes he would be addicted to social media if allowed full freedom. “Social media is like, a luxury and it’s not a necessity,” he said

The couple said the restrictions have forced their children to develop offline life skills. Instead of scrolling, Aadhavan reads books in a backyard mango tree and repairs broken household appliances, while their daughter cooks and does crafts.

“A lot of parents are very scared that children get bored,” the kids’ mother, Jayaradha, said. “But boredom is actually very good because they start thinking out of the box.”

But Shaun Hew, who lives in the Kuala Lumpur suburb of Cheras, feels the new restrictions go too far.

Hew believes social media offers an outlet for his kids to spend time productively, as long as there is proper adult oversight. His 11-year-old son uses platforms to learn cooking and his daughter, 14, uses YouTube for exam revision.

He worries a sudden cutoff could cause teenagers to rebel and find unregulated ways to bypass internet blocks.

Some voice concerns over privacy and safety

Some critics contend that Malaysia’s move could increase the risks of data privacy breaches and expand state surveillance.

“It is very much following the trend but in a way that is raising alarms due to requiring a government ID for age verification,” said Benjamin Loh, social science lecturer at Monash University in Malaysia.

Loh also said experiences elsewhere suggest age-based restrictions have yet to prove consistently effective. Without penalties on parents, families can easily bypass the law by creating accounts for their children, he said.

“This is a major gap that unless regulators are willing to fix, will result in the law having little effect in stopping children from using social media,” he added.

“It pains me to see health workers who have already died because of Ebola while serving others… this is the risk which comes with the profession, but your commitment and coming back again to serve means a lot,” Tedros told the four nurses, three men and one woman, at Sunday’s ceremony where they all received certificates recognising their recovery.

Nobody seems to know what’s going on with Greece’s borders this summer — not even its most senior tourism officials.

Greece has rejected reports that British passport holders will be exempt from biometric screening system at its airports during peak season.

The EU’s new Entry-Exit System, or EES, began operating at Greek airports and other entry points on April 10 as part of a Europe-wide rollout, replacing passport stamps with biometric data collected through photos and digital fingerprints.

Greek officials visiting the UK had suggested the requirement would be waived this summer for travellers from Britain, an important market for Greece’s tourism industry.

Greece’s tourism Minister Olga Kefalogianni said the government did not want visitors ‘burdened’ by bureaucracy and promised that Brits would be ‘fast-tracked’ through the system.

The Greek Embassy went further. It said that as of April 10, 2026, British passport holders were exempt from biometric registration at Greek border crossings.

Eleni Skarveli, Director of the Greek National Tourism Organisation in the UK, said the move would ‘ensure a smoother and more efficient arrival experience in Greece’ and slash waiting times.

He said that Brits would no longer need to complete extra EES procedures.

That position even matched UK government advice.

The Foreign Office told travellers that Greek authorities would not collect biometric data from UK visitors under the new system.

Current travel guidance from the FCDO states: ‘Greek authorities have indicated that they will not collect biometric data (fingerprints and photos) for UK travellers as part of EES. Follow the advice of authorities on the ground.’

However, European and Greek authorities later clarified that suspension of the system will be permitted only during ‘periods of high passenger traffic’.

Exemptions do not apply to any country or nationality, they added.

‘We have not received any further update or clarification as to whether, for example, specific nationalities are temporarily exempt from the relevant procedure,’ a spokesperson for the Greek Foreign Ministry told AP.

Metro has approached the Greek Foreign Ministry, the Greek Tourism Ministry and the UK Foreign Office for comment.

Given that thousands of UK travellers arrive daily on islands such as Corfu, Crete and Rhodes, the idea of scrapping EES checks had been welcomed.

It also led some to believe other Mediterranean countries could follow suit for the busy summer period.

Travellers already reported queues of up to two hours at passport control since EES started rolling out in some European countries late last year.

But airline groups have warned that these waits could double to four hours as holiday traffic increases into the summer season.

Luke Petherbridge, director of public affairs at Abta, the travel agent and tour operator association, said: ‘What we have said to customers is that, because of the checks, you might need to prepare for delays with extra water and snacks.’

In April, holidaymakers were left vomiting and fainting in a queue from hell at Milan’s Linate airport.

Around 100 easyJet customers were stranded due to delays caused by new EU border checks.

The airline said the disorder was ‘outside of our control’ and even delayed takeoff by almost an hour to try to give passengers extra time to board.

Still, plenty of Brits were forced to find alternative routes home after some only discovered they had missed their flight once it had taken off without them.

What is the EU’s new Entry/Exit system?

The entry and exit system (EES) is a digital system that replaces passport stamping at border control across the European Union.

People with passports from non-EU countries, including the UK, are required to use the system once it launches.

Most travellers from outside the EU, known as third-country nationals, will be required to register their passport details and biometric data when crossing into an EU country for the first time.

Biometric data includes fingerprints and facial pictures. Borders are likely to be kitted with self-service kiosks where passengers can input this information.

This data, as well as the entry and exit details, will be stored for subsequent visits.

Future visits will only require a verification of the biometric data, which can speed up the process.

Border officials will then also ask extra questions about accommodation, whether travellers have enough money for the trip, insurance and a return ticket.

Children are not exempt from the checks, although children under 12 do not need to give fingerprints; however they will also need to have their face scanned.

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