Greg Wolverson, deputy chief forecaster at the Met Office, said: “While heatwave criteria will be met for some in the south and south-east of England over the weekend, with temperatures into the low 30s possible, the warmth will expand and intensify at the start of next week, which, coupled with high temperatures overnight, leads to potential impacts.

There will be tropical nights in some locations where overnight temperatures are expected to remain above 20C (68F).

This combination of hot days and very warm nights is likely to bring a range of impacts to people and infrastructure.

There is a risk to health, especially for elderly and vulnerable people.

The UK Health Health Security Agency has already issued separate amber and yellow heat health alerts across large swathes of England.

However, even in younger and healthier people there is a risk of health conditions such as sunstroke and heat exhaustion.

Delays and disruption to travel networks and power supplies are possible.

There is also the potential for scattered intense thunderstorms, especially for parts of England and Wales, which could pose an additional hazard.

The DJ announced with a day to go that he’s ‘not fit to fly’ and will no longer be performing at Parklife 2026 this weekend

A popular DJ and producer has been forced to pull out of Parklife this weekend. The huge Manchester festival kicks off on Saturday (June 20) at Heaton Park with some of the biggest names in music set to perform.

The Greater Manchester park will be transformed as hundreds of thousands of festival-goers pour into the venue to enjoy the sounds and tracks from the likes of Calvin Harris, Zara Larsson and Skepta.

On Friday (June 20), one of its main DJs, who was due to perform today (June 20) issued a heartbreaking statement online. Well-known techno and trance announced on social media that he has had to pull out on ‘doctor’s orders’ and is not currently fit to fly. He posted an image of himself in a hospital bed on Instagram.

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The DJ, who also goes by the moniker DJ Daddy Trance and has more than 428,000 followers on Instagram, was due to play the Matinee stage on Saturday night. Set times released earlier this week had him down to play from 6:30pm until 8pm right before Manchester act Morgan Seatree.

Hoffstadt is scheduled to play a number of sets this summer; the first being Parklife and the second being second Fête de la Musique in Paris. However, the Germany based performer has been forced to cancel both performances this weekend.

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In a social media update, he wrote: “Paris & Parklife, I’m so sad to have to share this, but unfortunately I won’t be able to play Parklife and Fête de la Musique in Paris this weekend.

“I recently has a surgery and following my doctor’s advice I’m currently not fit to fly and need rest and recover. I know many of you made plans and were looking forward to it, and I’m so sorry to let you down.

“As much as I hate missing shows, I need to put my recovery first so I can get back to doing what I love as soon as possible.”

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Sharing a second story, which showed the DJ in a hospital gown and, Marlon added that he and his team were looking into ways to come back to Manchester and Paris. He added: “I’ll promise we’ll do everything we can to make it happen.

“Thank you for all your love, support and understanding. I’ll be back very soon.”

This year, the festival will be headlined by superstar DJ Calvin Harris, who has not headlined a show in Manchester since playing at the Manchester Arena in 2013.

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British MC and rapper Skepta, Garage and bassline DJ and producer Sammy Virji, and Swedish songstress Zara Larsson will also take to the stage over the weekend too. Manchester-based DJ and producer Josh Baker will also be returning to the festival having had his set shut down at the event last year.

Others confirmed to be playing will be Chris Stussy, Nia Archives, Kettama, Bou, Rossi, Silva Bumpa, and local Atherton lad Morgan Seatree. Other big names include Armand Van Helden, Shy FX, Clementine Douglas, Ewan McVicar, Prospa, Rudim3ntal, and Chloé Caillet.

Parklife 2026 takes place at Heaton Park in Manchester on June 20 and 21. Gates on Saturday open at 12pm and 1pm on Sunday. The last entry to the festival is 5pm and the event finishes at 11pm on both nights.

WARNING: DISTRESSING CONTENT Keane Mulready-Woods, 17, sent a final text to his mother before he was abducted and killed in a gangland murder in Drogheda, Co. Louth

A 17-year-old who was kidnapped and subjected to a horrific dismemberment sent a chilling final text message to his mother before his savage gangland killing.

The shocking murder of Keane Mulready-Woods in 2020 sent shockwaves across Ireland, leaving the entire country stunned. The teenager, who had become embroiled in a drugs turf war in Drogheda, was lured to a property on January 12 where he endured horrific torture before being decapitated.

His severed limbs were thrown from a moving vehicle in a sports bag onto a pavement in Moatview. Several days later, his head, hands and feet were discovered in a burnt-out car in Dublin.

Keane’s murder triggered a wave of retaliatory attacks, which ultimately led to the death of prime suspect Robbie Lawlor, who was shot dead while pursuing a drugs debt.

Prior to his disappearance, Keane had been in contact with his mother, letting her know he would be home late and asking her to leave taxi fare out for him.

Keane, who had become involved in running drugs for a local criminal gang, was under strict orders to return before dark and had been adhering to these rules, according to the Irish Independent.

At the time of his death, he was out on licence following a conviction for intimidating a local mother over her child’s drugs debts owed to the gang.

It is thought that Lawlor murdered Keane because he suspected the teenager had played a role in the fatal shooting of his brother-in-law Richie Carberry at his home in November 2019.

Gardaí believe Lawlor escalated to torturing the teenager, despite initially claiming he would simply carry out a “punishment beating” over a minor drugs debt.

A source said: “Lawlor was obsessed with Mulready-Woods and was determined to take his life because he was convinced he played a major role in Carberry’s death.

“He took his propensity for violence to another level when he dismembered the teenager’s remains and then taunted his enemies about it.”

The ruthless 36-year-old had been connected to several killings and racked up hundreds of criminal convictions prior to his fatal shooting.

Last December, he walked free from court after being cleared of attempting to murder the mother of his former partner’s new boyfriend.

Just weeks after his acquittal on the attempted murder charge, he was attacked outside a gym by an associate of one of his alleged murder victims.

Lawlor’s gym belongings were seized and his rivals posted photographs of themselves sporting his flip-flops.

It is widely understood that Keane was present during the assault – and an enraged Lawlor allegedly swore revenge.

Among the images circulated following Keane’s murder was one bearing the chilling caption: “Won’t be robbing a man’s flip-flops again.”

In February 2023, local criminal Paul Crosby was handed a 10-year prison sentence for his role in Keane’s murder, while his associate Gerard “Rocky” Cruise received seven years behind bars.

A third man, Gerard ‘Ged’ McKenna, admitted to cleaning up and disposing of evidence from the scene.

In a harrowing victim impact statement read out on behalf of Keane’s devastated mother Elizabeth, she said: “No one could imagine the darkness and sadistic evil in our country I can hear him calling ‘Mam, Mam’ – and the haunting nightmares live forever with us. To lose my child, my son, my baby in a most inhumane, barbaric death is shocking,” adding that a piece of her died as well. “I couldn’t protect him.”

We are on the approach to the ‘longest day’ and ‘shortest night’ of the year

The days have progressively been getting longer over the last couple months and, with the sun now setting pretty late into the evening, we are quickly approaching the longest day of the year.

The longest day of the year – which is commonly referred to as the summer solstice – marks the ‘longest day’ and ‘shortest night’ of the year. In the Northern Hemisphere, this day falls in June and marks midsummer.

But while most people consider summer solstice to be a day, it is actually a specific moment which falls on the longest day of the year. For the UK, the summer solstice is the point when the Northern Hemisphere is most tilted towards the sun.

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It is also a moment which is celebrated by many different cultures and societies across the world, with many associating it with themes of renewal, fertility, and the triumph of light over darkness. For example, Midsummer celebrations in Scandinavia and the UK include bonfires, dancing, and feasting.

In the UK, many people gather at Stonehenge to celebrate the summer solstice. It isn’t necessarily clear if marking the summer solstice was the point of Stonehenge, but it is a centre for the celebration as the stones are lined up to frame the rising of the sun on the solstice.

When is the longest day of the year?

This year the summer solstice will fall on Sunday, June 21. In the UK, the summer solstice will occur on this date, specifically at 9.24am BST, according to the Royal Museums Greenwich.

What time is sunrise and sunset on the longest day?

The exact times for sunrise and sunset on the summer solstice depends on your specific location. On June 21, 2026, the approximate times for sunrise and sunset in London, according to the Met Office, are:

• Sunrise: 4.43am
• Sunset: 9.21pm

On June 21, 2026, the approximate times for sunrise and sunset in Manchester, according to the Met Office, are:

• Sunrise: 4.40am
• Sunset: 9.41pm

‘People were so scared and confused’

A passenger has described the horrific scenes in a train crash in Bedford that left the driver dead and dozens injured.

Pete Knapp said people were ‘crying and screaming’ after an East Midlands Railway (EMR) service smashed into the back of another train on the same line on Friday (June 19). He said some passengers on board appeared to have ‘life-threatening’ major injuries as he described the moment he was flung into the chair in front in the collision.

A train driver was killed, 11 suffered ‘very serious’ injuries and 22 were seriously injured in the crash, the East of England Ambulance Service said. All patients with the most serious injuries have all now been taken to hospital.

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A further 56 people sustained minor injuries and were treated at the scene or in hospital. Most carriages of the two southbound trains remained on the tracks but at least one derailed.

The two trains involved were operating the 4.40pm departure from Corby and the 3.50pm departure from Nottingham, both to London St Pancras. Dr Knapp, 40, said he had not felt the train slow down before the crash but other passengers told him they had.

Speaking to the Press Association, he said: “There was a moment of being flung into the chair in front, and then I saw smoke. People were crying, screaming, people were so scared and confused.

“I got up and I saw a lot of people who were unable to speak, had broken legs, and then I managed to get out of the train and because I’m quite thin I was able to squeeze out through the gap in the doors.”

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Dr Knapp said he saw people with ‘life-threatening, major injuries, minor injuries’ as well as ‘people with bandages, people who couldn’t see straight’, while others like him were still able to walk. He said: “I’ve got blood all over my trousers and my back hurts like hell but I’m all right.”

Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer described the crash as ‘hugely concerning’ and said he is ‘grateful to the emergency services for their swift response to this tragic incident’. Air ambulance helicopters were on the ground after the collision happened just south of the Elstow interchange between the A421 and the A6.

There was a long line of emergency vehicles on a rural road as emergency crews and passengers gathered in a neighbouring field. Members of the public were asked to avoid the scene of the crash, while Bedford Hospital and Luton and Dunstable University Hospital both asked people not to attend their emergency departments ‘unless they have a genuine medical emergency’ as they responded to the incident.

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EMR trains to and from the London were suspended for the rest of the day. Online train trackers show the rolling stock involved in the crash were a class 360 and class 810, with the front of the former hitting the rear of the latter.

EMR began rolling out class 810s in December last year, while class 360s are at least 20 years old. A spokesperson for Network Rail, which manages Britain’s rail infrastructure, said: “We are supporting the efforts of emergency services on scene and our thoughts are with everyone involved.”

Meanwhile, Eddie Dempsey, the general secretary of the National Union of Rail, Maritime and Transport Workers (RMT), confirmed the person killed in the train crash near Bedford was the driver of one of the trains. He said: “We are devastated to learn that a train driver and former RMT rep has tragically died as a result of today’s crash between Luton and Bedford.

“The thoughts of RMT are with their family, friends, colleagues and the Aslef trade union at this awful time.”

A fire erupted at an elementary school in central Tokyo, Japan, on Friday, prompting the swift evacuation of nearly 300 students and teachers.

At least 11 people were injured, some due to smoke inhalation, according to Japanese media reports. The injured were taken to a local hospital.

Among the injured were a teacher with a broken hip and two children with broken arms. Officials confirmed that all individuals were accounted for.

The Tokyo Fire Department said the blaze at Takinogawa No 3 Elementary School started at around 11am on Friday, originating near a music room on the top floor of the four-storey building.

It was extinguished in about three hours after damaging a part of the building.

Television footage captured thick black smoke billowing from fourth-floor windows as dozens of fire engines converged on the scene, with crews battling the flames.

Police said a class of fifth graders was being held in the music room where the fire began. Pupils reported a burning smell from a room used to store musical instruments, and a teacher saw smoke when he opened the door.

A fire alarm went off, but the sprinkler system did not work.

An 11-year-old boy told Kyodo News that he was in an English class when he heard people shouting “run!”

He said that, even though he was frightened, he repeated his teacher’s call for students to stay calm.

An employee of a company close to the school said he was “surprised by a fire alarm” and went outside to find many pupils in the schoolyard.

“Red flames were emerging from the school, and the sky became completely black due to the smoke,” they said.

Firefighters successfully rescued one teacher and several schoolchildren from the premises, all of whom sustained non-life-threatening injuries.

All other occupants of the building had independently evacuated to a nearby park, ensuring no one was left behind.

The cause of the fire is currently under investigation.