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Hurricane Ian is gaining strength and veering towards the Carolinas – with uncertainty over how many fatalities the storm has caused in Florida.

This is one of the strongest-ever storms to hit the US – and emergency crews are trying to reach stranded Floridians after Ian cut a path of destruction across the state.

Early reports of ‘substantial loss of life’ – Hurricane Ian updates

Over 2.6 million power outages have been reported, with officials warning of treacherous floodwaters.

There was virtually no mobile phone service in some areas, and internet connectivity was also affected.

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Florida’s devastation seen from above

Florida Governor Ron DeSantis stopped short of confirming how many people have been killed, but said: “We fully expect to have mortality from this hurricane.”

And President Joe Biden said: “The numbers are still unclear, but we’re hearing early reports of what may be substantial loss of life.”

At least nine people have died following Hurricane Ian’s vicious lashing throughout Florida, according to an NBC News tally – although some other organisations place the number higher.

Two of the fatalities occurred in Sarasota, according to the county’s sheriff’s department. One person was confirmed dead in Volusia County and six more in Charlotte County.

Identifications have not been released and the state of Florida has refused to officially comment on fatalities.

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Biden: Storm could be ‘deadliest in Florida’s history’

‘It crushed us’

According to NBC News, at least 12 deaths have been linked to Hurricane Ian in Florida so far.

A 72-year-old man died after he went outside during the storm to drain his pool.

The sheriff of one of the hardest-hit areas – Lee County – told US media that deaths could be “in the hundreds” and that he had received thousands of 911 calls.

“It crushed us,” Sheriff Carmine Marceno said. “We still cannot access many of the people that are in need.”

There are fears that many in the hardest-hit areas were unable to call for help because of the outages to power and mobile phone networks.

Eyewitness: No one expected this storm to be so vicious

An aerial view of boats crashed in a harbor after Hurricane Ian caused widespread destruction in Fort Myers Beach, Florida, U.S., September 29, 2022. REUTERS/Shannon Stapleton
Sky News' Martha Kelner reports from the devastated town of Fort Myers Beach in Florida, devastated by Hurricane Ian.
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The devastated town of Fort Myers Beach in Florida

It’s not over yet – where is Ian heading next?

Ian is now back in the Atlantic Ocean, but is expected to make landfall again at 2pm local time (7pm UK time) later today as a category one hurricane.

Forecasts suggest it will bring life-threatening flooding, storm surge, strong winds and potentially landslides and tornadoes to Georgia as well as North and South Carolina.

North Carolina Governor Roy Cooper is urging residents to take precautions, and warned: “This storm is still dangerous.”

A hurricane warning is in effect for hundreds of miles of coastline.

In South Carolina, the city of Charleston is particularly at risk. A report commissioned by local officials suggests 90% of all residential properties are vulnerable to storm surge flooding.

Read more:
Residents describe escaping the eye of the storm
Dramatic before and after images show scale of destruction

An aerial view of a partially collapsed Sanibel Causeway after Hurricane Ian caused widespread destruction, in Sanibel Island, Florida, U.S., September 29, 2022. REUTERS/Shannon Stapleton
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The partially collapsed Sanibel Causeway in Sanibel Island

Florida’s ‘historic’ damage

Mr DeSantis called the damage in Florida “historic” – and disaster officials believe thousands could be displaced in the long term.

Walt Disney World and other tourist attractions in central Florida appeared to have avoided severe damage from Ian, but many businesses on the state’s southwestern coast – also a tourist hotspot – were destroyed and face a long rebuilding process.

Mr Biden has declared a major disaster, releasing federal funds to pay for measures such as temporary housing for those displaced.

People paddle board through floodwaters in Orlando
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People paddle board through floodwaters in Orlando

Ian was a category four storm with winds up to 150mph when it struck southwest Florida on Wednesday, making it the joint fifth-strongest hurricane to hit the US.

At least 700 confirmed rescues have taken place across the state, with first responders going from door to door in Ian’s aftermath.

Locals are being urged to take care when using chainsaws and ladders – with emergency officials warning the number of “indirect deaths” during the clean-up could exceed fatalities caused by the hurricane itself.

Most schools in Florida are expected to reopen today or on Monday, and flights from Orlando Airport are set to resume in the coming hours.

‘Climate change means more storms like Ian’

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How climate change is fuelling hurricanes

Preliminary reports from scientists who study extreme weather suggest human-caused climate change increased Hurricane Ian’s rainfall by 10%.

A warmer atmosphere can contain more water vapour. Researcher Michael Wehner of Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory said: “Climate change didn’t cause the storm, but it did cause it to be wetter.”

MIT atmospheric scientist Kerry Emanuel added: “This business about very, very heavy rain is something we’ve expected to see because of climate change.

“We’ll see more storms like Ian.”

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Trump doubles down on Putin criticism – as Russia offers Ukraine a date and location for peace talks

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Trump doubles down on Putin criticism - as Russia offers Ukraine a date and location for peace talks

Donald Trump has doubled down on his criticism of Vladimir Putin – adding he will know soon if the Russian leader is just “tapping” him along.

The US president told reporters at the White House that he believed his counterpart in Moscow may be intentionally delaying ceasefire talks, while he also expressed disappointment at heavy Russian bombing over the weekend.

While Mr Trump has so far stopped short of imposing sanctions – to avoid, he says, “screwing up” negotiations – he warned his stance could change.

Ukraine Q&A: Are we any closer to war ending?

The president said: “We’re going to find out whether or not he’s tapping us along or not, and if he is, we’ll respond a little differently,” adding that he “can’t tell you” if Mr Putin wanted peace.

Donald Trump. Pic: Reuters
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Donald Trump. Pic: Reuters

His comments in the Oval Office came minutes after Russia’s foreign minister announced that the Kremlin had offered Ukraine a second round of talks on 2 June in Istanbul.

Kyiv did not immediately respond to the proposal, which Sergei Lavrov said would see Moscow hand their proposals for a potential peace deal directly to Ukraine.

“We hope that all those who are sincerely, and not just in words, interested in the success of the peace process will support holding a new round of direct Russian-Ukrainian talks in Istanbul,” Mr Lavrov added.

Later on Wednesday, Ukraine’s defence minister Rustem Umerov said his government was “not against” further meetings, but called for Russia to deliver its memorandum to Kyiv beforehand.

The words that suggest Russia’s proposal for talks are just for show

By being the first to propose a date and location for the second round of direct talks, Russia is trying to portray itself as the principal driver towards peace.

Its recent barrage of attacks on Ukraine have drawn harsh words from Donald Trump.

This is an attempt to soothe his concerns and to show Washington that Moscow is still interested in a deal.

But it feels much more performative than anything else, because Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov’s statement makes it clear that Russia’s position hasn’t softened one bit.

Referring to a memorandum outlining the contours of a settlement, he said it details “all aspects of reliably overcoming the root causes of the crisis”.

In Moscow’s opinion, the “root causes” of the conflict were NATO expansion and the persecution of Russian speakers in eastern Ukraine.

So, if that’s the basis of its memorandum, then the document will essentially be a list of Moscow’s maximalist demands, including permanent neutrality for Ukraine.

Lavrov also confirmed that Russia’s delegation will again be led by Kremlin aide Vladimir Medinsky, who Kyiv last time dismissed as being too junior for the talks to achieve anything meaningful.

Expectations of a breakthrough at round two will be similarly low.

Meanwhile, Mr Lavrov also hit out at Germany for agreeing to finance the production of long-range missiles in Ukraine, accusing Berlin of showing it is “already a participant in the war”.

However, German leader Friedrich Merz declined to say that his country would hand over the Taurus missiles that Ukraine’s president Volodymyr Zelenskyy – who was in Berlin on Wednesday – has long wanted.

Ukraine’s need for ammunition has become all the more urgent after Russia launched some of the largest aerial assaults of the war so far over the weekend.

Read more:
Would ‘smart’ missiles allow Ukraine to hit key bridge?
Lavrov accuses West of secrecy over strikes

Russia said it had downed 296 Ukrainian drones over 13 regions overnight, while Ukraine said it had struck several weapon production sites.

Kyiv, in turn, said Moscow had launched 88 drones and five ballistic missiles since Tuesday.

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Hamas’s Gaza chief ‘eliminated’, says Netanyahu – but military sources say they cannot confirm death

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Hamas's Gaza chief 'eliminated', says Netanyahu - but military sources say they cannot confirm death

Hamas’s Gaza chief Mohammed Sinwar has been “eliminated”, according to Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

But Israeli military sources have said they are not yet able to confirm the death.

Hamas has also not yet confirmed the apparent killing of its leader.

Meanwhile, with Gaza on the brink of famine, the Palestinian ambassador to the United Nations broke down in tears as he spoke of the suffering of its people.

Riyad Mansour
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Palestinian ambassador Riyad Mansour broke down in tears as he spoke of the suffering of people in Gaza

Riyah Mansour told the Security Council: “Children are dying of starvation. The images of mothers embracing their motionless bodies. Caressing their hair, talking to them, apologising to them, is unbearable.”

He added: “I have grandchildren. I know what they mean to their families. And to see this situation over the Palestinians without us having hearts to do something is beyond the ability of any normal human being to tolerate. Flames and hunger are devouring Palestinian children. This is why we are so outraged as Palestinians everywhere.”

Sinwar was one of Israel‘s most wanted and the younger brother of the Palestinian militant group’s former leader Yahya Sinwar.

The older sibling was the mastermind of the October 7 2023 attack, which killed 1,200 people in Israel, with around 250 others taken hostage into Gaza.

The attack triggered Israel’s assault on Gaza which decimated the territory, with more than 53,000 people killed, mostly women and children, and over two million displaced, according to health officials, who do not distinguish between civilians and combatants in their tally of fatalities.

Yahya Sinwar.
File pic: AP
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Yahya Sinwar was killed by Israel in October 2024. File pic: AP

Yahya Sinwar was killed in a gun battle with Israeli troops in Gaza last October. His younger sibling was believed to have then become the head of Hamas’s armed wing.

Speaking to the Knesset on Wednesday, Mr Netanyahu included Mohammed Sinwar in a list of Hamas leaders killed in Israeli strikes. Later, Israel Defence Forces (IDF) sources said they were not yet able to confirm the death.

The prime minister said: “We have killed tens of thousands of terrorists. We killed (Mohammed) Deif, (Ismail) Haniyeh, Yahya Sinwar and Mohammed Sinwar.” He did not elaborate.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu speaks at a news conference on 21 May. Pic: AP
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Benjamin Netanyahu’s claimed could not be confirmed. Pic: AP

Mohammed Sinwar had reportedly been the target of an Israeli strike on a hospital in southern Gaza on 13 May and Mr Netanyahu said on 21 May that it was likely he had been killed.

The Israeli military had said it struck a Hamas command centre under the European Hospital in the Sinwars’ hometown of Khan Younis, and it declined to comment on whether Sinwar was targeted or killed.

At least six people were killed in the strike and 40 wounded, Gaza’s health ministry said at the time.

Sinwar rose through ranks

Like his older brother, Mohammed Sinwar joined Hamas after it was founded in the late 1980s as the Palestinian branch of the Muslim Brotherhood. He became a member of the group’s military wing, known as the Qassam Brigades.

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Sinwar rose through the ranks to become a member of its so-called joint chiefs of staff, bringing him close to its longtime commander, Deif, who was killed in a strike last year.

Read more from Sky News:
Humanitarian chief talks of Gaza ‘catastrophe’
UN boss condemns ‘teaspoon’ of aid allowed into Gaza

“In the last two days, we have been in a dramatic turn towards a complete defeat of Hamas,” the Israeli leader told the Knesset.

Mr Netanyahu also spoke about how Israel was “taking control of food distribution”, a reference to a new aid distribution system that has been criticised and boycotted by humanitarian groups and the UN.

One killed at site of aid hub

The development comes after one person was killed and 48 others injured when forces opened fire on a crowd that overwhelmed an aid hub in Gaza, according to local health officials.

Palestinians have become increasingly desperate for food after almost three months of Israeli border closures. A blockade has recently been eased.

People broke through fences around the distribution site on Wednesday, and a journalist with the Associated Press said they heard Israeli tank and gunfire, and saw a military helicopter firing flares.

It was not yet known whether the death and injuries were caused by Israeli forces, private contractors or others.

The Israeli and US-backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation, which set up the hub outside Rafah, said its military contractors had not fired on the crowd but “fell back” before resuming aid operations. Israel said its troops nearby had fired warning shots.

The UN and other humanitarian organisations have rejected the new system, saying it will not meet the needs of Gaza’s 2.3 million people and allows Israel to use food to control the population.

Israel has vowed to seize control of Gaza and fight until Hamas is destroyed or disarmed and exiled, and until the militant group returns the last 58 hostages, including around a third thought to be still alive.

‘This is a man-made catastrophe’

Meanwhile, a US trauma surgeon who has been working in Gaza urged the UN Security Council to not “claim ignorance” about the humanitarian devastation.

Dr Feroze Sidhwa said: “Let’s not forget, this is a man-made catastrophe. It is entirely preventable. Participating in it or not allowing it to happen is a choice.

“This is a deliberate denial of conditions necessary for life: food, shelter, water and medicine. Preventing genocide means refusing to normalise these atrocities.”

The UN World Health Organization has documented around 700 attacks on healthcare facilities in Gaza during the war. Israel accuses Hamas of using hospitals as command centres and to hide fighters.

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Andrew Tate and his brother Tristan charged with rape in the UK

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Andrew Tate and his brother Tristan charged with rape in the UK

Andrew Tate and his brother Tristan Tate have been charged with rape and other offences in the UK.

Andrew Tate, 38, faces 10 charges, including rape, actual bodily harm, human trafficking and controlling prostitution for gain, relating to three women.

His brother Tristan Tate, 36, faces 11 charges relating to one woman – including rape, actual bodily harm and human trafficking.

The charges were authorised in January 2024, but full details have only been released now.

Bedfordshire Police issued an international arrest warrant for the brothers over allegations, which they “unequivocally deny”, said to have occurred between 2012 and 2015.

The Tate brothers are facing separate allegations of trafficking minors, sexual intercourse with a minor and money laundering in Romania.

They are also accused of human trafficking and forming a criminal gang to sexually exploit women in a different case, which has been sent back to prosecutors.

They are due to be extradited to the UK following the conclusion of proceedings in Romania.

Andrew Tate and his brother Tristan outside a Bucharest court last month. File pic: Inquam Photos/Octav Ganea via Reuters
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Andrew Tate and his brother Tristan outside a Bucharest court in January. File pic: Inquam Photos/Octav Ganea via Reuters

A Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) spokesperson said: “We can confirm that we have authorised charges against Andrew and Tristan Tate for offences including rape, human trafficking, controlling prostitution and actual bodily harm against three women.

“These charging decisions followed receipt of a file of evidence from Bedfordshire Police.

“A European Arrest Warrant was issued in England in 2024, and as a result the Romanian courts ordered the extradition to the UK of Andrew and Tristan Tate.”

The spokesperson added: “However, the domestic criminal matters in Romania must be settled first.

“The Crown Prosecution Service reminds everyone that criminal proceedings are active, and the defendants have the right to a fair trial.

“It is extremely important that there be no reporting, commentary or sharing of information online which could in any way prejudice these proceedings.”

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Representatives for Andrew Tate have been contacted by Sky News for comment.

Lawyer Matt Jury, of McCue Jury & Partners, representing several alleged British victims of Andrew Tate, said: “We welcome the clarity from the Crown Prosecution Service that our authorities are working to ensure the Tates face justice here in the UK – they cannot be allowed to escape extradition.

“At the same time, we ask once more that CPS admit its mistake in failing to prosecute Tate when he lived in the UK and finally charge him for the rape and assault of the other three women, our clients, who originally filed criminal complaints against him as long ago as 2014 but were failed by the system.

“They deserve justice, too.”

The allegations were subject to a police investigation, which was closed in 2019.

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