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The US and Russia have different accounts of what caused an American drone to crash into the Black Sea on Tuesday.

It is the first time the two powers have come into direct contact since the Ukraine war started last year.

‘Something clearly went wrong’; follow Ukraine latest

American officials say two Russian fighter jets deliberately intercepted the ‘unmanned aerial vehicle’, while Moscow claims the US was flying too close to its territory.

Here Sky News looks at what we know so far.

What happened?

The US regularly uses spy drones to gather intelligence around Ukraine, including the MQ-9 Reaper.

Reapers can be flown remotely up to 50,000ft. They are used primarily for surveillance but can be equipped with missiles for attack missions.

MQ-9 Reaper drone. AP file pic
Image:
MQ-9 Reaper drone. AP file pic

Defence analyst Professor Michael Clarke tells Sky News: “The Americans had a surveillance drone going round in circles over the Black Sea.

“It was almost certainly just surveying, picking up intelligence from on the ground. The Russians always try to put them off and buzz them with their aircraft.”

On this occasion, two Russian Su-27 fighter jets tried to intercept the drone by flying in front and dumping fuel on top of it in an effort to blind or damage it, US officials say.

This went on for 30 or 40 minutes on Tuesday morning before one of the Su-27s clipped the rear propeller of the Reaper somewhere between Crimea and Odesa.

Due to the damage, the Americans were forced to crash it into the water.

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What has the US said?

The US Department of Defense has said the fighter jet’s contact with the drone forced it to crash land.

“Several times before the collision, the Su-27s dumped fuel on, and flew in front of the MQ-9 in a reckless, environmentally unsound and unprofessional manner,” US Air Forces Europe and Air Forces Africa commander James B. Hecker said.

The US says it was conducting routine operations in international airspace and that the Russian interception was “unsafe and unprofessional” and “demonstrates a lack of competence”.

Its European command also insists that while Reapers can carry weapons for attack missions, the one involved on Tuesday was only for intelligence.

What does Russia say?

The Kremlin says the American drone was flying too close to Crimea, which it annexed in 2014 and claims as its own territory.

Russia has also falsely declared the area a no-fly zone – describing the incident as a “provocation”.

Russian ambassador to the US, Anatoly Antonov, said: “The unacceptable actions of the United States military in the close proximity to our borders are cause for concern.

“If, for example, a Russian strike drone appeared near New York or San Francisco, how would the US Air Force and Navy react?”

Russian Air Force Su-27 Russian Knights jet fighters. File pic.
Image:
Russian Air Force Su-27 jet fighters. File pic

Although the Su-27 carries a 30mm gun, Moscow says it “did not use airborne weapons” on this occasion.

It also claims its jet “did not come into contact” with the Reaper and the crash was a result of “sharp manoeuvring”.

Professor Clarke added: “In my mind, something clearly went wrong.

“Any pilot of a jet who could deliberately fly into a propeller of a drone that goes so slowly is a complete idiot.

“It’s much more likely that it was an accident and the pilot hit the propeller.”

What happens now?

While the Soviet-era jet managed to return back to base safely, the US drone has not been recovered.

According to Sky News security and defence editor Deborah Haynes: “The Americans will have done all they can to make sure that anything secret is not accessible, deleted, destroyed.”

Russian ambassador Mr Antonov was summoned to the US on Tuesday when he said Russia does not want any direct confrontation with Washington.

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Professor Clarke says the “back and forth” between the two sides is likely to continue in the coming days.

“The US is gathering information all the time and you wouldn’t expect the Russians to like what’s going on and not try and disrupt it.

“That game has been going on for a couple of months now.

“But now instead of it just between a competition between US intelligence and Russian aircraft, it’s become an international incident.”

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Israel warns Gaza City residents to flee south to ‘humanitarian area’

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Israel warns Gaza City residents to flee south to 'humanitarian area'

Any remaining residents in Gaza’s largest city should leave for a designated area in the south, Israel’s military has warned.

Israeli forces are carrying out an offensive on suburbs of Gaza City, in the territory’s north, as part of plans to capture it – raising concern over an already-devastating humanitarian crisis.

While Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has faced pressure to stop the attack and allow more aid in, the military has announced a new humanitarian zone in the south.

Spokesperson Avichay Adraee said Gaza City residents should head to a designated coastal area of Khan Younis.

There, he said they would be able to receive food, medical care and shelter.

On Thursday, Israel said it has control of around 40% of Gaza City and 75% of the entire territory of Gaza.

Many of the city’s residents had already been displaced earlier in the war, only to return later. Some of them have said they will refuse to move again.

That’s despite the military claiming it is within a few kilometres of the city centre, coming after weeks of heavy strikes.

But the war in Gaza has left Israel increasingly isolated in the diplomatic sphere, with some of its closest allies condemning the campaign that’s devastated the territory.

Just two weeks ago, a famine was declared in Gaza City and surrounding areas by the Integrated Food Security Phase Classification, a globally recognised system for classifying the severity of food insecurity.

A resident runs with his belongings in Gaza City. Pic: Reuters
Image:
A resident runs with his belongings in Gaza City. Pic: Reuters

There is also concern within Israel, where calls have grown to stop the war and secure the release of the remaining 48 hostages.

Israel believes 20 of those hostages are still alive.

Even as relatives of those hostages lead protests, Mr Netanyahu continues to push for an all-or-nothing deal to release all hostages and defeat Hamas.

Read more:
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On Friday, Donald Trump said Washington is in “very deep” negotiations with Hamas to release the captives.

“We said let them all out, right now let them all out. And much better things will happen for them but if you don’t let them all out, it’s going to be a tough situation, it’s going to be nasty,” he added.

Hamas is “asking for some things that are fine”, he said, without elaborating.

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‘Don’t bite me’: Man heard screaming moments before fatal shark attack in Sydney

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'Don't bite me': Man heard screaming moments before fatal shark attack in Sydney

A man was heard screaming in the water moments before he died after a shark attack in Sydney, witnesses have said.

Emergency services responded to reports that a man in his 50s had suffered critical injuries at Long Reef Beach shortly after 10am (1am in the UK) on Saturday.

The man, whose identity has yet to be confirmed, was brought to shore but died at the scene, authorities have said.

Two sections of a surfboard have been recovered and taken for examination, and beaches near the area are closed as drones search for the animal.

Police are liaising with wildlife experts to determine the species of shark involved.

Pic: Sky News Australia
Image:
Pic: Sky News Australia

Surfer screamed ‘don’t bite me’

Speaking to Sky News Australia, witness Mark Morgenthal said he saw the attack and that the shark was one of the biggest he had ever seen.

“There was a guy screaming, ‘I don’t want to get bitten, I don’t want to get bitten, don’t bite me,’ and I saw the dorsal fin of the shark come up, and it was huge,” Mr Morgenthal said.

“Then I saw the tail fin come up and start kicking, and the distance between the dorsal fin and the tail fin looked to be about four metres, so it actually looked like a six-metre shark.”

Mark Morgenthal said it 'looked like a six metre shark' in the attack. Pic: Sky News Australia
Image:
Mark Morgenthal said it ‘looked like a six metre shark’ in the attack. Pic: Sky News Australia

Victim was a father and experienced surfer

New South Wales Police Superintendent John Duncan said at a press conference that the victim was 57 years old, calling the incident a “terrible tragedy”.

“The gentleman had gone out about 9.30 this morning with some of his friends, about five or six of his mates,” he added. “He’s an experienced surfer that we understand.

“Unfortunately, it would appear that a large, what we believe to be a shark, has attacked him. And as a result of that, he lost a number of limbs.

“His colleagues managed to make it back to the beach safely, and a short time later, his body was found floating in the surf, and a couple of other people went out and recovered it.”

Mr Duncan added that officers “understand he leaves behind a wife and a young daughter… and obviously tomorrow being Father’s Day is particularly critical and particularly tragic”.

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Local surfer and eyewitness Bill Sakula also told reporters at the beach: “It’s going to send shockwaves through the community.

“Everyone is going to be a little bit nervous for a while.”

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Surf Life Saving NSW has deployed a drone to search for further shark activity.

Its chief executive Steve Pearce said: “Our deepest condolences go to the family of the man involved in this terrible tragedy.”

Shark attacks are very rare, with this incident widely thought to be the first in New South Wales this year.

The last time a person in Sydney was killed in a shark attack was in February 2022 – the city’s first fatal shark attack since 1963.

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British couple killed in Lisbon funicular crash named

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British couple killed in Lisbon funicular crash named

Two of the three Britons killed in the Lisbon funicular crash have been named.

Kayleigh Smith, 36, and William Nelson, 44, were a couple and died alongside 14 others in Wednesday’s incident.

Ms Smith graduated from the Arden School of Theatre in Manchester, where Mr Nelson ran the master’s degree in directing.

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Lisbon crash: What happened?

The identity of the third British victim has not yet been confirmed.

MADS theatre in Macclesfield, Cheshire, said Ms Smith was a “valued member of our society” who will be “greatly missed”.

It said she was an award-winning director and actress, who had also done multiple crew and front-of-house roles.

Five Portuguese citizens died when the packed carriage plummeted out of control – four of them workers at a charity on the hill – but most victims were foreigners.

Police said the other fatalities were two Canadians, two South Koreans, one American, one French citizen, one Swiss and one Ukrainian.

All but one were declared dead at the scene – and 21 others in the packed carriage were injured.

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‘We felt no brakes anymore’

The yellow carriages of the Gloria funicular are a big draw for tourists, as well as a proud symbol of the Portuguese capital.

The journey is just 265m (870ft) up a steep hill and takes three minutes, with two carriages travelling in opposite directions on a linked cable.

Read more:
Everything we know about the Lisbon crash

Witnesses reported seeing one of the carriages hurtle down the hill before derailing and crashing 30m from the bottom.

The aftermath shows it crumpled and twisted against the side of a building.

People who were in the bottom carriage said they were a few metres into the climb when it started going backwards.

When they saw the other car speeding towards them, many jumped through the windows to escape.

The crash happened around 6pm on Wednesday. Pic: Reuters
Image:
The crash happened around 6pm on Wednesday. Pic: Reuters

Prime Minister Luis Montenegro called the crash “one of the biggest tragedies of our recent past” and authorities are under intense pressure to quickly identifying the cause.

One witness who was in the lower carriage told Sky’s Europe correspondent Alistair Bunkall that the brakes appeared to fail.

The carriage’s brakeman, Andre Marques, has also been confirmed among the dead.

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‘I screamed, we’re all going to die’

Officials said the streetcar, which has been running since 1914, had a half-hour visual inspection every day and underwent full maintenance last year.

The line links the downtown area near Restauradores Square with Lisbon’s Bairro Alto neighbourhood.

A preliminary technical report due on Friday has now been delayed until Saturday. Another report with a broader scope is expected within 45 days.

Three other funicular lines in Lisbon have been suspended.

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