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Stefanos Tsitsipas was forced to plead with an umpire on Wednesday to have a fan kicked out of his tennis match after accusing her of buzzing before he served.

The Greek world number 4 approached the umpire to say there was “a person imitating a bee” behind him at the Western and Southern Open in Ohio.

The 25-year-old didn’t immediately recognise it was a spectator making the noise at first – at one point, waving his racket in the air, attempting to swat away the non-existent bee.

However, he eventually clocked that the noise was coming from the seats behind him.

“It’s a buzz right before I serve,” he said.

Pic: AP
Image:
Pic: AP

The umpire said he would “take care of it”, but Tsitsipas went to a group of people behind him to find out who the culprit was.

One fan immediately pointed at a woman in the front row. His opponent, American Ben Shelton, also came over to find out what was going on.

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“I know they’re supporting the [other player],” Tsitsipas said to the umpire.

“I want her out. She needs to go,” he added.

Stefanos Tsitsipas Pic: AP
Image:
Stefanos Tsitsipas Pic: AP

He went over to the fan and they spoke for several minutes, however it’s not known what was said.

Tsitsipas won, 7-6 (7-3), 7-6 (7-2), but then lost in the round of 16 to Hubert Hurkacz of Poland.

He lost to Novak Djokovic in the Australian Open final in January, went out in the quarter-final of the French Open to Carlos Alcaraz in June, and was dismissed by Christopher Eubanks in the round of 16 at Wimbledon in July.

Tsitispas is seeded fifth for the US Open in New York later this month.

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Europeans win in UN clash with US over rival resolutions on Ukraine war

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Europeans win in UN clash with US over rival resolutions on Ukraine war

The US has abstained from a UN General Assembly vote on a resolution it drafted on the war in Ukraine after the body approved amendments proposed by European countries.

The vote took place on the same day the 193-member assembly approved a competing European-backed resolution from Ukraine which demanded Russia immediately withdraw from the country.

The duelling proposals reflect the tensions that have emerged between the US and Ukraine after Donald Trump suddenly opened negotiations with Russia in a bid to quickly resolve the conflict.

It also underscores the strain in the US’ relationship with Europe over the Trump administration’s decision to engage with Moscow.

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The US-drafted resolution, marking the third anniversary of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, had called for an end to the conflict but did not mention Moscow’s aggression.

It also made no mention of Ukraine’s territorial integrity.

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However, it was amended after European nations said that it should include references to Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine and the need for a lasting peace in line with the UN Charter.

It was also amended to include references to Ukraine’s sovereignty.

The amended US-drafted resolution won 93 votes in favour, while 73 states abstained – including the US – and eight – including Russia – voted no.

Meanwhile, there were 93 votes in favour of the Ukraine-backed resolution, while 65 abstained and 18 voted against it.

The UK, France and Germany were among the countries that voted in favour of the Ukraine-backed resolution, which called for a “comprehensive, just and lasting peace in Ukraine”.

The US, Russia, Belarus and North Korea were among those that opposed it.

The US voted against Ukraine's resolution. Pic: AP
Image:
The US voted against Ukraine’s resolution. Pic: AP

The outcome marks a setback for the Trump administration in the UN General Assembly, whose resolutions are not legally binding but are seen as a barometer of world opinion.

However, the result also shows some diminished support for Ukraine – as more than 140 nations had voted to condemn Russia’s aggression in previous votes.

The United States had tried to pressure the Ukrainians to withdraw their resolution in favour of its proposal, according to a US official and a European diplomat.

US deputy ambassador Dorothy Shea, meanwhile, said multiple previous UN resolutions condemning Russia and demanding the withdrawal of Russian troops “have failed to stop the war,” which “has now dragged on for far too long and at far too terrible a cost to the people in Ukraine and Russia and beyond”.

“What we need is a resolution marking the commitment from all UN member states to bring a durable end to the war,” Ms Shea said.

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Dorothy Shea said the war has 'dragged on too long'. Pic: Reuters
Image:
Dorothy Shea said the war has ‘dragged on too long’. Pic: Reuters

The world is marking the third anniversary of Russia’s war in Ukraine as America’s allies try to navigate a new reality as Washington’s stance appears to favour Moscow.

European leaders were dismayed last week when they and Ukraine were left out of preliminary talks on ending the conflict.

Mr Trump has called Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy a “dictator,” falsely accused Kyiv of starting the war and warned that he “better move fast or he is not going to have a country left”.

Mr Zelenskyy responded by saying the US president was living in a Russian-made “disinformation space”.

Meanwhile, French President Emmanuel Macron is at the White House holding talks with Mr Trump to discuss a peace plan for Ukraine.

At the start of the meeting, Mr Trump told reporters Russian President Vladimir Putin will accept European peacekeepers in Ukraine as part of a potential deal to end the war in the country.

Mr Trump and Mr Macron have been meeting after the pair had earlier joined a call between G7 leaders.

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Trump on Ukraine’s territory: ‘We’ll see’

UK Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer, who will meet with Mr Trump at the White House on Thursday, appeared virtually and said G7 nations should be ready to “take on more risk”.

Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, who was in Kyiv, called Russia’s aggression a war on “our way of life”.

European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen said Europe’s “first priority” is to strengthen Ukraine’s resistance.

She said this includes speeding up the delivery of weapons and increasing investment, announcing a further €3.5bn (about £3bn) in aid for Ukraine.

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Diverted American Airlines flight escorted by Italian fighter jets after ‘bomb threat’

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Diverted American Airlines flight escorted by Italian fighter jets after 'bomb threat'

An American Airlines flight travelling from New York to New Delhi was diverted midair due to a “bomb threat”.

Flight 292 landed at Rome’s Leonardo da Vinci Rome Fiumicino Airport “due to a possible security issue,” the airline said in a statement on Sunday, adding later the threat “was determined to be non-credible”.

The airline did not clarify what the security issue was, but a source familiar with the situation told Sky News’ US partner network NBC News it was a bomb threat sent via email.

The Federal Aviation Administration said the crew reported the security issue.

“Safety and security are our top priorities, and we apologise to our customers for the inconvenience,” the airline said in a statement.

An American Airlines plane is seen from the cockpit of an Italian Air Force Eurofighter aircraft, as it is escorted, in this handout photo obtained by Reuters on February 23, 2025. Italian Air Force/Handout via REUTERS THIS IMAGE HAS BEEN SUPPLIED BY A THIRD PARTY
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The view from the cockpit of the fighter jet. Pic: Italian air force/Reuters

An Italian Air Force Eurofighter aircraft escorts an American Airlines plane in this handout photo obtained by Reuters on February 23, 2025. Italian Air Force/Handout via REUTERS THIS IMAGE HAS BEEN SUPPLIED BY A THIRD PARTY
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Pic: Italian air force/Reuters

The flight requested a diversion to Rome’s Leonardo da Vinci Rome Fiumicino Airport at around 2pm local time, Roberto Rao, a spokesperson for the airport.

“We immediately agreed and organised a safe landing,” Mr Rao told NBC News.

“We don’t know what the security concern was, but my opinion is that it was serious enough to divert the plane, but not urgent, because we received the alert when the plane was over the Caspian Sea, a three hours’ flight from Rome.”

Once in Italian airspace, the plane was escorted by two Italian air force fighter jets and landed in Rome at around 5.30pm local time.

American Airlines flight AA292 en route from New York to New Delhi that turned around over the Caspian Sea Sunday, Feb. 23, 2025, sits on the tamarack of Rome's Leonardo da Vinci International airport. (AP Photo/Kirsty Wigglesworth)
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The flight on the ground in Rome. Pic: AP

‘What’s going on here?’

Neeraj Chopra, one of the 199 passengers on board, said the captain announced the plane had to turn around about three hours before it was supposed to land in New Delhi because of a change in “security status”.

Mr Chopra, who was traveling to India to visit family, described the mood on board as calm until the captain later announced that fighter jets would be escorting their plane to Rome.

“I felt a little panic of, okay, what’s going on here?” Mr Chopra told the Associated Press. “There’s got to be like something bigger going on here.”

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Jonathan Bacon, 22, added that once on the ground, all passengers were loaded on to buses and taken to the terminal, where each passenger and their personal items underwent additional security screenings that were time-consuming and felt “slightly heightened”.

More than two hours after landing, Mr Bacon and his friend said they were still waiting for their checked baggage. “It was definitely the longest flight to Europe I’ve ever taken,” he said.

American Airlines said the plane was inspected and cleared to depart again for New Delhi “as soon as possible” on Monday, after the crew gets some rest.

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At least three dead after boat capsizes off New York coast

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At least three dead after boat capsizes off New York coast

At least three people have died and two are injured after a boat capsized off the coast of New York, police in the US have said.

The vessel sent out a distress call from the Ambrose Channel just after noon on Sunday.

One of the injured is in a critical condition and another is described as stable, NBC, Sky’s US partner, said.

Five people were rescued from the water after the New York Fire Department (FDNY), the New York Police Department (NYPD), and the US Coast Guard responded to the call for help.

The boat capsized in an area known as Breezy Point, NBC said, quoting the NYPD.

Breezy Point is “a neighborhood at the tip of Queens’ Rockaway peninsula,” according to NBC New York, citing the Coast Guard.

Six people were said to be in the water after the boat capsized, the FDNY said.

Two of the victims were airlifted to Staten Island University Hospital and three were taken to Coast Guard Station Sandy Hook, where its emergency medical crews were waiting to treat them, the agency said.

Four of the five people rescued from the sinking boat were unresponsive, and some of them were given CPR, the Coast Guard said.

The Coast Guard said on Sunday night it is still searching for one person missing in the water roughly five miles (8km) southeast of Breezy Point.

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Nothing else is known about the victims or what kind of boat was involved.

Police said it is not clear what happened but it did not appear the vessel collided with another boat. The Coast Guard said it was notified of a “vessel taking on water” and described the boat as “sinking”.

The investigation is ongoing.

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