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Driving through western Jamaica, it’s staggering how wide Hurricane Melissa’s field of destruction is.

Town after town, miles apart, where trees have been uprooted and roofs peeled back.

Some homes are now just a pile of rubble, and we still don’t know how deadly this storm has been, although authorities warn the death toll will likely rise.

A total of 49 people have died in Melissa’s charge across the Caribbean – 19 in Jamaica alone.

Roads are still flooded in Jamaica
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Roads are still flooded in Jamaica

The storm has blown over telephone poles, which are blocking the roads
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The storm has blown over telephone poles, which are blocking the roads

My team and I headed from Kingston airport, towards where the hurricane made landfall, referred to as “ground zero” of this crisis.

On the way, it’s clear that so many communities here have been brought to their knees and so many people are desperate for help.

We drive under a snarl of mangled power lines and over huge piles of rocks before reaching the town of Lacovia in Saint Elizabeth Parish.

The hurricane stripped the entire roof off this church
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The hurricane stripped the entire roof off this church

Many children live in homes with caved-in roofs
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Many children live in homes with caved-in roofs

At the side of the road, beside a battered and sodden primary school, a woman wearing a red shirt and black tracksuit bottoms holds a handwritten sign in the direction of passing cars.

“Help needed at this shelter,” it says. The woman’s name is Sheree McLeod, and she is an admin assistant at the school.

She is in charge of a makeshift shelter in the school, a temporary home for at least 16 people between the ages of 14 and 86.

I stop and ask what she needs and almost immediately she begins to cry.

The primary school that has been housing those with no other place to stay
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The primary school that has been housing those with no other place to stay

‘No emergency teams’

“I’ve never seen this in my entire life,” she says. “It’s heartbreaking, I never thought in a million years that I would be in the situation trying to get help and with literally no communication.

“We can’t reach any officials, there are no emergency teams. I’m hoping and praying that help can reach us soon.

“The task of a shelter manager is voluntary and the most I can do is just ask for help in whatever way possible.”

Read more:
Before and after images show hurricane’s destruction
What we know from the ground following the devastation

Sheree McLeod pleads for help for those sheltering at the school
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Sheree McLeod pleads for help for those sheltering at the school

At least 16 people currently live at the school, which is being used as a temporary shelter
Image:
At least 16 people currently live at the school, which is being used as a temporary shelter

Sheree shows me the classroom where she and 15 other people rode out the hurricane which she says hung over the town for hours.

They had just a sheet of tarpaulin against the window shutters to try to repel gusts of more than 170mph and a deluge of rain.

They took a white board off the wall to try to get more shelter.

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Hurricane Melissa was ‘traumatising’

“It was very terrible,” Sheree says. “We were given eight blankets for the shelter and that was it, but there were 16 people.

“Now all their clothes and blankets that they were provided with got damaged. Some people are sleeping in chairs and on wooden desks.”

Her plea for help is echoed across this part of Jamaica.

Toppled-over chairs and rubbish line a classroom in the school
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Toppled-over chairs and rubbish line a classroom in the school

The water tank at the school has run out
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The water tank at the school has run out

As we’re filming a pile of wooden slats that used to be a house, a passing motorcyclist shouts: “Send help, Jamaica needs help now.”

The relief effort is intensifying. After I leave Sheree, a convoy of army vehicles speed past in the direction of Black River, the town at the epicentre of this disaster.

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Diggers work to clear debris from the road late into the night. Ambulance sirens also grow more regular as the day goes on.

Help is coming and for many here, it can’t come soon enough.

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Who were the suspected gunmen in Bondi Beach terror attack?

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Who were the suspected gunmen in Bondi Beach terror attack?

A father and son have been identified as the suspected gunmen in the terror attack on a Jewish event in Bondi Beach which killed at least 15 people.

More than 1,000 people were celebrating the Jewish festival of Hanukkah on the beach on Sunday evening when two people opened fire on them.

Those killed in the attack range from 10 years of age to 87, including a rabbi and a Holocaust survivor, while 38 others have been injured.

One of the alleged gunmen has been named by New South Wales (NSW) police as 24-year-old Naveed Akram, while the other has been identified as his 50-year-old father Sajid Akram.

How did they carry out the attack?

Footage shows the gunmen start firing into the crowd from a footbridge that leads over a car park to the beach.

Sky News has identified from the footage that the younger gunman was using a rifle, while the older one was using a semi-automatic shotgun.

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What’s been said about the gunmen

Police commissioner Mal Lanyon said officers searched two properties in connection with the suspects and found that the father had six firearms licenced to him.

Follow live: 15 people and gunman killed in shooting

He said they were confident that those firearms were the six found at the scene of the shooting.

More footage from the scene showed that a man, later identified as 43-year-old fruit shop owner Ahmed al Ahmed, tackled and disarmed one of the gunmen, believed to be the father Sajid, before pointing his own weapon at him, which was empty.

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Moment ‘hero’ disarmed gunman

The footage then showed the disarmed gunman running towards where the other gunman was located. Mr Ahmed was shot twice in the incident and required surgery, his family said.

The shooting is estimated to have gone on for roughly 10 minutes from 6.47pm. Eventually, the police took down the gunmen 75 seconds apart on the bridge.

Read more:
The victims of Bondi terror attack
Eyewitness accounts of ‘utter panic and chaos’

The father was killed at the scene by police, while the son was shot and wounded.

He is being treated at a hospital, according to police. Mr Lanyon said he “may well” face criminal charges.

In an update on Monday, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese told ABC that the suspect was in a coma.

He also said there were a range of IEDs and “explosive devices” in their car that they intended to use to “cause further damage”.

What do we know about their backgrounds?

Sajid Akram arrived in Australia in 1998 on a student visa and transferred to a partner visa three years later, before becoming a permanent resident, according to Home Affairs Minister Tony Burke. Officials have not disclosed what country he migrated from.

He had his gun licence for approximately a decade and held a gun club membership, Mr Lanyon said.

The younger suspect was an Australian-born citizen who first came to the attention of the Australian Security Intelligence Organisation (ASIO) in October 2019, Mr Albanese told reporters.

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Younger gunman was part of 2019 ‘investigation’

“He was examined on the basis of being associated with others and the assessment was made that there was no indication of any ongoing threat or threat of him engaging in violence,” Mr Albanese said.

Mr Albanese said the suspect was investigated for six months over his connections to two people who later went to jail, one man for planning terror attacks.

He said he was not put on a watch list because the investigation uncovered no evidence that he was planning or considering any act of antisemitic violence.

Neither the father nor son have been on the ASIO’s radar since the 7 October Hamas attacks, he added.

What do we know about the motives?

New South Wales Police designated the attack a terrorist incident, and Mr Lanyon said a “significant investigation” would be led by counterterrorism and that “no stone will be left unturned”.

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Community mourns after attack

“When I asked for calm, that is really important,” he said. “This is not a time for retribution. This is a time to allow the police to do their duty. So police are responding to make sure that all of the community is safe.”

Mr Albanese called the massacre an act of antisemitic terrorism that struck at the heart of the nation.

On Monday, he said the attackers were “two evil people… driven by ideology” whose actions were the result of an “extreme perversion of Islam”.

NSW Premier Chris Minns said after the attack: “This attack was designed to target Sydney’s Jewish community on the first day of Hanukkah. What should have been a night of peace and joy celebrated in that community with families and supporters has been shattered by this horrifying, evil attack.”

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Briton Jimmy Lai found guilty of national security offences in Hong Kong

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Briton Jimmy Lai found guilty of national security offences in Hong Kong

Pro-democracy campaigner Jimmy Lai has been found guilty of national security offences in Hong Kong.

The media tycoon and British citizen, 78, was arrested in August 2020 after China imposed a national security law following massive anti-government protests in Hong Kong.

Sky News’ Asia correspondent Helen-Ann Smith, who is at West Kowloon Law Courts Building, said Mr Lai looked “drawn and thin” as he listened to the verdict being delivered.

He had previously been sentenced for several lesser offences during his five years in prison.

Mr Lai, who founded the now-defunct pro-democracy newspaper Apple Daily, was charged with two counts of conspiracy to commit collusion with foreign forces to endanger national security, as well as one count of conspiracy to distribute seditious publications.

He has been found guilty of all three charges.

His trial, heard by three judges approved by the government without a jury present, has been closely monitored by the UK, the US, the European Union and political observers as a barometer of media freedom and judicial independence in the former British colony, which returned to Chinese rule in 1997.

More on China

Mr Lai has spent more than 1,800 days in solitary confinement. His family say his health has worsened as a result and that he suffers from diabetes, high blood pressure and heart palpitations.

In August, Mr Lai’s son, Sebastien, told Sky News that unless the British government (of which Mr Lai is a citizen) intervenes, his father “is most likely going to die in jail”.

Lai arriving at court in 2020. Pic: AP
Image:
Lai arriving at court in 2020. Pic: AP


Sebastien said his father’s death would not just be a personal tragedy, but a huge problem for both the Hong Kong authorities and Beijing’s government.

“You can’t tell the world you have the rule of law, the free press and all these values that are instrumental to a financial centre and still have my father in jail,” he told Sky News.

“And if he dies, that’s it, that’s a comma on Hong Kong as a financial centre.”

This breaking news story is being updated and more details will be published shortly.

Please refresh the page for the latest version.

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You can receive breaking news alerts on a smartphone or tablet via the Sky News app. You can also follow us on WhatsApp and subscribe to our YouTube channel to keep up with the latest news.

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Hero who tackled and disarmed Bondi Beach gunman is Sydney fruit shop owner

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Hero who tackled and disarmed Bondi Beach gunman is Sydney fruit shop owner

A bystander hailed a hero after he tackled and disarmed one of the gunmen in the Bondi Beach shooting is a shop owner.

The man, named by a relative as 43-year-old Ahmed al Ahmed, was seen in a video running up to the attacker from behind and then grabbing the shotgun from his hands before pointing the weapon back at him.

The footage then showed the terrorist heading towards a bridge where another gunman was located, while the bystander placed the gun beside a tree.

Ahmed al Ahmed (in a white T-shirt) is seen in a video running up to a gunman from behind
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Ahmed al Ahmed (in a white T-shirt) is seen in a video running up to a gunman from behind

Mr Ahmed then wrestles with the attacker
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Mr Ahmed then wrestles with the attacker

Live updates on Sydney shooting

Mr Ahmed, who was wearing a white T-shirt, was shot twice in the incident and was due to have surgery, his cousin, Mustafa, has revealed.

In a video on 7News, Mr Ahmed appeared to have a bloodied arm and hand, and was helped by other people near the scene in the Australian city.

At least 11 people were killed and 29 others injured in the attack when two gunmen opened fire from a bridge on crowds at a Jewish event around 6pm local time on Sunday evening.

More than 1,000 people had been at the gathering which was celebrating the festival of Hanukkah.

Mr Ahmed manages to get the gun off the terrorist
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Mr Ahmed manages to get the gun off the terrorist

The bystander then points the weapon at the attacker who moves away towards a bridge
Image:
The bystander then points the weapon at the attacker who moves away towards a bridge

A gunman was killed and another was in a critical condition following the shooting.

One of the suspects was 24-year-old Naveed Akram.

His driver’s licence says he lives in Bonnyrigg, a suburb of Sydney. The identity of the other suspected attacker is not known.

Naveed Akram, 24, was one of the suspects
Image:
Naveed Akram, 24, was one of the suspects

Mustafa said father-of-two Mr Ahmed, who owns a fruit shop in the Sydney suburb of Sutherland, did not have any experience with guns but was just walking past when he decided to step in.

He told 7News: “He’s in hospital and we don’t know exactly what’s going on inside.

“We do hope he will be fine. He’s a hero, 100%.”

Read more:
What we know about mass shooting

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One of the suspected gunmen has been named as 24-year-old Naveed Akram.

The footage of the bystander’s actions spread quickly on social media as people praised the man for his bravery, saying his actions had potentially saved many lives.

“Australian hero (random civilian) wrestles gun off attacker and disarms him. Some people are brave and then some people are… whatever this is,” one person said on X, sharing the video.

“This Australian man saved countless lives by stripping the gun off one of the terrorists at Bondi beach. HERO,” another said.

Chris Minns, the premier of New South Wales state, where Sydney is located, said it was the “most unbelievable scene I’ve ever seen”.

“A man walking up to a gunman who had fired on the community and single-handedly disarming him, putting his own life at risk to save the lives of countless other people.”

“That man is a genuine hero, and I’ve got no doubt that there are many, many people alive tonight as a result of his bravery,” he added.

The country’s prime minister Anthony Albanese praised the actions of Australians who had “run towards danger in order to help others”.

“These Australians are heroes and their bravery has saved lives,” he told a news conference.

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