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At least 40 people have been killed after gunmen burst into a concert hall in Moscow and fired at the crowd, according to Russia’s FSB security service.

The gunmen, wearing combat fatigues, also caused a huge blaze at the Crocus City Hall. Russian media reported the venue’s roof was collapsing.

The attack, which Russian authorities are investigating as terrorism, is Russia’s deadliest in recent years.

More than 100 were wounded, the FSB said. Russian media said children were among the dead, citing a Russian MP.

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Gunmen burst into concert hall

Footage taken inside the auditorium shows up to four gunmen firing automatic weapons as people crouch and hide behind seats.

Follow latest Russia shooting updates

A Russian National Guard serviceman in front of Crocus City Hall. Pic: AP
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A Russian National Guard serviceman in front of the burning Crocus City Hall concert venue. Pic: AP

Russian authorities stand guard near the burning Crocus City Hall concert venue. Pic: Reuters
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Russian authorities at the scene. Pic: Reuters

In other videos posted by Russian media and Telegram channels, extended rounds of gunfire could be heard while men with rifles moved through the venue’s mall.

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Russian news reports said the attackers threw explosives, triggering the massive blaze at the venue, where flames and plumes of black smoke could be seen rising into the air.

Reports said concertgoers were being evacuated but an unknown number could have been trapped by the blaze.

All tickets in the 6,200-seat concert hall for a performance by Soviet-era rock group Picnic had been sold out.

There were no immediate claims of responsibility for the raid.

Moscow Mayor Sergei Sobyanin described the attack as a “huge tragedy” and cancelled all mass gatherings scheduled for the weekend.

Russian authorities said security had been tightened at Moscow’s airports and railway stations.

Vehicles of Russian emergency services are parked near the burning Crocus City Hall concert venue following a reported shooting incident, outside Moscow, Russia, March 22, 2024. REUTERS/Maxim Shemetov
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Emergency service vehicles at the scene. Pic: Reuters

A massive blaze is seen at the Crocus City Hall. Pic: AP
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Thick black smoke rises into the sky from the Crocus City Hall concert venue. Pic: AP

President Vladimir Putin was receiving regular updates about the shooting, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said.

Two weeks ago the US embassy in Russia warned “extremists have imminent plans to attack large gatherings in Moscow, to include concerts”.

It issued the warning several hours after the FSB said it had foiled an attack on a synagogue in Moscow by an Islamic State cell.

Russian authorities stand guard. Pic: Reuters
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Russian authorities stand guard. Pic: Reuters

Men cover themselves with blankets near the burning Crocus City Hall. Pic: Reuters
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Men cover themselves with blankets near the burning venue. Pic: Reuters

Russian special operations forces near the Crocus City Hall concert venue. Pic: Reuters
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Russian special operations forces near Crocus City Hall. Pic: Reuters

White House national security adviser John Kirby said he could not yet speak about all the details but that “the images are just horrible. And just hard to watch”.

Mr Kirby said there was “no indication at this time that Ukraine, Ukrainians were involved”.

But Russia said if the US knew for sure Ukraine was not involved then it should share any information it had.

Russian foreign ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said: “On what basis do officials in Washington draw any conclusions in the midst of a tragedy about someone’s innocence?”

She said if Washington had information it should be shared and if it had no information it should not be talking in such a way.

Ukraine’s presidential adviser Mykhailo Podolyak said Kyiv had nothing to do with the attack.

“Let’s be straight about this: Ukraine had absolutely nothing to do with these events,” Mr Podolyak said.

“We have a full-scale, all-out war with the Russian regular army and with the Russian Federation as a country. And
regardless of everything, everything will be decided on the battlefield.”

It comes days after Mr Putin secured his fifth term as Russia’s president in an electoral landslide.

Russia was shaken by a series of deadly terror attacks in the early 2000s as it fought separatists in the Russian province of Chechnya.

In October 2002 Chechen militants took around 800 people hostage at a theatre in Moscow which was stormed by Russian special forces two days later, leaving 129 hostages and 41 Chechen fighters dead, most from the effects of the gas Russian forces used to subdue the attackers.

In September 2004 around 30 Chechen militants seized hundreds of hostages at a school in southern Russia. The siege ended in a bloodbath two days later with more than 330 people, about half of them children, killed.

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Before and after images of Jamaica show destruction left by Hurricane Melissa

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Before and after images of Jamaica show destruction left by Hurricane Melissa

The scale of the destruction left by Hurricane Melissa as it tore across Jamaica is now being revealed by the first photos taken by satellites.

The eye of the storm made landfall on the southwest coast of the island, 75 miles from the capital Kingston, on Tuesday.

Before and after images from Vantor’s satellites show the impact of the 185mph winds on the town of Black River, the capital of St Elizabeth Parish.

Use the sliders below to see the same areas of Jamaica before and after the hurricane struck.

There is widespread damage. Some houses and businesses are without roofs, and others have been destroyed altogether.

The covered food market is in ruins. So is St John Anglican church, one of the oldest in Jamaica – only its bell tower still stands.

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Hurricane Melissa approaches Bahamas

Houses that lined the shore would have born the brunt of the storm surge.

Further along the coast is the fishing village of White House.

Streets have been reduced to piles of rubble. Trees have been stripped of their leaves by the wind.

The west of Jamaica is the country’s bread basket, important for growing food.

But fields are underwater, flooded by up to a metre of rain that fell as the vast storm system passed over.

A woman walks after Hurricane Melissa made landfall, in Santa Cruz, Jamaica. Pic: Reuters
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A woman walks after Hurricane Melissa made landfall, in Santa Cruz, Jamaica. Pic: Reuters

Pic: Reuters
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Pic: Reuters

Many crops will have been destroyed and the government has appealed for vegetable seeds so farmers can quickly plant crops again.

Read more:
What we know about Hurricane Melissa
UK charters flights to transport Britons out of Jamaica

On the northwest coast is the resort of Montego Bay.

The container terminal and oil storage tanks in the port have been inundated by the storm surge and are surrounded by water.

It’s estimated that 400,000 people in Jamaica have been affected by the hurricane.

And the cost of the devastation is immense.

Streets covered with mud, after Hurricane Melissa in Montego Bay. Pic: Reuters
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Streets covered with mud, after Hurricane Melissa in Montego Bay. Pic: Reuters

Estimates by hazard analysts Enki Research put the bill at £5.8bn. That’s more than a third of Jamaica’s GDP – a measure of its economic wealth.

It will take months and international support to put Jamaica back on its feet.

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Donald Trump says tariffs will be cut after ‘amazing’ meeting with Xi Jinping

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Donald Trump says tariffs will be cut after 'amazing' meeting with Xi Jinping

Donald Trump has described crucial trade talks with Chinese President Xi Jinping as “amazing” – and says he will visit Beijing in April.

The leaders of the world’s two biggest economies met in South Korea as they tried to defuse growing tensions – with both countries imposing aggressive tariffs on exports since the president’s second term began.

Catch up on Trump-Xi meeting

Aboard Air Force One, Mr Trump confirmed tariffs on Chinese goods exported to the US will be reduced, which could prove much-needed relief to consumers.

It was also agreed that Beijing will work “hard” to stop fentanyl flowing into the US.

Semiconductor chips were another issue raised during their 100-minute meeting, but the president admitted certain issues weren’t discussed.

“On a scale of one to 10, the meeting with Xi was 12,” he told reporters en route back to the US.

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‘Their handshake was almost a bit awkward’

Xi a ‘tough negotiator’, says Trump

The talks conclude a whirlwind visit across Asia – with Mr Trump saying he was “too busy” to see Kim Jong Un.

However, the president said he would be willing to fly back to see the North Korean leader, with a view to discussing denuclearisation.

Mr Trump had predicted negotiations with his Chinese counterpart would last for three or four hours – but their meeting ended in less than two.

The pair shook hands before the summit, with the US president quipping: “He’s a tough negotiator – and that’s not good!”

It marks the first face-to-face meeting between both men since 2019 – back in Mr Trump’s first term.

Donald Trump and Xi Jinping. Pic: AP
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Donald Trump and Xi Jinping. Pic: AP

There were signs that Beijing had extended an olive branch to Washington ahead of the talks, with confirmation China will start buying US soybeans again.

American farmers have been feeling the pinch since China stopped making purchases earlier this year – not least because the country was their biggest overseas market.

Chinese stocks reached a 10-year high early on Thursday as investors digested their meeting, with the yuan rallying to a one-year high against the US dollar.

Analysis: A fascinating power play

Sky News Asia correspondent Helen-Ann Smith – who is in Busan where the talks took place – said it was fascinating to see the power play between both world leaders.

She said: “Trump moved quickly to dominate the space – leaning in, doing all the talking, even responding very briefly to a few thrown questions.

“That didn’t draw so much as an eyebrow raise from his counterpart, who was totally inscrutable. Xi does not like or respond well to unscripted moments, Trump lives for them.”

Read more from Sky News:
US cuts interest rates as inflation fears ease
Is Trump preparing for war with Venezuela?

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Will Trump really run for a third term?

On Truth Social, Mr Trump had described the summit as a gathering of the “G2” – a nod to America and China’s status as the world’s two biggest economies.

While en route to see President Xi, he also revealed that the US “Department of War” has now been ordered to start testing nuclear weapons for the first time since 1992.

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Tens of thousands killed in two days in Sudan city, analysts believe

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Tens of thousands killed in two days in Sudan city, analysts believe

Tens of thousands of people have been killed in the Sudanese city of Al Fashir by the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) in a two-day window after the paramilitary group captured the regional capital, analysts believe.

Sky News is not able to independently verify the claim by Yale Humanitarian Labs, as the city remains under a telecommunications blackout.

Stains and shapes resembling blood and corpses can be seen from space in satellite images analysed by the research lab.

Al Fashir University. Pic: Airbus DS/2025
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Al Fashir University. Pic: Airbus DS/2025

Al Fashir University. Pic: Airbus DS/2025
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Al Fashir University. Pic: Airbus DS/2025

Nathaniel Raymond, executive director of Yale Humanitarian Labs, said: “In the past 48 hours since we’ve had [satellite] imagery over Al Fashir, we see a proliferation of objects that weren’t there before RSF took control of Al Fashir – they are approximately 1.3m to 2m long which is critical because in satellite imagery at very high resolution, that’s the average length of a human body lying vertical.”

Mini Minawi, the governor of North Darfur, said on X that 460 civilians have been killed in the last functioning hospital in the city.

The Sudan Doctors Network has also shared that the RSF “cold-bloodedly killed everyone they found inside Al Saudi Hospital, including patients, their companions, and anyone else present in the wards”.

World Health Organisation (WHO) chief Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said it was “appalled and deeply shocked” by the reports.

Satellite images support the claims of a massacre at Al Saudi Hospital, according to Mr Raymond, who said YHL’s report detailed “a large pile of them [objects believed to be bodies] against a wall at one building at Saudi hospital. And we believe that’s consistent with reports that patients and staff were executed en masse”.

In a video message released on Wednesday, RSF commander Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo acknowledged “violations in Al Fashir” and claimed “an investigation committee should start to hold any soldier or officer accountable”.

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Army soldiers ‘fled key Sudan city’ before capture

The Saudi Maternity Hospital in Al Fashir. Pic: Airbus DS /2025 via AP
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The Saudi Maternity Hospital in Al Fashir. Pic: Airbus DS /2025 via AP

The commander is known for committing atrocities in Darfur in the early 2000s as a Janjaweed militia leader, and the RSF has been accused of carrying out genocide in Darfur 20 years on.

Sources have told Sky News the RSF is holding doctors, journalists and politicians captive, demanding ransoms from some families to release their loved ones.

One video shows a man from Al Fashir with an armed man kneeling on the ground, telling his family to pay 15,000. The currency was not made clear.

In some cases, ransoms have been paid, but then more messages come demanding that more money be transferred to secure release.

Muammer Ibrahim, a journalist based in the city, is currently being held by the RSF, who initially shared videos of him crouched on the ground, surrounded by fighters, announcing his hometown had been captured under duress.

Read more:
Key Sudan city falls – what does this mean for the war?
‘Massacre’ kills more than 50, including children

200,000 trapped after army flees

He is being held incommunicado as his family scrambles to negotiate his release. Muammer courageously covered the siege of Al Fashir for months, enduring starvation and shelling.

The Committee to Protect Journalists regional director Sara Qudah said the abduction of Muammar Ibrahim “is a grave and alarming reminder that journalists in Al Fashir are being targeted simply for telling the truth”.

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