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The compound in front of the blue and white low-rise building is buzzing with rushed activity.

On one side there are men stacking boxes of water bottles. On another, women sitting on chairs are picking through bundles of clothing on the ground before folding and organising them into piles of men’s, women’s and children’s sizes.

Instructions are being shouted.

Through the doors of the house, in the lounge at the front, there’s more urgency. Here, some women are sorting out baby food, nappies and sanitary products.

This is the local community response to a call for emergency aid after Mayotte was devastated by Cyclone Chido on Sunday.

Map of Mayotte and Comoros
Work to gather aid is under way
Image:
Work to gather aid is under way

The aid is being collected here in a neighbourhood in Reunion’s capital Saint-Denis, an island east of Madagascar.

This is where Somo is helping. She’s wearing a black hijab and her face is framed by her black-rimmed spectacles.

Somo came to Reunion to study law two years ago. Her mum Echat, dad Saindu and sister Kaounaini live on Mayotte.

Somo has had no contact with any of them since the deadly storm tore through the island on Sunday.

Somo
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Somo

“I’m really worried,” she tells me. She’s very softly spoken and is smiling nervously. But it’s easy to see Somo’s desperation. “I’m just dying waiting for news,” she adds.

Somo knows her mother and father are alive because word has reached her from other community members who reported seeing them after the deadly storm.

But there is no news about her sister and her six children aged between two and 16 years old. They are all still missing.

Somo has been frantically calling their numbers non-stop since Sunday, but nobody has answered.

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Thousands feared dead after cyclone

The family’s home has been completely destroyed. Somo is desperate to send money to them but there’s no way of doing so.

She’s especially worried about her father because he’s alone.

Read more:
Before and after pictures show storm’s damage
What we know about worst storm in over 90 years

“I don’t know if he has any food or water or anything,” she says.

As I am about to leave, Somo tries to call them again. She waits, looking at the phone screen in hope and in desperation. But there’s still no answer.

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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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