A devastating Ukrainian missile attack struck the headquarters of Russia‘s Black Sea Fleet today. 

The Sevastopol HQ building is understood to have been hit with a Storm Shadow missile, the type supplied by Britain and France capable of holding a warhead of nearly 1000 lbs. 

Russia’s defence ministry has claimed that one person is missing, after initially claiming they had died in the strike. Initial reports suggested that six people had been wounded. 

Dozens of ambulances were reported at the headquarters in Sevastopol, the naval port in occupied Crimea.

The HQ building was on fire, had partially collapsed and suffered ‘severe damage’, according to one report.

Debris from the missile attack on the headquarters of the Black Sea Fleet was scattered over hundreds of metres.

Russia’s defence ministry claimed that five other missiles were shot down, but one made it through its defences.  

‘According to preliminary information, people who were on the street at the time of the attack on the Black Sea Fleet headquarters were not injured,’ said Putin appointed Sevastopol governor Mikhail Razvozhayev.

A fire continued to burn at the headquarters building, admitted the governor.

Police cordoned off two blocks around the missile-hit building.

‘The enemies launched a missile attack on the fleet headquarters,’ said Razvozhayev. 

He warned of the risk of a second attack and urged locals to stay away from the city.

‘A fragment [of a missile] fell close to the Lunacharsky Theatre. All emergency services arrived at the scene.

‘Information about the victims is being clarified. Please remain calm. And do not post photos and videos.’

The occupation official said: ‘Another attack is possible. Please do not travel to the city centre. Don’t leave buildings.

‘At the sound of the siren, everyone who is near the fleet headquarters should proceed to shelters.

‘Employees of the Russian Ministry of Emergency Situations are working on the spot.

‘Firefighters are taking all measures to put out the fire as quickly as possible. The build-up of forces and means continues.’

Prominent Russian pro-war blogger Vladimir Rogov said: ‘The headquarters of the Russian Black Sea Fleet in Sevastopol was attacked by Ukrainian missiles.’

He said the attack was carried out ‘by British Storm Shadow missiles’, though this was not immediately confirmed.

The strike was one of the most significant of the entire war, as was the sinking of the Black Sea fleet’s flagship, the Moskva cruiser, last year. 

The Black Sea Fleet has been responsible for multiple missile attacks on Ukraine, and is central to Putin’s subjugation of around one-fifth of Ukrainian territory.

Other explosions hit elsewhere in Crimea including around peninsula capital Simferopol.

Ukraine has previously used Storm Shadow and Neptune missiles to target Crimea as well as kamikaze drones.

Drones were downed today in Sevastopol harbour.

The attack came as Vladimir Putin held a meeting of his security council on relations with neighbouring countries.

He was heard skirting around the attack, only mentioning ongoing developments with ‘relations with our closest neighbours and partners.’

Hurricane Lee to hit US TODAY with 80mph winds and 20ft waves: Maine declares state of emergency as Long Island homeowners batten down the hatches

• Lee will trigger potentially life threatening storm surges on Friday and Saturday 
• Category 1 storm sparked first hurricane warning in Maine in 15 years 
• Nantucket, Cape Cod and coastal Long Island also bracing for storm’s impact  

By Jen Smith, Chief Reporter and Associated Press

Published: 08:22 EDT, 15 September 2023 | Updated: 10:51 EDT, 15 September 2023

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• Footage of strange blue lights has arisen following Morocco’s tragic earthquake 
• Experts say the glow may be a rare phenomenon called ‘earthquake lights’ 

By Lauren Haughey

Published: 09:44 EDT, 13 September 2023 | Updated: 20:54 EDT, 13 September 2023

British cruise missiles were used in the devastating bombardment of the headquarters of Russia’s Black Sea Fleet earlier today in occupied Crimea.

The UK-provided Storm Shadow missiles struck Russia’s attack submarine, the Rostov-on-Don, and amphibious landing ship, the Minsk, in Sevastopol, the largest city in Crimea. The loss of the Rostov-on-Don is particularly significant as it has been used to launch Kalibr missiles at Ukrainian cities.

The strike is the first attack on a Russian submarine since the Second World War.

The overnight attack on the Black Sea fleet raises the prospect of Russia being forced to reduce its naval presence on the Crimean peninsula, which would be a huge blow to the Kremlin’s war effort.

The peninsula, seized by Russia in 2014, is becoming increasingly vulnerable as the West provides Ukraine with long-range missiles and its forces push back the Russian frontline.

Dramatic pictures showed huge flames rising from the Sevastopol dry dock where, according to the Kremlin, the vessels were being repaired.

The attack followed a raid on Russian radar systems, disabling part of the air defence systems around Sevastopol.

The attack – Ukraine’s biggest on the region since the start of the war – damaged a Russian submarine and a warship in a pre-dawn raid on the Sevastopol shipyard.

As many as ten missiles were fired at the facility, seven of which Russia claimed to have shot down. The strike set the shipyard ablaze and wounded at least 24.

New information from a Ukrainian and a Western source said that British Storm Shadow missiles, delivered to Ukraine this year, were used in the attack.

Footage appeared to show the large Russian landing ship, the Minsk, was damaged in the attack – previously believed to have been hit by a Storm Shadow.

The 367ft-long vessel was undergoing repairs in a shipyard at the time of the attack. 

A strategically important shipbuilding and repair yard was engulfed in flames and a power plant and other Black Sea naval facilities were also hit, it appeared.

Russia’s Defense Ministry said Ukraine launched ten cruise missiles at the shipyard and three sea drones at Russian ships in the Black Sea. 

Seven missiles were shot down and all the sea drones have been destroyed, the military said, but some missiles damaged two ships being repaired in the shipyard, in addition to some buildings.

‘It was Storm Shadow,’ a source told Sky News. 

Ukraine’s RBC-Ukraine news outlet reported, citing unnamed sources in Ukrainian military intelligence, that an amphibious landing ship and a submarine were damaged in the attack.

Some Russian messaging app channels made the same claim. There was no immediate comment from Ukrainian officials.

Kyiv almost never acknowledges responsibility for attacks on Crimea or Russian regions that have become regular in recent months.

Mikhail Razvozhayev, Moscow-appointed governor of Sevastopol on the Crimean peninsula, said on Telegram that 24 people were injured in the fire. He posted a photo of the blaze.

‘The Ukrainian armed forces launched a strike with ten cruise missiles at the S. Ordzhonikidze ship repair plant,’ Russia’s defence ministry said on Telegram.

Ukraine also ‘attempted an attack with three unmanned boats at a detachment of ships of the Black Sea fleet’ during a sea crossing, it added.

‘Air defence systems shot down seven cruise missiles, and the patrol ship Vasily Bykov destroyed all unmanned boats. As a result of being hit by enemy cruise missiles, two ships undergoing repairs were damaged.’ 

The Crimean peninsula, illegally annexed from Ukraine by Russia in 2014, has been a frequent target in the 18-month-old war.

The Sevastopol shipyard is of strategic importance to Russia as vessels in its Black Sea fleet – some already damaged in strikes – are being repaired there.

Russia’s vulnerability in the Black Sea was demonstrated early on in the war when Ukraine struck the fleet’s flagship vessel – the Moskva – with two missiles, ultimately causing it to sink. The true loss of life has never been revealed by Russia.

Kyiv has repeatedly said it plans to take back the Crimean peninsula.

The attack is the latest military embarrassment for the Russian President who today is meeting with North Korean dictator Kim Jong Un in the Far East. 

The highly-anticipated meeting could see the two allies agree on a sanctions-busting arms deal to support Moscow‘s on-going invasion in Ukraine.

Its supply of munitions dwindling as it fights to fend off Kyiv’s counteroffensive.

Earlier today, the Russian warmonger shook hands enthusiastically with Kim as soon as he stepped out of his black limousine and said he was ‘very glad to see him’.

Kim, one of the few leaders who has stuck by the despot since his full-scale invasion of Ukraine began 19 months ago, told the Russian despot he was fighting a ‘sacred war’ with the West and their two countries would together battle with ‘imperialism’. 

The attack against Russia’s Black Sea Fleet headquarters came as Moscow launched drones against Ukraine’s Odesa region in the pre-dawn hours. 

Like Sevastopol, Odesa also sits on the Black Sea.

The attacks damaged port and civilian infrastructure in Odesa’s Izmail district and wounded six people, three seriously, Regional Governor Oleh Kiper said.

Ukraine’s air force said it intercepted 32 of 44 Shahed-type drones overnight, with most of them launched toward the southern parts of the Odesa district.

This map reveals the epicentre of the deadly Morocco earthquake, which killed over 2,500 people and injured thousands more when it struck last Friday.

Geologists said the 6.8 magnitude tremor was the biggest quake to hit the heart of the country in more than 120 years and the deadliest in six decades.

Rescuers are still searching for survivors, with some in remote areas forced to dig with their bare hands because heavy lifting machinery can’t get to them.

The epicentre of the earthquake, which struck at 23:11 local time (23:11 BST) on Friday, was in the High Atlas Mountains, 44 miles (71km) south-west of Marrakesh, at a depth of 11.5 miles (18.5km), the US Geological Survey said.

The main tectonic driver is the collision between the Eurasian and African plates, the boundary for which sits around 350 miles (563km) north from the epicentre.

This is what originally led to the formation of the Atlas Mountains, which run through Morocco, Algeria and Tunisia.

Currently, collisions between the Eurasian and African plates are what is causing the increased seismicity in the area, with GPS measurements showing that the Atlas Mountains are moving about 1 millimetre closer to each other every year.  

This compression is what is causing a friction between plates, and in turn likely led to the latest quake, according to José A. Peláez, a professor in geophysics at the Universidad de Jaén.

The High Atlas Mountains also have a unique geological feature where the Earth’s outermost layer – known as the lithosphere – is thinner than usual, while there is an unusual rise of the mantle. 

What is particularly unusual about this deadly earthquake, however, is that scientists say such powerful tremors don’t tend to occur in Morocco.

In fact, there hasn’t been any quakes bigger than a magnitude 6.0 within 300 miles (500km) of Friday’s epicentre since before 1900.

Most of the seismic activity relating to the Eurasian and African plates occurs further east in Mediterranean, with Italy, Greece and Turkey particularly affected.

There are usually two main hotspots for earthquakes in Morocco.

The first is offshore, along the Azores-Gibraltar transform fault and the Alboran Sea, while the second is between the Rif mountains in the northern part of the country and Algeria’s Tell Atlas mountain range.

Major earthquakes to hit Morocco in recent years include a 6.4 magnitude tremor in 2016, which struck offshore northeast of the city of Al Hoceïma and killed one person.

There was also a 6.3 magnitude quake that killed 631 people in 2004 and another one of the same intensity in 1960, leading to the deaths of between 12,000 and 15,000 people when it hit near the city of Agadir.

Five years prior to that there was a quake close to the location of the latest tremor, which had a magnitude of about 5.8.

Going further back in history, an earthquake with an estimate magnitude of between 6.5 and 7.0 devastated the cities of Fes and Meknes in 1755, killing at least 15,000 people. 

The official death toll for Friday’s disaster so far stands at 2,681 confirmed dead and at least 2,501 people injured, including more than 1,400 who are seriously hurt.

Retailer Currys hit by revolt over executive pay

By Francesca Washtell

Updated: 05:07 EDT, 10 September 2023

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It’s often seen as a taboo subject, but a new study is finally lifting the lid on Britons’ sex lives. 

Researchers from the University of East Anglia surveyed more than 5,000 Brits to decipher what the average men and women’s sex lives looks like. 

And there’s good news if you haven’t been getting much action – you’re not alone. 

The results reveal that most Britons have either had zero or one sexual partner in the preceding three weeks. 

Dr Julii Brainard, who led the study from the University of East Anglia, said: ‘Often people assume everyone else is having lots of sex, but surveys like this show the real story is a lot more complicated.’

In the study, the researchers surveyed more than 5,000 people in Britain last year, asking if they had had sex in the previous three weeks.

Just 31 per cent of heterosexual women aged 45 to 49 said they had zero sexual partners in the past three weeks.

But that jumped to 47 per cent of women aged 50 to 54.

Among women in their early sixties, two-thirds had gone without sex for at least three weeks.

The figures will include women not having regular sex with their husband or partner, and those who are single – perhaps following a midlife divorce.

In contrast, among heterosexual men, the number reporting no sex in the previous three weeks did not rise dramatically with age.

Dr Brainard said: ‘These results could be viewed as good news for older women who are having less sex than when they were younger, as they can know they are normal.’

The findings come from a snapshot study seeking to understand the risk of infection from mpox, previously known as monkeypox, and looking at gay and bisexual men, heterosexual men and heterosexual women.

The authors conclude that everyone is less likely to have regular sex as they get older – but this shift happens at a younger age, and more dramatically, in heterosexual women.

Only about a quarter of women surveyed who were in their late twenties and early thirties had not had sex with any partner in the last three weeks.

This rose to about 37 per cent for those in their late thirties and early forties, and then stood at 31 per cent for those in their late forties.

But then came the jump to 47 per cent of women in their early fifties not having had recent sex, and 52 per cent of those in their late fifties.

By the time women hit their sixties, around two-thirds had not had sex in the previous three weeks, and in their seventies, more than three-quarters said they had not.

For heterosexual men, only about half said they had not had recent sex, with this percentage staying about the same for every age group from late forties to 75-plus.

Men may avoid a middle-aged sex slump by having partners younger than them, who are still more interested in sex.

But it may also be the case that male pride means men are less likely to admit or remember not having had sex in the past three weeks, while women are more likely to under-report the sex they are having.

The study, published in the journal PLOS One, interestingly found very few British heterosexual people have had two or more different partners in the past three weeks.

Having multiple recent sexual partners was most common in 18 to 24-year-olds, and reported by about 14 per cent of this age group.

The family of under-fire Spanish FA boss Luis Rubiales have hit back at claims he is a sexist – and insisted he is a loving man who is respectful of women and only guilty of ‘excessive euphoria‘.

They spoke out after a bombshell interview with Rubiales‘ uncle Juan who claimed football chief Luis is ‘arrogant’ and ‘obsessed with luxury and money’ after his notorious kiss on the lips of World Cup winning player Jenni Hermoso.

The family also gave MailOnline new pictures of Luis – who has been suspended by FIFA over the furore – which they say show the real man, who is caring and respectful.

The family member told us: ‘All he was guilty of is excessive euphoria, nothing else, there was no sexual assault and for Jenni and everyone else to say he assaulted her is ridiculous, it couldn’t be further from the truth.’

The source insists that there is a ‘witch hunt’ against him which is unfair – and that he is ‘nothing like’ the person his uncle described.

The family has closed ranks to defend him against mounting pressure for him to quit his job.

Rubiales’ mother, Angeles Bejar, 72, was so determined to fight for him she even locked herself in a church in their hometown of Motril and went on a three-day hunger strike before being taken to hospital.

Former hairdresser Angeles had said she planned to stay inside the Divina Pastora church ‘indefinitely, day and night’ over the ‘inhumane and bloodthirsty treatment’ of her son.

She has now been discharged and Rubiales, 46, has asked his family to keep quiet in a bid to dampen down the firestorm that has surrounded him since the ‘Kissgate’ scandal erupted at the end of the Women’s World Cup final against England in Sydney last month.

But one relative – who asked not to be named – handed MailOnline photos from the family album where Rubiales can be seen taking part in parties and celebrations, playing the part of a loving dad, uncle and cousin.

The family source said: ‘This has all been created from nothing and is so unfair for Luis. Everyone thinks he is sexist misogynist, but it couldn’t be further from the truth.

‘He has three daughters for goodness’ sake, they are his pride and joy, so he knows how to respect women.

‘Look at the pictures, he is a loving man, he adores his family and he respects women. Spain has just won the World Cup final, I think a little celebration is in order, don’t you?

‘Jenni said nothing about an assault until several days after. She was even seen in footage from the bus laughing and joking and now she says it was assault and she is offended.

‘Please, what planet are we on? Where does this nonsense come from. He is getting lynched on a global scale and it’s just not fair.

‘All we want is for Jenni to tell the truth, why is she only complaining now? Ok, fine maybe it is wrong but does he deserve all this. He is being crucified for just a little kiss.

‘He is a very affectionate man. Whenever he visits his family, he is always giving us kisses because he is a very expressive man.

‘It’s just a lynching from feminists and politicians who are looking to make a storm out of nothing – if she felt she was being attacked she certainly didn’t seem to show it.’

Rubiales, who slammed his critics as ‘idiots and stupid people’ at a press conference last Friday, has faced calls from regional FA leaders to step down but has so far refused, although today a ruling is expected from the country’s sporting tribunal on his future.

The burned bodies of 18 suspected migrants were today found in a remote rural area in northern Greece where wildfires have been burning for days.

A series of ferocious wildfires are continuing to wreak havoc and incinerate homes across the nation and have triggered mass evacuations from tourist hotspots.  

Firefighters are desperately trying to douse the flames with water but the blaze is raging though the Evros region in northeastern Greece and close to the capital of Athens.

The wildfires, which were sparked by a dangerous mix of 41C heat and gale-force winds four days ago, have killed 20 people and destroyed dozens of homes across the country.

Authorities said they believe they have found the burned bodies of 18 migrants near a shack in the Avanta area north of the city of Alexandroupoli. 

‘Given that there have been no reports of disappearances or missing residents from the surrounding areas, the possibility that these are people who entered the country illegally is being investigated,’ fire department spokesman Yiannis Artopios. 

Officials believe the suspected migrants entered the region via Turkey, a popular route for those travelling to Greece illegally. 

‘Searches throughout the entire area where the fire broke out are ongoing,’ Artopios added. 

The wildfires are continuing to burn unchecked in the northeast of the country near the port city of Alexandroupolis, on the islands of Evia and Kynthos, as well as the region of Boeotia north of Athens.

‘There are nine active fronts… it’s a similar situation to July,’ a fire department spokeswoman said, referring to a wave of wildfires that left five dead last month. 

The latest deaths of 18 suspected migrants pushed the overall toll from this week’s fires to 20, after another suspected migrant was found dead in the area Monday. 

An elderly shepherd had also been found dead north of Athens on Monday. 

In Alexandroupolis, where flames have come perilously close to the University hospital, 65 patients were evacuated in the early hours of this morning onto a ferry in the city’s port as a precaution. 

Another 14 people were evacuated by a coast guard vessel from a beach near the village of Makri. 

Several communities in the broader Evros region, near the border with Turkey, have been evacuated as authorities warned the risk of new fires remained high in the coming days. 

Harrowing images show the extent of the damage caused by the wildfires, with the charred remains of homes and cars seen in the Evros region. 

‘Under extreme weather conditions, mainly due to gale-force winds, a huge effort has been made to manage fire fronts that broke out simultaneously in many parts of the country,’ fire brigade spokesperson Ioannis Artopios said late on Monday.

‘The hours we are going through are extremely critical.’

Over 60 fires had erupted in the last 24 hours, and six countries were sending help via the European Union’s civil protection mechanism, the fire department said.

Some 120 firefighters from Cyprus, Romania, the Czech Republic, Croatia, Germany and Serbia will pitch in, fire department spokesman Vassilis Vathrakogiannis told state TV ERT.

Meanwhile, the European Union announced it was deploying two Cyprus-based firefighting aircraft and a Romanian firefighting team via the bloc’s civil protection mechanism.

A new fire broke out Tuesday at a landfill in the industrial zone of Aspropyrgos near Athens, covering the area in a noxious black cloud.

Officials shut down the nearest section of the Athens ring road, and advised residents to stay indoors.

Another fire broke out in the foothills of Mount Parnitha near the capitals, prompting evacuations.

On the island of Evia, near the capital, officials late Monday evacuated the industrial town of Nea Artaki, where the fire has damaged poultry and pork farms.

The burned body of a man believed to be a migrant was found in a rural area in Lefkimi, near Alexandroupolis, on Monday, a local police official said. 

Evros is a popular border crossing for hundreds of migrants from the Middle East and Asia who use the river by the same name separating Greece from Turkey to cross into the European Union. 

An elderly shepherd had also been found dead in the Boeotia region earlier on Monday.

The flames were also threatening the national park of Dadia, which is one of the most important protected areas in Europe. It offers an ideal habitat for rare birds and is home to the only breeding population of black vultures in the Balkans.

The very hot and dry conditions which increase the fire risk will persist until Friday, according to meteorologists.

Summer wildfires in Greece are common but have been made worse in recent years by unusually hot, dry and windy conditions that scientists have linked to climate change.

More than 20,000 foreign tourists had to be evacuated from the holiday island of Rhodes in July as wildfires burned for a week, destroying hotels and resorts.

The fire had started on July 18 and was fanned by strong winds ravaged almost 17,770 hectares (more than 43,000 acres) in 10 days in the south of Rhodes.

Firefighters in Spain also battled on Tuesday to stabilise a huge wildfire that has devastated forests on the popular tourist destination of Tenerife for six days. 

More than 12,000 people have been evacuated from their homes and nearly 15,000 hectares (37,000 acres) of pine forest and scrubland have been burned. Large parts of Spain were under alert for wildfire risk due to a heatwave that sent temperatures spiking over 38C in many areas. 

Meanwhile, in Greece’s northern seaside city of Kavala, two firefighters were injured on Monday while trying to contain a blaze threatening homes in the village of Dialekto, the fire brigade said. 

Wildfires have ravaged countries across southern Europe this summer, forcing thousands to be evacuated and thousands more to cancel their holidays. 

Last week, ferocious wildfires ripped through 300 hectares of land in a nature park surrounding the Mount Teide volcano on the Spanish island of Tenerife.

Another fire last week ravaged ravaged homes and holiday campsites in a British tourist hotspot in France, forcing the evacuation of 3,000 people. 

The blazing wildfires ripped through 500 hectares of land and saw thousands of terrified tourists flee for their lives from their holiday homes and campsites in the popular holiday region of Pyrenees-Orientales, southern France.

Britons told how panicked families who had quickly packed their belongings and fled campsites in the commune of Saint-Andre in their cars became trapped in traffic jams after they realised they were in fact heading towards the quickly expanding flames of the wildfire. 

Zak Dhabalia, 55, a retired British hedge fund manager who lives in the nearby village of Sorede and saw the flames come perilously close to his home, said it was an ‘extraordinary and terrifying experience for us all’.

Dhabalia, who lives with his French wife Sylvie Dhabalia, told MailOnline it was ‘terrifying’ to see how quickly the wildfire spread across the vineyards towards the campsites which were gutted by the flames, adding that he could hear gas canisters exploding at the site.

Elsewhere in Europe, Greece, Italy, Algeria and Tunisia combined lost more than 1,350 square kilometers (520 square miles) to blazes that affected 120,000 people in late July, according to European Union estimates.

Two weeks ago, a series of wildfires ripped through Portugal and neighbouring Spain as temperatures soared to over 44C, forcing the evacuation of thousands of holidaymakers from villages and campsites.

Climate scientists say heat waves are more intense, more frequent and longer because of climate change — and coupled with droughts have made wildfires harder to fight.

They say climate change will continue to make weather more extreme and wildfires more frequent and destructive.

‘Climate change kills,’ Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez said last month during a visit to the Extremadura region, the site of three major blazes. ‘It kills people, it kills our ecosystems and biodiversity.’ 

Wildfires raging through Europe this summer have so far burned the second-largest area on record, even though the region is only halfway through its typical fire season, according to data from the European Union’s Joint Research Centre. 

Southern European countries such as Portugal and Greece experience fires most summers, but hotter temperatures are pushing severe wildfire risk north, with Germany, Slovenia and the Czech Republic among those hit this season. 

Financial jobs defy gloom to hit record high

• City minister Andrew Griffith said industry was ‘a jewel in Britain’s crown’
• Number of jobs hit 1.235m in first quarter – 34,000 more than at the end of 2022 
• It was above a previous peak of 1.209m in 2008

By John-Paul Ford Rojas

Published: 16:50 EDT, 20 August 2023 | Updated: 16:52 EDT, 20 August 2023

Some links in this article may be affiliate links. If you click on them we may earn a small commission. That helps us fund This Is Money, and keep it free to use. We do not write articles to promote products. We do not allow any commercial relationship to affect our editorial independence.