A Russian warplane locked on to and fired a missile at a British military jet last year, and was only prevented from shooting it down due to a technical malfunction, leaked US intelligence documents showed.

The encounter between the Russian and British aircraft in international air space over the Black Sea on September 29, 2022 was reported by the UK government.

But information in the the leaked Pentagon files claim the incident was far more serious, the New York Times reports.

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The paper spoke with two unnamed US defence officials who backed accounts of the encounter from the Pentagon leaked material.

They said one of the pilots from a force of Russian Su-27 Flanker fighters sent to intercept the UK Royal Air Force RC-135 surveillance aircraft misheard an instruction from a ground based radar operator and believed he had permission to fire on the British plane. 

US defence officials described the incident as "really, really scary" and a "near shootdown".

Last October, UK Defence Secretary Ben Wallace told British MPs that the "unarmed RAF RC-135 Rivet Joint," was "interacted with" by two Russian Su-27s, which shadowed it for a bout 90 minutes.

One of the Russian fighters "released a missile in the vicinity of the RAF Rivet Joint [from] beyond visual range."

If the Russian fighter had shot down the British surveillance plane -which carries a crew of 30 – it would have risked the UK and its NATO allies retaliating.

Under the NATO founding treaty, the 31 nations agree that an armed attack against one or more of them would considered an attack against them all.

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And under the treaty every NATO member will help the country that has been attacked with any action it regards as necessary.

This week the UK Ministry of Defence warned about what it said was a "serious level of inaccuracy" in regard to allegations about the leaked US intelligence material concerning the Russia Ukraine war.

While not providing any specific details, the ministry tweeted that:

"Readers should be cautious about taking at face value allegations that have the potential to spread disinformation."

https://twitter.com/DefenceHQ/status/1645817692148883456?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw

Since last September's incident, British and US aircraft have continued their flights over the Black Sea to gather intelligence. But the UK planes are now escorted by fighter jets, while the US have deployed drones.

Last month Russian warplanes downed an American MQ-9 unmanned aerial vehicle by dumping fuel on it and forcing it to crash.

On Thursday, US investigators arrested 21-year-old Jack Teixeira, a Massachusetts Air National Guard member, over the leak of the classified Pentagon documents.

– Reported with Associated Press

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One week before Christmas, correctional officer Nathan Fuller went to Kempsey prison thinking it would be an ordinary day at work but when 6pm rolled around, he left on a stretcher – beaten, bruised and bloodied.

In December 2020, two prisoners detained at the Mid North Coast Correctional Centre ambushed Fuller, beating, stabbing and holding him as ransom for opioids.

Each offender pleaded guilty after being charged with two counts of property damage and two counts of taking or detaining to get an advantage occasioning actual bodily harm.

READ MORE: Paramedic on break when he was stabbed to death outside McDonald's

The leader of the hostage situation, known in the NSW District Court as DM, was sentenced to 13 years in prison with a non-parole period of eight years and six months.

The 22-year-old offender was already serving a 35-year sentence for a murder he committed when he was 16.

This means DM will not leave prison until he is at least 45 years old in 2046 and will have spent almost two-thirds of his life up to that point in jail.

Co-offender Noel Barrett, 25, was sentenced to 10 years in prison with a non-parole period of six years and six months.

On December 19, 2020, Barrett and DM charged at Fuller as he and a colleague unlocked an office door.

While the other correctional officer eventually managed to escape, DM pressed a sharp "jail-made weapon" against Fuller's neck and placed him into a kneeling position yelling, "I want my bupe injection" and threatening to kill his hostage if he didn't get it.

Bupe is short for buprenorphine, a prescription opioid used to treat pain and heroin or opioid addiction. It can be administered at prisons to help those with substance abuse issues, but neither DM nor Barrett were on the list to receive the drug at the time.

As the hours passed, the two men continued to assault Fuller, spitting on him, stabbing him with a shiv, punching him until he lost vision, dousing him with cleaning fluids which caused severe chemical burns, and spraying him with insect repellent before threatening to set him alight.

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When handing down the sentences on Friday, Judge Adam Coleman said the offenders showed "gratuitous cruelty" to Fuller.

"The cruelty of the assaults effectively amounted to torture," he told the court.

DM and Barrett surrendered their weapons after a six-hour siege and have since been transferred to a high-risk offenders centre, but Coleman had doubts about their prospects for rehabilitation.

He acknowledged that both men had grown up in disrupted households surrounded by drug addiction, domestic abuse and mental health issues, and noted the "devastating clarity" this had on their lives.

While Barrett has shown feelings of regret, DM has not expressed remorse nor accepted responsibility for his actions.

Meanwhile, Fuller and his colleague have made a recovery but both suffer from post-traumatic stress disorder and other physical and mental ailments as a result of the assault.

"What should have been an ordinary day at work has ended with what may be lifelong psychological consequences and limited career prospects as a result of the brazen offending," Coleman said.

Crisis support is available from Lifeline on 13 11 14.

Support is available from Beyond Blue on 1300 22 4636.

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A paramedic was nearing the end of his shift when he was set upon by a stranger and stabbed to death at a Sydney McDonald's in what is now one of the darkest days for the ambulance service.

Steven Tougher was with a colleague stopping for a break at the Campbelltown McDonald's, in Sydney's south-west, when the 29-year-old father was stabbed.

NSW Police were called to the fast food outlet's carpark on Queen Street around 5.30am after the paramedics made a code one call for assistance.

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Police arrived within minutes and Tougher was taken to Liverpool Hospital where he later died.

Tougher married the love of his life just last month and was excited to raise his young family in south-west Sydney after finally landing his dream job in the area.

He had been in the service for about 12 months.

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"This is a young man who his father tells me from the age of five years old knew that he wanted to be a NSW paramedic," NSW Ambulance Commissioner Dominic Morgan said.

"He wanted nothing more than to serve his community."

Morgan said it was an extremely difficult time for the paramedic's young family and the broader NSW Ambulance service as a whole.

"This is a time of recognising and grieving with the paramedic's colleagues and family at a very difficult time."

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NSW Health Secretary Susan Pearce spoke through tears of the "incomprehensible" incident.

"The health system is one big family and to lose someone in this way is incomprehensible to us," she said.

Floral tributes have grown at the scene as fellow paramedics mourn the loss of one of their own.

"Everyone in the area is feeling it," paramedic Wayne Havenaar said.

"Many of our people are young people with kids of their own and this is really hurting them."

One message at the site read: "He has paid the ultimate price for being a caring, brave soul devoting his life to saving and serving those in need."

The grief isn't only being felt in the Sydney community but across the country.

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese described Tougher's death as "shocking" and "tragic".

"NSW has lost a young paramedic, a young man whose life was in front of him," NSW Premier Chris Minns said. 

Deputy Commissioner Mal Lanyon said the 21-year-old suspect was in custody and there was "very good" CCTV of the entire area.

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"The thoughts and sympathies of NSW Police are with the family of that officer and the entire ambulance family," Lanyon said.

Lanyon said the man was known to police but only for "minor offences".

He said they were investigating the suspect's background.

"We have received information that the man we have arrested may have been driving in the Ingleburn and Campbelltown in a blue coloured Honda Jazz," he said.

Police are asking anyone with information to come forward.

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The boat hit the side of the ferry and several people were thrown into the water.

He drove at 5km/h on a city street, leading to him being pinged for drink-driving.

A bank, a supermarket and a dairy have recently been targeted in the region.

The party would need the seat to enter Parliament.

A sushi restaurant chain operating stores across Australia is being forced to close after alleged breaches of the Fair Work Act and debts.

All of the stores in NSW, Darwin and Canberra have been placed in court-ordered liquidation this year, according to Australian Securities and Investments Commission documents.

ASIC documents show Sushi Bay in Canberra and most NSW stores have been liquidated while the Darwin store is in the process of closing.

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The only store that remains open is the Campbelltown outlet.

Insolvency firm O'Brien Palmer told 9news.com.au the company is in about $1.6 million worth of debt.

Sushi Bay restaurants across New South Wales, Darwin and Canberra are being investigated for allegedly underpaying 163 workers – mostly Korean nationals on student, working holiday or work visas – a total of $656,141 between 2016 and 2020.

Fair Work also alleges minimum wage rates, penalty rates and annual leave entitlements were underpaid.

More than $600,000 of the alleged underpayments are related to outlets in NSW across Carlingford, Campbelltown, Charlestown, Forster, Glendale, Liverpool, Merrylands, Miranda, Miranda Westfield, Paramatta, Penrith, Rouse Hill, Shellharbour, and Wollongong.

The Fair Work Ombudsman has commenced legal action against the operators of the Sushi Bay outlets in NSW, Darwin and Canberra.

Sushi Bay Pty Ltd, Sushi Bay ACT Pty Ltd, Auskobay Pty Ltd, and Auskoja Pty Ltd and Yi Jeong 'Rebecca' Shin, the owner and sole director of the companies, are facing court.

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The rapist pinned his victim down by her neck until she almost lost consciousness.

Cyclone Ilsa has been downgraded after delivering what is likely the strongest wind gust ever recorded in Australia, but Western Australia's acting Emergency Services Minister has warned the threat from the storm "is not over yet" as it moves further inland.

The tropical storm made landfall at WA's Pilbara Coast as a category 5 system, but has now been classified as a category 2 after moving past the mining town of Telfer in the Pilbara's far east.

Speaking in Perth on Friday, Bureau of Meteorology hazard preparedness and response manager Todd Smith said the wind gusts from Ilsa were likely the strongest-ever recorded in Australia.

READ MORE: Paramedic on break when he was stabbed to death outside McDonald's

"Our automatic weather station recorded a wind gust of 289km/h," he said.

"We're going to do some checks on the data there, but it's likely that that will go down as the strongest wind gusts ever recorded by the Bureau's equipment in Australia.

"So it just shows how strong this system was when it was approaching the coast."

Smith added it was lucky the storm didn't hit the town of Port Hedland, where the impact was much lighter than initially expected.

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"The fact that the cyclone took a south-eastward shift in the track late yesterday afternoon really means that Port Hedland dodged a bullet last night," he said.

"Most of the impacts as we've seen are further to the east, and the impacts in Port Hedland were really light with the system tracking about 150km further along the track."

The bulk of the damage recorded so far was at Pardoo Roadhouse, to the north-east of the town.

Smith said the storm is expected to continue moving east before dropping below cyclone intensity and moving into the Northern Territory.

But while it is weakening, acting Emergency Services Minister Sue Ellery said Ilsa still poses danger.

"This situation is still developing," she said.

"Ilsa is continuing to move eastward now as a category 2. There are several remote communities and mining operations which are yet to be impacted…

"This is a live event. To all of the communities in the Pilbara and the Kimberley, please take care of yourselves, your family members and stay safe.

"The impact of severe Tropical Cyclone Ilsa is not over yet."

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