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Russia refused to release any details about a fire which killed 14 crew aboard a submersible on Monday, saying the information was a «state secret».

Revealing the incident on Tuesday, Russia’s defence ministry said the men died from smoke inhalation.

Authorities refused to say whether the vessel was nuclear powered, raising concerns over possible radiation leaks.

Dmitry Peskov, President Vladimir Putin’s spokesman, said details about the vessel were «totally classified». «There is nothing illegal about this. It fully corresponds to the Russian law on state secrets,» he said.

Defence authorities said the vessel was a navy research submersible that was taking measurements in Russian waters. But Russian independent media outlets reported that it was a small nuclear-powered submarine, naming it as the AS-12 Losharik. US officials said the vessel was designed to cut undersea cables. The craft is now at Severomorsk, the main base of Russia’s Northern Fleet on the Barents Sea. The port was also home to the Russian Kursk nuclear submarine, which sank in 2000 killing 118 sailors.

In a conference call with journalists, Mr Peskov said it was «absolutely normal» to keep details about a vessel confidential, adding that it was in «the interests of the state and state security». He refused to answer questions about the vessel’s name, mission, or whether the craft had a nuclear reactor, telling reporters to ask the defence ministry.

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President Donald Trump’s plans to host a military parade on US Independence Day this week have left critics seeing red, rather than red, white and blue.

At his «Salute to America» on Thursday, Mr Trump will address the nation from the Lincoln Memorial in Washington DC amid a parade of military tanks. But city officials have expressed dismay at the possible damage to roads at the 4 July event.

A congressman dismissed the celebration as a presidential vanity project. «We’re going to have planes going overhead — the best fighter jets in the world and other planes too,» the Republican president told reporters at the White House on Monday. «And we’re going to have some tanks stationed outside.» He said the event will «be like no other, it’ll be special».

City leaders have spoken out against the idea.

«We have said it before, and we’ll say it again: Tanks, but no tanks,» the District of Columbia council tweeted on Monday.
The Democratic-controlled council also posted guidance from the Defence Department about a veterans’ event in November last year, specifying that «no tanks» should be used in order to «avoid damage to local infrastructure».

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A stray Russian-made missile apparently launched by Syria hit the self-declared Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus overnight, officials say.

Foreign Minister Kudret Ozersay said the air defence missile was thought to have been launched during suspected Israeli air strikes on Syria. The projectile struck a mountainside north of Nicosia, 225km (140 miles) from the Syrian coast, sparking a fire.

At least four civilians were reportedly killed in the air strikes on Syria.

The Syrian military said it had «confronted» Israeli warplanes that fired missiles at military positions near the capital Damascus and the central city of Homs. No casualties were reported after the stray missile hit the Tashkent region of northern Cyprus, about 20km (12 miles) from the city of Nicosia, at about 01:00 on Monday (22:00 GMT on Sunday). But residents told Cypriot media they had seen a light in the sky and then heard three loud explosions.

«The first assessment is that a Russian-made missile… which was part of the air defence system that took place last night in the face of an air strike against Syria, completed its range and fell into our country after it missed,» Mr Ozersay wrote in a post on Facebook.

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