Daycare workers caught on video in Halloween masks scaring children, charged with child abuse - Sky News

Five daycare workers who put on Halloween masks and chased terrified children at a Mississippi nursery have been charged with child abuse.

Footage shared online showing the Monroe County staff wearing the GhostFace mask from the horror movie Scream went viral.

Shocked parents saw the employees sneak up on the children, who then began screaming and crying.

Sky News partner NBC reported it prompted an investigation by the Mississippi heath department and the Monroe County sheriff's office.

Now, four of the employees face three counts of felony child abuse, and a fifth faces failure to report abuse and simple assault against a minor.

At one point in the video, a masked employee points to a child and looks at an unmasked employee, who responds, "bad".

The nursery owner, Sheila Sanders, previously told local newspaper the Monroe Journal that she fired the employees involved after learning about the incident, which she said she was not aware of until she heard about the video.

"I don't condone that and never have," Ms Sanders told the newspaper.

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2022-10-21 02:59:51Z
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Silvio Berlusconi blames President Zelensky of Ukraine for Russian invasion - The Times

Silvio Berlusconi has claimed President Zelensky forced Russia to invade Ukraine, prompting a threat from the incoming Italian prime minister to throw him out of her coalition.

In a leaked recording of a speech to his MPs this week, Berlusconi can be heard saying that President Putin at first “resisted” responding to Zelensky’s attacks on the Donbas region of Ukraine, but was pressured by “the whole of Russia” to react.

“Zelensky, according to me . . . let it go, I can’t say it,” he added, to applause from members of his Forza Italia party.

Berlusconi is part of a right-wing coalition led by Giorgia Meloni that won elections last month. He is expected to have influence over foreign policy because Antonio Tajani, a senior

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2022-10-20 09:00:00Z
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New Zealand farmers protest world’s first livestock ‘burp tax’ - Al Jazeera English

Farmyard vehicles disrupted traffic in Wellington, Auckland, Christchurch and other cities to protest emissions tax.

Travelling in convoys of tractors and pickup trucks, farmers in New Zealand have gathered in cities and towns across the country to protest against the government’s plan to be the first country in the world to tax emissions from farm animals.

Lines of tractors and other farmyard vehicles disrupted traffic in Wellington, Auckland, Christchurch and other cities on Thursday, with the protesting farmers demanding that the country’s centre-left government back away from the so-called “burp and fart” tax.

Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern unveiled plans last week for the world’s first levy on agricultural gases and biogenic methane, which mainly comes from burps produced by New Zealand’s estimated six million cows and 26 million sheep.

Ardern has argued that the tax is needed to slow global warming and could even benefit farmers if they can command a higher price for more climate-friendly meat.

However, New Zealand’s farmers are up in arms, with thousands of agricultural workers joining Thursday’s protest, called “We’re not going to take it”.

#LATEST Tractors have been driven through main city centres in the latest protest by the farmer advocacy group Groundswell.

Look back over RNZ's updates. 👇 https://t.co/jsShitte4q

— RNZ (@radionz) October 20, 2022

Bryce McKenzie, cofounder of Groundswell New Zealand, which organised the protest, said the tax threatened the viability of local farmers.

“The government’s ideological commitment to punitive and counterproductive emissions taxes on food production is an existential threat to rural communities,” McKenzie said.

While the government hopes the tax will reduce livestock emissions by 20 percent, McKenzie argues that any “reductions will be replaced by less efficient foreign farmers”.

Methane is less abundant and does not linger as long in the atmosphere as carbon dioxide, but it is a much more potent warming agent. Scientists believe methane is responsible for roughly 30 percent of the global rise in temperatures despite being a fraction of the greenhouse gas mix.

Local farmer Mark Chandler told state broadcaster Radio New Zealand (RNZ) that the level of compliance related to the proposed livestock emissions levy was punitive.

“There’s a whole raft of things that are coming in that are just making life impossible,” he told RNZ.

“For a small-to-medium farmer you’re going to have to do weeks and weeks of administration and compliance, and it just doesn’t work — we didn’t get into this game to do that.”

A counterprotest was also held in Wellington on Thursday by locals who said the agricultural sector needed to do its part to address climate change.

Valerie Morse told RNZ that people are tired of subsidising destructive and polluting agricultural methods and that farmers needed to be part of the solution to climate change by adopting sustainable production methods.

Environmentalists also said that farmers needed to adapt.

“This country’s rural and agricultural sector has been hard hit by floods, intense storms and droughts this year alone,” said Emily Bailey of Climate Justice Taranaki.

“It’s only getting worse,” she said.

“Farmers can either adapt and rapidly bring down their emissions or they, and everyone else, will suffer more.”

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2022-10-20 04:50:17Z
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Ukraine war: Russians start leaving Ukraine's Kherson city - BBC

Rossiya 24

By Paul Kirby

BBC News

Tens of thousands of civilians and Russian-appointed officials are being moved out of Ukraine's southern Kherson region ahead of a Ukrainian offensive, says the Russia-installed local leader.

Vladimir Saldo said all Russian-appointed departments and ministries would cross the Dnieper river.

Some 50-60,000 civilians would also leave in an "organised, gradual displacement", he said earlier.

Ukraine has called on residents to ignore the Russian move.

The head of Kherson's regional administration said Russia wanted to take civilians hostage and use them as human shields. The transfer or deportation of civilians by an occupying power from occupied territory is considered a war crime.

In a separate development, Russia's Vladimir Putin said he had signed a decree imposing martial law on four Ukrainian regions, including Kherson, which Moscow annexed last month in a move rejected as illegal by the international community.

He told Russia's Security Council that it would give regional leaders additional powers to maintain social order and safeguard important facilities.

Russian TV footage on Wednesday showed a number of people gathering near the west bank of the Dnieper. As they queued for boats, it was not clear how many were leaving.

One Kherson resident told the BBC's World Service that she was not going anywhere until Kherson was liberated by Ukrainian troops: "People are not panicking, nobody wants to be evacuated."

She said that Russian soldiers were now worried how they could survive in the city. "There are plenty of them here; they are dressed as civilians. We can see them - they are different to Kherson people. They walk in groups, their hair is cut short, they are dressed mainly in black."

Ukrainian presidential adviser Mykhailo Podolyak pointed out it was less than a month since Russia had held a ceremony to annex Kherson: "Reality can hurt if you live in a fictional fantasy world."

Late on Monday, Russia's new military commander in Ukraine, Gen Sergei Surovikin, had described the situation in Kherson city, the regional capital, as difficult.

A Russian-installed official, Kirill Stremousov, warned Kherson residents that Ukrainian forces would launch an assault on the city "in the very near future". "No-one is going to retreat, but we also want to save your life. Please move as quickly as possible to the left bank," he added.

Getty Images

Mr Saldo, who was appointed governor of the region by Moscow, told Russian TV that no-one was about to surrender, but it was "undesirable" for residents to remain in a city facing military action. "In the past two days, more than 5,000 people have left Kherson," he was quoted as saying.

The head of Ukraine's presidential office said Moscow was trying to intimidate residents with fake news that Ukraine's military was shelling their city. "It is a fairly primitive tactic, taking into account that the AFU [Armed Forces of Ukraine] do not shell cities," Andriy Yermak wrote on Telegram.

Earlier this month, Kherson's exiled deputy mayor said only 100,000 residents remained in Kherson city of the pre-war population of 320,000, with many fleeing Russia's occupation.

The mayor of Russian-occupied Melitopol, Ivan Fedorov, warned that Kherson's civilians were facing enforced deportation and being deprived of their homes so that Russia could populate the city with "soldiers and traitors". Last month, Ukraine said 2.5 million people had been forcibly deported from Ukraine to Russia.

The Russian-appointed governor accused Ukraine of building up for a large-scale offensive and planning to destroy the Kakhovka dam on the River Dnieper, flooding the area.

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Kherson was the first major city to fall to Russian forces when they invaded Ukraine in February. However, in just a few weeks, the Ukrainian military has recaptured territory in the north of the region and pushed as far as 30km (19 miles) south along the Dnieper, threatening to trap Russian troops.

Ukrainian officials said last week that 400 sq km (155 sq miles) of territory had been regained in less than a week. Russian forces have also been hit by damage to the bridge linking annexed Crimea to Russia. An explosion earlier this month has severely affected Russia's ability to resupply its troops.

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2022-10-19 12:19:29Z
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Ben Wallace seeks rockets in US as Ukraine power plants targeted - The Times

Ben Wallace, the defence secretary, made an urgent trip to Washington yesterday to hold talks with his US counterpart after Russia unleashed exploding drones on Kyiv.

Nearly a third of Ukraine’s power stations have been destroyed in the past week, President Zelensky said yesterday, warning his people of a tough winter ahead as Moscow shifted its war strategy to bombing infrastructure.

Wallace and Lloyd Austin, the US secretary of defence, discussed the “support to Ukraine by our two nations”, Brigadier General Patrick Ryder, the Pentagon spokesman, said. After the meeting it was announced that the West would send more rockets to Ukraine to defend against the Iranian drones unleashed by Russia.

Russian rockets hit Kharkiv industrial complex

In a tweet Zelensky decried “another kind of Russian terrorist attack” after missiles struck

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2022-10-19 06:45:00Z
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Germany's cyber security chief sacked over alleged Russia links - Financial Times

The head of Germany’s national cyber security agency Arne Schönbohm has been sacked over reports of his alleged ties to Russian intelligence.

A government statement said interior minister Nancy Faeser had released Schönbohm from his duties with immediate effect after the German media aired accusations against him.

The allegations centre on his links to an organisation known as the “German Cyber Security Council”, which he co-founded roughly a decade ago. According to reports in the German media, one of its members is a company founded by a former Russian intelligence agent.

The Schönbohm scandal comes at a time of heightened fears that Russia might target Germany’s critical infrastructure over its support for Ukraine. This month the country’s rail network fell victim to an act of sabotage that briefly paralysed all train services in northern Germany.

An interior ministry spokesperson said the allegations against Schönbohm had “caused lasting damage to the public’s necessary trust in the neutrality and impartiality of his leadership . . . of the most important German cyber security agency”.

The accusations were all the more concerning “in view of Russia’s hybrid warfare”. They had also undermined the “essential relationship of trust between the minister and the leadership” of the BSI.

Schönbohm has been in the public spotlight since a report on the German TV programme ZDF Magazin Royale this month highlighted his relationship with the German Cyber Security Council. The BSI chief had given a speech at the council’s 10-year anniversary celebration earlier this year, although he had told subordinates not to appear at its events.

The programme also focused on a Berlin-based cyber security company called Protelion that had until recently been a member of the council. The company, which was previously called Infotecs, was a subsidiary of a Russian company called OAO Infotecs. According to the research network Policy Network Analytics, OAO Infotecs was founded by a former employee of the KGB, whom Russian president Vladimir Putin had rewarded with an honorary medal.

Protelion declined to comment. OAO Infotecs could not be reached for comment.

The German Cyber Security Council last week said it had excluded Protelion as a member, saying its actions had been a “violation of the goals” of the association.

The interior ministry spokesperson said the decision to release Schönbohm from his duties was also made out of the duty of care towards the BSI chief himself as well as the 1,500 employees of the agency who could “now pursue their work, which is so important for Germany’s IT security, regardless of speculations about personnel”.

She said the accusations against him would now be thoroughly investigated and evaluated. Until it was completed, “the presumption of innocence applies to Mr Schönbohm”.

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2022-10-18 16:05:06Z
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Ukraine war: Blackouts in 1,162 towns and villages after Russia strikes - BBC

Reuters

By Hugo Bachega & Yaroslav Lukov

In Kyiv and London

More than a thousand towns and villages across Ukraine remain without power after massive Russian attacks in recent days, Ukrainian officials have said.

Emergencies services spokesman Oleksandr Khorunzhyi said more than 70 people had been killed in the rocket and drone strikes since 7 October.

President Volodymyr Zelensky said that 30% of Ukraine's power stations had been destroyed in the past eight days.

Parts of the capital Kyiv have no power and water after new strikes on Tuesday.

Kyiv Mayor Vitaliy Klitschko said that all three victims of the latest Russian strikes were employees of "critical infrastructure", adding that two facilities in the capital had been hit.

Power and water were cut in Zhytomyr, west of the capital, and one energy facility was hit in the south-eastern city of Dnipro.

At Tuesday's briefing in Kyiv, Mr Khorunzhyi said: "In the period from October 7 to 18, as a result of shelling of energy facilities, about 4,000 settlements in 11 regions [of Ukraine] were cut off.

"Currently, according to the energy ministry, 1,162 settlements remain without power," the emergencies services spokesman said.

After suffering a series of painful defeats on the battlefield, Russia has stepped up attacks in recent weeks on electricity infrastructure in cities away from the front lines.

Ukrainian emergency officials have rushed to repair the damage, but the strikes, ahead of winter, have raised concerns about how the system will respond.

Kyrylo Tymoshenko, the deputy head of the president's office, said that "everyone should be ready, first, to save electricity, and second, rolling power blackouts are also possible if strikes continue".

"The entire population needs to prepare for a tough winter."

Ukrainian are being urged not use electric appliances between 07:00 - 09:00 local time (04:00 - 06:00 GMT) and 17:00 - 22:00 on a daily basis.

• US says Iran's 'kamikaze' drones breach sanctions
• Russian warplane crash kills 13 in apartment block

The latest attacks came 24 hours after "kamikaze" drones - believed to have been supplied by Iran - killed at least nine people in Kyiv and Sumy, in the north-east.

It was not initially clear to what extent drones were involved on Tuesday.

Ukraine said Russian bombers had fired missiles and one S-300 anti-aircraft missile had hit a residential building in the southern city of Mykolaiv overnight, killing one person. The city's flower market was also destroyed.

DSNS Ukraine

In other attacks early on Tuesday:

• In Zhytomyr, the mayor said there was no power or water in the city and hospitals were working on back-up power
• 11 villages in the Zhytomyr region were also without electricity, officials said.
• Power and water supplies were disrupted in the central city of Dnipro, where a large energy facility was destroyed, and officials said street lighting would be turned off
• Shelling was reported in the north-eastern city of Kharkiv
• Infrastructure in the southern city of Zaporizhzhia was hit, although local officials said no-one had been hurt.

In some cities, Ukrainians are buying power generators and gas burners. Some towns are already facing rolling blackouts.

In a separate development, Ukraine's state nuclear energy company accused Moscow of abducting two senior officials at its nuclear plant at Zaporizhzhia.

The plant - Europe's biggest - is occupied by Russian forces but its Ukrainian staff continue to work there under difficult conditions.

Reuters

"We were expecting that Russia will intensify attacks on energy infrastructure and civilian infrastructure and increase the urban warfare towards autumn - and here we are exactly with that scenario taking place," Ukrainian MP Lesia Vasylenko told the BBC.

In its latest assessment, UK defence intelligence said it was highly likely that Russia had become increasingly willing to strike civilian infrastructure, in addition to military targets, since its setbacks on the battlefield.

Russia's missile and drone attacks have brought renewed calls from the Ukrainian government for the delivery of air defence missiles.

Earlier, the US said it agreed with its French and UK allies that the supply of drones by Iran violated a UN Security Council resolution linked to a nuclear agreement, barring the transfer of certain military technology.

Ukraine has identified the drones used in deadly attacks on Kyiv and Sumy as Shahed-136 unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs). They are known as Geran-2 in Russia.

Vedant Patel of the US state department said Washington would not hesitate to use sanctions. The EU said it was gathering evidence and was ready to act.

Both Russia and Iran have denied that Iranian drones were deployed.

However, Western officials in Ukraine said it was not in doubt that the drones had come from Iran and it was obvious Russia was seeking to attack the power network.

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Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba said he would ask President Zelensky to sever diplomatic ties with Tehran. He also said an official note would be sent to Israel appealing for immediate air defence supplies.

Israeli officials have so far stopped short of sending weapons to Kyiv. One Russian security figure, Dmitry Medvedev, has warned that if they did, relations with Moscow would be destroyed.

Meanwhile, in one of the biggest prisoner swaps since Russia's war began in February, 218 detainees were exchanged - including 108 Ukrainian women.

And across the Sea of Azov from Ukraine, a Russian fighter jet crashed into the courtyard of a block of flats in the southern Russian town of Yeysk. At least 13 people were killed, including three children, while dozens of residents were rescued from the nine-storey block.

The pilots on board the Su-34 plane ejected.

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2022-10-18 16:03:31Z
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