Ukraine interior minister among 18 killed in helicopter crash

Published

2 years ago

January 18, 2023

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KYIV Eighteen people including Ukraines interior minister, other senior ministry officials and three children were killed on Wednesday morning when a helicopter crashed near a nursery outside Kyiv, Ukrainian officials said.

The helicopter came down close to the nursery and a residential building in Brovary to the north-east of the capital, local officials said.

The regional governor said 29 people were also hurt, including 15 children.

Several dead bodies draped in foil blankets lay in a courtyard near the damaged nursery. Emergency workers were at the scene. Debris was scattered over a playground.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky described theincident as a terrible tragedy.

Today, a terrible tragedy occurred in Brovary… The pain is unspeakable, he said in a statement on social media.

National police chief Ihor Klymenkosaid Interior Minister Denys Monastyrskyi, who was appointed under President Volodymyr Zelensky in 2021, was killed. His first deputy, Mr Yevheniy Yenin, and the ministrys state secretary also died, he said.

As a result of the crash in Brovary, the leadership of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Ukraine was killed. They were in the helicopter of the State Emergency Service,Mr Klymenko said.

Mr Monastyrskyi, responsible for the police and security inside Ukraine, would be the most senior Ukrainian official to die since the war began. Ukraines Interior Minister Denys Monastyrskyi (right) was appointed by President Volodymyr Zelenskiy in 2021. PHOTO: REUTERS Ukraines Prime Minister Denys Shmygal said Mr Monastyrskys death and the two other senior officials was a great loss for Ukraine.

A great loss for the government team and the entire state. My sincere condolences to the families of all the victims. I instructed (officials) to immediately create a special group for a detailed investigation of all the circumstances of the tragedy, Mr Shmygal said.

Videos shared on social media showed a burning building and people could be heard screaming.

There were children and… staff in the nursery at the time of this tragedy, Kyiv region governor Oleksiy Kuleba wrote on the Telegram messaging app.

It was not immediately clear what caused the helicopter to crash.

The helicopter was flying towards frontline regions in eastern Ukraine, the presidency said.

The purpose of the helicopter flight was to carry out work in one of the hot spots of our country where hostilities are ongoing. The interior minister was heading there, the deputy head of the Ukrainian presidential office, Mr Kyrylo Tymoshenko, said on local television.

There was no immediate comment from Russia, whose troops invaded Ukraine last February, and Ukrainian officials made no reference to any Russian attack in the area at the time.

Unfortunately this happened with a state emergency service helicopter which was fulfilling its task, Air force spokesperson Yuriy Ihnat told Apostrof TV. More On This Topic Russia fighter jet hits apartments in city near Ukraine, at least 13 killed Official in Russian-controlled Ukraine region killed in car bomb attack Separately, Ukraine reported intense fighting overnight in its east, where both sides have taken huge losses for little gain in intense trench warfare over the last two months.

Ukrainian forces repelled attacks in the eastern city of Bakhmut and the village of Klishchiivka just south of it, the Ukrainian military said.

Russia has focused on Bakhmut in recent weeks, claiming last week to have taken the mining town of Soledar on its northern outskirts.

After major Ukrainian gains in the second half of 2022, the frontlines have hardened over the last two months.

Kyiv says it hopes new Western weapons would allow it to resume an offensive to recapture land, especially heavy tanks that would give its troops mobility and protection to push through Russian lines.

Western allies will be gathering on Friday at a US air base in Germany to pledge more weapons for Ukraine. Attention is focused in particular on Germany, which has veto power over any decision to send its Leopard tanks, which are fielded by armies across Europe and widely seen as the most suitable for Ukraine.

Berlin says a decision on the tanks will be the first item on the agenda of Mr Boris Pistorius, its new defence minister.

Britain, which broke the Western taboo on sending main battle tanks over the weekend by promising a squadron of its Challengers, has called on Germany to approve the Leopards. Poland and Finland have already said they would be ready to send Leopards if Berlin allows it. REUTERS More On This Topic Ukraine demands speedier weapons deliveries from West to confront Russian pressure Henry Kissinger says Russia war validates Ukraine's Nato bid

Entertainment

French woman faces online mockery after being conned out of £700,000 by fake Brad Pitt

Published

8 mins ago

January 16, 2025

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French woman faces online mockery after being conned out of £700,000 by fake Brad Pitt

A French woman has been mocked on social media after losing more than €830,000 (£700,000) to scammers posing as the Hollywood actor Brad Pitt.

The 53-year-old interior designer, known only as Anne, thought she was in a year-long romantic relationship with the Fight Club and Ocean’s Eleven star.

But after opening up about her ordeal to reporters, she suffered so much trolling that the French television channel TF1 had to pull her interview.

“The story broadcast this Sunday has resulted in a wave of harassment against the witness,” TF1 presenter Harry Roselmack wrote on X.

“For the protection of victims, we have decided to withdraw it from our platforms,” he added.

At the time of the broadcast, Anne was reported to have been suffering from severe depression.

Anne told TF1’s Seven to Eight show that, after starting to use Instagram for the first time, she was contacted by someone posing as Pitt’s mother.

“She told me that her son needed someone like me,” Anne explained. The scammers messaged her again several days afterwards, this time posing as Brad Pitt.

Anne said she began talking to the fake version of the actor sometime in February 2023 on different social media and messaging platforms, including WhatsApp.

Images from the TF1 programme have been widely shared online, showing a number of AI-generated images of Brad Pitt in hospital, designed to trick Anne in believing she was interacting with the 61-year-old actor.

‘I really didn’t understand’

“At first I said to myself that it was fake, that it’s ridiculous,” Anne explained to TF1. “But I’m not used to social media and I didn’t really understand what was happening to me.”

Scammers began requesting money, telling Anne that Brad was in hospital with kidney cancer and needed money for treatment. He claimed his bank accounts were frozen during divorce proceedings with ex-wife Angelina Jolie.

She eventually agreed to transfer a large sum of money to a Turkish bank account after receiving an email from the fake star’s “doctor”.

Scammers ‘deserve hell’

Anne said she finally realised she had been scammed after she saw pictures of the real Brad Pitt with his current partner, Ines de Ramon.

“I ask myself why they chose me to do such harm like this?” she told TF1. “I’ve never harmed anyone. These people deserve hell.”

Police are investigating the scam, but the interview has triggered some social media posts making jokes at Anne’s expense.

French newspaper Sud Ouest reported that Anne was going through divorce proceedings with a millionaire entrepreneur at the time and needed hospital treatment for severe depression following the scam.

A spokesperson for Brad Pitt told Sky News: “It’s awful that scammers take advantage of fans’ strong connection with celebrities.”

They added it was “an important reminder to not respond to unsolicited online outreach, especially from actors who have no social media presence”.

Environment

Biden’s $635M good-bye, Trump’s DOT pick will investigate Tesla, and a look ahead

Published

27 mins ago

January 15, 2025

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Biden's 5M good-bye, Trump's DOT pick will investigate Tesla, and a look ahead

On today’s episode of Quick Charge we explore the uncertainty around the future of EV incentives, the roles different stakeholders will play in shaping that future, and our friend Stacy Noblet from energy consulting firm ICF stops by to share her take on what lies ahead.

We’ve got a couple of different articles and studies referenced in this forward-looking interview, and I’ve done my best to link to all of them below. If I missed one, let me know in the comments.

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Environment

In December, EV sales were still up and incentives were still sweet – Kelley Blue Book

Published

1 hour ago

January 15, 2025

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In December, EV sales were still up and incentives were still sweet – Kelley Blue Book

December-EV-salesKelley — Chevy Equinox EV (Source: GM)

EV sales kept up their momentum in December 2024, with incentives playing a big role, according to the latest Cox Automotive’s Kelley Blue Book report.

December’s strong EV sales saw an average transaction price (ATP) of $55,544, which helped push the industry-wide ATP higher, according to Kelley Blue Book. The December ATP for an EV was higher year-over-year by 0.8%, slightly below the industry average, and higher month-over-month by 1.1%. Tesla ATPs were higher year-over-year by 10.5%.

Incentives for EVs remained elevated in December, although they were slightly lower month-over-month at 14.3% of ATP, down from 14.7% in November.

EV incentives were higher by an impressive 41% year-over-year and have been above 12% of ATP for six consecutive months. Strong sales incentives, which averaged more than $6,700 per sale in 2024, were one reason EV sales surpassed 1.3 million units last year, according to Cox Automotive, a new record for volume and share.

(My colleague Jameson Dow reported yesterday, “In 2024, the world sold 3.5 million more EVs than it did in the previous year … This increase is larger than the 3.2 million increase in EV sales from the previous year – meaning that EV sales aren’t just up, but that the rate of growth is itself increasing.”)

Kelley Blue Book estimated that in December, approximately 84,000 vehicles – or 5.6% of total sales – transacted at prices higher than $80,000 – the highest volume ever. KBB lumps gas cars and EVs together into this luxury vehicle category, so this is where Tesla Cybertruck is slotted.

However, Tesla bundles sales figures of Cybertruck with Model S, Model X, and Tesla Semi(!) into a category it calls “other models,” so we don’t know for sure exactly how many Cybertrucks Tesla sold in Q4, much less in December. However, Electrek‘s Fred Lambert estimates between 9,000 and 12,000 Cybertrucks were sold in Q4, and that’s not a stellar sales figure.

What will January bring when it comes to EV ATPs? What about tax credits? Check back in a month and I’ll fill you in.

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