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Veteran cameraman killed near Kyiv while reporting for Fox News

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Veteran cameraman killed near Kyiv while reporting for Fox News

A Monday attack on a Fox News crew reporting near the Ukrainian capital of Kyiv left two of the network’s journalists dead and its correspondent severely injured, the channel said on Tuesday.

Killed in the attack were Pierre Zakrzewski, a 55-year-old longtime war photojournalist, and Oleksandra “Sasha” Kuvshynova, a 24-year-old Ukrainian journalist working as a consultant for the network. Fox News correspondent Benjamin Hall was seriously injured and remains hospitalized, reported by CNN.

Fox News anchor Bill Hemmer, who broke the news of Zakrzewski’s death on the channel’s air, described the photojournalist as “an absolute legend” at the network.

And foreign correspondent Trey Yingst, who has been reporting from Ukraine, remembered both Zakrzewski and Kuvshynova on Twitter.

“I don’t know what to say,” he wrote about Zakrzewski. “Pierre was as good as they come. Selfless. Brave. Passionate. I’m so sorry this happened to you.”

Remembering Kuvshynova, Yingst wrote, “She was talented, well-sourced and witty. She liked photography, poetry and music. We became fast friends over a shared love of coffee.”

Zakrzewski’s counterparts at other networks also remembered him.

Clarissa Ward, CNN’s chief international correspondent, said she had “the great privilege” of having worked with Zakrzewski and “the even greater privilege of calling him a friend.”

“An extraordinary spirit and tremendous talent and one of the kindest, most gracious colleagues on the road,” Ward wrote on Twitter. “Absolutely heartbreaking.”

Fox News had just recognized Zakrzewski in December as one of the network’s “unsung heroes.” He was described at the time as a journalist who “risks his life in war zones to get the story for Fox News.”

“The truth is the target,” Ukraine’s Ministry of Defense said Tuesday, commenting on the attack of journalists in the Fox News crew.

Both deaths were announced by Fox News Media chief executive Suzanne Scott, who said the team’s vehicle came under fire as they were reporting. Anton Gerashchenko, an advisor to the Ukrainian interior minister, blamed artillery shelling by Russian forces.

The deaths come as journalists working in Ukraine increasingly find themselves coming under fire. Brent Renaud, an award-winning American documentarian, was killed Sunday in an attack that also injured journalist Juan Arredondo. A Sky News team released footage earlier this month showing them being violently ambushed.

Scott on Tuesday remembered Zakrzewski as a journalist who was “profoundly committed to telling the story and his bravery, professionalism and work ethic were renowned among journalists at every media outlet.”

Scott described Zakrzewski’s talents as vast and said that “there wasn’t a role that he didn’t jump in to help with in the field – from photographer to engineer to editor to producer. She said that he “did it all under immense pressure with tremendous skill.”

Zakrzewski, an Irish citizen, was a veteran photojournalist who had reported extensively from dangerous conflict zones for the Fox News. He had been reporting from Ukraine since February.

Scott said that Kuvshynova had been helping the network’s crews “navigate Kyiv and the surrounding area while gathering information and speaking to sources.”

“She was incredibly talented and spent weeks working directly with our entire team there, operating around the clock to make sure the world knew what was happening in her country,” Scott said.

Tributes poured in throughout the day for Zakrzewski and Kuvshynova.

Fox News anchor Bret Baier described the two journalists as “wonderful people” who “were lost on that battlefield.”

“This is a hard day,” he tweeted.

Suspected North Korea missile ‘explodes in mid-air’ after launch near Pyongyang

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Suspected North Korea missile ‘explodes in mid-air’ after launch near Pyongyang

North Korea launched a suspected missile that appeared to explode shortly after liftoff in the skies over Pyongyang on Wednesday, South Korea’s military said, amid reports that the nuclear-armed North was seeking to test-fire its largest missile yet.

The United States and South Korea have warned that North Korea may be preparing to launch an intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) at full range for the first time since 2017, in violation of United Nations Security Council (UNSC) resolutions, according to Reuters.

The projectile was fired from the international airport in Sunan, outside the North Korean capital of Pyongyang, South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) said in a statement.

“It is presumed that it failed immediately after launch,” the statement said. It was presumed to be a ballistic missile and seemed to explode in mid-air while still in its booster phase, at an altitude below 20 kilometres (12 miles), a JCS official told Reuters.

A U.S. Department of State spokesperson said it was a “ballistic missile launch” and condemned it as a violation of United Nations Security Council resolutions, but declined to comment when asked about the reported failure.

Debris fell in or near Pyongyang after the failed test, Seoul-based NK News reported, citing unnamed witnesses and a photograph of the test showing a red-tinted ball of smoke at the end of a zig-zagging plume that traced the rocket’s launch trajectory in the sky above the city.

The failed launch underscored the danger behind North Korea’s decision to use an airport so close to heavily populated civilian areas as a site for test firing large missiles, analysts said.

In 2017, an intermediate-range ballistic missile launched from another location in North Korea failed shortly after liftoff and crashed into an industrial or agriculture complex in the city of Tokchon.

The Sunan airport has been the site of several recent launches, including on Feb. 27 and March 5. North Korea said those tests were for developing components of a reconnaissance satellite and did not identify what rocket it used, but Seoul and Washington said they were tests of a new ICBM system.

Reclusive North Korea has fired missiles at an unprecedented frequency this year, conducting its ninth weapons test on March 5, drawing condemnation from the United States, South Korea and Japan.

Russia passed a law to take control of foreign airplanes left in country

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Russia passed a law to take control of foreign airplanes left in country

Russia on Monday passed a law allowing the country’s airlines to re-register planes that had been leased from abroad in an attempt to bypass Western sanctions.

The bill, signed by Russian President Vladimir Putin, is intended to support domestic flights in Russia and “to ensure the uninterrupted functioning of activities in the field of civil aviation.”

Most foreign-leased jets operating in Russia are registered in Bermuda and Ireland.

Aviation authorities in those countries had said they were suspending certificates of airworthiness for those planes.

Planes cannot fly without a certificate of airworthiness issued by the civil aviation authority in the country where they are registered.

Re-registering foreign-owned planes in Russia would aim to circumvent that requirement, a source told Reuters.

Western sanctions imposed after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine gave plane leasing firms until March 28 to repossess aircraft from the country.

Russian airlines have about 780 leased jets – with 515 of them leased from abroad.

Three European leaders to visit Kyiv to show Ukraine support

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Three European leaders to visit Kyiv to show Ukraine support

Three European prime ministers rode a train for Kyiv on Tuesday, the first visit by foreign leaders to the Ukrainian capital since Russia launched its invasion, and a striking symbol of Ukraine’s success so far in fending off Russia’s assault.

“It is our duty to be where history is forged. Because it’s not about us, but about the future of our children who deserve to live in a world free from tyranny,” said Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki, who set off across the border with Czech Prime Minister Petr Fiala and Janez Jansa of Slovenia.

Fiala said the aim was “to confirm the unequivocal support of the entire European Union for the sovereignty and independence of Ukraine.”, reported by Reuters.

They will arrive in a city still under bombardment, where around half of the 3.4 million population has fled and many are spending nights sheltering in underground stations.

Two powerful explosions rocked the capital before dawn on Tuesday and tracer fire lit up the night sky. A high-rise apartment building was in flames after being struck by artillery.

Firefighters tried to douse the blaze and rescue workers helped evacuate residents trapped inside using mobile ladders. A dead body lay on the ground in a bag.

Sitting on the ground outside, resident Igor Krupa said he survived because he had slept under a makeshift shelter of furniture and metal weights: “All the windows went out and all the debris went into the apartment.”

But despite shelling that has reduced some cities to rubble, Europe’s biggest invasion force since World War Two has been halted at the gates of Kyiv, nearly three weeks into a war which Western countries say Moscow believed it would win within days.

Major road and train routes from the capital are still open and Russia has failed to capture any of Ukraine’s 10 biggest cities.

Hosting foreign dignitaries in his own capital would be a remarkable achievement for President Volodymyr Zelenskiy, who rejected offers to evacuate early in the war, staying under bombardment to rally his nation.

In his most confident public statement yet, Zelenskiy called on Russian troops to surrender, saying they and their officers already knew that the war was hopeless.

“You will not take anything from Ukraine. You will take lives. There are a lot of you. But your life will also be taken. But why should you die? What for? I know that you want to survive,” he said.

The war has brought economic isolation upon Russia never before visited on such a large economy. In Russia itself, it has led to a near total crackdown on free speech, with all major independent media shut down and Western social media apps switched off.

Late on Monday, an employee of the main state TV channel stood behind an anchor during a news broadcast and held up a sign in English and Russian that said: “NO WAR. Stop the war. Don’t believe propaganda. They are lying to you here.” read more

She was quickly arrested. Kremlin spokesperson Peskov called her protest “hooliganism”.

The United Nations says nearly 3 million people have fled Ukraine since the start of the war.

“I am fleeing with my child because I want my child to stay alive,” said Tanya who fled the southern frontline town of Mykolaiv across the Danube river to Romania. “Because the people that are there now are Russians, Russian soldiers, and they kill children.”

S. Korea reports record deaths amid omicron surge

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S. Korea reports record deaths amid omicron surge

South Korea had its deadliest day yet of the pandemic on Tuesday, with 293 deaths reported in the latest 24 hours, as the country grapples with a record surge in coronavirus infections driven by the fast-moving omicron variant.

The 1,196 virus patients in serious or critical conditions were also a new high. Health officials said the country’s medical response remains stable following efforts to expand resources, with more than 30% of intensive care units designated for COVID-19 treatment still available. But the strain on the hospital system is expected to increase in coming weeks, considering the time lags between infections, hospitalizations and deaths.

Health officials have recently significantly eased quarantine restrictions and border controls and stopped requiring adults to show proof of vaccination or negative tests when entering potentially crowded spaces like restaurants so that more public and health workers could respond to rapidly expanding at-home treatments. The country has also reshaped its testing regime to be centered around rapid antigen tests, despite concerns over their accuracy, to save laboratory tests mostly for high-risk groups.

Officials may take further steps to ease social distancing soon after extending the curfew at restaurants, bars, movie theaters and other businesses earlier this month to ease the pandemic’s shock on service sector businesses.

More than 1.6 million virus carriers with mild or moderate symptoms have been asked to isolate at home to save hospital space, the KDCA said.

The country will also begin a vaccine rollout for children between the ages of 5 and 11 later this month.

“We anticipate the number of (serious or critical cases) to grow to around 2,000. We are preparing our medical response for that,” senior Health Ministry official Park Hyang said during a briefing.

South Korea has reported a daily average of around 337,000 new cases in the past seven days, including 362,283 on Tuesday, representing more than an 80-fold increase from levels seen in mid-January, when omicron emerged as the dominant strain. The country’s caseload is now over 7.2 million, with 6.4 million added since February.

Park said because of high vaccination rates, the country has so far weathered the omicron surge with lower levels of fatalities than what was seen in the United States and Europe, which was hit by the variant earlier. More than 62% of South Koreans have received booster shots.

The country so far has 17.6 COVID-19 deaths per 100,000 people, compared to 285.5 deaths in the U.S. and 237.5 in Britain, according to the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency.

The omicron variant has forced South Korea to abandon a stringent COVID-19 response based on mass laboratory tests, aggressive contact tracing and quarantines to focus limited medical resources on priority groups, including people 60 and older and those with preexisting medical conditions.

The omicron surge and its growing economic toll will pose an immediate major challenge for conservative South Korean president-elect Yoon Suk Yeol, who will take office in May after narrowly winning last week’s election.

Yoon has been critical of the COVID-19 response under current liberal President Moon Jae-in, which was seen as a relative success before a devastating delta-driven spread in the winter, accusing officials of maintaining an unsustainable approach that squeezed medical workers and livelihoods before being broken by omicron.

Yoon has promised relaxed social distancing rules and stronger financial support for small businesses, but has yet to issue clear-cut plans to cope with the expected increase in hospitalizations and deaths.

Asian woman stomped on and punched more than 125 times

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Asian woman stomped on and punched more than 125 times

A New York woman was punched more than 125 times in the head and face and stomped on seven times by a man who had allegedly called her an “Asian b*tch,” the Yonkers Police Department said in a news release Monday.

The victim, a 67-year-old Asian woman, was returning home Friday evening when she saw the suspect, whom police identified as Tammel Esco, 42, in front of her building. Esco allegedly used the racial slur as she passed him, police said in the release, according to CNN.

Yonkers is a city of more than 211,000 people in the New York City suburbs, about 17 miles north of Manhattan.

“This is one of the most appalling attacks I have ever seen; to beat a helpless woman is despicable and targeting her because of her race makes it more so,” Yonkers Police Commissioner John J. Mueller said in the release. “This defendant must be held to the maximum punishment allowed by law to send a clear message that hateful, violent behavior will not be tolerated in our communities.”

Since the start of the Covid-19 pandemic, thousands of people in the US have been victims of anti-Asian incidents, from verbal abuse to physical attacks.

From March 19, 2020, to December 31, 2021, a total of 10,905 hate incidents against Asian American and Pacific Islander people were reported to Stop AAPI Hate, an organization that tracks reports of racism and discrimination against Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders.

The victim ignored Esco and entered the vestibule of her apartment building, according to the police. But as she attempted to open the second door to enter the lobby, Esco allegedly approached her from behind and punched her in the head, knocking her to the floor, the release said.

The department provided surveillance a video of the assault.

In it, a man is seen punching a woman in both the head and face more than 125 times and then stomping her with his foot seven times. Police said he then spat on her.

The woman suffered multiple contusions and lacerations to her head and face, facial bone fractures, and bleeding on the brain, according to the news release. She was taken to a trauma center and is listed in stable condition, according to police.

Police responded to the scene at around 6:11 p.m. Friday, found Esco outside the apartment building and placed him into custody without incident, according to the release.

He was arraigned in a Yonkers City Court on Saturday and held in custody at Westchester County Jail, the release said.

Esco is charged with two felonies — attempted murder and assault in the second degree involving a victim 65 or older — online court records show.

Each count is charged as a hate crime, according to the release.

His next court date is slated for March 25.

CNN reached out to the Legal Aid Society of Westchester County, which represents Esco, for comment but hasn’t received a reply.

Yonkers Mayor Mike Spano said in the release he expects the suspect to be charged to the fullest extent possible for his “heinous actions.”

“Hate crimes are beyond intolerable in our city,” the mayor said.

Fox News journalist was injured in Ukraine, a day after journalist killed

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Fox News journalist was injured in Ukraine, a day after journalist killed

A Fox News correspondent was injured in Ukraine, a day after the death of a freelance journalist also covering the Russia invasion, reported by abcnews.

Fox News State Department correspondent Benjamin Hall was injured while newsgathering near Kyiv on Monday, according to Suzanne Scott, CEO of Fox News Media.

Photojournalist Juan Arredondo said he was with Renaud when he was killed.

In a video from a hospital bed, Arredondo said, “We crossed the first bridge in Irpin; we were going to film other refugees leaving and we got to a car, somebody offered to take us to the other bridge and we crossed a checkpoint and they started shooting at us. So, the driver turned around and they kept shooting. It’s two of us, my friend is Brent Renaud, and he’s been shot and left behind.”

“This kind of attack is totally unacceptable, and is a violation of international law,” Carlos Martínez de la Serna, program director of the Committee to Protect Journalists, said in a statement. “Russian forces in Ukraine must stop all violence against journalists and other civilians at once.”

“Two examples of the dangers in covering war,” Kirby, of the Pentagon, said of Hall and Renaud during a Monday press briefing. “This is a war that didn’t need to be fought, to be sure. But just as to be sure, there are journalists from around the world on the ground trying to discover the truth and to show that truth and to tell these important stories.”

The circumstances were not immediately clear but Hall was hospitalized, according to Scott, who asked to “please keep Ben and his family in your prayers.” Pentagon spokesperson John Kirby also confirmed he was injured.

Shaun Tandon, president of the State Department Correspondents’ Association, said in a statement, “We know Ben for his warmth, good humor and utmost professionalism. We wish Ben a quick recovery and call for utmost efforts to protect journalists who are providing an invaluable service through their coverage in Ukraine.”

Hall’s injury follows the Sunday death of freelance journalist Brent Renaud, which was confirmed by the U.S. State Department. Renaud was in Ukraine to cover the global refugee crisis for a documentary with Sugar23, Time Studios and Day Zero Productions, according to Sugar23.

“As an award-winning filmmaker and journalist, Brent tackled the toughest stories around the world often alongside his brother Craig Renaud,” Time editor-in-chief and CEO Edward Felsenthal and president and COO of Time and Time Studios Ian Orefice said in a statement. “In recent weeks, Brent was in the region working on a TIME Studios project focused on the global refugee crisis. Our hearts are with all of Brent’s loved ones.”

Biden encourages the government to narrow gender pay gap

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Biden encourages the government to narrow gender pay gap

The White House is marking Equal Pay Day by taking new steps aimed at ending the gender pay gap for federal workers and contractors.

According to AP, president Joe Biden on Tuesday is signing an executive order that encourages the government to consider banning federal contractors from seeking information about job applicants’ prior salary history. And a new Labor Department directive is aimed at strengthening federal contractors’ obligations to audit payrolls to help guard against pay disparities based on gender, race or ethnicity.

In 2020, the average woman who worked full-time all year earned 83 cents on the dollar compared with her male colleague doing the same work, according to the White House. The gap is even bigger for Black and Native American women and Latinas.

The issue impacts women even later in life. A 2020 Brookings Institution study on women’s retirement found Social Security benefits for women are, on average, 80% of those for men.

The Office of Personnel Management also is considering a regulation to address the use of prior salary history in hiring and setting compensation for federal workers.

Equal Pay Day is designed to call attention to how much longer women must work to earn what men earned in the previous year.

Data shows that while the pay gap is at its smallest ever, the coronavirus pandemic has altered women’s labor force participation so that “what we’re seeing is an artificial narrowing,” said Jasmine Tucker, director of research at the National Women’s Law Center.

For instance, women who remained in the labor force during the pandemic and worked full time often had higher earnings than their counterparts who lost low-paying jobs, indicating that 2020 figures cannot be compared with wage gap data from prior years, Tucker said.

Among other issues, the Biden administration wants to combat occupational segregation to get women better access to well-paying jobs, which tend to be male-dominated, according to a senior administration official who previewed the administration’s efforts on Monday, speaking on the condition of anonymity.

Last October, the administration issued a national gender strategy to advance women’s and girls’ full participation in society.

This year, the administration is looking for new ways to combat pay disparities and drawing attention to high-profile efforts to combat the wage gap, such as the U.S. women’s national soccer team’s $24 million February settlement with U.S. Soccer in a discrimination dispute.

The settlement includes a commitment to equalize pay and bonuses to match the men’s team.

“I think we’re going to look back on this moment and just think, ‘Wow, what an incredible turning point in the history of U.S. Soccer that changed the game and changed the world, really, forever,’” star midfielder Megan Rapinoe said at the time.

Biden, Vice President Kamala Harris and other administration officials planned to mark Equal Pay Day with a Tuesday afternoon event attended by members of the women’s soccer team.

Tucker said there is a long way to go to achieve equal pay — especially after the pandemic.

There were in excess of 1.1 million fewer women in the labor force in February 2022 than in February 2020, which means they are neither working nor searching for employment.

“There was a particular shedding among low-paid workers, and what was left was middle- and higher-paid workers who were insulated from the pandemic,” Tucker said.

China says it wants to avoid being impacted by U.S. sanctions over Russia’s war

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China says it wants to avoid being impacted by U.S. sanctions over Russia’s war

China’s Foreign Minister Wang Yi says Beijing wants to avoid being impacted by U.S. sanctions over Russia’s war with Ukraine.

“China is not a party to the crisis, nor does it want the sanctions to affect China,” Wang said Monday during a call with Spanish counterpart Jose Manuel Albares to discuss the crisis in Ukraine.

“China has the right to safeguard its legitimate rights and interests.”

His comments are seen as one of Beijing’s most explicit statements yet on the unprecedented barrage of international sanctions imposed against Russia’s corporate and financial system. The measures came in response to the Kremlin’s full-scale offensive of Ukraine, which began on Feb. 24.

Officials from the U.S. and China met on Monday to discuss a range of bilateral issues, including Russia’s war with Ukraine. The talks, which were held in Rome, Italy, spanned 7 hours and were described as “intense” by one senior administration official.

The U.S. has warned of consequences for any country that provides Russia with support amid the Kremlin’s war with Ukraine.

“We are watching very closely to the extent to which the PRC [People’s Republic of China] or any country in the world provides support material, economic, financial, rhetorical otherwise, to this war of choice that President [Vladimir] Putin is waging against the government of Ukraine, against the state of Ukraine and against the people of Ukraine,” State Department spokesman Ned Price said at a press briefing on Monday.

“We have been very clear both privately with Beijing and publicly with Beijing that there would be consequences for any such support,” Price said.

Russian Finance Minister Anton Siluanov said Sunday that the Kremlin was counting on China to help it withstand the fallout from global economic measures imposed against Moscow, Reuters reported.

The White House has warned China not to provide Russia with an economic lifeline as the Kremlin steps up its onslaught on Ukraine. The U.S. says it fears China, a key strategic ally of Moscow, may seek to cushion the impact of measures designed to destroy Russia’s economy if the war continues.

There are concerns among market participants that Chinese companies could soon become embroiled in financial penalties after reports that Moscow had asked Beijing for assistance to support its Ukraine invasion.

China has denied these reports, while Russia has said it did not request military aid from Beijing.

Since Russia’s attack on Ukraine, Beijing has refused to call it an invasion and said China would maintain normal trade with both countries. China has not joined the U.S., EU and other countries’ sanctions on Russia.

China has said, however, that it is “deeply” worried about the crisis in Ukraine.

In speaking with Spain’s Albares, China’s Wang reaffirmed Beijing’s long-held stance of opposing unilateral sanctions outside of the United Nations.

“China always opposes the use of sanctions to solve problems, and even more opposes unilateral sanctions that have no basis in international law, which will undermine international rules and bring harm to the people’s livelihood of all countries,” Wang said.

US gas price rises 22% in two weeks to record $4.43

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US gas price rises 22% in two weeks to record $4.43

The average U.S. price of regular-grade gasoline shot up a whopping 79 cents over the past two weeks to a record-setting $4.43 per gallon (3.8 liters) as Russia’s invasion of Ukraine is contributing to already-high prices at the pump, according to AP.

Energy prices are also contributing to the worst inflation that Americans have seen in 40 years, far outpacing higher wages.

Nationwide, the highest average price for regular-grade gas is in the San Francisco Bay Area, at $5.79 per gallon. The lowest average is in Tulsa, Oklahoma, at $3.80 per gallon.

According to the survey, the average price of diesel also spiked, up $1.18 over two weeks, to $5.20 a gallon. Diesel costs $2.11 more than it did one year ago.

Industry analyst Trilby Lundberg of the Lundberg Survey said Sunday the new price exceeds by 32 cents the prior all-time high of $4.11 set in July 2008. But that’s still quite a ways from the inflation-adjusted record high of about $5.24 per gallon.

The price at the pump is $1.54 higher than it was a year ago.

Lundberg said gas prices are likely to remain high in the short term as crude oil costs soar amid global supply concerns following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

Prices at the pump were rising long before Russia invaded Ukraine as post-lockdown demand has pushed prices higher. Crude prices plummeted in early 2020 as economies around the world shut down because of COVID-19 — the price of futures even turned negative, meaning some sellers were paying buyers to take oil. Prices rebounded, however, as demand recovered faster than producers pulled oil out of the ground and inventories dried up.

Then, the price increase accelerated after war began.

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