Six In The Morning Saturday May 3

3 May 2014 Last updated at 08:35

Ukraine unrest: Abducted OSCE observers freed

Seven international military observers seized by pro-Russian separatists in eastern Ukraine have been freed.

The observers, linked to the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe, were abducted in the town of Sloviansk on 25 April.

Five Ukrainian officers taken with them were also freed, the reports said.

The news comes as Ukraine's government resumed military action to tackle the separatists in the east, a day after deadly violence in the city of Odessa.

'Inexcusable'

Russia's RIA news agency quoted Vladimir Lukin, an envoy sent by President Vladimir Putin to negotiate the release, as saying: "All the 12 people who have been on my list have been released."

Journey into unseen Burma: Peter Popham and photographer Chris Steele-Perkins are among first foreign visitors to Chin State for 50 years

A century ago, the people of Chin State, in the Burmese mountains, were fearsome hunters, known to decorate their huts with the heads of their enemies. Then, Baptist missionaries turned them into Christians – and they've lived, ever since, in towns straight out of the US frontier, marooned in a largely Buddhist land

PETER POPHAM 

 

 

Saturday 03 May 2014

The place we are heading to is one of the wildest and least-known corners of south-east Asia. Chin State, high in the mountains between Burma and India, is home to the eponymous Chin, wild mountain men who for centuries hung their huts with their enemies' heads, sacrificed animals to evil spirits, worshipped a Supreme Being called Khawzing, and raided lowland Burman villages to steal babies to be raised as slaves.

For centuries, the Chin shared the country that came to be known as Burma with the dominant Burmans in the plains, as well as with dozens of other minorities that made their homes in the mountains that fringe the lowlands. The Chins' legends reveal that they were in no doubt of their humble status in the Burmese scheme of things, brought about by lowland cunning.

Brunei introduces Islamic sharia penalties, including death by stoning for adultery

Bandar Seri Begawan, Brunei: A controversial new penal code for oil-rich Brunei that will eventually include tough Islamic sharia penalties such as severing of limbs and death by stoning came into effect on Thursday.

Brunei's all-powerful Sultan Hassanal Bolkiah had said on Wednesday that he would push ahead with the introduction of the new criminal code that has sparked rare domestic criticism of the fabulously wealthy ruler and international condemnation.

The initial phase beginning introduces fines or jail terms for offences including indecent behaviour, failure to attend Friday prayers, and out-of-wedlock pregnancies.

There were no known events to mark Thursday's implementation.

War, late rains spark Somalia 'crisis' warning

AFP 

War and delayed rains in Somalia are putting thousands of lives at risk, especially in areas where African Union troops are battling Islamist extremists for control, the United Nations said Friday.

Seasonal rains crucial for farming and usually lasting from April to June are yet to start in key southern areas of Somalia, as well as in far northeastern regions.

If rains fail this month, "combined with sustained insecurity, we might see new levels of crisis unfold," said Daniel Molla, chief technical advisor from the UN's Food Security and Nutrition Analysis Unit (FSNAU).

"Delayed rains, rising food prices and persistent insecurity in Somalia is likely to worsen the country's food security situation in the coming months," FSNAU added in a statement, with more than 850,000 people requiring "urgent humanitarian assistance".

In MH370 search, incompetence, lost time

By Bill Palmer

Editor's note: Bill Palmer, an Airbus A330 captain for a major airline, is the author of "Understanding Air France 447," an explanation of the details and lessons of the crash of that aircraft in June 2009.

(CNN) -- If we were hoping that the finally released -- but month-old -- preliminary report on the March 8 disappearance of Malaysia Airlines Flight 370 would help explain what happened, we were mostly disappointed.

But the report, issued Thursday and dated April 9, does add new insights on snafus in crucial communication between air traffic control centers and Malaysia Airlines on the morning Flight 370 disappeared. They are disturbing -- and put the competence of the airline's operations center in question.

North Korea Makes Ominous Move

Reuters

By Jack Kim

North Korea has recently conducted engine tests for an intercontinental ballistic missile that could potentially deliver a nuclear warhead to the United States, a U.S. think tank said on Friday.

North Korea conducted at least one engine test for the KN-08 missile in late March or early April, the think tank 38 North said, marking the latest in a series of tests for a missile believed to have a range of more than 10,000 km (6,000 miles).

Following the engine tests, the next stage for North Korea would be a test launch of the missile, according to 38 North, which is affiliated with Johns Hopkins University's U.S.-Korea Institute.