Six In The Morning Friday 29 April 2022

 

After epic journey, orphaned Ukrainian girl is reunited with grandfather

By Sandi Sidhu, Roman Tymotsko and Oleksandra Titorova, CNN

Updated 2101 GMT (0501 HKT) April 28, 2022

When 12-year-old Kira Obedinsky, orphaned by war, was whisked from her hometown of Mariupol to a hospital in a Russian-controlled area of eastern Ukraine earlier in March, she was unsure if she would ever be reunited with her remaining family members.

Now in Kyiv, against all the odds, she sits on a hospital bed with her grandfather Oleksander Obedinsky -- and on Wednesday spoke to CNN for the first time about her ordeal. She continues to recover from injuries that nurses say include shell fragment wounds to her face, neck, and legs. Her scarred face and introverted manner are signs of the physical and psychological trauma she has suffered.

The Obedinsky family has been torn apart by this war. Kira's father, Yevhen Obedinsky, a former captain of Ukraine's national water polo team, was killed on March 17 as Russian forces shelled the city. In that moment, Kira was orphaned, her mother having died when Kira was two weeks old.

South Africa may be entering fifth Covid wave earlier than expected

Rise in infections appears to be driven by Omicron sub-variants, say health officials

Reuters

Fri 29 Apr 2022 10.42 BST

South Africa may be entering a fifth Covid wave earlier than expected after a sustained rise in infections over the past 14 days that seems to be driven by the BA.4 and BA.5 Omicron sub-variants, health officials and scientists have said.

The country that has recorded the most coronavirus cases and deaths on the African continent only exited a fourth wave around January and had predicted a fifth wave could start in May or June, early in the southern hemisphere winter.

Two British aid workers ‘captured by Russian troops’ in Ukraine

Ukrainian intelligence claims the Kremlin is carrying out a campaign of kidnapping

Liam James

Two British aid workers have been captured by Russian forces in Ukraine, a humanitarian organisation said.

Presidium Network said Paul Urey and Dylan Healy were detained on Monday at a checkpoint south of the city of Zaporizhzhia.

The Foreign Office was urgently seeking more information. Minister Anne-Marie Trevelyan told Sky News it was “doing all it can to support and identify these two people.”

Japan edges from pacifism to more robust defense stance

In light of Russia's invasion of Ukraine, conservative Japanese MPs are pushing for the country to move further away from its pacifist principles, towards greater defense spending and counterstrike capabilities.

Speaking to Japanese MPs via videolink earlier this month, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy praised Japan for being the "first Asian nation that has begun exerting pressure on Russia." After all, the Japanese government has condemned Russia's invasion and gone along with most Western sanctions levied on the country.

The assets of Russia's central bank and other major Russian banks have been frozen, along with assets owned by 500 Russian individuals and organizations. Japan has banned the export of high-end technology to Russia and made it illegal to make new investments there.

Saudi Arabia and Turkey reset relations after Khashoggi killing

Saudi Arabia's crown prince and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan have vowed to reset relations, to end a conflict between the two regional heavyweights since the killing of journalist Jamal Khashoggi.

Erdogan -- in his first visit since the 2018 killing of Khashoggi in the kingdom's Istanbul consulate, which drove a wedge between the two countries -- met with the kingdom's de facto ruler, Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, to "develop" relations.

Saudi state news agency SPA on Thursday published images of the Turkish leader embracing Prince Mohammed, who US intelligence officials determined approved the plot against Khashoggi -- something Riyadh denies.

Israel airport chaos as family brings unexploded shell

A US family caused a bomb scare at Israel's main international airport after presenting an unexploded artillery shell at a security check.

They had picked up the ordnance on a visit to the Israeli occupied Golan Heights, site of wars between Israel and Syria, according to authorities.

Video footage on social media showed people running from the scene in panic.

The family was allowed to board their flight after being interrogated by security, who gave the all-clear.

Israel captured most of the Golan Heights from Syria during the Six-Day War in 1967 and remnants of the conflict can still be found in the area.