Sunday, October 8, 2023

0547 GMT — A dozen people were wounded, including a 27-year-old woman and her 9-month-old baby, in a Russian attack on the southern Ukrainian region of Kherson, its governor said.

"The Kherson region experienced another terrible night," Governor Oleksandr Prokudin wrote on the Telegram messaging app.

The woman and the infant were hospitalised with moderate wounds, he said, adding that a 33-year-old Red Cross medic was also wounded.

Over the past 24 hours, Russian forces carried out 59 attacks on Kherson, the region's administration said on Telegram, including 19 instances of shelling of Kherson city, the region's administrative centre.

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0109 GMT — Russia to seek return to UN rights body despite Ukraine war

Russia, which was ousted from the UN Human Rights Council after its forces attacked Ukraine, will attempt a return to the body on Tuesday -- an uncertain move that will provide a gauge of its international support.

The UN General Assembly will vote that day to elect 15 new members to the Geneva-based UN body, for terms running from 2024 to 2026.

The council's 47 members are allocated by region, and each large regional group usually pre-selects its own candidates, which the General Assembly then generally approves.

But this year two groups have more candidates than available seats: Latin America (candidates from Brazil, Cuba, the Dominican Republic and Peru will contest three seats), and Eastern Europe (Albania, Bulgaria and Russia will vie for two seats).

Moscow's candidacy has drawn skepticism, and the vote will come just days after a Russian missile attack on the Ukrainian village of Groza killed more than 50 people in a scene of carnage.

For our live updates from Saturday (October 7), click here.