Children foil kidnapping, forest fire in Croatia, PM declares emergency

It happened while you were sleeping. Here's what global agencies reported overnight from Thursday to Friday.

• Three 11-year-old girls from Kent, Washington, showed immense bravery. The children were walking towards an ice cream truck when they noticed their six-year-old neighbor being held by an unknown man. She looked terrified and screamed for the stranger to let her go. The 11-year-olds approached the man and started recording him. He picked up the six-year-old and tried to run away with her. Fortunately, he failed. Later, the child's parents confirmed to the police that they did not know the man. The suspect, a 40-year-old resident of Kent, was arrested on charges of abduction and placed in King County jail. - "We are impressed beyond words at the maturity and protectiveness displayed by these preteen girls - said Kent police.

• A forest fire broke out near Split, located along Croatia's coastline. The fire threatened residential buildings and tourists nearby, who evacuated the area - reported local media late Thursday evening. To extinguish the fire, which broke out Thursday evening near Trogir, 12 miles from Split, all fire departments from this part of Dalmatia were engaged - informed the newspaper "Jutarnji list." 130 firefighters, supported by three firefighting planes, battled the blaze. The cause of the fire is not yet determined.

• Benjamin Netanyahu, the Prime Minister of Israel, decided on Thursday to cancel Defense Minister Yoav Galant's decision concerning the establishment of a field hospital in Israel for children from Gaza. Galant announced the facility's construction the day before, arguing that it is necessary because children suffering from various diseases cannot be evacuated from Gaza.

• Haitian Prime Minister Garry Conille announced a state of emergency for 14 districts plagued by armed gangs in a Thursday address to the nation. The goal is to restore safety across the 11-million-strong country. He admitted that it would not be "an easy task." The operation announced by the Haitian prime minister involves several hundred well-trained police officers from Kenya as the main force, which is expected to grow to about a thousand people. The operation is supported by eight armored vehicles received from abroad. At the same time, Prime Minister Conille called on members of Haitian gangs to "drop your weapons and recognize the authority of the state."

• An Air India plane flying from Delhi to San Francisco made an emergency landing in Krasnoyarsk, Russia. The cockpit crew detected a potential problem in the baggage compartment. According to the airline, 225 passengers and 19 crew members were on board. All were transported to the terminal building, waiting for a replacement flight to San Francisco.

• On Thursday, the Albanian parliament adopted a declaration calling on neighboring Greece to repeal the law declaring a state of war between the countries in 1940 - reported the newspaper "Gazeta Shqiptare." Albanian parliamentarians unanimously supported the motion, urging Greece to annul the 84-year-old law declaring war on their country. The declaration was initiated by the Justice and Integration Party, which represents the Cham community, ethnic Albanians expelled from northern Greece after World War II. Tirana and Athens agreed in 2016 to formally end the state of war since World War II, but no concrete steps have been taken in this direction.