Blocks on Ukraine grain exports 'putting millions at risk'
Summary
- Russia dismisses concerns that its invasion of Ukraine has created a global food crisis
- Foreign minister Sergei Lavrov holds talks in Turkey as pressure mounts on Russia to end its blockade of Ukrainian ports
- Italy's foreign minister says "blocking grain exports means holding hostage and condemning to death millions of children, women and men"
- Lavrov says the onus is on Ukraine to de-mine waters around its ports to let ships set sail safely
- But Ukraine fears this could make it more vulnerable to attacks from the sea - and says any moves to unfreeze its ports must not hinder its security
- Meanwhile, more than 1,000 Ukrainian soldiers - captured in Mariupol - have been transferred to Russia, according to Russian state media
- Ukrainian defences are "holding" in the key eastern city of Severodonetsk, UK military intelligences says, despite attacks from Russians in three directions
As we've been reporting, reduced grain shipments from Ukraine have fast become one of the biggest crises caused by the war.
And Nikolay Gorbachov, president of the Ukrainian Grain Association, has now rejected a suggestion to use western Ukraine and Europe as an alternative shipping route to the Black Sea. It's "impossible", he told BBC World News.
US tourist throws scooter down Rome’s Spanish Steps, causing €25,000 damage
Incident at world heritage site comes fortnight after another tourist drove a Maserati down the steps
Angela Giuffrida in Rome
An American tourist has caused €25,000 (£21,000) worth of damage after hurling her electric scooter down Rome’s Spanish Steps.
The incident was filmed by a passerby in the early hours of Friday. Police later caught up with the 28-year-old and fined her and a 29-year-old male companion, who had wheeled his e-scooter down the 18th-century marble steps.
The pair were also banned from returning to the famous monument, a Unesco world heritage site that underwent a €1.5m restoration in 2015. The incident came two weeks after a visitor from Saudi Arabia drove a Maserati down the flight of steps. People were banned from sitting on the Spanish Steps in 2018.
Chad declares food emergency as grain supplies fall
Chad's transitional government has declared a food and nutrition emergency in the wake of the Ukraine war and a poor harvest. In neighboring Niger and much of the African continent, food insecurity is skyrocketing.
Last week, Chad declared a food emergency due to a lack of grain supplies. The landlocked African nation on Thursday urged the international community to help its population cope with rising food insecurity.
Cereal prices across Africa surged because of the slump in exports from Ukraine — a consequence of the war in Ukraine and a raft of international sanctions on Russia which have disrupted supplies of fertilizer, wheat and other commodities from both Russia and Ukraine.
Arrival of Israeli gas installation reignites Lebanon maritime border dispute
An Israeli floating gas production unit arrived in the maritime zone disputed between Israel and Lebanon on Sunday – prompting the anger of the Lebanese government, especially as negotiations between the two countries on this dispute are at a standstill.
In abeyance for more than a decade, the dispute between Israel and Lebanon over the two countries’ maritime borders resurfaced on June 5. The Lebanese presidency warned the Israeli government against any “aggressive actions” in the disputed maritime area.
After a floating production, storage and offloading unit belonging to the company Energean (listed in both Tel Aviv and London) arrived on Sunday, the problem was obvious: Israel and Lebanon have never drawn their borders. The Karish gas field where Israel is exploring is located in a disputed area of 860 km2 in the middle of the eastern Mediterranean where huge gas reserves have been found in recent years.
‘I’ll take my life’: UK refugees being deported to Rwanda despair
People at detention centres scheduled for deportation talk to Al Jazeera ahead of the first flight on June 14.
Refugees being detained in Britain who are scheduled to be deported to Rwanda have told Al Jazeera that they are on hunger strike as they struggle with severe mental health conditions, with one saying he has suicidal thoughts.
The United Kingdom announced a controversial plan to offshore asylum seekers to the African nation in April. The first deportation flight is set to take off on June 14.
Ahmed*, from Syria, said he fled the war-torn country after refusing to join the army and arrived in the UK without documents. He is due to be deported on the first flight.
Malaysia Islamic minister says Bon Odori dance not for Muslims
Malaysia's Islamic affairs minister Idris Ahmad has advised Muslims to avoid a festival of Japan's traditional summer Bon Odori dance as it contains elements from other religions that go against Islam, according to the official news agency Bernama.
"A study conducted by the Malaysian Islamic Development Department (JAKIM) found that the festival does have religious elements, so we advise Muslims not to participate in it," he is quoted as saying on Monday about the upcoming 46th edition of the Bon Odori Festival.
The event will be held on July 16 in Shah Alam, the capital of Selangor state, after a two-year absence due to the coronavirus pandemic. Its organizers include the Japanese Embassy in Malaysia and the Japan Club of Kuala Lumpur.
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