Russian warship fires warning shots at cargo ship in Black Sea; shelling kills seven, including a baby, in Kherson region
Moscow, RussiaReuters A Russian warship on Sunday fired warning shots at a cargo ship in the south-western Black Sea as it made its way northwards, the first time Russia has fired on merchant shipping beyond Ukraine since exiting a landmark UN-brokered grain deal last month. In July, Russia halted participation in the Black Sea grain […]
Explainer – Ukraine: When do attacks on civilian installations amount to war crimes?
The Hague, The NetherlandsReuters Russian air strikes this week hit silos and shipping terminals for Ukrainian grain, potentially violating international law, which forbids attacks on resources essential to the civilian population. Drone attacks wrecked buildings in the port of Izmail and prevented ships on the Danube River from loading grain for export. Around 100,000 metric […]
Shortages exacerbate hardships: Ukraine farms lose workers to war, complicating a tough harvest
ELIZABETH PIPER and PAVEL POLITYUK, of Reuters, report on the impact staff shortages is having on farmers during critical sowing and harvesting periods…
Ukrainian rockets hit Russian-held area as Kyiv readies southern counter-attack
Kyiv, UkraineReuters Ukraine said on Tuesday it had carried out a long-range rocket strike against Russian forces and military equipment in southern Ukraine, territory it says it is planning to retake in a counter-offensive using hundreds of thousands of troops. The strike hit an ammunition dump in the town of Nova Kakhovka in the Kherson […]
Essay: Starving civilians is an ancient military tactic, but today it’s a war crime in Ukraine, Yemen, Tigray and elsewhere
In an article first published on The Conversation, scholars TOM DANNENBAUM, ALEX DE WAAL and DANIEL MAXWELL say that it’s time to confront the criminality of the practice of using starvation as a weapon of war…
Explainer – UN plan to get Ukraine grains out faces hurdles
Kyiv, UkraineReuters Turkey said on Wednesday a United Nations plan to set up a sea corridor for Ukrainian grain exports overseen by Ankara was “reasonable”, but required more talks with Moscow and Kyiv to ensure ships would be safe. Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in February halted Kyiv’s Black Sea grain exports, threatening a global food […]
Wheat can’t be “weapon of war”, Pope says, urging lifting of Ukraine block
Vatican CityReuters Pope Francis appealed to authorities on Wednesday to lift a block on exports of wheat from Ukraine, saying the grain could not be used as a “weapon of war”. Many millions of people, particularly in the world’s poorest countries, depend on wheat from Ukraine, the Pope told a general audience of thousands of […]
With Ukraine farmers on frontlines, UN food chief warns of “devastation”
United NationsReuters The UN food chief warned on Tuesday that the war in Ukraine was threatening to devastate the World Food Programme’s efforts to feed some 125 million people globally because Ukraine had gone “from the breadbasket of the world to breadlines”. “It’s not just decimating dynamically Ukraine and the region, but it will have […]
Fighting prevents access to aid in Yemen as millions “just a step away from famine”
Fighting in Yemen has prevented the distribution of enough grain to feed 3.7 million people for a month, according to the UN’s emergency relief coordinator, noting that this comes as almost 10 million people elsewhere in the country remain “just a step away from famine”. In a statement this week, Mark Lowcock said fighting meant […]
“Ill-advised” Papua highway imperils indigenous rights, rainforests – activists
Thomson Reuters Foundation A highway under construction in Indonesia’s Papua province is hurting the environment and stoking conflict by threatening indigenous land rights, analysts and activists said. The Trans Papua highway is part of Indonesian President Joko Widodo’s plan to develop the impoverished eastern province, and open up access to its abundant natural resources. But […]