International

Zelensky blames Russia as world vows response to food shortages

AFP | by Leon Bruneau and Amelie Bottollier-Depois

Global leaders called Tuesday for urgent efforts to address global food insecurity amid fears of disastrous harvests next year, as Ukraine’s president blamed Russia for the crisis and sought the world’s “toughest reaction” against Moscow.

On the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly, ministers from the European Union, United States, African Union and Spain met on food shortages which are seen as a key factor in conflicts and instability.

Appearing by video link was Ukraine’s Volodymyr Zelensky, who directly accused Moscow of willingly triggering a food crisis.

“Any state that provokes famine, that tries to make access to food a privilege, that tries to make the protection of nations from famine dependent on… the mercy of some dictator — such a state must get the toughest reaction from the world,” Zelensky said.

He blamed Russian blockades and other “immoral actions” for slashing exports from Ukraine, a major agricultural producer.

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“Russia must bear responsibility for this,” he said.

Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez said Russian President Vladimir Putin, with his February invasion of Ukraine, “is trying to blackmail the international community with food.”

“There is no peace with hunger and we cannot combat hunger without peace,” Sanchez said.

The Group of Seven major industrial powers at a June summit in Germany promised $5 billion to fight food insecurity but German Chancellor Olaf Scholz said there was still “great urgency.”

“The Russian war of aggression has caused and accelerated a multidimensional global crisis. Countries in the Global South with prior vulnerabilities have been hit hardest,” Scholz said.

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President Joe Biden will address the General Assembly on Wednesday and announce new US aid, Secretary of State Antony Blinken said.

In his own address Tuesday, French President Emmanuel Macron said his country will finance shipments of Ukrainian wheat to Somalia which is facing risk of famine.

Ukraine is one of the world’s largest grain producers and the Russian invasion sent global prices soaring.

Russia has cast blame on Western sanctions, an assertion denounced by Washington which says it is not targeting agricultural or humanitarian goods.

Turkey and the United Nations in July brokered a deal between Russia and Ukraine to allow ships with grain to sail through the blockaded Black Sea.

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Putin has recently criticized the deal, pointing to shipments that have headed to Europe. US officials say some of the grain is then processed and sent to poorer countries.

“Despite some of the misinformation that continues to come from Moscow, that grain and other food products are getting where they need to go to the countries most in need, predominantly in the Global South,” Blinken said.

“It’s also helped lower food prices around the world. So it needs to keep going, it needs to be renewed. That is urgent.”

Long-term fears

Concerns are also mounting on the long-term impacts. A recent report by the Ukraine Conflict Observatory, a non-governmental US group, found that around 15 percent of Ukraine grain stocks have been lost since the invasion began.

And experts warn that disruptions in fertilizer shipments could seriously impede future harvests worldwide.

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“It’s very clear that the current food supply disruption and the war in Ukraine is having an impact on the next harvest,” said Alvaro Lario, incoming president of the International Fund for Agricultural Development.

“There’s one or two harvests per year, and already we’re seeing that it’s going to be devastating for next year,” he told AFP, warning that the impact could be “much worse” than Covid.

He called for longer-term action, which would entail billions of dollars of investment, to ensure stability of food supply chains and adapt to a warming climate.

“We know the solutions and we have the institutions to make that happen. What is currently lacking is the political will, in terms of the investment,” he said.

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said recently that the world had enough food in 2022 but that the problem was distribution.

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If the situation does not stabilize this year, in 2023 “we risk to have a real lack of food,” he said.

International

Brazil offers to mediate Colombia-Ecuador tensions, calls for restraint

The government of Brazil has offered to mediate in the ongoing tensions between Colombia and Ecuador, while calling on both nations to exercise restraint.

In a statement released Wednesday, Brazil’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs urged the parties involved to act with moderation and seek a peaceful resolution to the dispute.

“Brazil encourages all sides to act with moderation in order to find a peaceful solution to the controversy. It stands ready to support dialogue efforts aimed at preserving peace and security in the region,” the statement said.

Brazil also expressed “serious concern” over reports of deaths in the border area between Colombia and Ecuador, noting that the circumstances surrounding the incidents have not yet been clarified.

The diplomatic move comes amid rising tensions between the neighboring countries, increasing regional concern over stability and security along their shared border.

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International

U.S. lowers travel advisory for much of Venezuela but keeps high-risk zones under warning

The U.S. Department of State announced on Thursday that it has lowered its travel advisory for much of Venezuela to Level 3 (“Reconsider Travel”), reflecting what it described as improved security conditions in parts of the country.

However, the agency will maintain the highest Level 4 warning (“Do Not Travel”) for several regions, including the states of Táchira, Amazonas, Apure, Aragua and Guárico, as well as rural areas of Bolívar, citing ongoing risks such as crime, kidnapping and terrorism.

The updated advisory marks a shift from December, when the United States raised the alert for Venezuela to Level 4 nationwide, warning of severe security threats.

Despite the partial downgrade, U.S. authorities continue to urge caution, emphasizing that conditions remain volatile in certain areas and that travelers should carefully assess risks before planning any trips to the country.

International

EU lawmakers move to ban AI tools that generate non-consensual nude images

Members of the European Parliament are pushing to ban across the bloc artificial intelligence services that allow users to digitally “undress” people without their consent.

The proposal, adopted on Wednesday at committee level, aims to prohibit applications that generate non-consensual explicit images. Irish lawmaker Michael McNamara, one of the sponsors, said the measure seeks to stop tools that “have caused significant harm for the benefit of a few.”

Dutch MEP Kim van Sparrentak welcomed the move, calling it “a major victory, especially for women and children in Europe.”

The amendment, part of broader EU legislation on artificial intelligence, was approved by the Parliament’s civil liberties and internal market committees. It specifically targets systems that use AI to create or manipulate sexually explicit or intimate images resembling identifiable individuals without their consent.

The proposal will be put to a full vote in the European Parliament on March 26. If adopted, lawmakers and European Union member states will need to agree on a final version before it can take effect.

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Separately, representatives of the 27 EU countries recently backed a Franco-Spanish amendment seeking to ban AI services used to generate non-consensual sexual images or child sexual abuse material.

The initiative follows controversy surrounding a feature introduced in Grok, developed by xAI, which allowed users to create simulated nude images from real photos. The tool sparked widespread criticism and prompted an EU investigation.

In response, xAI restricted image generation features in mid-January to paying subscribers and stated it blocks the creation of sexualized images in jurisdictions where such content is illegal.