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.
“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.
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.
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.
“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.
If the situation does not stabilize this year, in 2023 “we risk to have a real lack of food,” he said.
International
Colombia Earthquake Leaves at Least 22 Dead as Rescue Efforts Continue
At least 22 people were killed and dozens more were affected by a magnitude 7.4 earthquake that struck Colombia on Monday, with the epicenter located near the municipality of San José del Palmar in the northwestern department of Chocó, authorities reported in a preliminary assessment.
The city of Pereira has so far recorded the highest number of fatalities. Mayor Mauricio Salazar told local media that 18 people had died in the city and warned that a large number of buildings had been damaged.
“The situation is critical, and we are moving forward with assessments while assisting people who remain trapped,” Salazar said.
Authorities in Manizales reported two additional deaths, while two more fatalities were confirmed in the department of Valle del Cauca. Several people were also injured, and structural damage was reported in different communities.
“We are just beginning to establish radio communication with the hospitals. We know that we have three injured people in El Cairo, two deaths in Zarzal, the collapse of an academic structure in Calima Darién, and minor structural damage in Cali,” said María Cristina Lesmes, Valle del Cauca’s health secretary.
Emergency teams were continuing rescue and assessment operations as authorities worked to determine the full extent of the damage and update the number of casualties.
International
Record 230 Migrants Cross English Channel to UK in Single Boat
A record 230 migrants crossed the English Channel overnight Sunday aboard a small inflatable boat bound for the United Kingdom, according to French maritime rescue services and British media, highlighting the growing number of people being packed onto vessels attempting the dangerous crossing.
More than 20 children were among those aboard the inflatable boat when it departed from the northeastern French coast on Sunday night amid chaotic scenes, France’s maritime rescue service SNSM said in an online statement.
The figure surpasses the previous record for the number of people aboard a single boat, set last month when 165 migrants successfully crossed the busy maritime route.
The latest incident comes just days after an inflatable boat carrying more than 150 people capsized in the Channel after its engine caught fire, triggering a major search-and-rescue operation.
Britain’s Home Office did not confirm the exact number of people aboard Sunday’s vessel but condemned what it described as the “reckless and dangerous tactics” used by criminal gangs facilitating the crossings.
A spokesperson for Prime Minister Andy Burnham described images of the operation as “shocking,” particularly those showing very young children being placed aboard boats that were not suitable for the journey.
The United Kingdom has spent years attempting to curb these dangerous and politically sensitive Channel crossings. Tens of thousands of migrants have reached the southeastern English coast annually in recent years, keeping the issue at the center of the country’s immigration debate.
International
Joe Biden’s Prostate Cancer Has Spread to His Bones, Son Hunter Reveals
Former U.S. President Joe Biden’s prostate cancer has worsened and spread to his bones and other parts of his body, his son Hunter Biden revealed in a recent interview with the BBC.
Biden disclosed in May 2025, just four months after leaving office as the oldest sitting U.S. president in history, that he had been diagnosed with an aggressive form of prostate cancer that had already spread to his bones.
The former president subsequently began treatment, including radiation and hormone therapy. In July, while announcing the publication of his memoirs, Biden said the treatment was going “really well.”
However, in an extensive interview broadcast Friday night on the BBC’s Newsnight, Hunter Biden said his father’s condition had progressed despite treatment.
“The cancer has spread and metastasized to his bones and other places,” Hunter Biden said.
He added that the illness has been “very painful” and, in many ways, “very debilitating,” but said his father continues to remain active.
“He’s still out there. He’s still doing his thing,” Hunter Biden said, emphasizing that his father remains deeply committed to the United States.
The former president’s diagnosis has remained a subject of public attention since it was first announced, particularly because of his age and his decision to continue a public life after leaving the White House.
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