Good evening, let’s start with today’s top stories:
The grain deal, negotiated last month with Ukraine, Russia and Turkey, was seen as monumental to unlock millions of tonnes of foodstuffs for countries in Africa on the brink of starvation. Instead, UN officials now acknowledge that they are beholden to commercial contracts and have little control over where the grain ends up.
Although many countries in the Middle East, Africa and Asia rely heavily on Ukraine’s produce, which has been blocked from exports during the war, the 12 ships that have left the country’s ports so far have gone to Britain, Ireland, Italy, China, South Korea and Turkey. Stéphane Dujarric, a spokesman for UN Secretary-General António Guterres, told reporters this week that all 27 ships stuck in Ukrainian ports were hauling grain under contract.
For now, the only dedicated humanitarian shipment out of the…
