Ukraine: war raises famine fears
26 May 2022
Fears of a global food crisis are swelling as Russian attacks on Ukraine’s ability to produce and export grain have choked off one of the world’s breadbaskets, fuelling charges that President Putin is using food as a powerful new weapon in his three-month-old war. On 24 May world leaders called for international action to deliver twenty million tons of grain now trapped in Ukraine, predicting that the alternative could be hunger in some countries and political unrest in others, in what could be the gravest global repercussion yet of Russia’s assault on its neighbour. At the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, where worries about the war’s consequences have eclipsed almost every other issue, speakers reached for apocalyptic language to describe the threat. 'It’s a perfect storm within a perfect storm,' said David Beasley, the executive director of the World Food Programme. Calling the situation 'absolutely critical,' he warned, 'We will have famines around the world.'
Ukraine: 14 million displaced in three months
26 May 2022
More than 14 million people are thought to have fled their homes since Russia's invasion of Ukraine, the UN says. More than six million have left for neighbouring countries, while eight million people are displaced inside the war-torn country itself. The EU has granted Ukrainians the right to stay and work throughout its 27 member nations for up to three years. The UN says that as of 24 May, 2.1 million Ukrainians have returned to Ukraine. Some are returning to areas such as the capital Kyiv, which is now considered safer. Kyiv's mayor, Vitali Klitschko, says the city's population is back to two-thirds of its pre-war level.' More than 60,000 Ukrainians have arrived in the UK, after fleeing the Russian invasion. Some have travelled on family visas, while others have come via a sponsorship scheme which lets unrelated people host an individual or group.
On 24 May, 18-year-old Salvador Ramos entered Robb Elementary School in Texas, armed with a handgun and a rifle. He killed nineteen pupils and two teachers before he himself was shot dead. This was the deadliest school attack for a decade. Amid the outpouring of shock and grief, Joe Biden asked, ‘Why do we keep letting this happen? Why are we willing to live with this carnage?’ This tragedy has reignited the debate about guns, particularly since there had already been 27 other school shootings this year. Since his election, the president has made a number of pledges to tighten legislation, but he faces an uphill battle to convert any of them into action, given the fierce opposition from the Republicans and the powerful gun lobby.
On 25 May North Korea test-fired at least two ballistic missiles, just a day after Joe Biden left the region. One flew about 300 km, the other 750 km: they were the latest in a flurry of such launches in 2022. Japan’s defence minister said they were ‘unacceptable’, and South Korea called them ‘a grave provocation’.' Mr Biden visited both those countries, and agreed with the South Korean president to hold bigger military drills and deploy more US strategic assets if necessary, to deter North Korea’s intensifying weapons test.' He said that the USA was ‘prepared for anything North Korea does’.
Two activists who successfully fought against mining on their ancestral lands have won an international environmental prize. Alex Lucitante, 29, and Alexandra Narváez, 32, led the Cofan indigenous community which used drones and camera traps to collect crucial evidence in securing a legal victory which resulted in 79,000 acres of rainforest being protected from gold mining. In 2017, they found out that the government had issued 20 mining licences, with 32 more waiting to be approved. After a legal battle which lasted almost a year, the community achieved a remarkable victory. A provincial court ruled that the authorities had failed to seek the consent of the Cofan, nullified both the existing and pending licences, and ordered that the mining activities be stopped.
Iraq: rice crop threatened by drought
26 May 2022
Drought is threatening the Iraqi tradition of growing amber rice, a key element in a struggling economy. This variety of rice, which takes its name from its distinctive scent, is widely used, but after three years of drought amber rice production will be only symbolic in 2022, forcing consumers to seek out imported varieties and leaving farmers pondering their future. Rice fields normally stay submerged all summer, but that’s a luxury Iraq can no longer afford. The country’s available water reserves are well below the critical level. Officials have limited total rice crop areas to 1,000 hectares; the normal quota is 35,000. The water shortages have also led to reduced quotas for wheat farmers. Last year, the agricultural sector contracted by 17.5%, according to the World Bank.
Somalia: new president and al-Shabaab
26 May 2022
On 15 May Hassan Sheikh Mohamud, Somalia’s president from 2012 to 2017, won the election and has returned to the top job. He faces numerous tough challenges, from a devastating drought that risks pushing millions into famine to deep political divisions within the federal government and state authorities. Arguably his biggest task, however, will be to tackle al-Shabaab and a recent rise in attacks, including 48 deaths from suicide bombings in March.' The president’s new administration will need to contend with the Islamist militants’ use of children. They use boys as spies, logistics operatives, and combatants, and girls as cooks, cleaners, and ‘wives’ as well as to spy or move weaponry. The country has a bulging young population with limited or no opportunities. Trust in the government and its security institutions is low, which means that al-Shabaab can lure young recruits with promises of money, marriage, or power.
Myanmar: over 5,600 civilians killed in a year
26 May 2022
More than 5,600 civilians have been killed in Myanmar since the military seized power on 1 February 2021, according to an independent research institute, which called the death toll ‘unprecedented’ in the country’s history. This number includes those killed by security forces during anti-junta protests, in clashes between the military and pro-democracy paramilitaries, while held in detention, and in revenge attacks. At least 1,831 civilians were killed in shooting deaths; the largest number occurred in war-torn Sagaing region, where junta troops have faced tough resistance from the People’s Defence Force (PDF) paramilitaries. The clashes have displaced tens of thousands of residents since the coup. A PDF member claimed that those who report paramilitary movements to the military have been targeted because the opposition is ‘handicapped in manpower and weapons’.