Europe
Spain at risk of political gridlock after conservative win falls short of toppling PM Sánchez
Spain appears headed for political gridlock after Sunday's inconclusive national elections left parties on both the right and left without a clear path toward forging a new government.
The conservative Popular Party won the elections, but it fell short of its hopes of scoring a much bigger victory and forcing the removal of Socialist Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez. Instead, the party led by candidate Alberto Núñez Feijóo performed below the expectations of most campaign polls.
Even though Sánchez’s Socialists finished second, they and their allied parties celebrated the outcome as a victory since their combined forces gained slightly more seats than the PP and the far-right. The bloc that could likely support Sánchez totaled 172 seats; the right bloc behind Feijóo, 170.
“It was a Pyrrhic victory for the Popular Party, which is unable to form a government," said political analyst Verónica Fumanal, adding the conservatives will now have to reach out to the far-right, and even then it won't be enough. “I see a deadlock scenario in the Parliament.”
The closer-than-expected outcome was likely to produce weeks of political jockeying and uncertainty over the country's future leadership. The next prime minister only would be voted on once lawmakers are installed in the new Congress of Deputies.
But the chances of Sánchez picking up the support of 176 lawmakers — the absolute majority in the Madrid-based Lower House of Parliament — needed to form a government are not great either. The divided results have made the hardline Catalan separatist party Junts (Together) emerge as Sánchez’s potential kingmaker. If Junts asks for a referendum on independence for northeast Catalonia, that would likely be far too costly a price for Sánchez to pay.
“We won’t make Pedro Sánchez PM in exchange for nothing,” Míriam Nogueras of Junts said after the results left her party holding the keys to power.
READ: By pulling out of the Ukrainian grain deal, Russia risks alienating its few remaining partners
With 98% of votes counted, PP is on track for 136 seats. Even with the 33 seats that the far-right Vox is poised to get and the one seat going to an allied party, the PP would still be seven seats from the absolute majority.
The Socialists are set to take 122 seats, two more than they had. But Sánchez can likely call on the 31 seats of its junior coalition partner Sumar (Joining Forces) and several smaller forces to at least total more than the sum of the right-wing parties.
“Spain and all the citizens who have voted have made themselves clear. The backward-looking bloc that wanted to undo all that we have done has failed,” Sánchez told a jubilant crowd gathered at Socialists’ headquarters in Madrid.
After his party took a beating in regional and local elections in May, Sánchez could have waited until December to face a national vote. Instead, he stunned his rivals by moving up the vote in hopes of gaining a bigger boost from his supporters.
Even if this goes to a new ballot, Sánchez can add this election night to yet another comeback in his career that has been built around beating the odds. The 51-year-old Sánchez had to mount a mutiny among rank-and-file Socialists to return to heading his party before he won Spain’s only no-confidence vote to oust his PP predecessor in 2018.
But Feijóo would probably trade spots with his rival if he could.
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Feijóo claimed his right to form a government as the most voted party in the election, adding he was “proud” of what his party’s first national election victory since 2016.
“We have won the elections, it corresponds to us to form a government like it has always happened in Spanish democracy,” he said, addressing a crowd aflutter with Spanish flags.
Feijóo focused the PP’s campaign not on what he would do as prime minister, but rather as an attack on what he called the untrustworthiness of Sánchez. The strategy failed. The Socialists and other leftist parties seem to have motivated their voters by drumming up fear of having the anti-feminist, ultra-nationalist Vox in power as a junior member of a possible coalition with the PP.
A PP-Vox government would have meant another EU member has moved firmly to the right, a trend seen recently in Sweden, Finland and Italy. Countries such as Germany and France are concerned about what such a shift would portend for EU immigration and climate policies.
Vox, which had hoped to force its way into power much as other far-right parties have done in other European countries, lost 19 seats from four years earlier.
Vox leader Santiago Abascal said that the Socialists’ results were “bad news for Spaniards.”
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“Pedro Sánchez, despite losing the elections, can block (Feijóo’s) investiture and, even worse, Pedro Sánchez could even be invested with the support of communism, the coup-seeking separatism and terrorism, all of whom will now have more leverage in the blackmail than in his previous term," he said.
Yet it seems that the specter of the far-right taking a seat in government, albeit as a junior member to the PP, for the first time since the 20th-century dictatorship of Francisco Franco had proved to be key to the left’s resurgence.
Feijóo had tried to distance his PP from Vox during the campaign, refusing to say that a national coalition was a possibility. But Sánchez, in moving up the election, made the campaign coincide with the PP and Vox striking deals to govern together in several town halls and regional governments following the May ballots.
Even though Feijóo had pledged he would maintain his party’s commitment to fighting gender violence, Vox campaigned on rolling back gender violence laws. And they both agree on wanting to repeal a new transgender rights law and a democratic memory law that seeks to help families wanting to unearth the thousands of victims of Franco’s regime still missing in mass graves.
“PP has been a victim of its expectations, and the Socialists have been able to capitalize on the fear of the arrival of Vox. Bringing forward the elections has turned out to be the right decision for Pedro Sánchez,” said Manuel Mostaza, director of Public Policy at Spanish consultancy firm Atrevia.
Spain’s new Parliament will meet in a month. King Felipe VI then appoints one of the party leaders to submit him or herself to a parliamentary vote to form a new government. Lawmakers have a maximum period of three months to reach an agreement. Otherwise, new elections would be triggered.
The election took place at the height of summer, with millions of voters likely to be vacationing away from their regular polling places. However, postal voting requests soared.
Coming on the tail of a month of heat waves, temperatures were expected to average above 35 degrees Celsius (95 degrees Fahrenheit), or 5 to 10 degrees Celsius above normal in many parts of the country. Authorities distributed fans to many of the stations.
“We have the heat, but the right to exercise our vote freely is stronger than the heat,” said Rosa María Valladolid-Prieto, 79, in Barcelona.
Ukraine wants ships to keep exporting its grain despite Russian attacks. Some are interested
Russia has repeatedly fired missiles and drones at Ukrainian ports key to sending grain to the world. Moscow has declared large swaths of the Black Sea dangerous for shipping. Even the U.S. said ships are at risk of being targeted.
There is still interest from ship owners in carrying Ukrainian grain through the Black Sea — if they can mitigate the risk, according to a major shipping group. And that's a big if.
Despite the warnings and port attacks, which have leveled grain infrastructure, "shipping has always been very, very resilient in the face of these sorts of risks," said John Stawpert, senior manager of environment and trade for the International Chamber of Shipping, which represents 80% of the world's commercial fleet.
Russia comes under pressure at UN to avoid global food crisis and revive Ukrainian grain shipments
This week's strikes came after Russia pulled out of a wartime accord that the U.N. and Turkey brokered last year to provide safeguards for shipping companies in a bid to end a global food crisis. Ukraine — which, along with Russia, is a major supplier of wheat, barley and vegetable oil to developing nations — shipped 32.9 million metric tons of grain to the world and supplied 80% of the World Food Program's wheat for humanitarian aid so far this year.
Following the grain deal's collapse, Ukraine sent a letter to the U.N. International Maritime Organization establishing its own temporary shipping corridor, saying it would "provide guarantees of compensation for damage."
But Russia warned this week that ships traversing parts of the Black Sea would assume to be carrying weapons to Ukraine. In a seeming tit-for-tat move, Ukraine said vessels heading to Russian Black Sea ports would be considered "carrying military cargo with all the associated risks."
By pulling out of the Ukrainian grain deal, Russia risks alienating its few remaining partners
Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Vershinin said Friday that the navy will check vessels to ensure they are not carrying weapons before taking other action.
Continued shipments from Ukraine will depend on vessels getting insurance for potential damage or injuries and deaths to crew members and how the safety risks play out. Ships that were exporting Ukrainian grain can be worth tens of millions of dollars, have 20 to 22 sailors on board and carry food also worth tens of millions, according to Jayendu Krishna, deputy head of maritime advisers at Drewry, a maritime research consultancy.
All ships go through threat assessments to allow crews to protect against problems before setting sail, which have grown in importance as ships deal with piracy, terrorism and war zones.
For the Black Sea, the risks for ships would be: explosive mines, becoming collateral damage at ports or being targeted themselves, which Stawpert said would be "a huge escalation."
Russia pulls out of Black Sea grain deal at time of growing hunger
"The million-dollar question is whether the threats to merchant shipping are serious and whether they'll be followed through. And there's no firm way of knowing that until it actually happens," Stawpert said, adding that he has not yet heard from insurers.
With Russia's warnings, "it is unlikely that underwriters will want to cover that risk," said the International Union of Marine Insurance, which represents national and international marine insurers.
The group thought it was unlikely owners would put their ships and crews in danger, echoed by Munro Anderson, head of operations for Vessel Protect, which assesses war risks at sea and provides insurance with backing from Lloyd's, whose members make up the world's largest insurance marketplace.
He didn't directly speak to whether underwriting businesses like his would take on the risk but said without protections for ships like they had under the grain deal, "safety conditions cannot be guaranteed."
Krishna said the only way to mitigate risk was through insurance from the 12 providers making up the International Group of P&I Clubs, which offers liability coverage for about 90% of the world's cargo shipped by sea, according to its website.
"P&I clubs will be wary of even insuring" without a guarantee from the U.N. or some other body, he said.
The International Group of P&I Clubs said its CEO was the only one who could comment and that he was on vacation. Individual clubs either declined to comment or did not respond to calls or emails.
The head of the seafarers division of the International Transport Workers' Federation, a union for crew members, said the question should be whether it's too risky right now to ask sailors to go to Ukrainian ports.
Russia's threat to exit Ukraine grain deal adds risk to global food security
"The minds of seafarers won't be on questions of insurance cover, but more likely on whether their lives are safe amidst the fighting," David Heindel said in a statement, adding that crews "should never be targeted just for doing their job."
In the meantime, some analysts expect most of what Ukraine was going to ship through the Black Sea will get out by road, rail and river through Europe, but the transportation costs will be higher and likely lead to lower production by Ukrainian farmers.
Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba said Thursday that Ukraine has made progress in improving those routes but that the best way to export grain is through the Black Sea. That's how 75% of the country's grain got to the world before the war, analysts say.
Plus, the routes have created divisions in the European Union, with five countries saying Wednesday that they want to extend a ban on Ukrainian grain imports through the end of the year.
While Poland, Slovakia, Hungary, Romania and Bulgaria would keep allowing grain to move through their borders to world markets, their bans could create challenges like infrastructure backups that might give preference to local grain before Ukraine's products, said Carlos Mera, head of agricultural commodities markets at Rabobank.
The five countries say Ukrainian grain has flooded their markets, leading to a glut that drove down prices for their farmers and stirring protests. They signed a joint declaration ahead of EU talks next week, urging officials to work out ways of getting Ukrainian food to the world without hurting their agricultural industries.
It's another hurdle for Ukraine — and possibly for developing countries already struggling with high local food prices, which are helping drive hunger.
Wheat prices have risen about 17% over the last week, and poorer nations that are forced to pay more on world markets for the ingredient for staples like bread and pasta means "many millions of people being pushed into food insecurity," Mera said.
By pulling out of the Ukrainian grain deal, Russia risks alienating its few remaining partners
By pulling out of a landmark deal that allowed Ukrainian grain exports through the Black Sea, Russian President Vladimir Putin is taking a gamble that could badly damage Moscow's relations with many of its partners that have stayed neutral or even been supportive of the Kremlin's invasion of its neighbor.
Russia also has played the role of spoiler at the United Nations, vetoing a resolution on extending humanitarian aid deliveries through a key border crossing in northwestern Syria and backing a push by Mali's military junta to expel U.N. peacekeepers — abrupt moves that reflect Moscow's readiness to raise the stakes elsewhere.
Putin's declared goal in halting the Black Sea Grain Initiative was to win relief from Western sanctions on Russia's agricultural exports. His longer-term goal could be to erode Western resolve over Ukraine and get more concessions from the U.S. and its allies as the war grinds toward the 17-month mark.
Also read: Black Sea Grain Initiative agreement must continue to avert human catastrophe: Business leaders
The Kremlin doubled down on terminating the grain deal by attacking Ukrainian ports and declaring wide areas of the Black Sea unsafe for shipping.
But with the West showing little willingness to yield any ground, Putin's actions not only threaten global food security but also could backfire against Russia's own interests, potentially causing concern in China, straining Moscow's relations with key partner Turkey and hurting its ties with African countries.
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, who helped broker the grain deal with the U.N. a year ago, has pushed for its extension and said he would negotiate with Putin.
Also read: Russia pulls out of Black Sea grain deal at time of growing hunger
Turkey's role as a top trading partner and a logistical hub for Russia's foreign trade amid Western sanctions strengthens Erdogan's hand and could allow him to squeeze concessions from Putin, whom he calls "my dear friend."
Turkey's trade with Russia nearly doubled last year to $68.2 billion, feeding U.S. suspicions that Moscow is using Ankara to bypass Western sanctions. Turkey says the increase is largely due to higher energy costs.
Their relationship is often characterized as transactional. Despite being on opposing sides in fighting in Syria, Libya and the decades-long conflict between Armenia and Azerbaijan, they have cooperated in areas like energy, defense, diplomacy, tourism and trade.
Also read: Russia's threat to exit Ukraine grain deal adds risk to global food security
Ozgur Unluhisarcikli, director of the German Marshall Fund in Ankara, said the relationship's dual nature dates back to the sultans and czars.
"Sometimes they compete, sometimes they cooperate. At other times they both compete and cooperate at the same time," he said.
While the pendulum seems to have swung in Ankara's favor for now, Unluhisarcikli noted the Kremlin has a few levers to pull, such as canceling a deferment of gas payments or removing financial capital for the Akkuyu nuclear plant being built by Russia. Moscow also could hurt Turkey by restricting Russian tourists, who visit in greater numbers than any other nationality. offering a steady flow of cash.
"How much weaker the relationship gets depends on how Russia responds to Turkey getting closer to the West," he said.
Some observers in Moscow speculate that Russia agreed to extend the grain deal for two months in May to help Erdogan win reelection but was appalled to see his pro-Western shift afterward.
Erdogan backed Sweden's membership in NATO earlier this month. In another snub to Moscow, Turkey allowed several Ukrainian commanders who led the defense of Mariupol last year to return home. They surrendered after a two-month Russian siege and then moved to Turkey under a deal that they stay there until the end of the war.
Kerim Has, a Moscow-based expert on Turkey-Russia ties, said Erdogan had been emboldened by his reelection to pursue rapprochement with the West, appointing a "pro-Western" Cabinet and adopting a stance that was causing "discomfort" in the Kremlin.
"It's a dilemma for Putin," Has said. "He supported Erdogan's candidacy but he will face a more active, pro-Western Turkey under Erdogan in the coming period."
Moscow could try to pressure Erdogan by challenging Turkey's interests in northwestern Syria, where Ankara has backed armed opposition groups since the start of the conflict. Even though Russia has joined with Iran to shore up Syrian President Bashar Assad's government while Turkey has backed its foes, Moscow and Ankara have negotiated cease-fire deals.
But Russia abruptly toughened its stand this month when it vetoed a U.N. Security Council resolution backed by virtually all members to continue humanitarian aid deliveries to opposition-held areas through the Bab el-Hawa border crossing with Turkey, a key lifeline for about 4.1 million people in the impoverished enclave. Moscow warned that if its rival draft was not accepted, the crossing would be shut.
The presence of 3.4 million Syrians in Turkey is a sensitive issue for Ankara. Erdogan has advocated their voluntary repatriation to parts of northern Syria under Turkish control.
Dareen Khalifa, senior analyst on Syria at the International Crisis Group, says Russia's hard-line approach to the issue was an attempt to pressure Ankara.
"Turkey will be directly impacted by that if the mechanism ends," he said.
Others were skeptical Russia could use the border crossing issue to strong-arm Ankara. "I do not think Russia is in a position to increase its pressure on Turkey in Syria," Has said.
Joseph Daher, a Swiss-Syrian researcher and professor at the European University Institute in Florence, Italy, observed that Russia could be trying to pressure the West by raising the prospect of a new wave of refugees in Europe.
Richard Gowan, U.N. director of the International Crisis Group, noted that along with the tougher stand on Syria, Russia's "disruptive" actions included support for Mali's push to expel U.N. peacekeepers.
"It looks like Russia is looking for ways to annoy the West through the U.N," he told The Associated Press.
Reflecting Moscow's increasingly muscular stand, Russian military pilots recently have harassed U.S. aircraft over Syria in incidents that added to tensions between Moscow and Washington. The Pentagon described Russia's maneuvers as unprofessional and unsafe, while Moscow sought to turn the tables by accusing the U.S. of violating deconfliction rules intended to prevent collisions over Syria.
Amid the hardball at the U.N. and in Syria, Russia has been courting African nations with promises of support.
The Kremlin has emphasized it stands ready to provide poor countries in Africa with free grain after the termination of the Black Sea deal, and Putin is set to woo African leaders at a summit in St. Petersburg later this month. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Moscow's offer of free grain shipments would be on the agenda.
The Black Sea deal allowed Ukraine to ship 32.9 million metric tons of grain and other food to global markets. According to official data, 57% of the grain from Ukraine went to developing nations, while China received the most — nearly a quarter.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy noted that 60,000 metric tons of grain destroyed by Russia's strike on the port of Odesa on Wednesday were bound for China.
Putin, in turn, accused the West of using the grain deal to "shamelessly enrich itself" instead of its declared goal of easing hunger. Despite such rhetoric, the Russian move won't play well in African countries.
Even as the Kremlin tried to contain the damage to those ties, it unleashed more attacks on Odesa and other ports to thwart Ukrainian attempts to continue grain shipments. Moscow described them as " strikes of retribution " for Monday's attack that damaged the Kerch Bridge linking Moscow-annexed Crimea with Russia.
Hard-liners in Moscow praised Putin for halting the deal, which they have criticized as a reflection of what they described as the Kremlin's futile hope to compromise with the West.
Pro-Kremlin commentator Sergei Markov lauded the retaliatory strikes and argued that the withdrawal from the deal was long overdue.
"The grain deal's extension led to a drop in the government's ratings and was fueling talk about betrayal on top," he said.
Italy's extraordinary heatwave approaches peak
The extraordinary heatwave that Italy is suffering, its third of the summer, was approaching its peak on Tuesday, with the possibility that temperatures will reach record highlights in some cities.
Indeed, Rome has set up 28 heat help points dotted around the city with the aim of preventing people having bad turns, with the temperature in the capital forecast to reach a new high of 42° Celsius.
Temperatures are forecast to climb to 47° Celsius in areas of southern Sardinia this week and 45 or 46° in Sicily.
California's Death Valley sizzles as brutal heat wave continues
On Tuesday 20 major Italian cities are on red alert due to the heat - Ancona, Bologna, Bolzano, Brescia, Cagliari, Campobasso, Florence, Frosinone, Latina, Messina, Naples, Palermo, Perugia, Pescara, Rieti, Rome, Trieste, Venice, Verona and Viterbo.
On Wednesday Bari, Catania, Civitavecchia and Turin will join them, while Bolzano drops down to yellow alert.
'Heat storm' hits Italy
That means that only four of the nation's 27 biggest cities will not be on red alert on Wednesday.
A city is on red alert when the heat is so intense it poses a threat to the whole population, not just vulnerable groups such as the sick, the elderly and small children.
The health ministry has sent a circular letter to Italy's regional governments with a series of recommendations to manage the impact of the heat.
These recommendations include setting up a 'heat code' at emergency rooms with special, priority procedures for people suffering heat-related health issues.
No respite from heat, with 3rd wave bringing record temperature in Italy
They also call for the creation of special USCAR units to provide care for people at home, especially for vulnerable groups like the elderly, and prevent ERs being overwhelmed by people going to casualty with problems that could be solved elsewhere.
The letter tells the regions to boost out-of-hours doctor services too.
A study coordinated by the Barcelona Institute for Global Health and published in the Nature Medicine journal last week estimated that over 18,000 people died in Italy due to the intense heat the nation endured last summer.
Scientists say the climate crisis caused by human greenhouse gas emissions is making extreme weather events such as heat waves, droughts, supercharged storms and flooding more frequent and more intense.
5 killed in Poland as plane crashes into hangar
Five people were killed and eight others were injured Monday when a Cessna 208 plane crashed into a hangar at a sky diving center during bad weather, authorities said.
The plane's pilot and four people sheltering in the hangar from stormy weather died in the afternoon crash in Chrcynno in central Poland, firefighters spokesperson Monika Nowakowska-Brynda said.
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An additional eight people were injured, two of them seriously, police said. A child was among the injured, the provincial governor, Sylwester Dabrowski, said.
Chrcynno is about 45 kilometers (28 miles) northwest of Warsaw.
Firefighters and airborne ambulances took the injured to hospitals in the Nowy Dwor Mazowiecki area.
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Rescuers were still checking the hangar for additional victims, said Katarzyna Urbanowska, another spokesperson for local firefighters.
Prosecutors and police were investigating the cause of the accident.
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It was the worst accident related to sky diving in Poland since 2014, when 11 people were killed in a crash of a small plane in Topolow, near the southern city of Czestochowa.
Russia pulls out of Black Sea grain deal at time of growing hunger
Russia on Monday halted a breakthrough wartime deal that allowed grain to flow from Ukraine to countries in Africa, the Middle East and Asia where hunger is a growing threat and high food prices have pushed more people into poverty.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said the Black Sea Grain Initiative would be suspended until demands to get Russian food and fertilizer to the world are met.
"When the part of the Black Sea deal related to Russia is implemented, Russia will immediately return to the implementation of the deal," Peskov said.
Also read: Key Russian bridge to Crimea is struck again, with Moscow blaming Kyiv for attack that killed 2
While Russia has complained that restrictions on shipping and insurance have hampered its agricultural exports, it has shipped record amounts of wheat since last year.
The suspension marks the end of an accord that the U.N. and Turkey brokered last summer to allow shipments of food from the Black Sea region after Russia's invasion of its neighbor worsened a global food crisis. The initiative is credited with helping lower soaring prices of wheat, vegetable oil and other food commodities.
Ukraine and Russia are both major global suppliers of wheat, barley, sunflower oil and other food products that developing nations rely on.
The suspension of the deal sent wheat prices up about 3% in Chicago trading, to $6.81 a bushel, which is still about half what they were at last year's peak. Prices fell later in the day.
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Analysts don't expect more than a temporary bump in global food commodity prices because countries such as Russia and Brazil have ratcheted up wheat and corn exports. But food insecurity worldwide and prices at local stores and markets have risen as developing countries also struggle with climate change, conflict and economic crises. Finding suppliers outside Ukraine that are farther away also could raise costs, analysts say.
The grain deal provided guarantees that ships would not be attacked entering and leaving Ukrainian ports, while a separate agreement facilitated the movement of Russian food and fertilizer. Western sanctions do not apply to Moscow's agricultural shipments.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said he wanted to keep the initiative going even without Russia's safety assurances for ships.
"We are not afraid," he said. "We were approached by companies that own ships. They said that they are ready, if Ukraine gives it, and Turkey continues to let it through, then everyone is ready to continue supplying grain."
Also read: Russia's threat to exit Ukraine grain deal adds risk to global food security
The Russian Foreign Ministry again declared the area "temporarily dangerous." Sergei Markov, a Moscow-based pro-Kremlin political analyst, speculated that if Ukraine doesn't heed the warnings, Russia could strike Ukrainian ports or place explosive mines in Black Sea routes.
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said officials were talking with Russia and that he was hopeful the deal would be extended.
The Black Sea Grain Initiative has allowed three Ukrainian ports to export 32.9 million metric tons of grain and other food to the world, according to the Joint Coordination Center in Istanbul.
Russia has repeatedly complained that the deal largely benefits richer nations. JCC data shows that 57% of the grain from Ukraine went to developing nations, with the top destination being China, which received nearly a quarter of the food.
Also read: Russia, Ukraine extend grain deal to aid world's poor
U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said the end of the deal will inevitably result in more human suffering but that the U.N. would keep working to ensure the flow of supplies from Ukraine and Russia.
"We will stay fixed on finding pathways for solutions," he told reporters. "There is simply too much at stake in a hungry and hurting world."
The agreement was renewed for 60 days in May, but in recent months, the amount of food shipped and number of vessels departing Ukraine have plunged, with Russia accused of preventing additional ships from participating.
The war in Ukraine sent food commodity prices to record highs last year and contributed to a global food crisis, which was also tied to other conflicts, the lingering effects of the COVID-19 pandemic and climate factors.
High grain prices in countries like Egypt, Lebanon and Nigeria exacerbated economic challenges and helped push millions more people into poverty or food insecurity.
Also read: Ukrainian grain shipments drop as ship backups grow
Rising food prices affect people in developing countries disproportionately, because they spend more of their money on meals. Poorer nations that depend on imported food priced in dollars also are spending more as their currencies weaken and they are forced to import more because of climate change.
Under the deal, prices for global food commodities like wheat and vegetable oil have fallen, but food was already expensive before the war in Ukraine, and the relief hasn't trickled down to kitchen tables.
"Countries such as Sudan, Somalia, Ethiopia are dependent on food imports from Ukraine, so it does hamper availability and accessibility to food," said Shashwat Saraf, the International Rescue Committee's regional emergency director for East Africa.
Now it's key to watch whether Russia "weaponizes" its wheat exports, said Simon Evenett, professor of international trade and economic development at the University of St. Gallen in Switzerland.
Also read: Russia rejoins key deal on wartime Ukrainian grain exports
As the world's current largest wheat supplier, Russia could hike its export taxes, which "would raise world grain prices as well as allow Russia to finance more of its military campaign in Ukraine," Evenett said. He noted that Moscow already raised them slightly this month.
The grain deal has faced setbacks since it was brokered by the U.N. and Turkey. Russia pulled out briefly in November before rejoining and extending the deal.
In March and May, Russia would only renew for 60 days, instead of the usual 120. The amount of grain shipped per month fell from a peak of 4.2 million metric tons in October to over 2 million metric tons in June.
Ukraine has accused Russia of preventing new ships from joining the work since the end of June. Joint inspections meant to ensure vessels carry only grain and not weapons have slowed considerably.
Asked Monday whether an attack on a bridge connecting the Crimean Peninsula to Russia was a factor in the decision on the grain deal, the Kremlin spokesman said it was not.
Meanwhile, Russia's wheat shipments hit all-time highs following a large harvest. It exported 45.5 million metric tons in the 2022-2023 trade year, with another record of 47.5 million metric tons expected in 2023-2024, according to U.S. Department of Agriculture estimates.
Key Russian bridge to Crimea is struck again, with Moscow blaming Kyiv for attack that killed 2
An attack before dawn Monday damaged part of a bridge linking Russia to Moscow-annexed Crimea that is a key supply route for Kremlin forces in the war with Ukraine, forcing the span's temporary closure for a second time in less than a year. Two people were killed and their daughter was injured.
Vehicle traffic on the Kerch Bridge came to a standstill, while rail traffic across the 19-kilometer (12-mile) span also was halted for about six hours.
The strike was carried out by two Ukrainian maritime drones, Russia's National Anti-Terrorist Committee said.
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Ukrainian officials were coy about taking responsibility, as they have been in past strikes. But in what appeared to be a tacit acknowledgment, Ukrainian Security Service spokesman Artem Degtyarenko said in a statement that his agency would reveal details of how the "bang" was organized after Kyiv has won the war.
The bridge previously was attacked in October, when a truck bomb blew up two of its sections and required months of repair. Moscow decried that assault as an act of terrorism and retaliated by bombarding Ukraine's civilian infrastructure, targeting the country's power grid over the winter.
In Monday's blast, the Ukrainian news portal RBK-Ukraina cited a security services source as saying it was carried out by what it called floating drones. A deputy prime minister, Mykhailo Fedorov, later said on the Telegram messaging service that "today, the Crimea bridge was torn apart by sea drones," but it was not clear if he was making an official confirmation or referring to earlier reports.
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Hours after Monday's attack, video from Russian authorities showed crews picking up debris from the deck of the bridge, a section of which appeared to be sloping to one side, and a damaged black sedan with its passenger door open.
Russian Deputy Prime Minister Marat Khusnullin said authorities were inspecting the damage before determining how long it will take to repair.
The Kerch Bridge is a conspicuous symbol of Moscow's claims on Crimea and an essential land link to the peninsula, which Russia illegally annexed in 2014. The $3.6 billion bridge is the longest in Europe and is crucial for Russia's military operations in southern Ukraine in the nearly 17-month-old war.
Russia has expanded its military forces in Crimea since the launch of its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022. Occasional sabotage and other attacks against the Russian military and other facilities on the peninsula have occurred since, with the Kremlin blaming Ukraine.
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The bridge attack comes as Ukrainian forces are pressing a counteroffensive in several sections of the front line. It also happened hours before Russia announced, as expected, that it is halting a deal brokered by the United Nations and Turkey that allows the export of Ukrainian grain during the war.
Russian media identified the dead as Alexei and Natalia Kulik, who were traveling to Crimea for a summer vacation. The 40-year-old Kulik was a truck driver and his 36-year-old wife was a municipal education worker. Their 14-year-old daughter suffered chest and brain injuries.
Kyiv didn't initially acknowledge responsibility for October's bridge attack either, but Deputy Defense Minister Hanna Maliar acknowledged earlier this month that Ukraine struck it to derail Russian logistics.
Dmitry Medvedev, deputy head of Russia's Security Council, returned to that theme Monday, calling the Ukrainian government a "terrorist organization."
"We must blow up their houses and houses of their relatives, search and eliminate their accomplices," he said.
Russian authorities said the attack didn't affect the bridge's piers but damaged the deck on one of two road links. The damage appeared less serious than in October's attack.
Andriy Yusov, a spokesman for Ukraine's military intelligence department, declined to comment but said: "The peninsula is used by the Russians as a large logistical hub for moving forces and assets deep into the territory of Ukraine. Of course, any logistical problems are additional complications for the occupiers."
The Security Service of Ukraine posted a redacted version of a popular lullaby, tweaked to say that the bridge "went to sleep again."
Tunisia, EU sign MoU on illegal migration, economy
Tunisia and the European Union (EU) on Sunday signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on strategic and comprehensive partnership, according to the Tunisian presidency.
The MoU was signed in the presence of Tunisian President Kais Saied, the European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni and Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte.
The presidency statement didn't provide further details about the MoU.
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According to the European television news network Euronews, the MoU was inked for a "comprehensive strategic partnership" between the EU and Tunisia, with a focus on renewable energies, economic development, and irregular migration.
Today, we urgently need a collective agreement on the issue of inhumane immigration," Saied said during a joint press conference held in the capital Tunis with the visiting European leaders.
He added the Tunisian people have provided these illegal immigrants with all the necessary help and support, and stressed that the country is "determined to meet the challenges of the current situation."
Von der Leyen assured that the EU "is working for prosperity and a better future for the whole region, especially Tunisia and its people."
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The Italian prime minister said, "It is a major step to build a solid partnership to face the scourge of illegal immigration that harms both shores of the Mediterranean."
Located in the central Mediterranean, Tunisia is one of the most popular transit points for illegal immigration to Europe.
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Although Tunisian authorities have adopted rigorous measures to tackle the problem, the number of illegal immigrants from Tunisia to Italy has been on the rise.
'Heat storm' hits Italy
After enduring two major heatwaves, Italy was faced on Sunday with what the iLMeteo.it weather website has described as a "heat storm", with exceptionally high temperatures and humidity rates, especially in the central and southern regions.
On Sunday the number of major Italian cities that the health ministry has put on red alert, meaning that the heat is so intense it poses a threat to the whole population, not just groups such as the elderly, the clinically vulnerable and very young children, climbed from 15 to 16.
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They are Bologna, Campobasso, Florence, Frosinone, Latina, Perugia, Pescara, Rieti, Rome, Viterbo. Bari, Cagliari, Catania, Civitavecchia, Messina and Palermo, Sunday's new entry.
Temperatures are forecast to climb as high as 47° Celsius in areas of southern Sardinia, 45 or 46° in Sicily and 45° in the province of Foggia, in Puglia.
In Rome, which The Times has called "The Infernal City" because of the heat it is suffering, temperatures are expected to reach 37° on Sunday and climb to 42 or 43° on Tuesday.
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iLMeteo.it Founder Antonio Sanò said temperatures of over 30° may last until up to midnight in some cases.
Sleeping is a problem, with temperatures not going below 20° during the night.
UK Defense Secretary Ben Wallace says he'll quit government and stand down as a lawmaker
British Defense Secretary Ben Wallace said Sunday he plans to resign at the next Cabinet reshuffle after four years in the job.
Wallace has served as defense secretary under three prime ministers and played a key role in the U.K.'s response to Russia's invasion of Ukraine.
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He told The Sunday Times his departure was due to the strain his job had put on his family. He also said he would stand down as a lawmaker at the next general election.
Wallace is the longest continuously serving minister in government. He was security minister under former Prime Minister Theresa May, before being promoted to defense secretary by her successor Boris Johnson.
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Wallace drew criticism last week when he suggested that Ukraine should show "gratitude" for the West's military support. He made the remark at the NATO summit in Lithuania after Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy expressed frustration about when his country could join the military alliance.
British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak distanced himself from Wallace's comments, saying Zelenskyy had "expressed his gratitude for what we've done on a number of occasions."
Zelenskyy blasts NATO’s failure to set a timetable for Ukraine’s membership as ‘absurd’