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
Iran says agreement with U.S. to end Middle East conflict is in final stages
Iran’s Foreign Ministry spokesperson, Esmail Baqai, said Saturday that Tehran and the United States were in the “finalization phase” of a memorandum of understanding aimed at ending the conflict in the Middle East.
Speaking to Iranian state television Irib, Baqai explained that Iran had initially sought to draft a memorandum consisting of 14 clauses as part of the negotiations.
“We are currently in the phase of finalizing these memorandums of understanding,” he stated.
Shortly before Baqai’s remarks became public, U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio said there was “a possibility” that Iran could agree to a deal to end the conflict as early as Saturday.
“There is a possibility that later today, tomorrow, or within the next couple of days, we may have something to announce,” Rubio told reporters in New Delhi, adding that he hoped for “good news.”
Despite acknowledging progress in the negotiations, the top U.S. diplomat warned that President Donald Trump could still decide to resume military strikes against Iran if talks fail to produce a final agreement.
International
WHO Warns Ebola Outbreak Is Spreading Rapidly in DR Congo
The World Health Organization on Friday raised the risk level of the Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of the Congo from “high” to “very high,” the highest alert category used by the organization.
WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said the outbreak is spreading rapidly across the country, particularly in the eastern provinces of North Kivu and South Kivu.
“The Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of the Congo is spreading rapidly,” Tedros stated during a press conference.
He explained that the WHO had previously classified the risk as high at both the national and regional levels, while maintaining a low risk assessment globally.
“We are now revising our risk assessment to classify it as very high at the national level, high at the regional level, and low at the global level,” he added.
A WHO spokesperson told AFP that “very high” represents the organization’s highest risk category.
The outbreak has expanded across North Kivu and South Kivu, regions divided by the frontline between Congolese government forces and the armed group M23, which is reportedly backed by Rwanda and has seized large areas of territory since 2021.
International
Guatemalan Man Sentenced to 50 Years in U.S. Prison for Child Exploitation Crimes
Ángel Emilio Rodríguez Marroquín, a Guatemalan citizen living illegally in California, was sentenced to 50 years in prison on multiple charges related to the sexual exploitation of his two eight-year-old nephews, both of whom are disabled, according to a report published by Fox News.
The Central American national was arrested on November 22, 2025, on charges of producing and possessing child pornography, the report stated.
The investigation was led by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement in Los Angeles and the Homeland Security Investigations division of the immigration service. Authorities said Rodríguez Marroquín recorded himself sexually abusing both children.
According to the Department of Homeland Security, Rodríguez illegally entered the United States in 2024, was arrested, and later released.
The convicted man is also under investigation in Guatemala for child exploitation offenses. That investigation is being conducted by HSI in coordination with the Los Angeles Cyber Crimes Against Children Unit.
“This depraved illegal alien from Guatemala pleaded guilty to producing and possessing child pornography involving the abuse of his nephews,” said acting DHS Deputy Secretary Lauren Bis.
She also criticized U.S. immigration policies under former President Joe Biden, claiming the defendant would not have been in the country if stricter border controls had been enforced.
Iran says agreement with U.S. to end Middle East conflict is in final stages
WHO Warns Ebola Outbreak Is Spreading Rapidly in DR Congo
Guatemalan Man Sentenced to 50 Years in U.S. Prison for Child Exploitation Crimes
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