How Ukraine war is making the Arab region’s food security crisis worse

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Updated 04 April 2022
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How Ukraine war is making the Arab region’s food security crisis worse

  • The two countries locked in conflict controlled 30 percent of global wheat exports in 2021
  • Food-insecure Arab countries relied heavily on Black Sea grain imported from Russia and Ukraine

NEW YORK CITY: As the breadbasket of the world remains engulfed in conflict, households in vulnerable and poor countries, as well as refugee camps around the world, are getting burned.

The Russia-Ukraine conflict is threatening to cause a global food crisis that could drive up hunger and undernourishment levels in the Middle East, Central Asia and beyond. The three Fs — food, fuel and fertilizers — could become rare commodities enjoyed by the few if the fighting in Ukraine continues.

The war erupted after two painful years of a pandemic that destroyed livelihoods around the world, strained financial resources and emptied wallets, especially in poor countries.

Fiscal difficulties and inflation were joined by extreme weather in the form of floods and droughts that added to the already considerable stress on the world economy, hampering recovery.

The war in Ukraine created a perfect storm because the two countries involved in it controlled 30 percent of wheat exports of the global market in 2021, according to the UN’s Food and Agriculture Organization.

Russia, the largest exporter of wheat in the world, and Ukraine, the fifth largest, have between them 50 countries around the world that depend on them for 30 percent, some up to 60 percent, of wheat imports. Russia and Ukraine also account for 75 percent of global sunflower seed oil production.

Wheat prices rose 55 percent a week before the war started, coming on the heels of a year that saw wheat prices surge 69 percent. It was also at a time when hunger was on the rise in many parts of the world, especially in the Asia Pacific region, according to the FAO. The pandemic led to an 18 percent rise in hunger, bringing the number of malnourished people to 811 million around the world.

Arab countries, notably Egypt, Lebanon, Syria, Libya and Tunisia, rely heavily on Black Sea grain imported from Russia and Ukraine. They buy more than 60 percent of their wheat from the two countries.




A Russian man shovels grain at a farm in Vasyurinskoe. (AFP/File Photo)

These countries, themselves beset by economic problems or conflict, are now facing a difficult situation. In Lebanon for example, half of wheat in 2020 came from Ukraine. The corresponding figures for Libya, Yemen and Egypt were 43 percent, 22 percent and 14 percent, respectively.

The Arab Gulf region, according to IMF officials, will be less affected than other countries in the region because of the fiscal cushion provided by the windfall from high oil prices.

Countries are looking for solutions. But even if importers seek to replace Russia and Ukraine, they will face multiple challenges in looking for an alternative source of wheat supply.

The rise in energy prices is adding to the problem and leading to drastic increases in the price of food and wheat products. The new high price of oil is making importing wheat from distant producers, either in North and South America like the US, Canada and Argentina, or in Australia, very costly. Shipping costs have also increased along with insurance fees because of the conflict, adding to the ballooning price of wheat and food products.

Many wheat producers have resorted to protective policies and restrictions on wheat exports, to ensure enough domestic reserves for their populations. The immorality of vaccine inequality could pale in comparison to that of wheat hoarding by countries that have the financial means to do so. Competition will be fierce and poor countries will be pushed out of the market, causing shortages and tragedies.

One UN agency that feeds the poor and hungry is already feeling the financial pinch. The World Food Program buys almost half of its global wheat supply from Ukraine and the surge in price is affecting its ability to feed the hungry around the world.

According to one WFP official, its expenditure has “already increased by $71 million a month, enough to cut the daily rations for 3.8 million people.”

David Beasley, head of the World Food Program, was quoted as saying “we will be taking food from the hungry to give to the starving.”




A Syrian man, wearing a protective face mask to protect against the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, waits for customers at his bakery. (AFP/File Photo)

Climate change and extreme weather are compounding the problem, with floods and droughts in places such China and Brazil leading to shrinking crops and creating a need to import wheat from outside to satisfy domestic demand. This will ramp up the pressure on global supply and lead to a wheat rush.

The other factor fueling the crisis is a surge in the price of fertilizers. Russia is the world’s largest fertilizer exporter, with 15 percent of the world’s supply. Reports suggest it has asked its producers to halt fertilizer exports.

The sanctions slapped by the West on Russian entities are making payments difficult for exporters and importers alike, leading to a freeze in the fertilizer market. With less fertilizer available because of shortages and high prices, there will be less crop yield and more demand, potentially pushing up food prices further.

Importers of Russian wheat and fertilizers are frustrated and concerned about their ability to meet their needs, and have begun assigning blame.

Noorudin Zafer Ahmadi, An Afghan merchant who imports cooking oil from Russia to Afghanistan, told The New York Times that he found it difficult to buy what he needs in Russia and complained about the surge in prices. But he did not blame Russia; rather, he pointed the finger at those imposing the sanctions. “The US thinks it has only sanctioned Russia and its banks. But the US has sanctioned the whole world,” he told the newspaper.

In the worst-case scenario, food shortages can trigger protests and instability in already volatile countries, or those that are facing financial difficulties.

Surging food prices, especially those of bread, are historically associated with riots and unrest in many countries in the Middle East and North Africa, especially poorer ones. Asked about the potential regional impact of the deteriorating situation, Dr. Jihad Azour, director of the Middle East and Central Asia Department at the IMF, said: “Rising food and energy prices would further fuel inflation and social tensions in both regions (the Middle East and North Africa).

“The increase of food prices will have an impact on overall inflation and put additional pressure on low-income groups, particularly in the least developed countries with a high share of food in their consumption basket, and may trigger a rise in subsidies to counter these pressures, worsening fiscal accounts further,” he told Arab News.




David Beasley, head of the World Food Program. (Supplied)

Discussing the measures that the IMF is taking to help soften the blow to affected countries, Azour said: “The crisis adds to the policy trade-offs which have already become increasingly complex for many countries in the region with rising inflation, limited fiscal space and a fragile recovery.

“The IMF stands ready to help the MENA countries and others as was done during the COVID-19 crisis, where the IMF provided more than $20 billion in financial assistance to several MENA countries, in addition to about $45 billion of special drawing rights distributed last year that constitute an important liquidity line to deal with the various shocks.”

Antonio Guterres, the UN secretary-general, has announced new plans and measures for the organization to help mitigate the situation in countries most affected by soaring grain prices owing to the Ukraine war. He has said he is in touch with the heads of the IMF and the World Bank to coordinate their efforts in handling the crisis.

However, with Russian and Ukrainian forces seemingly locked in a standoff and the conflict showing no sign of ending, the food crisis could be just the beginning.

There are attempts being made by international organizations, at an inter-governmental level, to mitigate the impact of the food crisis on the most vulnerable countries. If these efforts fail to bear fruit, the coming months and years will see hunger on every door.


Rescuers scour buildings after Air India plane crash kills over 240

Updated 13 June 2025
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Rescuers scour buildings after Air India plane crash kills over 240

  • Only one passenger survived after the plane crashed onto a medical college hostel during lunch hour
  • Parts of the plane’s fuselage were scattered around the smoldering building into which it crashed

AHMEDABAD, India: Rescuers searched for missing people and aircraft debris in charred buildings in Ahmedabad on Friday after more than 240 people were killed in an Air India Boeing 787 crash, and as local media reported that India was considering grounding the airline’s 787 fleet for safety checks.

The Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner with 242 people on board bound for Gatwick Airport south of London took off over a residential area and disappeared from view before a huge fireball was seen rising into the sky from beyond the houses, CCTV footage showed.

Only one passenger survived after the plane crashed onto a medical college hostel during lunch hour, with local media reporting as many as 24 people on the ground were also killed. Reuters could not immediately verify the number.

Rescue workers had completed combing the crash site and were now searching for missing people and bodies in the buildings as well as for aircraft parts that could help explain why the plane crashed soon after taking off.

Local media reported that one of two black boxes from the 787 had been found. Reuters could not verify the reports, which also did not say whether it was the flight data recorder or the cockpit voice recorder that had been recovered.

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi was briefed by officials on the progress of rescue operations when he visited the crash site in his home state of Gujarat on Friday. Modi also met some of the injured being treated in hospital.

“The scene of devastation is saddening,” he said in a post on X.

Residents living in the vicinity said that construction of the hostel for resident doctors was completed only a year ago and the buildings were not fully occupied.

“We were at home and heard a massive sound, it appeared like a big blast. We then saw very dark smoke which engulfed the entire area,” said 63-year-old Nitin Joshi, who has been living in the area for more than 50 years.

Parts of the plane’s fuselage were scattered around the smoldering building into which it crashed. The tail of the plane was wedged on top of the building.

The Wall Street Journal reported on Friday, citing unnamed sources, that an investigation into the crash was focusing on “whether the aircraft had a loss or reduction in engine thrust.”

India’s NDTV reported that New Delhi was considering grounding Air India’s Dreamliner fleet for safety checks. Air India has more than 30 Dreamliners that include the Boeing 787-8 and 787-9 versions.

Modern, wide-body jet

It was the first crash for the Dreamliner since the wide-body jet began flying commercially in 2011, according to the Aviation Safety Network database.

The plane that crashed on Thursday flew for the first time in 2013 and was delivered to Air India in January 2014, Flightradar24 said.

Air India, Boeing and India’s Ministry of Civil Aviation ministry did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the NDTV report on the possible grounding of the fleet.

The lone survivor, a British national, told Indian media how he had heard a loud noise shortly after Flight AI171 took off.

India’s Foreign Minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar said he is in touch with foreign ministers of Britain, Portugal and Canada after citizens from their countries were killed in the crash.

Global leaders have expressed their condolences, including China’s President Xi Jinping who sent his message to India’s president, prime minister and Britain’s King Charles on Friday.

The passengers included 169 Indian nationals, 53 Britons, seven Portuguese and one Canadian.

Air India has said the investigation would take time. Planemaker Boeing has said a team of experts is ready to go to India to help in the probe.

Vidhi Chaudhary, a top state police officer, said on Thursday the death toll was more than 240, revising down a previous toll of 294 because it included body parts that had been counted twice.

“Almost 70 percent of the passengers were found in their seats, most of them had their seatbelts on,” a first responder told local newspaper Indian Express.

The last fatal plane crash in India, the world’s third-largest aviation market and its fastest-growing, was in 2020 and involved Air India Express, the airline’s low-cost arm.

In an unrelated incident, an Air India flight from Phuket in Thailand headed to Delhi made an emergency landing on Friday after a bomb threat was received on board, airport authorities said.

Indian conglomerate Tata Group took control of the formerly state-owned Air India in 2022, and merged it with Vistara — a joint venture between the group and Singapore Airlines – last year.


Air India flight makes emergency landing in Thailand after bomb threat; all passengers off plane

Updated 13 June 2025
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Air India flight makes emergency landing in Thailand after bomb threat; all passengers off plane

  • Indian airlines, airports received nearly 1,000 hoax calls and messages in first 10 months of 2024
  • Incident follows Air India flight crash in Ahmedabad on Thursday, which killed over 240 people

BANGKOK: An Air India flight from Phuket in Thailand to India’s capital New Delhi received an onboard bomb threat on Friday and made an emergency landing on the island, airport authorities said.

All 156 passengers on flight AI 379 had been escorted from the plane, in line with emergency plans, an Airports of Thailand official said.

The aircraft took off from Phuket airport bound for the Indian capital at 9.30 a.m. (0230 GMT) on Friday, but made a wide loop around the Andaman Sea and landed back on the southern Thai island, according to flight tracker Flightradar24.

The incident follows the crash of an Air India flight in Ahmedabad on Thursday shortly after takeoff, in which more than 240 people were killed.

AOT did not provide details on the bomb threat. Air India did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Indian airlines and airports were inundated with hoax bomb threats last year, with nearly 1,000 hoax calls and messages received in the first 10 months, nearly 10 times that of 2023.


Mexican citizen dies in US immigration detention center

Updated 13 June 2025
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Mexican citizen dies in US immigration detention center

  • The man died on June 7 at an ICE facility in the southern state of Georgia
  • US authorities notified the Mexican consulate in Georgia’s capital Atlanta of the death

MEXICO CITY: A Mexican citizen died in a US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) detention center from undetermined circumstances, Mexico’s foreign ministry has said.

The death comes amid ongoing demonstrations in several US states, most prominently in California, against immigration enforcement raids launched by US President Donald Trump’s administration.

The man died on June 7 at an ICE facility in the southern state of Georgia, where he was being held after he was transferred from a state prison, the foreign ministry said in a statement Thursday.

US authorities notified the Mexican consulate in Georgia’s capital Atlanta of the death.

“Consular staff has established communication with local and ICE authorities, as well as with the individual’s family members, to clarify the facts, confirm the official cause of death, and provide legal advice and support to the family,” the ministry said.

Mexico’s foreign ministry said consular staff had not been notified to interview the detainee while he was in custody, despite regular visits to the facility to assist Mexican nationals.

“The consulate has requested an explanation from the (detention) center’s authorities,” the ministry said.

It also said it was examining legal options and maintaining communication with the Georgia Bureau of Investigation, the state’s independent investigative body.


Japan ‘strongly condemns’ Israel’s attack on Iran

Updated 13 June 2025
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Japan ‘strongly condemns’ Israel’s attack on Iran

TOKYO: Japan has joined in the condemnation of Israel’s attack on Iran with Foreign Minister Takeshi Iwaya saying the attack “escalates the situation” in the Middle East, Japan’s Foreign Ministry reported.

“We deeply regret that military force was used despite ongoing diplomatic efforts, including talks between the US and Iran, to achieve a peaceful resolution to the Iranian nuclear issue,” Iwaya said. “Our country strongly condemns this action, which escalates the situation.”

Iwaya emphasized that peace and stability in the Middle East are “extremely important” to Japan and urged all parties involved to exercise maximum restraint.

He called for de-escalation of the situation, adding that the Japanese government will spare no effort to protect Japanese nationals residing in the region.

“We will continue to take all necessary measures to prevent further deterioration of the situation,” he said.

• This article also appears on Arab News Japan


Pakistan, other nuclear states together spent $100 billion on weapons in 2024 — report

Updated 13 June 2025
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Pakistan, other nuclear states together spent $100 billion on weapons in 2024 — report

  • US spent $56.8 billion in 2024, followed by China at $12.5 billion, says International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons
  • ICAN says level of nuclear weapons spending in 2024 by these nine nations could have paid UN budget almost 28 times over

GENEVA: Nuclear-armed states spent more than $100 billion on their atomic arsenals last year, the International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons said Friday, lamenting the lack of democratic oversight of such spending.

ICAN said Britain, China, France, India, Israel, North Korea, Pakistan, Russia and the United States together spent nearly $10 billion more than in 2023.

The United States spent $56.8 billion in 2024, followed by China at $12.5 billion and Britain at $10.4 billion, ICAN said in its flagship annual report.

Geneva-based ICAN won the 2017 Nobel Peace Prize for its key role in drafting the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons, which took effect in 2021.

Some 69 countries have ratified it to date, four more have directly acceded to the treaty and another 25 have signed it, although none of the nuclear weapons states have come on board.

This year’s report looked at the costs incurred by the countries that host other states’ nuclear weapons.

It said such costs are largely unknown to citizens and legislators alike, thereby avoiding democratic scrutiny.

Although not officially confirmed, the report said Belgium, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands and Turkiye were hosting US nuclear weapons, citing experts.

Meanwhile Russia claims it has nuclear weapons stationed in Belarus, but some experts are unsure, it added.

The report said there was “little public information” about the costs associated with hosting US nuclear weapons in NATO European countries, citing the cost of facility security, nuclear-capable aircraft and preparation to use such weapons.

“Each NATO nuclear-sharing arrangement is governed by secret agreements,” the report said.

“It’s an affront to democracy that citizens and lawmakers are not allowed to know that nuclear weapons from other countries are based on their soil or how much of their taxes is being spent on them,” said the report’s co-author Alicia Sanders-Zakre.

Eight countries openly possess nuclear weapons: the United States, Russia, Britain, France, China, India, Pakistan and North Korea.

Israel is widely assumed to have nuclear weapons, although it has never officially acknowledged this.

ICAN said the level of nuclear weapons spending in 2024 by these nine nations could have paid the UN budget almost 28 times over.

“The problem of nuclear weapons is one that can be solved, and doing so means understanding the vested interests fiercely defending the option for nine countries to indiscriminately murder civilians,” said ICAN’s program coordinator Susi Snyder.

The private sector earned at least $42.5 billion from their nuclear weapons contracts in 2024 alone, the report said.

There are at least $463 billion in ongoing nuclear weapons contracts, some of which do not expire for decades, and last year, at least $20 billion in new nuclear weapon contracts were awarded, it added.

“Many of the companies that benefited from this largesse invested heavily in lobbying governments, spending $128 million on those efforts in the United States and France, the two countries for which data is available,” ICAN said.

Standard nuclear doctrine — developed during the Cold War between superpowers the United States and the Soviet Union — is based on the assumption that such weapons will never have to be used because their impact is so devastating, and because nuclear retaliation would probably bring similar destruction on the original attacker.