Halving food waste can reduce hunger for 153 million people: report

A woman sells fruit at a street market in the Villa Fatima neighborhood of La Paz. (AFP)
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Updated 02 July 2024
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Halving food waste can reduce hunger for 153 million people: report

  • UN nations have committed to cutting per capita food waste by 50 percent by 2030

PARIS: Halving food waste could cut climate-warming emissions and end undernourishment for 153 million people globally, the OECD and the UN’s food agency said in a joint report Tuesday.
Around a third of food produced for human consumption gets lost or wasted globally, according to the Food and Agriculture Organization — resulting in useless emissions and less available food for those who need it.
By 2033, the number of calories lost and wasted between produce leaving farms and reaching shops and households could be more than twice the number of calories currently consumed in low-income countries in a year, the report warned.
Cutting in two the amount of food lost and wasted along the journey from farm to fork “has the potential to reduce global agricultural greenhouse gas emissions by four percent and the number of undernourished people by 153 million by the year 2030,” according to the report.
“This target is a highly ambitious upper bound and would require substantial changes by both consumers and producer side,” they added.
Agriculture, forestry and other land use account for around one-fifth of global human-induced greenhouse gas emissions.
UN nations have committed to cutting per capita food waste by 50 percent by 2030 as part of sustainable development goals but there is no global target for reducing food loss along the production supply chain.
Between 2021 and 2023, fruit and vegetables accounted for more than half of the lost and wasted food given their extremely perishable nature and relatively short shelf life, according to the report.
Cereals followed, accounting for over a quarter of lost and wasted food.
The FAO estimates that approximately 600 million people will be facing hunger in 2030.
“Measures to reduce food loss and waste could significantly increase food intake worldwide as more food becomes available and prices fall, ensuring greater access to food for low-income populations,” the report said.
Halving food loss and waste by 2030 could result in increased food intake by 10 percent for low-income countries, six percent in lower middle-income nations and four percent in upper middle-income ones, it added.


Russian veteran haunted by ‘terrible’ memories of Ukraine front

Updated 57 min 48 sec ago
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Russian veteran haunted by ‘terrible’ memories of Ukraine front

  • In October 2023, Yury signed up with a private paramilitary company as a radio operator in an artillery brigade
  • Yury took part in an assault on the town of Chasiv Yar and on Bogdanivka, which fell to Russia in April 2024

ISTRA, Russia: In his kitchen in a Russian town near Moscow, Yury stirs his tea and tries to settle into a normal routine after months on the front line in Ukraine.
But the memories of a conflict that he says is “more terrible” than anything shown on Russian television still haunt the 39-year-old school employee.
“My wife says I came back bitter,” says Yury, 39, whose military call sign is “Lokomotiv” — a reference to his favorite Moscow football club.
He also brought back reflexes like scanning the sky for drones or not wearing a seat belt in order to evacuate quickly from the car in case of enemy fire.
This last habit has earned him several fines in Istra, 40 kilometers (25 miles) northwest of Moscow, where he lives with his wife and their four-year-old son.
When Russia announced partial mobilization in September 2022, Yury, who already had combat experience from the Russian Caucasus, was sure he would be one of the first to be called up.
“But it was my friends without any experience who were mobilized instead. Why them and not me? I felt then that I should go,” he said.
“My friends told me I was an idiot. ‘Why do you want to go? You have a family, a child, a good job’.”
In October 2023, he signed up with a private paramilitary company as a radio operator in an artillery brigade.
The brigade was based in Bakhmut, a city in eastern Ukraine that was captured by Russian forces in May 2023 after one of the bloodiest battles of the offensive launched by Moscow in February 2022.
Yury took part in an assault on the town of Chasiv Yar, where Ukraine’s troops are still clinging to the outskirts, and on Bogdanivka, which fell to Russia in April 2024.
Since returning, Yury is bored with “daily routine.”
On the front line “there was always something new — you are afraid for the first two weeks and after that it is an adventure,” he said.
His wife Albina, 40, said she had made “a huge fuss” when she found out he was planning to go to Ukraine.
“It was tough. I was afraid of losing him,” she said, sitting on a sofa in their modest apartment.
She said his nine-month deployment felt “like five years.”
“I rushed to my phone every time I received a notification. I was afraid of reading or hearing some bad news. Every morning started with this fear. It was terrible,” she said, crying.
“In reality it was more frightening more terrible than anything they show on television,” Yury said.
“If they showed everything that happens there on television, people might change their mind” about the conflict, he said.
In Istra cemetery there are around 30 graves with Russian flags and pictures of men in military uniform who died in Ukraine.
The area is known as an “Alley of Glory,” like similar corners of cemeteries across Russia, where thousands have died on the front.
The overall toll is a state secret.
Yury points to the grave of a school friend and says in total five of his friends have died on the front.
“The majority die or are injured by shrapnel, from artillery fire or from explosive drones,” he said.
“I think every Russian understands that this war is against the West,” he said, repeating the official rhetoric which portrays the conflict as a wider confrontation initiated by Western countries.
Yury said he was skeptical about the outcome of possible truce talks between Russian President Vladimir Putin and US President Donald Trump.
“It would be good if they could agree, if the war ended, but it will not finish immediately,” he said.
“A ceasefire will only make the situation worse. We have to get to the end of this!” he said. “If it’s not over by the New Year, I’ll go back.”


New Zealand foreign minister to question Chinese naval activity in Beijing visit

Updated 24 February 2025
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New Zealand foreign minister to question Chinese naval activity in Beijing visit

  • New Zealand and Australia officials said that China had conducted live-fire exercises in international waters between the two nations

WELLINGTON: New Zealand’s Foreign Minister Winston Peters will touch down in Beijing on Tuesday for a three-day visit as relations between the two countries are strained after Chinese Navy vessels conducted live firing exercises in the Tasman Sea.
New Zealand and Australia officials said that China had conducted live-fire exercises in international waters between the two nations, giving little notice and forcing commercial airlines to divert flights. The three ships are currently around 280 nautical miles (519 km) east of Tasmania, outside of Australia’s exclusive economic zone, the New Zealand Defense Force said on Monday.
New Zealand Prime Minister Christopher Luxon said on Monday the limited notice that China had given that it would undertake live firing exercise would be raised in Beijing.
“There is nothing illegal here in terms of they are compliant with international law,” said Luxon. “The issue for us is ... we’d appreciate a little bit more advance notice particularly on what is a busy air route.”
China’s foreign ministry did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Peters’ visit to China is part of a trip that includes stops in the UAE and Saudi Arabia, Mongolia and South Korea. In Beijing he will hold talks with senior Chinese leaders, including Foreign Minister Wang Yi.
Peters said last week in a statement he would discuss with Chinese officials the bilateral relationship, as well as Pacific, regional, and global issues that are of interest to both countries.
“China is one of New Zealand’s most significant and complex relationships, encompassing important trade, people-to-people, and cultural connections. We intend to maintain regular high-level political dialogue with China,” Peters said.
Peters has also voiced concerns that the Cook Islands, an independent country in free association with New Zealand, had signed a comprehensive strategic partnership and other agreements with China, without satisfactorily consulting with New Zealand.
Jason Young, Director of the New Zealand Contemporary China Research Center at Victoria University in Wellington, said while questions around challenging issues such as the Cook Islands deal and the People’s Liberation Army Navy’s activities in the Tasman Sea would be asked, there would also be discussion around further high-level visits and trade.


Foreign leaders visit Ukraine’s capital to mark 3rd war anniversary

Updated 24 February 2025
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Foreign leaders visit Ukraine’s capital to mark 3rd war anniversary

  • Zelensky hails ‘three years of resistance’ on Russian invasion anniversary

KYIV: Ukrainian leader Volodymyr Zelensky hailed his country's “resistance” and “heroism” on Monday on the third anniversary of Russia's invasion as EU leaders arrived in Kyiv in a show of solidarity.

He said: “Three years of resistance. Three years of gratitude. Three years of absolute heroism of Ukrainians,” adding: I thank everyone who defends and supports it.”

A dozen leaders from Europe and Canada arrived in Ukraine’s capital by train Monday morning to mark the anniversary.
The visitors were greeted at the station by Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha and the president’s chief of staff Andrii Yermak. Among them were European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau.
In a post on X, von der Leyen wrote that Europe was in Kyiv “because Ukraine is in Europe.”
“In this fight for survival, it is not only the destiny of Ukraine that is at stake. It’s Europe’s destiny,” she wrote.
The guests, also including European Council President Antonio Costa as well as the prime ministers of Northern European countries and Spain, were set to attend events dedicated to the anniversary and discuss supporting Ukraine amid a recent US policy shift under President Donald Trump.


Bangladeshi students, who ousted former PM Hasina, set to launch political party

Updated 24 February 2025
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Bangladeshi students, who ousted former PM Hasina, set to launch political party

  • The student group is finalizing plans to launch the new party during an event likely on Wednesday
  • Nahid Islam, a student leader and adviser to the interim government, is expected to lead the party as convener

DHAKA: Bangladeshi students, who were at the forefront of last year’s protests that ousted then Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, are set to launch a political party this week, two sources with direct knowledge of the development said.
The Students Against Discrimination (SAD) group spearheaded the protests that began as a student-led movement against public sector job quotas but quickly morphed into a broader, nationwide uprising that forced Hasina to flee to India as the unrest peaked in early August.
The student group is finalizing plans to launch the new party during an event likely on Wednesday, said the sources who did not want to be named as they are not authorized to speak to the media.
Nahid Islam, a student leader and adviser to the interim government that took charge of Bangladesh after Hasina’s exit, is expected to lead the party as convener, the sources said.
Islam has been a key figure in advocating for student interests within the interim government, led by Nobel laureate Muhammad Yunus, which has been at the helm of Bangladesh since August 2024. He is expected to resign from his current role to focus on leading the new political party.
Islam did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Yunus has said that elections could be held by the end of 2025, and many political analysts believe that a youth-led party could significantly reshape the country’s political landscape. Yunus has said he was not interested in running.
Yunus’ office did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the launch of the student-led political party.
The South Asian nation has been grappling with political unrest since Hasina left following weeks of protests during which more than 1,000 people were killed.
Officials from Hasina’s former government and security apparatus systematically committed serious human rights violations against the protesters during the uprising, the UN human rights commission said this month.
Hasina and her party deny any wrongdoing.


Ukraine drone attack triggers fire at Russian refinery

Updated 24 February 2025
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Ukraine drone attack triggers fire at Russian refinery

  • Ukrainian drone attack sparks fire at industrial site in Russia’s Ryazan region, governor says

MOSCOW: A Ukrainian drone attack triggered a fire at an oil refinery in Russia overnight, local media reports and officials said on Monday.
Kyiv has hit several Russian energy sites in long-range drone strikes it says is in retaliation for Moscow’s missile attacks that have crippled Ukraine’s energy grid and cut off power to millions at various points in the three-year conflict.
The governor of Russia’s Ryazan region, Pavel Malkov, said on Telegram that a “fire broke out on the territory of an enterprise due to falling debris” after the drones were downed.
The Russian defense ministry said it shot down 22 Ukrainian drones overnight, including two over the Ryazan region, southeast of Moscow.
Telegram accounts, including the Baza channel which is close to the Russian security forces, said the blaze was at an oil refinery.
Local media reported it was the third time the site, owned by Russian oil giant Rosneft, had been hit this year.