MOSCOW: Russia’s grain harvest will be hit by the impact of Ukraine’s attacks on grain-producing regions close to the border and by bad weather in many other regions, the RIA news agency cited Agriculture Minister Oksana Lut as saying on Monday.
Russia, the world’s top wheat exporter, has officially forecast this year’s grain harvest at 132 million metric tons, an 11 percent drop from 148 million tons in 2023 and a 16 percent drop from a record 158 million tons in 2022.
However, after bad weather, ranging from early spring frosts to drought and rain, hit many grain-producing regions, the forecast is set for a downward revision. The IKAR consultancy sees this year’s grain harvest at 124.5 million tons.
Concerns over Russia’s smaller-than-expected grain harvest supported international prices in recent months, with wheat reaching four-months high last week.
“We are currently calculating the figures, taking into account the bad weather in Siberia,” Lut was quoted by RIA Novosti as saying.
“And on the other hand, unfortunately, considering the inability to harvest crops in regions where a counter-terrorist operation regime has been introduced,” Lut added in a first public acknowledgment of the war’s impact on the harvest.
Russia introduced the regime in Kursk, as well as neighboring Bryansk and Belgorod regions, following a major Ukrainian incursion into the Kursk region, Russia’s seventh-largest grain-producing region, on Aug. 6.
Both Belgorod and Bryansk regions, major grain-producing areas, have become targets of regular attacks by Ukraine’s military. Ukrainian forces still control a large swathe of the Kursk region.
Kursk Governor Alexei Smirnov said in September that after the attack, the harvesting of grains could not be completed on an area of 160,000 hectares. He estimated the damage from the attack at almost $1 billion.
Lut said the final estimate for this year’s harvest will be announced on Oct. 10. Sovecon consultancy earlier estimated that as of Oct.1, Russian farmers had harvested 111 million metric tons of grain.
Lut also said that winter crops sowing in many regions was difficult because of the continued drought. Sovecon consultancy said that no rains were expected in winter grain sowing areas until mid-October.
“The sowing is going very hard. We plan to sow 20 million hectares, as we did last year. But we are practically sowing in sand,” Interfax news agency quoted Lut as saying.
Russia says grain harvest hit by Ukraine war, bad weather
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Russia says grain harvest hit by Ukraine war, bad weather
- Russia, the world’s top wheat exporter, has officially forecast this year’s grain harvest at 132 million metric tons, an 11 percent drop from 148 million tons in 2023
- However, after bad weather hit many grain-producing regions, the forecast is set for a downward revision
Putin to meet Iran president in Turkmenistan Friday
- Leaders will meet in Ashgabat while attending an event celebrating a Turkmen poet
- Russian Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin visited Iran last week for talks with Pezeshkian
MOSCOW: Russian President Vladimir Putin is to meet Iran’s President Masoud Pezeshkian for talks Friday at a forum in the Central Asian country of Turkmenistan, a senior aide said Monday.
Yury Ushakov, Putin’s aide on foreign policy, told journalists the leaders will meet in Ashgabat while attending an event celebrating a Turkmen poet.
“This meeting has great significance both for discussing bilateral issues as well as, of course, discussing the sharply escalated situation in the Middle East,” Ushakov said.
Leaders of Central Asian countries are meeting to commemorate the 300th anniversary of the birth of 18th-century poet Magtymguly Pyragy.
Putin’s attendance had not been previously announced.
Russian Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin visited Iran last week for talks with Pezeshkian and First Vice President Mohammad Reza Aref.
The talks come as Israel intensively bombs Lebanon, targeting Iran-backed Hezbollah and Russia has evacuated some citizens.
Russia has close relations with Iran, and Western governments have accused Tehran of supplying Moscow with drones and missiles, which it has repeatedly denied.
Pezeshkian will also hold talks with Putin during a visit to Russia this month to participate in a BRICS summit of emerging economies.
Nationwide protests in India demand stop to arms trade with Israel
- Protesters took to the streets of New Delhi, Kolkata, Bangalore and Lucknow in solidarity with Palestine
- Indian civil society calls on government to cease diplomatic, defense and labor ties with Israel
NEW DELHI: India’s largest civil society organizations staged protests in cities across the country on Monday demanding the Indian government stop arms exports to Israel, as they gathered to mark a year since the start of the war on Gaza.
Since the deadly onslaught on Gaza began on Oct. 7, Israeli forces have killed at least 41,870 Palestinians and wounded over 97,000 others, according to estimates from the enclave’s Health Ministry.
India’s leading civil society organizations, main trade unions and top lawyers have held rallies in solidarity with Palestine for the past year, demanding a ceasefire and more action from parties that have ties with Israel, including the government in Delhi.
“The main demand of the protest is that we want a complete arms embargo, we want the Indian government to stop sending arms to Israel because we know that it is resulting in the loss of life. It is only being used to bomb innocents,” Anjali, an activist with the India for Palestine collective, told Arab News.
“We want an immediate and permanent ceasefire. We want the Indian government to end all arms and trade deals with the Israeli government … This protest is important. We are fed up with being part of a country which is signing stronger ties with Israel.”
Indian arms sales to Israel came into the spotlight in May, following reports of two shipments loaded with weapons that originated from Chennai in southeast India, which was later prevented from docking in the Spanish port of Cartagena.
In June, Palestinian reporters released clips showing remains of a missile found after a deadly bombing with a label that read: “Made in India.”
Though support for Palestine was an important part of India’s foreign policy for decades, that support has visibly shifted toward Israel especially in the past year, which saw police stopping rallies held in solidarity with Gaza.
On Monday, activists took to the streets not only in the Indian capital, but also in the eastern city of Kolkata, the southern city of Bangalore and Lucknow, the capital of India’s largest state of Uttar Pradesh.
There were dozens of organizations represented at the New Delhi demonstration, including rights bodies, trade unions, student and youth associations, and women’s groups.
In a letter to mark one year since Israel’s war on Gaza, they called on the Indian government to cease all diplomatic ties with Israel. And to “vote against genocidal actions of the US-backed Israeli government,” while also urging a stop to all arms trade and labor ties with Tel Aviv.
“We are asking the Indian government to stop the military supply. It’s the same demand, which they are not listening to … therefore this is a tactic to put pressure on the Indian government,” Aban Raza, an artist who took part in the Delhi rally, told Arab News.
Prasenjit, a student leader in Delhi, said the Indian government should “take a position” and send the message to the world. “The barbaric attack on Palestine should stop,” he said.
In Kolkata, more than a thousand people showed up to participate in the Palestinian rally.
“This is not a war, but genocide, and the whole world is raising voice against this genocide. This attack on Palestine and Lebanon is being done with the help of the USA and NATO,” Nilasis Bose of the All India Students Association told Arab News.
“We demand that the genocide should stop, the UN should get proactive. We fear that the (Gaza) war will push the world into the third world war,” he said.
“We also want war criminals like Netanyahu to be tried and punished.”
Feroze Mithiborwala, an activist in Bangalore, was expecting over a thousand people to show up at the evening protest in the city.
“They are calling for the stoppage of weapon supply and trade deals with Israel and we are calling for the establishment of the Palestinian independent state. Israel needs to be tried for war crimes too,” he said.
“People can see the horror happening (that) Israel is committing. People are protesting to demand an end to the war. They are calling for an immediate and permanent ceasefire.”
Biden, Harris mourn Oct 7 anniversary — and Palestinian deaths
- Biden said “that history will also remember October 7 as a dark day for the Palestinian people because of the conflict that Hamas unleashed that day”
WASHINGTON: US President Joe Biden and Democratic presidential candidate Kamala Harris mourned the bloody Hamas attack on Israel a year ago Monday while deploring heavy civilian losses of Palestinians in the subsequent Israeli operation.
“Let us bear witness to the unspeakable brutality of the October 7th attacks but also to the beauty of the lives that were stolen that day,” Biden said.
Harris, the vice president, said she would “never forget the horror of October 7, 2023” when Hamas militants launched a surprise attack into Israel, killing 1,205 people, most of them civilians, and taking 251 hostages.
“I am devastated by the loss and pain of the Israeli people,” she said in a statement.
But Biden added in his statement “that history will also remember October 7 as a dark day for the Palestinian people because of the conflict that Hamas unleashed that day.”
“Far too many civilians have suffered far too much during this year of conflict,” he said.
In her statement, Harris also described herself as “heartbroken over the scale of death and destruction in Gaza over the past year.”
More than 41,909 Palestinians, a majority of them civilians, have been killed in Israel’s military campaign in the Gaza Strip since the war began, according to data provided by the health ministry in Hamas-run Gaza. The UN has acknowledged these figures as reliable.
In their statements, Biden and Harris both underlined their commitment to the US military alliance with Israel.
“One year later, Vice President Harris and I remain fully committed to the safety of the Jewish people, the security of Israel, and its right to exist,” Biden said.
Harris noted that she would “always fight for the Palestinian people to be able to realize their right to dignity, freedom, security, and self-determination.”
“We also continue to believe that a diplomatic solution across the Israel-Lebanon border region is the only path to restore lasting calm,” she said, referring to the escalating war between Israel and Hezbollah in Lebanon.
Britain withdraws family members of embassy staff from Israel
- The decision comes in the wake of Israel sending troops into southern Lebanon
- Britain advises citizens against “all but essential travel” to other parts of Israel
LONDON: Britain has withdrawn the families of its embassy staff working in Israel due to the escalation in fighting between Israel and Hezbollah and the risk of a wider regional conflict.
The decision comes in the wake of Israel sending troops into southern Lebanon, the killing of Hezbollah leader Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah, and an Iranian missile attack on Israel.
“As a precautionary measure following escalation in the region, family members of British Embassy staff have been temporarily withdrawn,” the Foreign Office travel advice web page for Israel read. “Our staff members remain.”
Hezbollah rockets hit Israel’s third-largest city Haifa early on Monday as the country looked poised to expand its ground incursions into Lebanon.
Britain advises citizens against all travel to the area close to the border with Gaza and “all but essential travel” to other parts of Israel and the Occupied Palestinian Territories due to the yearlong conflict between Israel and Hamas.
But British citizens living in Israel are not being told to leave. Instead, they are being advised that consular assistance is “severely limited.”
“We recognize this is a fast-moving situation that poses significant risks,” the advice reads. “We strongly encourage you to check you and your dependents have the required documentation to travel at short notice.”
Philippines, South Korea upgrade ties to strategic partnership
- Yoon’s visit to the Philippines is the first by a South Korean president since 2011
- New agreements also covered security, economy and nuclear energy cooperation
MANILA: Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. and South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol agreed to elevate bilateral ties to a strategic partnership on Monday, including closer maritime cooperation amid growing security challenges in the Asia-Pacific region.
Yoon was on a visit to the Philippines, marking the first such trip by a South Korean president since 2011, as the two nations celebrated their 75-year diplomatic relations this year.
The two leaders discussed a range of issues during their bilateral meeting in Manila, including tensions in the disputed South China Sea and the Korean peninsula, and later signed new cooperation agreements that also covered security, the economy and nuclear energy.
“Today, I am pleased to announce that the Philippines and the Republic of Korea have formally elevated our relations to a Strategic Partnership, adding further impetus to the strengthening and deepening of our cooperation in an increasingly complex geopolitical and economic environment,” Marcos said during a joint press conference.
The Philippines and South Korea also signed a preliminary agreement on maritime cooperation between their coast guards to promote, preserve and protect “maritime order and safety in the Asia-Pacific region,” he said.
Under a joint declaration on their strategic partnership, both countries expressed concern about actions in the South China Sea that “are inconsistent with the rules-based international order,” and said they “oppose militarization of reclaimed features, the dangerous use of coast guard and maritime militia vessels, and coercive activities.”
Philippine and Chinese coast guard vessels have repeatedly clashed in the strategic, resource-rich waterway that Beijing claims almost in its entirety, which has been dismissed by an international tribunal ruling in 2016.
Seoul has recently grown more vocal in speaking out on tensions in the disputed waters, including in March, when it expressed “grave concern” over China’s “repeated use of water cannons against the Philippine vessels” in the area.
South Korea will also actively take part in the Philippines’ ongoing military modernization efforts, Yoon said at the joint press conference, as his country has been working to ramp up global defense exports to become the world’s fourth-largest arms exporter by 2027.
The Philippines has so far bought FA-50 fighter jets, corvettes and frigates from South Korea, as Manila is looking to buy advanced assets, such as fighter jets, submarines and missile systems, to scale up territorial defense and maritime security.
Prof. Renato De Castro, an international studies expert and professor at Manila-based De La Salle University, said South Korea was “very important in enabling the Philippines to acquire weapon systems” required to implement Manila’s new Comprehensive Archipelagic Defense Concept.
He is referring to a strategic doctrine that was launched earlier this year in March to boost protection and security in the Philippine part of the South China Sea.
“South Korea is there to assist us in terms, of course, providing us the necessary naval platforms like the frigate, and, more importantly, probably supporting our shipbuilding industry so that we could be in a position to build ships that might be used by the Philippine Navy and the Philippines Coast Guard,” De Castro said.
Marcos and Yoon also signed an agreement to conduct a feasibility study on Philippines’ Bataan Nuclear Power Plant, as Manila seeks to tap nuclear power as a viable alternative to generate energy amid efforts to retire coal plants, boost energy security and meet its climate goals.
Under Yoon, who became president in 2022, South Korea has been ramping up nuclear energy production. The East Asian nation has exported its technology widely and was involved in the development of UAE’s first nuclear plant Barakah, which began its full commercial operation last month.
“We need it, we need renewable energy. We have started to decarbonize renewable energy. And the best option, of course, is nuclear energy. It’s high time,” De Castro said.
