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UNITED NATIONS – The basic food security of tens of millions across the globe is hanging by a thread as Russia mulls whether it will preserve a deal that has permitted Ukrainian grain to move through the Black Sea. Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov on Tuesday renewed threats of abandoning the Black Sea Grain Initiative, an agreement that allows the safe wartime export of agricultural products from besieged Ukrainian ports. Lavrov also said that the deal is currently one-sided since Russian fertilizers have not been able to transit the same way Ukrainian grain has. "It was not called the grain deal it was called the Black Sea Initiative and in the text itself the agreement stated that this applies to the expansion of opportunities to export grain and fertilizer," Lavrov told reporters during a press conference. Lavrov said there are dozens of Russian cargo vessels carrying some 200,000 tons of fertilizer stuck at European ports.

☆ The housing market downturn will send home prices 5% lower and help push the economy into a recession
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-26 | by ( Phil Rosen | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

US home prices will likely decline 5% year over year in the second half of 2023, Vanguard said. Strategists said the rate-sensitive housing sector will be an early indicator of the Fed's tightening. "The housing downturn is part of the reason why we view a mild US recession in 2023 as most likely." VanguardIn the shorter term, however, the housing slump this year will likely help tip the US economy into recession. "The housing downturn is part of the reason why we view a mild U.S. recession in 2023 as most likely," Vanguard said.

☆ Russian troops and Wagner mercenaries killed each other in a shootout after blaming each other for their war failures, Ukrainian government says
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-25 | by ( Matthew Loh | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Russian and Wagner troops opened fire on each other in Luhansk over an argument, Ukraine says. The soldiers and mercenaries had been blaming each other for their mistakes in the war, per Ukraine. "As a result, a fight between Russian Armed Forces and PMC Wagner mercenaries broke out in the settlement of Stanytsia Luhanska recently." It's thus unclear whether the alleged firefight represents wider conflict or discipline issues among Russian forces on the frontline. However, multiple reports have documented Russian troops being plagued by friendly fire in Ukraine, though the Kremlin rarely acknowledges any of these incidents.

☆ Japanese Ship, Torpedoed in 1942 With P.O.W.s Aboard, Is Found
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-22 | by ( Mike Ives | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

The wreck of a Japanese ship that sank in 1942 after it was torpedoed by an American submarine has been found, the Australian government said on Saturday. The ship was carrying hundreds of prisoners of war, most of them Australian, who all died, and the discovery resolves a painful episode in that country’s wartime history. The ship had no markings indicating that it was carrying prisoners of war and sank carrying more than 1,000 prisoners from about 16 nations, most of them Australian service members. The wreck was spotted this month on the seafloor northwest of Luzon, the largest island in the Philippines, according to Fugro, a company based in the Netherlands that provided the survey ship. The mission took five years to plan, and an autonomous underwater vehicle found the wreck after 12 days of searching, Fugro said.

☆ A Russian warplane bombed one of Russia's own border cities, adding to the country's stack of embarrassing wartime blunders
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-21 | by ( Matthew Loh | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

A Russian Su-34 mistakenly bombed the Russian city of Belgorod on Thursday, authorities said. Photos posted by Gladkov showed extensive damage to the nearby apartments — the outer wall of one property was completely blasted apart. Belgorod is some 25 miles from the Ukrainian border, and Russian warplanes often fly over the city on combat missions. Ukrainian and Western observers have also recorded multiple instances of Russian troops firing on their comrades. The Russian Ministry of Defense did not immediately respond to Insider's request for comment sent outside regular business hours.

☆ Red Cross Expresses Alarm Over Detainee Health at Guantánamo Bay
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-21 | by ( Carol Rosenberg | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

GUANTÁNAMO BAY, Cuba — A senior official with the International Committee of the Red Cross issued a rare statement of alarm on Friday about deteriorating health conditions and inadequate preparations for aging prisoners at Guantánamo Bay. The U.S. military must do a better job of providing care for prisoners who are “experiencing the symptoms of accelerated aging, worsened by the cumulative effects of their experiences and years spent in detention,” Patrick Hamilton, the head of the Red Cross delegation for the United States and Canada, said in the statement. In March, Mr. Hamilton and other delegates made a routine quarterly visit to the detention facility, the organization’s 146th since the wartime prison opened in January 2002. He said the detainees’ “physical and mental health needs are growing and becoming increasingly challenging.”“Consideration must be given to adapting the infrastructure for the detainees’ evolving needs and disabilities, as well as the rules that govern their daily lives,” said Mr. Hamilton, who had last visited the prison in 2003, when 660 men and boys were held there. Today, 30 detainees remain.

☆ NATO chief Stoltenberg visits wartime Ukraine
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-20 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

[1/5] NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg visits the Wall of Remembrance to pay tribute to killed Ukrainian soldiers, amid Russia's attack on Ukraine, in Kyiv, Ukraine April 20, 2023. REUTERS/Gleb GaranichKYIV, April 20 (Reuters) - NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg on Thursday paid his first visit to Kyiv since Russia's full-scale invasion, in a show of support for Ukraine as it prepares to launch a counteroffensive. The NATO chief got into a car and drove off after the event, the photographer said. Ukraine sees its future in NATO alliance and last September announced a bid for fast-track membership after the Kremlin said it had have annexed four Ukrainian regions that its troops have partially occupied. Moscow regards NATO as a hostile military alliance bent on encroaching on what it sees as its sphere of influence.

☆ NATO chief visits Kyiv: Jens Stoltenberg says Ukraine's "rightful place" is in the alliance
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-20 | by ( Sana Noor Haq Luke Mcgee Alex Hardie Zahid Mahmood Victoria Butenko | Sana Noor Haq | Luke Mcgee | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +5 min

CNN —NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said Thursday “Ukraine’s future is in NATO,” in his strongest remarks reaffirming ties with Kyiv since Russia launched its full-scale invasion in February 2022. NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg visits the Wall of Remembrance to pay tribute to fallen Ukrainian soldiers in Kyiv on April 20, 2023. Gleb Garanich/ReutersStoltenberg (left) and President Volodymyr Zelensky (right) meet during the alliance chief's historic trip to Ukraine on Thursday. Finnish public support for accession snowballed following the invasion of Ukraine, and also reignited calls from Kyiv to join. Speaking at a joint conference in Kyiv, Zelensky said he valued the support from the alliance but pressed Stoltenberg on when Ukraine would be invited to join NATO.

☆ Flash of light above Kyiv sparks buzz about falling satellite, aliens
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-19 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

April 19 (Reuters) - The night sky above wartime Kyiv was lit up by a flash of light on Wednesday, social media channels said, prompting speculation that a crashing satellite or even aliens might be responsible. Four short video clips posted to a Telegram channel by journalist and blogger Anatolii Sharii showed the sky suddenly illuminated by a bright light. The Kyiv city military administration, citing what it called preliminary information, said it was a crashing NASA satellite. The Ukrainian air force, responsible for trying to down missiles and drones fired by Russia, said a satellite or a meteorite could be responsible. "Please do not use official air force symbols to create memes for the enemy to enjoy!"

"The hospitals now serving the wounded are so few, with limited number of doctors, so there's overcrowding of wounded," said Esraa Abou Shama, a doctor at Sudan's health ministry. Over four days of fighting nine hospitals in Sudan have been hit by artillery and 16 forcibly evacuated, the Sudanese Doctors' Union said, with none still providing a full service inside the capital. His hospital's water and cooking gas tanks have been hit, many staff fled, and diesel fuel for the power generator is almost exhausted, he said. Staff cannot access the morgue because of the fighting, so dead bodies are stored in rooms with air conditioning turned up. "We all have the same problems - electricity, water, staff.

The voice on the other end asked Roscoe if he would serve as an eleventh-hour mediator in the massive defamation lawsuit filed by Dominion Voting Systems against Fox News. “I said yes,” Roscoe told CNN on Wednesday, recalling advice his father gave him at the age of 16 about accepting work assignments while on vacation. Eduardo Munoz/Reuters/Eric Lee/Bloomberg/Getty ImagesIn the lead up to the last-second deal, attorneys for both Fox News and Dominion were fully expecting a trial. Last week, Dominion had notified Fox News that one of its first witnesses would be Rupert Murdoch, the 92-year-old Fox Corporation chairman, a person familiar with the matter told CNN. “Presence in the courtroom often tends to crystalize the focus of the risks and benefits of litigation,” Roscoe told CNN.

☆ A Ukrainian drone commander said Russian troops would sit around and get shot at the start of the war, but have learned from their mistakes
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-19 | by ( Matthew Loh | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Russian troops often made themselves easy targets at the war's start, a Ukrainian soldier said. But Petro told Weichert he noticed Russian forces — tanks in particular — moving more often as the war continued. They learn from their problems and mistakes," said the corporal, whose primary role is to spot Russian artillery or tanks. Their combat formations and targeting systems meant Russian troops were often vulnerable to friendly fire, the think tank added. Petro's unit spotted an anti-tank gun, but the responding Ukrainian artillery unit only fired one shot when six are usually needed to dispatch a target, Weichert wrote.

SummarySummary Companies Three EU states have banned Ukrainian grain, food importsRomania looks set to follow suitUkraine also trying to salvage Black Sea grain dealWARSAW, April 18 (Reuters) - Poland agreed on Tuesday to lift a ban on the transit of Ukrainian grain and food products, but Ukraine said a wartime deal allowing it to safely ship grain from Black Sea ports was still under threat. Failure to resume exports into eastern European countries or secure an extension of the Black Sea grain deal would trap large amounts of grain in Ukraine, hitting its exports and causing further economic problems for Kyiv as it battles Russian troops. Large quantities of Ukrainian grain have been trapped by bottlenecks in eastern and central Europe as low global prices and demand mean grain cannot easily be sold on. BLACK SEA GRAIN DEAL IN DOUBTUkraine, which relies on grain and food sales for a significant slice of its gross domestic product, also has concerns about the Black Sea Grain Initiative brokered between Moscow and Kyiv by Turkey and the United Nations last July. Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov will discuss the Ukraine Black Sea grain export deal with U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres in New York next week, Russia's U.N. envoy said on Tuesday.

☆ South Korea and Japan's finance ministers to hold first bilateral talks in 7 years
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-17 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

SEOUL/TOKYO, April 17 (Reuters) - South Korea and Japan's finance ministers will hold a bilateral meeting early next month for the first time in seven years, heralding closer cooperation in economic policy that has been hampered by diplomatic conflict. South Korean Finance Minister Choo Kyung-ho told reporters during a visit to the United States that he has agreed to meet Japanese Finance Minister Shunichi Suzuki, according to a media pool report. "It is significant in that it will be the first step toward reviving regular bilateral meetings," Choo said, without elaborating. Regular annual meetings between the two countries' finance ministers have been suspended since 2016 due to disputes over wartime history. Financial markets will likely pay close attention to whether the finance ministers will discuss resuming a bilateral currency swap arrangement - one that had served as backstop against any potential currency crisis but which expired in February 2015.

☆ Market may ignore recession for first time since 1945, RBC's top strategist Lori Calvasina finds
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-17 | by ( Natalie Zhang | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +1 min

In a research note out this week, Calvasina tackled the S&P 500's performance during recessions going back to 1937. She found the 1945 recession was the only one with no market pullback. According to RBC Capital Markets' Lori Calvasina, stocks may be ignoring all signs of a recession. "[This] idea of a manufactured recession that we were all talking about last year, you actually had it back then." "I actually think that we priced in a recession back at the October lows, but I think people are tired of hearing that," noted Calvasina.

As a result, farmers in Poland, Hungary and other nations have seen their incomes plummet. measures,” his country would follow Poland in restricting Ukrainian grain imports until the end of June, according to Hungarian news reports. The announcement came after Warsaw reached a deal with Kyiv on Friday to strictly limit and, for a time, halt Ukrainian grain deliveries to Poland. Image Ukrainian grain being loaded onto a cargo ship near Odesa, Ukraine, in August. Image A Ukrainian soldier loading shells inside an American-made M109 Paladin self-propelled howitzer to be fired toward Russian positions in Bakhmut, Ukraine, on Friday.

☆ South Korea, US, Japan to hold missile defence drills to counter North Korea
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-17 | by ( Hyonhee Shin | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

SEOUL, April 17 (Reuters) - South Korea, the United States and Japan will stage joint naval missile defence exercises on Monday as they push for greater security cooperation to better counter North Korea's evolving missile threats, Seoul's navy said. Monday's drills will be held in international waters between Korea and Japan, bringing together South Korea's 7,600-ton Aegis destroyer Yulgok Yi I, U.S. guided-missile destroyer USS Benfold, and Japan's Atago destroyer, also equipped with Aegis radar systems. The three countries would focus on mastering response procedures from detection to tracking to information sharing by creating a virtual target under the scenario of a North Korean ballistic missile provocation, the South Korean navy said. South Korean and U.S. air forces are separately set to begin their drills on Monday for a 12-day run. South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol has pledged to move the ties beyond the past and visited Tokyo in March for the first time in 12 years as the country's leader.

State prosecutors, who had requested the court jail him for 25 years, had accused him of treason and of discrediting the Russian military after he criticised what Moscow calls its "special military operation" in Ukraine. In a CNN interview broadcast hours before he was arrested, Kara-Murza had alleged that Russia was being run by a "regime of murderers." He had also used speeches in the United States and across Europe to accuse Moscow of bombing civilian targets in Ukraine, a charge it has rejected. I also know that the day will come when the darkness over our country will dissipate," he had said. Kara-Murza's lawyers say that as a result, he suffers from a serious nerve disorder called polyneuropathy.

☆ A fighter plane designed for the US Navy during World War II was still taking down jet fighters over Vietnam 20 years later
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-16 | by ( Benjamin Brimelow | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +7 min

The Douglas A-1 Skyraider was designed for the US Navy in the final years of World War II. The US Air Force and its South Vietnamese counterpart also began operating the plane that year. Navy Skyraider pilots even managed to down MiG-17 fighter jets on two occasions. By the end of the war, Air Force Skyraiders conducted more than 90,000 combat sorties, including more than 1,000 a month during the peak of the fighting. The last Air Force Skyraider mission was on November 7, 1972, and all of the service's remaining Skyraiders were transferred to the South Vietnamese air force in 1973.

☆ Dozens of POWs freed as Ukraine marks Orthodox Easter
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-16 | by ( ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +7 min

Ukrainian prisoners of war pose for a picture after a swap, amid Russia's attack on Ukraine, at an unknown location, Ukraine. "The lives of our people are the highest value for us," Yermak said, adding that Kyiv's goal was to bring back all remaining POWs. At Easter, which from time immemorial has been a family holiday for Ukrainians, a day of warmth, hope and great unity. Others in the line echoed Zaluzhnyy's words about a wartime Easter being a symbol of hope. Despite the shared Orthodox holiday, Russian shelling and missile attacks continued to sow destruction in Ukraine, according to social media statements from Ukrainian regional officials.

Under the pact to create a safe shipping channel, Ukraine has been able to export some 27.7 million tonnes of agricultural products, including 13.9 million tonnes of corn and 7.5 million tonnes of wheat. The leading destinations have been China (6.3 million tonnes), Spain (4.8 million) and Turkey (3 million). Ukraine's grain exports are forecast to fall in the 2023/24 season after the war has meant farmers planted less corn and wheat. The International Grains Council has forecast that Ukraine's corn crop will fall to 21 million tonnes, down from the prior season's 27 million, with exports expected to drop to 15 million tonnes from 20.5 million. CAN UKRAINE EXPORT MORE GRAIN THROUGH LAND ROUTES?

☆ Russia's war economy isn't as resilient as reports would have you believe
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-14 | by ( Phil Rosen | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

That brings us to today's main story — economists say the official data coming out of Russia isn't painting an accurate picture of Putin's wartime economy. "These are the things that businesses deliver and consumers purchase in an economy, and they have been absorbing the impact. Our tracker shows a contraction of the Russian economy ahead of the official figures release precisely because we use high-frequency indicators from the private economy." Vehicle sales, imports, credit growth, home prices, and other measures all point to a much less robust regime since Vladimir Putin's war on Ukraine began. These four charts tell the story of how war has reshaped Russia over the last year.

☆ UN chief raises concerns with Russia about Ukraine grain deal
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-14 | by ( Michelle Nichols | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

The United Nations has said no ships were inspected on Tuesday under the deal - agreed in July last year - "as the parties needed more time to reach an agreement on operational priorities." The deal saw a resumption of Ukraine's Black Sea grain exports, which had been halted by Russia's Feb. 24, 2022, invasion. All ships are inspected by officials from Russia, Ukraine, Turkey and the United Nations in waters near Turkey on the way in and out of Ukraine. The United Nations said there are dozens of ships waiting to be inspected before they travel to Ukraine. Last month, Russia agreed to renew the grain export deal for at least 60 days, half the intended period, and Moscow has said it would only consider a further extension if several demands in relation to its own exports were met.

☆ Drinking is killing Russian troops, according to UK intel. Widespread alcoholism during the first Crimean War 150 years ago resulted in Russia's defeat.
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-12 | by ( Hannah Getahun | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +10 min

The Crimean War would become another example of the county's war drinking problem cataloged in the annals of Russian history. I don't think it's nearly as important nowadays, as it was during the Russo-Japanese War or World War One, but it's significant, right?" In an interview with Insider, Schrad expanded on the history of Russian drinking during wartime. A lot of it is the consequence of my research topic, which has been alcohol and Russian history. The Crimean War, the Russo-Japanese War, World War I, in particular, were all drunken fiascos.

☆ Wartime Intelligence Leaks Can Sink Allies
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-10 | by ( The Editorial Board | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

A Ukrainian soldier of a mobile air defense unit demonstrates his skills at the Antonov airport in Hostomel, Ukraine, April 1. The leak of classified U.S. documents related to the Ukraine war looks like a debacle at many levels—undermining the confidence of allies in the U.S., revealing how much the U.S. knows about Russia’s military deliberations, and above all betraying the weakness of Ukrainian air defenses.

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