Tens of thousands of lives depend on a deal being reached between Russia and Ukraine to restart grain exports through the Black Sea, the European Union said on Monday, as it expressed hope of an agreement in the coming days.
Josep Borrell, the EU's top foreign policy official, said the talks being brokered by the UN and Turkey were “not a diplomatic game … it is an issue of life and death for many human beings”.
Diplomats meeting in Brussels were briefed that efforts to reroute Ukrainian grain up the Danube had led to 2.7 million tonnes of grain being exported via Romania — about 10 per cent of the pre-war stockpile — while the Black Sea was blocked.
Rail wagons have also taken some of the grain to Poland as Ukraine's allies try to stop its produce going to waste, worsening the economic fallout of the war.
But these stopgap measures are “not enough,” said Mr Borrell, “so I hope, and I think I have hope, that this week it will be possible to reach an agreement to de-block Odesa and other Ukrainian ports. The lives of thousands — more than thousands, tens of thousands of people — depend on this agreement.”
Britain's Foreign Office said on Monday that Russia was deliberately bombing Ukrainian farm equipment and that grain fields were burning because of Russian shelling, adding to the food shortage on world markets.
“These attacks and the blockade of ports are risking future harvests and threatening global hunger,” it said.
Ukraine wants to ensure that opening a shipping corridor will not leave its southern coast vulnerable to a Russian attack, and has said it is not satisfied with mere assurances from a hostile Moscow.
Lithuania's Foreign Minister Gabrielius Landsbergis said providing more arms to Ukraine was part of the solution because it would deter the Russians from attacking or capturing Odesa.
Senior officials insisted at the Brussels talks that sanctions against Russia were working, as the EU prepared to turn the pressure on Moscow up another notch by banning the import of Russian gold.
The nearly five-month Russian onslaught on Ukraine has raised questions about whether EU sanctions have missed their target, and Europe's resolve could be tested further this week if Russia turns off the gas tap to Germany.
Hungary's prime minister Viktor Orban, the main voice of dissent among the EU's 27 leaders, said last week that sanctions had failed and that the bloc had “shot itself in the lungs” by weakening its own economy.
But diplomats meeting in Brussels said the Russian economy had taken a bigger hit and that easing the pressure on the Kremlin would embolden President Vladimir Putin to keep pursuing his goals with violence.
“Some European leaders have been saying that the sanctions were an error, were a mistake. Well, I do not think it was a mistake,” said Mr Borrell.
“Have a look at the charts of the prices — the prices of oil, since we adopted the ban on oil, have been decreasing. So, how can someone say that it was the ban which has increased the price of oil? Don’t they have eyes?”
Brent crude was trading at about $103 a barrel on Monday compared to $116 when the EU's oil ban was agreed on June 2, although prices are still considerably higher than before the Russian invasion in February.
Austria's Foreign Minister Alexander Schallenberg said the Russian car and aviation industries had also been hit hard by the sanctions, after its planes were banned from EU airspace and western-made aircraft were denied maintenance.
“We cannot fall into the trap of taking up the Russian narrative,” said Mr Schallenberg, who cited forecasts that Russia's economy would shrink by 10 per cent this year while the EU's is tipped to grow.
He also mentioned signs of a brain drain from Russia, with many people leaving for Turkey or former Soviet republics such as Georgia, as evidence that the heat was being felt.
“Sanctions are not a measure with instant effect. They are measures with a long-term effect,” he said. “If we look on and do nothing, what happens then? Then we acknowledge that the UN Charter and international law can be trampled on and the law of the jungle would rule.”
Anna Luehrmann, a deputy German foreign minister, said the sanctions were working and should remain in place despite fears that her country will run short of gas if Russia does not resume exports.
Russia's main gas pipeline to Germany, Nord Stream 1, was shut down for maintenance last week by state-owned exporter Gazprom and there are doubts about whether it will ever come back online.
“We are getting ready for all sorts of scenarios. We are prepared,” Ms Luehrmann said.
A total shutdown would have knock-on effects for Austria and other countries which receive second-hand Nord Stream gas from Germany, but Mr Schallenberg said: “We'll cross that bridge when we get there.”
EU ministers were on Monday discussing new measures that Brussels bills as an upgrade to existing sanctions rather than a full-blown seventh round, but which would include a ban on importing gold from Russia.
A gold ban would bring the EU in line with Britain, the US and Canada and honour an agreement at last month's G7 summit that Russia's gold revenue should be forced down.
The latest package would also clarify the scope of some existing sanctions, in particular by emphasising that Russia is not banned from exporting agricultural produce — countering Moscow's narrative that food shortages are the West's fault.
But there is no proposal on the table to ban Russian gas imports, after fraught negotiations with Mr Orban on oil shipments took the wind out of the sails of the EU's desire for energy sanctions.
CHINESE GRAND PRIX STARTING GRID
1st row
Sebastian Vettel (Ferrari)
Kimi Raikkonen (Ferrari)
2nd row
Valtteri Bottas (Mercedes-GP)
Lewis Hamilton (Mercedes-GP)
3rd row
Max Verstappen (Red Bull Racing)
Daniel Ricciardo (Red Bull Racing)
4th row
Nico Hulkenberg (Renault)
Sergio Perez (Force India)
5th row
Carlos Sainz Jr (Renault)
Romain Grosjean (Haas)
6th row
Kevin Magnussen (Haas)
Esteban Ocon (Force India)
7th row
Fernando Alonso (McLaren)
Stoffel Vandoorne (McLaren)
8th row
Brendon Hartley (Toro Rosso)
Sergey Sirotkin (Williams)
9th row
Pierre Gasly (Toro Rosso)
Lance Stroll (Williams)
10th row
Charles Leclerc (Sauber)
arcus Ericsson (Sauber)
Tearful appearance
Chancellor Rachel Reeves set markets on edge as she appeared visibly distraught in parliament on Wednesday.
Legislative setbacks for the government have blown a new hole in the budgetary calculations at a time when the deficit is stubbornly large and the economy is struggling to grow.
She appeared with Keir Starmer on Thursday and the pair embraced, but he had failed to give her his backing as she cried a day earlier.
A spokesman said her upset demeanour was due to a personal matter.
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
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The Settlers
Director: Louis Theroux
Starring: Daniella Weiss, Ari Abramowitz
Rating: 5/5
Lexus LX700h specs
Engine: 3.4-litre twin-turbo V6 plus supplementary electric motor
Power: 464hp at 5,200rpm
Torque: 790Nm from 2,000-3,600rpm
Transmission: 10-speed auto
Fuel consumption: 11.7L/100km
On sale: Now
Price: From Dh590,000
Tonight's Chat on The National
Tonight's Chat is a series of online conversations on The National. The series features a diverse range of celebrities, politicians and business leaders from around the Arab world.
Tonight’s Chat host Ricardo Karam is a renowned author and broadcaster who has previously interviewed Bill Gates, Carlos Ghosn, Andre Agassi and the late Zaha Hadid, among others.
Intellectually curious and thought-provoking, Tonight’s Chat moves the conversation forward.
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UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Key facilities
- Olympic-size swimming pool with a split bulkhead for multi-use configurations, including water polo and 50m/25m training lanes
- Premier League-standard football pitch
- 400m Olympic running track
- NBA-spec basketball court with auditorium
- 600-seat auditorium
- Spaces for historical and cultural exploration
- An elevated football field that doubles as a helipad
- Specialist robotics and science laboratories
- AR and VR-enabled learning centres
- Disruption Lab and Research Centre for developing entrepreneurial skills
Temple numbers
Expected completion: 2022
Height: 24 meters
Ground floor banquet hall: 370 square metres to accommodate about 750 people
Ground floor multipurpose hall: 92 square metres for up to 200 people
First floor main Prayer Hall: 465 square metres to hold 1,500 people at a time
First floor terrace areas: 2,30 square metres
Temple will be spread over 6,900 square metres
Structure includes two basements, ground and first floor
UPI facts
More than 2.2 million Indian tourists arrived in UAE in 2023
More than 3.5 million Indians reside in UAE
Indian tourists can make purchases in UAE using rupee accounts in India through QR-code-based UPI real-time payment systems
Indian residents in UAE can use their non-resident NRO and NRE accounts held in Indian banks linked to a UAE mobile number for UPI transactions
Sanju
Produced: Vidhu Vinod Chopra, Rajkumar Hirani
Director: Rajkumar Hirani
Cast: Ranbir Kapoor, Vicky Kaushal, Paresh Rawal, Anushka Sharma, Manish’s Koirala, Dia Mirza, Sonam Kapoor, Jim Sarbh, Boman Irani
Rating: 3.5 stars
RESULT
Leeds United 1 Manchester City 1
Leeds: Rodrigo (59')
Man City: Sterling (17')
Man of the Match: Rodrigo Moreno (Leeds)
Mobile phone packages comparison
How the bonus system works
The two riders are among several riders in the UAE to receive the top payment of £10,000 under the Thank You Fund of £16 million (Dh80m), which was announced in conjunction with Deliveroo's £8 billion (Dh40bn) stock market listing earlier this year.
The £10,000 (Dh50,000) payment is made to those riders who have completed the highest number of orders in each market.
There are also riders who will receive payments of £1,000 (Dh5,000) and £500 (Dh2,500).
All riders who have worked with Deliveroo for at least one year and completed 2,000 orders will receive £200 (Dh1,000), the company said when it announced the scheme.
Fitness problems in men's tennis
Andy Murray - hip
Novak Djokovic - elbow
Roger Federer - back
Stan Wawrinka - knee
Kei Nishikori - wrist
Marin Cilic - adductor
What is Reform?
Reform is a right-wing, populist party led by Nigel Farage, a former MEP who won a seat in the House of Commons last year at his eighth attempt and a prominent figure in the campaign for the UK to leave the European Union.
It was founded in 2018 and originally called the Brexit Party.
Many of its members previously belonged to UKIP or the mainstream Conservatives.
After Brexit took place, the party focused on the reformation of British democracy.
Former Tory deputy chairman Lee Anderson became its first MP after defecting in March 2024.
The party gained support from Elon Musk, and had hoped the tech billionaire would make a £100m donation. However, Mr Musk changed his mind and called for Mr Farage to step down as leader in a row involving the US tycoon's support for far-right figurehead Tommy Robinson who is in prison for contempt of court.
GAC GS8 Specs
Engine: 2.0-litre 4cyl turbo
Power: 248hp at 5,200rpm
Torque: 400Nm at 1,750-4,000rpm
Transmission: 8-speed auto
Fuel consumption: 9.1L/100km
On sale: Now
Price: From Dh149,900
Ferrari 12Cilindri specs
Engine: naturally aspirated 6.5-liter V12
Power: 819hp
Torque: 678Nm at 7,250rpm
Price: From Dh1,700,000
Available: Now
KILLING OF QASSEM SULEIMANI
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
Zayed Sustainability Prize
