Some nations are reportedly urging for exemptions on food exports from the country
Leading EU member states have been calling on Brussels to amend sanctions on Moscow to make a clearer exemption for supplies of Russian grain and fertilizer, the Financial Times reported on Wednesday.
According to an EU position paper seen by the FT, Germany, France and the Netherlands are among the countries urging the European Commission to change the sanctions limits. They argue the current rules are delaying vital shipments to poor countries.
The position paper, whose authors reportedly also includes Spain, Belgium, and Portugal, points out that “the current legal situation contributes to criticism that sanctions actually hinder trade in food and fertilizers.”
It stated that shipments get stuck in European ports because companies are worried about taking part in transactions with Russian firms. The paper added that financial institutions, insurers, transporters, and wholesalers are reluctant to deal in the export of Russian food and fertilizer, disrupting supply chains.
READ MORE: Moscow clarifies conditions for extending grain deal
According to the FT, the document also said that there was now an “undesirable” situation where the EU is stricter on agricultural transactions than the US and the UK, which “seems in contradiction with the general EU policy on food security.”
The outlet noted that some member states want to use the planned ninth package of anti-Russia sanctions as an opportunity for amendments addressing food and fertilizer supply.
https://www.rt.com/business/567883-eu-russia-sanctions-food/
Volker Turk has warned that efforts to advance reparatory justice are facing resistance in “certain quarters,” and urged countries to back Africa’s push.
Reparatory justice for historical crimes, including colonialism, enslavement, and the trade in enslaved Africans, is crucial to dismantling systemic racism, UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Turk has said.
Speaking at the UN Permanent Forum on People of African Descent on Tuesday, Turk linked present-day discrimination against people from the continent to the enduring legacy of colonialism and enslavement.
”Racism and dehumanizing rhetoric continue to permeate public institutions, communities, and online platforms,” he said, according to the UN Press Service. Turk noted that “digital technologies, including AI, are reproducing and amplifying existing biases against people of African descent.”
The remarks come weeks after the UN General Assembly adopted a resolution declaring the transatlantic slave trade “the gravest...
The US VP had to defend President Trump’s Gaza policy at a rally on a Georgia college campus.
US Vice President J.D. Vance was forced to defend Washington’s policy in Gaza after he was booed and heckled at a key MAGA event on Wednesday.
Co-founded by the late Charlie Kirk, Turning Point USA (TPUSA) is a conservative student group that has long been seen as a strong support base of President Donald Trump’s MAGA movement but is now showing apparent cracks.
Less than 15 minutes into a TPUSA event at the University of Georgia on Wednesday, Vance was interrupted by hecklers over US policy in Gaza, with one audience member shouting, “Jesus Christ does not support genocide!” As he attempted to respond, others shouted, “You’re killing children!” and “You’re bombing children!”
Vance replied by referring to Trump’s achievements as president, including securing a fragile ceasefire in Gaza, something he said the previous administration of Joe Biden failed to do.
“I ...
Sergey Shoigu has cautioned Finland and the Baltic states against allowing Kiev to use their airspace for attacks on Russia.
Russia would have the right to retaliate if Finland and the Baltic states are deliberately allowing Ukrainian drones to pass through their airspace, Security Council Secretary Sergey Shoigu said on Thursday.
“Recently, there has been an increase in Ukrainian drone strikes against Russia via Finland, Lithuania, Latvia, and Estonia,” Shoigu told journalists. “As a result, civilians are suffering and significant damage is being caused to civilian infrastructure.”
Either Western air defenses are proving ineffective, or these four countries “deliberately provide their airspace, thereby becoming open accomplices in aggression against Russia,” he added. In the latter case, Moscow has the right to self-defense in response to an “armed attack” under Article 51 of the UN Charter, the security chief stressed.
In recent weeks, Kiev has intensified drone strikes on ...
