Five asylum seekers will not be sent to Rwanda, Home Office says, as hearing challenging plan begins - Sky News

Five asylum seekers fighting their deportation from the UK to Rwanda will not be sent to the African country, the Home Office has said.

This story is out of date - go here to read about the High Court's decision to allow the first flight to go ahead next week

The news came as part of submissions by Home Office lawyers to the High Court on Friday as a bid began to block a deportation flight under the government's controversial new asylum seeker removal policy.

Five people due to be deported next week have now had their removal directions cancelled.

Two campaign groups - Detention Action and Care4Calais - joined the PCS Union and four individual asylum seekers bringing legal action against the Home Office after it announced the first group of people would be sent to Rwanda on Tuesday.

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Lawyers for almost 100 additional migrants have submitted legal challenges asking to stay in the UK.

Downing Street has said Boris Johnson is still hopeful that the first flight will go ahead next week. The court was also told that a second flight may be scheduled for Thursday, something the Home Office denied.

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A No 10 spokesman said: "Yes. You're aware of the ongoing court case today but we've set out our position on why we think this is the right approach."

The Home Office "intends to make arrangement for a further flight or flights to Rwanda this year", its lawyer said.

But organising any before the end of the full court hearing would "depend on how many individuals leave on the flight on Tuesday", he added.

Those taking the action have asked that if the decision goes in their favour, the flight should be halted completely - meaning the ruling would not just apply to the asylum seekers they are representing.

'It's not safe'

In the first stage of legal action, brought today, Raza Husain QC told the High Court: "The system is not safe. It is not that it is not safe after July, it is just not safe.

"You may be arbitrarily denied access to it. If you do get into it, there are concerns about the impartiality of the decision-making."

He continued: "The evidence is that if you are not from a neighbouring country, then there are high levels of rejection."

Mr Husain said this included asylum seekers from Syria, who are largely accepted by the UK system.

"The procedure is simply unsafe," he said.

Home Office asks court to reject legal challenge

In court documents, Home Office lawyers urged the court to reject the application, arguing it "fails at the first stage", adding: "The claimants have not identified a serious issue to be tried, still less the strong case they allege for the grant of relief at trial."

The High Court was told that the UN refugee agency, the UNHCR, had a number of concerns about the asylum process in Rwanda, including discriminatory access to asylum - including for LGBT people - a lack of legal representation and interpreters, and difficulties in appealing.

The High Court is due to hear a further challenge to the policy on Monday, brought by refugee charity Asylum Aid and supported by fellow campaign group Freedom From Torture.

Care4Calais says it was aware of around nine Afghans; 35 Sudanese; 18 Syrians; 14 Iranians; 11 Egyptians as well as Iraqi, Pakistani, Albanian, Algerian, Chadian, Eritrean, Turkish and Vietnamese people who were told they could be put on the first flight.

'Cruel' and 'inhumane'

The scheme, which the government said would provide "safe and legal" routes for migrants has been described as "inhumane" and "cruel" by human rights organisations.

Under the plans, those illegally seeking refuge in the country would be placed on chartered flights to Rwanda where they would enter the Rwandan asylum system and not be considered for return to the UK.

It comes as the latest figures show more than 10,000 migrants have crossed the Channel to the UK so far this year.

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James Wilson, deputy director of Detention Action, said: "In her desire to punish people for seeking asylum by forcing them on to a plane to Rwanda, Priti Patel has overstepped her authority.

"By rushing through what we say is an unlawful policy, she is turning a blind eye to the many clear dangers and human rights violations that it would inflict on people seeking asylum.

"It's vital that new government policies respect and uphold the laws that we all, as a society, have agreed to follow. That's why we're seeking an injunction to keep this plane to Rwanda from leaving the runway."

Home Office defends 'world-leading partnership'

Image: Home Secretary Priti Patel

A Home Office spokeswoman previously said: "We have been clear from the start that we expected legal challenges, however we are determined to deliver this new partnership.

"We have now issued formal directions to the first group of people due to be relocated to Rwanda later this month. This marks a critical step towards operationalising the policy, which fully complies with international and national law."

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2022-06-10 14:26:15Z
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Putin 'advised not to make long appearances' after 'sharp sickness' - Metro.co.uk

The Russian president appeared to be slumped in a chair in his latest public appearance (Picture: EPA)

Vladimir Putin has been advised not to make long public appearances because he is unwell, it has been claimed.

The Russian president had to have urgent medical assistance after falling unwell following a one-and-a-half hour meeting, according to sources.

He was on a video call with military chiefs according to the General SVR Telegram channel.

The publication said: ‘His doctors advised him not to make any lengthy public appearances in the near future.

‘The latest argument in favour of not speaking to the public was an incident after a recent one-and-a-half hour video-link meeting with representatives of the military bloc…

‘After the meeting Putin felt a sharp sickness, weakness and dizziness while trying to get up from the table.

‘The president needed urgent medical assistance.’

Recent claims have suggested Putin may be very ill with blood cancer and now requires round-the-clock medical care.

And independent Russian media outlet Proekt found the president’s health may have been deteriorating for the past five years.

Despite the reports, he was seen at an event yesterday marking the 350th anniversary of the birth of Peter the Great, a former emperor of Russia (Picture: AP)

Although the claims – which are based on inside intelligence – cannot be proven, occasional video footage of Putin’s bizarre behaviour appears to suggest there is something not quite right below the surface.

Recent pictures show him looking more frail or with a bloated face, and he has been spotted gripping the side of tables to prevent his hand shaking.

General SVR suggested Putin’s latest medical advice may explain why he suddenly cancelled his annual ‘Direct Line’ live broadcast.

The Q&A programme has run usually in June every year since 2004, and allows ‘ordinary’ Russians to call in and ask the president questions.

But it was abruptly postponed with no future date fixed.

General SVR wrote: ‘The postponement of the live [Direct Line] with the president indefinitely is due to the unstable health of Vladimir Putin.

‘A week ago, the president was preparing to answer the questions of the Russian citizens in late June-early July.

‘Lately, the president has been getting tired much faster.

Soon after this appearance he suddenly cancelled his annual ‘Direct Line’ live broadcast (Picture: Reuters)

‘Perhaps if Putin’s health can be stabilised, the Direct Line will be held in August.

‘The Russian president’s indisposition has recently become increasingly difficult to conceal.’

Despite the reports, he was also seen at an event yesterday marking the 350th anniversary of the birth of Peter the Great, a former emperor of Russia.

He admitted in front of an audience Russians will have to wait a decade to live better after the invasion of Ukraine.

He was asked in front of young entrepreneurs, engineers and scientists: ‘So will we live better in 10 years’ time?’

He replied: ‘Yes, in the end this [reaching the goals I have set] will lead to a better life quality.’

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Body language expert Judi James analysed the president’s behaviour during this appearance, telling The Mirror: ‘For a man who is usually immaculately dressed his pose has left his tie askew and his shirt seems to be gaping between the buttons.

‘At one point he appears aware of the way his belly is in one direction and his tie in another, pulling his tie back over the front of his shirt even though he seems perfectly comfortable with this sign of disruption.

‘This style of smugness combined with humour and a laid-back pose seems to suggest a man who finds irony or sarcasm in the current global state of tension and threat.’

Get in touch with our news team by emailing us at webnews@metro.co.uk.

For more stories like this, check our news page.

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2022-06-10 07:24:00Z
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Five key takeaways from the Capitol riot hearing - bbc.co.uk

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After 11 months of work, the congressional committee investigating the 6 January 2021 attack on the US Capitol - and the events leading up to it - held its first public hearing to announce their findings.

It was an unprecedented evening affair. Even Watergate, which may have set the benchmark for modern high-profile and politically potent congressional hearings, conducted all their work during the day.

Democrats - and the two Republicans - on the committee insisted that it was important to present their work before a large American audience, both for history's sake and to set up legislative action to protect US democracy from future attacks.

The rest of the Republican Party, on the other hand, viewed the proceedings as a partisan show trial, one-sided and illegitimate.

With the three major networks, as well as every major cable news channel except Fox News, broadcasting the Thursday hearing in its entirety, the American public will have ample opportunity to make their own judgement.

• What are the 6 January hearings?

A case against Donald Trump

If there were a question as to whether committee chairman Bennie Thompson holds Donald Trump personally responsible for the attack on the US Capitol, he put that to rest early in his opening statement. The then-president, he said, "was trying to stop the peaceful transfer of power".

"Donald Trump was at the centre of this conspiracy," he added.

Those are strong words. Now the committee has to present evidence to back that up.

It raises the question of whether, if this is what Mr Thompson and others truly believe, the committee will recommend that the former president himself be charged with a crime.

Within minutes of Thursday night's opening hearing, the chairman essentially accused Mr Trump of committing one.

Baseless election allegations

Before the 6 January committee can prove that Mr Trump intentionally subverted the peaceful and proper transfer of power to Joe Biden, it had to prove that the then-president was knowingly spreading false information.

To do so, committee vice-chair Liz Cheney didn't try to refute all the specific claims the president and his supporters have advanced. Instead she simply recounted and played video testimony of the president's own advisors confirming that the election results were valid.

In one key clip, Bill Barr - the president's attorney general - recounted how he used a dismissive expletive to tell the president that his of widespread election fraud were baseless.

She was, in effect, damning the former president with his own team's words.

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The power of video

The primetime hearing was billed as something other than an ordinary congressional event. Instead of members of Congress hogging the microphone, it would be a slickly produced undertaking that would use video clips and documentary evidence to tell a powerful story.

It didn't exactly begin that way. Although Mr Thompson kept his remarks fairly brief, Ms Cheney - the apostate Republican who has gone to war with her own party - spoke in a monotone for nearly half an hour.

While the allegations she made were serious, the words bogged down in lengthy paragraphs, numbered lists and "we will show you" expository statements.

It wasn't until the committee ran an extended video of the attack - comprised largely of security and police body camera footage, interspersed with Trump's speech excerpts and tweets - that the drama of the day's events became visceral, not cerebral.

As the video ended, the hearing room fell into silence - with many members of Congress watching as guests in the back of the room sat in stunned quiet and family of police officers who died after the attacks choking back tears.

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Ivanka and Jared speak

The panel has conducted more than 1,000 interviews as part of its investigation so far, but three of those interviews - with Donald Trump's daughter Ivanka Trump, son Donald Trump Jr and son-in-law Jared Kushner - have been of particular interest. On Thursday night, the public got its first look, albeit a brief one, at what two of them had to say.

Ms Trump spoke about how she had no reason to doubt then-Attorney General Bill Barr when he said her father had lost the election. Kushner dismissed the threats of members of Trump's legal team quitting in protest against what they viewed as his illegal and unfounded election challenges as "whining".

The elder Trump son, on the other hand, was entirely absent.

There may be more video presented in future hearings, but if viewers were hoping for juicy familial conflict, the hearings didn't deliver.

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First-person emotion

The committee only had two individuals appear for in-person testimony during the evening's hearing - documentary filmmaker Nick Quested and Capitol Police officer Caroline Edwards.

While the former offered some insight into the preparations the far-right group the Proud Boys made before the Capitol attack, it was Officer Edwards whose personal account lent the second half of the proceedings its power.

She spoke about the crowd turning on the police officers at the Capitol and how she saw leaders of the Proud Boys seemingly conferring before they launched their assault.

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She recounted losing consciousness as she was knocked over, hitting her head on a concrete step. After she recovered, she continued to try to defend the Capitol, before she and Officer Brian Sicknick - who later died - were assaulted with chemical spray.

"What I saw was a war scene, like something I had seen out of the movies," she said. "I couldn't believe my eyes. Officers on the ground bleeding and throwing up... It was carnage. It was chaos."

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2022-06-10 02:56:40Z
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Campaigners' High Court bid to block government's 'unlawful' plans to send first asylum seekers to Rwanda - Sky News

The High Court will today hear arguments over whether or not to grant a last-minute injunction stopping next week's planned first flight of asylum seekers to Rwanda.

Two campaign groups - Detention Action and Care4Calais - are joining the PCS Union and four individual asylum seekers to bring the legal action.

The Home Office has announced that the first asylum seekers will be sent to Rwanda on Tuesday as part of its new immigration policy.

Lawyers for the groups taking the action will argue the policy puts people's lives at risk and is an unlawful way to treat asylum seekers prior to deportation and once sent to Rwanda.

The groups taking the action have asked that if a ruling goes in their favour the plane is halted completely - so the ruling doesn't only apply to the asylum seekers they are representing.

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Sky News is aware of other asylum seekers who have been given removal notices who aren't part of these proceedings.

With just a few days to go until the flight, it's expected a decision could be handed down on the same day as the hearing.

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Care4Calais says it's aware of round nine Afghans; 35 Sudanese; 18 Syrians; 14 Iranians; 11 Egyptians as well as Iraqi, Pakistani, Albanian Algerian, Chadian, Eritrean, Turkish and Vietnamese people who have been told they could be put on the first flight.

'We hope the courts will agree with us'

Clare Moseley, founder of Care4Calais, said: "We have spoken to nearly 100 people in detention who've been told they will be forcibly sent to Rwanda. Almost all are overwhelmed by total shock and despair.

"Many came to the UK believing it to be a good place that would treat them more fairly than the places from which they escaped. We say that the Rwanda plan is unlawful. We hope the courts will agree with us."

Efforts to secure an injunction are an eleventh-hour attempt by campaigners to stop the flight.

Care4Calais, Detention Action and the PCS union have already issued judicial review proceedings and want the lawfulness of the policy tested in court.

Read more:
Why are migrants being sent to Rwanda and how will it work?
Asylum seekers 'willing to go into hiding' to avoid Rwanda plan

The Home Office says it wants to stop the trade of people smugglers transporting people across the channel and sending asylum seekers to Rwanda is part of efforts to "overhaul" the UK's "broken" system.

The government says it's committed to working with Rwanda to offer safety to those seeking asylum and those recognised as refugees will be given an opportunity to rebuild their lives.

Anyone the Home Office considers has taken a dangerous, unnecessary or illegal journey to the UK would meet the criteria for removal apart from lone migrant children who are exempt.

The prime minister's official spokesman said: "We remain confident in our position. Should the legal challenges require us going to the courts we will argue the case.

"It's true to say the first flight is due for next week so we have that ready to go."

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2022-06-10 02:34:05Z
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Ukraine war: Two British fighters sentenced to death in separatist area, Russian state media says - Sky News

Two Britons who were captured by Russian forces while fighting in Ukraine have been sentenced to death, state-owned Russian news agency RIA Novosti has said.

Aiden Aslin, 28, and Shaun Pinner, 48, have been accused of being mercenaries, another Russian news agency said.

They were captured in Mariupol in April during the intense fight for control of the port city, before appearing in court in the separatist Donetsk People's Republic (DPR).

It is understood they have admitted "training in order to carry out terrorist activities".

A third man, Moroccan national Saaudun Brahim, has also reportedly been sentenced to death.

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The punishments were handed down by the DPR's supreme court, RIA said.

The men were found guilty of "mercenary activities and committing actions aimed at seizing power and overthrowing the constitutional order of the DPR", the Interfax news agency quoted a court official as saying.

Image: (L-R) Aiden Aslin, Shaun Pinner and Saaudun Brahim 

Appearing in court behind bars, Mr Aslin said: "I was hoping the sentence would be a lot fairer judging the circumstances in which I helped the investigation and also because I surrendered to the Donetsk People's Republic. I wish it could be different but God will be the one that will judge me when the time comes."

In response to the sentencing, Conservative MP Robert Jenrick, who is Mr Aslin's MP said: "this is an extremely concerning situation", adding that there is "no evidence to back up the charges".

The Russian military has argued that what it considers to be foreign mercenaries fighting for Ukraine are not combatants.

A long prison sentence is the best they should hope for if captured, Moscow has said.

They are likely to face a firing squad if the sentence is carried out.

The trio are the first foreign fighters to be sentenced by Russian-backed separatists and have a month to appeal.

They will be doing so, their lawyer said.

Another British fighter captured by pro-Russian forces, Andrew Hill, 35, is awaiting trial.

Foreign Secretary Liz Truss said she "utterly condemned" the sentencing, describing it as a "sham judgment with absolutely no legitimacy".

She tweeted: "They are prisoners of war. We continue to do everything we can to support them."

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1:49

Aiden Aslin and Shaun Pinner speak to Sky News before being detained

The prime minister's official spokesman said Mr Aslin and Mr Pinner "should not be prosecuted".

He commented: "We're obviously deeply concerned by this.

"We've said, continually, that prisoners of war shouldn't be exploited for political purposes.

"You'll know that under the Geneva Convention, prisoners of war are entitled to combatant immunity, and they should not be prosecuted for participation in hostilities.

"So we will continue to work with Ukrainian authorities to try and secure the release of any British nationals who were serving in the Ukrainian Armed Forces and who are being held as prisoners of war."

Footage shared previously by RIA on social media appeared to show a translator asking Mr Aslin if he would plead guilty to an offence, to which he replied: "Yes."

In the video, the two Britons stand in the dock in the supreme court alongside Mr Brahim.

Mr Pinner allegedly admitted "seizing power by force".

The 48-year-old was filmed in April saying he had been captured while defending Mariupol, his adopted city.

His family stressed at the time that he was "not a volunteer nor a mercenary, but officially serving with the Ukrainian army".

He told Sky News a few months before that he was on his fourth tour of duty in Ukraine after serving in the British Army for nine years, had lived in the country since 2018 and has a Ukrainian wife.

Image: Mr Pinner's family shared a picture of the 48-year-old former British Army soldier

Who are Shaun Pinner and Aiden Aslin?

Mr Pinner is from Watford and is a former British Army soldier.

The 48-year-old served in many tours including Northern Ireland and with the United Nations in Bosnia.

He moved to Ukraine with his wife in 2018 before he joined the army.

He fought alongside Ukrainian resistance forces in Mariupol, before he was captured by Russian soldiers.

According to Mr Pinner’s family, he was due to complete his three-year contract in the military at the end of 2022 and planned to move to a humanitarian role within Ukraine.

Mr Aslin, a British-Ukrainian is a former care worker from Newark in Nottinghamshire.

He travelled to Ukraine in 2018 and enlisted in the Armed Forces of Ukraine.

Mr Aslin gained Ukrainian citizenship after three years of military service.

MP for his home town of Newark, Robert Jenrick, raised concerns about his treatment in Ukraine during Prime Minister's Questions earlier this year.

The 28-year-old has a Ukrainian fiancée and was hoping to get a mortgage for an apartment in West Ukraine.

He has said he first became interested in Ukraine following the Maidan Protests, a wave of demonstrations and civil unrest in that country in late 2014.

Mr Aslin's family said on Tuesday that it was a "very sensitive and emotional time" and that they were working with the Ukrainian government and UK Foreign Office to try to free the 28-year-old.

"Aiden is a much-loved man and very much missed, and we hope that he will be released very soon," they said in a statement.

The former care home worker joined Ukraine's armed forces as a marine in 2018, has applied for citizenship, and has a Ukrainian fiancee.

Former Conservative cabinet minister Robert Jenrick has condemned what he called "trumped-up charges" faced by the British pair and accused Russia of a "completely outrageous breach of international law".

Referring to Mr Aslin, Mr Jenrick told the BBC: "This is a British citizen, but who also holds Ukrainian nationality, (who) joined the Ukrainian armed forces in the normal way prior to (Vladimir) Putin's illegal invasion, and has been serving in the armed forces.

"He was taken prisoner by Russian forces and in accordance with international law and the Geneva Convention, he should be being held appropriately and returned to Ukraine at the earliest possible opportunity, possibly through a prisoner exchange."

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2022-06-09 15:56:15Z
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Even if you don't drive, you'll pay for the rise in petrol prices - Sky News

The £100 tank of unleaded petrol is another milestone on the relentless upward path of fuel prices.

Watching the price click in to three figures for the first time will draw the breath of anyone filling the 55-litre tank of a family saloon.

But whichever way you count it, prices have been kicking consumers in the guts for weeks already.

Fuel inflation has been staggering in the last 12 months, with unleaded 37% more expensive than this week a year ago, and diesel 38%.

Drivers who have no option but to use their cars have little choice but to shop around and suck up the latest hit at the pumps. But even if you do not drive - and millions of Britons are not car owners - you will pay a price.

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Given the fundamental role of motor fuel in the economy there is simply no avoiding the impact.

The Office for National Statistics estimates fuel prices accounted for 0.7% of April's headline inflation rate of 9%; a back-of-the-envelope calculation suggests further rises mean petrol and diesel could make up 1% of the rate for May, when the figures are released.

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Almost everything we use and buy gets to us by road one way and another, and with hauliers now estimating the annual fuel bill for an HGV at £20,000, it is inevitable some of these costs will be passed on.

There is little sign of prices levelling off, much less declining, in the coming weeks. Prices are determined by the wholesale market of crude oil - still around $120-a-barrel - and more immediately refined gasoline and diesel.

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1:15

Why is fuel continuing to rise?

These have been exacerbated by the invasion of Ukraine. Prices were high before Russian tanks rolled in, but the conflict has had an immediate and fundamental impact.

Russia is the world's second-largest oil producer but sanctions and pledges by the EU, the UK and other nations to boycott its oil by the end of the year are set to take an estimated 3 million barrels a day out of global markets.

Just as importantly for the current pump price, Russia is also a major source of refined diesel oil. The war is cited by producers as a factor in driving the widening differential with unleaded prices.

And even if crude prices were to fall, retailers will still be selling us the fuel already stored in their tanks by refineries and distributors. These record prices will be passing through the pumps for some time.

Retailers say they have limited scope to cut costs. They cite tight margins and the need to turn a profit to invest in new technologies government is demanding - including the electric vehicle charging network which is crucial to ending reliance on the internal combustion engine.

They also point out that the overnight 5p cut to fuel duty announced in March cost the industry millions as they had already paid the tax on fuel in storage, but could not pass it on to customers.

Image: A tank on an average family car can now cost £100

That may not wash with drivers looking at prices already north of £2 a litre. Ministers have threatened to name-and-shame retailers who do not cut prices, and the business secretary has referred the matter to the Competition and Markets Authority, but they and the industry know there is no way of policing the price at the pump while customers are buying.

What government could do is further cut fuel duty or the 20% VAT rate, which together make up around 45% of the pump price and are delivering a windfall to the Treasury as a consequence of high prices.

As with domestic energy prices this spring, we may be entering the "something must be done" phase of this chapter in the cost-of-living crisis. There is no price cap on fuel to protect consumers but for now there is little sense that the chancellor is feeling the heat on fuel.

Fuel duty is forecast to raise £26bn this year. The question for anyone suggesting that number should be cut is where the revenue will come from instead.

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2022-06-09 09:40:13Z
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Ukraine war: Zelenskyy says fate of Donbas hinges on 'brutal' war in Sievierodonetsk - as 'endless caravan of death' uncovered in Mariupol - Sky News

Ukraine's president says the fate of the Donbas hinges on "very brutal" fighting in Sievierodonetsk, a city that's emerged as a key battleground in recent weeks.

Russia is laying siege to the eastern city as it pursues its aim of capturing the sprawling Donbas region.

"This is a very brutal battle, very tough, perhaps one of the most difficult throughout this war," said President Zelenskyy in his nightly message."

"Sievierodonetsk remains the epicentre of the encounter in Donbas... Largely, that is where the fate of our Donbas is being decided now," he added.

He said Ukraine was "inflicting significant losses on the enemy", however many troops also pulled back to the city's outskirts yesterday amid fierce shelling.

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The centre of the city - which had a pre-war population of about 100,000 - is being turned into a wasteland, said the governor of Luhansk - one of the two regions that make up the Donbas.

Image: The state of the war on 8 June

"Our fighters are hanging on in the Sievierodonetsk industrial zone," said Serhiy Gaidai.

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"But fighting is going on not just in the industrial zone, but right in the city of Sievierodonetsk."

An adviser to President Zelenskyy's office, Oleksiy Arestovych, said airstrikes and artillery were pounding the city from afar. "They are hitting hard without any particular success," he added.

Ukrainian troops are massively outnumbered in the Donbas, Kyiv's US ambassador told CNN.

However, it's hoped longer-range rocket systems being sent from America and the UK could help fight the Russian artillery that's doing so much damage.

'Endless caravan of death' in the ruins

As the battle rages around Sievierodonetsk, an official in Mariupol said an "endless caravan of death" was being uncovered as they search ruined buildings.

Fifty to 100 bodies are being uncovered in each bombed apartment block - and about two-fifths of the city's buildings have been searched so far, said mayoral aide Petro Andryushchenko.

Image: Hundreds of bodies are still buried in the rubble of destroyed buildings in Mariupol

The remains are being taken to landfills and morgues.

The southeastern city is now in Russian hands after the worst onslaught of the war killed more than 20,000 people, according to Ukrainian estimates.

Meanwhile, political wrangling over the war's threat to food supplies are continuing.

Russia has expressed support for a UN plan to allow Ukraine's grain exports to flow again. An estimated 22 million tons are stuck in the country.

Ukraine is a key producer of wheat, corn and sunflower oil and there are fears the Russian blockade of ports could cause a serious food shortage in some developing countries.

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Food shortages to affect millions more

Turkey has been trying to broker a deal to reopen the ports and Russian foreign minister Sergei Lavrov met his Turkish counterpart on Wednesday for talks.

Mr Lavrov said the ports could operate again if mines are removed from surrounding waters.

However, Ukraine fears it would allow Russia to attack the coast and doesn't trust Kremlin assurances to the contrary.

Russia is itself a major grain exporter and has blamed the food supply problems on Western sanctions against its ships.

European Council President Charles Michel has denied the claims and accused Russia of "weaponizing food supplies and surrounding their actions with a web of lies, Soviet-style".

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https://news.google.com/__i/rss/rd/articles/CBMipwFodHRwczovL25ld3Muc2t5LmNvbS9zdG9yeS91a3JhaW5lLXdhci16ZWxlbnNreXktc2F5cy1mYXRlLW9mLWRvbmJhcy1oaW5nZXMtb24tYnJ1dGFsLXdhci1pbi1zaWV2aWVyb2RvbmV0c2stYXMtZW5kbGVzcy1jYXJhdmFuLW9mLWRlYXRoLXVuY292ZXJlZC1pbi1tYXJpdXBvbC0xMjYzMDQ3NtIBqwFodHRwczovL25ld3Muc2t5LmNvbS9zdG9yeS9hbXAvdWtyYWluZS13YXItemVsZW5za3l5LXNheXMtZmF0ZS1vZi1kb25iYXMtaGluZ2VzLW9uLWJydXRhbC13YXItaW4tc2lldmllcm9kb25ldHNrLWFzLWVuZGxlc3MtY2FyYXZhbi1vZi1kZWF0aC11bmNvdmVyZWQtaW4tbWFyaXVwb2wtMTI2MzA0NzY?oc=5

2022-06-09 05:31:34Z
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