Ukraine and russia both are major producers and exporters of food staples, particularly wheat. Much of it is loaded on to ships in the black sea and then shipped out to importing countries around the world. But the conflict in ukraine has effectively halted shipments out of the black sea. Therehave been several cargo ships in recent weeks that have been damaged by russian fire. It has become increasingly expensive if not impossible, to get insurance to sail into the blackSea. So it has become very difficult to move these goods out of ukraine and russia. And where will those short falls het hardest?
Joe Biden, among others, has called Vladimir Putin “a war criminal.” International tribunals have tried and convicted war criminals from Rwanda and Serbia: will Russia’s president suffer the same fate? The war in Ukraine will disrupt the world’s wheat market, with potentially grave political consequences in the Middle East. And three public-works projects in Mexico are stirring controversy.
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